There were a lot of free agency moves this season but the number one move was the rebuild of the Utah Jazz. This off-season they decided to trade away their two all-stars in the name of Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert. It was a matter of time before they would blow up their team and begin the rebuilding process. Many people, including myself, thought that they should already have started the rebuilding process a little sooner, but it’s better late than never.
We had this thought process because the Utah Jazz always had a chance to become the top contenders for the championship in the west and generally in the whole league. But since 2020 they have not fulfilled their expectations. In 2020 they blew a 3-1 lead in the bubble against the Denver Nuggets, lost in the semi-finals against the Los Angeles Clippers with no Kawhi Leonard after game 4, and lastly this past season loss against the Dallas Mavericks in the first round when Luka Doncic did not play in the first three games.
Utah has been disappointing these last couple of years but now they are heading into a new direction which is the rebuilding process. They traded away Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Malik Beasley, Patrick Beverley(Los Angeles Laker now), Leandro Bolmaro, Walker Kessler, Jarred Vanderbilt, and a total of four first-round picks. They traded away Donovan Mitchell for Collin Sexton, Lauri Markkanen, Ochai Agbaji, three unprotected first-round picks, and two pick swaps. This was the number one free agency move of this off-season.
The second-best free agency move was from the Boston Celtics acquiring Malcolm Brogdon from the Indiana Pacers. The Celtics just made the NBA finals and are already improving their teams to newer heights. This pickup was a must-need for them because they truly do need a point guard. Marcus Smart is a much better off-ball player than the primary ball handler and with the addition of Malcolm, their offense will run smoother. Also, they did not really give up anything too big for him.
The trade package for Malcolm was Daniel Theis, Aaron Nesmith, Malik Fitts, and Juwan Morgan, guard Nik Stauskas, and a 2023 first-round draft choice. They only had to sacrifice their benchwarmers and one first-round pick for him. With this pickup, it wouldn’t be too shocking if the Celtics do fully capture the NBA championship this time around.
The last best free agency move was from the Dallas Mavericks to acquire Christian Wood from the Houston Rockets. Now a lot of people might not be the biggest fan of this trade since Wood is a big man and the last all-star caliber big man that teamed up with Luka was a failure and that would be Kristaps Porzingis. However, the main reason that did not work was because of Kristaps's health and always being hurt when Wood is always active playing. Plus this past season the Mavericks got destroyed on the boards and Wood can help in that department.
The trade package was something similar to the Celtics which was Boban Marjanovic, Sterling Brown, Trey Burke, Marquese Chriss, and 26th overall pick Wendell Moore for Wood. They did not really give up anything too precious for him and Wood is a young player like Luka. This dynamic duo will be together and effective for a long time.