Winners and Losers of NBA Free Agency (So Far)
NBA free agency has already begun and along with the chaos that ensues with it. With that being said, the free agency period is always a time where some teams find a way to drastically or slightly improve their rosters and other teams find ways to plunge their team into the bottom of the league for many years into the future based on the players they sign.
With all of that being said, this free agency has not seen anything ridiculous so far, but there have been teams that have completely altered their rosters whether for good or bad. This article will be taking a look at which teams have been highly successful in signing free agents, and others that have unfortunately been disappointing this offseason.
Winner: Chicago Bulls
Chicago started free agency out with a bang by acquiring Lonzo Ball through a sign and trade with New Orleans. The Bulls only gave up Tomas Satoransky, Garrett Temple, and a future 2nd round pick for the 23-year-old point guard. Ball is an immediate great addition to this team, as he is the playmaker that this team needed from their point guard position and brings solid defense and a three-point shot that has steadily improved through his career. Not to mention, this backcourt could use a facilitator considering that Zach Lavine is a score first guard.
On day two of free agency the Bulls went out and grabbed a big name in Demar Derozan, as the six-time all-star agreed to a three-year deal in Chicago via a sign and trade. The veteran, Derozan will surely provide this team reliable scoring and versatility on offense and is also a tremendous passer. Derozan is a fantastic pickup for this team and was highly underrated in his time in San Antonio, not to mention he was nearly an all-star last season.
The Bulls also signed another guard in 27 year old Alex Caruso. Caruso will bring defense and energy from either guard position off the bench, the same way that he did for the Lakers. This Bulls team could use more defense overall and especially after they lost Kris Dunn in free agency before last season, they did not really have a notable defensive-minded guard on their roster. With three all-star caliber players in Nikola Vucevic, Zach Lavine, Demar Derozan, and a supporting cast that has already dramatically improved this offseason, the Bulls could be the surprise team to make noise in the East playoffs next season.
Loser: New Orleans Pelicans
By no means have the Pelicans had a bad offseason so far as they did acquire Jonas Valanciunas, got rid of two bad contracts in Eric Bledsoe and Steven Adams, and also selected a promising wing in Trey Murphy in the draft. However, free agency has been relatively disappointing for this team at least so far.
With a good amount of cap space, this team went into free agency with the mindset to get a well-known point guard to solidify their backcourt. Players such as Kyle Lowry, Spencer Dinwiddie, or the possibility to bring back Lonzo Ball seemed to be ideal targets. The Pelicans landed upon Devonte Graham, who is a good shooter but is not the most efficient scorer, not a great defender, and not a true playmaker.
Graham is a good player, but he is likely not the type of guard that a team would want to be the face of their backcourt especially with so many other quality point guards available in this free agent class. Not to mention, the team lost a significant amount of value in the Lonzo Ball sign and trade. For a young team that wants to get into playoff contention and has a decent amount of cap space, this feels like an underwhelming free agency.
Winner: Miami Heat
The Miami Heat are an obvious winner in free agency up to this point. After getting swept in the first round, this team really had to reassess their roster and add more pieces to be competitive in the Eastern Conference again. They have already done a good job of that as they started out free agency by adding a six time all-star in Kyle Lowry through a sign and trade. The 35 year old point guard fits right into the Heat’s culture with his scrappy style of defense, and also brings a well-rounded offensive game.
The Heat also extended their star player in Jimmy Butler and resigned their three-point sniper, Duncan Robinson. This gives the Heat some assurance of what the next couple of years of their roster looks like. Miami also brought in a versatile defensive player and veteran with PJ Tucker’s signing, acquired another veteran with Markieff Morris, and also resigned former all-star Victor Oladipo. With so many exceptional defenders on this team, the Heat will definitely be tough to score on in the upcoming season.
Overall, this roster is definitely an interesting one, and even after all of these moves they still might not be seen as a top team in the East. However, the Heat have proven in the past that they can surprise people in the playoffs and any team with this much defensive and offensive firepower has a chance to cause some chaos in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Winner: Utah Jazz
The Jazz might not have had the most exciting free agency period at least up to this point, but it has definitely been good for the Jazz. Utah made a substantial move at the very start of free agency and resigned all-star point guard Mike Conley. Bringing back Conley was by far the top priority for the Jazz this offseason and managing to do this is a massive win. Bringing Conley back will solidify Utah’s backcourt for the next couple of seasons.
Utah also managed to bring in a great defensive veteran in Rudy Gay who is also a reliable shooter from beyond the arc. He is definitely an upgrade over a player like Royce O’Neale who had a significant amount of minutes last season. While he is getting up there in age, Rudy is still a dependable veteran and can provide plenty of value and leadership to this team.
Utah also brought in Hassan Whiteside to be a defensive presence off the bench while Rudy Gobert is taking a rest. While Whiteside is far from being the defender that he was in his Miami days, but he is still very serviceable as a rim protector. While these additions may not seem like anything over the top for the Jazz, bringing in very notable free agents is difficult for a small market like Utah and any free agents that can add some considerable value to this team should be welcomed. This team may not be the number one seed in the West next year, but they could very well be a dangerous team in the playoffs.
Loser: Boston Celtics
This free agency period has been a letdown for the Celtics. For a roster with two young stars in Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, it seems the obvious thing to do would be to surround these two with quality talent to make a run in the Eastern playoffs next year. However, this simply has not happened in this free-agent period.
The Celtics are losers in this free agency period not because they have signed players to bad contracts, but because they have been too passive. They let a reliable scorer and great shooter, Evan Fournier, leave for New York. The only move they have to show for is signing Enes Kanter to a one-year deal. Kanter essentially replaces Tristan Thompson on this roster to provide a rebounding presence off the bench. This is a good signing for the Celtics, but not something that will put them over the top.
It may be tempting for Brad Stevens and the rest of this front office to just wait for some of the younger players such as Payton Pritchard, Romeo Langford, and Aaron Nesmith to develop. However Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are not only ready to win now but very capable of leading a winning team. Considering that this team needs a point guard and that there were plenty of quality point guards available and plenty of high-value bench guards available it feels like a massive letdown for a team that is capable of being competitive in the East that they were not able to bring anyone of high value onto this roster.
Winner: Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers really reached into the bargain bin this offseason and managed to gain a lot of quality players for a little price. Going into free agency the Lakers had very few players locked under contract and a tight cap situation. So far the Lakers have signed Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Malik Monk, Kendrick Nunn, Wayne Ellington, Trevor Ariza, Kent Bazemore, Talen Horton-Tucker, and Joel Ayayi.
It is easier for the Lakers to sign players for cheaper contracts considering that they are a huge market, storied franchise, and expected to be one of the best teams in the league next season. Once the trade for Russell Westbrook was completed last week, the floor spacing of this roster came into question, but the Lakers signed many reliable shooters that should fit perfectly around Lebron and Westbrook.
The ages of the players on this roster are somewhat concerning, but many of the new veterans that were brought in are on short deals and all of these players should be dependable for at least the next season. Los Angeles succeeded in filling out their roster around their star players and they should definitely be looked at as a championship contender with a new and improved supporting cast.
Loser: Portland Trailblazers
The Portland Trailblazers have had a quiet offseason. With all of the talk of a potential Damian Lillard or CJ McCollum trade, nothing has surfaced yet. For a roster coming off of a first-round exit to an injured Nuggets team, this franchise and its fans knew that they needed to make moves of considerable size this offseason in order to be competitive out West again. So far, the Trailblazers have been dramatically underwhelming in this free agency period.
The team watched as Carmelo Anthony left for Los Angeles, Zach Collins went to San Antonio, and Enes Kanter again ended up in Boston. These are far from star players, but Portland is losing a lot of depth at the big man positions in these cases. Enes Kanter is an exceptional rebounder, Zach Collins is a young reliable stretch big, and Carmelo Anthony brought another scoring option.
Portland did manage to bring back Norman Powell which is a win considering that he is a great shooter and averaged 17.0 points per game in his time in Portland last year. Other than this signing, the TrailBlazers have only managed to sign Cody Zeller, Ben McLemore, Trendon Watford, and Tony Snell. This Trailblazers team is losing a lot of value this offseason and if they want to be a playoff team and simultaneously keep Damian Lillard happy, this simply will not be enough.
