The 2018 NBA offseason has been building momentum ever since the final whistle of the NBA Finals. Fans and media immediately wanted to know where LeBron James might sign and how that would affect the league and his legacy. While free agency was considered the headliner to this offseason, the first round of the 2018 NBA draft was billed as an event that would kick off a frantic and exciting offseason for the league. Most NBA fans writers and fans expected plenty of trades as teams jockeyed for draft position, made trades to better their team, or clear cap space in order to lure big name free agents like LeBron James or Paul George. Rather than an exciting trade filled draft we got the first draft since 2003 that did not feature a trade containing an active NBA player. Instead we got many teams stuck in a holding pattern, unsure of what to do so long as they may be in the LeBron Sweepstakes, with only three trades being made in the first round. Here we will go over three of the most interesting aspects from a slightly disappointing first round:
1. Atlanta Hawks trading Luka Doncic to the Dallas Mavericks for Trae Young and a first round pick.
In this trade the Dallas Mavericks get their star of the future to pair with Dennis Smith Jr. and take some of the playmaking burden off Smith's shoulders. Pairing Doncic, the young Slovenian star, with European legend Dirk Nowitzki is a nice story but putting that aside, Doncic will be learning from an NBA legend and that can only benefit him.
The Atlanta Hawks nabbed Trae Young in the trade and hope he can become a shooting threat in the mold of Steph Curry. On top of grabbing an explosive scorer with the fifth pick in the draft, the hawks also received a 2019 top five protected first-round pick from the Mavericks.
2. 76ers trading Mikal Bridges to Phoenix Suns mid interview.
The Philadelphia 76ers drafted Mikal Bridges from hometown college Villanova with the tenth pick in the NBA draft. Soon after they traded Bridges to the Phoenix Suns for Zhaire Smith and a 2021 Miami Heat unprotected first-round draft pick. The most stunning part of this trade was that as it was announced on television, Bridges and his family were wearing 76ers caps and talking about how happy they were that Mikal was going to be playing at home. The 76ers viewed Smith paired with the Heat pick to be a more valuable asset than Bridges and that isn't their fault. Imagining the emotions Mikal Bridges' family must have been going through shows the sometimes harsh aspects of the business of sports.
3. No notable trades made by teams trying to land LeBron.
Many expected the Cavaliers to try and package the eight pick in the draft in order to land another star player in order to lure LeBron back to Cleveland. Rather than mortgage the future on the possibility of James returning home, the Cavaliers stuck to their guns and picked the player they had been most connected to throughout the offseason, Colin Sexton from Alabama. Teams like the Rockets, Lakers, and 76ers didn't make cap clearing trades or make trades to make their roster more appealing to LeBron. It seems that the next move this summer belongs to the King.
