LeBron James is in LA, DeMarcus Cousins is in Golden State, and Paul George is back in Oklahoma City, but that doesn’t mean the NBA landscape is settled. Far from it in fact.
There are plenty of contending teams like the Rockets, Celtics, and 76ers that can still make moves that could help them unseat the Warriors at the top of The Association.
In Houston, the Rockets have to make sure they can bring restricted free agent Clint Capela back into the fold. That move will likely push them over the luxury tax threshold, but they will still have some room to bring in additional help, especially if they can jettison Ryan Anderson and the $40 million that’s remaining on his contract.
In Boston, the Celtics are facing a similar situation with restricted free agent Marcus Smart. Retaining Smart will put Boston into the luxury tax but, since they have a number of other tradeable assets (Terry Rozier, Marcus Morris, draft picks), keeping the RFA guard in town won’t tie the hands of general manager Danny Ainge. Expect the Celtics to bring in additional help whether they re-sign Smart or not.
Finally, in Philadelphia, the Sixers have already been active in retaining free agent JJ Redick on a one year, $12-13 million pact and adding Wilson Chandler to their squad via a trade with the Nuggets. Those moves have put Philly up against the salary cap, but if they keep their team as is, they’ll have $36 million to spend next year once contracts come off the books. Given that projected surplus, they may elect to stand pat for the most part.
Whatever happens with Kawhi Leonard could also impact what these contenders, as well as the rest of the NBA, decide to do this offseason.
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