The Los Angeles Lakers and the New York Knicks are two marquee franchises that now have their doors open to a slew of free agents looking for a new place to call home. However, current and former front office executives believe their less-sparkly neighbors, the L.A. Clippers and the Brooklyn Nets, could wind up being more attractive destinations for this upcoming 2019 free agent class.

“Brooklyn and the Clippers have a decided advantage over the two marquee names,” a veteran general manager told Howard Beck of Bleacher Report, “because they've done far more in the last few years to position themselves to be sustainable than either New York or the Lakers.”

Former Nets assistant general manager and current ESPN front office insider Bobby Marks concurs with the previous statement, aware that the Clippers and Nets could wind up pulling the rug from underneath both of these lauded franchises.

“The amazing part,” said Marks, is that the two longtime underdog franchises “are going to be probably one and two as far as the leaders in the clubhouse to attract one of these players.”

This could make an enormous difference, considering the names that will hit the free agent wire this summer — players like Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Kyrie Irving, DeMarcus Cousins, Jimmy Butler, Tobias Harris, Kemba Walker and many others.

The Nets and the Clippers have also paved the way for other small-market teams to make their case against underachieving organizations like the Lakers and the Knicks.

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“We're not really scared of big markets anymore, to be honest with you,” the assistant GM of a small-market team said. “I think it's because those teams haven't really been good.”

Beck points out that the Nets and Clippers were “universally praised as well-run and well-coached, with soundly built rosters and the flexibility to keep adding talent” after surveying 10 front office executives to rank the four teams.

The Lakers were viewed with steep skepticism, due to the lackluster roster construction, the shaky job status of coach Luke Walton and the inexperience of a front office tandem of Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka.

The Knicks drew poor marks due to unproven talent, a poor ownership figure in James Dolan and a league-worst 15-62 record that is hard to ignore.

As it turns out, winning it still a major factor for big-time players in this league, and it seems to matter much more than playing in a big market or the limelight that comes with it.