Live winners and losers of NBA free agency 2019

Join us as we react to signings in real time.

NBA free agency technically began on June 30 at 6:01 p.m. ET, though it was already well underway thanks to the tampering discussions that have been taking place all season.

What was always supposed to be a monumental moment in league history became even more complex with the recent Achilles injury to Kevin Durant, the headliner of this class. Now, Durant will head to the Brooklyn Nets, along with Kyrie Irving. The long-rumored union is happening, just under different circumstances than expected.

We’ll be reacting to the most important and interesting free-agent moves as they happen in this running Winners and Losers column.

Last update: June 30, 7:10 p.m. ET

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WINNER: The Brooklyn effin Nets

Kevin Durant. Kyrie Irving. They did it. Regardless of what happens now, what an incredible accomplishment for Brooklyn.

—Mike Prada

WINNER: The Nets’ long rebuild

Think back to the disastrous 2013 trade in which Brooklyn handed the Celtics their future for aging stars Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. Could you have imagined that, six years later, TWO top-15 superstars in their prime would voluntarily choose Brooklyn, one of which came from the Celtics?

That’s a testament to the hard, long work general manager Sean Marks and coach Kenny Atkinson did patiently rebuilding the Nets into a team on the rise with a thriving culture.

Now comes the hard part: making it all pay off on the court.

—Mike Prada

LOSER: New York Knicks

In one sense, this doesn’t have to be a disaster for the Knicks. Take your lumps, build slowly, and let this thing play out. It’s what fans have wanted for years.

But then again, it kind of is a disaster. The Knicks traded away their most promising young player in years to create enough room for two max contracts, then hinted many times publicly that their grand plans would result in success. Instead, they’re watching their crosstown rivals get the dual prize that seemed destined to head their way.

You hate to see it.

—Mike Prada

WINNER: DeAndre Jordan

Technically part of Brooklyn’s new Big 3!

—Mike Prada

LOSER: Golden State Warriors

Even if we kind of knew Durant was a goner, it has to sting knowing the circumstances that led to his departure. It’d be one thing if Durant led the Warriors to another title and then decided he wanted a new challenge. It’s another for him to rush back from one injury, only to suffer the worst ailment a hooper can get, thanks in part to medical guidance that may or may not have endangered him unnecessarily.

The end result is the worst of all worlds. Not only do the Warriors lose Durant, but they do so having demonstrated they actually need him to win titles.

—Mike Prada

LOSER: The Boardroom

Hope they enjoyed the free publicity.

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WINNER: Utah Jazz

This is what it looks like for a small-market team to get serious. No longer are the Jazz content with being a nice regular-season team without enough offense to get it done when the going gets tough.

Now, they have a clutch floor general in Mike Conley, and one of the league’s best spot-up shooters in Bojan Bogdanovic on a four-year, $73 million contract. A starting lineup of Conley, Donovan Mitchell, Joe Ingles, Bogdanovic, and Rudy Gobert provides a ton of shooting and playmaking, with the Defensive Player of the Year back there to clean up any messes. Look for Mitchell to have a huge third season now that he actually has some real shooting on the floor.

The Jazz are gonna be a damn problem.

—Mike Prada

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LOSER: Orlando Magic

The Magic were clearly caught in the high of their first playoff appearance in six seasons, opting to sign and re-sign contributors rather than take the long rebuilding route. Orlando kept Nikola Vucevic, the team’s All-Star, for four years and $100 million, Terrence Ross for four years and $54 million and signed free agent Al-Farouq Aminu for three years and $29 million.

Though keeping Vucevic on a value deal was a strong move, signing two in-their-prime role players for a steep price is a questionable choice. Orlando is years away from truly competing with Mo Bamba, Jonathan Isaac and (hopefully) Markelle Fultz. Those guys will only take minutes and spotlight from the franchise’s future.

— Matt Ellentuck

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WINNER: Khris Middleton

When Middleton was last a free agent, he took far less than his market value at five years and $70 million. Nothing to sneeze at, of course, but he could have looked for a larger offer sheet or tried to get a shorter-term deal to hit free agency again sooner. That below-market contract helped Milwaukee build the 60-win juggernaut it built last season.

This time, Middleton secured the absolute best contract he could: five years, $178 million, with a player option. He had the Bucks over a barrel due to his low cap hold and their lack of cap space to replace him, and he used that leverage to secure the bag. Given the way he gave them a break last time, this was well deserved payback.

—Mike Prada

WINNER: Brook Lopez

Lopez took a chance on the Bucks last year, signing a one-year, $3.3 million contract that could have been seen as an insult given his All-Star pedigree. Instead, he happily played the perfect role for a great team, rebuilt his value, and locked in a four-year, $52 million deal that’ll earn him security through his age-35 season.

—Mike Prada

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WINNER: Kemba Walker

Walker won’t be getting the supermax, but for the first time in his eight-year career, he’ll have a chance to compete in the playoffs after committing to a four-year maximum contract with Boston. With the Celtics, Kemba can take control over an offense that doesn’t live and die solely on his efforts. It’s as good of a landing spot as he could’ve hoped for after Charlotte declined to pay him his worth.

—Matt Ellentuck

LOSER: Charlotte Hornets

Declining to give a supermax or even a regular five-year maximum contract to a 29-year-old small guard coming off a career year is defensible in a vacuum, especially for a non-contender. That’s not why the Hornets are losers for letting Kemba Walker go to Boston.

The issue is the lack of foresight the Hornets showed throughout this process. If they weren’t going to offer Walker everything he wanted, why didn’t they get in front of the situation and trade Walker before losing him for nothing?

They had to know their team was going nowhere. They had to know Walker could potentially make himself eligible for the supermax and put them in this pickle. They had to know he’d want a normal max contract regardless, and that multiple teams would have four-year offers ready for him should he hit the open market. Did the Hornets care more about a doomed playoff push and/or having one of their own in the All-Star Game they hosted? That’d be foolish if so.

And no, a sign-and-trade for Terry Rozier as a replacement isn’t a good backup plan.

—Mike Prada

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WINNER: Klay Thompson

Despite tearing his ACL at the worst time possible, Klay’s money is secured with the team he always wanted. Thompson’s going to sign a five-year, $190 million max contract with the Golden State Warriors, despite missing most of next season to rehab the injury. Sometimes, loyalty pays.

—Matt Ellentuck

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LOSER: Tampering purists

So much for NBA teams respecting the sanctity of the moratorium. By the time the official free-agent negotiating period opened, two of the top five free agents (Kemba Walker and Kyrie Irving) were on their way to new teams, multiple Al Horford mystery suitors were floated and debunked, and D’Angelo Russell was zeroing in on a Timberwolves team that didn’t even have cap space to sign him.

Theoretically, that sort of maneuvering shouldn’t start until after 6:01 p.m. on June 30. In reality, it’s always started earlier, and the only difference now is that nobody cares to pretend otherwise.

This could all be avoided if the NBA moved free agency to immediately after the draft and ended the league year after the Finals, rather than on June 30. Then again, given the interest free-agent rumors generate, perhaps this is a problem that doesn’t need to be solved.

—Mike Prada