Let the record show that 2014 felt like the longest offseason ever. As I am typing this column, Kevin Love remains untraded, Eric Bledsoe and Greg Monroe remain unsigned, and the Lakers named their head coach (Byron Scott) only a few days ago.
Still, most of the desirable free agents are off the market, and teams have a much clearer vision of what their rosters will look like on opening night. In a perfect world, we would wait until sometime during the season before passing judgment on the free-agent signings of summer 2014, but we live in an imperfect world, friends, so let the judging begin.
Here are the biggest winners and losers of NBA free agency.
Winners (in alphabetical order)
Charlotte Hornets
Main signees: Lance Stephenson, Marvin Williams, Brian Roberts
Flashback to 12 months ago and not many people would have expected Charlotte to be on this list so soon. But the free-agency steal of 2013 (signing Al Jefferson) and a shrewd coach hiring (Steve Clifford) gave the then-Bobcats their most successful season to date -- more successful than the 2009-10 outfit that won one more game -- because this team has a chance for sustained success.