NBA Free Agency 2012: Winners and Losers of Free Agency Thus Far

The 2012 NBA summer of free agency has been an absolute roller coaster ride so far.

We've seen teams like the Dallas Mavericks absolutely fall apart, failing to land any of their major targets, while teams like the L.A. Lakers have become NBA title contenders overnight.

Free agency is far from over, but we've already seen a number of high-profile moves that will shift the balance of power across the board in the NBA, and those moves have created clear winners and losers of the 2012 offseason.

Ahead are the winners and losers of the 2012 summer of free agency thus far. 

Hanging in Limbo: L.A. Clippers

Best Deal: Signing Jamal Crawford to a four-year, $25 million deal—as reported by Yahoo! Sports' Marc Spears.

In addition to signing Crawford, the Clippers also signed Chauncey Billups to a one-year contract worth $4 million—also reported by Marc Spears.

While both players certainly add depth to the Clippers' backcourt, Crawford is a notoriously inconsistent player and Billups will be returning from a torn Achilles tendon, which leaves questions surrounding how big of an upgrade these players provide.

Another interesting acquisition the Clippers made was trading Mo Williams and the draft rights of Furkan Aldemir in a four-team trade that ultimately made Lamar Odom a member of the Clippers—as reported by ESPN.

The Clippers are certainly hoping that Odom will be more like the version that played in L.A. rather than the version that played in Dallas, but there's no guarantee.

With that being said, the Clippers are hanging in limbo regarding the success of their offseason, and it will take another acquisition or two to fully decide if they've improved their roster this offseason or made it worse. 

Loser: New York Knicks

Worst Deal: Sending Toney Douglas, Josh Harrellson, Jerome Jordan, 2014 and 2015 second-round draft picks and cash, to the Houston Rockets for Marcus Camby—as reported by ESPN.

Do the Knicks not know that they still need to match the Rockets' $28 million offer to Jeremy Lin? Are they aware that the player they just traded for, Marcus Camby, is 38 years old?

Trading for Camby is a major head-scratcher for the Knicks, who just got a whole lot older by signing Jason Kidd, who's 39 years old, to a three-year, $9 million contract.

The Knicks seem to be moving in the wrong direction this offseason, and it will certainly show when they struggle next season.

Camby isn't a player who can come in and add offensive production in the paint for the Knicks, which is what they desperately needed last season.

The Knicks have failed this offseason, and if for some reason they don't match the Rockets' offer to Lin, they'll be in a very bad place to start the 2012-13 season. 

Loser: Dallas Mavericks

Worst Deal: Failing to get Deron Williams to sign with his hometown team.

The Dallas Mavericks haven't necessarily made any bad moves this offseason, but they've failed to acquire the talent they need, and that's why their offseason has been such a failure.

First, the Mavericks failed to re-sign Jason Terry, who instead signed with the Boston Celtics. They then failed to sign Deron Williams, and if that wasn't bad enough, they couldn't even hold onto their veteran point guard, Jason Kidd, who signed with the New York Knicks.

Failing to land Williams was the Mavericks' biggest mistake because it meant that they wouldn't have a shot at landing Dwight Howard, and it meant that they'd go another year without giving Dirk Nowitzki any legitimate talent to help him out.

I guess it's time to start rebuilding in Dallas. 

Loser: Philadelphia 76ers

Worst Deal: Signing Nick Young to a one-year deal worth $6 million, as reported by Dan Gelston of Yahoo! Sports.

After Lou Williams decided to test free agency instead of opting in for the final year of his contract with the 76ers, the 76ers decided to go out and sign a player who's less efficient and less of a defensive force.

Nick Young isn't a terrible player, but he's a poor man's version of Lou Williams, and he won't help a young 76ers team develop into a more complete team this next season.

The 76ers should have pursued veteran guards like Jason Terry, Jamal Crawford or even Jason Kidd, but instead they went out and signed an inefficient wingman who doesn't fit in their offense.

The 76ers also re-signed Spencer Hawes—as reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports— to a two-year deal worth at least $13 million. There's no doubt that the 76ers overpaid for Hawes, and that will come back to haunt them when he continues to underperform during the 2012-13 season. 

Loser: Houston Rockets

Worst Deal: Sending Kyle Lowry to the Toronto Raptors for Gary Forbes and a future protected first-round pick—as reported by USA Today's Kyle Ratke.

The Houston Rockets started off the 2012 offseason with high hopes of landing Dwight Howard by stockpiling as many first-round draft picks as they could. They even traded Chase Budinger to get the Minnesota Timberwolves' No. 18 overall pick.

Needless to say, the Rockets have failed to land Howard. If that wasn't bad enough, the Rockets went on to trade their star point guard, Kyle Lowry, for a scrub and a future protected first-round pick.

That was okay, because they planned on re-signing Goran Dragic, but that fell through when the Phoenix Suns stole him away.

The Rockets have quickly become a team focused on building for the future, rather than trying to win right now, and that's a very different place than where they were at the end of the 2011-12 season.

Unless the Knicks are unable to match the offer the Rockets made for Jeremy Lin, the Rockets' offseason will be an utter failure. 

Loser: Orlando Magic

Worst Deal: Sending Ryan Anderson to the New Orleans Hornets for Gustavo Ayon—as reported by ESPN's Marc Stein.

The Orlando Magic are an absolute mess right now. Not only are they still holding onto Dwight Howard, but they've also made two terrible moves this offseason.

Trading Ryan Anderson for a young and unproven player like Gustavo Ayon was a massive mistake for the Magic. The Magic needed to retain talent, especially with the future of Howard in doubt, and they failed to do that here.

The Magic also made a mistake by re-signing Jameer Nelson, who had just opted out of the final year of his contract just a few weeks earlier. Re-signing Nelson certainly didn't help their chances of keeping Howard past this next season, as the Business Insider reported that Nelson and Howard didn't exactly get along last season.

The Magic are falling apart before our eyes, and even if they end up trading Howard, it's going to be hard for them to rebound from the damage they've already done. 

Winner: L.A. Lakers

Best Deal: Sending 2013 and 2015 first-round picks, 2013 and 2014 second-round picks to the Phoenix Suns for Steve Nash—as reported by ESPN's Marc Stein.

Heading into the 2012 offseason, the Lakers looked like a team that needed to make a major move to help add some legitimate production alongside Kobe Bryant in the backcourt. The Lakers did just that by trading for Nash.

Kobe has never had the benefit of playing with a point guard of Nash's caliber, and watching the two MVPs play together next season will be a sight to behold.

The Lakers have a dominant big four featuring Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. That starting lineup is going to be very difficult for other teams to compete with.

With Nash running the point and the Black Mamba being his usual self on the wing, the Lakers are a lock to be a title contender next season, and that makes them a big winner of the 2012 offseason. 

Winner: Brooklyn Nets

Best Deal: Re-signing Deron Williams to a five-year, $98 million contract—as reported by ESPN. 

The Brooklyn Nets have put together one of the best offseasons in recent memory, and they might not be done yet.

After sending the expiring contracts of Jordan Farmar, Johan Petro, Anthony Morrow, Jordan Williams, DeShawn Stevenson and a future protected first-round pick to the Atlanta Hawks for Joe Johnson, the Nets re-signed Deron Williams, which quickly turned the Nets into a playoff contender in the East.

The Nets also re-signed Gerald Wallace, giving the Nets one of the most formidable backcourts in the NBA.

While the Nets don't have a lot of other depth on their roster, they are still reportedly in the works to land Dwight Howard via a blockbuster deal that would involve four teams—as reported by ESPN.

The Nets could end up being the big winners of the 2012 offseason, even if they fail to land Howard. Things are looking good for the inaugural season in Brooklyn.

Winner: Phoenix Suns

Best Deal: Signing Goran Dragic to a four-year, $34 million deal—as reported by Marc Stein of ESPN. 

After agreeing to send Steve Nash in a sign-and-trade to the L.A. Lakers, the Phoenix Suns signed the point guard of the future when they signed Goran Dragic, a player they traded just a year ago.

I'm not going to say that losing Nash and acquiring Dragic was an upgrade for the Suns, but this past season, when Dragic was filling in for Kyle Lowry in the Rockets' starting lineup, he averaged 18 points and 8.4 assists per game.

That's close to the production that Nash gave to the Suns, and having a young player to build around is an incredibly valuable asset for the Suns to have.

In addition to signing Dragic, the Suns managed to add some athleticism on the wing by signing Michael Beasley to a three-year, $18 million deal—as reported by Marc Stein of ESPN.

Having Dragic and Beasley running in transition is going to be a dangerous combo for the Suns, and it will certainly make them a better team heading into the 2012-13 season.

Oh, and thanks to Steve Nash, the Suns are set up quite beautifully in the draft for the next three years. 

Winner: Minnesota Timberwolves

Best Deal: Signing Brandon Roy to a two-year, $10.4 million deal—as reported by the Associated Press.

The Minnesota Timberwolves came into the 2012 offseason looking to add depth alongside Ricky Rubio and Kevin Love, and they managed to do just that by signing Brandon Roy.

Roy is certainly a risk, but if he returns to the way he played before his knee injury, averaging 20 points, five rebounds and 4.5 assists, the Timberwolves will have made the steal of the 2012 offseason.

In addition to landing Roy, the Timberwolves also added Chase Budinger to their depth chart in a trade that sent the T'Wolves No. 18 pick to Houston—as reported by ESPN.

The Timberwolves have made major upgrades this offseason, making them legitimate contenders in the Western Conference.

While Kevin Love doesn't agree with me, the Timberwolves have undoubtedly added something they lacked last season, and that is production from players not named Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio.

With Chase Budinger, Derrick Williams, Nikola Pekovic and Brandon Roy, the potential for the Timberwolves is through the roof heading into the 2012-13 season. 

Winner: Boston Celtics

Best Deal: Signing Jason Terry to a three-year, $15 million contract—as reported by ESPN's Marc Stein.

The Boston Celtics will look like a different team next season, and that's good news for a team that needed to make some changes.

While signing Terry and letting Ray Allen take his talents to South Beach might seem like a lateral move for the Celtics, Terry's versatility will benefit the way the Celtics play in their half-court set.

The Celtics also re-signed Kevin Garnett to a three-year,$34 million deal—as reported by ESPNBoston.com. And they also signed Jeff Green, which will help them add athleticism and production in the frontcourt alongside Garnett.

ESPNBoston.com also reported that the Celtics are in the mix to sign free-agent shooting guard Courtney Lee.

That would be an interesting move after signing Terry, but it would give the Celtics some serious depth on their roster, which was at the foundation of their troubles last season.

The Celtics are putting together a very dangerous roster heading into the 2012-13 season, and that's why they are one of the winners of the 2012 offseason thus far.