The biggest winners and losers of the 2021 NBA free agency period.
The NBA‘s offseason is always such a pivotal part of what shapes the next year of basketball. Big players can impact the whole league with their signings, entire rosters could be flipped, but worst of all a team could strike out and not sign a single body to help them for their next tip-off.
Let’s see who struck gold this offseason and who’s still looking for a bite.
Winner: Miami Heat
Definitely, the most blatant victory in free agency came from South Beach. The Miami Heat have not only retained key role players like Duncan Robinson but have also beefed up their already star-studded cast with some very optimistic additions.
Through a sign-and-trade, the Heat acquired six-time All-Star Kyle Lowry from the Toronto Raptors. They also signed veterans P.J. Tucker and Markieff Morris; two inside defenders that can also take the open shot and mix well with Miami Heat culture.
The Heat also found a way to free up some space in the departure of Kendrick Nunn, who was struggling to get minutes, and Andre Iguodala, who’s returned back to the bay with the Golden State Warriors.
To top it off, they were able to negotiate with All-Star Victor Oladipo, an All-NBA guard who was just a few years ago making $21 million, to a one-year, $2.3 million dollar contract. The Heat got star power, kept their key guys, and dropped the dead weight. Nothing short of a clean and productive free agency.
Loser: New Orleans Pelicans
With an already disgruntled Zion Williamson, in only just after his second year with both the team and in this league, the New Orleans Pelicans failed to give their stars what they’ve been asking for.
In actuality, they did more damage to themselves this offseason than any help they might have made. To start off, the Pelicans let Lonzo Ball, a favorite to both fans and the team’s two All-Stars in Brandon Ingram and Zion, walk in free agency and sign a four-year deal with the Chicago Bulls.
Lonzo may not be what his father was telling us all he’d become from day 1, but he’s still a progressing young guard who clicked very well with the Pelicans roster. New Orleans tried to remedy this situation by grabbing DeVonte Graham from Charlotte, but the impact has been made and the void isn’t completely refilled.
Graham isn’t Lonzo, and the front office letting him walk is still simmering in their players. The Pelicans also traded Steven Adams, Eric Bledsoe, some picks to Memphis for Jonas Valanciunas in the mega-deal that sent DeVonte Graham to NOLA in the first place. New Orleans got the short end of the stick in both the trade game and in free agency, giving up so much just to acquire mid-level assets in Valanciunas and Graham that probably won’t be enough to replace what was lost or to sustain competitivity in the Western Conference.
It would appear the Pelicans are poised for another draft lottery season. Pelicans fans can only hope that Zion will still be happy enough to sign his rookie extension which he is eligible for after this coming season, but the future looks grim.
Winner: New York Knicks
MSG is splurging this offseason. The New York Knicks had such a fulfilling and hopeful year in 2021; reaching the playoffs for the first time since 2013, landing their first All-Star in Julius Randle since the days of Carmelo Anthony, and overall just having a very well-engineered roster from top to bottom that knows their roles for the most part.
These are all great points of interest when a team amongst the top 5 in cap space enters free agency. The Knicks have long had disappointing off-season after off-season, but this year they were finally able to capitalize. For starters, they landed four-time All-Star and New York native Kemba Walker from Boston on an exceptional deal.
The only problem is Walker, who was their best signing, is the only deal the Knicks made this Summer where they didn’t overpay. They re-signed many of their role players like Nerlens Noel, Alec Burks, and Derrick Rose, but spent a little more than they should’ve on doing so. Obviously, if you’re the Knicks with the cap space it isn’t as dreadful of purchase, but after signing Evan Fournier for four years, $73 million, it can put things into perspective.
The Knicks really want to stay relevant now they’ve gotten back to that point for the first time in almost a decade, but it’s showing a bit much when they drop all this money on players that are most likely not going to be able to take them to the promised land.
The Knicks will be a playoff team at best with this roster which is a huge win for the team when you look at all the despair and misery the organization had gone through for quite some time. The Knicks are celebrating small victories in hopes they can help turn into big ones.
Loser: Dallas Mavericks
A similar situation in New Orleans, where we have a generational talent with absolutely no decent support. The Dallas Mavericks should be thanking their lucky stars that such a capable and brilliant young player like Luka Doncic was able to fall into their lap back on 2018 draft night.
But with that, they also need to understand that as great as Luka magic is, basketball is a team sport. For the past two years, Luka has been dominating all throughout the regular season only to get booted out in the first round due to his lack of a supporting cast.
The Mavericks have made minimal efforts to repair these flaws. They kept Tim Hardaway Jr. from walking which was a plus, but they’re going to need much more if they want to make it deep into the postseason. Kristaps Porzingis has been nothing short of disappointing throughout the majority of his time in the lone star state and him being the No. 2 option on the team is a serious concern.
Aside from Hardaway’s extension, the biggest signing the Mavericks made this offseason was for Reggie Bullock, a role player at best that can shoot the deep ball. Luka can’t win on his own, and the Mavericks’ front office ought to understand that they’ll have wasted one of the best careers in basketball if they don’t get their act together and get their Slovenian savior the help he deserves.
Winner: Chicago Bulls
A very odd assortment of ballers, but an exciting future lies directly ahead. The Chicago Bulls’ rebuild has apparently concluded with the team now having a very well-rounded roster composed of All-Stars.
Franchise centerpiece Zach LaVine is coming off a 27 points-per-game season, and the Bulls naturally saw that he was going to need assistance if he is to take his talents to the next level. They went out and grabbed DeMar DeRozan from the Spurs and stole Lonzo Ball from the Pelicans; both were overpaid, but worthwhile investments.
Take those three unique and dynamic guards and group them together with a top 5 center in the NBA like Nikola Vucevic and that right there is a playoff team. The Bulls have found their four key assets and have paid them all the worthwhile amount. This leaves the rest of the Bulls roster all under $10 million on the payroll.
Chicago also freed some cap space by letting go of the lackluster Lauri Markkanen. This team is prepped and ready to hit the courts for what is sure to be a revitalizing season in Chicago at the very least.
Loser: Portland Trail Blazers
Damian Lillard is one of the most clutch and versatile guards the league has seen this past decade, and he is more than likely concluding his nine-year stint with the Portland Trail Blazers after this season.
Lillard has done almost everything a single player can for a franchise that seems to time and time again let him down. As adamant as Lillard was that his team needed help, this offseason stayed particularly quiet in the Pacific Northwest. Lillard has his number two CJ McCollum who’s always been a reliable bucket, and Jusuf Nurkic make life hard for those who enter the paint, but it has been proven year after year that the roster Portland has now simply cannot win come playoff time.
Since Lillard was drafted, he’s gotten the Blazers to the playoffs every year outside of his rookie season, but every berth has resulted in a heartbreaking loss usually in the earlier rounds.
Enough will be enough for the superstar after this year, so Portland better hope that its quiet offseason was enough to keep the Blazers at the top of the west, or else a major roster reload may be in store for next Summer.