Big Moves Were Made!

There were many trades and surprising decisions made this offseason in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Many teams look different from the previous season while others look more or less the same. The Los Angeles Lakers won the championship last season and look to repeat. But it may be harder than they thought as many teams picked up new key components to better their lineups. I will be listing the top ten power rankings in the NBA after this offseason as we approach the start of the new season. 

1. Los Angeles Lakers – The Lakers have the No. 1 spot as they are coming off of a championship. They have signed Sixth Man of the Year, Montrezl Harrell, Sixth Man of the Year runner-up, Dennis Shroeder, and key role players such as Wesley Mathews and Marc Gasol. They have also resigned Anthony Davis and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
2. Los Angeles Clippers – The Clippers have the No.2 spot as they still have a great team even though they didn’t make it to the Western Conference Finals last season, they still show promise. They lost a key player in Montrezl Harrell but have signed PF Serge Ibaka from the Raptors, they also look to sign a PG to round out their already well rounded team.
3. Milwaukee Bucks – The Bucks have made many great trades to surround their star player, Giannis Antetokounpo. They signed a two way PG Jrue Holiday and 3 pt threat Bogdan Bogdonavic to their already lethal team to increase floor spacing.
4. Denver Nuggets – The Nuggets have a great well rounded team as they made it to the Western Conference Finals last season. They lost a great role player in Jerami Grant but made up for it with the signing of JaMychal Green. They also made some pretty good draft picks, drafting RJ Hampton and Zeke Nnaji.
5. Brooklyn Nets – The Nets take spot No. 5 as they now have the return of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. They made the playoffs last season, despite injuries of their star players and had to look toward their bench that showed great promise. They look to sign one more star player. Rumors are James Harden. The only thing stopping this great team is injuries.
6. Miami Heat – The Heat made a great playoff run last season, surprising everyone. Their team looks more the same besides the lost of SF Jae Crowder and PF Derrick Jones Jr., but the team still looks lethal.
7. Boston Celtics – The Celtics are a young and powerful team. They unfortunately lost SF Gordon Hayward but still look to reach the finals as they sign C Tristan Thompson.
8. Golden State Warriors – The Warriors look to make a return to the playoffs. With the return of Stephen Curry and Draymond Green mixed with Andrew Wiggins. They also traded for Kelly Oubre and signed Kent Bazemore. They also used the No. 2 pick in the NBA Draft to draft C James Wiseman, an absolute unit.
9. New Orleans Pelicans – The Pelicans resigned Brandon Ingram and will have Zion Williamson the entire season as he missed the first half last season due to injury. They also have key components such as Lonzo Ball, J.J. Reddick, and Eric Bledsoe. They also picked up big man Steven Adams.
10. Phoenix Suns – The Suns secure the No. 10 spot as they made some pretty big trades, landing dual threat Chris Paul, Jae Crowder, and Dario Saric. They also still have Devin Booker and DeAndre Ayton .

There are honorable mentions such as the Dallas Mavericks, Philadelphia 76ers, Utah Jazz and Houston Rockets. These power ranking are based on my opinion. Add your power rankings below; the Beacon would love to hear how you feel.