Samante: NBA free agency frenzy

Samante: NBA free agency frenzy

THE NBA free agency is supposedly still a couple of days away, and this early, a lot of drama has already unfolded. The Lakers have finally snagged Anthony Davis from the Pelicans trading away most of their young core, and several drafts for him. Back in February, Davis publicly expressed his desire to join the Lakers and team up with Lebron. Fast forward to June, and their looming team-up has already become the talk of the basketball world, eclipsing the recent title conquest of the Raptors.

The Raptors will also deal with their free-agency spectacle with the new king of the East, Kawhi Leonard. He just turned down his player option and is hoping to sign a higher contract with the team. Incidentally, he is an unrestricted free agent which allows him to sign with other teams with better offers and the Raptors cannot match that offer. Other key players of the championship team entering free agency from them will be Danny Green and Marc Gasol. It will be interesting to find out if they keep this core or allow these players to join other teams.

The former champs, the Warriors, will also have an interesting free-agency dilemma with three of their prized players - Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and DeMarcus Cousins being unrestricted free agents. The injuries to these two are bad enough, but the chance for the Warriors to lose the three of them in free-agency can be worse if they opt to sign elsewhere.

Other big-name free-agents who could join new teams this 2019 season are:

a. Kyrie Irving (Boston)- Rumors are rampant that he could join the Nets or is considering a reunion with LBJ in Hollywood;

b. Kemba Walker (Charlotte)- While he is the face of the franchise, his talents can be a great compliment to any team. He can form part of a Dynamic Duo or a Big Three.

c. Jimmy Butler (Philadelphia)- His versatility and clutch game has proven effective with the Sixers last season and his playoff performance may have boosted his value this free-agency.

d. D’Angelo Russel (Brooklyn)- While he led the Nets to the playoffs, the team seems going a different direction without him in the picture. He can surely bring his talents elsewhere with his new found confidence.

It will be a fascinating free-agency season with big-name superstars possibly ending up together. It isn’t the preview of the 2019 season, but it already looks promising.

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