1 out of 10 Just days into this summer’s free agency period, more than $1.5 billion in contracts have been handed out to players across the league. There have been several large transactions. And we’re still waiting to hear where Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant end up. Even in an offseason where cap space was limited to only a handful of teams, player movement was inevitable. And after all that, there are some winners and losers. For the purposes of this presentation, we’re only looking at deals that took place after free agency officially broke on June 30 at 6 p.m. ET. That means the Dejounte Murray trade to the Atlanta Hawks is over, but everything since that date and time is fair game.

Bradley Beal: Five years, $251 million Nikola Jokic: Five years, $264 million Devin Booker: Four years, $214 million Karl-Anthony Towns: Four years, $224 million Ja Morant: Five years, $231 million Zach LaVine: Five years, $215.2 million Zion Williamson: Five years, $193 million Darius Garland: Five years, $193 million

Time will tell if any of the above groups hamstrings a year or two down the line. For now, it’s only fair to declare the paid players the big winners. With very few teams (and not really any good ones) having free space this summer, the incumbents have had little competition to re-sign their stars. And those incumbents who were above the cap helped the stars too. For one (highly unrealistic) example, if the Denver Nuggets had allowed Nikola Jokic to walk, they would have had no cap space and no way to replace him. The same could be said for many of these situations. And as a result, the following monster deals were shared: 2 out of 10 3 out of 10 In the regular season, Gary Payton II and Otto Porter Jr. tied with Draymond Green for second on the team in value against replacement. In the playoffs, Payton’s quick return from a broken elbow seemed to derail the Finals. Porter started the final three games of the postseason. Now, both are with other teams (Payton with the Portland Trail Blazers and Porter with the Toronto Raptors). The tax implications of signing both would be huge, and the Warriors may have enough confidence in younger players like Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody (and, dare we say, James Wiseman?). But at the very least, the perspective of letting the key gears walk right after winning a title isn’t great. sam esfandiari @samesfandiari It’s hard to reconcile bragging about how much money you print and letting a key (and popular) player walk. 🤷🏽‍♂️ Again, the offseason isn’t over. Signing Donte DiVincenzo may have eased the pain a bit. A mega trade can also help. It’s just not great right now. 4 out of 10 Most notably, they acquired Malcolm Brogdon for a first-round pick and without giving away a single surefire rotation player. He’s exactly the kind of player Boston seemed to need in the Finals: a solid playmaker who’s big enough to work in the Celtics’ defensive scheme. His injury history is concerning, but at the price Boston paid for him, that’s a no-brainer. That move alone would have been good enough to declare the Celtics victorious, but it didn’t happen there. After being acquired by the San Antonio Spurs (who had acquired him from the Atlanta Hawks in the Murray trade), Danilo Gallinari signed with Boston. He’s past his prime, but he’s still an aggressive moneyball player who will be able to make swing plays as a backup. Adding these two to a rotation that already made it to the Finals is a steal. Justin Termine @TermineRadio Gallinari + Brogdan without giving up a rotation player for a team that just went to the Finals. 24 hours into free-agency, & it’s hard to find a team that has done a better job than Boston. The Milwaukee Bucks are at it again. The Philadelphia 76ers improved this offseason (largely in acquiring De’Anthony Melton before free agency). And the Miami Heat probably won’t go away. But Boston has clearly strengthened its position to win the East again. 5 out of 10 But that has a lot to do with the Christian Wood trade that preceded free agency. And it doesn’t account for JaVale McGee’s age (34) or fit alongside Wood (McGee reportedly expects to start). And of course, both of those moves would have looked even better if Luka Doncic’s key backcourt partner from last season had opted to return. Over the past three years, the Mavericks’ net rating has been slightly better when Luka plays with Jalen Brunson than without him. The midget guard’s ability to run singles without really having to make him a great matchup with Lukas, who so often explains the A to Z actions on offense. Spencer Dinwiddie could fill some of the gaps, but giving him more minutes with Luka could thin the bench. As said in the max players slide, it’s not as simple as just grabbing another free agent to replace Brunson’s production. All available Mavericks are exceptions and minimums and have not used either on a guard to date. 6 out of 10 If Jalen Brunson’s run continues the way it has the past two seasons, this contract will age well. And there’s reason to believe his role with the Mavericks has kept us from seeing the best he has to offer. In the last two seasons, when Brunson played without Luka, he averaged 22.3 points and 7.5 assists per 75 possessions. But the addition of Branson isn’t the only thing that makes New York a winner. In addition to re-signing Mitchell Robinson, the Knicks landed one of the most intriguing players on the market in Isaiah Hartenstein. Last season, Hartenstein was in the top 20 in box plus/minus and averaged 17.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 2.3 blocks and 1.5 steals per 75 possessions. 7 out of 10 The Denver Nuggets have arguably the best player in the world in back-to-back reigning MVP Nikola Jokic. In theory, looking for a backup center for him is fine. Jokic’s skill and durability even allows you to consider minimum contracts for this role. But there were (and probably are) plenty of options that made more sense than DeAndre Jordan. He’s lost athleticism (and seemingly interest) for the past half-decade and hasn’t been a plus player for any of the six teams he’s played for in that time. Over the past five regular and postseason seasons, Jordan’s combined plus-minus-of-607 ranks 972nd (out of 1,004). Earning minutes while on the floor has proven impossible for one-fifth of the league since 2017-18. Denver bounced back on Day 2, however, when it came to terms with Bruce Brown on a two-year, $13 million deal. Brown was one of the more intriguing young wings on the market this summer. The 25-year-old began his career at guard and averaged 4.0 assists in his second season. With the Brooklyn Nets, Steve Nash smartly used him as a rim runner on offense, where his float and finishing game took great strides. In 2021-22, he shot 40.4 percent from three. And throughout, he was a solid wing defender. If he puts it all together for the Nuggets, he would be a great fit. And with one of the best playmakers in the world feeding him, there’s reason to believe he will. 8 out of 10 Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Norman Powell, Marcus Morris Sr., Luke Kennard, Robert Covington, Reggie Jackson, Nicolas Batum and Ivica Zubac will all return. Without adding anyone, they would be title contenders. Taking John Wall as a flyer on the taxpayer’s mid-level exemption is a steal. Wall has averaged just 22.6 appearances per season over the past five seasons, but dished out 7.7 assists per 36 minutes just in 2020-21. He is in the top 10 all-time in career assist average. Even if he was robbed of some of his explosiveness early in his career, he should still have the vision and passing ability that helped him become an All-Star. And in lineups with Kawhi and George, he’ll almost certainly face less defensive attention than he did before the injuries. Gobert became Utah’s starting 5 prior to the 2015-16 season. Since then, the Jazz are plus-8.6 points per 100 possessions when on the floor and minus-0.9 when off. He has won three Defensive Player of the Year awards and secured three All-Star nods. In addition to being the game’s top one-man defense, he’s also a top lip…