It’s that time of the year. The St. Louis Cardinals are out of the postseason, the NFL and NHL began their seasons and the World Series is less than a week away. The one thing coming up that excites me more than usual is that the NBA season starts on Tuesday.

This offseason saw a lot of trades, injuries and signings. There are going to be the same faces in different places, but also a new rookie class that is ready to begin. Here are three things that will excite or begin speculation to any NBA fan in basketball.

1. The Brooklyn Nets are on their way up.

The Brooklyn Nets signed Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Deandre Jordan during the offseason. Durant will be out healing from the torn Achilles injury until, at the earliest, April. Irving will take over at the point guard position while D’angelo Russel is now a part of the Golden State Warriors.

Along with the three, the Nets have Jarrett Allen returning at the power forward after a sophomore surge season. Allen averaged 13.8 points per game and 6.8 rebounds per game. The Nets, even without Durant, could be as high as the fourth best team in the Eastern Conference on paper.

2. The Golden State Warriors are fine.

Chris Webber released during an NBA Preseason game that he didn’t believe the Warriors would make the NBA playoff in the 2019-2020 season. The Warriors lost Durant to the Nets and Klay Thompson will be out until maybe April with a torn ACL.

The Warriors still have pieces to make them a dangerous team in the Western Conference. The Warriors added Russel, who is now an all-star caliber player. The Warriors also signed Willy Cauley-Stein. Add those players to the sharpshooting ability of Steph Curry and the catalyst role player of Draymond Green puts the Warriors in a position to succeed despite their losses.

3. Los Angeles Clippers went from a playoff team to a serious contender overnight (literally).

The offseason saw the NBA landscape change in one night. Kawhi Leonard signed with the Clippers and then the news broke out minutes later that the Clippers acquired Paul George in a trade, all within the midnight hour.

Leonard came off an NBA playoff season for the ages, winning the NBA Finals MVP and helping the Toronto Raptors clinch their first NBA title. George has been a perennial all-star and one of the best defensive players in the league. With Patrick Beverly, the Clippers are the best defensive team in the NBA.

Blake Faith is a senior journalism major. He can be reached at 581-2812 or at bmfaith@eiu.edu.