The ink isn’t dry on some of the free agent contracts, but some clear winners and losers have emerged already in NBA free agency, which began at 6 p.m. EST on Friday.
Winners
Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers managed to upgrade a team that reached the Western Conference Finals. Gabe Vincent (3/33M) is a huge improvement over third guard Dennis Schroder, D’Angelo Russell took a pay cut (2/37M) to return, and Taurean Prince came for a one-year $4.5M deal. Rui Hachimura might be an overpay at $51M for three years, but the Lakers also took cheap flyers on a pair of young, athletic former lottery picks in Cam Reddish (2/4.5M) and Jaxson Hayes (2 years at the minimum).
But best of all, the Lakers convinced all of the cap space teams that they’d match any deal for Austin Reaves, who could have commanded a four-year deal for nearly $100M. Instead, the Lakers locked up “Hillbilly Kobe” for a modest $56M over four years.
Undrafted players
Fred VanVleet, Vincent and Max Strus were undrafted players who signed deals for a combined $226M. It’s not VanVleet’s first big deal, but Vincent and Strus cashed in after starring in Miami’s improbable run to the Finals. In a league that’s obsessed with mock drafts and pick swaps, it’s nice to see guys get paid from hard work and development, not draft pedigree.
Milwaukee Bucks
Milwaukee had two absolutely crucial players in Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez become free agents. They retained them both, with Middleton getting 3/102M and Lopez signing for 2/48M. Plus, they retained Jae Crowder, giving them solid big man depth behind Giannis Antetokounmpo. It would have been nice to retain Jevon Carter, who went to the Bulls, but the Bucks took care of business and remained one of the NBA’s few legitimate title contenders.
Detroit Pistons
Two of the young Pistons’ biggest weaknesses were a lack of outside shooting and a reliable point guard. Detroit solved both of those by using their cap space to take sharpshooter Joe Harris from the Nets and Monte Morris from the Washington Wizards, who wanted to dump him after trading for Tyus Jones.
Harris and Morris make just under $30M combined, but they’re both good players. For their trouble, Detroit netted one second-round pick, after acquiring two for taking Harris and sending one to Washington for Morris. Plus, the team full of youngsters can use veterans, and Detroit can flip both expiring contracts at the trade deadline for more stuff.
Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavs were disappointed by last year’s first-round exit at the hands of the Knicks. So they went hard at their biggest weakness: small forward. After years of hoping 2020 No. 5 pick Isaac Okoro would develop, Cleveland went out and got two quality wings in Miami’s Strus and Philadelphia’s Georges Niang.
They also brought back Caris Levert on a very reasonable two-year deal for $32M. As a bonus, they grabbed some depth in Utah’s Damian Jones and Golden State’s Ty Jerome, two deep bench reserves who can shoot and won’t kill you if pressed into duty. Strus got a lot of money, but fielding a contender is expensive. Cleveland has a squad of excellent role players around Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. The future is now in Northeast Ohio!
Losers
Houston Rockets
The Rockets had $61M in cap space and used it to give 29-year-old VanVleet $130M for three years, small forward/hockey goon Dillon Brooks four years and $80M and Suns backup center Jock Landale $32M for four years, though not all of that is guaranteed.
Plus, there’s a still-unresolved trade for Brooklyn’s 34-year-old Patty Mills, and Houston unloaded recent first-round picks TyTy Washington and Usman Garuba to Atlanta along with two second-round picks and cash. They also sent Kenyon Martin Jr. to the Clippers for two second-round picks, and will be sending Josh Christopher to Memphis in the Brooks sign-and-trade.
It’s not clear whether Brooks is even a positive player overall, and the Rockets have now assembled a wildly inefficient shooting team.
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