Kawhi Leonard is a Los Angeles Clipper, and in a bit of a surprise twist, he brought an All-Star running mate with him. Prior to Leonard’s decision to head home getting announced, the Clippers pulled off a trade to acquire fellow SoCal native Paul George, too. Even by the most optimistic of projections, no one saw this sort of a haul for the team frequently viewed as the other inhabitants of Staples Center.
But something like this has wide-ranging effects, even for the teams that were not jostling to acquire Leonard’s services. While the Los Angeles Lakers, Toronto Raptors, and Oklahoma City Thunder were most obviously impacted by all of this, we identified three winners and losers in the aftermath of all of this.
WINNERS
Philadelphia 76ers
With Kawhi Leonard and the four bounces from hell exiting stage left, there is room for a new King in the East. Enter the remade Philadelphia 76ers, who essentially traded Jimmy Butler for Al Horford and Josh Richardson earlier this week. In addition to his veteran leadership, Horford boasts the title as one of the best Giannis Antetokounmpo defenders in the NBA, a skill that will seemingly inevitably come in handy down the line. With the Sixers on what looks like a collision course with the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference, adding Horford’s defense may prove to be an X-Factor.
Either way, the Sixers find themselves firmly in the East’s top tier alongside Milwaukee in what appears to be a two-team race for the 2019-20 season, sleeping giant Brooklyn waiting for 2021 to raise hell.
Milwaukee Bucks
Even though the Sixers come out of the Kawhi decision smelling like roses, don’t discount last season’s one seed in the East. Milwaukee’s six-game playoff loss to Toronto is sure to leave a sour taste in the mouth of the NBA MVP. The Bucks are largely getting the band back together and, despite losing Malcolm Brogdon to Indiana, Wes Matthews appears to be a serviceable replacement at a steep discount. As Giannis continues to get better, the Bucks will enter the season as worthy favorites to triumph in the East next season.
Teams with remaining cap space
Even though the blockbuster Paul George trade took some money off Oklahoma City’s books for next season, the Thunder remain $11.5 million over the Luxury Tax line. With rumors swirling prior to the George trade that the team wanted to duck the tax this season, it’s hard to believe that owner Clay Bennett will be willing to fork over additional cash for a reboot of the 2016-17 squad.
Enter teams like the Atlanta Hawks (~$14 million) and the Dallas Mavericks (~$14.5 million), both of whom have retained significant cap space. Both teams look to be in prime position to extract an asset from the Thunder as they likely look to get under the tax this year. Perhaps one of those teams could be a willing partner in a three-team Russell Westbrook deal that would officially usher in the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander era in Oklahoma City.
LOSERS
Western Conference teams without elite forwards
Despite having an excellent offseason, the Utah Jazz have been put on the hot seat following Kawhi’s decision. Mike Conley and Bojan Bogdanovic are both solid additions and should vault the Jazz near the top of the Western Conference in next year’s regular season. But Utah still lacks elite wing players, a weakness that will be tested by twin terrors Kawhi Leonard and Paul George on both ends.
Ditto for the Denver Nuggets, who were dealt a further blow with 2018 first-round pick Michael Porter Jr. suffering a knee injury on the eve of Las Vegas Summer League, although he is expected to be fine. The Nuggets look poised to build on last year’s success story while simultaneously appearing to have no answer for the George/Leonard duo when the games really count.
Going further down the Western Conference, you can say the same about other potential sleeper teams. Portland’s best wing defender, Maurice Harkless, last season will now suit up for the Clippers. Even Houston, which looks poised to compete at the highest levels next year, will have to reckon with its lack of wing depth after failing to secure Jimmy Butler in free agency via sign-and-trade.
George and Leonard will put pressure on all of their Western Conference competitors on both ends of the floor. While many of these teams have also geared up for a run at what looks like the most hotly contested Larry O’Brien Trophy in years, they are now staring down the barrel at the proposition of stopping two of the NBA’s best wing players when the games matter most.
Dallas Mavericks
While the Mavs have the potential to emerge as a winner on one hand, they are currently looking down the barrel at a sub-par offseason. Armed with significant cap space on July 1, Dallas lost out on the big fish before setting its sights on Danny Green. But with Leonard spurning the Lakers to play down the hall, LeBron James and Co. had plenty of extra cash to reel in the newly-minted NBA Champion shooting guard.
Green signing with the Lakers left Dallas high and dry, with only Seth Curry and Delon Wright to show for their troubles. While Curry is an intriguing fit next to Doncic because of his shooting prowess and Wright is a very solid player, neither are anywhere near the impact signing to vault the Luka-Kristaps core into the Western Conference elite. And with both Porzingis and Dorian Finney-Smith raking in new deals this offseason, Dallas’ cap space is set to expire without being put to good use.
Whichever team takes on Russell Westbrook
Westbrook is coming off what might be considered the worst season of his career, one that saw him post a 50.1 True Shooting Percentage, his worst since 2009-10. The former MVP has four years and $171 million remaining on his contract, including a $47 million player option in his age 34 season that he is almost certain to pick up.
On the floor, an aging Westbrook is a tenuous fit next to any high level star. He has posted a 30 percent usage rate or higher for each of the last nine seasons, including a 30.9 percent usage rate as he “deferred” to George last year. While he remains a threat in transition, Westbrook’s 33 percent shooting from midrange and 29 percent shooting from downtown loom large for any team looking to build an elite offense.
As mentioned above, it feels all but inevitable that Sam Presti will capitalize on his seven draft pick haul by looking to engage in a full rebuild in Oklahoma City. Trading Westbrook would be the largest step down that path. Whatever contender attempts to take him on will have to navigate choppy waters trying to build a successful team given the size of his contract and his on-court play.
