The Clippers’ atom bomb late Friday night put the closing touches on perhaps the wildest free agency period in NBA’s history. Never has there been this many star free agents available at once and never have so many of them switched teams.
Nine players signed max contracts this summer. Six of those players signed with different teams. The end result of all the player movement has been the end of the super team era (at least for now) and one of the most balanced fields of teams in over a decade. Not since Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett joined up in Boston has the league NOT had a superteam of some sort.
But the stars weren’t the only ones to move. The entire league was shaken up and everyone was affected. Billions of dollars in contracts were handed out in a spending spree that more than rivaled the summer of 2016. Unlike 2016, though, most of these contracts weren’t spent on marginal role players.
As we move into the post-free agency period, here’s a look at all of the good and the bad from the last week of action.
Winners
1. Clippers
Prior to Friday, this honor would have gone to New Orleans. But you don’t land Leonard and trade for Paul George while retaining the vast majority of a core that fought for a playoff spot last year and not be considered the winners of the summer.
The Clippers now have a tremendous starting unit that will likely be Patrick Beverley-Leonard-George-Moe Harkless-Ivica Zuabc while still having Lou Williams, Landry Shamet and Montrezl Harrell and cap space for one or two final moves.
2. Pelicans
No team has done more to overhaul their roster than the Pelicans have since season’s end. Out has gone Anthony Davis and Solomon Hill and in has come Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, Zion Williamson, Jaxson Hayes, Nickeil Walker-Alexander, JJ Redick and Derrick Favors.
The retention of Jrue Holiday and E’Twaun Moore means this team hit fast forward on a rebuild and got it all done in one summer. They now have no bad contracts, an incredible young core and enough veterans sprinkled around that this team could still potentially be a playoff contender.
3. Nets
It’s wild to think that the team that added Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving to its roster isn’t the outright winners of the summer but it speaks to just how wild the summer was.
They get docked minor points because Durant will be out a season and they paid DeAndre Jordan a sum of money that no other team would have. But at the end of the day, like the Clippers, they add two superstars to a young core that actually did make the playoffs, even if the move cost them an All-Star in D’Angelo Russell.
Losers
1. Knicks
A month ago, the Knicks had visions of Irving, Durant and Williamson in Madison Square Garden. Instead, they’ll have Julius Randle, RJ Barrett and Bobby Portis.
The Knicks also seemingly didn’t get the memo that bigs are quickly becoming outdated in the league as they also signed Taj Gibson and still have Mitchell Robinson, their bright young center.
Oh, and they gave Reggie Bullock $10 million.
The good news is that the deals were short-term pretty much across the board. The bad news is, well, the players they signed.
2. Timberwolves
Minnesota is another team who had high hopes coming into July, ones that included shipping off Andrew Wiggins and shipping in Russell. The team even hosted Russell on a free agent visit. But Russell was snatched out of their hands (more on that later) and the Timberwolves were left to pick up the pieces.
The result is largely the same team that did not make the playoffs last year. While there are some reasons for optimism – Karl-Anthony Towns is always improving, Robert Covington should be healthy and Derrick Rose is gone – it still won’t be as good as a Russell-KAT core would have been.
3. Celtics
One year ago, no one was better positioned for the future than the Celtics. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown just had superb seasons, Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward were returning to the roster and a treasure trove of draft picks were at their disposal.
Everything went wrong in that 12-month window including an implosion in the last month as the draft lottery did not fall their way before Irving and Al Horford bolted. Paired with Danny Ainge’s insistence on winning every trade instead of getting the players, the Celtics find their future decidedly less rosy.
Sure, they brought in Kemba Walker on a max deal but it’s a drastically different, and worse, outcome than the one expected one year ago.
Best Trades
1. Paul George to Clippers
Trades are rarely win-win scenarios but as is the case with Oklahoma City and the Clippers. Sure, the asking price was steep, steeper than any other trade for a superstar before. But multiple circumstances played into that.
First, the Clippers had extra picks thanks to savvy trades in recent years, allowing them to trade a record five first-round draft picks. Second, the Clippers were essentially trading for Leonard and George, making the asking price for the latter an easier pill to swallow.
Because of the latter circumstance, the Thunder found themselves in the right place at the right time and reap the benefits of an unprecedented trade package.
2. D’Angelo Russell to Warriors
While Golden State paid Russell a max contract that no other team was going to, it was a last-second, face-saving deal that nabbed the Warriors an All-Star when they were going to lose Durant for nothing.
Sure, Russell may end up being nothing more than a trade piece. But it gives the Warriors a safety valve with Klay Thompson out deep into next season and potentially gives them a young piece for the future.
3. Jimmy Butler to Heat
The Miami Heat often find themselves on desired locations for superstars regardless if they have cap space or not and this summer showed why. The Heat were locked into salary cap hell without much of a path forward.
Shipping out pieces for Butler, though, gives them a brighter future than before and a clearer path forward to contention.
Best Value Signings
1. JJ Redick to Pelicans
Nabbing Redick at $26 million over two years is already a great deal in the market that presented itself this summer. But doing so as a non-contending team is a steal. Redick gives the Pelicans so many things they did not have – shooting, wing depth and a veteran in the locker room – and New Orleans didn’t need to vastly overpay for it, which speaks volumes of David Griffin’s skills as GM.
2. Seth Curry to Mavericks
Curry flew under the radar last season as a backup to one of the best backcourts in the league in Portland. But he was one of the top shooting guards in the league last season and will be a perfect fit next to Luka Doncic in Dallas.
At $32 million across four years, it’s exceptional value as he will be a perfect complement to the two young building blocks in Dallas.
3. Patrick Beverley to Clippers
This is almost cheating to include Beverley’s deal as he admittedly took less money to return to the Clippers. The veteran point guard turned down a three year, $50 million offer from the Sacramento Kings to sign a three year, $41 million offer with Los Angeles.
With the Clippers adding Leonard and George, Beverley’s deal and presence on the roster is even better.
