Prelude: Hayward to Pacers, Fox to Magic, Kuzma to Pistons; Ball to Kings.

After his terrible opening-night injury with his new team, Gordon Hayward has struggled to be effective for the Boston Celtics. Despite a Eastern Conference Finals appearance last season, the ex-Jazz star has opted for a fresh start with the Indiana Pacers, who've also re-signed Victor Oladipo earlier this summer. Hayward parts ways with his beloved coach, Brad Stevens, as roster tension and lineup inconsistency continues to plague the Celtics having re-signed Jayson Tatum to a max salary contract, with Jaylen Brown in tow along with Marcus Smart.

Down south, the Miami Heat have signed ex-Lakers 'flash-in-the-pan' center of last year, Marc Gasol, to a two-year pact with Bam Abedayo & Jimmy Butler ready to ball. Up north, the Magic gambled and won, snatching point guard prospect, De'Aaron Fox, away from Sacramento after a down year riddled by injury woes for the speedy playmaker. Orlando is moving on from Markelle Fultz, hoping that Fox will mesh well with the likes of DeMarr DeRozan, Zach LaVine and a score of young players like himself acquired in last season's trade that sent Nikolai Vucevic to the Pelicans. Speaking of whom, Lonzo Ball will not be returning to the Big Easy, opting for the Kings as they continue to claw toward the playoffs, whereas the Pelicans chose to draft #1 pick point guard, Cade Cunningham, along with Jonathan Kuminga.

Last year's Houston Rockets did little to convince Houston management of renewing Coach D'Antoni's contract at the helm. It didn't take long for Luke Walton to be dismissed after a down year for the Kings win/loss record in a year that saw the team trade away Buddy Hield and acquire Arron Gordon, the flying forward that will likely pair nicely with Lonzo Ball's excellent court vision--a clear upgrade over Fox, given some but still less injury concerns. The Kings will commit fully to D'Antoni's "7 Seconds" offensive strategy led by Ball's quick up-court passing, definitely upping the tempo of the team from last season.

Lastly, Kyle Kuzma has left the Kings on top of Fox in favor of the Detroit Pistons, who finally found themselves with financial freedom after more than a decade of trial and mostly error of roster development, hoping for success with promising Rookie of the Year, Cole Anthony.

Prelude: Lakers & Clippers swing hard, vying for Los Angeles superiority.

Despite news of a new arena coming under construction in Inglewood, the long-since-bullied lil' bro, the Clippers have made a big swing with their eyes set on repeating this season with a Western Conference Finals appearance, with a dominant 4-0 sweep of the rival Lakers in the rear-view mirror.

Defensive stalwart and rim-running sensation, Rudy Gobert, has left the Utah Jazz after reportedly a falling-out with star volume scorer, Donovan Mitchell, forming a defensively-titanium starting lineup with Kawhi Leonard & Paul George, two established marquee talents that have also chosen to stay with the Clippers (both superstars had player options and have since secured longer re-ups this summer). They can practically taste the gold lure of the NBA Finals, if they can only topple the Texan titan that is the dynastic San Antonio Spurs, towering above the league's other 29 teams with eleven consecutive NBA Championship runs as the league's dominant superpower of this new era.

Rudy Gobert had a dismal end to last season, as the Utah Jazz bowed out to the broom, 0-4, against the Spurs, one year removed from taking San Antonio to the brink in a seven-game spectacle, injuring his wrist and being unable to play the final game of the Jazz's underwhelming playoff run. Returning to Utah unlike Gobert is Mitchell, having signed a max salary contract as Utah's #1 option moving forward, along with veteran point guard, Mike Conley. To accomodate Gobert's new near-max contract, the Clippers wound up orchestrating a sign-and-trade agreement with the Jazz for Montrez Harrell, former Sixth Man of the Year, along with Ivica Zubac & Landry Shamet.

Losing Gobert will taint the Jazz's defensive presence of years past, but the Jazz have reached agreements with competent big men, Aron Baynes & Jahlil Okafor. Meanwhile, the purple-and-gold squad led by LeBron James & Anthony Davis have latched onto Steven Adams, formerly of the OKC Thunder. With the departure of Kevin Durant and trade of Russell Westbrook in recent memory, Adams was the last vestige of that fierce unit as the Thunder chose to not renew the 7'0" Tongan's contract. Swooping in was GM Rob Pelinka, anxious to pair King James with a star-caliber center, a strategy not deployed since James' time spent with the Cleveland Cavaliers, and what seems like ages ago, with the Miami Heat (who are licking their wounds from losing out on The Greek Freak in what-could-have-been).

Not too sore, though, the Heat have re-signed Kendrick Nunn and Bam Adebayo, but decided to forego Duncan Robinson's qualifying offer, as the streaky shooter joined the Warriors in a sensible choice.

Imagining the pick-and-roll potential between LeBron & Adams, Jrue Holiday & Davis promises a lot, but only one LA representative can potentially meet the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals this year, with the Lakers just two seasons past from relenting the crown to San Antonio in a seven-game showdown. Adams, the new #12 for the Lakers, will also help the Lakers contend with Gobert in at least three regular-season face-offs, lest we forget a potential playoff grudge fight, whilst alleviating stress from Anthony Davis needing to otherwise claim every rebound off the glass. Together, they should be able to match the glass-smashing hands of reigning league MVP, Andre Drummond, of San Antonio. Clearly, Adams is an upgrade over the centers of the last two seasons for the Lakers, who were not done making power moves this summer. They went out and signed Derrick Rose to back up LeBron James at the point guard slot.

JJ Redick, famed alumnus of Duke University, and somewhat of a journeyman in the NBA, left the 76ers at the very worst time as Philly went on to face the Spurs in back-to-back seasons for the NBA Title, leaving the stellar marksman without a first taste of the NBA Finals. Redick made great shots for the 76ers before his departure, and didn't look too shabby in New Orleans before trying his luck with the Nuggets (who were eliminated from playoff contention in the last game of the season). With LeBron James dishing him the ball in just the right spot, Redick poses a deadly threat that surpasses the likes of his predecessors, Danny Green (now with the Mavericks) & Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Redick will don his Duke jersey number, #4, and stay tuned, dear reader, to see why that number was available again. Hint: the Spurs also made some retaliatory moves in this offseason.