A stable, mostly surprise-free start to NBA free agency
Here’s a free preview of today’s subscriber-only post. Become a GMIB subscriber to see the whole thing and all of our other daily posts. A stable, mostly surprise-free start to NBA free agencyEither the leaks were all high quality, or the status quo reigns in the league.Good morning. Let’s basketball. A Cotton Office in New Orleans; Edgar Degas; 1873 Tons of deals were leaked in the early hours of NBA free agency, but little shocking happened. Part of that is quality reporting from the NBA’s newsbreakers in the weeks leading up: we had a good sense of where teams’ heads were at, and some of those teams made moves in advance of June 30 that tipped their hands. The other part of it is that most teams in the NBA are some level of decent or have a short-term path to recovery. So the status quo with smaller upgrades seems to be the state of play for many clubs. That would also explain the relatively quiet trade market so far this offseason with just Bradley Beal and soon James Harden moving among All-Star caliber players. Damian Lillard, of course, looms. And there could always be other surprises. Kyrie Irving was purported to be taking meetings (OK Jan), but his three-year deal with the Mavericks leaked soon after the opening bell of free agency. It’s a win for Dallas in that Kyrie is a quality player and had they lost him outright in free agency without compensation they would be in a horrific spot. They didn’t. We’ll see what percentage of games he plays over his contract, and what percentage of games he plays the Mavericks win. Draymond Green stayed with the Warriors. Khris Middleton re-signed with the Bucks. Cam Johnson re-signed with the Nets. Jerami Grant signed a huge new deal with the Blazers. (We’re going to come back to this one in the coming days. I have questions.) The Pelicans quickly re-signed Herb Jones as their restricted free agency gambit paid off. (Really smart move that will fly under the radar.) For some reason, Kyle Kuzma re-signed with the Wizards, who currently appear to be the only team intentionally tanking next season. The best players to change teams in the opening hours of free agency:... Keep reading with a 7-day free trialSubscribe to Good Morning It's Basketball to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives. A subscription gets you:
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Older messages
Hard out
Friday, June 30, 2023
James Harden opts in to opt out. What now for the Big Fella and the Sixers?
NBA trades are not competitions
Wednesday, June 28, 2023
Trades in the NBA don't have to result in winners and losers, because "winning" trades is not the point. Winning games, now or later, is the point.
Is that all Marcus Smart meant to the Celtics?
Thursday, June 22, 2023
Set aside sentimentality and gaze in wonder at how Boston decided what guard to move. And for what.
What the Spurs do now
Tuesday, June 20, 2023
With Victor Wembanyama en route, San Antonio's biggest need is at point guard. Is patience or boldness on the menu?
Down in the mud, a mile high
Tuesday, June 13, 2023
The Denver Nuggets are NBA champions.
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