Reacting to NBA Offseason Moves: Klay Thompson, Tobias Harris, Mikal Bridges, Paul George, Chris Paul and More

The NBA moves quickly. It seems like the NBA Finals just ended, and the draft happened and free agency moves are already being made already. Before we know it, the NBA regular season will be closing in again.

I decided it was a good time to offer my reactions to some of the bigger offseason moves so far. As the offseason continues, I plan to do a few more of these. Let’s get to it!

Boston Celtics

It’s only fitting to kick things off by talking about the Celtics after they won the title.

Boston has decided to run it back, with all their offseason moves being re-signings and extensions so far.

The biggest move was Jayson Tatum agreeing to a five-year max extension. Another huge move was Derrick White signing a four-year extension.

Tatum was one of the best fantasy players in the game this past season and will probably continue to be a top-10 fantasy option for several more years yet. Retaining the team as a whole should only help each player with their efficiency, so I’d expect another big season from Tatum this coming season.

White really played a big role with Boston this past season. It translated to the fantasy world too, as he was a top-50 option overall.

White is 30 years old, so he should have at least a couple more big seasons in him. As long as he can stay healthy, another top-50 showing should be possible with White this coming season.

Chicago Bulls

The Bulls have made a couple significant moves already.

Chicago traded away Alex Caruso, getting back Josh Giddey from the Thunder. The Bulls signed Jalen Smith and re-signed Patrick Williams.

Giddey saw his role in OKC shrink this past season, so a change of scenery will probably be good for his fantasy outlook. He’s unlikely to be a huge scoring threat with this current Bulls’ roster, but can rack up enough rebounds and assists to be a solid fantasy contributor most nights.

I like this landing spot for Smith, who could take on a much larger role if Nikola Vucevic is traded away this offseason. If Vuc remains in Chicago, Smith has already shown he can be a solid contributor off the bench, and should get enough minutes to have value in all types of fantasy leagues.

Williams only got 43 games in during the 2023-24 season. Most of his numbers were actually a step back from what he produced the prior season, but the team still likes what they’ve seen from him and locked him into a five-year deal. As of this time, Williams looks like a breakout candidate going into next season.

Dallas Mavericks

The Mavs have made a couple notable moves this offseason, but the biggest one was signing Klay Thompson.

Thompson saw his numbers dip in his age 33 season with the Warriors. He still averaged 17.9 points per game, but didn’t provide much else on a nightly basis.

With Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving around him, Thompson should get a good amount of open looks, so his fantasy value will come down to whether or not he can improve his 3-point percentage. With his big name, he’s not going to fly under the radar, but he could end up being a draft steal if he finds a second life in Dallas.

Detroit Pistons

The Pistons had the worst record in the league last season, but have made some solid moves already.

Detroit locked Cade Cunningham into a long-term deal, acquired Tim Hardaway Jr. from the Mavericks and also signed Tobias Harris in free agency.

Cunningham has been a good fantasy asset when on the court, but health has held him back a bit. He’s improved in the first three years of his career, and should take another step forward with some better players around him. I’m curious to see how much his injury issues concern fantasy owners during draft time.

Hardaway had some big-time games for the Mavs during the regular season, but became almost unplayable at points during the postseason. He should be able to carve out a decent role with Detroit, and will likely be a short-term fantasy option throughout the regular season.

Harris averaged 17.2 points per game in his most recent season with the 76ers, but it still feels like he was a bit of a fantasy disappointment. He won’t be the top scoring option in Detroit either, but maybe the change of scenery can help him out and he can be a good everyday fantasy option for teams this coming season.

New York Knicks

The Knicks made two big moves so far this offseason. New York signed OG Anunoby to a five-year deal and acquired Mikal Bridges from the Nets in a trade.

Anunoby has been a pretty consistent fantasy performer over the past several seasons. He isn’t super flashy, averaging around 15 points a game, but he’s a pretty efficient shooter and can sprinkle in some other stats to be a good fantasy option. 

Bridges is most known for playing in every game of every season, but also can score at a pretty good clip. He averaged 19.6 points per game in Brooklyn this past season, and while he might not be able to match that with some of the scorers that New York has around, Bridges should have his efficiency rise, and he’ll be another solid fantasy contributor on a nightly basis.

Philadelphia 76ers

Philly has probably landed the most notable names so far this offseason.

The big get was signing Paul George in free agency. The team re-signed Tyrese Maxey and Kelly Oubre Jr. and added Andre Drummond and Eric Gordon in free agency.

Just like that, the 76ers have a pretty formidable core of players to surround Joel Embiid with.

George should help increase the efficiency of Embiid and Maxey. It’ll be interesting to see how the trio gels together, because those are three guys who can score the ball pretty well, and it’s sometimes hard to distribute field goal attempts evenly on a nightly basis. All three players might see their points per game dip, so adding on extra rebounds, assists, steals or blocks or being better shooters are how those three can retain their high fantasy values.

Drummond is a good backup center to Embiid. If Embiid every misses extended time again, Drummond should be able to hold things together - unlike last season when Philly struggled without Embiid around.

Oubre likely will see his averages drop a bit with George around, but he and Gordon could be big-time assets off the bench, and should both carve out big enough roles to be at least decent fantasy assets for the upcoming season.

San Antonio Spurs

Chris Paul isn’t the player he once was, but this is a pretty good landing spot for him. 

Paul will serve as a veteran presence for some of the younger Spurs players, and should play enough minutes each game to be a pretty solid fantasy option. 

Victor Wembanyama will be the focal point of the team’s offense, and if Paul can shoot near the percentages he did a season ago, he could be a double-double threat every night with his passing ability. Depending on how the rest of the offseason shakes out, Paul could be a bit of a sleeper in fantasy drafts before the season kicks off.