It s not just a superstar transaction! A low-key signing that may change the league s championship pattern

Translator's note: The original text was published in CBS Sports. The data in the text were as of the time of publication (July 30th local time), and the date involved has been converted. The views in the article have nothing to do with the translator and the platform.

People believe that what can shake the so-called NBA situation is the transfer of stars. Everyone is watching closely where Giannis Antetokounmpo "probably" going (although there is never any real sign that he will leave).

From this perspective, Kevin Durant's joining the Rockets is clearly the headlines this summer. Carl Anthony Towns joined the Knicks last summer, and Jimmy Butler joined the Warriors at the trade deadline. Of course, we are all still trying to understand how Luca Doncic eventually joined the Lakers.

At the same time, it was the Thunder who won the 2025 championship, and what helped them to the next level was the operations of several non-star players. Last summer, when the Thunder signed Alex Caruso and Isaiah Haltenstein, they transformed from a second-round team to a championship team.

In this spirit, what teams have made the best low-key operations this summer that may help them win the championship in May and June next year? Of these championship teams, four teams attracted my attention more than any other team. The Cavaliers are close to Lonzo Ball

. This may seem obvious to a team that won 64 regular season games last year, but in all the discussions about the Eastern Conference landscape, there is one fact that has been overlooked: For much of last season, the Cavaliers were arguably the best team in the NBA. But they are not healthy in the playoffs.

In fact, we should look at this team as we did when the Thunder were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs in 2024. Only one marginal deal is gone. And Ball is such a very important marginal signing. Not to mention that Isaac Okoro, who replaced the contract with more than $11 million in guaranteed in the next two years with Ball's $10 million maturity, is a big financial victory. From Ball himself alone, the Cavaliers have finally obtained the dual-energy guard they have been looking for for a long time.

Ocorro made progress in that position, but Ball was a great shooter before he suffered that injury that almost ended his career. And with Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland and Evan Mobley attracting a lot of attention, he should be able to regain that form.

And he will also improve the performance of those teammates. Ball is now, and has always been a player who processes basketball information like a supercomputer, the kind of connected person who can seamlessly integrate into the Cavaliers' rhythm and ball transmission system. Oh, and defense…

When Ball and Alex Caruso played with the Bulls together, they were able to mess up everything on the field as a duo that created chaos on the defensive end. Although it felt like a previous life, they were still tall, well-known defenders at cutting the ball, and the pressure they exerted could kill offensive rounds that the opponent hadn't started yet. Ball is not a defender like Caruso. Caruso is not an offensive threat like Ball. But overall, they are very similar.

Bauer is not a player who can play every night. He almost certainly won't play back-to-back games, and his playing time will be closely monitored throughout the season. But if everything goes well, his influence in the playoffs can grow exponentially, as there will be more rest days and fewer reasons to limit him. He won't be the reason the Cavaliers won the Eastern Conference Championship (if the Cavaliers can really do it), but he can play a big role in the process.

The Clippers signed Brooke Lopez to strengthen the inside line

to grab Bradley Bill with clearance price, and trade John Collins (who could perfectly fit into a character that might end up similar to Aaron Gordon), all of which were smart operations. Chris Paul’s return is at least a cool story, and maybe even more than that, but for me, the decisive trade the Clippers made during this great offseason was getting Lopez to make it the best backup center in the league.

Lopez is no longer as brave as he was, but to be honest, his strength is still good. Last season, his three-point shooting percentage still reached 37%, so his pick-and-roll cut with James Harden and Paul will be the exciting tactics of Tyron Lou. Lopez is also still a top shot distractor with a perfect vertical jump performance.

Yes, he was so beaten out of play in last year's playoffs, and he may no longer be the top defense backstage, but in his shorter playing time, he is still a great backup center – after all, last season's Clippers' substitute centers were Ben Simmons and Nicholas Batum. Whenever Ivica Zubac leaves, they have to play in a small lineup. In a league that is returning to the big guys, this is a problem.

Look at all the double tower lineups the Clippers may face in the Western Conference Playoff Series:

Thunder: Chet Homgren/Isaiah Haltenstein

Rockets: Alperen Shinkin/Steven Adams/Clint Capela

Mavericks: Anthony Davis/Derek Levley II/Daniel Gafford

Timberwolves: Rudy Gobert/Naz Reed

Grizzlies: Jaren Jackson Jr./Zach Eddy

Nuggets: Nicola Jokic/Jonas Valanciunas

Spurs: Victor Vinbanama/Luke Cornett

This is not the Eastern Conference Cavaliers (Evan Mobley/Jarett Allen), Knicks (Karl Anthony Towns/Mitchell Robinson), Hawks (Oneka Okonwu/Christaps Porzingis), Bucks (Giannis Antetokounmpo/Miles Turner) and Heat (Bam Adebayo/Krell Weill).

The Clippers can now match any lineup at any moment in any game. They can play a small lineup completely like they did in recent years. They can replace Zubac with Lopez to achieve a traditional 48-minute single center lineup, or they can also put Zubac and Lopez on the court at the same time, which is a perfect match given Lopez's ability to open up space. This reinforcement can affect the trend of the Clippers' series in one round and may even bring more help.

Knicks get Yabuselle to enhance the bench depth

I thought the Knicks had a chance to trade Mikal Bridges before renewing him, maybe they would still do that, but unless some kind of earth-shaking deal happens, they will have a clear task in the offseason: improve the bench strength. And they did do this by introducing Jordan Clarkson and Gaelson Yabuselle.

Everyone knows Clarkson. He is a natural scorer. He can score points in 20 minutes of playing time every night, perhaps sharing the pressure for Jaylen Brunson in some squads, but may be more of a core of a second-team, showing a much bigger threat than Cameron Payne.

But if I were a fan of the Knicks, I would be more excited about Abuselle's arrival. He once played star-level performances for the French men's basketball team at the Paris Olympics, and if you haven't followed him since then (I suspect many non-Sixers fans are like this), then you need to know: He was signed by the Sixers last summer and performed very well in both the starting and the substitute role.

For a player who should be able to play 20-25 minutes with the Knicks, his basic stats look great enough: he can average 11 points and nearly 6 rebounds per game. But it is his three-point shooting ability that can truly bring changes to the tactical system under new coach Mike Brown.

Josh Hart is an excellent player. But when the Knicks lined up three wings (OG-Anunobi, Bridges and Hart) with Brunson and Towns’ roster, Hart’s lack of shooting ability could be a fatal weakness for the defense to start emptying him and blocking Brunson and Towns’s route. But you can't let Yabuselle go because he averaged four three-pointers and shot up to 38% last season.

In addition to bench contributions, Brown can replace Hart with Abuselle at a time he thinks is particularly suitable, perhaps even at the end of the game, giving the Knicks five threatening shooters while maintaining a solid defense. I really like this Knicks signing, both in the general sense and in terms of the specific roster choices that Brown can now allocate, he should use substitutes more in the playoffs than like Tom Thibodeau.

The Eagles had a wonderful idea to introduce the "unicorn"

The Eagles had an extraordinary summer. Nikil Alexander Walker can be listed here too, but he was once one of the most sought after free agents (although it was a free agent Little New Year), so I will focus on Christapus Porzingis, and if he can stay healthy, he may eventually take the Hawks to new heights.

As mentioned above, size has become very important again in the current NBA, and the Hawks now have two centers, Oneka Okongwu and Porzingis, who complement each other well and can actually share playing time, not just replace each other (as in the previous case of Okongwu and Clint Capela).

In addition, the cooperation between Porzingis and Trae Young has the potential of nuclear weapons. With Yang's ability to break into the inside and Porzingis cutting outside far outside the three-point line, Jaylen Johnson, who wants to maintain the defense in such a large space and be careful to rush towards the basket, wish all teams good luck. It doesn't matter which cup of poison you choose to drink, because they are just as deadly. On the defensive end, imagine a finale: Young is surrounded by Johnson, Alexander Walker, Dyson Daniels and Porzingis. As the main defender last season, Porzingis limited his opponent's shooting percentage to 42%, which is better than Victor Vinbanyama and Anthony Davis. It's pretty good, and it's Porzingis that put it all together on both sides of the offense and defense.

The Hawks have created a tailor-made lineup around Trae Young. They have built their flanks into a position with extremely strong remedial defense capabilities, and now they have a top basket protector like Porzingis. If Young can't win with such a lineup (if the whole team can stay healthy), there's nothing to say.