NBA Off-Season Previews: Forecasting The Summer's Biggest Moves
While the NBA playoffs are still going, the 2017 off-season is rapidly approaching for many teams with massive decisions to make. CBA expert Danny Leroux breaks down the major challenges and opportunities for The Crossover's NBA Summer Preview series.
So far, he's touched on the major players in the NBA, touching on teams who suffered early exits from the postseason, including the Bulls, Rockets, Clippers, Raptors, Jazz and Wizards.
A three-day span in mid-April could end up shaping the Chicago Bulls for years to come. The eight-seed won the first two games of their series against the Boston Celtics before Rajon Rondo missed the remaining contests due to a wrist injury. That short success could give executives Gar Forman and John Paxson cover to bring a substantially similar team back next season, which would be a massive mistake. READ MORE
Houston's season ended with a thud, but the off-season offers hope. Last summer, GM Daryl Morey and the Rockets made big moves by signing both Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon to four-year contracts while also renegotiating and extending MVP candidate James Harden. Despite those expenditures, the Rockets could potentially become players in the free agent market this summer. READ MORE
The Clippers are at a series of crossroads. While many will focus on the franchise's big decisions more broadly, they only have a modicum of control over the situation because each of their key free agents is unrestricted and can leave of their own volition. READ MORE
Last summer, Toronto retained All-Star shooting guard DeMar DeRozan with a five-year, $139 million contract that appeared to lock in their direction as a franchise for years to come. After all, they had already ponied up to sign DeMarre Carroll and extend Jonas Valanciunas and Terrance Ross in 2015. Even with the rising salary cap, those four contracts plus the eventual big deal for Kyle Lowry was enough to put them on the brink of the luxury tax. READ MORE
After years of anticipation, the Utah Jazz finally started delivering on their potential, winning 51 games in the regular season and defeating the Clippers in seven games in the first round. Astonishingly, they were able to reach those heights without their full complement of players, as the projected starting five of George Hill, Rodney Hood, Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert only played 152 minutes together in 14 games during the regular season. READ MORE
Washington finished with the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference and made the second round of the playoffs. As expected, the decisions they made last summer largely locked in their roster for seasons to come but they still have some fascinating challenges. READ MORE
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