Melissa Rohlin
FOX Sports NBA Writer
Welcome to NBA free agency, where, at least for a moment, fans of all 30 teams are filled with hope and excitement for the upcoming season.
Unfortunately, for a handful of fanbases, that optimism was short-lived. But for others, the path to the Finals — or at least relevancy — has never been clearer.
Here are our early winners and losers from the craziest time of the year.
Winner: Houston Rockets
(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
The gold medal goes to the Rockets, who traded for 15-time All-Star Kevin Durant on June 22 and then continued their hot streak with a series of moves that will greatly bolster their roster.
They stole Dorian Finney-Smith away from the Los Angeles Lakers for $53 million over four years. They declined Fred VanVleet’s $45 million option for next season and went on to sign him to a team-friendly two-year, $50 million deal. They gave Jabari Smith Jr. a five-year, $122 million extension. Clint Capela returned for three years and $21.5 million.
The Rockets finished in second place in the Western Conference last season before flaming out in the first-round of the playoffs against Golden State. Now, they’re deeper on both ends of the court and could be title contenders.
Loser: Los Angeles Lakers
(Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)
LeBron James opted into his $52.6 million player option and then made it clear through his agent, Rich Paul, that they better improve their roster…or else. The Lakers’ biggest splash so far? Jake LaRavia, who’s more of a drizzle. Not to mention, they lost Dorian Finney-Smith, whom they acquired in a trade in late December. And in yet another blow, Brook Lopez chose to join the LA Clippers.
WIth James’ salary, the Lakers can’t go all in on building around Luka Doncic for the future. And so far, they haven’t constructed a roster that can win now. The pressure is on Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka to at least fill their gaping hole at the center position.
Loser: Milwaukee Bucks
The Bucks waived Damian Lillard, who suffered a torn Achilles in May, and stretched his remaining $113 million salary to acquire free agent center Myles Turner. When it comes to the Bucks, they’re clearly trying to do everything in their power to keep Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Bucks general manager Jon Horst has a history of taking big swings to try and make Antetokounmpo happy, including acquiring Jrue Holiday in 2020, then Lillard in 2023 and now Turner on a four-year, $107 million deal.
But will Turner be enough to make Antetokounmpo buy in, especially considering their other moves have essentially consisted of re-signing players and losing Lopez? Or will the Bucks regret giving up Lillard, who was an All-Star in both of his seasons with the team, to essentially be paying more than $50 million a year to have the rights to Turner?
Turner is eight years younger than Lopez and the center is a strong shot-blocker and 3-point shooter. But it’s questionable whether this move is enough to appease Antetokounmpo as he ponders his future.
Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images)
Winner: Damian Lillard
Lillard is going to get paid all the money that’s owed to him. He’s going to be able to rehab his torn Achilles in Portland around his family. And then he’ll get to decide where he wants to play next with salary pretty being a non-factor. That’s a damn good deal.
The last two seasons weren’t easy for Lillard, who wanted to play for Miami after he requested to be traded by the Portland Trail Blazers. He didn’t land where he hoped, he struggled being so far away from his family and the Bucks failed to get past the first round of the playoffs the last two seasons.
Now, Lillard will finally have control over his career.
Winner: Atlanta Hawks
The Hawks landed Kristaps Porzingis by trading the No. 22 pick in the draft in a three-team deal. They used a draft-night trade to get an unprotected pick in 2026 from either Milwaukee or New Orleans. They added shooting with Luke Kennard and bolstered their defense with Nickeil Alexander-Walker.
With their upgraded roster alongside the offensive power of Trae Young and the defensive prowess of Dyson Daniels, this team could be really good.
Loser: Indiana Pacers
(Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images)
After an incredible Cinderella run in which the Pacers shocked the NBA world by reaching Game 7 of the NBA Finals, next season is going to be a flop.
Tyrese Haliburton suffered a torn Achilles in Game 7 and will be out for the 2025-26 campaign. Then the Pacers lowballed Turner, who had made it clear he wanted to remain with the Pacers. (The Pacers didn’t want to pay too much for him knowing they’d be without Haliburton.) So, Turner left for Milwaukee.
It’s a bummer of a turnaround for a franchise that was so close to winning its first championship.
Winner: Denver
The Nuggets traded Michael Porter Jr.. and a 2032 unprotected first-round pick for Cam Johnson, which allowed them to shed salary while keeping a shooting presence. It also freed them up to re-acquire Bruce Brown, who’s a strong defender and was on their title-winning squad in 2023.
The Nuggets also dealt Dario Saric to the Sacramento Kings for Jonas Valanciunas. And they acquired Tim Hardaway Jr.
The Nuggets’ new front office made decisive moves, making them deeper.
Loser: Miami
After the Miami Heat were swept out of the first round of the playoffs, president Pat Riley said change would be coming. But so far, the team hasn’t made any major moves.
They acquired Simone Fontecchio from Detroit in a sign-and-trade after parting ways with Duncan Robinson. And they added Kasparas Jakucionis in the draft.
If the Heat want to become contenders, they’re going to need to be far more aggressive in free agency.
Melissa Rohlin is an NBA writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the league for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times, the Bay Area News Group and the San Antonio Express-News. Follow her on Twitter @melissarohlin.
Get more from National Basketball Association Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
