NBA teams can start officially signing players to offer sheets on 6 July. However, management groups have been informally negotiating with players since the moment the Toronto Raptors hoisted the Larry O'Brien trophy a few weeks ago.
It is also worth mentioning that the Raptors beat a certain team who STILL is the only in NBA history to blow a 3-1 lead en route to losing the Finals.
Every year really since the Boston Celtics recruited Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to join up with Paul Pierce in 2007, the eyes of the basketball world every summer are who is going to be the next city to boast a super team.
We saw it in Oakland the past five years, we saw it in Cleveland for most of the same period, we saw it in Miami, and now we get it in probably the most obscure market in the league.
Here it is certainly a good thing that the logo, colors, and uniforms for the Brooklyn Nets are the most boring in all of sports. This is a microcosm of why if you reside anywhere outside of a city with a championship contender you really have no care for the NBA anymore.
Kyrie Irving breaks up Cleveland's run that should have resulted in at least one additional championship, then has one of the worst seasons of his career this past in Boston. Irving paired up with Gordon Hayward, on top of the Celtics' plethora of young talent. Boston did not make the Finals either of Irving's seasons there, and he was hurt for the entire Eastern Conference Final that the Cavaliers won in 2017.
Kevin Durant is another story. Already one of the three best players in the NBA, Durant became the definition of copping out when he left Oklahoma City for Golden State after the 2016 West Finals. Durant would win back-to-back titles with the Warriors the next two years, earning Finals MVP honors both times.
Now Durant is looking to gravy-train another title in Brooklyn with Irving. The issue is that currently the Nets have seven unsigned free agents on their roster. Both are signing for four years (Irving $142 million, Durant $164 million), but Durant we all know likely will not even play the 2019-2020 season due to his torn Achilles.
Also with DeAndre Jordan reportedly signing with Brooklyn (the terms of his deal have not yet been disclosed), there is a lot to work with at Barclays Center. This is more of a throw-in signing than a new three-headed monster.
The two big signings deserve each other probably more than any other in the league right now. One claims to be an alpha dog, but has developed a quick history of joining up with other players that have surpassed him in the pecking order in the top-30 league-wide. The other is one of said top-30, but has mood swings off the court that would make even a high school student think he's being overly-dramatic.
I still honestly believe blowing a 3-1 lead in those 2016 West Finals broke Kevin Durant emotionally.
This is why the NBA during the regular season is essentially unwatchable. The league has basically broken down to a 5-on-5 version of the Big3 League, with a few extra guys on the court. Most nights your best three could beat their entire five.
Either way, the Nets are not going to be finishing dead last in average attendance next season.
Just remember Brooklyn that you are still looking up at Giannis in the East, regardless of where Kawhi signs.
-JC24