5 Biggest Winners
No surprise here. When you land LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Mike Miller to go along with Dwyane Wade then you're doing a pretty good job. I'm not ready to crown them king of the NBA (or even the Eastern Conference) quite yet but it's hard to deny that their front office got it done this offseason. The one and only problem is that they now have literally no money to spend. They're going to need to fill out their roster signing guys to the veteran's minimum. That won't be a problem if guys want to go to the Heat but so far that hasn't been the case. As a matter of fact, Matt Barnes and Tracy McGrady both rejected Miami because they would rather beat them.
2. Chicago Bulls
The Bulls struck out on the big 3 of Wade, Bosh, and James but the package of Carlos Boozer, Kyle Korver, Ronnie Brewer, CJ Watson, and Kurt Thomas is a pretty good consolation prize. In my opinion missing out on Wade and James was a blessing in disguise because they would have without a doubt stunted the growth of emerging superstar Derrick Rose. The Bulls are going to make some serious noise this season because now Rose actually has someone to kick the ball out to. Not to mention now they have a legitimate post threat. With their offseason the Bulls catapulted themselves into the top 4 of the Eastern Conference, maybe even top 3.
3. Golden State Warriors
Signing David Lee was a huge move for the Warriors. Putting an inside presence with Stephen Curry and Monta Ellis can only be a good thing. With this signing the Warriors have the potential to contend for the 8th playoff spot but I'd still be shocked if they got it.
4. New York Knicks
Signing Amar'e Stoudemire was a solid move from the Knicks but I think they would have been better off keeping David Lee and trying to get a guard. Stoudemire is better in a fast paced offense and the Knicks don't run a fast paced offense. Signing Stoudemire was a desperation move from the Knicks front office because they missed out on the big 3. Expectations were so high in New York (I don't know why) and striking out in the offseason would have caused a riot outside of Madison Square Garden.
5. Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic have plateaued. They overachieved one year and made it to the finals and I don't expect them to go back there anytime soon. The front office grabbed Chris Duhon and Quentin Richardson in the offseason but that's really not going to make much of a difference.
5 Biggest Losers
1. New Jersey Nets
It's a really bad time to be a Nets fan right now. To the surprise of nobody they struck out on literally everybody in the offseason. They went hard after the big 3 but I have a hard time believing they had any shot at even one of them, They are no better then they were last season but hopefully Brook Lopez keeps developing into a star center.
2. Cleveland Cavaliers
First off I just want to say that I applaud Dan Gilbert (Cavs' Owner) for calling LeBron out on all of the things I've been complaining about for the last two years. The highlight of Gilbert's angry rant was when he characterized LeBron's leaving Cleveland as "Cowardly betrayel." Anyway, losing LeBron James makes the Cavaliers the second biggest loser of this year's free agency. The LeBron James era is the only bright spot in Cavaliers history and now that it's over, there is little doubt that the franchise is in for another long dark period.
3. Los Angeles Clippers
Much like the Nets, the Clippers missed out on everybody. However the Nets are judged as more of a loser because they cleared out their entire roster in anticipation for this summer. The Clippers were just sort of sitting there hoping someone fell into their lap.
4. New Orleans Hornets
The last thing the Hornets needed this offseason was to have uncertainty surrounding their star player Chris Paul. Why would any free agent come in now, knowing that Chris Paul could be gone at the drop of a hat?
5, Atlanta Hawks
The Hawks absolutely screwed themselves signing Joe Johnson to a max contract. Johnson has two more quality years left at best. That contract is going to haunt them for the next decade unless they're somehow able to trade it. Those 16.4 million dollars (that number will rise by about 1 mil every year) will sit on their books and make every transaction they try to a very complex situation.
