By Isaiah Shim
Sports Editor
The first full weekend of free agency action in the National Basketball Association (NBA) has finished and there was definitely no shortage of action.
The city of Los Angeles had a very eventful first weekend with the Lakers making big moves. For the Lakers, after losing Dwight Howard and Rajon Rondo to the Philadelphia 76ers and Rajon Rondo the Atlanta Hawks, they gained two big men in Montrezl Harris from the Clippers and Wesley Matthews from the Milwaukee Bucks. In addition to them, the Lakers traded away Javale McGee to free up space for them to sign former Toronto Raptor Marc Gasol, who previously stated that he would be playing in Spain, will come back to the NBA and suit up with the defending champions.
The Lakers aren’t the only team in LA making a splash as the Clippers added NBA champion Serge Ibaka from the Raptors, filling the void that was left after Harris signed with the Lakers. Other notable players who found new teams include former Boston Celtic Gordon Hayward signing a massive four-year, $120 million deal with the Charlotte Hornets; Danilo Gallinari, one of the top forwards in the league, signing a three-year, $61.5 million deal that will send him to the Hawks, and the Celtics signing Tristan Thompson on a two-year, $19 million deal, the Houston Rockets signed Demarcus Cousins to a one-year deal, and the Golden State Warriors signed Kelly Oubre, acquiring the young playmaker from the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Free agency also saw a number of key players stay put, including Carmelo Anthony, who came to an agreement with the Portland Trail Blazers to re-sign with them on a one-year deal. The Miami Heat and the Raptors both keep key members of their teams, with the Heat re-signing Goran Dragic and Meyers Leonardto two-year deals, and the Raptors re-signing guard Fred VanVleet to a four-year, $85 million deal.
On top of these guys, other players are taking this year’s free agency to sign some massive deals. De’Aaron Fox of the Sacramento Kings agreed to a max deal, signing a five-year extension with the Kings worth $163 million. The Celtics and the Utah Jazz re-invested in their superstar, Jayson Tatum, signing him to a five-year $195 million extension contract, and the Jazz and Donovan Mitchell agreed to a designated rookie max extension worth $195 million.
The 2020-2021 NBA season is set to start on December 22.
