The NBA’s post-draft, mid-summer festival known as the free agent signing period is in full effect. It’s that time of year when franchises spend a great deal of money to either improve their teams, add to their current rosters, or start the rebuilding process. Team owners throw money around like candy during this calendar period, some would say that it’s the league’s version of Christmas in July – perhaps the real Amazon Prime. Either way, many teams have been on a spending spree over the last week or so.
Unfortunately, not every team’s free agency plans came to fruition. While most franchises got what they wanted, others got the short end of the stick. Then there are the teams who just might wind up surprising everybody once the season begins. Here’s a look at how this years free agent period unfolded…
And the Winners Are…
The team who struck the most gold is the San Antonio Spurs. “The Twin Towers” part dos will be the storyline for next season as the Spurs managed to snag power forward LaMarcus Aldridge – at four years and $80 million – away from the Portland Trailblazers. Pairing him up with Tim Duncan – who took a pay cut to stay in San Antonio – along with another veteran forward in David West, the Spurs should be dominant in the post once again. They also managed to hang onto Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green, while also bringing back Manu Ginobili. With these moves the Spurs have title contender written all over them in 2016.
The Los Angeles Clippers can also claim victory in the free agent battle. They fought tooth and nail with the Dallas Mavericks to re-sign center DeAndre Jordan (worth roughly $85 million) and keep him from taking his talents to North Texas. Even though the Clippers tactics in convincing him to re-sign may have been questionable, they did what they had to in order to keep their big man in the fold. They also brought in veteran swingman Paul Pierce. Despite his age (37), and his somewhat declining athleticism, Pierce is still a solid wing player who can contribute offensively. “Lob City” offered the Los Angeles native a three-year, $10 million deal to leave the Washington Wizards.
Then we have the Cleveland Cavaliers who spared no expense in order to keep their core intact. The 2015 Eastern Conference Champions dished out in excess of $200 million in order to keep LeBron James, bring back Kevin Love, and to reward Timofey Mozgov and Iman Shumpert for their contributions last season. And they may not be done as they’re hoping to bring back Tristan Thompson. If not for last season’s injuries to Love, Anderson Varejao, and Kyrie Irving, the Cavs could have been the ones holding up the Larry O’Brien trophy last month.
Then There Are Those Who Lost
Even though the Portland Trailblazers re-signed their top guard Damien Lillard (five years, $120 million); losing LaMarcus Aldridge, Aaron Affalo, Robin Lopez and Nicolas Batum will most certainly come back to haunt them next season. Letting DeAndre Jordan slip from their grasp is going to haunt the Dallas Mavericks for quite some time. It’s not every day that you can land a solid interior guy with his caliber.
The Sleeper Hit
We love this category because its the team that didn’t make a splashy move, crept under the radar and still has the makings of a winning off-season. This year, it goes to the Miami Heat. Goran Dragic will anchor the offense with his long-term deal, getting Luol Deng and Dwayne Wade back proves that Pat Riley believes that they can contribute when healthy, and Amar’e Stoudemire could be a solid mentor for Hassan Whiteside. With the rest of the group still on board (Chris Bosh, Chris Andersen etc.), the Heat could surpass expectations and return to the postseason next year.
Could this mean yet another Spurs-Heat match up in the 2016 Finals. Crazier things have happened.
