What to Know About the New NBA Season (April 19-29)
The new season is just around the corner and as we continue on our countdown to the first game, we take a look at some of the many storylines to watch as spring arrives.
This year’s NBA is a lot of things. It’s a crazy new system with a revamped playoff format, a revamped All-Star package, and a new coach in L.A. as it will be the first time in nearly two decades that they do not hold a first-round series. What you won’t see (pun intended) in this new-fangled format is another team making their second straight Finals appearance and hoping for a third straight trip to face the eventual champion Miami Heat, who have the biggest star in franchise history, LeBron James. The new-look Miami is poised to contend for a championship, but they will have to rely on the league’s elite, from LeBron to Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade, to stay in the competition. The new L.A. Clippers will be a team unlike anything we’ve seen since the days of Showtime’s Showtime Lakers.
We’re also about to begin a new era of player movement with one of the most important free agent signings ever announced. While the free agent market is filled with possibilities, most of which come with high expectations, the new NBA is only getting started and will be even more unpredictable. There’s a ton of money on the table with the biggest names such as Kevin Durant, LeBron Jr. and Jimmy Butler all reportedly being targets. Players could also make big money without having their name attached to a massive contract. For example, Carmelo Anthony will be free to sign a deal as low as four years and $50 million, meaning if he were to hit that price with the Heat this summer and he had decided he didn’t want to sign with the Clippers, it would cost them his services in free agency.
This new era of free agency comes with some big decisions, but also some unknowns. With the new NBA draft being held July 28, there will be many different options for teams entering the league in the coming months, so there is