Bold NBA Offseason Predictions: What’s Next for Trae Young, Jimmy Butler and PG13
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LeBron James and Trae YoungKevin C. Cox/Getty Images
We still have a month and change to go in the 2023-24 NBA campaign, but the rumor mill is already churning with offseason possibilities.
Every team in the league is directing some attention to this summer, even the ones that are still alive. This offseason has the potential to be big on the player-movement front.
Several organizations, including a few in the league’s glitzier markets, fell short of expectations this season. That can often lead to dramatic change.
We’ve cobbled together predictions for a few of the bigger ones here.
Paul George Picks the Magic
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Paul GeorgeAndrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images
Los Angeles Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said the team wants to keep Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and James Harden together next season. But the longer we go without George signing an extension, the more it feels like he’ll be a free agent this summer.
If he doesn’t re-up with the Clippers before June 30 or pick up his player option for 2024-25, George will instantly become perhaps the biggest name on the open market. According to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, the Philadelphia 76ers and Orlando Magic are already “paying very close attention” to him.
Both teams can create enough cap space to sign George to a max or near-max deal, and he would make plenty of sense in either spot.
George is one of the most portable stars in the league. He’s a high-end shooter and shot-creator who doesn’t have to dominate the ball. He’s comfortably fit alongside other ball-dominant players like Russell Westbrook with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Leonard and Harden with the Clippers. And his size and switchability on defense would be in high demand everywhere.
All of that would make him easy to slot in next to Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid in Philadelphia. Joining the Sixers would be the splashier move, but George has even more compelling reasons to join the Magic.
The window to contend in Orlando is just now opening. Along with Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero, George would be a part of one of the most versatile, dynamic trios in the league. All three can create. There’s still room for Wagner and Banchero to improve as shooters, and switching all over the perimeter with those three would be a cinch.
Bookend those three with a solid defensive point guard and big (Jalen Suggs and Wendell Carter Jr. are both under contract next season), and you could be looking at a contender for the best defense in the NBA.
Cavaliers Trade Donovan Mitchell
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Donovan MitchellPhoto by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
The Cleveland Cavaliers are tied 1-1 with the Boston Celtics, but the C’s are still the overwhelming favorites to win that second-round series. Although Cleveland beat the Magic in the first round, an uninspiring loss to the Celtics will almost certainly heat up the trade rumors that are already swirling about Donovan Mitchell.
As soon as the Cavs acquired Mitchell in 2022, there was a sense that this wasn’t quite the glamour market he was seeking during his last several months with the Utah Jaz