Hello all, welcome back to the blog (at last). I remember the summer of 2019 well, so many massive moves, and a free agency that hasn’t had any class since near it in terms of massive moves and overall drama. Since then, we’ve now seen the expiry of all the initial contracts signed that offseason, and here I come, back from the depths of a month’s absence to rank the biggest moves. Hey, at least I’ve not been gone as long as Bob.
We’ll be ranking all the *big* moves of the 2019 Free Agency class, not all of them. I see a “big deal” as a deal that either sees a star involved, or is signed for big money. Let’s get into it.
12: Tobias Harris
Contract: 76ers, 5 years, $178 million
Age at time: 26
“Tobias Harris over Me?” Jimmy Butler’s quote summarizes this deal very, very well. We’ll get to him later, but this is how we start off this list. Sure, there are players after Harris that were worse, but the context to this deal is why it ranked dead last on this list; with the 76ers passing up on a Jimmy Butler who would go on to lead his Heat team to 2 Finals appearances, meanwhile Tobias Harris would keep putting up empty stats on a Sixers team that would never get closer to the Conference Finals than they did in 2019. This offseason, Harris ended up leaving the Sixers after a disappointing 5-year spell, going for a second spell at Detroit.
11: Kemba Walker
Contract: Celtics, 4 years, $141 million
Age at time: 29
As I said, worse players than Harris will appear on this list, and here he is. Kemba Walker’s decline after signing the contract with Boston was incredible. Despite making an all star game, post-pandemic injuries ruined his time with Boston and he was eventually traded after two seasons to OKC for Al Horford, who we’ll also see later. He was then released and picked up by his hometown New York Knicks, where he never made an impact, then signed for Dallas, made even less of an impact, joined Monaco in 2023, where he couldn’t even average 5 points per game in the French league, before retiring. Can’t go much worse, really.
10: Klay Thompson
Contract: Warriors, 5 years, $190 million
Age at time: 29
I have no clue why the Warriors signed this, it had to be the “thank you” contract. That’s all I can think of. The Warriors signed this AFTER Klay’s ACL tear in the Finals earlier that month, and then Klay would go on to rupture his Achilles after making a recovery from his ACL tear, brutally taking pretty much half of this contract away, and he was never the same after this. Klay would go on to see out his contract as a shell of his pre-injury self and join the Mavericks after his contract expiry this summer.
9: Khris Middleton
Contract: Bucks, 4 years, $178 million
Age at time: 27
Solid player, sure, but Khris Middleton has never been worth the money that was given to him by Milwaukee and was the sticking point which prevented Milwaukee from acquiring a second All-NBA level player with Giannis. Just a bang average player who, at his peak, was debatably an all star, but never got to a high level.
8: D’Angelo Russell
Contract: Warriors, 4 years, $117 million
Age at time: 23
Another meh deal, which you’ll come to see is a theme here, D’Angelo Russell has had a nomadic career since the contract, having represented 3 different teams since signing it. His spell with the Warriors didn’t work out, so he was signed by Minnesota, who never saw the best of him in 3 years, so they dealt him to the Lakers, who, also, haven’t seen his best. He’s just been another average player with average stats, starter level. His Brooklyn heights are far behind him now.
7: Al Horford
Contract: 76ers, 4 years, $109 million
Age at time: 33
A head-scratching deal when it happened, the Sixers would have been paying Horford millions until he turned 37, obviously a weird deal, but the Sixers would be betting on success now from the center. Fortunately for Sixers fans, the Sixers wouldn’t be paying Horford until he was 37, as he was traded 1.5 years into his deal to OKC, who then dealt him to Boston a few months later, back to the club he left less than 2 years before. Since then, he’s once again found his best form.
6: Kristaps Porzingis
Contract: Mavericks, 5 years, $158 million
Age at time: 23
Another player who’s refound his best at Boston, Kristaps’ spell at Dallas can only be described as “frustrating”. In 3 years there, partnering Luka, he never could make something work, and joined Washington in 2022 where he once again had a disappointing spell. In 2023, he was acquired as Boston let go of Marcus Smart, a move criticized by many, including myself, but he finally pulled himself together and became a massive piece as the Celtics won the league in his first season.
5: Kyrie Irving
Contract: Nets, 4 years, $141 million
Age at time: 27
The ultimate what-if player, Kyrie really could have been someone, but his head just wasn’t screwed on right and it’s showed throughout his career. Kyrie’s time in Brooklyn was overshadowed by so much ongoing drama, you’d swear he was paid just to stir things up. There were always signs of his craziness in Cleveland and Boston, but it really hit the fan in Brooklyn. Pair that with consistent underperformance and you have a forgettable spell for the “uncoachable” one.
4: Kevin Durant
Contract: Nets, 4 years, $164 million
Age at time: 30
Another disappointing spell, which I said would be a common theme, Kevin Durant was the lead of this Brooklyn team and never really found his stride with the team. After missing the first year of his deal with an achilles injury, his first season playing with the team saw the Nets also acquire James Harden in a trade for, well, everything, like they didn’t learn from the first time. In a 1-year Big 3 “era”, injuries defined the success of the team, with the team doing very well when all three were fit, only that wasn’t often, with all 3 going through their share of injuries while on the team. Durant led the team, and it only took 2 full seasons for Durant to request a move out of the club, which was eventually found in 2023 when he was sent to Phoenix.
3: Kawhi Leonard
Contract: Clippers, 4 years, $141 million
Age at time: 28
The least disappointing of the disappointing deals, much was expected of Leonard in his move to La La Land. After showing performances in the 2019 Playoffs with Toronto that sprung him into League-best conversations, the Clippers’ acquisitions of him and 2019 MVP-Finalist Paul George skyrocketed expectations, expectations which weren’t fulfilled. Like with the Nets, an incredible amount of injuries to both Leonard and George saw the Big 2 make one conference finals appearance in 5 seasons, and Kawhi miss one season of that contract with an ACL tear. Disappointing, once again.
2: Julius Randle
Contract: Knicks, 3 years, $63 million
Age at time: 24
Finally, we see a successful signing. Julius Randle and the New York Knicks were the laughingstocks of the 2019 Offseason, after Knick fans told everyone who’d listen that they’d be getting KD, Kyrie, and Zion and become contenders. However, it was Randle instead who was the star signing. It was funny to laugh at, but over time, we saw Randle settle in and become the star of New York as Zion, KD, and Kyrie all disappointed. Randle won the Most Improved player award in 2021, and didn’t really look back, becoming one of the league’s best forwards.
1: Jimmy Butler
Contract: Heat, 4 years, $142 million
Age at time: 29
The one and only signing of the offseason that actually led his team to some sort of playoff success, Jimmy Butler was considered a locker room problem before his Heat spell, a narrative that’s completely changed while at the Heat. He saw his young Heat squad make two finals appearances, losing to the Lakers and Nuggets respectively, and become one of the scrappiest and hardest teams to beat over his time with the team, matching Butler’s own reputation. And the Sixers really chose Tobias Harris over him.
That’s all from me, ladies and gentlemen. I think this is a good ranking of the big deals from the 2019 Offseason. We may never see another free agency period with the same fire as this one, this was absolutely special. I’m Jim James, until next time.