The NBA off-season has not failed to disappoint us so far. Many free agents have landed the contracts of their lives, and different teams have pursued trades with hopes of contending or rebuilding. At the end of the day, there is a winner and loser out of every deal in the NBA.
Winner: Timberwolves make a splash
The Minnesota Timberwolves are one of the biggest winners in this NBA off-season. Adding All-Star Jimmy Butler takes them to new heights in the Western Conference. They were able to do so and only give up Kriss Dunn and Zach LaVine. One is a point guard who has a long way to go offensively in the NBA, and the other is coming off of an ACL injury.
Jeff Teague is also an excellent addition. The former All-Star is a solid point guard who will be able to provide the Timberwolves with outside shooting. Trading Ricky Rubio might not have been the best decision, as he improved the play of his teammates, but Teague might fit in better in coach Tom Thibodeau's plans. Getting the veteran power forward Taj Gibson will also help the team's defense and bring experience into the locker room.
Winner: Warriors stay together
The Golden State Warriors proved once again why they are a world-class organization. An elite team is usually synonymous with elite management. The Warriors' biggest achievement this off-season has been their ability to keep the team's core intact.
They were able to do so primarily by convincing the NBA Finals' MVP Kevin Durant to take a $10 million pay cut. As a result, the Warriors were able to re-sign Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston.
Steph Curry also re-signed for five years and became one of the highest-paid NBA players ever. The Warriors were also able to add sharpshooter Nick Young.
The future continues to look bright in the Bay Area.
Loser: Celtics were not bold
The Boston Celtics were expected to finally make a major splash this off-season and become serious contenders for the NBA title. However, their fixation with hoarding draft picks has become incomprehensible. The Celtics could have easily convinced either the Indiana Pacers or Chicago Bulls to trade Paul George or Jimmy Butler.
Only deals of this magnitude would have helped the Celtics close the gap with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Celtics had to trade a valuable piece in Avery Bradley to clear the cap space needed to bring in Gordan Hayward. While Hayward is a formidable player who is coming off of an All-Star season, he is not a superstar. Bradley's defensive tenacity will be missed by the Celtics. At the end of the day, the Celtics have not been able to land a superstar, nor have they resolved their big man problem. Also, they now have another hole at the shooting guard position and an excess of small forwards. So, the level has remained the same in Boston, and that is very disappointing.
Loser: Clippers moving backward
The Los Angeles Clippers had their chance to be successful in these last years and blew it. Now, they have lost their floor general, leader, and most important player in Chris Paul, who decided to join the Houston Rockets. However, the Clippers' moves in this off-season prove that they refuse to accept the fact that they need to rebuild their team. They did not reach the conference finals with the trio of Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, and Chris Paul, so they will certainly not do better without Paul. Veteran leaders like Jamal Crawford and J. J. Redick also left the team.
The Clippers should have understood that Griffin or Jordan, or both, can not give them more and at least traded one of them for valuable assets.
The Clippers rather did the opposite and added players that will not benefit them in the long run. For example, Danilo Gallinari is an excellent offensive player, but he is horribly inconsistent. Also, it makes no sense to add another injury-prone player to the team. How many games will Griffin and Gallinari play next season? Who knows?
