There are simultaneous competitions jump-starting in the NBA.
It’s the playoffs and the reconstructions.
Elimination, especially those of the early or disappointing variety, tend to prompt turnover.
And what’s one team’s garbage can be another team’s difference-maker.
We’ll take a look at three teams that were recently bounced from the play-in tournament, and what that might mean for their offseason.
Plus three teams in the playoffs to monitor if they’re bounced early.
Keep in mind that the Knicks can’t get involved much in free agency, at least in a conventional way.
They’ll be capped out and have a couple of their own players to re-sign — most notably OG Anunoby and Isaiah Hartenstein.
But they certainly have the assets to make a trade.
A big trade.
Teams just eliminated
Atlanta Hawks
It’s over.
The defeat to the Bulls in the play-in tournament symbolized the end of the Dejounte Murray-Trae Young backcourt that has been a disappointment since its inception.
There was a time, roughly three years ago, when the Hawks were considered an up-and-coming championship contender.
They advanced into the conference finals after beating the Knicks in the opening round.
But everything since has been an utter disappointment, especially a 10th-place finish in the Eastern Conference this year.
Definitely either Murray or Young will be traded.
Perhaps both.
They have six players making at least $14 million next season — Murray, Young, DeAndre Hunter, Clint Capela, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Onyeka Okongwu — and none are untouchable.
A fire sale would be the smart approach.
Chicago Bulls
Similarly to the Hawks, a once-promising experiment has gone horribly wrong.
Bulls president Arturas Karnisovas decided to run it back after an ugly 2022-23 season, and it was just as ugly in 2023-24 after the Bulls were eliminated by a very shorthanded Heat squad in the play-in tournament.
DeMar DeRozan has been Chicago’s best player but he’ll be a free agent and likely gone to a better team.
Trading Zach LaVine will be a priority again but difficult given his immense contract.
Nikola Vucevic is serviceable and tradeable, but at 33 years old he’s probably too soft and slow for a Tom Thibodeau center.
Lonzo Ball is sunk cost and untradeable.
It’s not a good situation for the Bulls.
But there will be changes.
Warriors
A dynasty, the greatest we’ll see in a long time, is finished.
Kaput after getting bounced in the play-in.
The Warriors can make a run to the second round with their roster, maybe, but the days of thinking about a conference finals are over.
The most obvious departure is Klay Thompson, a free agent.
The decision on Thompson’s free agency will give us an indication where this is headed.
Will they keep it together for sentimental (and selling tickets) reasons?
Ride it until the wheels fall off?
Will they attempt to build a contender around the last few years of Steph Curry’s greatness while hoping for home-run roster moves? Or will they rebuild?
Of all the possibilities, trading Curry is the least likely. He’s a Warrior for life. Draymond Green will be tough to trade for other reasons.
Teams to monitor in the playoffs
Cavaliers
Another first-round flameout, like last year against the Knicks, will prompt change.
That could start with coach JB Bickerstaff but will certainly trickle down to the roster.
And what everybody around the league will be watching — especially the Nets, Heat and Knicks — is what happens with Donovan Mitchell.
He has resisted signing a contract extension and could hit free agency in 2025.
The clock is ticking.
And let’s say they fall to the Magic, there will be enough evidence to suggest the Cavs should recoup assets for Mitchell while they have the chance.
Timberwolves
This is a mess.
The franchise enjoyed its best season since Kevin Garnett was in uniform, but there’s a fight over team ownership (too complicated to dive into with limited space) and a very large luxury-tax bill looming if Minnesota keeps this roster together.
You could argue it’s worth paying for a championship contender but the T-Wolves will have to prove it’s on that level in these playoffs.
If they fall short, Anthony Edwards is the keeper — the franchise cornerstone — while Karl-Anthony Towns hits the trading block.
Dealing the former No. 1 pick will be difficult because of his enormous salary.
Bucks
Firing Mike Budenholzer and swapping Jrue Holiday for Dame Lillard has largely backfired.
The Bucks were a disappointment this season and nobody would be surprised if they fell short of the conference final.
Then Milwaukee could become the ultimate wild card of the summer.
Would Giannis Antetokounmpo, who hasn’t been shy about applying public pressure, make things very uncomfortable and even ask out?
Would the Bucks break it all up by dealing Khris Middleton and Lillard?
Would they fire Doc Rivers just a few months after prying the coach from TV broadcasting?
A lot of questions surrounding a team that was projected as a top-3 title contender before the season.
