NBA Champions — like the Knicks heading into this season — preach continuity.
Continuity is boring. At least to many NBA fans it is — player movement is the lifeblood of the sport for many, especially on social media. The more, the better. It’s what drives ratings and draws eyeballs. This offseason saw a host of name players switch teams, but which of those moves will matter? Who are the players who changed teams and will have the biggest impact? Here are seven names to watch.
Jaylen Brown/LeBron James (76ers)
While these were separate moves — with the 76ers trade for Brown influencing LeBron’s decision to sign there as a free agent — we’re grouping them here, and their combined impact has them at the top of this ranking.
Landing Jaylen Brown was a coup for new head of basketball operations Mike Gansey. This is the 2024 Finals MVP coming off his best season as a pro — 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game — and he steps right into the rotation next to Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe and Joel Embiid. Brown brings more shot creation, defense and leadership — Brown has won a ring. He has been where the 76ers want to go.
So has LeBron James, who at age 41 last season showed he knows how to fit into a team, be the glue that binds different stars together, and take over when needed. LeBron steps in at four and will be asked to body up some bigger bodies on defense while also serving as a facilitator on offense, picking and choosing his spots to score. At this point in his career, this role is a great fit for LeBron on the court.
LeEverything. 👑 pic.twitter.com/fP8oXKGjNR
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) September 28, 2026
The question in Philadelphia isn’t talent (although there are legitimate defensive questions), and it’s not even all about health (even though they obviously need LeBron and Joel Embiid on the court in the postseason). Rather, the question is whether everyone makes the sacrifices to their own games needed to make this all work. LeBron and Brown have done that before and will lead the way.
“In order for us to be great, we have to do things that are just not comfortable. We have to be comfortable being uncomfortable,” LeBron said at media day. “That is the best way to expedite being great. You have to fall in love with doing things that’s uncomfortable, and if we can do that, then we can be a great team. If we don’t do that, then we be like, oh man, it was a great team on paper... I didn’t leave my family to lose in the second round. I know that for sure.”
One other thing worth monitoring: Playing with LeBron means playing in his shadow. He is the biggest NBA brand, a national and international superstar who draws massive amounts of attention, and his presence changes a team beyond the court. Embiid is used to being the face of the 76ers. Brown savored being the star — and the No. 1 option — in Boston last season. Maxey is a rising star who should have the ball and the postgame mic in his hands a lot. All of those stars are going to have to sacrifice, and not just in touches on the court.
Giannis Antetokounmpo (Heat)
This simple fact has gotten overlooked: Giannis Antetokounmpo was the best player to change teams this offseason.
While he battled injuries last season (and health is a concern in Miami), Antetokounmpo remains a force of nature on the court, an NBA champion and two-time MVP who averaged 27.6 points and 9.8 rebounds a game last season in the 36 games he did play. Pairing him with Bam Adebayo gives Miami a foundation to build on and a path to contention in the East.
That’s the bar for Antetokounmpo in Miami. LeBron came there and won rings. More recently, Jimmy Butler came to South Beach and got the Heat into two NBA Finals. That’s the expectation over the next four years, and the pressure will start this season, even though most pundits don’t see this Heat team on that level yet (*nods in assent*). The front office has work to do. However, just landing Antetokounmpo puts the Heat on a road to being a contender after a couple of seasons spinning their wheels. Antetokounmpo changes everything in Miami.
LaMelo Ball (Timberwolves)
Better players switched teams this summer, but no team made a bigger bet on a player than the Minnesota Timberwolves did on LaMelo Ball.
The Timberwolves surveyed the West landscape and realized they needed to shake things up, and they needed to find another playmaker to take some of the load off Anthony Edwards. They found what they wanted in LaMelo’s dynamic passing and playmaking, but it came at a steep cost, and that is one of the challenges — gone are the rock-solid Julius Randle and the valuable Naz Reid. Reid’s floor spacing in particular will be missed and filling in for the former Sixth Man of the Year will be challenging.
Ball also is untested on the league’s biggest stages, and his style of play could lead to turnovers as defenses clamp down. Does coach Chris Finch try to rein him in a little, or are they all in for the full Ball experience? Also, his lack of defense could be an issue (even with quality defenders around him and Rudy Gobert back in the paint) when facing the best, deepest teams.
It’s a radical shift in playing styles and a complete gamble by Minnesota, making them one of the more interesting teams to watch this season.
Kawhi Leonard (Raptors)
Kawhi Leonard got everything he wanted this summer. Get away from the imploding Clippers? Check. Get to a city and fan base that adores him, minimizing the impact of the Los Angeles scandal? Check. Get a massive new extension in Toronto that he wasn’t going to get in LA? Check, to the tune of two years, $115 million.
He also comes to a Toronto roster that has quietly become a team to watch in the East, a plug-and-play addition. Toronto was the No. 5 seed in the East last season and pushed the Cavaliers to seven games, and now adds Leonard coming off an All-NBA season where he averaged 27.9 points and 6.4 rebounds a game and played elite defense. Leonard next to Scottie Barnes — who played at an All-NBA level but just missed the team — plus Jamal Shead form the basis of what could be an elite defense, and then they have quality players around them like RJ Barrett and Collin Murray-Boyles.
We won’t see them much on national television, but if Leonard is healthy, he could have as big an impact on winning as any player switching teams this summer.
Tobias Harris (Spurs)
If you watched the Spurs in the playoffs and thought, “all they need is a little more maturity and a little more shot creation as an outlet,” it’s time you met Tobias Harris. The veteran jumps over from Detroit, where he played the same role as a rock-solid four who averaged 13.3 points and 5.1 rebounds a game. Come the playoffs, when defenses focused on Cade Cunningham and made his life difficult, Harris had more scoring responsibility and averaged 18.1 points a game.
He won’t be asked to take on that kind of role with a team coming off an NBA Finals appearance and featuring Victor Wembanyama, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper. If he’s just himself, the threat of his scoring, cutting out of the corner, and some shot creation are exactly what the Spurs need, and Harris is a proven playoff performer. San Antonio got better this summer, and that should scare the rest of the league.
Walker Kessler (Lakers)
One way or another, Walker Kessler is going to have a massive impact on the Lakers this season.
The Lakers paid a steep price to pry Kessler out of Utah, believing he can be the big pick-setting, rim-rolling, alley-oop finishing, and shot-blocking force in the paint Los Angeles needs to maximize Luka Doncic’s skill set. Kessler has done all those things — for stretches. The Lakers are betting that the guy who has played in 63 games total over the past two seasons can stay healthy, and that a player untested in meaningful games while in Utah can rise up on the biggest stages. On paper, Kessler is exactly the kind of big the Lakers need, he just needs to show he can do that on the court consistently and under pressure.
If he does, the Lakers become threatening in the West. If he doesn’t… they don’t have the players or picks left to easily pivot. There is a lot on his young shoulders.
