NBA Free Agency 2018: Lakers, Cavs, 76ers Among 5 Teams To Watch This Offseason

Aside from teams swapping picks, there were no major deals made during Thursday’s NBA Draft. It might’ve been the calm before the storm as the basketball world prepares itself for a wild offseason.

Consider this: the league’s two best players (LeBron James and Kevin Durant) are eligible to hit free agency, and arguably the league’s third-best player (Kawhi Leonard) has demanded a trade. A nine-time All-Star (Chris Paul) is seeking a new contract, and a participant in five of the last six All-Star Games (Paul George) could join his third team in as many years.

Here are five teams to watch with the official start of free agency less than 10 days away:

Los Angeles Lakers

No one has a chance to make a splash this offseason like the Lakers. With room under the salary cap to sign two free agents to max contracts, L.A. has their eyes set on both LeBron James and Paul George. The Lakers also have the pieces to make a big trade with young potential stars like Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma on the roster. The San Antonio Spurs might not want to send Kawhi Leonard to the Lakers, but a deal is certainly a possibility since the superstar reportedly only wants to play in Los Angeles beyond next season.

The Lakers have been bad for the last few seasons with an eye on this year’s free agent class. It’s time for them to make a splash and return to relevancy.

Cleveland Cavaliers

LeBron James holds the fate of Cleveland’s future in his hands. The Cavs will be among the favorites to reach the NBA Finals if the league’s best player decided to stay put for another season. If James goes elsewhere, Cleveland will likely be among the worst teams in basketball next season. The Cavs will explore adding another All-Star in hopes of enticing James to stay, though it’s hard to believe they can pull off a significant deal with their assets. Cleveland has reportedly reached out to San Antonio about Leonard.

It would make sense for the Cavs to trade Kevin Love and start a complete rebuild if James leaves. A recent report by ESPN, however, suggests that Cleveland will hold onto their second All-Star, no matter what James does.

San Antonio Spurs

The Spurs don’t want to trade Kawhi Leonard. The organization hopes to repair its relationship with the team’s best player, whom Gregg Popovich indicated might even be better than James when he was last fully healthy. Maybe Leonard will soften his stance on being traded and sign a supermax extension, giving him the NBA’s most lucrative contract.

All of that is probably wishful thinking on the Spurs’ part, and they might soon come to the realization that they can't lose Leonard for nothing in a year. The Boston Celtics can probably offer San Antonio the best trade package, though both L.A. teams and Philadelphia seemingly have a shot to land Leonard this summer.

Philadelphia 76ers

Philadelphia is the best team that has the ability to sign a max free agent. They earned the East’s No.3 seed with their two best players still under 25 years old and would be a sensible landing spot for either James or George. Head coach Brett Brown acknowledged last postseason that the team needs another superstar to become a title contender, so don’t be surprised to see the 76ers make a big trade if they strike out in free agency.

Former No.1 overall pick Markelle Fultz is still a valuable trade piece, despite missing most of last season. Dario Saric or Robert Covington could be included in any deal that might land Philadelphia an All-Star.

Boston Celtics

The Celtics don’t have to make any big moves this season. Boston just came one victory away from reaching the NBA Finals when their two best players were hurt. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t keep your eyes on them and team president Danny Ainge, who has a treasure trove of assets that can potentially be turned into a star player.

No one expected the Celtics to acquire Kyrie Irving this time last year, but that’s exactly what they did later in the offseason. Boston will potentially have four first-round picks in the 2019 NBA Draft, which teams that are looking to make trades will certainly be interested in acquiring.