The Two Biggest Losers in NBA Free Agency

With the bulk of free agency now in the books and only a few pieces left to fall in place *cough Kawhi*, it’s time to begin looking at some of the Ls taken so far this off-season, led by the two biggest of all.

New York Knicks

This one is obvious, so we’ll start here. After losing out on both KD and Kyrie to the other New York team (no, not the Yankees, the Nets!), the Knicks had a choice to make: stay humble, realize the organization on offer is not as appealing to high-level talent as it once was, and double-down on your efforts to improve through smart signings, good drafting, and a commitment to improving the culture surrounding the once-great powerhouse, ooooooorrrrr – in true Knicks fashion – put your ego on full display by overpaying a rag-tag collection of serviceable NBA players while pretending this was exactly the team you had in mind. It’s no surprise to anyone who knows the first thing about the franchise which direction it (he) elected to go.

It’s a bold strategy Cotton, let’s see how it plays out for them…

Jimmy Butler

It’s tough saying someone took an L after getting exactly what they wanted, but I just can’t make sense of Jimmy (who I absolutely LOVE as a player, and entertainer) deciding to leave one of the Eastern Conference favorites to go to a team devoid of literally any shot at competing over the next few seasons barring some stunning front-office gymnastics (if anyone could pull it off, it’s Pat Riley, but still…).

This is a doubly-tough pill to swallow for Jimmy fans after listening to him talk about the importance of winning and building a legacy, only to have him turn around and head to the night-clubs of Miami like a just-graduated high-schooler choosing to go to notorious party-school Tulane U over Harvard and Duke.

Sorry Jimmy, I hope I’m wrong, but I believe you’ve just played yourself, beaches and sun-bunnies aside.