Phase One of NBA Free Agency is in the books, and aside from a little inevitable drama, we’re beginning to see the bones of the upcoming NBA season
Winners
Miami Heat
Not only did the Heat re-sign mid-season acquisition Victor Oladipo, but the organization inked Duncan Robinson to a monster extension. With the services of Andre Iguodala and Goran Dragic on the way out, Miami replaced the two facilitators with PJ Tucker and Kyle Lowry. Retooling, maintaining the team’s identity, surrounding Butler and Adebayo with championship caliber talent, mindsets and experience?
If you ask me, Miami is the big winner of the offseason to this point. Finals contenders? It’s too early to say, but with a generally healthy squad, Pat Reilly certainly propelled the franchise into great position in an unpredictable East.
San Antonio Spurs
They moved on from Aldridge, DeRozan, and Gay, brought back Bryn Forbes, and added stretch bigs, Doug McDermott and Zach Collins. They also added some expiring contracts in their sign-and-trade with Chicago.
They’ll have roughly $40 million in cap space next year, which could go up based on their decisions with players who have club options and non-guaranteed salaries. They know they still need a star. While the Spurs and Popovich won’t threaten for supremacy this year, the organization positioned itself nicely going forward.
New Orleans Pelicans
The Pelicans added some shooting by getting Devonte Graham from the Hornets in a sign & trade, but, like the Spurs, they won in terms of situating themselves to make a splash in the future.
The issue becomes keeping Zion in New Orleans and keeping Zion happy in New Orleans long term. This squad, led by Zion with the help of Brandon Ingram, requires a splash to put the roster in the waters of contention. Trading Stephen Adams and Eric Bledsoe was a positive start, but what direction the follow in the future dictates the success of their last two weeks.
Toronto Raptors
For a squad on the brink of irrelevancy on the heels of supremacy, it’s a rollercoaster in Toronto. The loss of Kyle Lowry felt imminent. Sending Lowry to Miami hurts the fan base that watched the guard bring glory to a city desperate for the taste of success.
But the subsequent acquisition of Goran Dragic, Precious Achiuwa, along with the re-signing of Gary Trent Jr. should soften the emotional blow. Suddenly, Toronto finds itself in a position to compete.
Losers
Oklahoma City Thunder
At some point, the Thunder have to put a competitive team together. They blew it up two years ago, then when the island of misfit toys was winning too much, they decided to blow that up too.
Sam Presti certainly loves his draft picks, but at what cost? Lots of money, but also the cost of entertainment. OKC’s plan is to acquire draft capital, but the directionality of the future is somewhat foggy. Acquiring picks and Kemba Walker, but subsequently buying out the contract of the guard leaves a trail of nothingness on the expected roster for 2021-22.
Until this process comes to fruition, it seems like the Thunder can’t help butt push relevancy further and further into the future.
Portland Trail Blazers
After the threats of Damian Lillard came to a head in the early stages of the offseason, you’d think with a new head coach and frustrated star, you’d surround that star with the talent he so rightly deserves.
Nope. Welcome to Portland, Tony Snell.
Jump Ball!
New York Knicks
The Knicks thrilled New York City, securing the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference, but won just one playoff game. Does the bare minimum of legitimate success call for $10 million-plus salaries for Burks, Noel, and Rose? Does that call for Randle to make $25+ million?
Sure, Evan Fournier brings a hot hand from range, but his court presence hardly moves the needle. If recent addition Kemba Walker stays healthy, maybe the Knicks are in business. For now, it seems like a tall task and unlikely ask.
Los Angeles Lakers
Without focusing on potential cohesion issues with the big three of Russ, AD and LeBron, it’s easy to poke holes in the newfound expectations of the Lakers.
Kent Bazemore–a career 35% three-point shooter–shot 40% from three last season. Maybe Bazemore is progressing exponentially, but it’s more likely he was a beneficiary of playing in an offensive-friendly scheme with a great shooter in Steph Curry and elite passing big in Draymond Green.
Malik Monk shot 40% from three last year as well. But he shot 28% from three the year before. Again you have to wonder if this is progress or just some of the fluctuation you see from role players on a season-by-season basis.
It’s not just those two guys, either. It’s a legitimate concern for nearly every offseason acquisition AND some of the guys already on the roster. What positive contributions does this Lakers team realistically expect and more importantly need from Dwight Howard, Trevor Ariza and Carmelo Anthony?
Too many question marks in Los Angeles to feel certain about either direction of the organization.
Chicago Bulls
The contract and price paid for DeMar DeRozan is jaw-dropping. For a third scoring option, defense liability and injury hazard, close to $30M/year feels steep.
Lonzo in Chicago makes perfect sense. Smart contract, smart player, good move for both sides. The focus shifts to whether or not the Bulls can accurately use Lonzo to his strengths. Ball movement and three-point shooting certainly brings something the Bulls missed sorely last season, especially in the COVID -caused absence of Zach LaVine toward the end of the year.
Bench players like Alex Caruso and Tony Bradley bolsters a questionable defensive core, potentially providing a nice spark when the going gets tough. The clear intent is to appease LaVine with hopes of success ahead of contract negotiations. Whether the flurry of moves works in Chicago’s favor remains unknown.
