Biggest Winners & Losers From the First Week of NBA Free Agency
The Good, The Bad, and the Weird for the first couple days of news
The first week of NBA Free Agency has officially passed and there has been tremendous amount of surprises that have sent massive shock throughout the league. Although the market isn’t substantial enough for massive shifts of movement, there were still a couple surprises that had people wondering what comes next. A few teams have made big splashes while others have made low key, smart moves that will impact them in the long run. It’ll be interesting to see how the following week will turn out.
Here are the big winners and losers of the first week of NBA Free Agency:
WINNERS
Jeanie Buss and the Lakers’ Front Office
Two weeks ago, Magic Johnson made a bold claim that had people wondering if he was serious or not when he claimed that he would step down from his front office role in two years if he doesn’t land a big name free agent to Los Angeles.
Well, no one has to wonder whether or not if Magic will be out of the job. He landed the big fish when NBA superstar LeBron James signed a four year, $153 million deal with the Lakers. It wasn’t just simply the signing. Johnson was able to build a trust with James and his people. ESPN LA Reporter Ramona Shelburne (along with Brian Windhorst) detailed the meeting between LeBron and Magic and how they established a bond.
“The Lakers all planned to congregate at their facility last night for free agent calls. Magic was expected to be there. Instead he was at LeBron’s house — closing,” said Shelburne in a series of tweets. “ Some more context to the Magic-LeBron meeting Saturday night. LBJ was already strongly considering the Lakers but wanted to look Magic in the eye and see if they could find a trust before making a decision, per sources close to the situation. In other words, LeBron and Magic needed to bond and build trust. It wasn’t necessary for Magic to do a hard sell. He just had to be real & LeBron then obviously had to feel good about the partnership.”
Jeanie Buss had to make tough decisions that included firing her brother and her father’s choice of a general manager who handle the business dealings of the franchise. This alienated her from a lot of people but she was determined to land a big name star and bring the Lakers back to their status as the storied franchise where all the big stars want to play. Looks like she succeeded.
Golden State Warriors
The rich get richer as they say and it’s a statement that rings especially true to the Warriors.
DeMarcus Cousins, the All Star Center who was having a career year with the New Orleans Pelicans before his season ending injury, signed with the NBA Champions shocking the league and essentially putting everyone in a bit of a panic. The Warriors starting five is literally filled with five superstars. How could the league allow this to happen?
To be honest, it’s the fault of opposing owners and teams that led to Cousins signing with the Warriors.
ESPN’s Marc J. Spears detailed the conversation he had with Cousins and how no team pursued him in free agency and what made him decide to join Golden State to help with his career.
Keep in mind, Cousins is still recovering from an Achilles's Tear in his foot. He more than likely won’t be back on the court until January at the earliest. Still, the Warriors don’t really need Cousins. He’s just added luxury. It’s proof that the Warriors still remain as that team to beat.
Sam Presti and Russell Westbrook’s Reputations
Ever since Kevin Durant left Oklahoma City to win championships in the Bay Area, the Thunder’s reputation has been brought into serious question. You allowed two MVP Superstars leave your organization for nothing. How can you justify your position as a front office executive if you can’t even successfully maintain a championship core? How exactly can anyone work with a ball dominant point guard who seems to have such an unlikable personality that the second best player in the world can’t stand him?
Leave it to Paul George to punt those negative criticisms out the stratosphere and reestablish the positive nature of the Oklahoma City Thunder and its fanbase.
George resigned with the Thunder while celebrating with Westbrook at an outdoor party with legendary rapper Nas performing. It was often believed that George would team up with LeBron James (and eventually Kawhi Leonard) and sign with the Lakers. Instead, he elected to stay with the Thunder.
George explained how he comfortable being in Oklahoma City and his burgeoning friendship with Westbrook. After critics have spent years killing the superstar point guard for his ball-hogging tendencies and believing him to be a selfish person who pushed Durant and Harden away (he didn’t), George has breathed new life into the Thunder and they can continue to build a competitive squad.
The Eastern Conference
LeBron James is finally gone! That means the Eastern Conference no longer belongs to the King and a new breed of young All Star talent have a chance to showcase their skills and make names for themselves. Players like Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, Gordon Hayward, John Wall, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and even Victor Oladipo can put their stamp on the NBA while King James deals with the brutally difficult Western Conference.
Houston Rockets
The Rockets were able to retain Chris Paul and resign him for four years, $160 million. After fearing of losing him to the Lakers ad joining LeBron for his last, possible chance of winning a ring, CP3 confirms that he wants to win his title with the Rockets with a simple tweet.
All the Rockets have to do is resign Clint Capela and find a solid replacement for Trevor Ariza. All and all, Rockets still remain one of the top teams in the Western Conference.
LOSERS
LeBron James
Wait what? He just signed with the Lakers. How could you win and lose at the same time?
That’s easy when you’re LeBron James. It’s the consequence of being the best player in the world.
You see, he signed a four year deal with Los Angeles but the team is far from competitive in the Western Conference. Although the current iteration of the Lakers are younger and far more athletic than his last team, they still needs an additional superstar to help take the pressure and responsibilities and he won’t arrive until at least a year later (assuming said player doesn’t change his mind).
Of course, I’m talking about Kawhi Leonard. The Spurs’ superstar supposedly has been asking out of his situation with San Antonio for a while now and his camp have made it no secret he wants to be in his hometown Los Angeles. However, the Spurs don’t plan on trading him to the team unless they present an offer they can’t refuse. Until Leonard arrives, LeBron will have to do a lot of heavy lifting to help push the Lakers to the Western Conference and face off against the Warriors.
San Antonio Spurs
Speaking of the Spurs, Magic Johnson has officially put the pressure on them by signing LeBron James. Since he has made the jump to Los Angeles, it’s clear that the Spurs will more than likely have to move from Kawhi Leonard at some point. Whether it’s before the start of the season or during it, it’s unlikely Leonard will continue to don a silver and black jersey after 2019.
R.C. Buford will have to do his due diligence and scope out the best offers that will put the Spurs in a position to win in the long run. However, he should ensure that he doesn’t overlook a good trade simply due to pride. If the Lakers have future first rounders and a couple prospects that will benefit the team, take advantage of it.
Spurs will more than likely have to deal with the fact that they have no choice but to rebuild the team. It’s probably for the best. Tony Parker has gone to the Charlotte Hornets, Manu Ginobli is on the brink of retirement, Coach Greg Popovich is getting older and more than likely will retire from coaching, and young players like Derrick White and Lonnie Walker are continuing to show promise. It starts with moving on from Leonard and making some tough decisions going forward.
DeMarcus Cousins
Another situation where a player can end up both a winner and loser. Cousins believes that the reason why no team offered him a max deal was due to his controversial reputation of being an antagonist player that gets a lot of technical fouls from referees. That’s partially true but not exactly the sole reason.
As I mentioned before, Cousins suffered the worst kind of injury for an NBA player. An Achilles’ Tear is difficult to recover from and he more than likely won’t be the same dominant big man that he once was before. He’ll have to make adjustments to his style of play and it may limit his game. Even though he more than likely win a title with the Warriors, it won’t guarantee the max contract he’s looking for. He could put a team in salary cap hell if he doesn’t perform at a high level (ex. Wes Matthews on the Dallas Mavericks).
Adam Silver
As strange as this sounds, Silver is taking an L for the first week but it’s not the reason that you think. It isn’t due to Demarcus Cousins signing with the Warriors. It’s because he’s going to receive unnecessary flak and hot takes from media personnel and fans alike.
Whether it’s explaining why the NBA simply can’t just simply switch the NBA Playoff format, or how he’s not responsible for the poor business practices of owners around the league, or why he simply can’t veto a DeMarcus Cousins signing just simply because you don’t like the Warriors, he’s going to be held responsible due to his title as commissioner. It’s a gift and a curse.
The Banana Boat Dream Team
Fans were hoping that the NBA’s “four best friends that anyone can have” would team up together to form a “Super Friends-like” NBA team that would compete for a title. LeBron James signed with the Los Angeles Lakers and fans thought that the group of Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, and Dwyane Wade would team up with him since they all have homes in LA.
Well, a lot has happened and the dreams has been deterred.
Wade returned to South Beach and seems content on playing the rest of his career there. CP3 remained with the Rockets and intends on helping James Harden win an NBA title in Houston. Melo might still team up with either of the three since it appears his tenure as a Thunder is coming to an end. However, the belief that all four will play together is pretty much over. Things could still change but it’s very unlikely at this point.
The first week may have come to an end but the free agency period isn’t over. You can expect more zany, weird off season moves and changes to happen. There’s still an assortment of changes to come. Let’s see what else the NBA has in store for us.
*additional credit to ESPN, Bleacher Report, USA Today, NY Post, Silver Screen & Roll, SBNation
