Basketball boy, starting to shine from the slam dunk

During the offseason, a blockbuster deal shocked the entire league - Durant and Irving joined the Nets.

Although the Nets performed well last season and finally made it to the playoffs, they were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.

This gave the team's management hope, but also some reluctance.

So they decided to build a championship-qualified lineup at all costs, and signing Durant and Irving was the key.

Shortly after the free agent market opened, Kevin Durant signed a 4-year, $1.64 million contract with the Nets. Kyrie Irving then chose to leave the Celtics and signed a 4-year, $1.42 million contract with the Nets.

This means that there are two less big fish in the free agent market.

As the two joined the Nets, some changes naturally occurred in their previous teams.

For example, the Warriors, where Durant was previously, acquired Nets player D'Angelo Russell, Trevon Graham and Shabazz Napier through the Durant trade. The Warriors then sent Napier and Graham, as well as some cash, to the Minnesota Timberwolves, and Andre Iguodala and a future first-round draft pick to the Memphis Grizzlies...

In addition, the Warriors announced contract extensions with Draymond Green and Klay Thompson.

After a series of changes, the Warriors' lineup has also undergone significant changes.

On the other hand, with the departure of Kyrie Irving, the Celtics began to look for an All-Star player again. They found Kemba Walker, who then announced that he had signed a four-year, $4 million contract with the Celtics.

In addition to these two, Jimmy Butler signed a four-year, $4 million contract with the Heat.

His original team, the Philadelphia 76ers, will get Josh Richardson from the Heat.

In addition, the Mavericks will get Kelly Olynyk and Derrick Jones from the Heat, who are also part of the Butler deal.

Al Horford signed a four-year, $76 million contract with the Philadelphia 4ers.

Khris Middleton re-signs with the Bucks for five years and $5 million.

Kristaps Porzingis chose to leave the New York Knicks and sign a five-year, $5 million contract with the Dallas Mavericks.

Nikola Vucevic signs a four-year, $4 million contract with the Magic.

Jamal Murray re-signs with the Denver Nuggets for five years and $5 million.

Harrison Barnes signed a four-year, $4 million contract with the Kings.

Marc Gasol chooses to exercise his player option and stay with the Raptors...

A series of trades and signings have brought about some changes in the lineups of NBA teams, and the entire free agent trading market is turbulent.

There is no doubt that the NBA's Eastern and Western divisions will change next season, and the strength of each team will also change, and there may even be a reshuffle.

Just when everyone thought that the free agent market would return to calm after this series of transactions, another bombshell news broke.

On July 7, the Thunder announced a deal with the Rockets!

The Rockets sent Chris Paul, first-round picks in 2024 and 2026, and the right to swap first-round picks in 2021 and 2025 in exchange for Thunder star Russell Westbrook.

When the news broke, it immediately caused a sensation.

You know, in the past three seasons, as the Thunder's star player, Westbrook averaged a triple-double. Averaging a triple-double for three consecutive seasons is unprecedented in the entire NBA history.

In the past 18-19 season, although Westbrook's personal data was not as explosive as in the previous two seasons, he also averaged 22.9 points, 10.7 assists, and 11.1 rebounds per game. Who would have thought that he would be traded by the Thunder?

Of course, this may also be Westbrook's own intention.

After all, he has been with the Thunder for so many years, but he has never won a championship. Even after Harden and Durant left one after another, he couldn't even touch the floor of the finals.

For Westbrook today, he has made the All-Star team and won the regular season MVP. What he lacks is a championship ring.

He sees no hope in the Thunder, so he hopes to go to a stronger team that is qualified to compete for the championship.

This is understandable.

It just so happens that Harden's situation on the Rockets is similar to Westbrook's. He has played extremely dazzling personal performances, but he has never been able to touch the floor of the finals.

And the two were once teammates on the Thunder.

So if you think about it carefully, it doesn’t seem difficult to understand why this deal was made. Two former teammates, All-Star level players, both want to win the championship.

The Rockets also need a young and strong superstar like Westbrook to replace the 34-year-old Chris Paul.

As for the Thunder...it's clear they are entering a rebuilding phase.

Because just one day before Westbrook and Paul swapped teams, the Thunder announced that they would trade Paul George to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Siakam, Powell, and draft picks.

After two consecutive big trades, the Thunder no longer have the capital to impact the playoffs, and even if they were to trade for Paul, they would most likely not keep him.

Fortunately, they acquired some young players and draft picks through these two trades, which are the basis for them to complete the reconstruction.

This also involves another transaction.

On the same day that Paul George was traded to the Raptors, Kawhi Leonard announced that he had renewed his contract with the Raptors for three years and $3 million.

Thunder, Rockets, Raptors...

In just two days, the lineups of these three teams have undergone tremendous changes. The Rockets have the star combination of Harden + Westbrook, the Raptors have the star combination of Kawhi Leonard + Paul George, and the Thunder have a bunch of draft picks.

Previously, Durant and Irving joined the Nets, now Paul and Westbrook swapped teams, George and Leonard gathered in Toronto...

Everyone thought that this offseason was already lively enough, but unexpectedly, just one day later, another big news broke.

On July 7, the Clippers announced that they had reached a deal with the Pelicans, sending players such as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Landry Shamet, Tobias Harris, JaVale McGee, and future draft picks to the Pelicans in exchange for Anthony Davis.

This news also caused a sensation.

Everyone knows that James has been urging the Clippers to strengthen and upgrade their roster.

Last season, James was willing to join the Clippers because the Clippers promised him that they would build a team with championship potential. But the result was not realized. Despite James' outstanding personal performance last season, the Clippers only barely made it to the playoffs and were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.

This is obviously not what James wants. After the playoffs, there were reports that James had given the team an ultimatum that if they did not upgrade the lineup this summer, he would request a trade and leave the Clippers.

Of course, this news has not been confirmed.

However, it is obvious that the Clippers need to strengthen their team this summer. However, in the 10 days since the free market opened, the Clippers have not made any moves, which makes people feel disappointed. Could it be that it will be the same as last season?

However, no one expected that the free agent trading market had been open for more than 10 days, and the Clippers suddenly announced such a big news at this time.

Previously, the combinations of Durant + Irving, Harden + Westbrook, and Leonard + George were all very gorgeous, and now the combination of James + Davis can be said to be no worse than the previous three pairs, and may even be stronger than them.

James' strength is self-evident, and Anthony Davis is also one of the league's top inside players.

There is no doubt that the Clippers have completed their lineup upgrade, and the Clippers in the new season are definitely a team worth looking forward to.

"This is crazy, you guys are really crazy."

Clarkson teased Westbrook and George: "Everyone has learned to stick together. Are you afraid that you can't beat us Lakers?"

What you said...How is it possible?

Westbrook and George both rolled their eyes. They would not admit that they chose to stick together because they were afraid of losing to the Lakers.

But in fact, this is the reason.

More than a decade ago, it was not popular for NBA stars to form groups. At that time, the emphasis was on one person, one city, and people believed in leading the team to win the championship on their own.

But with the development of the times, it has become more and more common for stars to form groups. Two giants have become commonplace, and even three or four giants have emerged.

Everyone understands that if you don't stick together, it won't work. Without sticking together, it will be hard to beat those teams with all the stars sticking together.

For example, the Warriors have four All-Star players on their team. How can you compete with them if you don’t join a team?

For example, the Lakers also had three All-Star players before.

Therefore, it has become a common phenomenon for stars to form groups, and it has become the best choice to compete for the championship.

It’s not that everyone wants to take shortcuts, but you can’t win if you don’t work together.

“It’s really lively this year.”

Zhuang Yu couldn't help but sigh.

The NBA is really lively this summer, even more lively than all previous years combined. How many All-Star players are involved in the trades?

So much so that trades of quasi-All-Star players like CJ McCollum are somewhat unsightly and difficult to attract the attention of fans.

But for Zhuang Yu, this made him feel even more interesting.

Now the Warriors' "five-star lineup" has disintegrated. Durant is gone, and Cousins ​​will definitely not stay. It has become the previous combination of Curry + Klay + Green. I don't know what their overall strength will be next season, but at least judging from the star lineup, it is not as good as before.

If other teams remained the same, Zhuang Yu would feel bored.

It seems that everyone is still enterprising.

That’s good, it’s good to be enterprising, it makes life more challenging!