This year’s NBA Free Agency has been quite an entertaining one thus far. Ty Lawson became frustrated in Denver, checked into rehab, and was shipped off to Houston. LaMarcus Aldridge chose the Spurs. DeAndre Jordan returned to the Clippers in the most dramatic fashion possible. So, after all that’s happened, who won the offseason? Who lost?
WINNERS
Los Angeles Clippers
The Clippers have had a great offseason. They went from losers to big-time winners when DeAndre Jordan changed his mind at the last second and returned to L.A. The Clips also boosted their depth by acquiring Paul Pierce, Lance Stephenson, Josh Smith, and Wesley Johnson. Not at all a bad haul.
San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs have been the story of the offseason. They signed LaMarcus Aldridge in the hopes of making another run at the title. They also got Tim Duncan and David West to sign for very cheap. This might be the last year of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Gregg Popovich, but they’ll be able to contend this year
Miami Heat
The Heat have quietly become one of the best teams in the East. They re-signed Dwyane Wade, signed Goran Dragic, and should have Chris Bosh at full health. Throw in the signing of Gerald Green and the drafting of Justise Winslow, who is widely viewed as the steal of the draft, and you’ve got a Heat team that will turn a lot of heads next season.
Milwaukee Bucks
The Bucks did well by re-signing Khris Middleton. Their big move, though, was signing Greg Monroe. Monroe’s a great low post scorer, and could be a part of the team’s future, along with Middleton, Michael Carter-Williams, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Jabari Parker. One question mark is what will become of John Henson? Does he have a future with the team? He’s a talented young big man, but it feels like Milwaukee just keeps finding players to start over him.
LOSERS
Dallas Mavericks
The Mavs struck out on DeAndre Jordan, which has got to be a huge disappointment given how close they were to landing him. Then they paid Wesley Matthews. Big time. 4-years, $70 million. Now I’m a big fan of Matthews’. I think he’s a great player, and I would be okay with this contract(given the rising salary cap) if he were healthy. But nobody knows if he’ll be able to maintain his health. Achilles injuries are bad news, and that’s a lot of money to throw at a player that they’re hoping will return his former self.
New York Knicks
The Knicks were yet again unable to lure in a big name to pair with Carmelo Anthony. No Aldridge or Monroe for you, Phil Jackson. They managed to get a capable center in Robin Lopez, but outside of that signing, they didn’t make any huge moves. The Arron Afflalo signing could be great — or not so great. It’s too early to tell. Afflalo is nothing if not inconsistent. He shot inefficiently in 2012-13 for the Magic, but then played at an All-star level in 2013-14. Then he went to Denver and was once again inefficient. Outside of Afflalo and Lopez, the Knicks did sign two nice role-players: Derrick Williams and Kyle O’Quinn.
Detroit Pistons
The Pistons overpaid Reggie Jackson massively(especially given Brandon Jenning’s presence on the roster), even with the rising salary cap. He’s making what John Wall is making, as pointed out by Wall. Aron Baynes was a nice pickup, but surely they could have gotten him for cheaper than $7 million a year, right? They got Ilyasova, who’s a stretch-4 that many expected to break out a few years ago, but never did. They also acquired Marcus Morris and Reggie Bullock from the Suns, who could wind up being valuable. Maybe Detroit will prove me wrong, but I don’t think this was a good offseason for them.
Portland Trail Blazers
The Trail Blazers lost this offseason. I do think that they picked up some fantastic role players; Al-Farouq Aminu, Ed Davis, Mason Plumlee, and Moe Harkless were all excellent acquisitions. However, they lost 4 of their starting 5. Wes Matthews, Nicolas Batum, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Robin Lopez are all phenomenal players, and replacing them will be no easy task. Props to the team for locking down Damian Lillard though. He’s their franchise centerpiece, and they’re going to build around him.
