Celtics score slam dunk in off-season
Chaos reigns at Madison Square Garden as Knicks lose again for string of bad moves
After a frenetic few weeks, the NBA off-season has mostly closed. With a few exceptions — most notably Pau Gasol, who will officially return to the San Antonio Spurs sometime in the next few weeks, veteran guards Derrick Rose, Deron Williams and Monta Ellis, and a few restricted free agents —teams have largely completed their summer shopping.
So now is a good time to look back at what has happened and see who the winners and losers were from this NBA off-season, one that’s had plenty of player movement, intrigue and drama.
WINNERS
Boston: With several players set to have cost-controlled deals expire next summer, Boston had one final chance to hit it big on the open market. And by landing Gordon Hayward, the Celtics now have acquired an all-star in consecutive summers (Al Horford signed with them last July). They still have work to do — with Isaiah Thomas’s free agency looming, the lack of a shooting guard on the roster and a collection of combo forwards still to sift through — but the Celtics have talent, and more of it coming with several future high draft picks.
Oklahoma City: Three weeks ago, it wasn’t clear that Russell Westbrook would still be part of this team come mid-July. The 2017 MVP still hasn’t signed an extension, but the Thunder traded for Paul George, landed Patrick Patterson and retained Andre Roberson to re-establish themselves as contenders in the West. The Thunder now have12 months to convince Westbrook and George to stick around before they hit free agency next summer.
Houston: After Golden State won the championship, Rockets GM Daryl Morey told an ESPN reporter that teams would have to increase their risk profile to compete with the Warriors. So Morey followed landed Chris Paul in a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers for a package of players, then re-signed Nene and added depth pieces P.J. Tucker and Luc Mbah a Moute. Morey still would love to add Carmelo Anthony, which could make things in Houston volatile, given his prior issues with Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni in New York. But the GM deserves credit for swinging for the fences.
Minnesota: When Tom Thibodeau was given the dual roles of coach and president of the Timberwolves, many expected he would rush headlong into short-sighted moves that would cripple the franchise. Instead, he has turned Minnesota into a potential force in the West. Thibodeau landed Jimmy Butler in a trade with the Chicago Bulls, then signed point guard Jeff Teague and power forward Taj Gibson to reasonable, short-term contracts. He added even more offensive punch with Jamal Crawford. Those moves, along with young building blocks Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins, should allow Minnesota to do something it’s never done: make the playoffs without Kevin Garnett on its roster.
Golden State: The Warriors could’ve gotten a spot on this list simply for re-signing Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant. But they also managed to improve at every spot on the roster, with Jordan Bell, Omri Casspi and Nick Young.
LOSERS
New York: How could the Knicks not be on this list? Phil Jackson spent the first part of the off-season trashing the team’s two best players, Kristaps Porzingis and Carmelo Anthony, before exiting after the draft. After Jackson left, the Knicks threw a fouryear, $71 million offer sheet at Tim Hardaway Jr., who Jackson, in one of the few good moves of his tenure, had traded away three years earlier. Now they want to trade Anthony, but might not be able to. As always, chaos reigns at Madison Square Garden.
Utah: The Jazz spent the past few years patiently building through the draft. Last season, they won 51 games. It seemed like things had finally turned. And then Gordon Hayward left in free agency. If they couldn’t keep Hayward past a second contract, how can they feel confident anyone will stay long term?
Los Angeles Clippers: With Chris Paul and Blake Griffin set to become unrestricted free agents, the Clippers had the choice of keeping their stars together and continuing the best stretch in franchise history, or blowing things up and start over. Instead, the Clippers did neither. Once Paul left in a trade before free agency (which admittedly got Los Angeles a nice haul in return), the Clippers gave a gigantic contract to Griffin, a wonderful talent but someone who hasn’t been able to stay healthy. Then
they lavished a $20 million annual contract on Danilo Gallinari, who plays the same position as Griffin. The Clippers have talent, but they also don’t seem to have much of a direction.
Big men and older players: The market also shifted away from big men and older players. As every NBA team is looking to play smaller and faster, there is a glut of big men who can’t find jobs — or, if they can find them, aren’t getting the dollars and years expected. The same goes for teams trying to trade players, with centres Greg Monroe, Jonas Valanciunas, Enes Kanter and Nikola Vucevic all on contracts their teams would like to move but can’t — despite all of them being solid contributors.
Older players, meanwhile, also felt the squeeze. Kyle Lowry signed only a three-year deal. Paul Millsap signed for only two, plus a team option. Veteran guards such as Rose, Williams and Ellis remain on the market with seemingly little interest. With money drying up, teams are choosing to go both smaller and younger.