The meat of the NBA offseason is over. Most of the discussion has centered around the New York Knicks, Paul George and the Philadelphia 76ers, the end (for now) of the LA Clippers, the Los Angeles Lakers standing pat, the crowded tank race, the Oklahoma City Thunder loading up and aprons. So many aprons.
Here are seven teams that have gone underdiscussed this offseason -- each with critical storylines and moves yet to play out.
WEST POWERHOUSES, PAST AND (MAYBE?) PRESENT
OK, I'm cheating; no one ignores the Warriors. But the offseason focus has been on the legend who left and their new All-Star target. Let's assume the Warriors don't acquire Lauri Markkanen or any equivalent player. What is this team -- with Klay Thompson and Chris Paul gone, and a slew of new role players in De'Anthony Melton, Kyle Anderson and Buddy Hield?
If he's healthy, Melton has a chance to start -- though I'd guess the most likely starting five is Stephen Curry, Brandin Podziemski, Andrew Wiggins, Jonathan Kuminga, and Draymond Green. The Wiggins-Kuminga combination found its rhythm in smaller lineups with Green at center; the Curry/Wiggins/Kuminga/Green quartet finished plus-115 in 403 minutes. Starting this way forces Green to open at center and leaves two traditional bigs -- Kevon Looney and Trayce Jackson-Davis -- fighting for backup minutes.
That's the price of starting Kuminga. Any combination of Kuminga, Green and a paint-bound center cramps Golden State's spacing beyond the point where even Curry can save it. The roving gravity of the Splash Brothers could make almost any lineup work. Thompson is gone, and Hield is the only elite shooter Golden State added. Curry and Hield make for a potent combination, but the cost would come on defense. Podziemski and Melton offer better two-way balance.
It's time for the Warriors to start Kuminga and see if the youth movement can explode in time to salvage the back end of Curry's career. His extension negotiations could get spicy if Kuminga's team gets the feeling his role might fluctuate again.