NBA Free Agency is the Wild Wild West of the internet. Just a sea of rumors. Hearsay. What’s true. What might be true. The general philosophy seems to be: publish it all and see if you can get Skip Bayless to fall for a Chris Paul-James Harden manboobs incident.
We don’t want you to get lost in all of this chaos. Getting the news fast is great. Getting it fast AND accurate is even better. It breaks our heart when someone shares a, “Seven reasons Durant might sign with the Pistons” story only to receive a text from their friend, “You do know he just signed with the Nets, right?”
So, for the fastest, most reliable resource on NBA Free Agency: Adrian Woj of ESPN.
For the most organized way to keep tabs on things during a bathroom break at work: Don’t shortchange the Yahoo Sports app. It’s incredibly underrated. Especially if you love the numbers of all this stuff too.
And then when you’re ready for some commentary, early predictions, and other quick insights, it’s time for some Medium Rare Basketball. More specifically, time for Free Agency with Ezra. Nothing long-winded, just short and to the point takes from the man who predicted the Raptors title and provides a leading voice for fans who aren’t into Chris Paul.
The Big News of Day 1 (and pre-Day 1)
- Kevin Durant to the Nets
- Kyrie Irving to the Nets
- Kemba Walker to the Celtics
- Jimmy Butler to Miami
- D’Angelo Russell to Golden State
- Al Horford going to Philadelphia
- Milwaukee re-signs Khris Middleton, Brook Lopez. Signs George Hill and completes the Lopez pairing with a Robin Lopez signing. But Malcolm Brogdon goes to the Indiana Pacers.
Ezra weighs in
East
- Milwaukee got worse
- Brooklyn is 2 years away, people acting like KD’s not out for the year
- Boston got worse (Horford is underrated)
- Prediction: Philly will win the East if Kawhi leaves
- More on Philly: I think it’s a really good line up. Richardson is the shortest dude at 6’6”. Slight upgrade on d and shooting. But less creation.
West
- Warriors lucked out with getting D’Angelo Russell and still have a chance to win the West
- Jazz have a clear path to the WCF
- Lakers are who I like to come out of the West. And could see some weird 1-year with Cousins or a few sneaky midlevel signings. Or, of course, there’s still Kawhi…
We’ll use Day 2 to catch up both on any new deals and take a second to look at the quiet contenders that Utah and Portland are putting together.
Medium Rare Basketball 