This NBA off-season was arguably one of the most dramatic and eventful in NBA history! During this offseason, many big names such as Paul George + Carmelo Anthony (Oklahoma City), Chris Paul (Houston Rockets), Dwyane Wade + Derrick Rose (Cleveland Cavaliers), Paul Millsap (Denver Nuggets), Gordon Hayward (Boston Celtics), and Jimmy Butler (Minnesota Timberwolves) made big moves- including, of course the biggest news of the offseason: Kyrie going to the Celtics, and Isiah Thomas to the Cavs. Kyrie, George, Melo, Wade, and Paul are the biggest names to have a change of scenery during this offseason. With the big switch for each of these players, the question is always; ‘will they be a good fit?’. Paul joined the Rockets and averaged around 28 mpg, 10 ppg, and (as he usually does) he had 7 apg. He seemed to be comfortable in his new home, but he has definitely had took a hit in his scoring numbers and minutes. George, however, averaged 29.3 mpg in OKC, but unlike CP3, his scoring was still impressive at almost 20 ppg. Melo was playing ‘hoodie-Melo’-esque this preseason. He looked like he was in his early NYK days. He only averaged 19.7 mpg, but had a great efficiency level by scoring 15 ppg, and on 45% shooting while grabbing 6.3 boards a game. Wade, a certain Hall of Famer, settled into his new home in Cleveland with his title-winning buddy, LeBron. The legendary shooting guard averaged only 19 mpg, but put up 11.5 ppg. It’s a lower minute and point total than his career averages (35.4 mpg and 23.3 ppg) but with LeBron, his scoring is not needed to be in the 20s. Last, but certainly not least, Kyrie, in his new home in the TD Garden in Boston, looked like the star of the show playing 24.3 mpg and 17 ppg while putting up some of his signature circus shots. These all-stars and masters of their craft are dubbed so for a reason: they are proving to the world that no matter where they go, they can still ball at an elite level.
