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Once again, it’s clip to walk judgement prematurely. After all, I would person my hoops writer paper revoked were I to not measure earlier nan particulate has afloat settled: that’s why they salary maine nan modestly-sized bucks, I’m told. So, without further ado, nan Winners and Losers of week 1 of 2026 NBA free agency.
The winners
Philadelphia 76ers It must consciousness unusual for Sixers fans to beryllium connected nan correct broadside of 1 of these incredibly lopsided, head-scratching transactions. But present we are: Philadelphia whitethorn extremity up arsenic nan biggest winners of nan week aft someway (!) landing 2026 MVP candidate, 2024 NBA finals MVP and bona fide second-team All-NBA helping Jaylen Brown successful speech for conscionable 2 first-round picks, 2 second-rounders and Paul George – whose statement is wide regarded arsenic 1 of nan league’s worst. The 36-year-old, injury-prone erstwhile superstar is still owed astir $110m complete nan adjacent 2 seasons. At nan clip of writing, nan Sixers stay successful nan LeBron James sweepstakes, but moreover if they onslaught out, they’re successful terrific shape. A George-for-Brown switch gives them acold much security against nan inevitable Joel Embiid absences during nan regular season, while adding a battle-tested champion to thief shepherd Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe done nan postseason and show them what it takes to scope nan mountaintop. Additionally, aft being unceremoniously dumped connected a section rival for nan hoops balanced of a container of chips, Brown will get astir arsenic motivated arsenic imaginable heading into nan 2026-27 campaign. Hats disconnected to nan Sixers’ brass for pulling disconnected what looks for illustration nan biggest heist since Nico Harrison since Nico Harrison was employed.
Los Angeles Clippers Self-awareness is simply a virtue. The Clippers were going obscurity successful a hurry, and arsenic heartening arsenic past season’s precocious push was, nan Kawhi Leonard era had, by immoderate reasonable measure, been an abject failure. The reckoning really began earlier nan offseason. At nan waste and acquisition deadline, nan Clippers trim bait connected James Harden, landing nan overmuch younger Darius Garland while adding draught capital. They besides dealt longtime halfway Ivica Zubac for a package that yet yielded 5th wide prime Keaton Wagler. The housecleaning continued this summertime erstwhile they sent Leonard backmost to his aged location successful Toronto, receiving a respectable haul of picks on pinch 2 intriguing younger pieces successful Brandon Ingram and Gradey Dick. They moreover poached three-point sniper Rui Hachimura from nan neighboring rival Lakers. In each likelihood, nan Clippers won’t beryllium very bully adjacent season. But now, what was erstwhile an quiet cupboard of early assets has been restocked, nan foundations of a genuine rebuild are yet successful place, and, a twelvemonth aft watching erstwhile Clipper-turned-trade-chip Shai Gilgeous-Alexander assistance nan Larry O’Brien Trophy, nan franchise tin astatine past commencement moving forward. That is, until tree-planting-gate is afloat adjudicated.
LeBron James It is perfectly preposterous that nan hottest commodity connected nan free-agent marketplace is simply a man who turns 42 this December, whose beard now contains much grey than not. But that’s nan reality LeBron James has created. As of this writing, he is still a man uncommitted, and erstwhile again nan news rhythm is being consumed by breathless speculation complete his adjacent move. For anyone other his age, simply making an NBA roster would beryllium remarkable, ne'er mind serving arsenic a cardinal contributor to a title contender. But James, 1 twelvemonth removed from a sixth-place MVP decorativeness and a fewer months disconnected a first-round playoff bid triumph he each but willed into existence, has ne'er been anyone else. His clip pinch nan LA Lakers had intelligibly tally its course. In immoderate ways, it astir apt would’ve been simpler if he’d declined connected a much accepted timeline and softly vanished his profession successful Los Angeles a twelvemonth aliases 2 ago, arsenic truthful galore expected. But James is rather simply still excessively bully to retire. So, for what tin only reasonably beryllium nan last time, he erstwhile again finds himself nan belle of nan free-agency ball.
The losers
Boston Celtics For each victor successful a blockbuster trade, there’s an arsenic clear loser. This time, it mightiness conscionable beryllium nan Celtics, who near nan hoops commentariat scratching their heads by shipping homegrown NBA finals MVP Jaylen Brown to Philadelphia for a return that tin only beryllium described arsenic underwhelming (see nan Philadelphia 76ers above). It’s wide accepted that Paul George’s statement was truthful burdensome nan Sixers would’ve had to connect draught compensation conscionable to move it. Viewed done that lens, Boston fundamentally turned Jaylen Brown into 1 first-round pick, 2 second-rounders and a negative-value contract. Even worse, Boston are hardly successful a rebuild: they were nan No 2 seed past year, moreover pinch their franchise cornerstone Jayson Tatum connected nan mend from an achilles tendon rupture, and they’re only 2 years removed from a championship. Yes, nan narration pinch Brown appeared beyond repair aft reports emerged that Boston (unsuccessfully) tried to package him for Giannis Antetokounmpo. But unless there’s different footwear still waiting to drop, nan Celtics look markedly worse than they did a fewer months agone — and pinch precious small to show for it. Not great, Bob!
Detroit Pistons The Pistons had a genuinely singular turnaround past year, going from mounting records for humanities ineptitude conscionable 2 seasons earlier to sitting beautiful atop nan Eastern Conference. The regular play was an unambiguous success. The playoffs, however, exposed a basal flaw successful nan roster: extracurricular of MVP campaigner Cade Cunningham, location simply wasn’t capable secondary playmaking. Not only has that glaring request gone unaddressed, you could reason nan squad has really gotten worse. Tobias Harris, a cardinal contributor to past year’s resurgence, group sail for nan Western Conference champion Spurs. Isaiah Stewart, an important protect portion and culture-setter, was shipped to Memphis. And location remains reported disharmony successful negotiations pinch restricted free-agent All-Star halfway Jalen Duren, who, astatine nan clip of writing, has yet to work together to a caller deal. They did motion John Collins arsenic a would-be Harris replacement, but that’s hardly nan benignant of move that gets nan humor pumping. Instead of building connected a 60-win season, nan Pistons look to beryllium doing small much than maintaining nan position quo ... or, moreover worse, taking a measurement backwards.
Los Angeles Lakers Let’s get nan bully retired of nan way: nan Lakers landed their feline this summer, signing-and-trading pinch Utah for their longtime achromatic whale (no pun intended), 24-year-old Rudy Gobert-esque protect wunderkind Walker Kessler. The bad? Where to begin? Let’s commencement pinch nan price. The Lakers surrendered 2 unprotected early first-round picks and 2 perchance valuable first-round swaps – assets that could go particularly achy if they convey aft Luka Dončić’s premier or, moreover worse, aft his Lakers tenure. They past handed Kessler a four-year, $130m extension. That’s not an outrageous AAV for a imaginable franchise cornerstone, but it’s still a monolithic stake connected a subordinate who, for each his talent, remains comparatively unproven. Even aft emptying nan cupboard for Kessler, nan Lakers grounded to dump immoderate of their undesirable contracts, leaving themselves successful a salary-cap crunch. Retaining Austin Reaves was ostensibly a success, but it required a four-year max worthy $46m annually to support him from testing nan market. Quentin Grimes, Sandro Mamukelashvili and Collin Sexton are perfectly reasonable additions, but pinch nan imaginable objection of Sexton, each were signed to semipermanent deals that consciousness a touch rich | and don’t evidently task arsenic semipermanent fits. For reasons known only to Rob Pelinka, each azygous 1 of those deals besides includes a subordinate option. Meanwhile, cardinal contributors Rui Hachimura, Jaxson Hayes and Marcus Smart each walked retired nan door, pinch Smart taking nan team’s protect personality and affectional heartbeat pinch him. Throw successful nan evident divorcement from LeBron James, and it’s difficult to spot really a Lakers squad squarely successful Luka’s title model hasn’t taken a important measurement backward. And pinch nan draught cupboard now almost wholly bare, it’s moreover harder to spot a way back.
