Top winners and losers in NBA Free Agency so far

LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony, the two most wanted free agents this summer(or probably any summer) are certianly taking their time to make a decision on their future. Anthony was done with his round of meeting with teams in the first four days after free agency kicked off on the 1stof July, while James approach was much slower and more under the radar.After his agent met with close to five teams last week, James has only recently decided to meetwith his former team Miami Heats President Pat Riley in Las Vegas.To add to the already high suspense, neither Chris Bosh nor Dwyane Wade hassigned any contractwith any team so far.However, there have been numerous sources reporting that the Houston Rockets have offered Bosh a four-year max deal which he is strongly considering given that he might not be offered a max deal if he remains with the Heat.The spotlight for the most part of the off-season ever since they opted out of their contracts has been on thefour players named above, but there has been a lot more going on in the league. Coupled with the draft, some teams have made strong moves in the first 10 days of free agency and canboast of a bright future ahead now. On the other hand, the activity or rather inactivity by some teams has left only question marks overthier future.Here are topwinners and losers from the free agency so far:

#5 Losers: Los Angeles Lakers

Are the Lakers waiting too long and depending too much on Anthony’s decision?

The Lakers have only four players under contract for the next season – Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Robert Sacre and Kendall Marshall. Every other player from this past season is currently a free agent, and the franchise has only been losing players to other teams rather than re-signing them.

Jodi Meeks has agreed to a deal with the Detroit Pistons, Jordan Farmar with the Los Angeles Clippers and Chris Kaman has signed with the Portand Trail Blazers. These players might end up as just role players on other teams but they received heavy minutes and played important roles for the Lakers last season.

Although their relationship is similar to that of brothers, it is going to take much more than Bryant and Anthony to bring the championship back to the bright lights of Los Angeles. Whether Melo signs with the franchise or not, they are facing a tough next few season.

#4 Losers: Miami Heat

Even after all three members of Miami Heat’s Big Three opted out of their contracts to test free agency, a certain section of media believed that Heat fans have nothing to worry as this move would only give the franchise more financial flexibility to revamp the squad in preparation for next season.

But what was expected from the team management was much more than what they have done so far this off-season. The Heat were staring at a busy off-season where they needed to bring in fresher legs to lure the Big 3 back and be competitive once again. Instead, they have only been able to confirm the signings of Danny Granger and Josh McRoberts so far.

Shabazz Napier (26th overall pick by the Charlotte Hornets), a point guard from the Draft that the team traded for along with McRoberts, certainly come under the category of younger fresher legs. However, the same cannot be said for Granger who at the age of 31 has had more than a few knee problems.

Pat Riley and the rest of the management must make more moves in order to successfully bring the Big 3 back for next season.

#3 Winners: San Antonio Spurs

Possibly the only city which could not be touched by the buzz of Anthony and James would be the city of the defending champions San Antonio, Texas. The only word the people of this city are thinking about is: Repeat.

With Tim Duncan opting into the final year of his contract and Manu Ginobili putting off retirement for another season with the team, the franchise from San Antonio have the chance to successfully defend their title for the first time in their history. The only stepping stone on the road to repeat was re-signing important players of the team who were becoming free agents this summer.

The franchise wasted no time in re-signing both free agents Patty Mills and Boris Diaw to multiple year contracts, thus ensuring that the core rotation of the team remains the same for their title defense next season.

#2 Winners: Orlando Magic

The offense Orlando Magic lost by trading Arron Afflalo and the leadership they gave up after waiving Jameer Nelson, but they gained by signing Phoenix Suns big man Channing Fyre. After spending the previous four seasons with the Suns, Fyre came to terms with the Magic for a four year deal worth $32 million.

Aged 31, Fyre is in his 9th season in the NBA and brings a certain level of leadership to the Orlando Magic locker room which the team could use given the young team that they are. Averaging 11.1 points and 5.1 rebounds while shooting 37% shooting from beyond the arc, Fyre brings a dependable offensive option to the team.

Magic have continued to become younger through the Draft in each of the last two seasons and are currently looking good for the future with a young core of Victor Oladipo (runner-up in Rookie of the Year voting), Elfrid Payton (10th pick in 2014 Draft) and Aaron Gordon (4th pick in 2014 Draft).

#1 Winners: Toronto Raptors

Coming into the summer one of the biggest priorities for the Toronto Raptors was re-signing their superstar point guard Kyle Lowry, which the franchise wasted no time in doing within the first couple of days.

The Raptors have been one of the busiest if not the busiest team during the free agency so far, and not one move has backfired on them in any way. Their every move, starting with the re-signing of Lowry to the trade with Utah Jazz a couple of days ago, has helped the franchise achieve something which will help them in next few months or in the future.

The trade with the Jazz helped them acquire Diante Garrett in exchange for Steve Novak and a future second round pick. Garrett, a point guard who alternates between the league and the NBA D-League, is sure to be waived by the Raptors in order to make cap space.

The Raptors also made sure they agreed to the terms of a contract extension with Patrick Patterson, a forward who was instrumental in their inspired performance last season. As a back-up to Lowry, the team also signed Lou Williams in a trade with the Atlanta Hawks in return for the contract of John Salmons.

The team has only benefitted from every move made since Masai Ujiri, a former NBA Executive of the Year Award winner in 2012, became the Raptors general manager before the start of last season.

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Edited by Staff Editor