The front face of the NBA has become a mess. Players want to change the super team and the championship ring. The power in the NBA does not belong to the owner. 100% belongs to players and their ability to control where they want to log in.
Four years ago, some big-name NBA stars were here, and now they are.
Isaiah Thomas
At that time: Boston Celtics
Now: free agent
At one time, Thomas was one of the most important players in the league. He finished the season with a career high of 28.9 points per game. Then, he led the Celtics into the playoffs, in which he scored 23.3 points in consecutive 15 games and shot 42.5%.
Thomas's career has been different since the Celtics lost to the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference finals. He missed the rest of the series because of his hip injury in the second game. In the next three seasons, Thomas played 44 games. He played 40 games for the Wizards last season and was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers, but was fired two days later. At present, his basketball career is still up in the air.
DeMarcus Cousins
At that time: King of Sacramento
Now: Houston Rockets
Cousins used to be the spokesman for the Kings and was selected to the All-Star Team twice. Cousins started playing in Sacramento before being traded to the New Orleans Pelicans. Before being shipped away, he averaged 27.8 points and 10.6 rebounds. Today, the Kings may have won the deal, bringing tyreke evans, buddy hilde, langston galloway and the first and second draft picks of 20 17.
Since then, Cousins has filled the torn achilles tendon, the torn quadriceps femoris in the left leg and the torn anterior cruciate ligament. He only played three games for the Rockets, averaging 4.7 points per game. Cousins is only 30 years old, but as he grows older, his body may get old.
Jimmy Butler
At that time: Chicago Bulls
Now: Miami Heat
Butler wants to be the face of Chicago Bulls. He is not a native of Chicago like derrick rose, but he had a similar experience. He is a man who has to struggle in both college and professional teams. He was selected to the All-Star Team three times and was the best defensive player in two of the past three seasons.
Chicago doesn't want him to be the spokesman of the city. They sent him to the Minnesota Timberwolves, and he helped the Timberwolves reach the playoffs. Then, he was transferred to Philadelphia and signed with the Heat. He has proved that his personality is suitable for the champion team. Butler led the Heat into the 2020 NBA Finals, which made Chicago fans complain.
Gordon Hayward
At that time: Utah jazz
Now: Charlotte bumblebee
After he qualified for his first All-Star team in his last season with the Jazz, Hayward signed a max contract to join his former Butler coach Brad Stevens. We all know how the story develops. Hayward suffered a catastrophic injury in the first game against Celtic and missed the rest of the season. When he came back, his performance was far from that of the All-Star Game.
No one can blame Hayward for leaving Jazz. He intends to partner with Carey Owen and try to lead the Celtics to the finals. They did play together for several seasons, but they didn't play together in into thin air. This offseason, Hayward followed the money and had 100 million reasons to join the Hornets.
Paul George
At that time: Indiana Pacers
Now: Los Angeles Clippers
When George first started in the league, he almost led the Pacers to the NBA Finals and beat the Miami Heat led by LeBron James. After six seasons, George felt that Indiana would not bring the right things to form a championship team. Over the years, we have known that packers can be introduced to Cowell Leonard or traded to Anthony Davis. On the contrary, the Pacers don't want to get rid of the draft capital.
George's trade request was later approved, and he spent two seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder. He scored 28 points and 8.2 rebounds in his last season at OKC. The Thunder then traded him to the Clippers and won a lot of draft picks. George's trade to Los Angeles was a major factor in Leonard's choice to sign with the Clippers.
Demar Demar DeRozan
At that time: Toronto Raptors
Now: San Antonio Spurs
For five years, Demar DeRozan was one of the best players in the league. He qualified for the All-Star Team four times and left Toronto as the best scorer in team history. His best season was four years ago, when he averaged 27.3 points. His only failure was his failure to lead the Raptors to overtake LeBron in the East.
This prompted the Raptors to take a risk on kawhi leonard, who has one season left on his contract. The Raptors regarded Demar demar derozan as the jewel in the crown, and also included Danny Green. Finally, in Leonard's lonely season, Toronto won their first NBA championship, which was the right decision.
Blake Griffin
At that time: Los Angeles Clippers
Now: Detroit Pistons
Griffin is the mayor of Loeb. When Griffin fought alongside Chris Paul and Dean Jordan, dunk was synonymous with the Clippers. Griffin is healthy, averaging nearly 20 points and 8 rebounds per game. After failing to reach the Western Conference finals, the management decided to change direction.
Just one season after signing a max contract, the Clippers traded Griffin to the Pistons on the deadline. The Clippers won the deal. Griffin only played 18 games last season, while the Clippers used the free salary cap space to bring Paul George and Cowie Leonard.
Carmelo Anthony
At that time: new york Knicks.
Now: Portland Trailblazers.
Four years ago was the last time Anthony finished the season with 20 points per game. This is also his last season with the Knicks. It is hard to believe that this 10 All-Star has become a skilled worker in his last days in new york.
After the season, Anthony was traded to Oklahoma City Thunder. The experiment lasted only one season, and then he was transferred to the Houston Rockets. His time in Houston only lasted 10 games, and he almost completely left the NBA. Instead, the Portland Trailblazers gave him a chance and he enjoyed his bench role. He is currently finishing the race in Portland.
Chris Paul
At that time: Los Angeles Clippers
Now: Sun Phoenix
Four years ago, if someone told you that Paul would become a member of the Phoenix Suns at some point, would you believe it? When the Clippers had a trio of Paul, Blake Griffin and Dean Jordan, Paul was the mayor of Los Angeles. However, the Clippers never qualified for the Western Conference finals.
Paul's last years in power were messed up by his relationship with Doc Rivers. After playing with Doc's son austin rivers, it is rumored that the locker room was broken by young Rivers, who played an important role. In the end, Paul was traded to the Houston Rockets. Paul finally got a taste of the Western Conference finals with the Rockets, but was traded to Russell Westbrook. After OKC decided to rebuild, he is now the captain of the young Suns, and this team plays very well.
Kawhi Leonard
At that time: San Antonio Spurs
Now: Los Angeles Clippers
This seems to be the best time for the transition to kawhi leonard. Leonard's relationship with the team has been broken for almost four years. An mishandled quadriceps injury led to the breakdown of trust between Leonard and the Spurs. This allowed the Spurs to agree to his trade request.
This is a lucky thing, because with the departure of Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginóbili, Leonard will become the next spokesperson of the team. Leonard won the Defensive Player of the Year twice in San Antonio and the NBA Finals MVP on 20 14. Instead, Leonard left and won a championship in Toronto, and now he is trying to lead his third team (Clippers) to their first NBA championship.
Russell Westbrook
At that time: Oklahoma City Thunder
Now: Washington Wizards
Westbrook didn't handle Durant's departure from the city. It is reported that their relationship has broken down. When Durant left, we saw the best version of Ruth we had ever seen. He averaged three pairs per game and won the MVP. Unfortunately, his team never passed the second round of the playoffs.
He was traded to Houston last year in exchange for Chris Paul. The management believes that Westbrook and James Harden will make a perfect combination. On the contrary, Westbrook couldn't figure out the team culture and wanted to quit, so the team traded him to John Wall. The 32-year-old Westbrook doesn't have many golden years. He hasn't sniffed the NBA Finals since the young Thunder 20 12 qualified.
Kevin Durant
At that time: Oklahoma City Thunder
Now: Brooklyn Nets
Thunder, led by Durant and Westbrook, defeated Golden State Warriors 3-/kloc-0-0 in the Western Conference finals. It is also this Warriors team that created 73 wins in the NBA season. However, we all know how the story develops. The thunder 3- 1 lead fell through, and the Warriors advanced to the NBA finals.
The Warriors lost to Cleveland Cavaliers and recruited Durant to join their dynasty. Warriors won two NBA championships, and Durant won two NBA Finals MVP trophies. Durant missed all the games last season because of a torn achilles tendon. Now, he is working with kyrie irving to bring Brooklyn their first NBA championship.
Kyrie Irving
At that time: Cleveland Cavaliers
Now: Brooklyn Nets
The two superstars in the world both played for the Cavaliers, but there are two different stories. Owen's three-pointer in the NBA finals will go down in Cleveland's history forever. Owen is a superstar of the Cavaliers. The problem is that he is not a superstar. Owen felt that he was living in LeBron's shadow, so he wanted to quit.
Owen came to Celtic, but he never became the real leader of the team. His time in Boston was tainted by suspicious comments and unorthodox leadership style. Owen left Boston to work with Kevin Durant in Brooklyn.
LeBron James
At that time: Cleveland Cavaliers
Now: Los Angeles Lakers
For two years, James couldn't lead the Cavaliers beyond the combination of kevin durant, Stephen Curry, klay thompson and Draymond Green. Although he participated in the NBA Finals for the second time in four seasons, his legacy will be affected by three championship losses.
When LeBron left Cleveland, many people thought it was time for him to retire and move to Los Angeles. His children are going to high school, and there are some great basketball games in California. On the contrary, a season after the playoffs, the Lakers reorganized and acquired Anthony Davis and won the NBA championship in 2020. LeBron is seeking to win the fifth championship this year. Will he get Michael Jordan's six rings in four years?