At the end of July, Zach Lowe and Brian Windhorst reported on the tense Board of Governors meetings where many owners were shaken by what occurred in free agency. No doubt, the OKC Thunder, Toronto Raptors and New Orleans Pelicans were among the teams most upset. At least the Thunder and Pelicans benefitted by the copious assets and draft prospects their clubs collected. Still in both those situations the loss of a superstar on in the case of OKC, two superstars forced both franchises into an unplanned and premature rebuilding phase.
However, imagine being the Toronto Raptors the current NBA Champions. Not only did they lose their top superstar talent, but they were also held in check awaiting Leonard’s decision which didn’t come when other top talents were still available. Adding to their misery Uncle Dennis was asking for unreasonable and illegal enticements to the deal. In the end, the Raptors ended up feeling like they were exploited, used as leverage and that Leonard was never serious about re-signing.
It’s hard not to cite the Raptors as the team who took the greatest hit. To wit, a scan of the crop of 2019 superstar free agents who changed teams resulted in almost all the elite stars exiting via sign and trades. In other words, each of the former clubs was compensated for the loss. Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Kemba Walker, Terry Rozier, Jimmy Butler, D’Angelo Russell, and Malcolm Brogdon all changed teams via sign and trade deals.
The only top tier free agents who exited their clubs without a return were the Celtics Al Horford who signed with the 76ers and the Raptors Kawhi Leonard (arguably the top star to move given Durant’s injury) who signed with the Clippers. And, even in the case of Horford, his deal occurred on the first day of free agency, so that offered Celtics GM Danny Ainge with the opportunity (and time) to land a replacement.