MANILA, Philippines — Chris Paul has already been traded twice this offseason, ending up with Golden State. Bradley Beal is now with Phoenix, John Collins was sent to Utah, and Kristaps Porzingis is about to start anew with Boston in a deal that sent Marcus Smart to Memphis.
They have new places to call home. It’s time to see if Kyrie Irving, Draymond Green, Khris Middleton and dozens more will be on the move in the next few days.
As proven by the run of trades in recent weeks, and big news from James Harden on Thursday, NBA teams aren’t waiting for free agency to make moves. The window of offseason player movement begins Friday at 6 p.m. EDT, when teams are permitted to start talking to free agents — with the caveat that most deals cannot become official until July 6.
“Obviously, money’s a thing. I mean, that’s just for anybody,” said Miami guard Max Strus, a free agent who’s in line for a big payday, going from $1.8 million last season to potentially $12 million a year or more. “These are moments that you work for, and these are opportunities that could be life-changing — so you can’t ever take that out of it. But I love playing basketball and that’s always going to be the first thing for me.”
Harden could be the next big name on the move. He decided not to enter free agency and exercised his $35.6 million option for the coming season Thursday, with Philadelphia now likely to trade the 10-time All-Star and three-time scoring champion, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press.