By Alvin Halimwidjaya
As soon as the Golden State Warriors lifted the Larry O’Brien trophy, I was counting the days until the start of the next NBA season (in case you were wondering, it’s Oct. 17, and I could not be more excited). However, the NBA offseason has recently built up the reputation of being even more exciting than the games themselves. In an age where superteams dominate the conversation and the disparity in quality grows larger, fans are starting to look towards the formation of these juggernauts over the summer. Blockbuster trades and free agency signings have become the bread and butter of sports media, and reporters like the infamous Adrian Wojnarowski have built their livelihood on breaking these transactions to the public.
Consequently, the frame of reference for what an NBA offseason should look like has simply become irrelevant. From Lebron James and Chris Bosh moving to Miami in 2010 to Kevin Durant signing with the Warriors last summer, the NBA has trended towards an age where fans have no idea what’s going on, resulting in jerseys burning and Twitter periodically breaking.
One of the crazier offseason stories in recent memory came in the summer of 2015. Deandre Jordan had verbally agreed to leave the Los Angeles Clippers and join the Dallas Mavericks; though he couldn’t officially sign until July 1, there seemed to be no doubt that Jordan was entering a new stage of his career. That is, until a bunch of his teammates flew to his house and seemingly locked him inside to get him to stay with the Clippers. The fact that forward Blake Griffin was later revealed to be purposely fueling the drama by tweeting a photo of a chair blocking a door is honestly the most ridiculous thing about this entire affair.
This summer was no different, as it continued to raise the standard on how wild an NBA offseason can be. Paul George and Jimmy Butler were both heavily involved in respective trade talks with the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers. Instead, the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Minnesota Timberwolves, respectively, came out of nowhere to snatch up the two premier free agents on the market. Clippers point guard Chris Paul ran to Houston to team up with the Rockets, who now have an elite playmaker to pair with the offensive, heavily-bearded extraordinaire James Harden. Gordon Hayward left the Utah Jazz to join Isaiah Thomas and the Boston Celtics after a brief social media battle between Jazz center Rudy Gobert and Thomas. And we haven’t even gotten to the Knicks’ trash fire of an offseason, as they fired Phil Jackson after continuing to sacrifice everyone in New York except Ron Baker on the trading block. The new management continued with the brilliant idea of signing guard Tim Hardaway Jr. to a $71 million deal after trading him away two years ago.
However, as the summer was winding down and we were ready to start making predictions on who the Warriors would demolish in next year’s Finals, guard Kyrie Irving grabbed the metaphorical microphone Kanye-at-the-2008-VMAs-style and demanded a trade from the Cavs who, in case you forgot, have the best player in the world, Lebron James. Irving wanted to blaze his own trail and find a new team to lead on his own, as well as escape the giant shadow a top-five all-time player casts.
They ended up trading him to the Celtics for Isaiah Thomas, which provided every Beantown fan with the biggest moral dilemma they’ve faced since they first decided to support the Patriots. It finally came through after a brief moment of panic where both teams almost rescinded the trade, which would have made for an incredibly awkward situation. What happens if Isaiah Thomas runs into Tom Brady? Or worse, Mark Wahlberg? The only thing that could make the situation more uncomfortable is if they were to play each other on opening day (Hint: that is literally the first matchup of the 2017-18 NBA season).
These are all just the important parts of the NBA season. If I were to add all the meme-worthy moments NBA players have produced this summer, I could fill up the entire back page, much to the chagrin of my sports editor John Francis McLoone (think about it, Jack). Klay Thompson tried and horribly missed a 360 dunk, while Carmelo Anthony is somehow still on the Knicks and now only an elite offensive talent when he’s wearing a hoodie. The fact that the offseason keeps me alive and actively excited for the upcoming season is one of the best things about the NBA, and what sets it apart from other leagues. Give me the NBA offseason in a TV series, and I would take it over every “Bachelor”-related series every single day for the rest of my life.
