Now nearly every free agent has been picked up, the NBA draft has happened and many trades have gone down, it's becoming clear who were the winners and losers of this off season.
Below I have my list 5 winners and 5 losers and the reasons why. *Note - these are my immediate winners and losers going into next season*
Winner
L.A Clippers
This might be the easiest answer ever, the Clippers stepped out of the Lakers shadow and acquired 2 of the best 2 way players in the league; The reigning finals MVP Kawhi Leonard, and Paul George a top 3 MVP and DPOY candidate. If you cast your mind back to round 1 of the Western Conference playoffs, the Clippers pushed the Warriors to 6 games through gritty defence and great bursts of offence. I for one said, if the Clippers can get an MVP calibre wing player they won't be too far off a title considering the foundations of this team pushed an all time great team so hard in the playoffs.
Notable off season moves:
Signed - Kawhi Leonard
Traded - for Paul George
Winner
New Orleans Pelicans
When AD first requested a trade his value dropped, GMs were ready to snap him up to have him as a 1 year rental but nothing materialised. A stroke of fortune granted them the #1 pick and trading AD began to pick up steam again, as his successor; Zion Williamson was waiting in the wings. The Pelicans shipped AD off the his preference, the Lakers for the biggest haul of picks we've ever seen (later broken by the OKC/LAC/PG trade). They also received 3 good young players in Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart. They also manage to sign JJ Redick, a great player for a team looking to make the playoffs. Most people thought trading AD could be the start of a bad era for the Pelicans but I like where this team is going.
Notable off season moves
Signed - JJ Redick
Received - Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram & Josh Hart
Drafted - Zion Williamson & Jaxon Hayes
Winner
Brooklyn Nets
The Nets had a great off season as they acquired KD and Kyrie mere minutes into free agency. Despite KD being injured they had to take a chance. If KD can come back healthy, their big 3 of KD, Kyrie and Deandre Jordan can be one of the best teams in the East. They also managed to draft Jaylen Hands at 56 who could prove to be a steal.
Notable off season moves
Signed - Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving & DeAndre Jordan
Drafted - Jaylen Hands
Winner
Utah Jazz
Adding Mike Conley and Bojan Bogdanovic gives Utah one of the most well rounded starting 5s in the whole NBA. They are fresh off 3 straight season of 5th placed finishes in the West and this year they are clearly trying to get into one of the home court spots and I think it is realistic. Adding some nice bench pieces like Jeff Green and Ed Davis will recoup some of the depth lost.
Notable off season moves
Signed - Bojan Bogdanovic
Traded - for Mike Conley
Lost - Ricky Rubio, Jae Crowder, Derrick Favors, Kyle Korver and Grayson Allen
Winner
Los Angeles Lakers
So the Lakers finally got their man. AD will be wearing the purple and gold next season forming one of the best duos in the NBA with LeBron James. They also had some good pick ups with the likes of DeMarcus Cousins, Danny Green and Avery Bradley. While they waited for Kawhi Leonard to make a decision they did miss out on some free agents but credit to the Lakers as they managed to build a solid roster.
Notable off season moves
Traded – for Anthony Davis
Signed – DeMarcus Cousins, Danny Green, Avery Bradley & Quinn Cook
Traded – away Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram & Josh Hart
Winner
Fans
Yes, it's us, the fans. We now have some parity in the NBA. Although the 2 LA teams seem clear, chemistry issue could hamper them. In the previous 4/5 years, GS were the clear favourites but now come June we can't even predict who will be in the finals.
Loser
OKC Thunder
I mean when you trade away your 2 best players its always and L, however OKC can take some consolation that they received a crazy amount of 1st round picks in the near future. I personally can see why they did it. Once PG and Russ realised they weren't going to win, something had to change and with OKCs cap limitation they were never going to get in a big free agent. Sam Presti pulled the plug on this era of Thunder basketball and now they look like a team who will certainly miss the playoffs. I can see Steven Adams and Andre Roberson being shipped too as Thunder go into rebuild mode and try to draft the next KD, Russ or Harden.
Another option would be to cash these picks in and try to trade for players such as Bradley Beal or Jrue Holiday but I doubt these players would eclipse what last years Thunder did.
Notable off season moves
Traded away - Russell Westbrook, Paul George, Jeremi Grant
Received - So many 1st round picks I lost count
Loser
New York Knicks
For the last year or so, the Knicks were apparently gearing up to sign KD and Kyrie and in typical Knicks fashion they took a massive L. To add insult to injury, KD and Kyrie signed down the road for the Brooklyn Nets. Let's not forget the Knicks traded away their franchise player, Kristaps Porzingis with the presumption that they would sign at least 1 big free agent. Their offseason was quite a weird one, the weirdest thing being signed 4 power forwards to a combined 130m in contract. The less said about this team, the better.
Notable off season moves
Signed - Julius Randle, Bobby Portis, Taj Gibson, Marcus Morris, Wayne Ellington & Elfrid Payton
Drafted - RJ Barrett
Loser
Boston Celtics
The Celtics recent seasons haven't gone as well as most thought and this off season epitomised this. Replacing Kyrie with Kemba is about as close as they could get to a replacement so that move was pretty good. However losing Baynes , Horford and Morris has decimated their front court, especially defensively and the Celtics have chosen Enes Kanter as their replacement (lol). Nah, all jokes aside Kanter is a decent scorer but such a defensive liability.
Notable off season moves
Signed - Kemba Walker & Enes Kanter
Lost - Kyrie Irving, Al Horford, Marcus Morris & Aaron Baynes
Loser
Charlotte Hornets
How about some irony to start. The Hornets were frontline when it came to being able to offer star players the supermax, but when Kemba Walker became eligible for it, Charlotte did not offer him it. I mean with Kemba they were just about fighting for 8th place and without him they will 100% miss this seasons playoffs. Replacing Kemba with Terry Rozier is questionable but it was probably the best move they could have made. Maybe they want to tank?
Anyways, this season will be a massive L
Notable off season moves
Signed - Terry Rozier
Lost - Kemba Walker & Jeremy Lamb
Loser
Golden State Warriors
This team has gone from certainties to win it all to a team who may struggle to get home court. Some hot takes are saying they may not even make the playoffs. They lost Kevin Durant, Boogie Cousins and Andre Iguodala and with Klay Thompson being injured their roster is a shell of its former self. With Steph Curry and Draymond Green still healthy I expect them to still make the playoffs but not compete for the title this season. They signed D'Angelo Russell to tide them over while Klay rehabs, adding Willie Cauley-Stein will help them out in the short term but comparing this roster to last seasons roster is day and night.
Notable off season moves
Signed - D'Angelo Russell, Willie Cauley-Stein
Lost – Kevin Durant, DeMarcus Cousins, Andre Iguodala