Under the new NBA collective bargaining agreement, there is a Designated Player Exception, which means that if players qualify for an All-NBA team, they are able to sign a maximum extension with their current team that winds up being up to $70 million more than if they waited for free agency and signed elsewhere.
With Indiana Pacers superstar Paul George expressing his discontent with his current franchise and possible interest in joining his hometown Los Angeles Lakers, whether or not he earns All-NBA this season will play a big factor in that.
If he does not then it is likely that the Pacers will trade him this summer so they can get some young asset for him as opposed to seeing him leave for nothing in free agency in the summer of 2018.
This year TNT is hosting an NBA awards show on June 26 to announce all of the league’s awards. It was thought that that’s when the All-NBA teams would be announced, but that takes place after the upcoming NBA Draft.
So to allow teams to better prepare for the draft and upcoming offseason, the NBA has moved up the announcement of the three All-NBA teams, via Tim Bontemps of the Washington Post:
To allow for its teams to have all the necessary information to make offseason preparations, the NBA will announce its all-NBA teams before its inaugural awards show in late June, according to league sources.
George, along with Jimmy Butler of the Chicago Bulls are the two players that this will affect most, as they are the two stars on the bubble of possibly making an All-NBA team, but also could be traded by their teams if they don’t.
In addition to the All-NBA announcements, the Lakers will also be paying attention on May 16, when the draft lottery order takes place, as they only keep their draft pick if it falls in the top three. Keeping that pick will either give the Lakers another young, talented player to develop, or it can be used as a trade piece for George or Butler.