2024 NBA Free Agency: Winners, Losers and Fallout from Day 2
Andy Bailey@@AndrewDBaileyFeatured Columnist IVJuly 2, 20242024 NBA Free Agency: Winners, Losers and Fallout from Day 20 of 9
Paul GeorgeJesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images
NBA news has been pouring in since the league opened its offseason negotiation period this weekend, and things didn’t really slow down on Monday.
A new superteam assembled in Philadelphia, one finally broke up in the West, and plenty of other difference-making moves happened all over the league.
Below, you’ll find a breakdown of all the biggest moves from Day 2 through the tried-and-true “winners and losers” lens.
Winner: 76ers1 of 9
Tyrese MaxeyJesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images
In the wee hours of Monday morning, news broke of the Philadelphia 76ers’ acquisition of Paul George. After the Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Clippers fell out of the running for his services, the 76ers became an inevitability.
And now that he’s officially (or unofficially, at least until the moratorium ends on July 6), with Philadelphia, it’s pretty easy to declare the Sixers winners.
They already had one of the league’s best duos in Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxeyānews of the latter re-signing came a few hours after the reports on Georgeābut there was an obvious hole in between them and on the wings.
George fills that as one of the game’s most malleable star-level talents. He’s a high-volume three-point shooter who’ll pull defensive attention away from the Maxey-Embiid axis in the middle of the floor. He’ll beat rotating or closing defenders off the catch. And he can even run some offense when Maxey and/or Embiid are off the floor.
But George isn’t the only reason Philadelphia is a winner on Monday. We also learned of that new deal for Maxey. Kelly Oubre Jr. will be back, too. And when you combine those moves with cost-efficient signings of Andre Drummond and Eric Gordon on Sunday, it’s easy to get excited about this team’s prospects for 2024-25.
Loser: Clippers2 of 9
Kevin Porter Jr.Alex Bierens de Haan/Getty Images
The other side of the George coin, obviously, is the Los Angeles Clippers losing him.
Because they were operating over the salary cap, barring a sign-and-trade, there was no real way to replace him.
Now, instead of having a max contract and star player on the wing alongside Kawhi Leonard, they’re trying to make up for his loss piecemeal, with exceptions and minimums.
That’s led to deals for Nicolas Batum, Derrick Jones Jr. and Kevin Porter Jr., none of whom come close to replacing what George gave the team.
On the bright side, L.A. was able to re-sign James Harden, and the “two stars and depth” model may make more sense under this new collective bargaining agreement, but you need the right two stars (and the right depth, for that matter).
Harden turns 35 in August. Kawhi’s body seems to betray him every spring. And much of this supporting cast feels like a roll of the dice.
Winner: Thunder3 of 9
Isaiah HartensteinJesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images
The average annual value on the Isaiah Hartenstein deal is genuinely shocking. Three years and $87 million for a career backup coming off a season in which he averaged 7.8 points had to catch some fans off-guard.
But Hartenstein is good, fills a need for the Thunder and is going to a team that was in a unique position to overpay for his size, rebounding, hustle and underrated passing.
OKC has plenty of cap space, since two of its most important players (Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams) are on their rookie deals. And by the time their second contracts kick in, Hartenstein’s could be coming off the books (barring an extension).
For the team that just finished first in the West to add Hartenstein and Alex Caruso, and still have plenty of salary and draft assets to make a big trade, this offseason has been an absolute slam dunk.
Loser: Nuggets4 of 9
Nikola JokiÄC. Morgan Engel/Getty Images
The biggest Denver Nuggets-related news happened on Day 1 of free agency, when we learned Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is headed to the Orlando Magic, but they still find themselves on the wrong side of the “winners and losers” ledger because they’ve yet to do anything in free agency.
The plan seems to be to move Christian Braun into the starting five, and there’s reason to think that’ll work. Everyone plays better when on the floor with Nikola JokiÄ. And Braun will look better as a fifth option in a high-functioning unit than he did as a scorer in a bad second unit.
But taking him out of that group means the backups will be worse. Doing nothing but watching their own free agents walk will put significantly more pressure on young players like Peyton Watson, Julian Strawther and incoming rookie DaRon Holmes II.
There’s been plenty of talk about Russell Westbrook potentially joining the team, and that would be better than nothing, but Denver was dead-last in three-point attempts last season. Leaning further into that is not a winning idea.
There are still ways to add shooting or other help with minimum contracts, the taxpayer’s mid-level exception or a trade exception generated by the Reggie Jackson deal, but the options are fewer and farther between with each signing around the league.
Winner: Mavericks5 of 9
Klay ThompsonRocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images
Count me among those who think Klay Thompson’s decline has been greatly exaggerated.
No, of course he’s not the flamethrower and multipositional defender he was in his prime, but the 34-year-old averaged 17.9 points and 3.5 threes, while shooting 38.7 percent from deep last season. He still terrifies opposing defenses into chasing him all over the floor. And in his new home, his role will be simplified.
Playing alongside Luka DonÄiÄ and Kyrie Irving means wide-open three-point attempts are going to be generated for Thompson several times per game. And he may not have to exert himself quite as much off the ball to get them (though his experience as an off-ball mover will help the Mavs, too).
Losing Derrick Jones Jr.’s defense isn’t ideal, but replacing him with Naji Marshall and Thompson is definitely a net positive.
And just for good measure, Dallas coming out on top in a free-agent chase that included the Los Angeles Lakers may say something about the culture and current drawing power of both franchises.
Loser: Lakers6 of 9
LeBron JamesRonald Martinez/Getty Images
The Mavericks weren’t the only team going after Thompson. The Lakers were reportedly “aggressive,” too. There was even chatter about LeBron James potentially taking a discount on his next deal to help the team sign an impact free agent.
But the longtime Warriors’ sharpshooter is now headed to Dallas, and the Lakers, at least for now, are bringing back roughly the same team that’s been in the play-in tournament in each of the last two seasons (and with LeBron and Anthony Davis both a year older).
Dalton Knecht falling to them in the draft could play out a bit like Jaime Jaquez Jr. slipping to the Miami Heat last year. Adding DeMar DeRozan on an exception-level contract would be easy to sell as a win, too.
But as several of the younger teams in the West are on the rise, L.A. is probably going to be right back in that play-in mix.
Winner: Celtics7 of 9
Jayson TatumBillie Weiss/Getty Images
The Boston Celtics came to terms on extensions with both Jayson Tatum and Derrick White on Monday, all but assuring the team will remain in the hunt for more titles over the next few years.
The deal for Tatum is the richest in league history, but he’s worth it. He’s only 26 years old, a high-end, multipositional defender and an improving playmaker. And he’s passed just about every test the postseason can possibly throw at him.
White, meanwhile, might be the best perimeter defender in the league. He was second on the team in blocks per game and first in assists. And his gap-filling game made him the team leader in postseason wins over replacement player on the way to the title.
With those two, Kristaps PorziÅÄ£is, Jrue Holiday and Jaylen Brown all under contract, Boston has a real shot to end the NBA’s drought of repeat champions (there hasn’t been one since the 2018 Warriors).
Loser: Warriors8 of 9
Stephen Curry and Klay ThompsonNoah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images
Speaking of which, Thompson leaving the Warriors signals the end of the team of the 2010s.
He and Stephen Curry were the Splash Brothers. They won four titles together (including three from 2015 through 2018). They’re the greatest shooting backcourt ever assembled. And for most of their careers, it felt like both would be lifetime Warriors.
But after winning a championship in 2022, Golden State finished sixth in the West in 2023. After a tumultuous 2023-24 campaign in which Draymond Green served multiple suspensions, the Warriors missed the playoffs altogether.
That may have led to some hesitance on the part of ownership and the front office to dive deeper into the luxury tax for an underwhelming team, which in turn may have led to Thompson feeling “disrespected.”
Whatever the reasons, one of the best and most decorated teams in NBA history is no more.
Winner: NBA Owners9 of 9
Mat IshbiaJeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images
For already hyper-expensive teams with billionaire owners seemingly willing to spend deep into the luxury tax into perpetuity, like the Los Angeles Clippers or Phoenix Suns, the implementation of this new collective bargaining agreement may seem like a loss.
For plenty of others, it’s pretty easy to sell it as a win.
Since free agency opened, it’s become increasingly clear that the so-called first and second aprons and their accompanying team-building penalties constitute, essentially, a hard cap. This gives team owners justifications (and in some cases, requirements) to curb their spending, while the value of their organizations will continue to climb.
When the cap goes up under the new TV rights deal, teams might have more wiggle room, but the squeeze is on several right now. And it may ultimately benefit them, while limiting the salaries of lower and middle-tier players.
