Durant, Horford are top movers
Dwyane Wade, who averaged 23.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 5.8 assists in 13 seasons with the Heat, joined the Bulls in one of the offseason’s most surprising moves.
4. DWYANE WADE
Former team: Miami Heat New team: Chicago Bulls
In perhaps the summer’s most unanticipated move, Wade joined Rajon Rondo and Jimmy Butler in a Bulls starting lineup severely lacking three-point threats. He’s no longer a perennial All-Star capable of shouldering the majority of the offensive load, but the future first-ballot Hall of Famer has plenty left in the tank to make his presence felt as Chicago looks to get back in the playoffs. In 14 playoff games last year, Wade ranked third among shooting guards in points (21.4), fifth in field goal percentage (46.9%), second in rebounds (5.6) and third in assists (4.3) and proved to still be one of the league’s elite fourth-quarter scorers.
5. PAU GASOL
Former team: Bulls New team: San Antonio Spurs
Nobody can replace what Tim Duncan meant for San Antonio over the past two decades, but adding Gasol was one of the better offseason moves. The 36-year-old Spaniard remains fully capable of making an impact for a Spurs team looking to, once again, contend for a championship. Still an elite passer and above-average rebounder, Gasol averaged 16.5 points, 11 rebounds, 4.1 assists and two blocks and shot 46.9% from the field last season with Chicago, earning an All-Star spot for the sixth time in his career and for the second consecutive season. He has lost a step (or three) on the defensive end, no doubt, but with Gregg Popovich manning the show, we have a feeling Gasol will fit right in.
6. CHANDLER PARSONS
Former team: Dallas Mavericks New team: Memphis Grizzlies
After two knee surgeries in two
seasons, Parsons is poised to pick up where he left off last season in Dallas. He averaged 17.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists and shot 44.7% from three-point range in 14 games after the AllStar break until his season was cut short. Mike Conley, Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol are proven scorers, but Parsons adds another dimension on the wing. If the dice roll his way, he could be in for a big season.
7. SERGE IBAKA
Former team: Thunder New team: Magic
After flirting with All-Star status for a couple of seasons and being named to the all-defensive first team for three consecutive seasons, Ibaka took a step back last season, struggling to make much of an impact behind two of the league’s top-five players in Durant and Russell Westbrook. With the ability to spread the floor on one end and protect the rim on the other, we expect the change of scenery to help steer the 27-year-old’s career back on track in a Magic frontcourt with the offensive-minded Nikola Vucevic, explosive Aaron Gordon and a breakout candidate in Bismack Biyombo. Ibaka is fully capable of becoming Orlando’s best player this season.
8. JEFF TEAGUE
Former team: Hawks New team: Indiana Pacers
Teague — a 28-year-old Indianapolis native — was acquired by the Pacers as part of a three-team trade that sent older, less athletic George Hill to the Utah Jazz. A speedy, aggressive floor general who excels in the open court, Teague fits the bill for the new and improved, up-tempo Pacers. There likely will be a bit of an adjustment period to the new system and an offense with balldominant guys in Paul George and Monta Ellis.
9. VICTOR OLADIPO
Former team: Magic New team: Thunder
A 24-year-old elite athlete with all the necessary tools to be a star, Oladipo showed occasional glimpses of greatness during his first three seasons in Orlando but never truly lived up to the lofty expectations that come with being a No. 2 overall pick. If he can thrive in Billy Donovan’s system as the team’s second scoring option and fully tap into his potential as Westbrook’s running mate, the Thunder will have one of the better backcourts in the NBA.
10. LUOL DENG
Former team: Heat New team: Los Angeles Lakers
Deng isn’t the elite perimeter defender that he was during his Chicago days, and the fact that he fell apart in last year’s Eastern Conference semifinals against the Toronto Raptors isn’t all that encouraging. But he thrived in the stretch-4 role for most of last season, and he figures to be a valuable asset for the post-Kobe Bryant Lakers this year. At 31, he brings a veteran mentality to a roster chock-full of young, inexperienced players.
Just missed: Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, Harrison Barnes, Biyombo, Ryan Anderson