The NBA free agency kicked off on Sunday, June 30th at 6 p.m. ET. This free agency hasn’t been as big as some in recent years however, there were still some big moves that happened. Such as Klay Thompson leaving the Golden State Warriors to sign with the Dallas Mavericks. The Philadelphia 76ers landing Paul George on a four-year deal. The New York Knicks trading for Mikal Bridges. Isaiah Hartenstein signing a $29 million per year deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder or Kentavious Caldwell-Pope leaving the Denver Nuggets for the Orlando Magic.
Those are just some of the notable moves that have happened so far. Now that the first wave of free agency is behind us with most of the top players available signing new contracts. It is time to take a look at the early winners and losers of free agency. Before we get to the five winners and losers, there are some teams or players that almost made the list. Such as the New York Knicks and New Orleans Pelicans being winners, or the Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns being losers. However, these are the five teams or players that improved their situations or got worse the most.
Early Winners and Losers of NBA Free Agency
Winners
Oklahoma City Thunder
The first winner on the list is the Thunder. They were the number one seed last year in a loaded Western Conference. In every statistical category, they were either top five or top ten. Their only real weakness was rebounding and depth in the frontcourt. They addressed that in free agency by signing Isaiah Hartenstein, the top big on the market, to a three-year deal. To go along with that, they were able to bring back two key role players Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins on team-friendly deals. To top it all off, they were able to swap Josh Giddey for Alex Caruso.
This was the ideal offseason for the Thunder and they pulled it off without trading any assets. They still have the war chest of first-round picks to use at their disposal to improve this roster even more. With these moves, the Thunder are arguably the favorites to come out of the West next year.
San Antonio Spurs
The next big winner of free agency has to be Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs. Last year, the Spurs had no answer at the point guard position who was able to make life easier for Wemby or even get him the ball. Now with the addition of Chris Paul, the Spurs have a point guard who will be able to get Wemby the ball easier and get him better looks. To go along with that, the Spurs will also be getting Paul’s leadership and mentoring abilities for a very young Spurs team.
Chris Paul might not be the same player he once was, and the Spurs are still a couple of years away from contending. However what he now brings to the table with his leadership qualities and you pair that up with Gregg Popovich. That pairing will do wonders for Wemby and the young core they are building in San Antonio.
Philadelphia 76ers
Next up are the Philadelphia 76ers. Coming into free agency, they were one of a few teams that had a max contract slot available. With that, they were able to land the biggest free agent on the market Paul George. Signing him to a four-year max contract. The addition of George with Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid will be a threat in the East to the reigning Champs, the Boston Celtics. To go along with the signing of George, they were also able to sign Andre Drummond to be the backup to Embiid.
Drummond is the perfect backup to Embiid and will hopefully allow the 76ers to use him less so he can be healthy for the playoffs. In addition, they were also able to grab Eric Gordon and re-sign Kelly Oubre Jr. The only question surrounding this team is health with the injury history of George and especially Embiid. However if this team is healthy next year, they could be the biggest threat to the Celtics in the East.
Dallas Mavericks
The next winner is the Dallas Mavericks. Coming off a finals loss to the Celtics, their biggest need was getting more perimeter help for Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. They did just that by stealing Klay Thompson away from the Warriors in a sign-and-trade where they only had to trade two second-round picks and Josh Green is a great value. The Mavericks did lose their best point of attack defender in Derrick Jones Jr., but they are hoping that the addition of Thompson and Naji Marshall will help make up that loss. They also replaced Tim Hardaway Jr. with Quentin Grimes a much younger version of what he can bring to the table.
The benefits that Thompson brings to Luka and Kyrie and vice versa, it’s going to be very interesting to see how it all unfolds. As Thompson being a great shooter will command a lot of attention to help with Luka and Kyrie driving the ball. To go along with that, it will also open up more opportunities for Klay with the attention the other two get.
Orlando Magic
The final winner on the list for free agency is the Orlando Magic. Their biggest need was to add shooting help as they were one of the worst shooting teams in the NBA last year. They addressed that by signing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to a three-year deal. He shot 40% from three last year and will immediately help them in that category. Not only does he help their shooting but he also gives them another defender. The Magic were a top three defense last year and adding a player like KCP just makes them even better in that department.
With the continuing developments of Jalen Suggs, Paolo Banchero, and Franz Wagner. Then you add Caldwell-Pope to the mix who has won a championship and can be the leader on a young team. This Magic team could be the dark horse team to come out of the East.
Losers
Denver Nuggets
The first loser in free agency has to be the Denver Nuggets. After they won the NBA championship in 2023, people were thinking they could be the next dynasty in the NBA. Last year they lost to a very good Timberwolves team in game seven. After that series, the Nuggets knew they had to improve their roster and couldn’t just run it back. However, so far they have only lost key pieces and haven’t added anyone. Losing Caldwell-Pope is a bigger loss than Reggie Jackson and one the Nuggets will feel.
They believe Christian Braun is ready to step in for KCP, but doing that just makes a weak bench even weaker. They have been in the mix to try and trade for Russell Westbrook and we will see if they can land him. However, as of right now, they are a big loser in free agency.
Los Angeles Clippers
The next loser is the Los Angeles Clippers. After trading what they traded for to land Paul George from the Thunder. They let him walk for nothing. They were unwilling to give Paul George a four-year deal and that was what George wanted. Now they sit with an aging roster in a tough Western Conference while they try and open a new arena. That is a very hard sell to fans to try and get them excited for the new arena.
The Clippers still plan to compete next year but with the injury history of Kawhi Leonard and an aging James Harden. Counting on those two guys to lead you to the playoffs is going to be very hard to do. To go along with losing George for nothing, they aren’t in control of their first-round picks until 2030. Without those picks, it will be hard for them to enter a full rebuild mode so they have to compete. However, with the roster they have now, they are just going to be in this weird limbo. Where they aren’t good enough to compete and they aren’t bad enough to get a top pick.
Los Angeles Lakers
The next team on the list is LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers. They are trying to maximize these last three years they have with LeBron and Anthony Davis to try and win another ring. With the roster they have currently, it is not good enough to compete in the West. LeBron James hasn’t signed a contract with them yet, however he is expected to. He was even willing to take less money so the Lakers could acquire a James Harden, or Klay Thompson in free agency. They struck out on all of the players they were interested in.
It just seems that free agents aren’t jumping at the chance anymore to chase a ring with LeBron. As he is now 39 years old. The last big free agent on the market is DeMar DeRozan and they have shown interest in acquiring him. If they are unable to land Derozan, they are essentially running it back with the same team and it is not good enough to compete in the Western Conference.
Golden State Warriors
The next loser so far has been the Golden State Warriors. After a nice decade-plus run with four Championships and six appearances. That run has come to an end as Klay Thompson is leaving to join the Mavericks. In addition to that, they also lost Chris Paul. It isn’t as much of, that they lost Thompson as it is about them not getting anything in return for him. The Warriors are still trying to compete as long as they have Steph Curry and are going to be counting on a lot of young players more so than they ever had to help them compete next year.
They are in the mix to try and land the likes of Lauri Markkanen that would improve their roster. However, the dynamic duo of Klay and Steph known as the “splash bros” has officially come to an end. It is a little disappointing that Curry and Klay won’t finish their careers together after all the success they have had.
Miami Heat
The final team on the list is the Miami Heat. They have made the NBA Finals twice in the last five years and were unable to get the job done. This year they lost to the Boston Celtics in the first round after losing Jimmy Butler for the whole series. This year it just seemed like the Heat as a whole took a step back and weren’t as good as they were last year. With younger teams in the East ready to compete and other teams improving their roster. The Heat have seemed like they have fallen in the east standings a bit.
The Heat haven’t done anything this offseason so far to improve this roster. Also, with Jimmy Butler only having one more year on his deal. The Heat are in an interesting spot of whether they should keep trying to contend with this core group of guys, or if they should start a small rebuild. They have shown interest in adding Derozan which would be a great addition. However, as of right now, they are considered losers in free agency.
