The first few days of free agency have been packed with historic signings, blockbuster deals and a league-changing trade request. Here are some of the prominent winners and losers … so far.
Morant has many reasons to smile after the extension of the supermax contract.
WINNERS
Every star who got paid
Congratulations to Karl-Anthony Towns, Devin Booker, Bradley Beal, Ja Morant, Zach LaVine, Zion Williamson and Nikola Jokic – who have just signed the biggest contract in NBA history – on buying supermax extensions. Not all teams that pay for these contracts deserve a place in the “winners” category to release them. See the article : Competition: United States Wins Women Medley Relay. (Washington, what are you doing, seriously?)
There’s nothing too deep to say beyond that, except “it would be nice to sign a 200 plus million dollar contract a day,” so good for each and every one of these guys.
Brooklyn Nets*
Free agency started with a bang when Kevin Durant told Nets owner Joe Tsai that he no longer wants to play basketball in Brooklyn. Based on their decision to swap a first-round pick for Royce O’Neale, the Nets were either taken by surprise by Durant’s swap request or confident that they can still win now with what they get for him. So without knowing who / what will be in the lucrative package — Anthony Davis? Deandre Ayton and Mikal Bridges? Paul George and… Brandon Boston Jr.? 19 first-round picks? – it’s a little reassuring that the Nets kept Patty Mills and Nic Claxton and then added O’Neale, a solid 3-and-D wing who can help solve some of the problems that plagued them last season. (Losing Bruce Brown to the Nuggets would have hurt more if O’Neale had not been acquired.)
Ben Simmons and Joe Harris will probably also contribute with full strength, and they will get something for Kyrie Irving, provided he does not retire or be stretched. It is possible that Nets may not be screwed in the short or long term after all. This may interest you : USDA Identifies Feeding Families by 2022 Helping Combat Food and Nutrition. Much may change over the next few weeks, but on a day that began with apocalyptic overtones, Brooklyn’s situation may be less rocky than it first seemed.
* There is a good chance that this will age badly.
Houston Rockets
Ok, now put all the nice things written above about Nets aside. As owners of Brooklyn’s first-round picks in 2024 and ’26, with the rights to switch in ’25 and ’27, Houston should smile. See the article : Mountain Heritage Day announces award-winning music headliner. The last time a team owned so much of Net’s draft capital, it got Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and another choice that was eventually included in a trade to get… Kyrie Irving.
With Jalen Green, Jabari Smith Jr. and several other young talents already scattered throughout the Rockets list, the future looks exceptionally bright in Houston. The Rockets also signed Jae’Sean Tate to a three-year, $ 22.1 million, which is an absolute bargain that made me take a double take the first time I saw it. In addition, there is a team option! To make a quick comparison of average annual salary, it is about $ 10 million per year lower than what the Thunder will pay Lu Dort. Tate is four years older, but just as good if not a little better right now.
Lu Dort
When we talk about Dort, his journey from an uneducated folk hero to a gentleman of $ 87.5 million is a legend. Pushing parts aside, he’s just so fun to watch. Few are harder to shield; Dort’s commitment to stay connected to her husband when an election comes is groundbreaking. For the Thunder to reward the 23-year-old with so much money, which comes from the draft they had, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander locked up, Josh Giddey running points and Chet Holmgren holding down no matter what position he will play, speaks to the direction they are in road and how they want to build to get there. Everyone wins. But especially Dort.
Danny Ainge
Rudy Gobert is an acquired taste. He still owes about $ 170 million over the next four years, and on Thursday morning there were maybe three or four teams that were genuinely interested in giving away valuable things to get him. Jazz had little influence; heading into this offseason, the entire NBA knew that the Jazz wanted / had to eventually switch him. (I personally would have traded Donovan Mitchell instead, but 25-year-old All-Star guards are pretty much always prioritized over 30-year-old All-Star big men.) Despite all this, Jazz Basketball’s new CEO, Danny Ainge, still managed to get the Timberwolves into a real historical theft.
Before we go any further, this characterization does not necessarily mean that Minnesota “lost” trade. After a promising season with two franchise cornerstones still not in their prime, Wolves have just landed one of the best defenders in NBA history, an elite rim protector who will make life so much easier for Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns. Despite all his weaknesses in attack (where Utah had the league’s first and fourth best attacks in the last two years), Gobert’s team always defends well enough when he’s on the field to get comfortably to the playoffs. No one raises the floor of an organization like Gobert; just thinking about team lineups that have Towns, Gobert and Jaden McDaniels (who they wisely kept in this deal despite Ainge’s best efforts to pry him away) makes me hyperventilate.
But they were crushed in the negotiations by the same architect of two separate successful eras in Boston. If anyone in the NBA knows how to kickstart a rebuild, it’s Ainge. For Gobert, Utah will have Patrick Beverley, Malik Beasley, Leandro Bolmaro, Walker Kessler (an incoming rookie center who was just named the best defender in college basketball), Jarred Vanderbilt, unprotected first-round picks in 2023, 2025 and 2027, a swap in 2026 and a top five-protected first-round election in 2029. *
This is a freaking haul for a Jazz franchise that has Mitchell, a first-round pick in 2023 (with permission from Thursday’s Royce O’Neale trade) and all its own first-round pick minus a top-10 protected pick in 2024 that will go to the Thunder if it is No. 11 or higher (which does not seem likely). Without Gobert, Utah will be one of the worst teams in the Western Conference next season. And before Mitchell’s current contract expires, there’s a good chance Ainge will turn him around for another desirable package.
Either way, this was a masterful job by Ainge and the rest of Utah’s front office to squeeze every last drop of value from a center that already gave that team so much. They are set up for great things afterwards. While the Timberwolves suddenly have a huge pressure to win big as soon as they possibly can, despite the fact that their most important player is only 20 years old.
* For the sake of comparison: Back in 2019, Clippers’ Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, sent five unprotected first-round picks and two swaps to the Thunder for 29-year-old Paul George (and 28-year-old) Kawhi Leonard, who was not going to Los Angeles without another star).
Brunson is likely to take on a bigger role in New York.
Mark J. Rebilas / USA TODAY Sports
New York Knicks
I’m not a big fan of Jalen Brunson’s contract and think the Knicks should have taken a different approach on draft night. But when you lose all that salary and then get goal # 1, it’s not a loss. So while it may be a mild overpayment, the Knicks got a quality talent in an emergency. Good for them. The real reason why I want to put them here, however, is Isaiah Hartenstein, who got New York a fully guaranteed $ 16 million two-year contract.
At just 24 years old, Hartenstein was one of the best backups in the league last season, and he will be fantastic in the same role behind Mitchell Robinson (who has just signed a four-year, $ 60 million deal). Hartenstein is a versatile defender that can protect the rim, switch and plug holes in a fall. He was one of three free agents I called “under the radar” earlier this week, and when Nerlen’s Noel went to Detroit in a paycheck, the Knicks upgraded impressively. Brunson and RJ Barrett have a new dribbling handover partner they really want to play with.
Denver Nuggets
I was first tempted to mark Denver as a loser when they signed DeAndre Jordan. (Unless it’s an elaborate trick to get Jokic’s on / off numbers and help him win a third-straight MVP award, there’s nothing about that decision that makes sense.)
But the Nuggets recovered quickly. Taking Bruce Brown with a mid-level exception was a blessing. The reverse pick-and-roll roles he will play with Jokic will be an explosion, and the Nuggets needed a little more defensive toughness / versatility along the perimeter. Brown and the newly acquired Kentavious Caldwell-Pope should help a lot.
(Side note: hindsight is 20/20, but Denver’s dubious decisions at the time to give Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. a five-year maximum novice extension take them out of the fight on a potential Durant trade, thanks to CBA rules not allowing one team to acquire more players on these contracts through trade.Again, I know this criticism is harsh, but I wonder if any teams will change their approach here in the future, to give themselves a little more flexibility.)
Philadelphia 76ers
As an avid supporter of the Daryl Morey / James Harden-era Rockets, Philly’s decision to use the middle-level exception was on P.J. Tucker brilliant. For a list that by its own admission needed to get mentally and physically tougher after last year’s disappointing end, Tucker ticks all of these boxes on his own. His teams usually run deep playoffs for a reason. He is tough and fearless, and can still knock down open corner trees and guard several positions at the other end.
Danuel House Jr. is a nice bonus, and it feels like just a matter of time before Morey reunites the three with Eric Gordon. Harden’s contract is unclear, but most reports indicate that they will bring him back on a short-term deal that is below max. Tobias Harris and Matisse Thybulle continue to flow through the rumor mill. No matter what happens there, the Sixers have a list that is capable of winning the title.
Boston Celtics
They added Malcolm Brogdon and Danilo Gallinari without losing a single member of the playoff rotation. They enter next season as the best team in the Eastern Conference. If they extend Grant Williams to a team-friendly contract and sign a big backup like Thomas Bryant to the veteran’s minimum once in the next few months, it’s hard to think of any way their offseason could have gone much better. (Boston also still has a very large trade exemption to play with.)
The Mavericks have not done much to put more pieces around Doncic.
LOSERS
Dallas Mavericks
Brunson’s departure was a tough blow, even though the team that signed him paid almost twice as much as Dallas could have had him five months ago. Brunson on the Mavericks is not Brunson in New York. The role is different. The fit is different. Luka Doncic and Julius Randle are not the same. Mavs GM Nico Harrison called Brunson a “top priority” when the free agency began, so it stings to lose him for nothing, even with a four-year cost, $ 104 million.
Their plan is to replace Brunson’s production with Spencer Dinwiddie, a healthy Tim Hardaway Jr. and, reportedly, Goran Dragic. (Dallas has no interest in replacing Kyrie Irving, according to NBA Reporter Marc Stein.) After getting his first taste of playoff success in over a decade, it’s hard to see how Dallas got better on Thursday. And it’s not that there will be any great opportunities to spend the next offseason either. (If they remain lean, Mavs will have maximum room during the summer of 2024; Doncic will be halfway through its maximum expansion by that time.)
Elsewhere, the Mavs used almost all of the taxpayers’ mid-level exceptions on JaVale McGee, a confusing decision given their need for another ball handler and the fact that McGee just dropped out of Phoenix’s rotation against Dallas in the playoffs. The 34-year-old journeyman center thinks he will start on the five, despite the fact that as of this writing, Dwight Powell and Christian Wood are also on this roster. (Also: Maxi Kleber is better than all three of them, and going small with Dorian Finney-Smith in one position only did wonders in the playoffs.)
Smooth negotiations between owners and players on the next CBA
Kevin Durant’s trade request with four guaranteed years left on a $ 198 million contract extension signed in August last year could be a turning point in a growing league-wide problem involving stars who raise as much money as they can, only to return on the contractual obligation. to stay with the organization that agreed to give it. We’ve just seen a match between Ben Simmons and the Sixers that was public and ugly for several months. Neither side benefited from it.
Durant’s own departure from Brooklyn may not seem so outdated (considering the talent / performance difference), but it’s hard not to think about the precedent it would create. Sure, Durant is one of the dozen best players who have ever lived, and came after a season where he averaged 30 points per game with the 11th highest true shooting percentage in the league.
But if you’re another owner looking at this scheme from afar – especially one in a small market – consider what might happen if your own franchise player came up with a trade claim 10 months after you agreed on a huge , long-term contract extension. (It’s just a matter of time before Bradley Beal’s trade rumors begin to seep in, now that he’s got the $ 251 million deal he’s been waiting for.)
Durant may be an outsider, but if some form of restriction is not established in the next collective agreement (which can be opted out in December), he – along with Simmons – can start a pattern that is not healthy for the NBA. If you gave any of the league’s other owners truth serum, I bet more people will say they’re cheering for Joe Tsai to stand up and force Durant to keep up with the end of the pact they agreed on in August last year.
Sacramento Kings
The only team with a poorer defense since 2020 is Portland. Instead of taking a step towards solving this problem by using the entire mid-level exception on someone who can play defense, the Kings gave it to Malik Monk, a poor defender. Compare that to the Blazers, who took their own mid-level exception and signed Gary Payton II, one of the best defenders in the NBA and a player who just won a championship in the new Kings head coach Mike Brown’s defense system.
The Kings did not have a good offense last year, and Monk just had a breakout season when he shot the ball. But how much of his production will fall back to earth on a team that does not have LeBron James? Monk’s effective field goal percentage went from 62.1% with James to 54.7% without him last year. He’s good friends with De’Aaron Fox, which’s nice. But there were better options available to meet a more urgent need.
Kevin Huerter makes sense and was worth the protected first-round pick Sacramento sent to the Hawks for him. He is only 24 years old, a useful two-way player who can stretch the floor, create himself inside the arc and drive a nice other side pick-and-roll. (Withdrawing Donte DiVincenzo’s qualifying offer was a strange decision, especially after the Warriors gave him some of the taxpayers’ mid-level exemptions.)
Anyone who still believes Klutch doesn’t run the Lakers
The Lakers signed Damian Jones, Troy Brown Jr., Juan Toscano-Anderson and Lonnie Walker IV during the first 12 hours with free agency. The last three are represented by Klutch. This fact is not illegal or surprising, and it’s hard to be too critical of who L.A. brings in, given its limited resources and how the market has shaped. But when you favor players who belong to one agency, how can you build the best possible team?
Milwaukee Bucks
The Bucks re-signed Bobby Portis, Jevon Carter and Wesley Mathews, and Pat Connaughton chose his contract. None of these players are on worrying contracts, and it’s not that Milwaukee can not win the title with them in addition to Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday. But there is a small margin of error right now, which makes the decision to use the taxpayers’ mid-level exemption on Joe Ingles – a 34-year-old who tore his ACL six months ago – very questionable even in a thin marketplace.
Gary Harris would have been fine, but Magic reportedly gave him a $ 26 million two-year deal. (It’s probably a delayed sign-and-trade, so instead of losing Harris for nothing, Orlando will try to swap him during the season to get back some sort of future asset.) Maybe they land T.J. Warren at the veteran’s minimum. But instead of Ingles, what about someone like Amir Coffey, a 25-year-old who is not bad and was just signed to be the Clippers’ 12th man. Or Otto Porter Jr., who started the last three games in the final! Maybe Ingles is back to his old self, and all that veteran knowledge pays off. If not, and the Bucks fall short, that front office deserves criticism.
