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Kawhi's masterful power moves usher in NBA Era of Parity
Kawhi Leonard and LeBron James should make their matchups at Staples Center in LA appointment viewing. John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

Kawhi's masterful power moves usher in NBA Era of Parity

It all makes sense now. The “Board” in “Board Man gets paid” was referring to the chess board Kawhi Leonard was operating on while the rest of the NBA was playing a simple game of checkers. After six days of nonsense, rumors and speculation, the Board Man called “checkmate” late Friday night (or was it Saturday morning?) when he signed with the Clippers and manipulated the Thunder into trading Paul George, the Pippen to his Jordan, to Los Angeles as well. Who could have guessed that “Board Man” was actually a double entendre this whole time?

These 11th-hour maneuvers, relayed to the basketball world via back-to-back, late-night WojBombs, ended the most anticipated free-agency decision since “The Decision” in 2010. Fittingly, it also brought the end to the Super Team Era -– an era best personified by LeBron James’ decision to team with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in South Beach that summer.

Easily the most impressive part of his behind-the-scenes scheming was that Kawhi didn’t just have NBA insiders like Adrian Wojnarowski and Marc Stein flummoxed as to which way he was leaning. He also had LeBron, quietly his biggest rival, tricked into believing the two of them and Anthony Davis would be forming the greatest Big 3 in the history of basketball for the next few years.

It was a cold, masterful manipulation, and it was the climax of player-empowerment movement. Kawhi’s decision not only had a huge impact on the Clippers, Lakers, Raptors and Thunder, but also the league as a whole. Gone are the days where you could pencil in the Warriors and LeBron into the Finals. Welcome to the Era of Parity in the NBA.

Little Brother No More

In their moment of truth, the Clippers were faced with an ultimatum: Find a way to acquire Paul George or spend the next half-decade wondering what might have been while Leonard hangs banners in the rafters for the Lakers. It cost them Danilo Gallinari, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, five first-round picks (four unprotected) and two pick swaps –- the largest price paid for a single player -– but Steve Ballmer, Jerry West and the Clippers’ impressive front office were able to trade for George, sign Kawhi and flip the tables on the big brother Lakers, becoming the betting favorite to win the 2020 NBA championship in the process. The Clippers finally have a seat at the grown-ups table, and they might just be at the head of the table.

The benefit to making smart front-office decisions years in advance of a major acquisition (or two), like the Clippers just made, is that the pantry isn’t empty after making the big move (see Lakers). Despite trading a ton of valuable assets, the Clippers still have one of the best pick-and-roll combinations in the NBA in Lou Williams (2018-19 Sixth Man of the Year) and Montrezl Harrell (third-place in the 2018-19 Six Man of the Year voting) coming off their bench as well as a bulldog defender and spot-up shooter in Pat Beverley (40 percent from three last year) and a young, gifted shooter in Landry Shamet (42 percent from three last year). Adding the consensus best player in the world, Leonard, who is coming off an all-time great playoff performance (31 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two steals per game on 49-38-88 shooting) and George, who finished third in the MVP voting last year (28 points, eight rebounds, four assists and over two steals per game with 39-percent shooting from three) to that mix is the recipe for a contender.

Thanks to Kawhi’s decision, there is the distinct possibility of an all-Staples Center Western Conference Finals in 2020.

Let's not bury Lakers yet

In every “Winners and Losers of the Kawhi Leonard Decision” column you read, the Lakers and/or LeBron James are going to appear as a loser. NBA writers are going to troll Rob Pelinka for overpaying for Anthony Davis and getting strung out by Kawhi. In reality, the only thing that’s going to matter is whether James (28 points, nine rebounds, nine assists per game) and Davis (28 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks per game) play like they did in 2017-2018 or not. If they do, this team has more than enough of a supporting cast to compete for a title despite missing out on a number of early free agents.

In addition to Kyle Kuzma (19 points and six rebounds per game last season), the Lakers prioritized three-point shooting (second worst in the league in 2018-19) this summer by signing Danny Green and Quinn Cook (fourth and fifth best on catch-and-shoot threes last year). They brought in some good veterans with the signings of Jared Dudley and Rajon Rondo. And they made a savvy, low-risk, high-reward signing of DeMarcus Cousins to only a veteran minimum. Although they must rely heavily on LeBron to facilitate until the buy-out season presents them with additional options at point guard, the Lakers have improved in all facets from last season’s debacle.

What's up with Toronto?

First thing’s first: The Kawhi trade for Toronto was more than worth it even though he left after one season. You’re in this business to win championships, and that’s exactly what Kawhi helped the Raptors do. But now that he’s gone, Toronto is in an interesting situation as it has a veteran-laden roster with a second-round ceiling. Losing Kawhi ironically gives team president Masai Ujiri an opportunity to do the very thing he was originally brought into Toronto to do: rebuild.

It should be a quick rebuild as Ujiri already has some of the building blocks in place, including reigning Most Improved Player (Pascal Siakam) and two solid, young role players (Fred VanVleet and OG Anunoby). He also has valuable veterans (Kyle Lowry, Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka) on expiring contracts whom he can flip to contenders for additional assets at the trade deadline.

While losing out on Kawhi might signify the end of the Kyle Lowry era in Toronto, at least the Raptors will always have the 2019 NBA championship. Imagine if all of those trying years never led to a title …

Making most out of tough situation

The glass half-empty view of the Paul George trade: This marks the end of an era where the Thunder drafted future league MVPs in three consecutive drafts, and ended up with only one Finals appearance (a 4 to 1 loss to the Heat in 2012) to show for it. The Thunder was built to dominate the NBA for the entire decade before it traded James Harden in the summer of 2012. OKC flirted with another Finals appearance the next four seasons, but always fell short because of injuries or superhuman performances by the Splash Brothers. Even after Durant left in 2016, GM Sam Presti was able to turn Serge Ibaka into Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis. Then he turned those two into Paul George. Unfortunately, that never worked either, and George’s trade is the domino that likely ends the Westbrook era in OKC. Talk about one of the biggest “what if” teams ever.

The glass half-full view of the PG13 trade: Presti absolutely fleeced the Clippers and jump-started the Thunder’s inevitable teardown and rebuild. While OKC wasn’t ready to rebuild this season, this trade maximized George’s value to a degree no one thought possible. The forthcoming Westbrook and Steven Adams trades will yield greater value this summer than they would at any point in the future. Only the Pelicans have anywhere near the type of draft capital the Thunder has. If Presti continues to nail draft picks as he always has, the Thunder will have one of the best young rosters in the league in no time.

The end of Super Team era

The Board Man’s choice to build his own contender officially ended the Super Team Era that had dominated the NBA since the Celtics original Big 3 in 2007. It’s tough to put an exact finger on what led to the end of this era. Some would point to the Sprawlball strategies like spacing the court, reliance on three-pointers and pushing the pace. Others might point to Collective Bargaining Agreement rules aimed at making it ungodly expensive for teams to go into the tax consecutive seasons. And others will point to the fact that at least one of the superstars ends up being relegated to a third-wheel role (see Chris Bosh, Kevin Love), an incredible sacrifice for a player who fancies himself a superstar. In reality, it’s probably a little of all of those.

Now, it’s all about dynamic duos surrounded by high-level role players. The Clippers have Kawhi and PG13. The Lakers have LeBron and AD. The Bucks have Giannis and Middleton. The Nets have KD and Kyrie. The Nuggets have Jokic and Murray. The Blazers have Dame and CJ. The Rockets have Harden and CP3. The Knicks have Randle and Portis (just kidding). The list goes on and on.

The only teams that still boast some semblance of a Super Team are the 76ers (Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, Al Horford, Tobias Harris) and Warriors (Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and D'Angelo Russell), and they both have potential fit, depth and injury issues.

The era of parity

The end of the Super Team Era means that we’re about to enter an Era of Parity that the NBA hasn’t seen since LeBron took his talents to South Beach (and probably further back than that). In addition to the above-mentioned dynamic duos and flawed Super Teams, the Jazz probably has the best top-to-bottom roster in the NBA with Donovan Mitchell, Mike Conley, Rudy Gobert, Bojan Bogdanovic and Joe Ingles leading the way. The Pacers could have the best defense in the NBA if Victor Oladipo returns to full health in December or January with Myles Turner protecting the rim and Malcolm Brogdon locking up the perimeter. And don’t sleep on the Celtics, who now have Kemba Walker, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and the assets to make another move at the deadline.

At least one-third of the league will begin the 2019-20 season believing that it has a legitimate shot at winning the title. Regular-season games will mean more. If you thought the second round of this year’s playoffs were great, get ready for an absolute battle royale in all four rounds and a star-powered clash in the Finals. The NBA is in a great place. I know the 2018-19 season ended less than a month ago, but I already cannot wait for the 2019-20 season!!  

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