The biggest winners and losers of 2017 NBA free agency
Winner: Golden State Warriors
Barring injury, the Golden State Warriors are winning the 2018 NBA Finals. After a summer spent re-signing Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, David West, Zaza Pachulia and JaVale McGee, not to mention signing Omri Casspi and Nick Young, the defending champs had a better summer than anyone.
After breezing their way to a 16-1 playoff record and their second championship in three seasons, the Dubs had star players and auxiliary pieces to lock down. They were able to do that and more thanks to Durant’s one-year discount, allowing them to give Curry the super-max he’s long deserved while also finding space for fair deals to keep crucial bench pieces like Iggy and Livingston.
Adding more three-point shooting off the bench with Casspi and Swaggy P only makes this summer even sweeter, even if they wind up losing Ian Clark on the open market. Between all of this, the drafting of Jordan Bell and internal improvement from guys like Patrick McCaw and Kevon Looney, the Warriors did everything they needed to (and more) to keep a potential dynasty intact.
Loser: Every other hopeful title contender for the next 3-5 years
The Houston Rockets and maybe the Boston Celtics are really the only teams that made blockbuster moves this summer to directly challenge the Warriors’ reign of terror, and even the Celtics only have one foot in the door thanks to all the young pieces they have to fall back on. Why? Because the Dubs aren’t going anywhere.
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The San Antonio Spurs were never able to make a play for a game-changing free agent, and though they’re generally good for 55-60 wins regardless, they didn’t close the gap on Golden State. The same goes for the Cleveland Cavaliers, who are now dealing with Kyrie Irving trade requests and the prospect of LeBron James leaving in free agency next summer.
With its core locked in for the next few seasons, the Warriors sent a message to the rest of the league: Try to contend if you wish, but more than likely, developing your youth, hunkering down in the bunker and waiting out this holy war on our preconceived notions of greatness is the way to go.
This inevitable dynastic rule matters, especially to a team like the Cavs, since now the allure of playing in L.A. as his career winds down might be greater for LeBron James than continuing to toil away for a Cleveland franchise that appears to be crumbling.