What if the Brooklyn Nets' Kevin Durant didn't suffer a pair of knee sprains? And Rozier would still be part of the mix too, as a solid guard off the bench. The Celtics also never would've had to salary dump Walker in this scenario, either, meaning they'd have kept the 16th pick - which the Houston Rockets wound up using on promising young big Alperen Sengun. The player taken with that pick? Desmond Bane, who is now firmly entrenched as a core player in Boston alongside Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. In turn, that means the Celtics keep the 30th pick in the 2020 draft, rather than trading it to the Memphis Grizzlies as part of a Kanter salary dump. In addition, having Horford on the roster means Boston doesn't need to sign Enes Kanter (now Enes Freedom). With Horford on the roster in the NBA bubble for Boston in 2020, the Celtics don't get dominated inside by Miami's Bam Adebayo in the conference finals, and they make it to the NBA Finals. But after a hot start to his time in Boston, Walker's knee quickly gave out on him, and he wound up being sent out in a deal - along with a first-round pick - to bring back Horford two years later. The summer of 2019 was a tumultuous one in Boston, as both Kyrie Irving (Brooklyn) and Horford (Philadelphia) departed on big-money free agent deals to other locales, and the Celtics responded by inking Kemba Walker to a four-year max contract through a sign-and-trade deal that sent Terry Rozier to the Charlotte Hornets. What if the Boston Celtics had re-signed Al Horford? And after Landry Fields ascended to take over the front office - but with Quin Snyder having gone to the Philadelphia 76ers after the season, rather than joining Atlanta during it - he would tap into his San Antonio connections and hire Ime Udoka as the team's coach. Instead, both are let go after the Hawks lose in the first round for a second straight season. As a result, the Hawks don't have the same turmoil shadowing them through that campaign nor do they trade for Dejounte Murray last summer or fire Nate McMillan and Travis Schlenk this past season. Instead, it was a team that caught a favorable draw and fortunate breaks as a result, it achieved too much success too soon, and it has paid the price for it since.īy losing to Philadelphia in the second round, Atlanta's season is seen for what it should have been: a solid success but one without the expectations that otherwise followed the Hawks into the 2021-22 season. The Hawks reaching the 2021 Eastern Conference finals was seen as Trae Young's ascension to stardom. What if the Atlanta Hawks didn't make the conference finals in 2021? We'll kick things off with a look at each of the 15 Eastern Conference teams' biggest what-if, before shifting to the West on Wednesday. What if Kevin Durant stayed healthy during his time with the Brooklyn Nets? What if Jimmy Butler remained with the Philadelphia 76ers and built a prolific dynamic duo with MVP Joel Embiid? Recognizing that, and with (most of) the offseason officially behind us, we thought it would be fun to sit back and take a look at the biggest what-if scenarios for all 30 NBA teams over the past five years, dating back to the 2018 offseason. (Think "The Decision", when LeBron James famously announced on live TV he was taking his talents to the Miami Heat.) That is particularly true when it comes to the NBA, a league chock-full of huge personalities and talents whose movements and moments have shaped its landscape. NBA, Portland Trail Blazers, Miami Heat, Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers, LA Clippers, Sacramento Kings, Golden State Warriors, Utah Jazz, Phoenix Suns, San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Chicago Bulls, Milwaukee Bucks, Indiana Pacers, Orlando Magic, Atlanta Hawks, Washington Wizards, Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons, Philadelphia 76ers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Cleveland Cavaliers, Charlotte Hornets, New Orleans Pelicans, Memphis Grizzlies, Toronto Raptorsįew things inspire more debate than thinking back on what could have been. You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browserĮastern Conference: NBA's biggest what-ifs of the past five years
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