NBA Free Agency Recap

Oh, free agency periods. It's around this time of year where you start to possibly see the major power shifts in the NBA. Players getting traded, others signing on with new teams, and others still resigning for HUGE contracts with their current teams. We've seen some drastic changes to the competative landscape in the league so far, and we've seen some major reworking of rosters around the league. Chris Paul, Paul George and Jimmy Butler were all traded. Paul Millsap and Jeff Teague are the latest fresh faces in a loaded Western Conference. Gordon Hayward is ready to help the Celtics threaten the Cavaliers. Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka are back for more in Toronto. Blake Griffin is finally The Man for the Clippers, surrounded by an all-new supporting cast. And the Warriors have still somehow managed to have a better summer than anybody.

So here's a look at some of the winners and losers from free agency so far.

Winner: Golden State Warriors
As if things couldn't get any better for the champs, it may have just done so. Both Steph Curry and Kevin Durant have been brought back into the mix. Curry signed a new deal worth just a shade over $200 million. They brought back Kevin Durant on a lesser deal, he actually took a pay cut to be able to stick around. In Durant’s case, he signed a two-year, $53 million contract that actually amounts to a pay cut from his previous salary while also roughly $9 million shy of his max contract starting number. Andre Iguodala was also brought back on a three year deal. Shaun Livingston, David West, Nick Young and Omri Casspi all brought back to be prime roll players on this loaded team. Some of the other teams in the west, like Houston and Oklahoma City in the west have been trying to close the competitive gap a little on the Warriors, have just seen Golden State push it that much further away.

Winner: Boston Celtics
Boston is a good team that's going to get better. Will they be a threat to knock off Cleveland? In time that's a big yes. Why? Adding Gordon Hayward into the mix was a very big deal. They may have also gotten lucky had they waited a few more days and possibly gotten Paul George as well, but getting Hayward is a very solid pickup in its own right. Hayward is a crafty scorer with a sneaky explosiveness and a deep bag of leaning midrange shots. He adds something to his game every summer. Last season, he weaponized an off-the-dribble 3-pointer that will be even more dangerous as he rockets off picks from Al Horford; Hayward hit 41 percent of his pull-up 3s last season, fourth-best among 57 guys who jacked at least 1.5 such shots per game. He's also got a solid defensive game as well, which is really going to help out in Boston. Facts are they may not knock Cleveland off the pearch in the East in 2018 but, hey, Heywards got a way better shot at it now then he did playing in Utah.

Winners: Oklahoma City Thunder
Talk about taking a huge step forward in the Western Conference, that's what you get with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Yes they lost Taj Gibson (who signed with Minnesota) and they had to give up Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis. But at the end of the day, the reward for trading away thouse two guys could be well worth it. In the trade, Oladipo and Sabonis got sent to Indiana in exchange for Paul George. Sure they got some stiff competition with Minnesota and Denver getting better, by adding a guy like Paul George, even if its only for one year (at least on paper that's how it looks), it will keep OKC in the mix for the playoffs for one more year at least. If this year goes well for the Thunder, then there's a better then even chance they might be able to get both guys back in the mix over the long term. This maybe a one and done deal, but its a huge step up for the Thunder.

Winners: An Already Stacked Western Conference
We already mentioned how the Warriors got better. There's more to it in the West then just that. Denver got better, inking Paul Milsap to a three year deal was a slam dunk (no pun intended). Minnesota revamped its roster with Jeff Teague, Jimmy Butler and Taj Gibson. Minnesota doesn't have enough 3-point shooting, and the backup wing situation is a disaster zone. Tom Thibodeau targeting former Bulls is indicative of classic coach/executive narrow-mindedness that will eventually hurt the Wolves if they don't install some checks and balances. Oh yeah, and the Rockets grabbed Chris Paul in a major deal. Its going to be fun out West this year.

Losers: Standing By The Eastern Conference
This is going to be easy to analyze. The Nets, Knicks, Pacers, Bulls and Hawks are all going to be bad. The Magic, entering Year 6 of an interminable rebuild, have done nothing. The Pistons, Hornets and Heat won almost by de-fault, he two sweetest words in the English language. The Eastern Conference: Where standing still is winning.

Losers: Utah, Memphis and Portland
Some of the teams from the West got better, while others just stood by and did nothing and even possibly downgraded. I mean look at it out West. Utah lost Gordan Hayward, Portland got hit with major cap issues and look like a shell of themselves, and Memphis is getting older and doesn't seem like they're going to really do anything about it. All hope is not lost. Utah could swing a sign-and-trade around Hayward, or look to reinvest the money it was going to pay their star on other free agents. The Blazers will welcome back a healthy Jusuf Nurkic next season and could still try to dump salary, which really should remain their top priority. The Grizzlies still have two All-Star caliber starters in Marc Gasol and Mike Conley, and together they have proven to be ultra-resilient over the last six years or so.