PSA - The only real winners in this all are the TC Sim Gawds. They giveth and they taketh away, and no matter how amazing UFA Round 1 is... someone gon get got.
Winners:
The Brooklyn Nets
Wow, no one saw this splash coming. League insiders connected the Nets to many point guards throughout the off-season, citing they wanted to bring in someone to help develop their budding floor general F. Cole Medina. However, no one saw them outright signing Tyreke Evans, especially with the Magic loading up earlier in the month. If Medina takes leaps and bounds in TC, this Evans signing could pay huge dividends and make the Nets not only the winner of UFA Round 1, but also the winner of PBSL Finals come June.
The Denver Nuggets
With their newly found cap space, the Nuggets were ready to make it rain (no not you, Seattle GM) from a mile high. Signing Jrue Holiday for less than a Supermax and Darren Collison for less than that, the Nuggets have one of the deepest, most skilled guard rotations in the league. They set themselves up with the opportunity to run a successful, fast pace small ball lineup of which the league may have never seen before. Worst case scenario, they have a surplus of floor generals that can easily be leveraged in a trade down the line to bring in talent at a position of need. We haven't even touched on Steven Hunter signing to clean up the glass and anchor their defense down low.
The Milwaukee Bucks
It would be easy to write about all the teams resigning their big name FAs. The Bucks were one of those with Ricky Rubio "testing the market". It didn't take long for him to come back after GM Quailmen showed him the money. But the real reason for being a Round 1 winner is the signing of Nikola Pekovic (vet min + $200K) and Ed Davis (vet min). In the midst of some questionable off-season moves, many questioned what the Bucks were thinking in moving their anchor for a developmental piece. However, in UFA, the Bucks not only brought back key cogs; they brought back short-time Buck Ed Davis on a small deal to act as a transitional starter and mentor for Damion McNary. This is a huge get for minimal money at a major position of need.
The Charlotte Bobcats
After trading Damion McNary, the Bobcats had a glaring hole at the power forward spot. Well, hole no more. The Bobcats brought in 2 of their major targets (*cough*nonBlakeGriffintargets*cough*) in Jeff Adrien and Jordan Hill. With their depth on the wing and now depth down low, the PussyCats are poised to make a push into the PBSL Playoffs (ALLITERATION FTW)
The Atlanta Hawks
It's not a free agency round 1 without the Hawks coming out on top with the biggest value signing of the day. Steph Curry for $6mil. WINNER WINNER CURRY DINNER. (Oh yeah, insert annual Nate Robinson a Hawk transaction here)
Losers:
The Detroit Pistons
Buzz around the league and national media had tied the Detroit Anthony Davises to Superstar Point Guard Ricky Rubio. In fact, some reputable GMs have gone on a limb to say they would outright sign them on Day 3 of Free Agency Round 1. However, that did not come to be. The Pistons GM attempted to call Rubio at 12:01a, only to have his call redirected to the Detroit Zoo's extension for their Australian Outback exhibit, (https://detroitzoo.org/animal-habitat/a ... n-outback/) where they are looking for an expert knowledgeable of all things wombats. The Pistons however did manage to have one signing in Round 1. Unfortunately this signing was not a PG and plays the same position as their best player (despite the index calling Gibson a SF).
The Toronto Raptors
The Indianapolis Pacers
Famous Indianapolis-born cyclist of the early 1900s, Marshall "Major" Taylor, once said, "Each great athlete must some day bow to that perennial old champion, Father Time, even as I, for Time eventually wins." Although, this may also be something that Deron Williams may be whispering in GM Pauly P's ear each off-season. However, despite being almost $20mil under the cap, the Pacers stood pat and watched the East get stronger around them.
The Orlando Magic
SPARED NO EXPENSE. John Hammond would have been proud of the Orlando Magic's off-season leap from the mediocrity, as GM False9 completely rearranged his squad with pieces like Paul George, James Harden, and Thomas Robinson. One last piece needed to be added and that was Guard Tyreke Evans. However... apparently the Magic tax accountants looked over the books and encouraged the front office to spare two expenses: 12.5% increases & a 5th year. The front office obliged and well...
...the fallout with Tyreke wasn't pretty. It wasn't a "T-rex battling velociraptors in the Jurassic Park lobby while the last remaining humans luckily flee for safety" level fallout, but it did result it losing out of the extremely versatile combo guard to a conference foe (and potential playoff matchup). But hey! They were able to bring back Russian operative Timofey Mozgov! Third time's the charm right?
The Los Angeles Clippers
The Clippers really had to primary needs: re-sign Roy Hibbert and GUARDS. ANY GUARD. GUARDS PLEASE!!!! Well, at least they re-signed Hibbert, right? Fans are left wondering "what if" though... what if the Clippers front office would've extended a big money deal ($14mil+ in cap before Hibbert's deal was inked) to a guard like Lance Stephenson or Jeremy Lamb or Wesley Matthews or even OJ Mayo.
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Congrats to the Winners! And Losers... chin up! There are still 2 more rounds of UFA to win! THERE IS LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL....
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....that light is the train called "TRAINING CAMP" headed right for us all.
