The biggest winners and losers of 2017 NBA free agency
Winner: Boston Celtics
Yes, the Boston Celtics had to trade Avery Bradley, renounce Kelly Olynyk, waive Tyler Zeller and Jordan Mickey, and let Jonas Jerebko, Amir Johnson and James Young walk in free agency. Yes, they have two starting-caliber wing players now, one of whom will either have to come off the bench or play down a position at the 4.
But was it worth it to add a two-way upgrade on the wing like Gordon Hayward? Absolutely. His 21.9 points per game provides Boston with another option on offense, which cratered whenever Isaiah Thomas sat last year. His 39.8 percent three-point shooting spreads the floor and his perimeter defense bolsters the wing. Having another multi-positional wing alongside Jae Crowder is definitely not a bad thing, given the way the league is trending.
The only way signing a 27-year-old to a four-year max would have been better is if the Indiana Pacers hadn’t crapped the bed and waited for a better return on a Paul George trade. If the Cleveland Cavaliers wind up trading Kyrie Irving, the Celtics — who still have youth and added Marcus Morris, Aron Baynes, Ante Zizic, Guerschon Yabusele and Jayson Tatum this summer — could finally be a legitimate threat to end LeBron James‘ reign in the East.
Loser: Utah Jazz
The biggest loser of the Gordon Hayward sweepstakes was obviously the Utah Jazz, who had little means to replace their go-to scorer, secondary playmaker and designated wing stopper on the open market. Simply put, they were never going to replace an All-Star loss like that.
General manager Dennis Lindsey rebounded from Hayward’s departure about as well as could be expected. The Jazz got a defensive-minded, pass-first replacement for George Hill thanks to the Ricky Rubio trade, re-signed Joe Ingles, landed Jonas Jerebko and Thabo Sefolosha to team-friendly deals and brought Ekpe Udoh back stateside.
However, this Jazz team that won 51 games last season despite all its injury woes will be significantly worse without Hayward next year, and a promising core on the rise has been reduced to a fringe playoff team — even with Rudy Gobert serving as the new centerpiece for the long haul. Unless Donovan Mitchell is even better than anyone thinks, it’s back to the drawing board for next season and the seasons to come.