After the Oklahoma City Thunder took the crown winning the 2025 NBA Finals, it was looking like this upcoming offseason might be one for the ages. Although it didn’t quite live up to expectations, it was still a very good offseason. From monumental trades, free agent signings that change a franchise, and draft picks that change an entire franchise’s future, this offseason was packed nonetheless.
We’re going to start right at the beginning where the NBA Finals were taking place where a bombshell was dropped on the NBA right before the final game of the Finals. After months and months of rumors, Kevin Durant was finally traded from the Phoenix Suns to the young, up and coming Houston Rockets who at the end of this offseason look like one of the best teams in the NBA now. The Rockets re-signed their key role players in Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams and they also signed some other key players in free agency such as Dorian Finney-Smith, Clint Capela, and Josh Okogie. They look like a force to be reckoned with this season and in my opinion one of the best teams in the NBA and might give the Thunder a run for their money in the west this season.
Let’s next go to the NBA Draft where the Dallas Mavericks held the number one pick. After stupidly trading away their star player Luka Doncic, they are now being “rewarded” with selecting the top prospect in the world in Duke star Cooper Flagg. Flagg has been perceived over the years as one of the best prospects since LeBron James. The Mavs now form a big three in Dallas with Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving and now Cooper Flagg and when healthy they are one of the more competitive teams in the league.
The Philadelphia 76ers are coming off an all time bad season for their franchise. Their two star players, Paul George and Joel Embiid, were injured all year and thus the 76ers in response were terrible. They were so bad that they were awarded the number three overall pick and selected highly touted prospect VJ Edgecomb. He is looking to be the missing piece that is needed for the 76ers to become a top team in the NBA again.
Damian Lillard is one of the best players to ever play the game of basketball and is featured on the NBA’s very own Top 75 list. He is no doubt one of the best three-point shooters in today’s game. This is why everybody was upset whenever the team he was on, the Milwaukee Bucks, released him from his contract in preparation for Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner to sign with the team. Myles Turner just made the NBA Finals which makes this a very puzzling move for the Pacers. This is after Damian Lillard tore his ACHILLIS early on in the playoffs. After this, Damian Lillard decided to go back home and signed with the team that drafted him in the Portland Trailblazers on a three year deal.
The Boston Celtics are one of the most storied teams in the history of the NBA. They hold a record of 18 NBA championships and were looking to be on pace for another one. There was a pattern in the playoffs where a bunch of star players unfortunately tore their achilles and that happened with the Celtics star player Jayson Tatum. He tore his achilles and sent the Celtics into panic mode. The Celtics earlier this year were sold to new owners and they weren’t willing to pay any extra money to players they didn’t think it was worth it to pay. They traded away key players that won them the NBA championship just 1 year ago in Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday. The Celtics are now looking at a soft reset and looking at this year as a gap year and they hope to get back to their championship pedigree next season.
The NBA is in a weird transition period in my opinion. Guys like LeBron James and Stephen Curry are in their twilight years in the NBA and the NBA is now spending its time on trying to build new stars. The offseason is the perfect opportunity for teams like the Houston Rockets to capitalize on their success and make big moves that push them into championship contention. With these teams like the Dallas Mavericks, the NBA might be in a good place.
