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  This NBA free agency period was unique in that it was never going to be about free agency. Only the Brooklyn Nets had the means to open up meaningful cap space, so 29 other teams had to think creatively about improving their rosters. When teams have a lot of cap space, it's easy to predict they'll be aggressive in the market. But when no teams have cap space, it's much harder to predict who will dominate the early offseason headlines. It was certainly a surprise to see the Denver Nuggets dramatically reshaping their roster during the first day of free agency. Shocking First-Day Trade The Denver Nuggets made one of the most surprising trades of this offseason when they traded Michael Porter Jr. and an unprotected 2032 draft pick to the Brooklyn Nets for Cam Johnson . They also brought back Bruce Brown on a one-year deal. The Nuggets had just one draft pick available for trade, and they cashed it in quickly. They swapped sharpshooters and saved significant money. It...

  The new era of the NBA is here with stricter luxury tax rules. While this year's focus has been on unpredictability, long-term changes will be more rooted in sustainability. Recent years have offered NBA and NHL playoffs simultaneously and shown completely different tournaments. NBA playoffs have traditionally been about order, with few major upsets and the highest-seeded teams usually advancing deep into the postseason. NHL playoffs often featured teams that barely made the playoffs but then went on Cinderella runs. The past three years, however, represent a shift for the NBA. Upsets are much more common and have led some to speculate that new rules have turned the NBA into the NHL. That's a bit of a stretch. The team with the best record in the league this season is one win away from an NBA championship . NHL Comparison Is Misleading Last year, the team with the best record won the title, and the year before that, the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference captured the c...