This article is part of our Hoops Lab series.
Veteran Migration
The NBA Finals ended in late June, but the month that followed still had a lot of action.We spent the last couple of weeks of July talking about the new rookies, how they fit on their new teams, and how they performed in the Summer Leagues. But the youngsters stepping onto the scene isn't the only change that has been made in the NBA in the last month. Free agency and trades have also redistributed the wealth in the NBA, changing the projected outcome for teams and heavily influencing fantasy projections for this season.
Today, let's take a look at some of the important veterans to switch teams this offseason (including a couple that almost moved, but didn't) and the impact that the migration had on teams.
The Trail Blazers
When you talk about the 2015 NBA offseason, you have to start with the Portland Trail Blazers. Outside of Damian Lillard, they're essentially hitting reset on their squad this year with their former starting shooting guard, small forward, power forward, and center all moving on to new squads. LaMarcus Aldridge is the big one, the face of the franchise and best player since the Brandon Roy era, and he's moving on to play in San Antonio. Aldridge was followed out the door by Robin Lopez (headed to the Knicks as a free agent), Nicolas Batum (traded to Charlotte for Gerald Henderson and Noah Vonleh), Wesley Matthews (going to Dallas as free agent), and Arron Afflalo (on way to the Knicks). On the flip side, in addition to Henderson and Vonleh, the Trail Blazers have also added Al-Farouq Aminu, Mason Plumlee, Ed Davis, Maurice Harkless, and Mike Miller to the squad. They made a run at Enes Kanter with a $70 million offer sheet, but he was a restricted free agent, and the Thunder matched the offer to keep him in Oklahoma City.
So, what does that all mean for the Blazers?
First, it means that Damian Lillard is now entirely The Man. RotoWire's Matt Smith did a good job breaking down numerically what Lillard looked like last season, especially when Aldridge was out. I wouldn't be surprised if Lillard's volume is even higher than what Matt suggested, though, as Lillard knows now that he will be the offensive focal point, and everything will be built around him.
Outside of Lillard, I also have my eye on C.J. McCollum as a young, talented incumbent that could be ready for a larger role, and the combo of Ed Davis and Mason Plumlee could be of roto interest. Plumlee (with the Nets) and Davis (with the Lakers) both showed last season that they could produce impact numbers for extended periods when called upon, but the issue was that they didn't maintain their big roles for the whole season. With the Blazers going young and their dearth of established bigs on the team, both Plumlee and Davis have a good opportunity to shine on the Blazers. Vonleh is also a person of interest, as he was a lottery pick last season that couldn't break into the rotation as a rookie. But he has talent, and he had some big moments as a stretch four during the Summer League this July.
The Clippers
The Clippers and the Mavericks treated us to the DeAndre Jordan saga this offseason, which threatened to topple the Clippers out of contention before Jordan changed his mind and returned to LA. The back-and-forth was enough to make it feel like the Clippers had a big offseason just by re-signing Jordan, but they also added Lance Stephenson, Paul Pierce, Josh Smith, Cole Aldrich, and Pablo Prigioni to the mix while really only losing Matt Barnes from the main rotation. The Clippers had one of the best starting fives in basketball last season, but one of the reasons that they ran out of steam against the Rockets in the second round of the playoffs was because their bench was too weak. This shouldn't be the case this season, as Smith should reprise his role from Houston as a super-sub next to Jamal Crawford, and whoever doesn't start between Pierce and Stephenson will just be another strong player off the bench. While this is good for the Clippers as a team, it could mean a slight downturn for Chris Paul and/or Blake Griffin as the starters shouldn't have to carry quite as heavy of a load this season.
The Mavericks
At the other end of the DeAndre Jordan saga, the Mavericks look weaker for missing out on the big center. The Mavericks had a lot of turnover, saying goodbye to Monta Ellis, Tyson Chandler, and Rajon Rondo but welcoming in Deron Williams and Wesley Matthews as their new starting backcourt. Williams is the biggest enigma, as he has struggled mightily with injuries and inconsistent play in recent years for the Nets, but he was borderline fantasy royalty before that. He still has talent in there somewhere, and he'll be the lead guard in a Mavs offense that is very friendly to lead guards that can score/shoot. Williams should be in line to inherit as much of Ellis' scoring as he can handle, while also giving the Mavs their first legit floor general since Williams' ex-coach Jason Kidd walked out the door in Dallas. Matthews' production will depend on the health of his Achilles, though Dallas is not expected to rush him back. It's rumored that the Mavs might take their foot off the gas a bit this season since they missed out on Jordan and will lose their first-round draft pick next year unless they fall far enough into the lottery, which could mean lighter loads for Williams, Matthews, and the aging former MVP Dirk Nowitzki.
The Rockets
The Rockets are on this list largely on the strength of their trade for Ty Lawson. They lost Josh Smith to the Clippers, but with Donatas Motiejunas and Terrence Jones expected to be healthy in addition to Trevor Ariza, Corey Brewer, and the improving Clint Capela, there are quite a lot of talented bodies to absorb Smith's minutes and contributions. Lawson, on the other hand, represents an entirely new element for the Rockets. He should fit in with MVP candidate James Harden and a healthy Patrick Beverley to give the Rockets a much more dynamic backcourt that can attack in different ways. Lawson's fantasy potential will shrink from what he was as The Man in Denver, but Lawson should still put up solid numbers even if his minutes go down a bit. He could eat slightly into Harden's output, though, as Harden will no longer be the only offensive cog in the backcourt and won't need to be relied upon quite so heavily, which could give Lawson room to shine playing next to a player who is going to command so much attention from the opponent's defense.
The Celtics
The Celtics made this list by trading Gerald Wallace's contract for David Lee. Lee's hamstring injury to start last season was terrible luck, as it let the Warriors realize what they had in Draymond Green, and Lee was never able to work his way back into the rotation. But in the five seasons before that, Lee averaged almost 19 points and 10 boards, and if he's healthy and starting in Boston (as expected), he should be able to put up strong numbers again in green. The Celtics have a bunch of young pieces at every position, including Jared Sullinger, Kelly Olynyk, and Tyler Zeller as bigs that could eat into Lee's upside. Nevertheless, he looks like a potential roto starter again this season. 
The Pacers
The Pacers have lost starting center Roy Hibbert (to the Lakers) and starting power forward David West (to the Spurs). The West migration had to hit the hardest, as he turned down his $12 million player option to take the league minimum salary from the Spurs. This had to feel like an indictment of sorts to the Pacers, who battled for the top of the East in the 2013-14 season and would have maybe had another shot at winning the East if West had stayed with Paul George coming back healthy. Nevertheless, West has moved on, so the Pacers must as well. In a way, George coming back from his hideously shattered leg last summer could be seen as the biggest new addition to the Pacers roster this offseason. However, they also added dynamic scorer Monta Ellis to the squad. George Hill looked really good at point guard last year when he was healthy, and Hill and Ellis should form a strong scoring backcourt. Ellis' potential is lower in Indiana that it was in Dallas, since he was the unquestioned lead guard in Dallas, but in Indiana, he will have to share with/defer to Hill, George, and 6th man/Instant Offense guy Rodney Stuckey. George is expected to get some extra minutes at power forward, though, helping to replace West, which could open up a bit more space on the perimeter for the Pacers.
The Spurs
We've spoken already about how LaMarcus Aldridge and David West left their teams, but how will they look in San Antonio black-and-white? The Spurs lost big men Tiago Splitter and Aron Baynes, along with point guard Cory Joseph (who's hanging with Drake in Toronto now). Aldridge and West would nominally be replacing Splitter and Baynes in the rotation, though both are marked upgrades in talent. Presumably, Aldridge will slot in next to Kawhi Leonard as the Spurs' main foundation for the future. Aldridge's numbers will likely decrease in San Antonio as the team is much more balanced, and the wealth tends to be more evenly distributed, though he should push Tim Duncan more into the Splitter/Baynes role as the defender/role player with Aldridge becoming the primary frontcourt scorer. Boris Diaw is still around and is a Popovic favorite, but West has some similarities in terms of size with better scoring ability and rebounding so he should get some minutes, though nowhere near enough to maintain the roto value that he once enjoyed in Indiana. The Spurs are an excellent real-life team, but their equal-opportunity system doesn't breed fantasy superstars (at least compared to what they could be elsewhere). Keeping up with the Professor
If you're interested in my takes throughout the week, you can follow me on Twitter @ProfessorDrz. Also, don't forget that you can catch me on the radio on RotoWire Fantasy Sports Today with Chris Liss and Jeff Erickson on XM 87, Sirius 210. I also co-host the RotoWire fantasy basketball podcast with Kyle McKeown once a week and co-host the Celtics Beat podcast on www.clnsradio.com about once a month.
