The wait is over, the new NBA season has begun. Thirty teams have high hopes for success this season. The new season tipped off on October 18. Big changes have been made to many teams during the offseason. A talented draft class, a big free agency and blockbuster trades have changed the NBA significantly from last season. Here is the recap of the 2022 NBA offseason and projections on how teams will do this season.
The NBA offseason is always the most exciting of any sport. With only 15 players allowed on each team, it is easier to bring new players in and other players out. Also, a salary cap of $123.655 million allows teams to make big moves without being constricted too much. Teams can be completely changed in just one off-season because of free agency, trades, and the draft.
Now, time for free agency signings. The Cavaliers resigned their all-star point guard Darius Garland. The Warriors extended their rising star Jordan Poole and point guard Andrew Wiggins. The explosive young star Ja Morant extended his contract with the Grizzles. Veteran point guard John Wall signed with the Clippers. The Lakers signed guard Dennis Schroder and extended Lebron James. Victor Oladipo agreed to stay with the Heat. Finally, the Bulls signed Goran Dragic and Andre Drummond. A majority of free agency this summer was teams’ resigning players. Young stars got paid big while older players joined new teams. This year’s free agency mostly impacted bench players who are important but not big flashy names.
The NBA draft is a great opportunity for teams to pick young players from college that have the potential to become star players. If teams get lucky they can get an all-star caliber player without having to pay them an extreme amount of money. The Magic had the first pick of the 2022 draft this year. They drafted Paolo Banchero, a forward out of Duke University. With the second pick, the Thunder took center Chet Holmgren but unfortunately he will be out for the whole season with a foot injury. The Rockets drafted forward Jabari Smith to round out the top 3 picks.
The biggest component of this year’s offseason was trades. Trades have the biggest impact on teams because often draft picks and great players are involved. Additionally, the salary cap forces teams to give up players with the same value. The biggest trade of the offseason was a blockbuster trade between the Cavaliers and the Jazz. The Cavaliers traded for explosive all-star Donovan Mitchell and they gave the Jazz Collin Sexton, Lauri Markkanen and rookie guard Ochai Agbaj, along with unprotected first-round draft picks in 2025, 2027 and 2029. The teams will also swap their first-round drafting rights in 2026 and 2028. The Jazz almost completely remade their team this offseason, getting rid of Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert, and Bojan Bogdanovic. The Cavaliers added a true scorer in Mitchell, “In adding Mitchell, the Cavs have, at the very least, entered the conversation to contend in the overloaded East, where Boston, Brooklyn, Miami, Milwaukee and Philadelphia are all considered championship-worthy” says NBA expert Tom Withers. Another significant trade was the Spurs trading away young star Dejounte Murray to the Hawks. In return the Hawks gave up 3 first round picks and Danilo Gallinari. An article written by NBA news services says, “For Atlanta, all the moving parts achieved the goal of strengthening a backcourt already led by All-NBA guard Trae Young, who finished sixth in the league in scoring (28.4 points per game), by adding a dynamic young point guard coming off his best season as a pro” Big stars were moved from trades over the NBA offseason.
The NBA offseason is the most exciting of all offseasons in sports. Big moves in the draft, free agency, and trading has changed many NBA teams. The Jazz have a completely different team and look to be on the decline. On the other end the Cavaliers have made a big addition and have high hopes for this season. The Hawks have become a wild card, with a lot of young talent. The Clippers look to be the better team in Los Angeles with the addition of John Wall while the Lakers didn’t make any big moves. Although the Magic likely will not make the playoffs they have a surplus of young players that could set them up for success in the future. The power house teams remain on top still. The Bucks and the Warriors have the most talented rosters and are still the best teams in their respective conferences. The NBA is full of surprises: there will be teams that do surprisingly well and others who crash and burn. The 2022 offseason saw significant changes for the NBA – now all that’s left is to sit back and watch the outcome.
