ANALYZING THE BIGGEST MOVES FROM THE FIRST WEEK OF FREE AGENCY

NBA / Basketball

Written by Eddie Huband

The dust has settled after a wild weekend of player movement, so it’s time to take a look at some of the biggest trades and signings that went down.

Now, this does feel somewhat incomplete with the Kevin Durant/Kyrie Irving saga still unresolved (Raptors fans are probably glued to NBA Twitter as we speak) but at this point, most of the other major dominoes have fallen, and there’s been some smart moves and some questionable ones, to say the least.

Let’s start with a few of the big trades from the last week.

Source (Background Photo): Getty Images

Rudy Gobert to Minnesota in exchange for Malik Beasley, Patrick Beverly, Walker Kessler, Jared Vanderbilt, Leandro Balmaro, three unprotected 1st round picks, and one pick swap.

Let's start here…I absolutely hate this trade for the Wolves.

From a basketball standpoint, it’s easy to talk yourself into Gobert significantly raising the defensive ceiling of this team, at least in the regular season.

Head coach Chris Finch instilled a defensive mindset last season and really got his young roster to buy in, and this addition will provide an anchor to the system in a major way. It also provides protection for Karl Anthony-Towns, who despite his best efforts, isn’t a great rim protector.

The problem is, for the amount Gobert makes contractually, how much of a boost will he really give this team? Are they a 55-plus win team in the competitive west? Doubtful.

The other issue is as good as Gobert can make you in the regular season, he just as easily can be exposed by a smart team come playoff time. Don’t believe me? Just go back and watch each of the Jazz playoffs runs over the last four years. He gets rendered insignificant and played off the court regularly.

To go and get a player that makes over 40 million annually until 2026, who doesn’t necessarily help you in the playoffs, is a massive risk. Just think about this, in two years, Minnesota will be paying 100 million for Gobert and Towns alone, and that doesn’t even factor in the max deal they’ll have to give young superstar Anthony Edwards.

In the short term, Gobert is certainly going to help this team. The question is, how much, and will it be worth the money?

Also, he’s one of the top 5 unlikeable players in the league. That oughta do wonders for team chemistry.

Dejounte Murray to Atlanta for Danilo Gallinari, three 1st round picks

This was a prudent move by both sides. For the Spurs, they now move into full-on tank-a-palooza, while picking up another first-round pick next year in the process, to enter into the Victor Wembanyama 2023 sweepstakes.

Yes, Murray is still young, but the Spurs are years away from being good, so a player like Murray entering his prime doesn’t actually fit with the timeline they’re looking at. Plus, he’s good enough to play them out of real lottery contention, but not good enough to play them into real postseason contention; a place no franchise wants to be.

This way, they get a great pick haul and get to commence on a full-on reset.

In Atlanta’s case, it’s a pretty obvious roster upgrade. Last year was a humbling season for the Hawks, whose conference finals run from two years ago turned out to be a bit fluky.

Atlanta came into last season talking about a big game, and for the most part, played pretty inconsistent basketball leading to a first-round flame-out (no pun intended) against the Heat.

It was clear what they needed; more offensive diversification to move away from a one-dimensional offense that featured about 107 Trey Young pick and rolls a game. They also needed to refocus their defensive system.

Murray addresses both those needs as a playmaker/scorer who can take the ball out of Young’s hands, as well as an above-average defender at the point of attack.

This is a great fit, and the move will likely return Atlanta into at least the discussion as one of the east’s top 5 or 6 teams.

Malcom Brogdon to Boston for Daniel Theis, Aaron Nesmith, Nik Stauskas, Malik Fitts, Juwan Morgan and a 2023 1st.

If you don’t recognize half the names Boston traded away in this one, don’t blame yourself, I’m pretty sure President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens has no clue who any of these guys are either.

What can really be said, nabbing Brogdon was a solid move for Boston considering they traded a bag of peanuts for him. It was clear when the C’s came up short in the finals just a few weeks ago that they lacked one more ball-handling/offensive initiator that could have gotten them over the hump.

Brogdon addresses that need (on paper, anyway) as a downhill-playing point guard that can finish and get to the line. He’s also an above-average three-point shooter and should be able to take pressure off of Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown come playoff time.

In theory, it all looks good for Boston. The question is; can Brogdon stay healthy through a full regular season AND four rounds of grueling playoff basketball? I certainly have my reservations.

In fact, let’s take a look at Brogdon’s game log in recent years.

17-18: 48 games played

18-19: 64 games played

19-20: 54 games played

20-21: 56 games played

21-22: 36 games played

Don’t forget, the only reason he fell to the second round in his draft was due to having one of the all-time worst medicals in draft history.

The injury stuff is real with this guy, and it’s a major red flag for a move that on paper drastically improves Boston’s title chances.

Now, moving over to some of the high-profile FA signings…

Jalen Brunson to the Knicks for 4 years/$110 Million

Well, the Knicks got the guy they wanted, I guess.

It is hilarious when you think about the promises of landing big-time free agents that Leon Rose made when taking over basketball operations in New York a few years back.

What’s the big prize? A 6’3 guard who probably wouldn’t make most people’s “top 40 players in the league” list.

Still, there’s a lot to like about Brunson’s game, and he’ll certainly raise the Knicks’ floor in the short term. I also like the fit of him playing alongside RJ Barrett, and there’s reason to believe he can expand his offensive output now that he’s escaped from Luka Doncic’s shadow.

But as much as I like the addition of Brunson in a vacuum, paying him nearly $30 million annually is absolutely ludicrous.

For that kind of money, you really want a guy that’s going to move the needle in a significant way, and I’m not sure Brunson does that.

John Wall to the Clippers for 2 years/$13.2 million

Boy, a starting lineup of John Wall, Kawhi Leonard, and Paul George would look great if we were in 2017 right now. In 2022 however, there are serious durability questions associated with this bunch.

Still, this is a pretty cheap deal, and well worth taking the flier if you’re LA.

Wall actually looked pretty good in his limited time spent with Houston two seasons ago, and given that he’s had almost two years now to sit out and get his body right after coming back from major surgery, there’s reason to believe he can return to some semblance of his former self.

The problem is, he’s never been a good defensive player, so I wouldn’t expect that to change now that he’s in his 30s.

I also question the fit alongside the two-star wings, as Wall is most effective with the ball in his hands, and is a little Russell Westbrook-y in that moving without the basketball is something he’s historically not been interested in.

Despite the red flags though, there’s a version of this where Wall injects a major talent boost to a team set to have both Leonard and George fully healthy for the start of the season.

This one could go in a lot of directions, but with the more-than-reasonable contract and minimal risk associated with the move, I’d say it was a win for the Clippers.