NBA Free Agency Frenzy 

By Alex Lauzon from the “Course of Life” podcast

THE MOVES YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT

Let’s just get real for a moment – s*** gets wild during NBA free agency season and it’s incredibly difficult for your average sports fan to keep up with the barrage of transactions and player swaps, not to mention the draft picks that are traded like penny candy this time of the year. The mid-summer weeks when you’re out at your favorite body of water and the Woj bombs tremor through your entourage are priceless. Time and time again, the NBA offseason finds a way to be just as (if not more) interesting than the actual gameplay itself. I’ll never forget being on a party barge in Austin, Texas the moment I heard about Kelly Olynyk courting Kevin Durant to play in Boston in 2016 – I wonder why that never worked out.

So Where will Dame land? What’s the real story on Kyrie’s new deal and Jaylen Brown’s supermax? Through my Boston Celtics lens, It’s time to cut the brass tax and make sense of the most important moves to know about that have happened thus far in another wild offseason across the association. 

KYRIE CRAWLS BACK 

Contextually – I’m a scorned Boston sports fan that was done wrong by Kyrie Irving, so I can’t help but smirk, hoot, and holler to myself when the latest news dropped about his contract. We had our brief love affair but he went bonkers and it all ended very abruptly with little apology. After demanding out from Brooklyn and shipping himself off in a trade to Dallas and imploding another NBA franchise in record time, Kyrie has decided to…go back to the Dallas Mavericks? The move is reminiscent of when you see your buddy get into a screaming fight with their significant other, and then they’re hugging the next morning as if nothing happened. It astonishes me how insufferable he continues to be through all of the teams that tossed him to the side. As of posting Kyrie still lives in the Twitter replies and comments sections with us trolls and common folk, and from here it looks like he’s going to do an about-face and pretend everything is okay in Dallas. Thoughts and Prayers to poor Luka.

DAME (TRADE) TIME

Only on July 4th week would Dolla Dame Lillard ever be connected to the Boston Celtics. In a headline that seemingly dropped down from the clouds, it’s not just the Miami Heat who are in the running to swap players and get the perennial All-Star and scoring machine in their uniforms. Murmurs of Celtics star Jayson Tatum trying to court a deal between Boston and Portland arose while we were all too many hot dogs and not enough beers deep, and I’m absolutely here for it. Frankly, I’m scared to death at the thought of last year’s Miami Heat roster adding Damian Lillard so anything that Brad Stevens can cook up, I’m likely here to eat. Could it possibly involve the next topic at hand this offseason?

JB’S PATH

The NBA All-Second Team selection for Jaylen Brown solidified his status to obtain the infamous “supermax” contract that we’ve heard so much about. In short, it;’s a guaranteed deal for 5 years in the neighborhood of $308 million that he can take or leave. There have only been 29 supermax contracts in the league since his birth in 2017 free agency, and it has Celtics fans and NBA fans wondering if it keeps JB in Boston. Modern economics would tell you he’ll take the money quickly and quietly, but why no announcement from the Celtics’ side to this point if it’s taken care of? Is there a sign and trade arrangement being worked or does Brown confirm the reservations he seems to have about a long-term life and basketball career in the city of Boston? As wild as it may sound with the supermax sitting on the table, his future has never been in more question after some questionable performances in the biggest 2023 playoff games for the C’s.

CELTICS CRUMBS

In their quest to replace the loss of Marcus Smartin the Kristaps Prozingis deal, Brad Stvenss inked Oshae Brissett formerly of the Pacers. With a similar bulldog attitude to Smart, he figures to fill some of that void quickly in the fall.

Former Celtics head coach Ime Udoka is getting tons of support via early free agency, with his management inking Dillon Brooks, Fred VanVleet, and Jock Landale with no wasted time to bolster the young Rockets Roster.

The Celtics and the rest of the NBA head to Vegas for the NBA 2K24 Summer League, where the Friday night feature showcases #2 draft pick Brandon Miller vs #1 overall pick Victor Webanyama in his summer league debut. Get your popcorn ready!