Who won and lost in the NBA's high-stakes summer?
The arrival of August means the offseason is just about over, in terms of transactions. Although a few teams still have significant cap space, few free agents who will sign for more than the minimum salary are left.
That makes this a good time to take stock of a wild offseason that saw two MVPs (and a Finals MVP) change addresses and teams spend historically in the wake of a massive increase in the NBA salary cap.
Let's take a look at it all, starting today with the winners and one obvious team that did better than anyone else.
Team that improved on roster that won 73 games
The Warriors, who came within a tight Game 7 at home of winning their second consecutive championship, scored the biggest coup of the offseason in signing former MVP Kevin Durant from the Oklahoma City Thunder. They subsequently got smaller wins by signing Zaza Pachulia ($2.9 million) and David West (veteran's minimum) for far below market value, which helped to soften the blow of losing two starters and most of their bench to clear the cap room necessary to sign Durant.
Although this doesn't mean Golden State will win more than 73 games this season, on paper the Warriors' roster is even better than last year's record-setting team. It's hard to win the offseason much more than that.
Other unqualified winners
No, the Celtics didn't land Durant, but Al Horford is more than a consolation prize. He's far and away the biggest free agent the franchise has ever landed, and he moves Boston into position to potentially become the top threat to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference -- as well as being another star away from being a legitimate title threat.
Signing Horford was a huge bounce-back from a somewhat underwhelming draft night for the Celtics, who couldn't swing a major trade and might have reached for Jaylen Brown at No. 3 overall.
The Timberwolves parlayed the good vibes of their solid finish to the season (including an upset win at Golden State) and the promise of back-to-back rookies of the year Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns into landing one of this summer's biggest free agents: Tom Thibodeau, who will serve as head coach and VP of basketball operations.
After drafting Providence guard Kris Dunn, who starred in two games at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, Thibodeau's first offseason was relatively quiet. But Minnesota got a good deal on underrated backup center Cole Aldrich and committed no other salary beyond this season, which set the Timberwolves up for another compelling summer in 2017.
Better luck alone -- both in terms of health and record in close games -- figured to make the Jazz a playoff team in 2016-17 after they fell just short last season. Utah's aggressive offseason moves have put the team in position to be even more than that.
The Jazz dealt the No. 12 pick for veteran guard George Hill, an ideal fit with the rest of the roster who takes the pressure off Dante Exum as he returns from a torn ACL. After signing Joe Johnson to a reasonable, two-year, $22 million deal, Utah used the remainder of its cap space to add Boris Diaw to a deep frontcourt. Add it up, and the Jazz can realistically contend for home-court advantage in the Western Conference.
Teams that won via the draft
Sitting at No. 7, the Nuggets got to wait and see which of the top seven prospects fell to them. That ended up being Kentucky guard Jamal Murray, who had a promising summer league and strengthens an already talented young backcourt. With the 15th pick, Denver added Spanish forward Juan Hernangomez, who looks like another quality international contributor to a frontcourt with centers Nikola Jokic and Jusuf Nurkic.
Although the Nuggets didn't do much in free agency -- they re-signed forwards Darrell Arthur and Mike Miller after a failed (and largely inexplicable) run at Dwyane Wade -- there's no hurry to add to a growing core of young talent.
If perhaps not a traditional superstar, the Sixers appear to finally have the centerpiece of their rebuilding project in No. 1 overall pick Ben Simmons. Add in the arrival of 2014 No. 12 pick Dario Saric and the possible return of that year's No. 3 pick Joel Embiid, and Philadelphia's process appears ready to start paying dividends the year after the resignation of architect Sam Hinkie.
The Sixers' foray into free agency under new GM Bryan Colangelo was more uneven, as they overpaid for veteran guard Jerryd Bayless (three years, $27 million). Philadelphia hasn't yet been able to find value in a trade for one of centers Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor. Nonetheless, the 76ers have plenty of flexibility to add the required role players around Simmons and Embiid if one or both emerge as stars.
Drafting No. 4, the Suns faced a choice between power forwards Dragan Bender and Marquese Chriss. Their solution? Draft both by trading up to take Chriss with the eighth pick. Although that could complicate their development, Bender and Chriss give Phoenix two chances to fill a long-term need at power forward.
The Suns also did well in free agency to bring back veteran forward Jared Dudley on a three-year, $30 million deal that allows him to bridge the gap to Bender and Chriss on the court and mentor them off it.
Teams that did better than expected
This spot comes with a caveat: The defending champs have the two best remaining free agents on the market in LeBron James and J.R. Smith. James is certain to return at some point, possibly after using his leverage to help get a new contract for Smith, who is also represented by Klutch Sports Management.
Presuming James and Smith sign as expected, Cleveland will bring back every player who saw at least 50 minutes of action in last year's Finals. The Cavaliers were able to take advantage of the Chicago Bulls' clearing cap space and landed Mike Dunleavy as another shooter off the bench. Plus, they used deft cap management to do so without giving up the $9.6 million trade exception created with last year's Anderson Varejao deal.
Backup point guard is still a minor concern after Matthew Dellavedova's departure, but Cleveland should be able to get by with veteran Mo Williams and second-round pick Kay Felder.
The Raptors lost backup center Bismack Biyombo, who landed a four-year, $68 million deal from the Orlando Magic, and had to pay handsomely ($137.5 million over five years) to re-sign All-Star shooting guard DeMar DeRozan. Still, those situations played out exactly as expected entering the offseason.
Where Toronto beat expectations was using the team's $5.6 million mid-level exception, which seemed unlikely to deliver anyone of note in this year's market. Yet when the Celtics withdrew their qualifying offer to Jared Sullinger, the Raptors stepped in to snag Sullinger on a one-year deal that could allow him to replace Biyombo as Jonas Valanciunas' understudy and/or step in for Luis Scola as starting power forward.