Free agents can't officially ink their new contracts until July 6, 2024, at 12:01 EST; however, their intent to sign these deals can be announced as soon as June 30, 2024, at 6:00 EST.
That time has come, and while the Sacramento Kings have yet to make any major moves (although they did re-sign Alex Len), two of their rivals took some major hits, indirectly making our team stronger.
Los Angeles Clippers Lose Paul George Without Getting Anything In Return
In today's world of constant roster turnover, there aren't really any true rivals in the NBA anymore. So, your rivals basically become whoever is in your conference, has similar aspirations to you, and has had some iconic battles with you in the past.
The Los Angeles Clippers play in the Western Conference, are vying to be a playoff team, and participated in one of the greatest regular season games of all time with the Kings back in 2023.
Simply put, when bad things happen to them, it's almost always a good thing for us. And man, did a bad thing happen to them early Monday morning.
BREAKING: Free agent F Paul George has agreed on a four-year, $212 million maximum contract with the Philadelphia 76ers, sources tell ESPN. George committed in a meeting with Sixers officials and returns East to join Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey in pursuit of an NBA title. pic.twitter.com/pkCfGu3hyp
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2024
Paul George – one portion of the three-headed monster that helped the Clippers go 26-5 during a two-month stretch in the regular season – just left Los Angeles to join the Philadelphia 76ers.
Not only are the Clippers losing a great player, but they lost him without getting anything back in return – a rarity in an era where teams are very proactive about trading disgruntled stars before they leave them in free agency.
Yes, the Clippers still have Kawhi Leonard and James Harden (and the newly-added Derrick Jones Jr.). But we saw last year (when the Dallas Mavericks swiftly disposed of them in the first round) that the theory of their team doesn't hit the same when one of their three stars is missing (Leonard missed four of six games in that series).
Denver Nuggets Lose One Piece Of Their Most Dangerous Lineup
Speaking of losing players for nothing in free agency, the Denver Nuggets saw Kentavious Caldwell-Pope walk out the door to play for the Orlando Magic in 2024-25.
Finalizing three-years, $66 million for Caldwell-Pope in Orlando, sources tell ESPN. https://t.co/ruLqQhXEf1
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2024
(Sidebar: For those wondering, I'd call the Nuggets another one of our rivals because they share the same conference as us, have similar aspirations, and play a very similar style – one predicated on ball movement and building around a strong passing center with some major defensive limitations.)
On the surface, this may not seem like that big of a blow. After all, Caldwell-Pope is just a role player. However, that line of thinking misses what has made the Nuggets so great these last two years.
Nikola Jokic is the best player on the planet, and together, he and Jamal Murray make up the best duo on the planet. But what makes this Nuggets team truly great is the synergy that exists between their best five-man unit.
Last season, when Murray, Jokic, Caldwell-Pope, Aaron Gordon, and Michael Porter Jr. shared the floor together (1,923 possessions), they were a +13 per 100 possessions (per Cleaning the Glass). That is the kind of mark you see from a championship-level lineup (which they were in 2022-23).
Think of it like a game of Jenga. When a critical piece is taken out, the whole tower crumbles. The Nuggets will still be good, but losing Caldwell-Pope for nothing means they likely won't be the juggernaut that they have been over the last two years.
In any event, two Western Conference foes are weaker than they were a couple of days ago, and that is a massive win for the Kings.