Chris Paul decided to leave the Los Angeles Clippers for the Houston Rockets to ensure he is in contention for an NBA championship before father time catches up to him. There was a significant possibility that Paul would never have won a title with the Clippers. As a consequence of Paul's departure, the Clippers resigned injury prone all-star Blake Griffin to a five-year deal worth $173 million as the Clippers would rather have an injury prone star player than end up completely irrelevant in the NBA.
The Clippers are not the only team to lose a star
Howard Beck of The Bleacher Report mentioned that in Indianapolis, Paul George was traded by the Pacers for a very little return as the alternative was letting him walk next year in free agency. Meanwhile, in Oklahoma, the chance of obtaining Paul George was an offer they could not refuse. Despite the Thunder being well aware that George may leave at the end of next season. The Boston Celtics are the new home for Gordon Hayward while fellow all Stars Paul Millsap and Jimmy Butler have also found new homes in Denver and Minnesota respectively. There are still many Allstars on the trading block headlined by LaMarcus Aldridge, Kevin Love and Carmelo Anthony.
Teams across the league, are trying every trick in the book to sign the biggest names on the market. Top players in the association will call a new team home this upcoming season, and the eastern conference is becoming less competitive by the second. This scenario is the landscape of NBA free agency now. There have been many questionable moves in the offseasons of the past but never filled with this much controversy.
The Atlanta Hawks after many seasons of mediocrity finally decided to gut their roster by saying goodbye to both Dwight Howard and Paul Millsap, the Baltimore Sun informed us. The Chicago Bulls and the Indiana Pacers farewelled the best player on their teams by trading Jimmy Butler to the Minnesota Timberwolves and Paul George to the Oklahoma City Thunder respectively.
Moreover, off season the Sacramento Kings seem to be in a win-now-mode as they add veteran presences in the form of Zach Randolph and George Hill.
This league is about taking risks
Every decision made by NBA General Managers always weigh up all the possible risks involved. Paul George has only one year left on his contract and it will take a miraculous pitch by the Oklahoma City Thunder to persuade him to stay in Oklahoma. For the Chicago Bulls, they are banking on the fact that this rebuilding process will provide more results than they would have achieved in the future with Jimmy Butler. Chris Paul is gambling on his new partner in crime with James Harden. The Houston Rockets, who despite finishing the season with 55 wins in the 2016-17 NBA season, decided to trade a first round pick and four key rotation players to the Los Angeles Clippers.
They believe that by making this move, they are closer to stopping the Golden State Warriors' reign of the Western Conference of the NBA.
These moves might cause heartbreak and pain for some NBA fans, but the constant rate of transactions that occur make the offseason the most engaging it has ever been. In the 2018 NBA offseason, Russel Westbrook will hit the open market along with him will be fellow all-stars Isiah Thomas, LaMarcus Aldridge, Carmelo Anthony, DeMarcus Cousin, Chris Paul, LeBron James and Paul George. This is only the beginning of what will be an exciting NBA offseason.
