By Juan David Mosos |
Sports Writing (EFE) James Harden, who asked to leave their teams.
And it is that, precisely, the current rest is due to the fact that there are multiple teams making calculations to find formulas to bring Lillard or Harden to their ranks, players until now of the Portland Trail Blazers and the Philadelphia 76ers, respectively.
The team that sounds the most like a destination for Lillard is the Miami Heat, who have seen players who were key to reaching the last Finals such as Gabe Vincent and Max Strus leave in recent days, but trust the experience of Pat Riley to take at the base of Portland.
It is not expected to be an easy deal and could even require other teams to enter the deal, something that is also true of Harden, whose departure from the Philadelphia five-team has the potential to make his destiny a serious contender. championship.
Everything indicates that it is the Los Angeles Clippers who are racking their brains right now to get “La Barba” to reach California and with him manage to conquer a complicated Western Conference.
A fight of colossi
It was the transfer of a stellar Bradley Beal from the Washington Wizards to the Phoenix Suns that once again set the spotlight on the always disputed Western Conference.
Beal’s reunion with Devin Booker and Kevin Durant, under the guidance of 2020 champion coach Frank Vogel, puts pressure on other teams in the West, including recent ring winners Nikola Jokic’s Denver Nuggets.
That is why teams that shone in the past playoffs such as the Los Angeles Lakers or the Golden State Warriors have not waited long to strengthen themselves.
The team led by LeBron James and Anthony Davis renewed fundamental men such as Austin Reaves, D’Angelo Russell or Rui Hachimura and incorporated point guard Gabe Vincent, forward Taurean Prince or center Jaxson Hayes.
Meanwhile, the Warriors bolstered their already robust creation ability with the arrival of veteran Chris Paul, who will join Stephen Curry in seeking his first NBA title.
The dance of the millions of the NBA
Although the new collective agreement that will be in force in the NBA from the 2023-2024 season has resources to limit those franchises that open their wallets wide to assemble their templates, this has not prevented big bets from being placed.
Although the most representative case is that of the Suns of Beal, Booker and Durant, all three with colossal salaries, the teams have not been shy about entering the million-dollar dance since last June 30.
The Dallas Mavericks got Kyrie Irving to stay with Luka Doncic for three more years in exchange for $126 million, while Draymond Green secured a four-year, $100 million contract to continue alongside Curry on the Warriors.
Fred VanVleet, the champion with the Toronto Rapotors in 2019, left the Canadian team after agreeing to $130 million for three years with the Houston Rockets, a record contract for an undrafted player.
In the east, the story is not very different, as the Boston Celtics managed to sign the Latvian Kristaps Porzingis and offered him a two-year extension for 60 million dollars, while the Milwaukee Bucks and the Wizards agreed with Khris Middleton (3 years for 102 million) and Kyle Kuzma (4 years for 102 million), respectively.
Other multi-million dollar renewals and extensions throughout the NBA have been those of Anthony Edwards with the Minnesota Timberwolves (260 million), Domantas Sabonis with the Sacramento Kings (217 million), LaMelo Ball with the Charlotte Hornets (260 million) or Tyrese Haliburton with the Indiana Pacers (260 million), all for five years.
Some unknowns to solve
Doubts must still be cleared as to what the San Antonio Spurs’ bet will be beyond the arrival of the brilliant French rookie Victor Wembanyama, whom they should surround well if they want to aspire to the playoffs.
You will also see the room for maneuver that the champion Nuggets will have, who already saw a key player like Bruce Brown leave.
Another sign that there is still a lot of cloth to be cut in this transfer market is the fact that the Raptors could evaluate whether to continue with the Cameroonian Pascal Siakam or hang the transferable sign on him.