No one entered the summer with fewer free agents on their roster than the Bucks, who had just one. And they weren’t about to let Khris Middleton get away, re-signing him to a new five-year, $70MM deal. The Thunder were in a similar position, with only two free agents, both of whom they wanted to retain. Oklahoma City did just that, re-signing Kyle Singler and matching the max offer sheet the Blazers tendered to Enes Kanter. They and Milwaukee thus became the only NBA teams to retain each of their own free agents this offseason, though it helped that Middleton, Singler and Kanter were restricted, meaning their incumbent teams could match.
The Lakers, Trail Blazers, Sixers and Raptors represent the antithesis of that. Few could blame the Lakers and Sixers for overhauling rosters that finished near the bottom of the league, but the Trail Blazers surely would have preferred to retain at least one of their eight free agents. When LaMarcus Aldridge signed with the Spurs instead, the Blazers sought to position their roster around Damian Lillard, and they allowed much of Aldridge’s old supporting cast to sign elsewhere. The Raptors didn’t have a free agent nearly as sought-after as Aldridge, with new Laker and reigning Sixth Man of the Year Lou Williams the most prominent departure. Toronto replaced him with a four-year, $58MM deal for DeMarre Carroll, among other free agent moves.
We ranked all 30 teams by the percentage of their own free agents they signed. The players who stayed are listed by the name of each franchise:
- Thunder 1.000 (2 for 2) — Enes Kanter, Kyle Singler
- Bucks 1.000 (1 for 1) — Khris Middleton
- Rockets .800 (4 for 5) — Patrick Beverley, Corey Brewer, K.J. McDaniels, Jason Terry
- Bulls .750 (3 for 4) — Aaron Brooks, Jimmy Butler, Mike Dunleavy
- Nuggets .750 (3 for 4) — Darrell Arthur, Will Barton, Jameer Nelson
- Cavaliers .667 (6 for 9) — Matthew Dellavedova, LeBron James, James Jones, Kevin Love, Iman Shumpert, J.R. Smith
- Heat .667 (2 for 3) — Goran Dragic, Dwyane Wade
- Spurs .556 (5 for 9) — Matt Bonner, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard
- Celtics .500 (2 for 4) — Jae Crowder, Jonas Jerebko
- Jazz .500 (1 for 2) — Joe Ingles
- Pelicans .500 (4 for 8) — Alexis Ajinca, Omer Asik, Luke Babbitt, Dante Cunningham
- Nets .400 (2 for 5) — Brook Lopez, Thaddeus Young
- Pistons .400 (2 for 5) — Joel Anthony, Reggie Jackson
- Warriors .400 (2 for 5) — Leandro Barbosa, Draymond Green
- Pacers .375 (3 for 8) — Lavoy Allen, Rodney Stuckey, Shayne Whittington
- Clippers .333 (2 for 6) — DeAndre Jordan, Austin Rivers
- Grizzlies .333 (1 for 3) — Marc Gasol
- Magic .333 (1 for 3) — Tobias Harris
- Knicks .222 (2 for 9) — Lou Amundson, Lance Thomas
- Hawks .200 (1 for 5) — Paul Millsap
- Kings .200 (1 for 5) — Omri Casspi
- Suns .200 (1 for 5) — Brandon Knight
- Mavericks .200 (2 for 10) — J.J. Barea, Charlie Villanueva
- Timberwolves .200 (1 for 5) — Kevin Garnett
- Wizards .200 (1 for 5) — Drew Gooden
- Hornets .000 (0 for 5)
- Raptors (0 for 6)
- Sixers (0 for 6)
- Trail Blazers (0 for 7)
- Lakers .000 (0 for 8)
Which team made the best moves with its own free agents, re-signing the right guys and letting the rest go? Leave a comment to tell us.