While there were more than 100 players up for new contracts, NBA free agency 2021 has been pretty tame relative to other off-seasons.

Max extensions were signed – veteran point guards are now set for their twilight years – and key role players were added to the league’s championship-contending squads. Outside of the trade that sent Russell Westbrook to the Los Angeles Lakers, nothing has been too shocking.

The 2021-22 regular season doesn’t begin until Oct. 19, so fantasy managers still have two-plus months before having to dial up the research.

Now that all the signings can be made official, here are the three biggest losers and winners thus far from free agency:

Biggest Free Agency Losers:

SG: DeMar DeRozan, CHI (Last Season Rank: 43)

Let me start off by saying I’m happy for DeRozan and think he’s getting compensated fairly. The reality is, three years, $85 million is a hefty contract for someone who has an old school mid-range offence falling out of favour with the modern game.

In San Antonio, he quietly improved his playmaking, resulting in a career-high 6.9 assist per game last season. In Chicago, there might not be as many opportunities.

Zach Lavine quietly put together a career-best season scoring 27.4 points per game on 50.7 per cent shooting from the field. He’s come a long way from being just the slam dunk champ and is the undisputed star of this roster.

With Lonzo Ball also in town, the Bulls will be stronger than last season but that also means less touches for DeMar.

He’s had the same holes in his fantasy game for years: average to below average defensive contributions and three-point production as if he’s a centre.

I envision his scoring and assists coming down a notch, which should take him out of the top 50 this season.

PG: Russell Westbrook, LAL (Last season: 76)

Westbrook has averaged a triple-double in four of his last five seasons, but as long as he’s playing with LeBron James, those days are over.

Four years ago, he began a steep decline in free-throw efficiency, which took him out of the top 10 conversation. He’s been among the league’s worst in turnovers his entire career and his field-goal percentage has been below league average.

He doesn’t help you with efficiency and his usage is likely going down now that he’s the third option in L.A. I don’t see Westbrook suddenly developing into a lethal shooter from three.

Once a top-3 player in 8-cat leagues, if Westbrook can’t regain his shooting efficiency, he might find himself outside of the top 100 heading into 2021-22.

C: Andre Drummond, PHI (Last season: 110)

Here’s another player that was once among the elite options in fantasy.

Two years ago, Drummond was one of the must-have players for managers punting free-throws. He ranked fifth in 2019-20 (when punting FT) and fourth in 2018-19 buoyed by his defensive production and league-leading rebounding.

Things took a turn for the worst last season (even before he was exiled in Cleveland) as his minutes plunged, his field-goal percentage dipped, and his counting stats declined.

Ending up with the Lakers only worsened his case and this new signing with the Sixers is about as bad of an outcome as you can ask for in fantasy.

I don’t get the thinking from his camp, why he’d want to be Joel Embiid’s backup. His role will likely be similar to Dwight Howard’s from last season: 17-22 minutes a game.

Playing 27 minutes per game last season, Drummond still finished outside the top 100. With this situation, he’s nothing more than a defensive streaming specialist or injury replacement candidate.

Biggest Free Agency Winners:

PG, SG: Dejounte Murray, SAS (Last season: 65)

In his career, Murray has steadily improved with more playing time; here’s a side-by-side comparison of his last two seasons:

2019-20: 25.6 minutes per game, 10.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.7 steals, 1.9 turnovers

2020-21: 31.9 minutes per game, 15.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.5 steals, 1.7 turnovers

His assist to turnover ratio went from 3.1 to 4.2 and he’s slowly evolving into the new leader for this Spurs squad. He has the upside to become the league’s next Jrue Holiday.

With DeRozan gone and no real game changers coming back to the Spurs, Murray will be given the opportunity to grow into an elite fantasy option like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had last season in OKC.

PG, SG, SF: Kemba Walker, NYK (Last season: 61)

Walker battled injuries all season in Boston and never got into any consistent rhythm. When he was on the court, he was the clear third option behind Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

After getting traded from the Celtics to OKC in June, this outcome was as good of a scenario as Walker managers could’ve asked for. But after getting waived by Oklahoma and then agreeing to a buyout, he signed a two-year deal with New York and now gets to play for his hometown team and fills a critical hole for this Knicks roster looking to improve upon their surprise emergence in 2020-21.

While New York’s backcourt is a little crowded, I think Kemba is a great fit for coach Tom Thibodeau’s style of play and will get the lion’s share of minutes as the point guard – as long as his knees can hold up.

Derrick Rose provided the veteran leadership off the bench and Walker will be that guy for the starting five.

He won’t get back to his Charlotte days where he was a top-25 asset, but his production should be better than his previous two seasons in Boston.

PG, SG: Spencer Dinwiddie, WAS (Last season: NA, 3 games played)

Dinwiddie spent the last year on the sidelines rehabbing a torn ACL after playing the first three games of the season.

He was never staying in Brooklyn with his contract up for renewal. After being tacked onto a mega five-team trade, signing a three-year, $62 million deal, he now slots into Washington’s starting five as their lead point guard with Westbrook out the door.

Dinwiddie will be joined by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Kyle Kuzma, Aaron Holiday, Montrezl Harrell and Isaiah Todd in this mega deal.

He’s never been an elite contributor in fantasy due to his limited defensive production and inefficient shooting, but this is a guy who can get you 20 points a night and will be an asset in assists.

Of all the teams he could’ve ended up on, Washington is one of the best fits. If healthy, Dinwiddie should be floating right around the top-100 range.