The first day of NBA free agency was much different than we were accustomed to. The first deal to be announced was Luke Kornet, right at the 6pm ET start time. We had to wait over an hour before a free agent switched teams — the honors went to Andre Drummond, going to the Sixers.
Drummond was just the appetizer for Philadelphia. They made the biggest splash of the day, acquiring Paul George in the wee hours of the morning, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The rest of the league’s signings were held up by the George news and could soon follow on Monday. There were also some smaller moves that did take place in the first few hours of the day.
Here are the big winners and losers from Day 1.
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NBA free agency winners
Spurs
The whole NBA is a winner after Chris Paul agreed to sign with the Spurs.
Victor Wembanyama’s development was hampered last season by the team’s lack of quality point guard play. It’s safe to say that the team’s passing is going to dramatically improve with Paul, who has made lesser centers look fantastic thanks to his pick-and-roll wizardry.
Paul isn’t going to be able to play a ton of minutes anymore, but he will throw lob passes and get the Spurs playing like a real team. They’re going to take a leap because Wembanyama is too good to be on a bottom-feeding team much longer.
MORE: Why Chris Paul is joining the Spurs for his 20th NBA season
76ers
The Sixers signed George to a four year, $ 212 million maximum contract per Wojnarowski. In doing so, they have created one of the best top threes in the East. Tyrese Maxey will be soon to follow, and Joel Embiid has by far the best team around him of his career.
George is still a great offensive player who can create good shots and also play well off the ball. He hit a stunning 45.4 percent of his catch-and-shoot 3’s last season, per NBA Stats. He is going open things wide up for his teammates.
George is also one of the better wing defenders in the league. He’s made four All-Defensive teams and finished as high as fourth in Defensive Player of the Year voting. The Sixers should finish as a top-10 defense with him and Embiid together.
The Sixers also made some nice moves on the fringes by bringing in Andre Drummond, Eric Gordon, and re-signing Kelly Oubre. Drummond is one of the best backup centers in the league and has already proven a capable backup for Joel Embiid. Gordon is still a good 3-point shooter, although he is for sure on the downslope of his career. Oubre is a fringe starter on a small deal.
These guys should be right there with the Knicks as the best challenger to the Celtics. The East is going to be a lot stronger next season.
MORE: Tracking the latest Paul George rumors in free agency
NBA free agency losers
Nuggets
This marks the second consecutive offseason in which the Nuggets lost a vital member of their 2023 championship team. Last summer, it was sixth man Bruce Brown Jr. This summer, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope went to the Magic on a three-year, $ 66 million deal.
The Nuggets had zero avenue to retain Brown. They could have kept Caldwell-Pope, but it would have meant a huge luxury tax bill and second apron concerns.
Money should not have been an issue. Denver has no means to replace Caldwell-Pope aside from the $ 5 million taxpayer mid-level exception and the hope that Christian Braun is ready to take a massive leap forward.
The Nuggets did a disservice to Nikola Jokic in letting Caldwell-Pope go. The West is simply too competitive to have allowed this to happen.
Warriors
It wasn’t the storybook ending that their dynasty deserved, but championship teams rarely get one. The Warriors missed the playoffs completely last season, saw the writing on the wall and are letting Klay Thompson go rather than spending their way into the bottom of the Western Conference playoff race again, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
It will look strange for Thompson to be wearing another jersey. He has earned the right to finish his career on his terms. He’s not the defender he once was, but he can still help with his shooting. He will have discussions with the Mavericks, Lakers, Clippers and Sixers, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
As for the Warriors, they do have some promising young players in the fold. But Stephen Curry isn’t winning another championship with this group unless major changes happen.
MORE: Tracking the latest Klay Thompson rumors in free agency
Zach LaVine
How far has LaVine’s star fallen? The Bulls reportedly tried to trade him in exchange for underperforming veteran Andrew Wiggins and the $ 30 million expiring contract of Chris Paul, per Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes. The Warriors said no to that deal, which would have been considered ludicrous just a year ago.
LaVine’s $ 138 million owed over the next three seasons is clearly considered a toxic asset. He’s only two seasons removed from being named an All-Star, but it looks like the Bulls will have to attach an asset or take back bad salary in order to move him.
Tampering
We’ve become accustomed to a dam of signings bursting as soon as free agency starts. This season was far more subdued.
The fines for tampering in the new CBA look to have teams, players and agents all playing by the rules so far.
We’re over 30 minutes in and not even one report of a free agent changing teams yet.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) June 30, 2024
6pm was anti-climactic
— Josh Hart (@joshhart) June 30, 2024
Did tampering ever hurt anyone? It certainly made free agency more entertaining. The league needs to bring it back.
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Clippers
The Clippers brought James Harden back on a two-year, $ 70 million deal that looks like a slight overpay. They then made the break official with George after sending out a press release indicating that he would not be back.
Maybe they can replace George’s production in a sign-and-trade with DeMar DeRozan. But for now, there is a glaring hole on their roster. They also lost backup center Mason Plumlee, and signed Derrick Jones Jr. to try and add some depth to their team.
Along with Jones, the Clippers made a questionable signing of Kevin Porter Jr.. That added to another controversial signing in Josh Primo last year. They’re taking swings at prospects with checkered histories, which is going to make them a target for criticism.
