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NBA free agency is underway and the biggest news we’ve gotten in the first few hours is that Paul George is not going to return to the Clippers. As for where he’ll actually sign, that’s still an unknown — though the Philadelphia 76ers feel like the decided favorite to land his services.
With the NBA draft complete and now free agency opening, and with a few big trades already on the books, here are some early winners and losers from the 2024 NBA offseason. This is a fluid list. Things can change quickly. But here’s how it looks at the moment.
In a vacuum, Mikal Bridges isn’t worth five first-round picks and another swap. But in the context of this Knicks team, he is. With OG Anunoby re-signed, the Knicks are one of the few teams that can match the Celtics’ blueprint of multiple elite perimeter defenders funneling scorers toward an elite rim protector. It’s impossible to overstate how much Bridges elevates this already very good team.
Offensive clarity can be retained around Jalen Brunson as the unrivaled star with Bridges slotting back into his more natural role of secondary scorer and deadly floor spacer, and New York also did good work in the draft by trading for a bunch of second-round picks that provide them with more financial flexibility as their payroll sets to balloon when Bridges and Brunson come due for extensions. Second-round pick Tyler Kolek could also end up being an immediate contributor as a Brunson backup.
It’s still possible that the Bridges trade will expand as the Knicks look for a way to extend their hard-cap line to the $189.5M second apron, which might allow them enough room to sign Isaiah Hartenstein, but Hartenstein’s issue is the fact that New York can offer him a maximum deal of $72.5M over four years ($16.1M in the first year of the deal) because the only have his early Bird rights. Another team could, in theory, offer him almost double that with a first-year salary north of $32M. Hard to imagine Hartenstein passing up that kind of money. Rest assured, whoever gets him will also be a winner on…
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/nba-offseason-winners-and-losers-warriors-clippers-struggle-in-free-agency-knicks-spurs-make-splashes/
Author : Brad Botkin
Publish date : 2024-07-01 04:18:50
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