The Biggest Winners And Losers Of 2016 NBA Free Agency

Winner: Brooklyn Nets

The Brooklyn Nets probably would’ve been even bigger winners had their offers for Tyler Johnson (four years, $50 million) and Allen Crabbe (four years, $75 million) not been matched by their respective teams, but it was still a fairly successful offseason for new general manager Sean Marks.

Adding some backcourt depth like Johnson or a young 3-and-D wing with potential like Crabbe would’ve been nice, but at the very least, Brooklyn forced Miami and Portland’s hands in paying up for their services.

To be honest, Marks’ ability to turn chicken s**t into chicken salad should be commended more than anything else. For a team that has no draft picks until Star Wars: Episode IX comes out and little appeal to prospective free agents, bringing in Jeremy Lin on a three-year, $36 million contract was an absolute steal.

Lin probably shouldn’t be the starter on a team that wants to be competitive, but he had a tremendous year with the Charlotte Hornets as sixth man and makes the Nets way more interesting as Linsanity returns to New York.

Trevor Booker is a solid veteran on another super cheap contract, and Justin Hamilton is an intriguing seven-footer who can shoot — the exact quality Marks targeted all summer as he made Johnson and Crabbe more lucrative offers.

A haul of Lin, Booker and Hamilton isn’t sexy, especially after the Nets traded Thaddeus Young for the draft pick that became Caris LeVert, an injury-prone combo guard/rookie. This team is still going to be terrible in 2016-17, but Marks proved himself to be competent at the very least, which is a significant step in the right direction.

Next: Loser: Miami Heat