Paul George and DeMar DeRozan highlight the top NBA faces in new places

With 2024-25 NBA training camp in the coming weeks, it’s time to look at the deals that have influenced the league’s landscape this offseason.

The action got a kick-start before the draft on June 26 when the Brooklyn Nets agreed to send Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks for future first-round picks they originally gave up in the James Harden trade.

The deal, which teams Bridges up with his former Villanova teammates Jalen Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo and Josh Hart, was just the beginning of an offseason full of moves that could define the league over the coming season. Paul George is headed back to the Eastern Conference with the Philadelphia 76ers, DeMar DeRozen is back in the Western Conference with the Sacramento Kings, and Chris Paul is teaming up with reigning Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama in San Antonio.

With several top names in new places, ESPN Insiders Chris Herring and Kevin Pelton broke down the top players on new teams ahead of the 2024-25 season.

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Mikal Bridges’ mom is loving his introductory news conference

Mikal Bridges reflects on joining the New York Knicks, with his mom sitting in the front row nodding along to his responses.

Bridges might not be the biggest name on this list — he’s yet to make an All-Star team — but he has the potential to impact the 2025 playoffs as much as anyone. By making a rare trade with their crosstown rival Nets to get Bridges, the Knicks doubled down on their strengths in terms of defensive versatility, shooting and former Villanova players.

In Bridges and OG Anunoby, New York now boasts two of the NBA’s best 3-and-D players, both of whom have more ability to create their own offense than most players in that mold. That could prove especially important with Bridges, who was stretched as Brooklyn’s go-to guy last season — his .560 true shooting percentage was Bridges’ lowest since his rookie campaign — but is an ideal complement for Brunson. — Pelton

The two-time NBA champion is one of the league’s best role players and adds immediate seasoning to a young Magic roster that’s looking to build on its playoff appearance this past season. Caldwell-Pope, 31, gives Orlando yet another strong wing defender to pair with stoppers Jalen Suggs and Jonathan Isaac. More specifically, he also gives the Magic something they sorely lacked in 2023-24: perimeter shooting. No team made fewer 3s than Orlando last season, but Caldwell-Pope has hit more than 100 in each of his past four campaigns — shooting over 40% on his 3s during that stretch. — Herring

It was evident throughout the second half of the regular season that Oklahoma City — specifically guard Josh Giddey — was going to be tested once the playoffs began. The Thunder offense boasts incredible spacing, which prompted defenses to sag off of the below-average shooting Giddey at the 3-point line in hopes of sealing off Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the paint. That strategy worked for the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference semifinals, where Giddey shot just 18.8% (3-for-16) from beyond the arc, and the Thunder — a minus-23 with him on the court during that series — played him sparingly as a result. That’s where a 30-year-old Caruso, one of the most tenacious defenders in the league and coming off a career-best 40.8% mark from 3 this past season, comes into play. He makes an already stout defense even better, and may very well rid the group of the spacing problem that arose with Giddey in the mix, particularly in the postseason. — Herring

After three seasons in Chicago resulted in a pair of All-Star appearances, DeRozan is taking his ultra-skilled game back to his native California via a sign-and-trade deal. Adding DeRozan to De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis gives Sacramento multiple go-to scorers at the cost of fit between those players and their supporting cast.

In particular, there’s overlap between DeRozan and Fox in terms of clutch scoring. Fox, the winner of the inaugural Jerry West Clutch Player of the Year award in 2022-23, led the league with 194 points in what NBA Advanced Stats defines as “clutch time.” DeRozan, last year’s runner-up in the category, has been second each of the last two seasons.

Both can’t handle the ball at the same time down the stretch, which might mean more time spotting up for DeRozan. Although he improved his 3-point accuracy to 34% with the Bulls, that came on limited volume: last season’s 2.8 attempts per game were DeRozan’s most since 2017-18. — Pelton

No player in the 2024 draft was more polarizing than Edey, the two-time consensus National Player of the Year at Purdue, whose playing style won’t translate easily to the NBA. The 7-foot-4 Edey lasted until the No. 9 pick, when he landed with a Grizzlies team in need of a starting center after trading Steven Adams at the deadline.

Edey would ideally start alongside Jaren Jackson Jr. in the frontcourt, filling the role that predecessors Adams and Jonas Valanciunas did as screen setters and rim protectors. If Edey can develop pick-and-roll chemistry with Ja Morant, his size could make him unstoppable against switches or when left free to roll to the rim.

The bigger questions are on defense, where Edey rarely strayed far from the hoop while averaging 2.2 blocks per game last season. NBA teams will test his ability to defend pick-and-roll offense early and often and he will need to hold up defensively to fulfill expectations as preseason Rookie of the Year favorite. — Pelton

As the first All-Star to change teams in free agency since 2019, all eyes will be on how George fits with past MVP Joel Embiid and fellow All-Star Tyrese Maxey on a Sixers team expected to contend in the East.

Given George’s malleability as a 40% 3-point shooter who can defend multiple positions during his five seasons with the Clippers, incorporating him should be relatively easy for Nick Nurse. George figures to slide into a heavier on-ball role when Embiid and Maxey are off the court, backstopping Philadelphia second units that are longer on role players than shot creation.

Perhaps the biggest question with George, then, is at what point does his age effect his production? George turned 34 in May, and the Clippers were evidently concerned enough about his long-term outlook to be unwilling to match the Sixers’ four-year, max offer. — Pelton

A weakness the Thunder carried into the 2024 postseason was their relative lack of ruggedness. Young center Chet Holmgren is a block machine and his ability to space the floor is a positive as well, but it often leaves Oklahoma City without any traditional rebounders on offense. A player like the 26-year-old Hartenstein, who finished with the NBA’s second best offensive-rebounding percentage this past season, immediately changes that. He’s an impressive rim protector and rebounder as well as a fantastic passer that should thrive with an unselfish, high-octane team like the Thunder, who already enjoyed ample spacing. — Herring

After two years of splitting ballhandling duties with Trae Young in Atlanta, Murray’s trade to New Orleans should put the ball back in his hands on a regular basis. Given the Pelicans’ other scoring threats, including Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson, it might not be realistic to expect the 25.1 points and 9.1 assists per game Murray averaged when Young was out of the lineup last season. Still, Murray is the most dynamic guard New Orleans has had since Chris Paul.

Based on the ability of Ingram and Williamson to score in isolation, Murray’s development as a 3-point shooter could be important for the Pelicans. He hit a career high 2.6 triples per game last season on 36% accuracy, including 39% on catch-and-shoot attempts, according to Second Spectrum tracking. If New Orleans opts to start small-ball lineups with Williamson at center and maximize its shooting, adding Murray should make the Pelicans one of the NBA’s best offenses. — Pelton

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Chris Paul enticed by ‘opportunity to play’ with Spurs

Chris Paul opens up about his decision to join the Spurs, citing playing time and the opportunity to play for head coach Gregg Popovich as motivations for signing in San Antonio.

By no means will Paul’s addition in San Antonio make the Spurs a contender. But his abundant wisdom and skill, plus the growth many expect to see from Wembanyama in his second year, could easily have the Spurs in the hunt for a playoff spot in the loaded West. If he helps lead them there, it’d be a slightly less surprising version of what Paul pulled off with the Thunder back in 2020 by getting them to the playoffs in a somewhat similar position. Paul, 39, should be a perfect pick-and-roll partner for Wembanyama as his efficiency numbers this past season — 44% from the floor overall, and 37% from 3 — remained unchanged from the year before. The key question will be whether he can stay healthy. If he can, his tutelage will be extraordinarily meaningful with Wembanyama and the other Spurs youngsters. — Herring

No rookie looked more ready to contribute at the NBA summer league than Sheppard, the No. 3 overall pick by the Rockets who topped my stats-based projections for this year’s draft and is second to Edey in Rookie of the Year odds.

There’s no doubting Sheppard’s shooting ability after he hit 52% of his 3s (on a robust 144 attempts) during his lone season at Kentucky. After playing alongside fellow lottery pick Rob Dillingham in college, Sheppard was asked to play a more traditional point guard for Houston in Las Vegas, averaging 20.0 PPG and 5.3 APG (along with 4.8 turnovers per game). In particular, Sheppard’s ability to beat his defender using a tight crossover impressed.

Long-term, Sheppard’s development could influence how the Rockets move into phase three of their rebuild and the future of starting point guard Fred VanVleet. That will also be determined by whether Sheppard shows he can hold his own defending one-on-one to go with his sky-high steal rate (2.8 per game in summer league). — Pelton

It will be odd to see Thompson in a new uniform after 13 seasons in Golden State. But he’ll settle in Dallas with a pair of the league’s best ball handlers in Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, who should be able to set him up with countless looks from deep. It’s no secret that, after devastating injuries, the 34-year-old isn’t the defender he once was and his shooting metrics have come down in the past few years. But, even with that being the case, his poorest shooting years of nearly 39% from 3 are still well above average, and enough to add to one of the league’s most dangerous offenses. — Herring

The soon-to-be 36-year-old, who’s moving onto his fifth different team since leaving the Thunder in 2019, lands in perhaps his most interesting scenario since his Oklahoma City days. The one-time MVP and all-time triple-double leader will now play alongside three-time MVP Nikola Jokic, who collects triple-doubles at will. One thing to watch as Westbrook comes off the bench: What will be the pace of play? It’s a daunting enough task to stay with him defensively because of his speed. If he plays that fast in Denver, it could possibly leave his teammates — who played at one of the slower paces in the league last season — trying to catch their breath. Either way, watching Westbrook alongside Jokic and Jamal Murray will be highly entertaining. — Herring