NBA players who will help new team the most
As we close in on the regular season, we rank the top 10 players who changed teams over the summer, taking last year's performance and potential to make an impact in the 2016-17 season into consideration.
1. Kevin Durant
Old team: Oklahoma City Thunder
New team: Golden State Warriors
Breakdown: Biggest offseason move, biggest impact. With a player of Durant's caliber, it might just be that simple. Obviously the good ol' "there's only one basketball" dilemma will have to be sorted out, but at the end of the day, the Warriors — a team coming off the winningest regular season in NBA history and two straight trips to the NBA Finals — added one of the most talented players of this generation.
2. Al Horford
Old team: Atlanta Hawks
New team: Boston Celtics
The Celtics entered the offseason in desperate need of a game-changing big man to accompany Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley and Jae Crowder. Horford is their guy. The four-time All-Star won't frequent the highlight reels, but for a team with little production from their bigs in recent years, adding an all-around talent and veteran locker room presence like Horford is exactly what the Celtics needed to take the next step — or leap — forward.
3. Dwight Howard
Old team: Houston Rockets
New team: Hawks
After unfavorable finishes in Orlando, Los Angeles and Houston, Howard's homecoming is one of the NBA's most intriguing storylines. His offensive role was limited last year to just 8.5 field goal attempts per game, the lowest since his rookie season. But that should all change in coach Mike Budenholzer's pass-heavy system. With Al Horford and Jeff Teague out the door, Howard will be looked to as a primary scoring option with Paul Millsap and Kent Bazemore. He may not be Superman anymore, but if healthy, he has the physical tools to get back to an All-Star level.
4. Dwyane Wade
Old team: Miami Heat
New team: Chicago Bulls
In perhaps the most unanticipated move of the summer, Wade joined forces with 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 still has plenty left in the tank to make his presence felt as Chicago looks to get back in the postseason. 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
Old 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 made. The 36-year-old Spaniard is still 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 boards, 4.1 assists, 2 blocks and shot 46.9% from the field last season with Chicago, earning All-Star honors for the sixth time in his career and for the second consecutive season. He's 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
Old 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 year in Dallas. He averaged 17.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists and shot 44.7% from three (2.4 makes) in 14 games after the All-Star break until his season was cut short. Mike Conley, Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol are all proven scorers, but Parsons adds another dimension on the wing. If the dice roll his way, he could be in for a big year.
7. Serge Ibaka
Old team: Thunder
New team: Orlando Magic
After flirting with All-Star status for a couple of seasons and earning three consecutive All-Defensive First Team honors, Ibaka took a step back last year, 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, the explosive Aaron Gordon and a breakout candidate in Bismack Biyombo. He's fully capable of becoming Orlando's best player this year.
8. Jeff Teague
Old 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 the 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. Though there will likely be a bit of an adjustment period to the new system and an offense with ball-dominant guys in Paul George and Monta Ellis.
9. Victor Oladipo
Old 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 Russell Westbrook's running mate, the Thunder will have one of the better backcourts in the NBA.
10. Luol Deng
Old 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 Toronto isn't all that encouraging. But he thrived in the stretch-four 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, Bismack Biyombo, Ryan Anderson