A significant salary cap spike has created an unprecedented situation in the NBA in which billions of dollars have been spent in less than a week with a good portion of that money being handed to free agents that don’t necessarily deserve the contracts they received. It’s difficult to write off a number of those deals as a matter of circumstance, especially in situations where depth players are being paid significantly more than some of the top players in the world right now. Here is a look at the most mind-boggling teams in 2016 NBA free agency so far.
Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers attempted to accelerate their rebuilding process this offseason by handing out a ton of money to a pair of veteran role players that clearly didn’t deserve to be paid the amount of money they received as free agents. The four-year, $64 million deal that Los Angeles handed Timofey Mozgov has become the default example of how bad things have gotten for anybody that has criticized the state of the NBA over the last week and the Lakers didn’t do much better when they signed Luol Deng to a four-year, $72 million deal. LA failed to make a trade to acquire one of the top pieces available around the association and their commitment of $136 million to a pair of depth players is obvious cause for concern. The Lakers spent a ton of money and didn’t improve much if at all on paper and that is why they are the bigger loser so far this offseason.
Houston Rockets
Houston lost Dwight Howard and then missed out on Kent Bazemore and Al Horford within the first 48 hours of free agency but they didn’t let that curb their enthusiasm in their pursuit of a couple of known names to add to their roster. The Rockets handed Ryan Anderson a four-year, $80 million contract and then inked Eric Gordon to a four-year, $53 million deal. Those aren’t necessarily bad moves but there were lingering reports that free agents admitted not wanting to play with James Harden in Houston and that has created somewhat of a buzz. Ultimately, the Rockets didn’t improve enough on paper to expect them to contend for an NBA championship this season and if the rumors of players not wanting to play with Harden are true than the issues the team is dealing with could be greater than they appear on the surface.
Washington Wizards
The Wizards received good value when they signed Ian Mahinmi to a four-year, $64 million deal but they already have Marcin Gortat in place at the center position so the addition of Mahinmi won’t be an upgrade. Washington won’t be criticized for improving its backup center depth but the fact that the Mahinmi deal was the club’s only move should be concerning. After years of teasing a potential hometown return, the Wizards couldn’t even get a meeting with Kevin Durant and they missed out on several key free agents on the open market. The Wizards took a major step back when they missed the playoffs a year ago and a lack of additions on the open market this summer won’t do to inspire optimism in the team’s potential for 2016-17.
Orlando Magic
While the rest of the NBA is trending towards getting smaller, the Magic opted to go in a different direction this summer with a trade to acquire Serge Ibaka in exchange for All-Star guard Victor Oladipo, Ersan Ilyasova, rookie Domantas Sabonis and the 11th pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. That would have been quite the haul to move out for most players and the fact that it was for a player that the Oklahoma City Thunder felt was expendable has to be a concern. Orlando doubled down in free agency with the addition of center Bismack Biyombo, who improves their defensive presence but offers little in the ways of complimenting Ibaka at the other end of the floor. The Magic are taking a contrarian approach to building a playoff team in the Eastern Conference and while they might technically be a better team on paper they aren’t necessary closer to contending for an NBA championship following a mind-boggling free agency period.
