How Balanced returned to the NBA

I grew up watching a different NBA from most NBA fans. Many fans can remember the early 2000s where the NBA was extremely balance and more than just four teams had a legit chance to win the title. I didn’t get the chance to see the NBA landscape like that, until now. I’ve been blessed to watch great teams like the 2013 Heat, 2014 Spurs, and the 2017 Warriors, but I’ve always wanted to experience a season in which nearly half the league could contend. Well the time has come for me to enjoy that experience.

Before I continue I just want to say thank you to Kawhi Leonard for not signing with the Lakers and returning parity to the league. Props to you.

Now let’s begin.

HOLY CRAP WHAT HAPPENED SATURDAY?!???!??!!?

Thankfully I was still up at 2 AM when the news dropped that Kawhi was signing with the Clippers. I feel bad for everyone who fell asleep and woke up to the news that Paul George, yet again, screwed the Lakers. Sorry Lakers fans (not really) and Thunder fans.

At first I was shocked, because Kawhi going to the Clippers didn’t make sense unless they got a second star. I was also happy he didn’t create a super team in LA by joining Lebron and Anthony Davis on the Lakers. Then it happened. Woj hit us with a second Woj bomb, and announced that Paul George was getting traded to the Clippers.

Twitter went nuts, the internet crashed, and everyone died. I’m not kidding.

First let’s look at the Paul George trade.

The Clippers gave up five unprotected first rounders, two pick swaps, Shai-Gilgeous Alexander, and Danilo Gallinari to get PG.

That’s not that bad considering the Clippers just paired PG with the best player in the world (yeah I said it). The five firsts shouldn’t missed too much until you get into the final two years where the picks could be high. I don’t really care about Gallinari, because he is overpaid for a Thunder team that is about to dive headfirst into a rebuild. He’s underrated and a great trade deadline guy for a contender, but the Thunder don’t need him. SGA is my favorite part of this package for OKC. He’s a great pg with a lot of potential, and I think the Thunder can do a lot of good things by building around him. There’s one thing I really hate about this deal; why didn’t the Thunder get Landry Shamet? He’s was incredible as an off-ball two guard and he’s only 22 years old! Instead of getting a bunch of late first rounders, the Thunder should have gotten Shamet, SGA, and potentially Montrezl Harrell instead of a bunch of first round picks. Get as much young talent as possible from a team loaded with young talent and your rebuild is off to a great start. This trade was a huge victory for the Clippers and a medium well L for the Thunder.

This trade automatically makes the Clippers the best team on paper in the league. Take a look at this roster:

Kawhi Leonard

Paul George

Lou Williams

Patrick Beverly

Ivica Zubac

Montrezl Harrell

Landry Shamet

Maurice Harkless

JaMychal Green

Jerome Robinson

Sindarius Thornwell

Johnathan Motley

The Clippers have NINE guys who can play in a playoff game and not screw up in key moments. That is just insane. I haven’t done any research on this, but this is one of the best rosters, top to bottom, I’ve ever seen.

Not only did these two moves make the Clippers the favorites to win the title, they also added another team to the long list of contenders in the NBA. Nearly half the league are contenders this year. Here they are:

Clippers

Lakers

Bucks

76ers

Jazz

Rockets

Trailblazers

Pacers

Nuggets

Celtics

Warriors

Heat (With Westbrook)

And then there are a lot of really fun teams to watch like the Hawks, Grizzlies, Kings, and Pelicans.

The NBA is going to be so exciting to watch this season and it’s all because Kawhi Leonard said no to the purple and gold.

Thank you Kawhi. Thank you.