It might sound like hyperbole, but the NBA couldn't get much more interesting right now.

Kevin Durant and the Golden State Warriors ripping through LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers hasn't created an environment where teams sell off their assets and wait for the storm to blow over.

It's created an arms race.

Jimmy Butler got traded. So did the draft's top selection. Free agents include Gordon Hayward, Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and beyond. Trade candidates range from Carmelo Anthony to countless others, and we're already taking out the binoculars and looking ahead to LeBron's likely trip to market in 2018.

Keeping up with it all isn't the easiest feat, so here's a look at the latest.

The Carmelo Saga's Twists and Turns

Finding a word to describe the New York Knicks isn't hard: "mess." 

The team is a mess, so much so taking a big gamble on Frank Ntilikina in the top 10 of the draft is the smallest item of concern.

Where to start? The team might still consider trading Kristaps Porzingis, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. 

Perhaps most important of all, the team might still lose Carmelo. 

ESPN.com's Marc Stein noted one route:

The Knicks, of course, want to get something in return for losing one of their best players, meaning a trade might be the only option.

In a new report, Berman explained why Carmelo wants an outright release as opposed to a trade:

"A source confirmed the Knicks are aware Anthony prefers getting released rather than agreeing to a trade, even if he would lose a trade-kicker bonus. Anthony understands the Cavaliers don't have the assets to make a deal for him, and this way he can add depth to the Eastern Conference champions without taking away a major piece such as Kevin Love, who is being dangled for Paul George."

Call it a war of wills, as Carmelo doesn't sound likely to waive his no-trade clause so the Knicks can get a return back while shipping him somewhere he doesn't want to go. 

It's hard to place blame on Carmelo there. He's been adamant about sticking with the Knicks, so it'll be quite interesting to see if team president Phil Jackson's departure changes anything here. Rest assured the Cavaliers are watching closely.

The LeBron-L.A. Link

It's never too early to look ahead to a free-agent class boasting LeBron.

James likely won't hesitate to opt out in 2018, joining free agency with potential names such as Kevin Durant. The possibility is like a dark cloud over the Cavaliers, a team now under the microscope for how it balances giving LeBron what he wants over the next year and how it actually helps the team compete.

Los Angeles has been a constant point of discussion surrounding LeBron's future, in large part because The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski (h/t Pro Basketball Talk's Dan Feldman) recently reported some within the league consider his moving west a possibility.

It was easy to write off the rumor at first—it doesn't seem likely LeBron, well over the age of 30, will pack it up and leave the Cavaliers a second time.

But now this from The Undefeated's Mike Wise during an appearance on Freddie and Fitz (h/t Feldman):

"I got from a very good authority—a very good authority—that LeBron James will never be a Clipper. I can't tell you who, but I'm going to tell you it's somebody that knows, and LeBron James will never be a Clipper. I don't know if that's because he remembers what the Clippers used to be, or he just doesn’t want to put his lot in there, or he thinks [owner] Steve Ballmer is just too animated on the sideline."

On paper, this makes plenty of sense if the Los Angeles Clippers manage to keep core pieces of the franchise going. The Los Angeles Lakers, with Kobe Bryant's shadow hanging over the team or not, have a young core featuring names like Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram, who in a year or two could perhaps compensate for LeBron as he starts to decline.

At worst, this is a big win for the Lakers as proof the team is going about the rebuild the right way. It also seems like a warning shot to the Cavaliers, the team deepest in an arms race it can't afford to lose.

Paul's Trip to Market

Above all else, Paul might've been the most unpredictable facet of the summer. 

Paul opting out alongside Griffin wasn't the biggest surprise. It never seemed likely he'd leave the Clippers, especially not when the new super max will pay him $205 million as opposed to the $152 million he could make with a new team.

But the rumors tell a different story. Stein reported the Houston Rockets aren't a casual team to overlook in the process:

Story going online now: League sources tell me Houston has emerged as an increasingly serious threat to sign Chris Paul in free agency.

— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) June 28, 2017

Again, it's sometimes easy to write off the Rockets because they seem to always come up alongside the biggest names on the market. Stein's write-up even mentions the front office will also still try to trade for Paul George.

But at the least, this is a threat the Clippers needed to take seriously. The Rockets are the team always willing to make a major splash. It seems risky moving James Harden away from the 1, where he flourished a season ago, but having Chris Paul and James Harden in the backcourt is still an incredible tandem.

Wednesday, he reported Paul will indeed agree to a sign-and-trade deal that will land him in Houston next to Harden:

It's still hard to see Paul leaving the Clippers after so many years. But he hasn't showed any signs of slowing as a player, and if he's tired of the staleness in Los Angeles after years of letdowns, the grass might indeed look quite a bit greener elsewhere.

Maybe the craziest part of all the above? Free agency is less than three days away from opening.

All stats and info via ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.