Busy NBA offseason continues with free agency starting today

Chris Paul has already beentradedtwice this offseason, ending up with GoldenState.Bradley Bealis nowwith Phoenix,John Collinswassent to Utah, andKristapsPorzingisis about to start anew with Boston in adeal that sent Marcus Smart to Memphis.

They have new places to call home. It’s time to seeifKyrieIrving,DraymondGreen,Khris Middletonanddozens more will be on the move in the next few days.

As proven by the run of trades in recent weeks, and big newsfrom James Harden on Thursday, NBA teams aren’t waiting for freeagency to make moves. The window of offseason player movementbegins Friday at 6 p.m. EDT, when teams are permitted to starttalking to free agents — with the caveat that most deals cannotbecome official until July 6.

“Obviously, money’s a thing. I mean, that’s just for anybody,”said Miami guard Max Strus, a free agent who’s in line for a bigpayday, going from $1.8 million last season to potentially $12million a year or more. “These are moments that you work for, andthese are opportunities that could be life-changing — so you can’tever take that out of it. But I love playing basketball and that’salways going to be the first thing for me.”

Money and fit. That’s what players like Strus will be seeking,and that’s what teams will be weighing over the next few days —especially with a newCollective BargainingAgreement, and new rules designed to at least slightlycurb spending by the deeper-pocketed teams, set to go into effecton Saturday.

That’s part of the reason some trades have been made in recentdays and more are almost certainly coming. The Warriors gave upJordan Poole to get Paul from Washington in part because Paul’scontract expires in a year and Poole is on the books for four years(at more than $30 million annually on average), and Atlanta sentCollins to Utah for Rudy Gay for similar reasons.

Harden could be the next big name on the move. He decided not toenter free agency and exercised his $35.6 million option for thecoming season Thursday, with Philadelphia now likely to trade the10-time All-Star and three-time scoring champion,a person familiar with the decisiontold The Associated Press.

“I think a lot can be made of all the challenges that are comingour way, whether it be aging roster, the new CBA with some of thelimitations there, anything else you can bring up,” Warriorsgeneral manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. said. “We’re aware of all thosethings. But we also feel like we’re in a great, great place,because we’ve got a competitive owner willing to spend ... so wefeel confident we can navigate it.”

Another potential trade: Plenty of eyes remain on Portland andwhether Damian Lillard will ask to be dealt elsewhere — to Miami orBrooklyn, specifically — or remain with the Trail Blazers for a12th season.

In the interim, there will be some massive deals struck — somepossibly reaching $200 million.

Green turned down a $27.5 million option with Golden State toseek a longer deal. Milwaukee has decisions to make with bothMiddleton and Brook Lopez, two key members of their championship in2021.

“Both of those guys specifically are core to who we have been,”Bucks general manager Jon Horst said. “Ultimately, what matters iswe’re hopeful to have them back. We’ve been really good and they’rea big part of that and we want to try to keep them.”

There’s also intrigue in Dallas with regard to Irving’sfuture.

Irving’s talent is unquestioned. He averaged 27 points in 20games with the Mavericks after getting traded there for the stretchrun last season. For his career, he’s averaged 23.4 points, is aneight-time All-Star and won a title alongside LeBron James inCleveland in 2016.

He and Luka Doncic could form one of the league’s most powerful1-2 punches. Irving also is coming off a season where he wassuspended by Brooklyn for eight games after the team said it wasdismayed by his repeated failure to “unequivocally say he has noantisemitic beliefs.” And that saga came after many othersinvolving Irving, who has raised eyebrows for things ranging fromsaying the Earth is flat to not getting vaccinated againstCOVID-19.

Still unclear: How many years, and how much money, Dallas willcommit to keep him.

“Obviously, he’s someone that we’ve already told everybody thatwe want to re-sign and we’re excited about,” Mavericks generalmanager Nico Harrison said.

The new champions have a big decision looming as well.

Denver’s biggest free agency issue is versatile guard BruceBrown, who was tremendous off the bench for the Nuggets duringtheir run to the NBA title. All the Nuggets can offer Brown is oneyear at $7.8 million; other teams, such as the Los Angeles Lakers,may be prepared to offer more. Denver can give Brown a longer,richer deal next summer — so it’s up to Brown to decide whether tobet on himself or get more money now.

At the team’s championship parade, Nuggets coach Michael Malonemade clear that Denver intends to keep Brown.

“Is Brucie B going anywhere? Hell no,”Malone shouted, as the crowd roared inapproval. “Hell no. Hell no. We’re running this ...back.”

The next few days will tell if Malone is right.