Winner: Denver Nuggets
With an extension for Nikola Jokic and Will Barton‘s free agency looming over the summer, the Denver Nuggets‘ big objective for the offseason was to shed dead salary and get below the luxury tax line — an important goal for a roster that missed the playoffs last year. Mission accomplished.
To be fair, something should be said about the front office’s past mistakes that got the Nuggets in this predicament in the first place, but thanks to a trade with the Sixers and another deal with the Brooklyn Nets, Denver got Wilson Chandler, Kenneth Faried and Darrell Arthur off the books — all while only having to surrender a top-12 protected first round pick, two second-rounders and the right to swap another.
This brought the Nuggets under the luxury tax, allowing them to give Jokic and Barton big extensions. Then they used their remaining room to re-sign Torrey Craig, bring up Monte Morris and best of all, land a former top-five MVP candidate from just two years ago to a one-year, $2 million deal. There’s no such thing as a no-risk acquisition, but if Isaiah Thomas embraces his role as sixth man, he could be one of the biggest free agency steals of the summer.
Loser: Washington Wizards
In the eyes of some, the Washington Wizards helped their bench out a bit by bringing in Jeff Green, but anytime Jeff Green is being spun as a beneficial addition, well, you know yet another team has decided to talk itself into Jeff Green.
Going from a stretch-4 and microwave bench scorer like Mike Scott to Green is a downgrade, and though Austin Rivers will certainly help the second unit, moving on from Marcin Gortat opened the door up for another locker room problem.
It’s no secret the Wizards didn’t always get along last year, and though Howard comes at a cheap price and represents a upgrade over Gortat on the court, he’s also notorious for bringing more toxicity to locker rooms than just his rancid farts. This move feels like subtraction by addition.