Some Big Names Moved This NBA Offseason, Raising Some Big Questions

Mouths were agape after a number of moves across the National Basketball Association this offseason.

At a time when clubs are trying to improve their rosters, some franchises are turning heads with decisions worthy of surprise-face emojis. Here are some of the more puzzling moves:

Houston Adds Durant

The Houston Rockets blasted out of the gates just after the NBA Draft, trading for the Phoenix Suns’ Kevin Durant to add a superstar shooter to a team that lacked a big-time scorer and finisher.

The Rockets shipped out shooter Jalen Green and veteran guard Dillon Brooks for Durant, a player who popped his Achilles in Game 5 of the 2019 Finals, turns 37 on Sept. 29, and has not been able to take over games and lift his teams during the postseason in recent years.

Many pundits have said this move will provide the boost the Rockets need to land a championship. But tossing too many eggs into one basket is a risky proposition, especially with the catastrophic injuries that occurred to key players during the most recent playoffs.

Durant is a strong scorer whose overall season was one of the best of his career, which began in the 2007–2008 campaign. But the questions will come when he is asked to produce against the best in the West during playoff time.

Clippers Get Beal and Paul

The injury-plagued Bradley Beal is off to be a Clipper in the wonderful world of Los Angeles. But the shooting guard has played in all 82 games only twice since entering the league in the 2012–2013 season. His 13 seasons have seen him play in as few as 40 games (in 2021–2022), and seven times he appeared in fewer than 59 games.

His talent was undeniable early on with the Washington Wizards, but his ability to perform in the playoffs and carry a team has drawn criticism.

He joins a club whose oft-injured superstar forward Kawhi Leonard was available last season for the playoffs, but his talent wasn’t enough to overcome Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the postseason as L.A. bowed out yet again.

The franchise has never advanced beyond the Western Conference semifinals since it moved to L.A. for the 1989–1990 season.

A limping Beal, teaming with the usually hobbled Leonard and the walking offensive system known as James Harden, might look good on paper, but other than Leonard, the defensive acuity is lacking.

And the Clips continued making head-shaking news by recently adding 40-year-old Chris Paul for what figures to be his 21st and final season. Paul can certainly add depth and perhaps help out the coaching staff, but he’s most likely not a difference-maker when the postseason rolls around.

Like Nothing Ever Happened

Palms went skyward on July 17 when the Milwaukee Bucks announced star Damian Lillard was departing the organization via a buyout. The 35-year-old ditched the Trail Blazers prior to the 2023–2024 season to join a contending Bucks team after toiling in Portland for 11 seasons.

He was chasing a ring that seemed to keep rolling away from him, the final devastating moment last season coming when Lillard ruptured his Achilles in the playoffs during a first-round matchup against the Indiana Pacers.

Flash ahead to July 17, when he signed up to play for the Portland team he had abandoned—essentially saying he was leaving because he didn’t see a path to a title going through Portland—and now he’s back, like nothing ever happened.

It’s difficult to decide what’s more shocking in this move, the three-year, $42 million deal for a player who’s not available next season, the no-trade clause, or the fact that the Bucks are reportedly going to have to fork up about $22.5 million for Lillard each season over the next five years.

Palms to the sky.

Lillard is the biggest winner, even though his career numbers dropped as a member of the Bucks. He only needs to rehab on the sidelines while the Blazers try to work the roster into a contender. Neither side knows what it has, but Lillard certainly has 42 million reasons to mimic a smiling emoji.

Elsewhere, the Los Angeles Lakers made two moves that have also seemed to be off the mark. They grabbed discarded center Deandre Ayton, whose reputation for being a less-than-desirable locker room presence with a lack of fire on the court has dogged his career in Phoenix and Portland.

The Lakers turned around and added veteran guard Marcus Smart, reportedly at the behest of newly added superstar Luka Doncic, for help with their perimeter defense. But critics might say it wasn’t exactly smart to acquire a player whom the Washington Wizards essentially let walk away.

The emoji most suitable for this situation isn’t yet among any of the smartphone apps.