The 2019 NBA offseason was marked by a historical window of player movement, both via trades and free agency. With training camps on the horizon, here's a recap of the major moves, as well as what they mean for Fantasy owners:
Kawhi Leonard to the Los Angeles Clippers
Arguably the biggest move in a summer defined by massive power shifts, Leonard teaming with Paul George in Los Angeles resets the league's balance of power. Fantasy-wise, his value could take a slight hit playing alongside another superstar -- something he's never done -- but the primary concern for Leonard's owners will be whether he again follows an aggressive "load management" schedule. Coming off of his now-infamous quad injury, the reigning Finals MVP was limited to 60 games last season.
Anthony Davis to the Los Angeles Lakers
The trade took months to finally materialize, but the Lakers got their man and now boast one of the best duos in the league. Davis' numbers last season were skewed by his messy exit from New Orleans, but the 26-year-old still put up elite averages, despite playing under a bizarre minutes restriction for more than a quarter of the season. The jump to the Lakers will likely entail an adjustment period, but with the trade saga now in the rear-view, Davis is positioned to finish as a top-five overall player, assuming he stays healthy.
Russell Westbrook to the Rockets
All eyes will be on the Westbrook-James Harden pairing as the two reunite for the first time in seven seasons. This time around, it's Harden who'll function as the No. 1 option, and it'll be up to Westbrook to adapt to a more measured approach after three years of blitzkrieg with the post-Durant Thunder. Given the number of variables at play, it's fair to expect Westbrook's counting stats to take a slight step back, but he should remain an elite source of scoring, rebounds, assists and steals. The biggest question is whether he can straighten out his shooting woes, both from 3 and from the free-throw line.
Chris Paul to the Thunder
Of all the unpredictable moves this summer, Paul landing in Oklahoma City as the steward to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's young career may be the most improbable. At 34, Paul still has plenty left in the tank, but the notoriously banged-up point guard has battled injury after injury in recent seasons, and his Fantasy outlook is such that he can't be trusted to play more than 60 games. With that said, at some point the risk becomes worth the reward, especially considering Paul is now the unquestioned floor general in Oklahoma City. As such, he'll have an opportunity to post his best per-game numbers since leaving the Clippers -- just make sure you have a backup plan in place.
Jimmy Butler to the Miami Heat
After a bumpy stop in Minnesota and a slightly less-bumpy tour in Philadelphia, Butler is now the unquestioned No. 1 option for the Heat. He'll have some appealing young talent around him, but Butler will be the engine of the offense on most nights, and the hope for Fantasy owners is that it means a return to the numbers he posted in his final year with the Bulls. If that's the case, Butler could be a borderline-elite source of points, rebounds, assists, steals and free throws. But he carries considerable risk entering his age-30 season having missed at least 15 games in five of the past six years.
Kemba Walker to the Boston Celtics
Walker steps in as a very capable replacement for Kyrie Irving in Boston, where he'll have an opportunity to play for a truly good team for the first time in his career. Better surrounding talent will mean a reduction in offensive responsibility, however, so Walker's scoring numbers will likely take a slight hit after the best Fantasy campaign of his career. But Walker's assists, steals and rebounding production should be sustainable, and the hope is that he can become a more efficient scorer (career 41.8% FG) with less of the burden resting on his shoulders.
Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers
After serving a pair of dutiful tours as Russell Westbrook's sidekick, George returns home to Los Angeles to link up with the reigning Finals MVP. A legitimate MVP candidate for much of last season, George almost certainly won't replicate last year's career-best numbers with a much better supporting cast. But even if his scoring and playmaking take a step back, he'll still be an ace defender (league-best 2.2 SPG last season) and an elite scorer who hits 3s at an extremely high rate. The biggest concern heading into the year is how much time George could miss after a pair of offseason shoulder surgeries.
Malcolm Brogdon to the Indiana Pacers
We'll find out early on just how capable Brogdon is of holding the keys to an offense. He won't be asked to score 30 a night, but with Victor Oladipo sidelined indefinitely to begin the year, Brogdon is by far the Pacers' most capable offensive hub. In Milwaukee, Brogdon was the perfect third option, averaging 15.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists while turning in a rare 50/40/90 season. Considering he played fewer than 29 minutes per game and his usage rate barely cracked 20 percent, Brogdon will have a great chance to improve on each of those averages in 2019-20. But as a result of the larger workload, the 26-year-old will likely have difficulty replicating his historic efficiency.
D'Angelo Russell to the Golden State Warriors
I think I'll take back what I wrote above about Paul landing in Oklahoma City. This is actually the most improbable move of the summer. Most fans weren't even aware that the Warriors turning a departing Kevin Durant into D'Angelo Russell was a possibility, but here we are with the Warriors looking like they may have just enough to ride it out in a treacherous Western Conference until Klay Thompson returns. Coming off of a breakout year in Brooklyn and his first All-Star appearance, Russell now makes for an incredibly difficult player to project, but he'll be the unquestioned No. 2 option for a team with a severe lack of scoring beyond Stephen Curry. Playing alongside the two-time MVP should help open things up for Russell, but he'll likely spend considerably more time off-ball, which could lead to a reduction in assists after he posted a career-best (by far) 7.0 per game a year ago.
Terry Rozier to the Charlotte Hornets
With Walker out of the picture, the Hornets are apparently ready to turn things over to Rozier, who will welcome a full-time starting role for the first time in his career. After averaging fewer than 23 minutes per game off the bench in Boston last season, Rozier will be set for a dramatic jump in both playing time and usage rate. As a result, his counting statistics -- particularly points -- should ascend sharply, but Rozier has never been an efficient scorer, and a higher volume could only exacerbate that issue for Fantasy owners. Through four NBA seasons, Rozier has yet to shoot 40 percent from the field, though he's hit a respectable 36.8 percent of his 3s over the past two campaigns.
Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant to the Brooklyn Nets
In adding Irving and Durant, the Nets established themselves as a future power in the East, but with Durant on the shelf for this season, it'll be up to Irving to carry the load. He'll have help in the form of Caris LeVert, Jarrett Allen, Spencer Dinwiddie and Joe Harris, but the 2019-20 iteration of the Nets will firmly be Irving's team. A two-year stint in Boston brought more controversy than success, but lost in the fray of negative press was the fact that Irving turned in a pair of brilliant statistical seasons. Last season's numbers -- 23.8 PPG, 6.9 APG, 5.0 RPG, 1.5 SPG -- should be fairly replicable in Brooklyn, but Irving's growing reputation as an injury-prone player -- 96 missed games over the past four seasons -- casts a shadow over his Fantasy profile.
Al Horford to the Philadelphia 76ers
Horford leaving one Eastern Conference contender for another will likely have a larger impact in real-life than it will in Fantasy. The 33-year-old remains one of the best defenders in the league, but he played a career-low 29.0 minutes per game last season and grabbed only 6.7 boards per contest -- also a career-low. On a Sixers team with its eye on the Finals, Horford probably won't be asked to shoulder a heavy regular-season burden, and being flanked by Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid could mean even fewer chances to rack up assists and rebounds.
Mike Conley to the Utah Jazz
The addition of Conley via trade immediately vaults Utah closer to title contention in the Western Conference, but it may not help his Fantasy value. Operating as the guy in Memphis last season, Conley averaged a career-best 21.1 points per game to go with 6.4 assists, 3.4 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 2.2 made 3s. He'll start and play heavy minutes for the Jazz, but splitting playmaking with Donovan Mitchell will almost certainly trim Conley's usage rate.
Quick hits
Ricky Rubio to the Phoenix Suns
The fit may not be perfect, but Rubio clearly wore out his welcome in Utah, and he'll walk into another starting job in Phoenix. The Spaniard will always be a reliable source of assists and steals, but he's been a drag on field goal and free-throw percentages for his entire eight-year career.
Willie Cauley-Stein to the Golden State Warriors
Splitting time with Kevon Looney -- and Draymond Green -- may be an issue, but Cauley-Stein was quietly a productive source of rebounds, steals and assists in Sacramento. Below-average shot-blocking numbers hurt his Fantasy profile.
J.J. Redick to the New Orleans Pelicans
Yet to show any signs of slowing down at age 35, Redick will compete for a starting job in New Orleans but may move to a bench role for the first time since his days in Milwaukee. Either way, he'll continue to be a high-volume 3-point shooter who's great at the free throw line and doesn't hurt your field goal percentage.
Seth Curry to the Dallas Mavericks
Curry hit 45 percent of his 3s in Portland last season, but his relative lack of playing time (18.9 MPG) hampered his Fantasy value. In Dallas, the 29-year-old should find more opportunity, though he hasn't proven to be much more than a single-category specialist.
DeAndre Jordan to the Brooklyn Nets
Jordan's best days are behind him at age 31, but he's still among the best rebounders in the league, and he showed off improved passing skills in Dallas and New York last season. However, the Nets already have a promising young center in Jarrett Allen, and there's a good chance the pair will eat into each other's Fantasy value for much of the season.
Bojan Bogdanovic to the Utah Jazz
Coming off of a career year in the wake of Victor Oladipo's injury, Bogdanovic's numbers will likely move closer to his career averages as he joins a loaded Jazz roster. Over the past two seasons, the 30-year-old has maintained impressive 49/41/83 shooting splits.
Derrick Favors to the New Orleans Pelicans
Favors played just 23.2 minutes per game last season, and without another obvious option at center, New Orleans will likely expect him to take on a larger role. Favors has never been an elite rebounder or shot-blocker, but he's a solid contributor across the board and even flashed some comfortability from beyond the arc (17-78 3PT) last season.
Ed Davis to the Utah Jazz
Perennially near the top of the Total Rebounding Percentage charts, Davis will back up Rudy Gobert in Utah. Last season, he needed only 17.9 minutes to average a career-high 8.6 rebounds per game.
Jeremy Lamb to the Indiana Pacers
While the Hornets fell short of the postseason, Lamb quietly had the best year of his career, putting up 15.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.5 made 3s per game. He'll no longer be the No. 2 option in Indiana, however, so a regression toward his 2017-18 numbers seems realistic.
Enes Kanter to the Boston Celtics
Like Whiteside, Kanter has always been among the best rebounders in the league, but the minutes haven't always been there. With Al Horford and Aron Baynes out of the picture in Boston, Kanter projects to step into one of the larger night-to-night roles of his career.
Ish Smith to the Washington Wizards
Historically, Smith has had only brief stints of Fantasy relevance, but he'll take over as the starting point guard in Washington and could approach 30 minutes per game.
Hassan Whiteside to the Trail Blazers
Whiteside will have a chance to revive his career in Portland, which will be without Jusuf Nurkic for at least the first half of the season -- at least that's what we expect. While Whiteside has his shortcomings, few players are capable of matching his per-minute rebounding and blocks output. In Miami last season, he averaged 12.3 points, 11.3 rebounds and 1.9 blocks in just 23.3 minutes per game. Portland will likely need more than that -- at least until Nurkic returns.
Bobby Portis and Julius Randle to the New York Knicks
How two high-usage forwards will coexist on a deep roster of middling veterans remains to be seen, but Randle could emerge as the Knicks' top offensive option in what promises to be another strange season. Portis will come off the bench, but he can play center and power forward. Last season, he hit just under 40 percent of his 3.8 3-point attempts per game.
Derrick Rose to the Detroit Pistons
There's reason for (very cautious) optimism after Rose's encouraging 60-game run in Minnesota, but he still hasn't proven capable of holding up over a full season.
Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart to the New Orleans Pelicans
Ball and Ingram project to start for the Pelicans, and while each has significant questions to answer, they both have plenty of upside. If Ball can finally stay healthy, he'll have a chance to be an excellent source of assists, rebounds and 3s, though he's struggled to shoot consistently and rarely gets to the free throw line. Ingram is already a proven scorer (18.3 PPG last season), but as a complementary piece on a deep Pels' roster, he'll have a difficult time reaching the 33.8 minutes per game he saw in Los Angeles.
Tomas Satoransky to the Chicago Bulls
Expected to step in as the starter right away, Satoransky could face some competition from Kris Dunn and Coby White, but his surrounding talent will be much better than it was in Washington. Last season, from January on, Satoransky averaged 10.9 points, 6.7 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game.
Dewayne Dedmon to the Sacramento Kings
The Kings are built with borderline-unnecessary depth all over the roster, but the expectation is that Dedmon will open the year as the starter at center. Just how many minutes that leads to remains to be seen, but Dedmon was an underrated Fantasy asset a year ago, putting up 10.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.1 steals, 1.1 blocks and 1.3 made 3s in just 25.1 minutes per contest.
