8 major winners and losers from a frenzied first two weeks of free agency

Losers: Denver Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets haven't had a good start to the offseason. They lost a starter in Kentavious Caldwell-Pope after he signed with the Orlando Magic for just 3 years and $66 million. That is surprising considering that they could have signed him to an extension where he opted into his cheap $15.4 million player option with the Nuggets, then added three more years on to it. That would have paid him well until his mid-30s while allowing the Nuggets to keep a key player.

Instead, they have lost one of their key players for nothing, which hurts more considering that they weren't deep to begin with. They were also forced to give up three second-round picks to get rid of Reggie Jackson, limiting their draft assets further, and they seem to be stuck with Naji Marshall.

That increases the need for young players such as Christian Braun and Peyton Watson to dramatically improve or risk having the Nuggets take a step back while other teams take a step forward. They could trade for Russell Westbrook, who may actually help them.

However, even if they acquire him, he wouldn't be enough for them to keep pace with the Dallas Mavericks, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference. Based on that, they are one of the clear losers of the NBA off-season so far.