Ranking the Most Unexpected Moves of the NBA Offseason
By Jerry Trotta
The most anticipated NBA offseason in recent memory has lived up to every ounce of hype that pundits, skeptics, and fans had all been clamoring for. We are less than a week into the free agency period, yet we have officially lost count as to how many times we were utterly bamboozled by an Adrian Wojnarowski Twitter notification.
With that in mind, let's rank the most unexpected moves of the unpredictable delight that has been the summer of 2019 in the NBA.
1. Kawhi to the Clippers... AN PG13!
How many times over the last few weeks have pundits like Chris Broussard and Cris Carter called Kawhi Leonard to the Lakers a done deal? Instead, in the wee hours of July 6, we were shocked to hear that the Claw will be joining forces with Paul George with the Clippers. It could go down as the most unexpected heist in free agency history, right next to Kevin Durant's decision to join Golden State in 2016.
2. KD Goes All in for Brooklyn
You are off your rocker if you don't think that the Slim Reaper signing with the Nets came as a major surprise, especially given that teams like the Warriors, Knicks, and Clippers -- teams with considerably stronger brands -- also in the mix. Even after Kyrie Irving ended up in Brooklyn as most anticipated, nobody was truly convinced that KD was poised to join him. When it finally came to fruition, it was hard to wrap your head around what the future now holds for the Nets.
3. Harrison Barnes' Mega Deal with the Kings
If there were ever awards handed out to agents, Jeff Schwartz would have cleaned house for pulling off a four-year, $85 million contract for Harrison Barnes to remain in Sacramento. That's a $21.25 million average per year for a player who's averaged 13.6 points per game across seven seasons in the Association. Schwartz is out here playing chess while the rest of the player reps out there are playing checkers.
4. D'Angelo Russell Becoming a Warrior
Seriously, did anybody else think that D'Angelo Russell was destined to shine at the Barclays Center for the remainder of his career after his superb All-Star 2018-19 campaign? We genuinely thought it set the precedent for general manager Sean Marks to build around the Ohio State product. Of course, once Kyrie Irving became a Net, it was clear that D-Lo was likely to be on the move. What nobody anticipated, however, was that his new home would be with Steph Curry and the five-time defending Western Conference champs.