So far, Teams Like Lakers & Suns Have Had Most Success & Unclear Who Failing in NBA Free Agency
So far, Teams Like Lakers & Suns Have Had Most Success & Unclear Who Failing in NBA Free Agency.
Speculation about possible trades for Damian Lillard and James Harden makes it feel premature to declare victors and losers in the NBA summer or NBA Free Agency. Slowly but surely, a three- or four-team trade for Lillard is coming together.
According to NBC Sports, league insiders have said that the apparent slow pace of a trade involving the Heat and the Trail Blazers is due to the complexity of the deal and getting everyone a win:
Even though the Nets have the picks to be the facilitating third team.
They want to send out Ben Simmons in the trade (two years, $78.2 million owed) and nobody is particularly interested in taking him back.
Portland does not want to keep Tyler Herro in any deal because they already have Anfernee Simons, a similar player on a similar contract. Teams like the Clippers are waiting for the Lillard scenario to play out before making a decision on a deal for Harden.
Even if those deals never went through, some teams have improved (or worsened) their rosters through free agency. Winners and losers are listed below.
(Note that we don’t yet know the financial impacts on Portland or Philadelphia as a result of their stars leaving for other teams.
The Blazers may not be making a mistake by picking Scoot Henderson and acquiring rebuilding blocks despite the fact that franchise icon Damian Lillard has requested a trade. Portland finished last season with the fifth-worst record in the NBA.
Los Angeles Lakers, the victors
The Lakers reached the Western Conference Finals last season, but they were eliminated in four games by the Denver Nuggets. This served as a wake-up call for the Lakers, who realized they needed to step it up a notch.
The Lakers have always found this gear by signing another superstar, and Kyrie Irving was one such player who shown interest in playing in Los Angeles. He was a regular at Lakers playoff games, where he sat courtside.
The Lakers’ success in free agency stems from their decision to go against that gut reaction and instead strategically surround stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis with high-caliber supporting cast members.
In free agency the Lakers re-signed Austin Reaves (to the max they could offer, four years, $56 million, but that’s below market value), re-signed Rui Hachimura (three years, $51 million), re-signed D’Angelo Russell (two years, $37 million, and he gets a player option on the second year), signed Gabe Vincent as a free agent (three years, $33 million), signed Taurean Prince (one year, $6 million), and took good minimum fliers on Jaxson Hayes and Cam Reddish.
Even LeBron James Approved
The current Lakers roster is more talented and versatile than the one that reached the Western Conference Finals. While I’m not certain that the Lakers’ best is better than the Nuggets’ or Suns’ (and possibly not the peak Grizzlies’ or Warriors’), either, this is a playoff-ready squad that might pose a serious challenge in April and May of next season.
Phoenix Suns, the victor
After acquiring Bradley Beal, Devin Booker, and Kevin Durant formed a formidable big three for the Suns.
The Suns are still paying $30 million per year to Deandre Ayton at center (despite trying to sell him for depth, clubs were not interested), and they also have returning point guard Cameron Payne, bringing their total compensation to roughly $169 million. They were only able to offer bare bones contracts.
The Suns have successfully signed players to minimum contracts, including Eric Gordon, Josh Okogie, Damion Lee (technically, Lee and Okogie received 20% early Bird raises from the minimum, but still are virtually minimum deals), Yuta Watanabe, Keita Bates-Diop, Drew Eubanks, and Chimezie Metu.
That’s a good chunk of effort, and it involves guys who are worth more than the minimum taking a pay cut to go after a trophy.
The Suns have the potential to challenge Denver for the Western Conference lead if new head coach Frank Vogel can mold Deandre Ayton into a strong drop-back center and Beal and KD can avoid injury.
Denver Nuggets, LOSSING TEAM
Denver is not a significant loser this summer since the city is still living in the glory of its championship win. Nikola Jokic, Devin Booker, Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, the core of their championship team, will all be back and in top form. When the new season begins, Denver will be the clear favorite to win the championship.
However, the team’s loss of Bruce Brown and Jeff Green hurts, as they were both valuable postseason contributors in supporting roles. Brown signed a two-year, $45 million contract with the Pacers, while Jeff Green signed a one-year, $6 million deal with the Rockets.
We expect Christian Braun and Peyton Watson to take on more responsibility. Reggie Jackson and DeAndre Jordan have both returned to the Nuggets. While it’s possible that Denver’s inferior supporting cast won’t be a factor come crunch time, the fact remains that it is.
Clemson Cavaliers came up on top
Cleveland’s starting lineup consists of Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen, Kyrie Irving, and Darius Garland in the backcourt, and Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland in the frontcourt.
The wing position and three-point shooting were particularly weak spots for the Cavaliers. Georges Niang (three years and $26 million) and Max Strus (four years and $63 million) have joined the team. Niang is a natural match for them as a shooter, while Mobley and Allen hide his defensive weaknesses.
Those are some excellent grabs from a desperate situation. The Cavaliers have the makings of a serious threat in the Eastern Conference next season.
Toronto Raptors, the LOSER
Although the loss of Kawhi Leonard in free agency hurt, the Raptors’ first championship banner was so impressive that it was hardly noticed. It was simple to argue that Kyle Lowry was on the decline while Fred VanVleet was on the rise, therefore his free agency departure did not amount to much of a loss.
All these losses for no reason are starting to stack up, and now Fred VanVleet has walked out the door, signing as a free agent in Houston for three years at the max, $130 million. The Raptors are losing key players as they prepare for the playoffs.
League sources tell NBC Sports that the Raptors are still getting calls from clubs inquiring about the trade availability of Pascal Siakam (although Toronto has reportedly rejected offers about OG Anunoby).
Toronto has been inactive thus far, and it appears that their opportunity to compete with this squad or transform them into the next age of the franchise has passed. The Raptors’ future is unclear; perhaps they still have a surprise move up their sleeve.
