The 2024 NBA offseason only just started, and the basketball world is already going bonkers.

The trade market is moving in major ways, most recently with Mikal Bridges rejoining his Villanova teammates on the New York Knicks for a mountain of draft assets. The annual talent grab gets underway Wednesday night, so the wheeling and dealing might only be beginning.

Oh, and in less than a week, the free-agent market will open, creating yet another path for teams to expand their talent bases.

We’ll focus on the latter here and break down the latest buzz around some of the top players in free agency before predicting how their situations will play out.

If James Harden has a shot at winning a championship with the Los Angeles Clippers, it probably involves playing high-end hoops while Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are healthy and doing the same.

But George holds a player option and is not necessarily guaranteed to stick around. So, maybe the Clippers’ plan for contention won’t actually work. The uncertainty is seemingly enough for Harden to delay his own free-agency decision

“With the domino of Paul George, one guy who’s waiting to see what happens is James Harden,” ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk said on NBA Today. “He wants to see if Paul George remains, how many years Paul George gets, because he wants to align himself along with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.”

While Harden is a decorated scorer, he has focused more on his potent playmaking in recent seasons in support of focal points like Joel Embiid with the Philadelphia 76ers or Leonard and George in L.A. It makes sense for Harden to make sure he has the necessary scoring help around him before committing.

George’s fate feels far from settled (more on that later), but the likeliest scenario remains both he and Harden re-signing with the Clippers.

Prediction: Harden signs a three-year deal to stay in L.A.

The more time that passes without Paul George and the Clippers coming together on a contract extension, the more likely it becomes that deal never comes together.

At least, it seems that way, and not only to us, but perhaps to George himself.

NBA insider Marc Stein reported there is “a growing feeling” across the Association that George could pick up his $48.8 million player option to force the Clippers to trade him. This comes after what Stein reported as being months of “fruitless” extension negotiations.

If George didn’t want to be in L.A., it would be in the Clippers’ best interest to send him elsewhere. The Golden State Warriors, per Stein, are “aggressively” exploring trade options, and they surely aren’t the only ones, since George is so easy to fit alongside fellow stars.

A trade could happen, but our crystal ball isn’t buying it. George is probably frustrated that a deal hasn’t come together yet, so this could be his attempt to raise some alarms within L.A.’s front office and perhaps spawn some urgency in those decision-makers to get a deal done.

Prediction: Clippers give George a new four-year deal.

The Knicks have a plan to try knocking off the NBA champion Boston Celtics.

And it involves not only the mega-deal for Mikal Bridges, but also bringing back OG Anunoby in free agency.

“The Knicks are still determined to keep OG Anunoby in free agency,” ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported. “… The Knicks are loading up on wings to match up with the NBA champion Boston Celtics.”

New York had to cough up a ton of trade chips to add Bridges, and it will surely have to shell out major cash to keep Anunoby. But you get what the Knicks are doing here. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown could seemingly control the Eastern Conference for the next half-decade. It might take two elite wing stoppers to change that. New York just landed one in Bridges and could soon have its second if Anunoby re-signs.

The Knicks could have some concessions to make in the wake of this deal, as Wojnarowski noted that “the ability to re-sign center Isaiah Hartenstein becomes more difficult now.” Still, if New York has determined that strong wing play is its key to championship contention, then it needs to follow the Bridges acquisition with an Anunoby agreement.

Prediction: Anunoby re-signs with the Knicks for near-max money.