Free Agency Winners and Losers: Day 1

We are fifteen hours into day one of NBA free agency, and A LOT has already happened. The face of the NBA has been drastically changed, for good, and bad. That being said, let’s take a look at the winners and losers of day one.

Winner: Utah Jazz

That’s right, one of the worst named franchises in the NBA is now one of the better-skilled ones. To begin, the Jazz going into free agency already had Donovan Mitchell, who is a very athletic and talented shooting guard; Mike Conley, one of the most underrated point guards of the last few years, who they acquired via trade; and Rudy Gobert, a 2x DPOY, 3x All-Defense, and 2x All-NBA center. That’s a pretty good team, but here’s how they got better.

Bojan Bogdanovic: 4yr/$73 million

While it may seem like a non-factor signing, Bojan Bogdanovic is one of the most underrated small forwards in today’s NBA. In 81 games with the Pacers last season, he averaged 18-4-2 on 49% from the field and 42% shooting from three, with an efficiency rating of 57%, well above the NBA average. Bogdanovic brings everything you would want in a SF. Size: Bojan is 6’8, 216 lbs and can guard virtually anyone on the floor, as well as having an excellent post game that allows him to back down or fade off of anyone guarding him with ease. The Jazz got a versatile defender who is a knockdown shooter at a good price. That’s a win.

Loser: Philidelphia 76ers

The Sixers were eliminated in historical fashion by the Toronto Raptors in the 2nd round of the playoffs last season after Kawhi Leonard hit “The Shot.” The Sixers starting roster at the time was: PG: Ben Simmons, SG: JJ Redick, SF: Jimmy Butler, PF: Tobias Harris, C: Joel Embiid. That’s pretty good, right? Right. Fast forward to today, the Sixers traded Jimmy Butler to the Heat for a decent 3-and-D in Josh Richardson, and more importantly, signed Tobias Harris to this deal:

Tobias Harris: 5yr/$180 million

Hahaha, you stupid Sixers, what have you done now? Oh, that’s right, you extended four-star, weak defending, streaky shooting power forward Tobias Harris to a deal that will pay him $36 million per year. Yah, that was smart. Tobias Harris is like a raisin, its not bad, but it isn’t great, like a grape. A grape is a Kawhi Leonard, a Klay Thompson, a player who deserves that $36 million. So just think of it this way, the Sixers paid a raisin $36 million per year, and that raisin isn’t good, but it’s not bad. Being serious for a second, this is a pretty big overpay. Harris averaged 20-7-2 on 48% from the field and 39% from three during the regular season. In the playoffs, Harris averaged 15-9-3 on 43% from the field and 34% from three, and was especially poor in the ECSF vs Toronto. In comparison, Kawhi Leonard and Klay Thompson, both championship caliber, generational talents are expected to make the same amount of money.

Al Horford: 4yr/$109 million

Two for the price of $290 million. Along with Tobias Harris, the Sixers sign 33-year-old big man Al Horford away from the Boston Celtics. Horford is really, really good. He locks down the majority of centers in the NBA and is decent outside shooter, and a great teammate. If this deal was with the Kings, or the Nets, or elsewhere that NEEDED a big-man, it would make sense, but it just doesn’t make sense on this Sixers team. This Sixers team has very little shooting now. In a 3-point centric league, the Sixers have gone the opposite direction. They lost sharpshooter JJ Redick and Jimmy Butler, and now are stuck with a lineup that will realistically have one decent shooter in Josh Richardson.

On another note, the combo of Horford and Embiid just doesn’t make sense. Embiid needs someone who will feed the ball into him as he charges toward the basket and then that player will roll to the corner. Horford maybe did that five times last year. Even if Horford rolls, his shot isn’t consistent enough and not fast enough for him to be considered a major threat, and he will be closed out on really quickly. If Horford plays the PF role, he could definitely struggle guarding faster bigs, like Kristaps, Paul Millsap, etc. AND if Horford does play the PF role, Harris, an already poor defender, will have to play SF, and guard all sorts of players that he will struggle with. These two deals are losses.

Winner: Portland Trailblazers

To get into it, the Blazers made it to the WCF last season, and then Damian Lillard shot 37% and they got swept by the Warriors. Despite the disappointing exit, they made it their without their starting center Jusuf Nurkic, and proved the majority of the league wrong. Here’s what they did on July 1st.

Rodney Hood: 2yr/$16 million

Rodney Hood is one of the most serviceable forwards in the NBA. He can play both the two and the three spots and is just a solid scorer. After acquiring him from the Cavs last season, Hood played well, averaging 11-2-1 on 35% from three. He’s a reliable scorer that the Blazers thought they were going to lose to the open market but were able to keep him on a cheap deal.

Nassir Little: Rookie ELC

Nassir Little was the 25th overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft. Hailing from UNC, little is a talented defender with a lot of upside. He is a McDonald’s All-American and won the McDonald’s All-American game MVP award. In the 2019 NCAA Tournament, he averaged 14-4 coming off the bench. Little, if he gets minutes, will add decent defending and an athletic spark when needed.

Acquiring Hassan Whiteside

Despite what Whiteside’s face is saying in the photo, this is a good pickup for the Blazers. Whiteside was the story of the league a couple years back after he broke out of the D-League and rocketed his way to a $98 million contract that he is still cashing in. Whiteside had a down year last season and had a falling out with the team, but that doesn’t mean he’s not a 7’0, 265 lb center that is a walking double-double. Whiteside is in his final year of his contract, and the Blazers are hoping to cash in on him with Jusuf Nurkic being out for some time with a broken leg.

They traded Maurice Harkless, and Meyers Leonard for Whiteside. Harkless is a solid wing defender and Leonard is on an expiring contract. The Blazers just acquired a walking double-double for expendable pieces. That’s a win.

Loser: Phoenix Suns

In classic Suns fashion, they royally screwed up free agency. Heres a couple of their blunders.

Ricky Rubio: 3yr/$51 million

Ricky Rubio to Phoenix is just not good. I don’t know how else to say it. Rubio is an average point guard who shoots poorly, so what could go wrong in paying him $17 million a year? Rubio and his 40% FG percentage and 31% 3PT percentage will join a bad Suns team that already struggles with shooting and will help them…miss more shots? Acquire another lottery pick? In all seriousness, this was a panic signing to “shore up” the point guard slot in Phoenix but will ultimately amount to nothing for the Suns. This deal is a loss.

The first day of free agency saw a lot of team upheaval, overpayments, and a lot of deals that have us scratching our heads. All in all, we are in for a really exciting 2020 trade deadline.