Things are continuing to shake up in the NBA after another blockbuster trade deal went through in the Eastern Conference when ESPN NBA Insider Shams Charania broke the news that the Los Angeles Clippers are close to nearing a deal that will reunite Kawhi Leonard to the Toronto Raptors for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, 2 first-round picks, 1 pick swap and 2 second rounders in return. A deal that adds competition to the newly won NBA Champions, the New York Knicks.
The last time this happened in 2018, Leonard led strong unit in 2019 alongside the trio of Kyle Lowry, Pascal Siakam and Marc Gasol, coached under Nick Nurse in a season that saw them dominate both the postseason and NBA Finals to prevent the Golden State Warriors from finishing the first three-peat since the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2000s.
Since the New York Knicks won the NBA Championship for the first time in 53 years, the Eastern Conference has had big moves happening. Jaylen Brown and the Boston Celtics butting heads and potentially acquiring Giannis Antetokounmpo turned into the Miami Heat going all in to pair the Greek Freak with Bam Adebayo and Andrew Wiggins.
Tyler Herro, Kel'el Ware, and Jaime Jaquez Jr was the returning package for Milwaukee. The Cavaliers have thrown their hat into the LeBron James sweepstakes to see if they can bring back James Harden and pair the two with star Donovan Mitchell to get Cleveland their second NBA Championship in franchise history, the first being won by LeBron James in 2016.
The Kawhi-Clippers saga ends on the same day as the Lakers moving on from James, both men were acquired on the same week as each other when they joined their respective Los Angeles teams after winning a championship for their previous team. There is no word yet on where James is heading next except the fact that every team wants to offer a deal to win with him a fifth championship before he does decide retirement is finally right for him.
The Raptors add competition to the Eastern Conference, but New York retaining most of their pieces means that they are ready for another war to bring the big Apple another championship with the unit they’ve got that dominated the East and the Victor Wembanyama led San Antonio Spurs to earn Jalen Brunson the Finals MVP and the NBA Championship for the Knicks. One thing is for certain, the Klaw is officially once again back in the North.
Rami J. Hanna has written about combat and motor sports, as well sports such as baseball and basketball for a number of publications over the last ten years. In addition to his new role at CBC/DSR, Rami also recently began new roles at WrestlePurists and False Finish, and launched his own YouTube channel, VALUABLE with Rami Afif.
Photo credit; the NBA