The NBA’s free agency opened on Friday, November 20th and it did not disappoint. Many intriguing deals took place that will have a serious impact on this upcoming 2020-2021 season. 

Winners: Atlanta Hawks and Los Angeles Lakers

The Hawks already have stars in Trae Young and John Collins and have surrounded them with more talent by drafting USC center Onyeka Okongwu with the sixth pick; and adding much-needed veterans in Rajon Rondo, Kris Dunn, Danilo Gallinari, and Bogdan Bogdanovic. The expectations for the Hawks are high this season, especially if they can find a way to make all this talent work together.

The defending champion Lakers signed back Anthony Davis and replaced center Dwight Howard with an even better player in Montrezl Harrell. They also replaced veteran guard Rajon Rondo by trading for a skilled guard in Dennis Schroder, and signing veteran center Marc Gasol which may have made their roster better than last year.

Hamza Ariyan, a WJPS junior, said, “The winner of free agency this year is the Lakers, re-signing Anthony Davis and reshaping their roster with more skilled and younger players will undoubtedly result in a deep playoff run, maybe even another ring.” 

Losers: Los Angeles Clippers and Toronto Raptors 

The Clippers are losers for one reason because their crosstown rivals, the Lakers improved their roster drastically. The Clippers lost Montrezl Harrell to the Lakers, and JaMychal Green, a veteran wing, who signed with the Denver Nuggets, the team that eliminated the Clippers in the playoffs. 

The Raptors fell to the Boston Celtics one win short of the Eastern Conference Finals last season, and their chances of getting back to that point are slimmer now that they lost two key pieces to their frontcourt in free agency when forward Serge Ibaka and center Marc Gasol departed. 

“The Charlotte Hornets are losers of free agency. The Hornets should’ve brought in key pieces on team-friendly deals, not just one big contract to Gordon Hayward who is past his prime. The Hornets aren’t going to the playoffs for a while and are now just a team full of bad contracts,” said Paul Cobourne, a WJPS junior. 

All and all, free agency decisions can positively or negatively affect a team’s chances of winning.

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