NBA free agency: 10 winners and losers from first wave, including Los Angeles Lakers

The Boston Celtics were the NBA’s best team this past season. It was not even that close. They ran roughshod through the regular season to the tune of a 64-18 record before posting a 16-3 playoff mark en route to winning a record 18th championship. It made perfect sense for Boston to run it back in 2024-25. That included handing underrated guard Derrick White a four-year, $125.9 million contract. The Celtics then made Jayson Tatum the highest-paid player in NBA history. Take care of your own while others scramble to compete with you. Boston spent the early days of NBA free agency doing just that.

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Trajan Langdon’s first major move as head of the Pistons in NBA free agency was baffling. Fresh off a franchise-worst 14-68 season, Detroit exhausted a two-year, $52 million contract on soon-to-be 32-year-old forward Tobias Harris. But why? It made absolutely no sense. Detroit also signed former No. 1 pick Cade Cunningham to a five-year, $226 million rookie-level max contract. Sure it was forced into a corner here. But doling out $226 million in guarantees to a dude who has played 138 career games is eye-opening. That’s to put it lightly.

Isaiah Hartenstein entered NBA free agency averaging 6.0 points and 5.6 rebounds throughout his six-year career. Despite this, was was among the most-wanted players on the market. It makes some sense given the center’s progression since his early days with the Houston Rockets. Even then, Hartenstein’s contract details with the Oklahoma City Thunder sent shockwaves throughout the Association. He’s set to earn $87 million over three seasons. That’s $29 million per year to team up with Chet Holmgren. Yeah, the NBA free-agent market is completely out of control.

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Just look at the first two day of NBA free agency, and tell us that the Warriors’ dynasty isn’t a thing of the past. They turned down a swap that would’ve sent Chris Paul’s non-guaranteed contract to the Chicago Bulls for Zach LaVine and draft assets. Instead, Golden State waived him. He signed with the Spurs as Golden State got nothing in return. The Dubs then worked out a sign-and-trade that sent legend Klay Thompson to the Dallas Mavericks. The return? Two future second-round picks and a trade exception just shy of $15 million. Two huge assets the Warriors could have landed win-now players for. The end result? Absolutely nothing of substance.

Is the 34-year-old Thompson his pre-injury self? No. Is he a liability on defense? Yes. Is he a perfect fit with Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and the defending Western Conference champs? Certainly. The four-time NBA champion can still shoot with the best of them (39% from three-point last season). He’s among the best catch-and-shoot players in NBA history. What were the Mavericks missing as they fell to the Boston Celtics in the NBA FInals? You can do the math here. All it took was $50 million over three years, Josh Green and two second-round picks. Highway robbery from general manager Nico Harrison.

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NBA fans in California better get accustomed to their teams not competing for titles. These Lakers are the latest example. LeBron James is now set to return on a max contract after offering to take a pay cut. The caveat here was Los Angeles being able to land one in a trio that included James Harden and Klay Thompson. That did not come to fruition. James made a pitch to Thompson the minute NBA free agency opened at 6:00 PM ET on Sunday. The Lakers were in on him. They couldn’t work out a sign-and-trade with the Warriors that laughably included Los Angeles offering up D’Angelo Russell. With a roster that’s nowhere near championship caliber, the Lakers are back to the drawing board.

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New Orleans entered the NBA offseason with a clear goal. Find a true point guard and allow C.J. McCollum to play his natural two spot. Boy, did front office head David Griffin deliver. He was able to pick up 27-year-old All-Star guard Dejounte Murray for a package centered around Dyson Daniels and two first-round picks. All Murray has done over the past three seasons is average 21.4 points to go with 6.2 rebounds and 7.2 assists on 46% shooting. This creates a core four of Murray, McCollum, Brandon Ingram (assuming he returns) and Zion Williamson. That’s among the best in the west.

Front office head Pat Riley and the Heat might want us to believe that they are contenders when fully healthy. It’s somewhat of a fair point given their bad injury luck last season. But no one is going to mistake this Jimmy Butler-led squad as a contender with the 76ers and Celtics back east. The roster is tapped out. Miami has assets to pull off a blockbuster trade. It might very well do that later in the summer. But for now, it is one of the major losers of NBA free agency.

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Sign Paul George. Check! Lock up Tyrese Maxey. Check! Bring in stud role players in that of Eric Gordon and Andre Drummond. Check! What the embattled Daryl Morey has been able to do thus far in NBA free agency is absolutely amazing. He has Philadelphia with the best core three in the NBA (George, Maxey and Joel Embiid). Sure, the Celtics are deeper. But after losing in the first round of the NBA Playoffs to the Knicks, Philadelphia has improved more than any other team in the NBA.

Are we about to witness the Warriors fail an all-time great much like the Lakers did with Kobe Bryant? It sure seems like that. Curry is just 25 months removed from leading Golden State to the NBA title. He created a dynasty in Northern California. He helped the Warriors’ franchise value grow from $450 million in 2010 to a world-wide brand valued at $7.7 billion. In return, the ownership group went cost-cutting to open NBA free agency. It has the Dubs as an afterthought with Curry hitting the twilight of his career. Simply pathetic.