NBA Free Agency: Parity makes a return

NBA Free Agency: Parity Makes a Return

By GARY LUKENS Staff Writer

What a summer for professional basketball. The free agency had every bit of potential to completely shift the landscape of the NBA, and it did not disappoint in the slightest. Just about every major player who could have moved teams, did so. Another change occurred with the NBA season now tipping off in late October.

A who’s who of NBA players such as Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Anthony Davis, Kemba Walker, Kyrie Irving, Paul George, Russel Westbrook, and many more excellent players, shows that plenty of players will have new homes at the beginning of the season. Within the single dribble of a basketball, juggernauts have fallen, contenders have risen, and the balance of the NBA has fallen back into place. Now, sights are set on the Western Conference.

The city of Los Angeles has the two teams who appear to have had the best fate in free agency: the Clippers and the Lakers. Long gone are the days of the Clippers being the little brother team as they pulled the best free agent of the summer, Leonard. Nothing else needs to be said about this man, he is fresh off an NBA Finals MVP after defeating Golden State. The whole NBA world sat and waited for Leonard to make his decision, until it was announced that he chose the LA Clippers.

The same night, it was announced that the Thunder and Clippers worked out a deal to send Paul George to LAC. Within a matter of hours, the Clippers went from a borderline playoff team, to one of the most feared teams in the NBA. The Paul George trade ultimately lead to Russell Westbrook wanting out, and they shipped him to Houston for Chris Paul.

That leaves us with the Lakers. In conversations with the Pelicans all season about trading Anthony Davis, they were finally able to make that deal happen during the summer. The Lakers missed out on Leonard, but were still able to put together a miryad of solid role players around Lebron James and Davis. Including Quinn Cook, Caldwell-Pope, Javale McGee, Danny Green, DeMarcus Cousins and Jared Dudley.

The big losers in this conference were undoubtedly the Warriors. They lost Kevin Durant who has been a clear cut number two player in the NBA for the past 6 seasons. Even with missing the next season due to a torn achilles, his presence in the bay will be missed for years to come. They were, however, able to somewhat heal from this loss by re-signing Klay Thompson for 5 years and working out a deal to bring DeAngelo Russell to the bay area.

The door is finally open in the NBA, and, as a fan, I personally cannot wait to see what happens over the next season.