Biggest Free Agency Winners and Losers

With NBA free agency in full swing and most of the big name players signed, it's time to check out which teams got better and which teams got worse during free agency. 

For this post we will only be looking at moves made during free agency.

Winners
Golden State Warriors
Main Free Agency Transactions: 
- Added DeMarcus Cousins and Jonas Jerebko
- Re-signed Kevin Durant and Keevon Looney
- Lost Omri Casspi, Javale McgGee and Zaza Pachulia 

"DeMarcus Cousins"by Keith Allison is licensed under C.C by 2.0

Cancel the season and just hand the championship over to the Warriors. The Golden State Warriors added another superstar in Demarcus Cousins at an extremely team-friendly contract (1 year, $5 million) and sent the NBA world into frenzy. Although Cousins suffered a torn Achilles last season, there will be no pressure to rush him back and if he comes back 50% the player he was, the Warriors will literally have no weaknesses. Also Jerebko is a solid role player that can contribute. We all thought there was no way the Warriors could get better, but man was everyone wrong. 

Oklahoma City Thunder
Main Free Agency Transactions:
- No one added 
- Re-signed Paul George, Jerami Grant and Raymond Felton
- Lost Nick Collison (retired) 

Before the season started, the Thunder looked silly to roll the dice and trade for Paul George. After all, George made it known that his heart was in L.A. and everyone assumed he would end up there. Add in the emergence of Oladipo as a bonafide star, the trade looked like it could really hurt OKC. However, right at the start of free agency, Paul George shocked the NBA and announced he would return to the Thunder at a party hosted by Russell Westbrook. With their second superstar locked in for the next four years, the Thunder have given themselves a window to compete and are one of the biggest winners of this year's free agency.  

Los Angeles Lakers
Main Free Agency Transactions: 
- Added Lebron James, Javale McGee, Rajon Rondo and Lance Stephenson
- Re-signed Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
- Lost Tyler Ennis, Channing Frye, Brook Lopez, Julius Randle and Isaiah Thomas

"Lebron James vs Kobe Bryant" by Erik Drost is licensed under C.C by 2.0

Any time you sign Lebron James, you are automatically a winner of free agency. And the Lakers have the added bonus of having Lebron for 4 years, which is a long time to build a contender. Although the Lakers were not able to add a second superstar in free agency, they signed a bunch of solid veteran role players on 1 year deals so they can chase guys such as Durant, Leonard and Butler next off season with all of their cap space. While the Lakers are not an elite team in the NBA yet, they will still be able to make some noise in the Western Conference playoff picture next season and will inevitably be a powerhouse super team in the near future. 

Indiana Pacers
Main Free Agency Transactions: 
- Added Tyreke Evans, Doug McDermott and Kyle O'Quinn
- Re-signed Cory Jospeh (player option) and Thaddeus Young (player option)
- Lost Lance Stephenson and Glen Robinson III

While everyone was caught up with Lebron going to L.A. and Paul George deciding to stay in OKC, the Pacers have quietly improved their team. By adding Evans, a great secondary scorer and ball handler, McDermott, a lights out shooter, and O'Quinn, a bruising big, the Pacers have become a much deeper team while only losing one contributor from last season in Lance. With the expected development of guys like Myles Turner and Victor Oladipo along with returning vets like Joseph and Young, the Pacers could challenge the likes of Boston, Toronto and Philly for best in the east. 

Losers
Cleveland Cavaliers
Main Free Agency Transactions: 
- Added Channing Frye
- Re-signed Kendrick Perkins (team option) 
- Lost Lebron James, Jose Calderon and Jeff Green
***Rodney Hood, a RFA, has yet to sign anywhere

When you lose the best player in the NBA in free agency, it goes without saying that you will be a free agency loser. There really is no other way around it. 

Houston Rockets
Main Free Agency Transactions: 
- Added Michael Carter-Williams and James Ennis III
- Re-signed Chris Paul and Gerald Green
- Lost Trevor Ariza and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute
***Clint Capela, a RFA, has yet to sign anywhere
Edit: Capela signed a 5 year $90 million deal

I know I know. Chris Paul resigned to a massive four year max contract. How could the Rockets be a loser this year? Well, they already lost key contributors in Trevor Ariza and Mbah a Moute. And while they might not be superstars, they were extremely important for the Rockets (especially against the Warriors). Add in the fact that there is a growing rift between the team and restricted free agent Capela, the Hockets have lost a lot of depth and quite frankly are not as good as they were last year. Not something you want to hear from a team that was inches away from the NBA finals. 

Restricted Free Agents (RFA)
Coming into this free agency, only a few teams had enough cap space to sign good role players unless they were willing to take massive pay cuts. After the irresponsible spending by teams in the summer of 2016, many were drowning in the luxury tax or had very little cap space to spend. And the restricted free agents have been harmed as a result of smarter and more frugal front offices. Aside from the likes of Jusurf Nurkic, Zach Lavine and Jabari Parker who got paid, most RFA's have either taken pay cuts or are still on the market looking for a contract they feel is worth it. Guys like Clint Capela, Rodney Hood, Marcus Smart and Montrezl Harrell are all still waiting to sign new contracts.