Raptors winners and losers as Day 1 of free agency mayhem ends

Loser: Brooklyn Nets

The Nets were handed a gold mine of a free agency cycle that every GM dreams of, as Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving were handed to them on a silver platter. James Harden arrived later via trade. In the span of five months, the Nets are on track to spectacularly fumble this once-in-a-lifetime chance.

With Durant requesting a trade from Brooklyn and Irving all but certain to follow him out the door, the Nets came away from this offseason as the league’s biggest losers, irrespective of what else happens. Bringing back Patty Mills will not fix this absolute train wreck of a development.

The Raptors can rejoice after the Brooklyn Nets blew it.

The Nets will likely get a haul in return from a team like Phoenix and Miami in exchange for Durant, but nothing they get back can mask the fact that they slammed their championship window shut of their own accord. This is down to Sean Marks not knowing how to keep his stars happy.

The Raptors should be thrilled with this development. Even if the Nets remain a tough out in the playoff picture, the odds of them contending without Durant and Irving in the lineup are minuscule. Toronto’s path to contention in the East just got that much easier in one afternoon.