The 2022 NBA free agency period opened Thursday night, and things have gotten wild on the trade front. Rudy Gobert now plays for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Kevin Durant asked out of Brooklyn. Once he goes, Kyrie Irving will likely follow him. The Celtics landed Malcolm Brogdon from the Pacers. That’s just the start.
Let’s get to the free agency/trade winners and losers so far.
Winner: Zion Williamson
The man has played 85 career games over three seasons, one of which he didn’t play a single second, and he just got a five-year contract extension that could be worth up to $231 million. I’m not sure if this is a win yet for the Pelicans. If Zion plays and stays healthy for the majority of this contract, of course, it’s a win. New Orleans has a pretty damn good team brewing.
But if Williamson is in and out of the lineup and the Pelicans never gain real traction in a loaded Western Conference, and Zion’s trade value dips because he can’t stay healthy, this could end up ugly for the Pels. But for Zion, regardless of how it plays out, he walks out filthy rich.
Winner: Minnesota Timberwolves
The Wolves gave up enough capital to choke a hippo, but they got Rudy Gobert. After signing Karl-Anthony Towns to a four-year, $224 million extension that keeps him in Minnesota for the next six years, it’s twin-tower time in Minnesota, which sent back to Utah Malik Beasley, Patrick Beverley, Walker Kessler, Leandro Bolmaro, Jarred Vanderbilt and multiple first-round picks: unprotected first-rounders in 2023, 2025, and 2027, and a top-five protected pick in 2029.
Gobert is a one-man defense, and notions that he loses defensive viability in the playoffs have been greatly exaggerated. Given the Wolves’ ability to score the ball with Towns, Anthony Edwards and D’Angelo Russell, this suddenly looks like a really good team. It will have to be to justify this steep of a price, but it’s worth the risk. It’s been ages since the Wolves were actually a team to take this seriously, and I don’t subscribe to the theory that teams have to win a championship to warrant these kinds of gambles.
Indeed, the Wolves aren’t going to win the title next year. It’s probably a good bet that they won’t win one during the Gobert era, however long that lasts. You know why? Because only one team wins it all. That doesn’t mean the other 29 did it wrong. For the Wolves, this is a major jolt of franchise energy, building on the momentum they’ve already created with the drafting of Anthony Edwards and last year’s playoff appearance.
Same thing as the Hawks trading for Dejounte Murray. They gave up a ton. They’re likely not going to win it all. But they’re in the ring. They’re trying to fight. Fans love that. The energy around a franchise feeds itself. There’s no way not to be excited about the Wolves heading into next season, and when was the last time you could honestly say that?
Winner: Utah Jazz
The Gobert/Donovan Mitchell tandem had hit its ceiling. Everyone knew it. The Jazz didn’t mess around. They cut bait with Gobert and brought back a gigantic haul of assets, which they’ll now use to build around Mitchell. Utah can get into a lot of conversations with four extra first-round picks and some nice salary-attachers to float in trade talks. This is a win-win. Minnesota needed to make waves with a big move, and Utah needed a fresh start. They both succeeded.
Winner: Boston Celtics
After finishing two wins from an NBA championship, the Celtics went out and landed Danilo Gallinari, who cleared waivers after being let go by San Antonio, and Malcolm Brogdon in a trade with the Pacers, who took back Daniel Theis, Aaron Nesmith, Nik Stauskas, Malik Fitts, Juwan Morgan and a 2023 first-round pick from Boston.
All of those parts are highly expendable for Boston, which essentially got Brogdon for a first-round pick that will likely land in the mid-to-late 20s….
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