Top 5 NBA Free Agency Moves Summer 2018

Ranking the most impactful and most shocking trades, signings, and free agency decisions this summer.

5. Isaiah Thomas to the Denver Nuggets

Moving from the Los Angeles Lakers to willingly decide to play in Denver shocked many NBA fans, as they wanted Thomas to be on a team with stacked talent and potential to win a championship. However, this move makes perfect sense for IT, as the head coach of the Nuggets, Michael Malone, was IT's head coach at the Sacramento Kings when Thomas had his first breakout season. In an interview, Thomas stated that with joining the Nuggets, Coach Malone will "give [him] the opportunity in Denver" to be himself again, the IT all NBA fans have been amazed by (USA Basketball). This move by Isaiah Thomas will hopefully prove to the league just how dangerous of a player he truly is, and hopefully bring the Nuggets and the city of Denver excitement around their franchise.

4. Carmelo Anthony to the Houston Rockets

Spending only one year at the Oklahoma City Thunder, Carmelo Anthony has slowly been declining from his prime; however, it is safe to say that he is still a highly skilled veteran essential to a championship team. His addition to the Houston Rockets makes the team a deadly trio of 2017-2018 Regular Season MVP James Harden, 9x NBA All Star Chris Paul, and 10x NBA All Star Carmelo Anthony. The backcourt duo of Harden and Paul has already proven to be deadly last season. With the addition of Anthony, who knows how the Western Conference may shape up this year, with the overpowered Warriors, a Lebron-based Lakers team, and the now newly hot Rockets.

3. Kawhi Leonard - DeMar DeRozan Trade

DeMar DeRozan (Left) and Kawhi Leonard (Right) in their new respective jerseys

This trade originally started with Kawhi Leonard demanding a trade to play somewhere else, as he was not satisfied playing in San Antonio with the Spurs. Surprisingly, the Toronto Raptors traded away their superstar player DeMar DeRozan for Leonard. DeRozan was the face of both the city of Toronto and the Raptors franchise. The Raptors organization trading away their franchise player was a move controversial to many NBA fans and players. Him being traded was looked upon as an act of disloyalty by the Toronto Raptors. Putting politics aside, moving Kawhi Leonard to Toronto could possibly make the Raptors a contender in the Eastern Conference, while moving DeRozan to the Spurs will team him up with Hall of Fame coach Greg Poppovich. Overall, this trade created a buzz around the Raptors' disloyal action as well as affecting the future of both the Raptors and Spurs in the upcoming years.

2. Demarcus Cousins to the Golden State Warriors

All NBA fans know of the superteam that has formed in Golden State. They have changed the whole look of the NBA, having loads of all star talent stacked on their roster. And now, this summer, they have acquired All Star center Demarcus Cousins. Not only does this fix the Warriors' only weakness of lacking a skilled center, but Cousins' free agency move also makes the Warriors have a starting lineup of five All Stars. With a starting lineup of 2x League MVP Steph Curry, 2x NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant, 4x NBA All Star Klay Thompson, 3x NBA All Star Draymond Green, and newly acquired 4x NBA All Star Demarcus Cousins, this squad completes the definition of the most stacked superteam in NBA History. Cousins' new signing in Golden State was seen by many as a coward's move, as the motto: "If you can't beat them, join them" came into full effect. Whether a coward-ish move or not, Demarcus Cousin's move will definitely shake up how the Warriors place in the Western Conference and in the playoffs.

1. LeBron James to the Los Angeles Lakers

Simple Rule of the NBA: Whichever team LeBron James is on, that team automatically becomes a championship contender.

Shocking the basketball world with his career-affecting decision, LeBron James decided to leave his hometown of Cleveland to play in Hollywood. Sources stated the move to Los Angeles was for several reasons such as: family, Lakers fame, Hollywood and Movie-Production, Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka, etc. Whatever the reason may be for the move, James is still considered to be in his prime, and has shown no signs of slowing down. With a Lakers roster full of promising young talent, James' presence will elevate the Lakers and make them a championship contender. This upcoming season will be interesting to see how LeBron James and his young teammates compete against the other experienced superpower teams in the West, such as the Warriors and Rockets. One thing is for sure: LeBron James is hungry for another championship, and will do anything these next few years to achieve that goal.

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