The offseason ends this week. Most teams hold media day Monday and open practice Tuesday, and the league that spent the summer completely rearranging itself finally has to show its work.
A few clubs got a head start. Houston opened last Wednesday. Dallas started Saturday. Detroit, New York and Orlando go Monday, and Cleveland waits until Wednesday.
The East Got Terrifying
The Knicks are defending champions and are somehow not the most interesting team in their own conference. Philadelphia added Jaylen Brown and LeBron James in the same summer. Miami acquired Giannis Antetokounmpo. Toronto gets Kawhi Leonard back. Cleveland returns essentially intact.
That is five teams with legitimate title arguments in one conference. The East spent most of the last decade being the easier path to the Finals. Not this year.
New York Has a Contract Problem
Karl-Anthony Towns and the Knicks are at a standstill on an extension. He is eligible for a four-year deal worth more than $272 million. New York has offered somewhere in the $45 million to $50 million annual range, well below his $68 million max.
Towns holds a $61 million player option for next season. If nothing is signed by June 30, he opts out and hits free agency. A defending champion opening camp with its starting center’s future unresolved is not ideal, and the second apron makes every solution expensive.
The West Is a Two-Team Argument
San Antonio brings back effectively its whole rotation and added another veteran shooter. Oklahoma City’s core is intact. Everyone else in the conference is trying to figure out how to get past both.
The Lakers are exploring consolidation trades involving Jaden Hardy and Dalton Knecht, still looking for a taker on Jarred Vanderbilt, and building around Luka Doncic. That is a team with a clear star and a roster that does not yet fit around him.
What Media Day Actually Tells You
Almost nothing, which is why everyone watches it. Players say they are in the best shape of their lives. Coaches talk about buy-in. Executives dodge contract questions.
The useful part is body language. Watch who stands next to whom in the team photo and who gives a two-word answer about an extension. That is where the season’s real storylines start.
The Injury Report Starts Now
Training camp is also when the league finds out which offseason recovery stories were real. Kyrie Irving is back from a torn ACL. Kawhi Leonard is returning to Toronto. Luka Doncic reported at full health.
Those three answers shape the entire playoff picture, and none of them get settled in October. Teams manage loads through December and find out in April whether the plan worked.
The Season Starts for Real Soon
Camp is the last moment where every team is undefeated and every plan still works on paper. By Thanksgiving, half the league will have abandoned the rotation it opened with.
Enjoy the optimism while it lasts. It has a short shelf life.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.