NBA free agency winners and losers: Brooklyn Nets, Utah Jazz, New York Knicks and more
Friday 5 July 2019 15:36, UK
NBA free agency is drawing to a close and, aside from Kawhi Leonard’s decision on his future and its impact on the Toronto Raptors, Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers, the major moves have already been made.
While the Brooklyn Nets undoubtedly made the biggest free agency splash with their acquisitions of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, several other teams made shrewd signings that should improve their hopes of contending in the 2019-20 season.
BBL legend and Sky Sports NBA TV analyst Mike Tuck offers his take on the teams that had a free agency period to remember, and one that had a week to forget.
Winners: Brooklyn Nets
Brooklyn are the biggest free agency winners so far. Landing Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving was insane. Brooklyn are going to be a really interesting team next year. After the year he just experienced in Boston, a fresh start for Kyrie will be a good thing. He can set the tone while Durant recovers from his Achilles injury and then together they can make a run at the championship in two or three years' time.
Kyrie is in a weird transition phase where, if he has another bad season in terms of how he co-exists with his team-mates, he is going to start looking him a 'locker room cancer' and his stock is going to drop. Next year will be a very interesting season for him.
This is the superstar era and the 'super team' era. The Nets have proven you can get your two 'max' or 'super max' guys if you show you can surround them with two or three complementary players, along with role players on the bench who 'complete the puzzle'. That weighs heavily in the NBA today, 100 per cent.
Winners: Utah Jazz
Bringing Mike Conley in was a great move for the Jazz. It was one of the first big trade moves we heard about. His experience will really help bring his team-mates along, especially Donovan Mitchell.
Utah also added Bojan Bogdanovic and Ed Davis which means they will be running out a very solid starting five. They've also addressed roster depth by signing Jeff Green and Emmanuel Mudiay as role players.
The Jazz were already a strong defensive team. Now they look like a better, more solid, playoff-ready team. I think we will see them make a significant dent in the postseason next year.
Losers: New York Knicks
To me, the Knicks issues look like a front office problem. It just doesn't look like there is a consistent strategy or plan that they are trying to move forward with. They are still trying to ride that wave of 'We are the Knicks, we play in Madison Square Garden' but players aren't as starstruck by that anymore.
Players want a good owner, players want a good front office, players want a coach they can talk to and relate to.
After the Draft, everything looked so much better. But then they weren't able to pull off signing a big-name player to come in. Next thing they are paying Elfrid Payton $16m over the next two years! It looks like they have picked up a few contracts just to say they have done something.
I had assumed that Kyrie and Durant would look at the Knicks before Brooklyn but the Nets have a strategy, a better front office, a better GM. All those things are going on the background and players are paying attention to them.
Winners: Indiana Pacers
Indiana have done a mini-rebuild. I love the Malcolm Brogdon trade for them. I think he is a great fit with the Pacers. Instead of being a sixth man or the last man in the starting five like he was in Milwaukee, he will get the chance to really shine for the Pacers. He can be more of a scorer and show off his talents much more. There were so many different pieces in Milwaukee he didn't often get that chance.
I think adding a piece like Brogdon will lift Indiana from being a first-round playoff team up to a higher level. He is a very mature player for his age. You see the way he carries himself off the court and in his interviews, he sounds statesman-like.
The Pacers made a decent run at the playoffs last year but unfortunately injuries - especially the season-ending one suffered by Victor Oladipo - got in the way. Once Oladipo is healthy again, they will have a starting five - Brogdon, Oladipo, TJ Warren, Domantas Sabonis, Myles Turner - capable of making some real noise in the East.
Best free agents still available?
There are still a lot of interesting guys left on the market. Kelly Oubre is still out there as a restricted free agent but it looks like Phoenix are planning to re-sign him, based on the trade they made with the Memphis Grizzlies to free up more salary cap room.
That trade sent Josh Jackson, De'Anthony Melton and two second-round picks to Memphis, with Kyle Korver heading to the Suns, who are reportedly going to buy him out. That will make Korver a free agent and I wouldn't be surprised to see him in a Lakers uniform next season.
Ivica Zubac, Delon Wright, my fellow Canadian Khem Birch and Trey Lyles are all interesting pieces that are still out there too.
Where does DeMarcus Cousins go? I don't know who will want to pick him up or even what team he would fit with. There's not much of a list there for him. Maybe the Knicks? If it keeps up like this, he is going to have to go to China. It doesn't look like any decent teams want to pick him up right now.
Why were the Nuggets and Rockets so quiet?
The Nuggets re-signed Paul Millsap which is a great move for them. They extended Jamal Murray's contract to the max. That shows their commitment to him leading the team and his major role in their future. They had a great season in which they over-achieved. They have great talent on that team and they can keep building with that. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
I thought they did well in the playoffs. With one more year with playoff experience under them, I don't think they needed to make any changes.
Houston are interesting right now, albeit for different reasons. The front office has blatantly said they will trade anybody on the team. There are all the rumours about James Harden and Chris Paul not getting along. But Houston are stuck with Paul, no one is going to take on that contract for an injury-prone, aging star. And getting rid of Harden would be the dumbest thing ever.
The Rockets have been very quiet in free agency. Andre Iguodala is floating around right now and he might be a piece that could potentially help them. He's a good 'team' guy, a defensive guy, a veteran who can still get up and down the court.
The confusion around head coach Mike D'Antoni's contract extension suggests the dynamic between the team's front office and coaching/playing staff is not harmonious at the moment. Whatever happens at the top of an organisation trickles down. Players take note of that. If your name is on the trade block every week, even though you're a team near the top of the standings, there's no faith in the team.
Houston are itching for a championship or at least a chance to get there. They have been so close for the last three or four years. But if they ultimately bring back the team they had last year, and they stay mentally tough, you're looking at a team that will contend in the Western Conference. The West could be wide open given the Warriors will not be the juggernaut we've seen for the last five years.
