This was as crazy an NBA offseason as we’ve seen in recent memory, with so many stars getting traded, the No. 1 overall pick getting dealt, and big free agency signings. There were a lot of moving parts this summer, with most every contender outside Golden State trying to load up with more talent to at least keep pace with the recently formed-juggernaut in Oakland.
With the regular season tipping off on Tuesday night, we’ll finally begin to see the impact of those huge trades, signings, and top draft picks. The first two games of the season feature three teams that made significant moves, with the Cavs, Celtics, and Rockets all shaking up their rosters with significant moves to chase the Warriors and Houston gets the first chance at measuring themselves against the champs.
Ahead of those games and the rest of the season openers across the league this week, we’re ranking the 10 most important players that will be debuting with a new team, from rookies to veterans that moved in free agency or in trades. As for how we define “importance,” it’s not necessarily making that team a championship contender, but how critical they’ll be to that team accomplishing their goals — whether that’s resetting a franchise’s course for the future, reaching the playoffs, making a leap into a top-4 seed, or being a title contender.
10. Lonzo Ball, Lakers (Draft) and 10. Dennis Smith, Jr., Mavericks (Draft)
The Lakers are banking on their rookie point guard being their new franchise player, garnering comparisons from some in the organization to Magic Johnson. There’s no shortage of expectations being placed on the 19-year-old, most notably those coming from his father, but it’s clear that he’s the player the Lakers think needs to be a foundational piece going into a huge free agency summer in 2018. Ball and Brandon Ingram are their two best young pieces and both need to show something in 2017-18 if the Lakers are going to have a chance to pry Paul George and/or LeBron James out of their current situations to Los Angeles, as the Lakers hope to do. The Lakers aren’t going to be good this year, but if Lonzo develops ahead of the curve for a rookie NBA point guard, this will be a successful season in L.A.
It’s a similar story in Dallas, as the Mavs are transitioning out of the Dirk Nowitzki era, as he enters his 20th season in the NBA, and they will need a franchise player to take his place in the very near future. When Dallas got the ninth pick in this year’s draft, they probably weren’t expecting to actually find that guy, but they may have in Dennis Smith Jr. The young point guard out of NC State dominated Summer League and comes into the season as one of the three favorites to win Rookie of the Year. Whether he’s a star level player or not remains to be seen, but if he can live up to what have become suddenly very high expectations, the Mavs will have accelerated their rebuild with the steal of the draft.
9. Carmelo Anthony, Thunder (Trade via Knicks)
The Knicks were finally able to trade Carmelo Anthony in September, shipping him off to Oklahoma City to join Russell Westbrook and Paul George. While Anthony will be important for the Thunder, he lands this early on the list because he will be the third option for OKC. This could be a good thing for Anthony, who’s become a much improved spot-up shooter recently and if he embraces not having to carry the load offensively he could have his most efficient season offensively in years. That would be ideal for the Thunder, but their chances of challenging for the No. 2 spot in the West will be far more about Paul George than Carmelo Anthony.
8. Paul Millsap, Nuggets (Free Agency)
Millsap was, unsurprisingly, the forgotten man in free agency this summer. He quietly left Atlanta and signed in Denver with the Nuggets to give them a fantastic offensive frontcourt tandem with he and Nikola Jokic. Millsap has long been an underrated player in the NBA and his signing makes the Nuggets a very real playoff contender in the extremely competitive West. The race for the final spots in the playoffs in the West is going to be one of the most interesting storylines in the NBA this season, with up to 11 teams having legitimate playoff hopes. The Nuggets are in that group that will be scrapping to make the playoffs, and while there are some questions about the backcourt, that frontcourt pairing could be as good as there is in the NBA on the offensive side of the ball. If the Nuggets make the playoffs, Millsap’s massive deal will have been worth it.
7. Ben Simmons, 76ers (2016 Draft)
Top overall pick Markelle Fultz will start the season coming off the bench for Philadelphia, because they can have that luxury thanks to the presence of Ben Simmons, also entering his “rookie” season after sitting out last year with a foot injury. The Sixers’ goal this season is to make the playoffs. The only way they do that is, first and foremost, by getting a full, healthy season out of Joel Embiid and secondly having Ben Simmons be the guy everyone said he would be entering last year’s draft. Simmons has shown flashes in the preseason of being that kind of a monster. Philadelphia needs him to play well, especially if they’re bringing Fultz along a bit slowly as he deals with a shoulder issue and some shooting woes, to make the massive leap from top of the lottery to the playoffs.
6. Gordon Hayward, Celtics (Free Agency)
Hayward left Utah this summer to join the Celtics and former college coach Brad Stevens. At the time, Hayward was joining a team with tons of continuity and figured he would slot in and give them some added punch they desperately needed after struggling against the Cavs in the postseason. Then August happened, and suddenly Hayward isn’t the most important new addition on his team and the cast of characters around him looks wildly different than when he signed in July. While Kyrie Irving (who we’ll get to shortly) is in town now, Hayward still is critical for the Celtics’ success. Boston’s gone all-in on a Finals run, but they’ve shed depth in favor of star power to do it. Hayward will need to be a force on the wing to make that gamble work out in the Celtics’ favor, even if so much focus is on Irving.
5. Isaiah Thomas, Cavaliers (Trade via Celtics)
We don’t even know when Thomas will return to the court or how healthy he will be, but that’s part of what makes him so important. The Cavs will be fine in the regular season, simply because they have the best player in the world in LeBron James and an All-Star caliber player in Kevin Love. However, the point guard rotation is hinging on veterans Derrick Rose and Dwyane Wade until Thomas can get back, which isn’t a viable option come the playoffs. Thomas was amazing last year and I wouldn’t expect him to be that same guy, but the Cavs desperately need his shooting and scoring ability in the lineup. If Cleveland is going to reach the Finals again out of the East, Thomas has to play and give them offensive punch from the backcourt, even if he’s not the same player he was a year ago.
4. Chris Paul, Rockets (Trade via Clippers)
Now we’re into the part where we split hairs. Chris Paul getting traded to the Rockets was a shocker, and his addition makes Houston a formidable opponent because they now have two of the most gifted offensive guards in the NBA side-by-side, with each bringing something a little different to the table. Paul’s greatest gift is his ability to make auxiliary players around him much better offensively, which bodes well for the likes of Clint Capela, Ryan Anderson and others the Rockets need to take a step forward this season.
Where Harden is an underrated passer and ran the offense beautifully a year ago, with Paul on board the Rockets will look even better on that end. The question in terms of impact is how much more can Houston really get out of their backcourt in terms of production and do they have enough elsewhere to really compete. Paul and Harden will each have to make some sacrifices to make their partnership work, which is why Paul isn’t quite as important as some of the other stars that moved this summer.
3. Jimmy Butler, Timberwolves (Trade via Bulls)
The Timberwolves are going to be extremely fun to watch this season. They also might be a really good team that challenges for a top-4 spot in the West. The addition of Jimmy Butler is a big reason for both of those things, as Minnesota absolutely stole Butler from the Bulls this summer. With Karl-Anthony Towns emerging as one of the NBA’s best big men, the Wolves were desperate for an upgrade on the wing and landed Butler to slot in alongside Andrew Wiggins. Last year, Butler had a career-year becoming a more prolific and more efficient scorer. Minnesota, with Butler and Towns at the helm, should be a top-10 offense in the NBA. If the defense comes around, which Butler will help as well both as a strong defender and knowing Thibs’ system, this will be a force in the West. The best part is, unlike Paul and George, Butler is guaranteed to be around another year to grow with this young core.
2. Paul George, Thunder (Trade via Pacers)
The Paul George trade has already worked out for the Thunder. Trading for George (and Anthony) delivered the message to Russell Westbrook that the organization was committed to winning and that was enough to convince him to sign his five-year extension. If George walks this summer, that alone was worth shipping of Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis. However, one would figure the Thunder will make some noise in the West this season and George’s addition makes them the favorite to take down the second spot in the West.
We know how dangerous Russell Westbrook is, whether alone or with a star alongside on the wing, but we know the team is much better when Westbrook has a strong partner and doesn’t have to carry the team himself. George isn’t Kevin Durant, but he’s become a very good three-point shooter and has a variety of offensive skills, while also being a plus-defender. The only reason George isn’t in the top spot here is that he could bounce next summer, but for at least one year the Thunder will have one of the league’s best and most entertaining teams in the NBA.
1. Kyrie Irving, Celtics (Trade via Cavaliers)
The Celtics held onto their prized future assets for the past two or three years, passing on possible star acquisitions in favor of leaning on future potential, but finally pulled the trigger on a deal sending next year’s Brooklyn pick to the Cavs in order to land Irving. The trade may have shifted the balance of power in the East, but we won’t know that until June when the Finals start. What we do know is the Celtics are banking on it working and, more than any other star move this offseason, there’s an unknown in play with Irving and the Celtics.
Irving is a tremendous offensive talent, of that there is no doubt. His ability to score is as good as any point guard in the NBA, and Cleveland doesn’t have a championship without him. However, part of why Irving requested a trade was to test himself as the star somewhere, without LeBron James serving as his security blanket. Every other star in the top four here has proven himself in that capacity except for Irving, which makes him and the Celtics so intriguing this year. We know Irving’s weaknesses on defense and we know the knocks against him as a sometimes unwilling facilitator, but we don’t know how he’ll handle being the guy and neither does he. It’s why he wanted the trade.
Now he has that chance and, most interestingly, he has the chance to prove himself by taking down his former team and former mentor in James. In the West, it feels like an exercise in futility to try and make the Finals over Golden State and the arms race this summer was to be the team best equipped to make them sweat in a series. In the East, the Celtics have a real chance to slay their conference’s giant in LeBron, and it will be up to his former teammate to make it happen.
