This week is already set to be an extremely important one as the NBA Draft Lottery takes place on Tuesday. The Los Angeles Lakers will find out the fate of their top-three protected pick on that day, but now they will also be watching for a major announcement on Thursday as well.
The NBA announced that they will unveil this year’s All-NBA teams on Thursday, via Howard Beck of Bleacher Report:
NBA will unveil awards finalists (and All-NBA teams) on THURSDAY. pic.twitter.com/VxMcZt0fjn
— Howard Beck (@HowardBeck) May 15, 2017
The All-NBA teams will have a huge impact on two players, in particular, Indiana’s Paul George and Utah’s Gordon Hayward. Both would be in line for a big increase in pay from their respective teams should they make an All-NBA team. Hayward is a free agent this summer while George could hit the free agent market in 2018.
The Lakers have been linked to George for quite some time now as they could potentially trade for him this offseason or wait until he hits the market next summer. If George was named to an All-NBA team, however, the Pacers would be able to offer him an extension worth more than $200 million, far more than any other team could give him.
Likewise, the same holds true for Hayward who some believe could leave Utah this summer. There have been rumors that he would reunite with his college coach, Brad Stevens, in Boston or even return to his home state of Indiana and potentially pair with George on the Pacers.
Coincidentally the two players who this affects the most are basically competing for the same spot. LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant, and Giannis Antetokounmpo are widely expected to take the forward spots on the first and second teams which leave Hayward and George to compete with the likes of Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green for the spots on the third team. Needless to say, this announcement will have major implications on this offseason for a number of teams.