Four players who won the 2024 NBA offseason

As the dust settles on the first wave of free agency, you’ll see plenty of “winners and losers of the offseason” columns focusing on obvious teams like the Philadelphia 76ers and Oklahoma City Thunder. But what about the players we spend all this time wondering about? Which players won the offseason?

Most of the players anticipated to be available have signed and are preparing for next season. Here are the four who won the offseason in terms of their fit with their new teams.

Paul George

Starting with the obvious, the 76ers signed this summer’s greatest prize, Paul George, to a four-year maximum contract to complete a triumvirate alongside Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. 

The contract itself – a four-year, $212 million maximum deal – is a win. The Clippers were never willing to offer a fourth year and, according to George, low-balled him with a “disrespectful” offer at the beginning of negotiations. Though he admits he never wanted to leave Los Angeles, he got his money.

It marks a fresh start after a disappointing five-year stint with the Clippers. What began as an earth-shaking haul in 2019 was defined more by what-ifs than results. The Clippers haven’t won a playoff series since 2021 as Kawhi Leonard failed to finish each of his last three playoff series as his body deteriorated. Even with George leaving for Philadelphia, Leonard had to bow out of the Olympics because of concerns over his knee. 

George will hitch his wagon to another oft-injured superstar in Joel Embiid, but even Embiid has averaged 10 more games played per regular season than Kawhi since 2019. And even if Embiid has been hampered by injuries in the playoffs, he’s at least out there and playing. As injury-prone an Embiid is, he’s still more reliable than Kawhi (which says more about Leonard than anything else).

In Philadelphia, George will join a retooled roster that includes Kelly Oubre Jr., Eric Gordon, Caleb Martin, Andre Drummond and rookies Jared McCain and Adem Bona. But it’s George who raises Philadelphia’s ceiling. Kevin Durant is often credited with being the most mailable superstar in league history, but George is right behind him. A career 38.5% 3-point shooter who can rebound, cut and consistently make the right play, George will have a good chance in Philadelphia to do what he never could in Los Angeles – compete for a championship. 

Klay Thompson

Having gotten past the disappointment of his breakup with the Golden State Warriors after 13 historic seasons, Klay Thompson admitted to being “rejuvenated” by his fresh start with the Dallas Mavericks.

"Coming here is just such a fresh start," Thompson told reporters during his introductory press conference in Dallas. "Feeling wanted again. I bring great value, it just gets me excited to go out there and even work out after this press conference and get shots up. There was times last year where it was tough, where it wasn't as joyful as it was in the past.

"It's nice to kind of shed that and have a whole new fresh start, whole new group of guys to get to know, co-workers, whole new city. It's really cool, and I'm going to embrace the heck out of this opportunity."

It’s easy to see how Thompson is a fit on the court. He’ll thrive next to Luka Doncic, who creates more three-pointers than anyone else in the league. The Mavericks made less than 30% of their above-the-break 3s in the Finals as the Boston Celtics closed off the corners. Thompson, one of the NBA’s all-time shooters and big-game performers, addresses that issue.

The Mavericks are closer to title contention than Thompson’s former Warriors squad. The Warriors are still headlined by Steph Curry but there’s nothing but questions below the marquee. Unlike his former Splash Brother, Klay has a realistic chance to go deep in the playoffs.

Chris Paul

In the twilight of his career, Chris Paul could have chased a ring by coming off the bench for one of the Los Angeles teams, or gone far away from his family and played for a contender in an easier Eastern Conference. But no. The 39-year-old point guard wants to play.

“If I'm not playing, I'm not happy,” Paul told reporters during his introductory press conference with the San Antonio Spurs.

Paul signed a one-year, $11 million contract with the Spurs this summer, offering a short-term solution to the Spurs’ point guard problem. In San Antonio, Paul will get back to what he does best: Running pick-and-roll.

In previous stops in Golden State, Phoenix (after Kevin Durant showed up) and Houston, Paul was asked to share ball-handling duties and fit into concepts that often left him alone on the court without the ball in his hands. The Spurs, instead, will entrust Paul to lead a young offense and get the ball to their most important player, Victor Wembanyama.

It’s a chance for No. 3 to wring out all that’s left of his skills before he retires. Leave it all out on the court, as they say. It’s also a chance for two of the sports’ great basketball minds to come together – and that’s awesome sauce for everybody.

"Obviously, I've admired Pop from afar for years, and when you're in this for a while, as he's done for a long time, there's so much respect there," Paul said. "Not only for his basketball IQ but just for who he is as a person, as a competitor and all of that."

Dario Saric

After playing for three teams in three years, Dario Saric may have finally found the perfect situation. Saric signed a two-year, $10.6 million deal to join the Denver Nuggets as Nikola Jokic’s backup, and it’s about as good a fit as either side could ask for.

Saric averaged 2.3 assists in 64 games for the Warriors last season but was eventually replaced in the rotation by rookie Trayce Jackson-Davis as Golden State aimed to put more size on the floor. That had more to do with the deficiencies in the Warriors' roster than it did with Saric. Before last season, Steve Kerr looked forward to adding a playmaking big man to an offense that thrived with guys like Andrew Bogut and Zaza Pachulia making passes from the low post.

“That really changes the equation offensively when you have someone out there who you can run the offensive through,” Kerr said of Saric.

In Denver, Saric will operate as a Nikola Jokic-lite. Obviously there will be a drop-off, as there always is when Jokic leaves the court, but the Nuggets won’t have to dramatically change the way they play like they have in the past. If Saric can find his Jamal Murray-like running mate in the second unit (Russell Westbrook?) then he stands an even greater chance of finding an NBA home.