The Winners and Losers in NBA Free Agency

Two weeks have gone by since some of the top players entered the free agency pool, and most the gems in that list have already found new homes.  It's no surprise that the Timberwolves and Bucks weren't active in the market (nobody is begging to live in Milwaukee, last time I checked), but there were other teams in the league that had an all-or-nothing attitude entering the long-awaited period.  Of course, when you carry an attitude like that, you will most likely either get everything you asked for or get shot down in flames.  With that in mind, let's take a quick stroll and see who struck gold in July and who laid a big ol' goose egg.

WINNERS

Cleveland Cavaliers

C'mon, were you expecting someone else?  If you've been hunkered down in a cabin for the last week, I'll be the first to tell you that the Cavs were able to reel in the Luke Skywalker of Northeast Ohio, LeBron James.  Sure, his jersey was burned in disgrace four years ago after leaving for the Miami Heat, but I think the residents of Cleveland will be ever-so forgiving when he once again sports a Cavaliers uniform.  Not only is LeBron back, but the Cavs look much better than they did in 2010: they've locked up all-star point guard Kyrie Irving to a long-term deal; their 1st overall pick, Andrew Wiggins, has the potential to become a LeBron-like athlete in the future; and new coach David Blatt seems like he knows what he's doing, as opposed to their former coach, Mike Brown.  On top of that, Timberwolves Power Forward Kevin Love has said that he would sign a new deal with Cleveland if Minnesota makes a deal with them.  However, the Wolves would most likely only part ways with Love if they were to receive Wiggins in return, and the Cavs are clearly not giving up the rookie.  With or without Love, LeBron automatically makes Cleveland a playoff contender, and although "King James" may not have immediate high hopes for the young team, they'll still be considered favorites by most analysts and basketball fans.

Toronto Raptors

It's time that we give a little respect to Canadian basketball.  After having an impressive 2013-14 season, Toronto obviously wanted to continue that success, so they made the decision to re-sign their over-achieving point guard Kyle Lowry to a four-year contract.  They also brought back the role-playing forward Patrick Patterson to help to continue banging the boards.  If there is one secret recipe to creating long-term success for one team, it's to have a strong core of players.  Just ask the Spurs, who have now won four championships with the trio of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili.  Lowry and Shooting Guard DeMar DeRozan have now been together for a few successful seasons, and if they can add one more piece either through the draft or from their bench, they could be locked-and-loaded for multiple years of winning.

Washington Wizards

Again, not a team you would expect to have the word "winners" attached to them, but Washington has truly put together a team built to last.  Their number one goal was to re-sign their shot-blocking center Marcin Gortat long-term, and that's exactly what they did, inking a five-year deal worth $60 million.  Not only is he a great complement to Guards John Wall and Bradley Beal, but he can also hold his own on defense against some of the East's best big-men, like Roy Hibbert and Joakim Noah.  The Wizards also brought in 36-year old Paul Pierce to add a veteran presence to the starting five.  Although he won't be around for much longer, Pierce could be the missing piece that Washington needs to take it to the next level and reach the Eastern Conference Finals, or even the NBA Finals.

LOSERS

Houston Rockets

Although Houston wasn't the only team to go after both LeBron and Carmelo Anthony, they may have the team to fall the hardest.  After pulling out all of the stops during Melo's visit to Houston, they were quickly ruled out as one of his eventual destinations, so they had to go another direction.  Later, Power Forward Chris Bosh said that he would sign with the Rockets on a four-year deal if LeBron decides to leave Miami.  Of course, this is good news, but there's a bit of a problem: Chandler Parsons, their young, sharp-shooting small forward, signed an expensive 3-year, $45 million offer sheet with the Dallas Mavericks, which gave Houston three days to match that contract if they wanted to retain him.  Due to their small cap space, the Rockets would need to trade both Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik elsewhere to sign both Bosh and Parsons.  Once LeBron made his decision to return to Cleveland, the Rockets had already traded Lin, along with a first-round pick, to the Los Angeles Lakers.  Later that night, though, Chris Bosh changed his mind about signing with Houston and stayed with the Heat on a new max deal.  Finally, the Rockets added Small Forward Trevor Ariza, not Parsons, in a sign-and-trade deal that included Asik being sent to the New Orleans Pelicans.  Although they were able to sign Ariza to a cheaper-than-expected deal, they eventually decided that the money wasn't there to retain Chandler Parsons.  No, nothing went right for Houston this offseason, but they still have both James Harden and Dwight Howard, so I expect that they will still be in the playoff hunt next season.

Los Angeles Lakers

For a very long time, the L.A. Lakers seemed to be able to attain any player they desired, but that now feels like a lifetime ago.  Now, the best they can do is acquire Jeremy Lin's inflated contract and cross their fingers by drafting Kentucky's Julius Randle.  Heck, they can't even get a coach!  After losing out on the Melo sweepstakes and with Pau Gasol leaving for Chicago, the Lakers' best hope is for Robert Sacre to turn into Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and for Kobe Bryant to re-grow his afro and goatee.  If either of those scenarios fail to occur (the goatee part could happen), don't expect the Lakers to be the front-runners come March.

Brooklyn Nets

I think I might start calling the Deron Williams-Joe Johnson-Kevin Garnett combo "the flip-phone trio"; at one point, they would've been one of the most dangerous groups in basketball, but now, they're a little out of date.  Of course, I'm being a little harsh (it could be a quartet if you include Brook Lopez), but the Brooklyn Nets themselves have quickly become irrelevant.  What happened?  Well, since re-signing Deron Williams to a max deal in 2012, there hasn't been an apparent improvement to his game.  Also, even though he was an all-star this season, Joe Johnson is certainly not worth his $23 million billing, which is what he will be owed next season.  Finally, we all know that KG has had an incredible career with both the Timberwolves and the Celtics, but he's certainly lost too many steps in his game to be the same dominant power forward that he's been for so many years.  Look, I know that they don't have much cap space in the first place to make any major free agency moves, but at least one inexpensive role player could've made a difference for this team.  I'm not saying that they'll for sure be out of the playoff race, but I wouldn't call them championship-worthy, either.