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Ten reasons why this was the best NBA offseason ever

Oklahoma City Thunder Paul George Carmelo Anthony Russell Westbrook

The NBA offseason gave us almost as much drama as the playoffs it followed. From the reigning NBA Final MVP showing himself to be petty on social media to Kyrie Irving and LeBron James’ marriage coming to an abrupt end, some will conclude that the summer months were like a soap opera.

We can pretty much say the same thing about player movement. Starting with the Chris Paul trade and culminating in the mega Kyrie Irving for Isaiah Thomas swap, some of the league’s best players were sent packing.

These are among the top-10 reasons this past NBA offseason was the best ever.

LaVar and Lonzo Ball 

Lakers president Magic Johnson doesn't seem too worried about LaVar Ball.

LaVar Ball is annoying. LaVar Ball is loud. And some will definitely conclude that LaVar Ball is sexist. But the father of new Los Angeles Lakers guard Lonzo Ball is nothing if not entertaining. From his multiple appearances on television to an odd display during the 2017 NBA Draft, the older Ball was everywhere and anywhere.

His son, Lonzo, is now the new face of a Lakers franchise that’s being run by Hall of Famer Magic Johnson and former agent Rob Pelinka. It’s definitely a new era of basketball in Hollywood. An era we’re not sure how everything is going to turn out. But the Balls and Magic together in one organization promises to bring us a ton of entertainment.

The pettiness 

This pretty much starts with reigning NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant, who decided to take to social media as a way to respond to critics. He did so while using burner accounts and clashing continually with those who are still bitter over his departure from Oklahoma City. Durant isn’t happy. Durant is a former champion. And really, KD is him. He’ll do him. And he’ll chill.

Speaking of chilling, there wasn’t much of that going on between LeBron James and Kyrie Irving after the latter requested a trade from Cleveland. Both took it to the public forum, with Irving himself seemingly doubling down following the trade. Once considered besties, these two might be the new Durant-Westbrook. They also play to open the season in mid-October. How fun.

The Warriors actually improved 

The Golden State Warriors foot the entire $4 million bill for their championship parade.

With 67-plus wins in each of the past three seasons and two NBA titles during that span, the defending champions actually found a way to improve this offseason. It started with buying a second-round pick the team ultimately used on reigning PAC-12 Defenisve Player of the Year Jordan Bell. Golden State then added sharpshooters Nick Young and Omri Casspi to the mix in free agency.

If that weren’t enough, Golden State found a way to retain Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, David West, Zaza Pachulia and JaVale McGee from last season’s core. It also apparently had conversations about adding the likes of Kyrie Irving, Paul George and Dwyane Wade to the mix. Whew.

One half of the Banana Boat Crew back together

LeBron James and Dwyane Wade are back together after winning four Eastern Conference titles and two NBA championships during their time together with the Miami Heat. This comes after a summer in which it looked like Carmelo Anthony might end up joining one-fourth of his Banana Boat Crew in Cleveland.

It also comes with a completely new backcourt group on the court in Cleveland to help the Cavaliers attempt to win their fourth consecutive Eastern Conference title. Wade joins Isaiah Thomas and former MVP Derrick Rose in forming a potent perimeter trio. The only question here is whether next summer’s Banana Boat excursion will include the Larry O’Brien Trophy.

Chris Paul and James Harden, really?

Two ball-dominant guards on the same team. That’s exactly what we’ll see with the Houston Rockets when they tip-off the 2017-18 regular season against the defending champion Golden State Warriors. It’s most definitely an intriguing thing to look at.

Most NBA teams have attempted to build a bully down low to combat the likes of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson in Oakland. Instead, Houston is attempting to emulate what the Warriors do. Whether that works remains to be seen. But we’ll have an early-season understanding of how the philosophy will play out when Houston opens up in Oakland.

Oklahoma City one-ups Durant with Melo and George

Well, that was fun. Following a summer of rumors suggesting Carmelo Anthony would be traded to the Houston Rockets, he was moved to Oklahoma City after expanding the list of teams he would agree to be dealt to. Now, Melo teams up with reigning NBA MVP Russell Westbrook and the recently acquired Paul George to form a tremendous trio in OKC.

The Thunder couldn’t possibly find an improvement over Durant at small forward after they lost him to the Warriors in free agency. Instead, the team decided to replace him with two of the top-five small forwards in the game, one of which will likely play the four. Talk about a potentially dynamic lineup in Oklahoma City. And in an interesting turn, all three are slated to become free agents next summer. Popcorn, ready. Go.

Joel Embiid and the Sixers

Just because he’s Joel Embiid. Is there another explanation needed here? A dynamic player on the court, Embiid has matched that with an equally witty personality off the court.

He’ll now team up with Ben Simmons, rookie Markelle Fultz, Dario Saric and the recently acquired J.J. Redick to form a potential playoff team in Philadelphia. Even if that doesn’t happen, Embiid and Co. will bring entertaining basketball back to the City of Brotherly Love for the first time since the Answer. Fun times, indeed.

The shocking trades

It started with the Los Angeles Clippers sending Chris Paul to Houston for pretty much the entire Rockets bench and a couple cases of Gatorade. It’s a move that shakes up the Western Conference. It also makes things pretty clear in Los Angeles. The recently extended Blake Griffin is the face of the franchise.

Though, it’s the Kyrie Irving for Isaiah Thomas swap that rally galvanized the Association this summer. Rarely are two of the league’s top-10 players involved in a trade. And when that happens, it usually doesn’t involve two teams that battled it out in the conference finals the previous season.

With Cleveland, Thomas now joins fellow recent acquisitions Derrick Rose, Dwyane Wade and Jae Crowder to form what’s a strong supporting cast behind LeBron James. And with the Celtics, four of their five-men starting lineup will be new with the only holdover being Al Horford. Can Thomas and Gordon Hayward help take this team to the next level?

It doesn’t necessarily end there. Avery Bradley moving on from Boston to the Detroit Pistons was a pretty big move. As were the separate deals that sent Carmelo Anthony and Paul George to team up with Russell Westbrook in Oklahoma City. Heck, Jimmy Butler being traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves could have wide-ranging ramifications out west.

A loaded Western Conference

Sports Illustrated’s Ben Golliver and Rob Mahoney just recently ran a feature focusing on the top-100 players in the NBA heading into the season. A total of nine of the top 10 players and 16 of the top 20 currently reside in the Western Conference. Of those players, Jimmy Butler (Timberwolves) and Paul George (Thunder) moved from the east to the west.

Eight of the 15 teams out west throw out multiple All-Star caliber players in their starting lineup. This includes Warriors and Thunder, both of whom have at least three players of that ilk. Talk about what promises to be a fun and entertaining regular season before an even funner and more entertaining playoff slate.

China Klay 

China Klay Thompson is great. He’s much better than the usually reserved American Klay Thompson. Maybe it was something on the flight east that Thompson drank, but he was most definitely on one during what was seemingly a summer-long vacation to China.

Whether it was Thompson dancing the night away in a club or failing hilariously attempting to dunk, he entertained the Chinese in a way few before him has. And for us in the states, it really was a sight to behold. We’re just hoping this somehow becomes an annual thing.

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