4 Winners and losers from an unpredictable second day of 2024 NBA free agency
By Cal Durrett
The second day of NBA free agency is now over and there were a number of interesting moves, including one involving a big-name free agent. Let's take a look at 4 winners and losers from a surprising second day of 2024 NBA free agency.
Loser: Golden State Warriors
It is the end of an era for the Golden State Warriors, who agreed to sign and trade long-time star Klay Thompson to the Dallas Mavericks for two second-round picks from the Charlotte Hornets. Losing a key player for very little doesn't help the Warriors, nor did failing to land Paul George, who opted out and hit unrestricted free agency before signing with the Philadelphia 76ers.
In the Warriors' defense, they had to cut salary to stay under the second apron and they definitely did by trading Thompson and not taking back any money and waiving Chris Paul. The NBA offseason is still young and the Warriors could still recover, but after failing to make the playoffs last season, they have yet to actually get better.
Not only that but teams such as the San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets, who finished behind them in the standings, have each gotten better. That means that Golden State's path back to the playoffs will be harder for Steph Curry and company.
To their credit, players such as Jonathan Kuminga, Brandin Podziemski, and Trayce Jackson-Davis are promising, and each could thrive in bigger roles, giving them cheap rotation players who can help boost their ceiling, but it's far from a guarantee.