Wow! Free agency has taken us all by surprise, from the duo of Irving and Durant in Brooklyn to Kawhi and Paul George teaming up in Hollywood (the Clippers, not the Lakers) this league has gone through MASSIVE change. I will breakdown 10 free agency moves/ non-moves (some minor, some major). I will grade these moves and go in-depth about each and every single one. Sit back, relax, and enjoy.

1. THE CLIPPERS: HOW?!?!??

The Los Angeles Clippers made one of the biggest moves we have EVER seen a few days ago. For one, they got Kawhi Leonard. Leonard is one of the best defenders this league has seen and is one of the best offensive players this league has seen, as well. He is one of the best players in the world and he proved it by leading the Toronto Raptors to an NBA title. We knew that he had narrowed his options down to Toronto, the Lakers, and the Clippers. In the aftermath of this frenzy, we learnt from Adrian Wojnarowski that Kawhi wanted to go to the Clippers, but only if they got Paul George or Kyrie Irving, and Kyrie already signed his deal, so what did the Clippers do? They traded for Paul George, who has a similar, if not almost identical play style as Leonard. A great defensive player and a great offensive player. Remember, he was third in MVP voting this past season. The Clippers gave up Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, and a handful of picks. Remember, this Clippers team also has Patrick Beverly, Lou Williams, and Montrezl Harrell. This team will be a championship team for many years to come.

GRADE: A+

2. KYRIE IRVING AND KEVIN DURANT TEAMING UP IN BROOKLYN

$300 million dollars?! This has been one of the most talked-about moves for a while now. There have been numerous rumors about these two teaming up and Brooklyn was the best choice ultimately because of the amount of young and veteran talent that the Nets have. That is rare, and adding two stars will push this young team over the top, if you will. It was a great move for all sides. Kyrie wanted to get out of Boston, and Kevin Durant wanted to go somewhere where he felt like HE was the guy. The Celtics were looking at Kemba Walker to replace Kyrie, and the Warriors needed to move on from an injured Durant. Look for this team to be a championship contender for many years to come, even after Durant’s devastating Achilles Tear.

GRADE: A

3. LAKERS=CONTENDERS?

The LA Lakers went from lottery to a title contender in a matter of weeks. The first-of-many moves was trading for superstar Anthony Davis. They gave up Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, and 3 first round picks, per Adrian Wojnarowski. Davis can do it all, whether he is asked to score from inside, or take it past the arc. LA also added Demarcus Cousins, Davis’ former teammate and all-star, Cousins is coming off a ruptured Achilles, and his stint in Oracle was up-and-down. He may never be the same Boogie, but he can still contribute. The Lakers also added Quinn Cook and Danny Green while also keeping Javale McGee. This offseason was a big win for the Lakers, now they need to win on the court.

GRADE: A

4. RUSSELL IN THE BAY

The Warriors lost a generational superstar, and will be without one of the best shooters in the game. They needed someone to provide some scoring along-side Stephen Curry. Draymond Green has not shown consistency, and everyone else is un-proven. De’Angelo Russell is everything you look for in a scorer. He can create his own shots, attack and shoot off of a PNR, and create for the roller. He and Steph will feed off of each other in the Warriors motion offense. Curry, Russell, and Klay Thompson, when he gets back, can all run the PNR effectively and with no true “iso” player, this Warriors team will run more smoothly on offense. The only problem, and only until Thompson gets back, is Golden State’s lack of backcourt defense. This team will give up some ground to great offensive guards like Kyrie Irving and Russell Westbrook, but their offense should compensate for the lack of backcourt-d. Also, the Warriors have a very smart management, and getting DLo for KD is a big win instead of letting Durant walk out the door with nothing in return.

GRADE: A-

5. KEMBA WALKER TO BOSTON

Walker has been on the same team his entire career and, for the sake of his career, needed a change of scenery. Boston has two young, core-pieces in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, and adding Kemba will solidify their backcourt and give them a star and two up-and-coming stars to build around. Walker has become a stellar guard this past season, improving his game like we’ve never seen him do. If he can stay consistent, the Celtics will be a big problem. The Celtics also need a solid big man (aka a developed Tacko Fall) to make them real title contenders in the open Eastern Conference.

GRADE: B+

6. UTAH JAZZ: HIT

The Jazz have bolstered their lineup with the additions of Mike Conley, Ed Davis, and Bojan Bogdanovic. They already have Donovan Mitchell, Joe Ingles, and Rudy Gobert. They also lost starting power forward Derrick Favors. This team, on paper, looks very deep at multiple positions and is poised for a deep playoff run with the all-mighty Warriors taking a step back. Conley is a what Utah is looking for. He locks down on defense, and he can read defenses like most guards can’t. He can also score the ball efficiently when his team needs it. This makes the great defensive Jazz team even better, and prime for a playoff push.

GRADE: B+

7. MIAMI BACK ON TOP?

The Miami Heat have gone through an interesting decade. They won two titles with the “Big 3” of LeBron, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh. But, ever since LeBron went back to Cleveland and Bosh retired. This Heat team has been on the decline. But, as I mentioned earlier, the Heat finalized a sign-and-trade for Jimmy Butler, one of the league’s best two-way players. He alone, with players like Goran Dragic, rookie/ summer league sensation Tyler Herro, and “Point Justice” Winslow, this team can definitely make the playoffs in the East. But, as is, the Butler sign-and-trade, drafting Tyler Herro, and trading Hassan Whiteside were all moves that will benefit South Beach. Now Miami needs a developed big man to have a deep roster, and that will bump down their grade because they gave up Whiteside.

GRADE: B

8. PHILLY RE-DEFINING BASKETBALL POSITIONS!

The 76ers made two aggressive moves early on in FA. They traded Jimmy Butler to the Miami Heat and got Josh Richardson. They also signed Al Horford to a 4 year, $109 million dollar contract, per Adrian Wojnarowski. I will talk about Butler later, but for Philly, getting Josh Richardson does help them with their lack of perimeter shooting with the loss of J.J Redick. The Horford signing does raise a few questions. How well will this team do with only one true shooter? And how will this team do with so much height? Simmons at Point, Harris at Small Forward, and Horford at the four?

Grade: B-

9. HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM!!

The Rockets made an aggressive move Thursday night, trading Chris Paul and some future first round picks to Oklahoma in exchange for Russell Westbrook, per Adrian Wojnarowski. For the Thunder, this was a move that they had to make. This team will be rebuilding and will look to get early draft picks to build their team from there. The Thunder will be getting top draft picks for the foreseeable future. The Rockets, however, are in a “win now mode” and adding Westbrook made that more clear. Right now, this to me is a bad move for Houston. Westbrook is a ball dominant guard who plays the style that Head Coach Mike D’Antoni does not like to run. The Rockets run the “threes or layups offense” that barely uses the mid-range. Westbrook takes a lot of mid-range shots and he does not consistently make them. He shot 35% on 16-24 feet jump shots, per Basketball Reference. He also shoots them a lot. He also has shown that his stats and accolades prove to be more important than team success, and he has cost his team some important games as well. He also drastically went down in Free Throw percentage this season, shooting a career low 65% from the line. And don’t get me started with his three point shooting. He shot a horrific 29% from three this season, and that is the Houston Rockets “bread and butter.” James Harden is a player who thrives in isolation, and I wonder how Houston will fit Westbrook into the system

GRADE: C

10. THE CURSE OF THE KNICKS

A few months ago, the talk of the league was Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving going to New York. No, not the Nets. The Knicks. The Knicks were in a prime position to get two of the best players in the world, but at the last second opted out because of the GM not wanting to pay Durant the max because of the Achilles tear. according to Adrian Wojnarowski. Yes, maybe Durant doesn’t come back “exactly” how he once was, but the player that Durant is, he can recover from an Achilles tear and still be productive because he doesn’t rely on athleticism as much and he is already a great jump shooter. He would come back 80% of his former self at least. And don’t get me started about the fact that New York could have had Kyrie. The starting lineup could have been Kyrie, RJ Barrett, Kevin Knox, Julius Randle, and Kevin Durant. I guess the Knicks curse really IS real. The Knicks got Julius Randle, so that’s one good signing, but that’s about it.

GRADE: D+