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festar35
Entropy
alvarobOffseason grades for all 30 teams
The Lakers, Nets and Heat bulked up this summer by inking Steve Nash, Deron Williams and Ray Allen.The NBA free-agency signing period officially opened at 12:01 a.m. ET Wednesday, and we’ve already had a plethora of free-agent signings and trades.But unlike two years ago, when seismic changes happened across the league — thanks in part to LeBron James — things have been much quieter. Steve Nash is the only star to change teams. A few other potential key players, such as Ray Allen, Jason Kidd and Joe Johnson, are changing addresses, but overall, the landscape of the NBA hasn’t changed that much.
How much have things stayed the same? Consider this line that I wrote in my December 2011 edition of offseason grades:
"Everyone is still holding their breath on Dwight Howard, but the Magic seem determined to wait until the trade deadline to make a decision on him."
OK, this season’s trade deadline seems a little far-fetched, but given what Howard has put us through the past six months, anything is possible.
A solid NBA draft, led by Kentucky’s Anthony Davis, also has played a role in reshaping rosters, as have a couple of coaching changes and front-office shake-ups.
There likely will be even more player movement in the coming weeks, but now that the dust is beginning to settle, it’s time to give preliminary grades for what each team did this offseason.
I’m a college professor in my day job and understand that this exercise really is the equivalent of giving a student a final grade after the first week of class. There’s so much we just don’t know about how these changes will pan out. In truth, you cannot really grade an offseason until you get to the postseason or even the next offseason. (Case in point: We gave the Mavs an A for keeping their powder dry in December to make a run at Deron Williams and Howard in July. They got close on Williams, but it didn’t work out for them).
The grades take into account how each team in the league has performed so far in remaking itself, considering both the opportunities it had and the moves it has made. The grades are not a ranking of which are the best teams in the league, just a device to track which teams have improved and which teams haven’t.
ATLANTA HAWKS
Key additions: Kyle Korver (trade), Lou Williams (FA), Devin Harris(trade), Anthony Morrow (trade), Johan Petro (trade), Jordan Farmar(trade), DeShawn Stevenson (trade), John Jenkins (draft), Mike Scott(draft), Danny Ferry (GM).Key subtractions: Joe Johnson, Marvin Williams, Kirk Hinrich, Jerry Stackhouse, Rick Sund (GM)
New GM Danny Ferry had to do something. Atlanta was a solid playoff team that wasn’t ever going to get out of the second round. If the Hawks were going to get better, they had to get a little worse first.
What Ferry has orchestrated — with just two weeks on the job, mind you — has been impressive. He found the only general manager in the league willing to give up expiring contracts for the remaining $89 million left on Johnson’s contract, got another expiring contract for Marvin Williams, picked up a free-agent bargain in Lou Williams and suddenly has the team poised to be a serious player in the free-agent market of 2013.
Theoretically, the Hawks could add both Dwight Howard and Chris Paul with some maneuvering next year. They’ll have just three players under contract. Even if they can’t persuade either guy to come to Atlanta, they’ll still have major room to attract other top-tier free agents.
As for this season, Atlanta may take a step or two back, but it still should be in contention for a seventh or eighth seed in the East with a core of Harris, Morrow, Al Horford, Josh Smith and Zaza Pachulia.
GRADE: B+
BOSTON CELTICS
Key additions: Kevin Garnett (re-sign), Jason Terry (FA), Jeff Green(re-sign), Brandon Bass (re-sign), Jared Sullinger (draft), Fab Melo(draft), Kris Joseph (draft)Key subtractions: Ray Allen
I guess it’s time to stop writing about the Celtics’ closing window. Garnett forced that window open with a stellar playoff performance, and team president Danny Ainge had little choice but to bring the gang back to try it again.
Re-signing KG was a no-brainer. His game has changed, but he is still one of the most dominant bigs in the league. Replacing Allen with Terry is probably an upgrade as well. Terry doesn’t have Allen’s shooting touch, but he is a much more versatile offensive player. If Green is healthy, he is a major upgrade. The team got Bass back on a reasonable deal, and the Celtics landed a draft pick in Sullinger who can be a force in the post right away as long as his back holds up.
Here’s what’s impressive about Ainge’s moves the past few years. He has maintained his veteran core while still putting in place a group of young players — Rajon Rondo,Avery Bradley, Green, Sullinger and Melo — that could become the core of the future.
Few teams have the opportunity and ability to eat their cake and have it too. Ainge has found a way.
GRADE: A
BROOKLYN NETS
Key additions: Deron Williams (re-sign), Joe Johnson (trade), Brook Lopez (re-sign), Gerald Wallace (re-sign), Mirza Teletovic (FA), Reggie Evans (FA), Tyshawn Taylor (draft), Jerry Stackhouse (FA)Key subtractions: Anthony Morrow, Jordan Farmar, Gerald Green,Johan Petro, Jordan Williams, DeShawn Stevenson
Nets GM Billy King’s fingers have been in so many pots the past 18 months that it’s hard to separate what the Nets have done from what they were rumored to be doing. On Wednesday, the first day players officially could be signed-and-traded, assistant GM Bobby Marks sorted out the logistics on a head-spinning 13 player contracts via free agency and trade worth a total of nearly $300 million.
When the dust settles, most will remember that the Nets didn’t add Dwight Howard. Fair enough. But once Howard decided to opt into the last year of his deal with the Magic, the Nets’ chances of landing him greatly diminished anyway.
If you take each deal separately, there’s plenty to pick apart. Johnson is dramatically overpaid, with four years, $89 million left on his contract. The Nets never should have given a high lottery pick to the Blazers for the right to overpay Wallace to the tune of $40 million. Lopez’s $60 million also seems steep.
But in aggregate, King looks much smarter. His huge gamble to trade for Williams 18 months ago paid off. Williams was the single most important signing for any team this summer, and he has made it clear that he would not have re-signed with the Nets had they not pulled the trigger on the Johnson and Wallace trades. So how can you criticize either deal? And Lopez? Roy Hibbert got the same deal. Heck, Omer Asik got huge money.
On Thursday, word leaked that the Nets were in the mix to either re-sign Kris Humphries or acquire veteran Antawn Jamison. Either player would be a welcome addition to a Nets front line in desperate need of rebounding. Given their willingness to spend anything, it’s safe to assume that one of the two likely will be on their opening night roster.
All in all, the Nets have put together a team that is relevant. If they stay healthy — a big if with a few of their older players — they have a shot at winning somewhere between 44 and 50 games this season. They’ll be a playoff team. Maybe they’ll even get into the second round. Given where they’ve been the past few season, that’s progress. Whether they can sustain momentum past the next two seasons? Well, that’s why they’re not getting an A.
GRADE: B+
CHARLOTTE BOBCATS
Key additions: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (draft), Ben Gordon (trade),Ramon Sessions (FA), Jeff Taylor (draft), Mike Dunlap (coach)Key subtractions: D.J. Augustin, Corey Maggette, Jamario Moon, D.J. White, Paul Silas (coach)
For two years, our Future Power Rankings have had the Bobcats ranked dead last. Last year, they certainly played like it.
This year, I don’t expect things to get much better.
The good thing about the NBA is that it rewards futility with high draft picks, and the Bobcats got a great one in Kidd-Gilchrist. He is not an immediate impact player the wayAnthony Davis will be, but I believe he will be the second-best player in this draft and will add toughness, athleticism and a sense of urgency that this team lacked last season. Taylor is one of the best on-the-ball defenders in the draft, but he seems to duplicate much of what Kidd-Gilchrist brings to the table without the upside.
I’m not a huge fan of the Gordon-Maggette swap. Yes, the Bobcats needed shooting, but adding Gordon isn’t going to move the needle much and he has a whopping $25.6 million left on his deal. While most rebuilding teams are clearing future cap space, the Bobcats have an annoying tendency toward adding to it.
The Bobcats also essentially swapped Augustin for Sessions, who is bigger and was superior in virtually every statistical category the past two seasons. Augustin may have been a slightly better passer, but that’s about it. Overall, it was an upgrade for the Bobcats.
I highly doubt that the Bobcats are done. They are still flirting with a number of lower-priced free agents, such as Antawn Jamison and Brendan Haywood, who recently was designated for amnesty by Dallas.
But even if they land a few more players, they still look like the overwhelming favorites to be the worst team in the league for a second straight year. Kidd-Gilchrist is a ray of sunlight and Sessions is an upgrade, but for the most part, the hole the Bobcats have dug is still very dark.
GRADE: B-
CHICAGO BULLS
Key additions: Kirk Hinrich (FA), Marquis Teague (draft)Up in the air: Omer Asik (RFA, offer sheet)
Key subtractions: Ronnie Brewer, Kyle Korver
The Bulls’ core of Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, Carlos Boozer and Luol Deng continues to make the Bulls one of the top two threats in the East. But with Rose out with what could be a season-long injury and the NBA tax man knocking at Jerry Reinsdorf’s door, things aren’t as rosy as they were a year ago in Chicago.
The Bulls’ biggest decision is whether to match the Rockets’ huge three-year, $25 million offer sheet for backup center Asik. If the Bulls were owned by James Dolan, this would be a no-brainer, but Reinsdorf loathes the luxury tax; the thought of paying Noah’s backup $14.9 million in the third year of his contract has to make him dry heave.
Consider the Bulls’ salary commitments for the 2014-15 season, and Asik’s deal will be worth about $30 million, when you factor in those luxury tax payments.
Nevertheless, the Bulls are seriously contemplating matching the Rockets’ offer. They could end up using the amnesty tag on Boozer in the final year of his deal to reduce the tax, or perhaps by then they can move one of their higher-priced players off their roster. Asik was a critical part of their success last season, and the Bulls don’t want to just give him away.
Match or no match, the Asik offer has hurt the Bulls.
To mitigate the financial damage, the Bulls have dumped Brewer and likely will do the same with Kyle Korver. It’s expensive to be a contender, and the Bulls may not have the stomach for it — especially when your best player is out with an ACL tear for most of the season.
The one bright star this summer was the Bulls’ good fortune of having Teague fall into their lap on draft night. Teague isn’t ready for heavy NBA minutes yet, but he has the quickness and scoring acumen to be a good NBA player down the road. Had he stayed at Kentucky one more season, I think he would have been a lottery pick.
GRADE: C
CLEVELAND CAVALIERS
Key additions: Dion Waiters (draft), Tyler Zeller (draft), Luke Harangody (re-sign), Kelenna Azubuike (trade)Key subtractions: Anthony Parker, Manny Harris, Semih Erden
It turns out that owner Dan Gilbert isn’t much of a prophet. His prediction that the Cavs would win a title before LeBron’s Heat didn’t turn out so well. The good news for Cavs fans is that Cleveland is well on its way toward being a championship contender.
Last year’s addition of Kyrie Irving was huge. Irving played better than anyone expected and looks like a cornerstone of the franchise.
This year, the Cavs have remained disciplined and are resisting the temptation to blow all of their cap space in the free-agent market. Instead, the team added two interesting pieces in the draft. Taking Syracuse sixth man Waiters at No. 4 was a controversial choice — much like their pick of Tristan Thompson last year — but I like it. Waiters was the best scoring guard in the draft, and he has the ability to get to the rim at will.
Several veteran NBA scouts I trust think that next to Anthony Davis, Waiters has as much upside as anyone in the draft. The pick isn’t without risk — he had plenty of run-ins with coach Jim Boeheim at Syracuse and is a bit undersized for his position — but he is tough and ready to play right away.
Zeller is more likely a career backup, but a competent one who runs the floor well. The Cavs likely will make another move or two that adds depth without sacrificing long-term cap space. They won’t be a playoff team next season, but they’ll be better. Within a few years, they might even be contenders again.
GRADE: B
DALLAS MAVERICKS
Key additions: Chris Kaman (FA), Darren Collison (trade), Elton Brand (amnesty pick-up)Jared Cunningham (draft), Dahntay Jones(trade), Bernard James (draft), Jae Crowder (draft)Key subtractions: Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, Lamar Odom, Brendan Haywood, Kelenna Azubuike, Ian Mahinmi
Best-laid plans.
I thought Mark Cuban and GM Donnie Nelson were pretty brilliant in December when they decided to break up a championship team just in time to reload for another one. The prospect of landing both Deron Williams and Dwight Howard with their newfound cap space seemed like the perfect plan, worth the one-year hit in the win column.
Alas, Howard decided in March to opt into the final year of his contract, and a last-second acquisition of Joe Johnson by the Nets persuaded Williams to spurn his hometown and re-sign with Brooklyn.
When Kidd and Terry bolted soon after, it sure looked as if the once-proud Mavs were playing for pingpong balls this upcoming season.
I’ll say this about the Mavs: They’re resourceful. In just a few hours Wednesday afternoon, they landed Kaman on a very reasonable one-year, $8 million deal. Then they pulled off an inconceivable heist for Collison. On Friday, they won the bid for Brand off the amnesty waiver wire for a paltry $2.1 million. Suddenly, the team had a young starting point guard on a reasonable deal and a veteran center and power forward to go alongside Dirk Nowitzki and Shawn Marion.
I don’t think the moves will put them back in contention, but they should be back in the playoffs and will enter next summer as the odds-on favorites to get Howard.
It’s a one-year detour, but it might be a fairly scenic one for Mavs fans.
GRADE: B
DENVER NUGGETS
Key additions: Andre Miller (re-sign), Evan Fournier (draft), Quincy Miller (draft)Key subtractions: None
The Nuggets had another successful season and decided to keep rolling with what they have. The team re-signed Miller to a reasonable three-year, $15 million deal. The final year is partially guaranteed, meaning that the risk was pretty minimal.
Fournier felt like a bit of a stretch at pick No. 20, but he can score. I felt like Miller was a second-round steal. Once he is fully healthy, he has the chance to be a solid forward down the road.
The Nuggets have offered restricted free agent JaVale McGee a five-year, $50 million deal. Although McGee has yet to accept it, it’s unlikely he’ll get a better deal elsewhere. Expect the Nuggets to have him locked up by the end of the summer.
GRADE: B
DETROIT PISTONS
Key additions: Andre Drummond (draft), Corey Maggette (trade),Vyacheslav Kravtsov (FA), Khris Middleton (draft), Kim English (draft),Kyle Singler (draft)Key subtractions: Ben Gordon
The Pistons finally got their big man. Whether he is the next Dwight Howard or Kwame Brown is anyone’s guess.
Drummond looks the part of an NBA superstar. He is huge and super athletic and looks like the perfect complement to Greg Monroe on the front line. He is also very raw, and the word out of Detroit already is patience. Long term, adding Drummond could be the move that puts the Pistons over the top. Or not. The talent is there, but there are legitimate questions about the heart.
The Pistons also found a taker for the remaining two years and $25 million of Gordon’s contract. Trading for Maggette was more about salary-cap relief than basketball. That trade should guarantee the Pistons significant cap room next summer to make another addition.
Overall, the Pistons moves shouldn’t have a major impact on the court this season, but the seeds are being sown for a robust harvest down the road.
GRADE: B
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS
Key additions: Harrison Barnes (draft), Jarrett Jack (trade), Festus Ezeli (draft), Draymond Green (draft)Key subtractions: Dorell Wright
The Warriors badly want to start winning and took another step in that direction with a pretty strong draft. Barnes may have been overrated coming out of high school, but he was a value at No. 7 and should be able to step right in and grab the starting small forward spot.
I’m also a big fan of Green as a versatile role player on a good team. He has a high basketball IQ, is skilled and can come in and contribute right away. Jack, whom they acquired via trade, gives Golden State some support at the point guard position shouldStephen Curry struggle with injuries again.
If everyone stays healthy and Andrew Bogut can get back to All-Star form, the Warriors could be a sleeper team in the West. Few teams in the NBA have such lethal shooters surrounding a solid low-post presence.
GRADE: B+
HOUSTON ROCKETS
Key additions: Jeremy Lamb (draft), Royce White (draft), Terrence Jones (draft), Shaun Livingston (trade), Jon Leuer (trade), Jon Brockman (trade), Toney Douglas (trade), Josh Harrellson (trade),Jerome Jordan (trade)Up in the air: Omer Asik (RFA, offer sheet), Jeremy Lin (RFA, offer sheet)
Key subtractions: Kyle Lowry, Goran Dragic, Marcus Camby, Chase Budinger, Samuel Dalembert
Every summer, GM Daryl Morey goes all out in an attempt to lasso a star. And every summer, he falls just short.
Two years ago, he made a strong pitch to Chris Bosh. In December, Morey almost landed Pau Gasol, only to see commissioner David Stern crush his hopes. He then went to Plan B, Marc Gasol, only to have his efforts thwarted by the Grizzlies. This year, Morey is chasing Dwight Howard like a dog chases a squirrel. He might catch him eventually, but his huge collection of middling assets hasn’t been enough to persuade the Magic to pull the trigger on a trade … yet.
Plan B this time was offer sheets to Asik and Lin, but there’s zero chance Lin will wear a Rockets uniform this season. And while the Bulls haven’t indicated what they’ll do, there’s a good probability they will match too.
Like I said last year, someday Morey is going to get one of these deals. Unfortunately, that day still hasn’t come for Rockets fans.
In the meantime, Houston has gutted its roster to have the cap space to do a Howard deal. Key players such as Lowry, Dragic, Camby, Dalembert and Budinger are all gone. The idea for the Rockets is to send the Magic all of their young assets and draft picks while taking back all of Orlando’s junk — Hedo Turkoglu, Jason Richardson, Glen Davisand Chris Duhon. That may be a hard offer for Orlando GM Rob Hennigan to reject.
If that doesn’t work, their young players, while talented, aren’t of the same caliber of the players who have been traded. Some scouts really like Lamb, White and Jones, but none call them future stars. Some question if they’re even future starters. The Rockets’ roster is still a major work in progress. I’m not sure how it will turn out, but I would be shocked if the Rockets go into opening day with a bunch of rookies and second-year players. Until we get a little more clarity, an incomplete will have to do.
GRADE: Incomplete
INDIANA PACERS
Key additions: Roy Hibbert (re-sign), George Hill (re-sign), D.J. Augustin (FA), Gerald Green (FA), Ian Mahinmi (sign-and-trade), Miles Plumlee (draft), Orlando Johnson (draft), Donnie Walsh (team president), Kevin Pritchard (GM)Key subtractions: Darren Collison, Dahntay Jones, Larry Bird (team president), David Morway (GM)
After experiencing a level of success that even they couldn’t predict last season, the Pacers’ goal this offseason was to bring back their starting five and strengthen their bench.
The Pacers achieved their first goal. The team was hit with a huge four-year, $58 million offer sheet from the Blazers for Hibbert on July 1. Hibbert has been a key part of the rebuilding effort, but virtually everyone agrees that $58 million is a lot for him. The Pacers wisely agreed to pay Hibbert, but it cost them. In the meantime, the team overreacted a bit and threw a whopping $40 million at Hill. I’m a Hill fan and think he has upside, but again, the contract seemed a tad excessive.
Whether they achieved the second goal is debatable. The decision to trade Collison, who led the team in playoff PER, for the right to give $16 million to Mahinmi is a head-scratcher. Considering the Pacers could have signed Mahinmi straight up as an unrestricted free agent for probably half the cost — he wasn’t getting two years, $8 million from anyone else — it’s completely unclear why they had to give away Collison to do it. Did they really need to get Jones’ $2.9 million off the books that badly?
Mahinmi does give the Pacers a credible backup 5 when Hibbert is out of the game, but the cost, both in dollars and lost assets, was unusually high.
The Pacers quickly countered Collison’s loss by signing Augustin to a one-year, $3.5 million deal. Collison was statistically superior to Augustin by virtually every metric but one — pure point guard rating. Augustin is a better passer than Collison, which was a need for the Pacers. Hill isn’t a pure point guard, and Augustin’s specialty is getting everyone involved. But when you factor in that Augustin can’t guard anyone and that they’re paying him $1.3 million more than they were Collison, I’m not sure this is an upgrade.
Offensively, Green is an upgrade over Jones. He put up some big numbers for the fledgling Nets last season. However, he lacks the defensive toughness or maturity that Jones brought to the table.
Finally, the Pacers’ draft night call on Plumlee felt a little off. Plumlee had wowed scouts (and apparently Bird) in workouts with his freakish athletic ability, but he rarely showed it during his four years at Duke. Workout wonders infiltrate the first round virtually every year. They rarely pan out.
None of these smaller moves should keep the Pacers from being a top-four team in the East, but the difference between good teams and great teams often is in the details. The Pacers, for the first time in a while, seemed to smudge them this summer.
GRADE: B-
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
Key additions: Blake Griffin (extension), Lamar Odom (trade), Jamal Crawford (FA), Chauncey Billups (FA)Key subtractions: Mo Williams, Nick Young, Neil Olshey (GM)
The Clippers had the biggest offseason moment in franchise history in December when they landed Chris Paul. This summer, they added to the momentum by signing Griffin to a $95 million extension.
With Paul and Griffin in place, the team made moves to shore up an already dangerous team. If Odom is engaged — a pretty big if right now — he could really help them. Ditto for Crawford and Billups. Losing Williams and Young hurt, but those additions probably make it a wash.
Some will argue that the Clippers won’t make it to the next level until Vinny Del Negro is listed in the "Key subtractions" line, though.
GRADE: B
LOS ANGELES LAKERS
Key additions: Steve Nash (sign-and-trade), Devin Ebanks (re-sign),Darius Johnson-Odom (draft), Robert Sacre (draft)Key subtractions: Ramon Sessions
It must be nice to be a Lakers fan. Every time the ship springs a leak, a superhero shows up to plug it.
This year, that help is coming from the most unexpected place. Nash shocked the world when he persuaded Suns owner Robert Sarver to trade him to L.A.
Reasonable minds can disagree over the impact Nash will have, but if coach Mike Brown and Kobe Bryant let Nash be Nash, the Lakers are going to be a dangerous team. Bryant is getting too old for hero ball, and Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum are getting tired of it. Nash has the ability to make everyone happy and still finds a way to hit the big shots when his team needs it.
It’s not a plan to shore up the Lakers for the next 10 years, but for the next two, the Lakers should be the biggest threat to the Thunder returning to the NBA Finals.
GRADE: A
MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES
Key additions: Darrell Arthur (re-sign), Jerryd Bayless (FA), Marreese Speights (re-sign), Tony Wroten (draft)Key subtractions: O.J. Mayo (expected)
The Grizzlies made most of their big moves the past two summers and are on cruise control. They’re good, and if they can get everyone healthy, they might be able to make some noise in the playoffs.
Adding a healthy Arthur to the mix should help. Before he went down last season with an injury, he looked like he could be a breakout big man. Bayless will do lots of the things Mayo did at a considerably smaller salary.
I think Wroten had top-five potential in this year’s draft. He is a big point guard, is very athletic and can be a spectacular passer. However, his shot is broken, and he can play out of control at times. If the Grizzlies can rein that in, he could be the steal of the draft.
GRADE: B-
MIAMI HEAT
Key additions: Ray Allen (FA), Rashard Lewis (FA), Justin Hamilton(draft)Key subtractions: None
The defending champs will be returning all of the key players, with the potential exception of an injured Mike Miller, and have added more firepower this offseason.
Allen and Lewis are well past their primes, but given the dominance of LeBron James,Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, all Erik Spoelstra is going to ask them to do is spot up and shoot 3s, something both of them can do well.
When the 3s are raining down in Miami, the Heat are tough to beat. Allen and Lewis just made them that much tougher.
GRADE: A-
MILWAUKEE BUCKS
Key additions: Ersan Ilyasova (re-sign), Samuel Dalembert (trade),John Henson (draft), Doron Lamb (draft)Key subtractions: Shaun Livingston, Jon Leuer, Jon Brockman
The Bucks had a second straight disappointing season in 2011-12. Injuries, once again, played a major factor.
This offseason, the Bucks tried to shore up several key weaknesses. Since shipping outAndrew Bogut in the Monta Ellis trade, the Bucks have had a pretty serious hole at the 5. Enter Dalembert. He is not the sexiest pickup of the offseason, but he blocks shots, rebounds and, given the ridiculous contracts for NBA centers, is a bargain.
The team ended up re-signing Ilyasova, who is coming off a breakout year. While the numbers say five years, $45 million, the deal is much closer to four years, $32 million in guaranteed money. Ilyasova wanted more, but the Bucks held their ground, the market dried up, and they got him for a reasonable number.
Henson is one in a recent line of long, athletic, painfully thin big men the Bucks seem to love. I’m not sure how he fits in next to Ekpe Udoh and Larry Sanders, but most scouts believe Henson is the most talented of the three. Lamb was a nice second-round get for the team. It needed perimeter shooting in the worst way, and Lamb is one of the two or three best shooters in the draft.
I expect we’ll hear more from the Bucks in the coming weeks. Point guard Beno Udrih is on the market. Brandon Jennings and Ellis would like extensions. Overall, the Bucks may have improved enough to make a case for the eighth spot in the East, but I doubt they rise much higher than that.
GRADE: B-
MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES
Key additions: Brandon Roy (FA), Chase Budinger (trade), Alexey Shved (FA), Robbie Hummel (draft)Up in the air: Nicolas Batum (RFA, offer sheet)
Key subtractions: Darko Milicic
The Timberwolves had the right idea in pursuing Batum. He would be a nice fit at small forward. The $46.5 million price tag is a lot, but Rule 1 of Restricted Free Agency 101 says you have to dramatically overpay to convince a home team not to match. The Wolves didn’t overpay enough, and it looks as if the Blazers are leaning toward matching the offer. If the Blazers bring back Batum, the Wolves’ backup plan appears to be Bulls free agent Kyle Korver.
Roy is by far the most interesting pickup; no one knows if his knees will hold up enough to make him worth the $10 million the Wolves are paying. If he’s healthy enough to be a contributor, this was a good move. If not, the Wolves won’t have much to show for their offseason other than adding Budinger and Shved — two shooters who don’t bring a lot more to the table.
The waiving of Milicic via the amnesty clause only highlights how silly their offer was to him two years ago.
Overall, short of landing Batum or Roy having a miraculous recovery, the improvements this summer will be incremental. Somewhere, Kevin Love is pouting.
GRADE: C
NEW ORLEANS HORNETS
Key additions: Anthony Davis (draft), Eric Gordon (matched offer sheet), Ryan Anderson (sign-and-trade), Austin Rivers (draft), Darius Miller (draft)Key subtractions: Emeka Okafor, Trevor Ariza, Gustavo Ayon, Chris Kaman, Jarrett Jack
Sometimes it takes a little luck to turn around your franchise. The Spurs had it in 1997 when they landed Tim Duncan in the lottery. The Bulls had it when they cashed in their 1.9 percent chance of winning the lottery in 2008 to get Derrick Rose.
Now the Hornets are the lucky ones. Despite having a 13.7 percent chance of winning the lottery, they got their hands on a potential superstar. Davis should be a force on the defensive end immediately and is a better offensive player than he showed at Kentucky. The 19-year-old No. 1 pick is the type of guy you build a franchise around, and GM Dell Demps didn’t waste any time doing so.
He quickly traded Okafor and Ariza to clear more cap space. He used his space to match the Suns’ offer for Gordon and to get Anderson, a sweet-shooting stretch 4, in a sign-and-trade. Add in their other lottery pick, Rivers, and a solid second-round selection in Miller and the Hornets are loaded with young talent and cap flexibility going forward.
It doesn’t get much better than that. Pair this group with Monty Williams, one of the more underrated coaches in the league, and the future in New Orleans has never been brighter. The Hornets may not be a playoff team this season, but they are firmly on the same trajectory the Thunder were a couple of years ago.
GRADE: A+
NEW YORK KNICKS
Key additions: Marcus Camby (sign-and-trade), Jason Kidd (FA),Steve Novak (re-sign), J.R. Smith (re-sign), James White (FA)Up in the air: Jeremy Lin (RFA, offer sheet), Landry Fields (RFA, offer sheet)
Key subtractions: Toney Douglas, Josh Harrellson, Jerome Jordan
The Knicks, for the first time in a while, weren’t the center of the media offseason hype this year. With no cap space or assets to make a serious run at Deron Williams orDwight Howard, they were reduced to making a so-so offer for Steve Nash.
When Nash opted for the Lakers, the Knicks found Kidd, the next-oldest point guard, and signed him. Then they found Camby, the oldest center they could get their hands on, and worked out a sign-and-trade for him.
They finished things by paying $15 million to Novak, a guy who scored a total of 12 points in the playoffs this season.
The message? The Knicks are no longer rebuilding. They are going for it. Whether Camby or Kidd have enough left in the tank to make a difference is questionable, but the Knicks aren’t really competing against the Heat or Lakers. Finishing with a better record than the Nets will do just fine.
The two younger Knicks, Lin and Fields, went out and got offer sheets from other teams. The Knicks are a mortal lock to match Lin’s sheet when the Rockets deliver it. As Marc Stein humorously noted, the Knicks were going to match Lin up to a billion dollars. Whether it’s wise to pay Lin that type of cash is a moot point. The Knicks had no choice but to bring him back. They didn’t want a riot on their hands.
Fields? The Raptors’ poisonous three-year, $20 million offer sheet appeared on the surface to be unmatchable. However, this is the Knicks we’re talking about. Owner James Dolan doesn’t care about the money, and he is fond of Fields, who is a young asset. Because money’s no object, Dolan just might match.
Overall, the Knicks got marginally better. Whether marginal is what Knicks fans are expecting, that’s another question entirely.
GRADE: B-
OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER
Key additions: Perry Jones (draft), Hasheem Thabeet (FA), Hollis Thompson (FA)Key subtractions: None
Every year, I write the same opening paragraph about the Thunder. Every year it proves to be true.
The Thunder tend to be overly conservative during the offseason. In their case, it’s a virtue. Too many teams panic and believe they have to spend all their money or the offseason is a failure. Oklahoma City GM Sam Presti waits and waits and waits for the right deal to come to him. When it does, he pounces.
Once again, there wasn’t a lot for Presti to do this summer. He has a young team that is a serious championship contender for the next five years. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are locked up to long-term deals.
Their biggest question this summer will be what to do with James Harden and Serge Ibaka. If they give them market-value extensions, the Thunder will be forced to pay the luxury tax. No one is sure whether they’ll swallow that pill or trade one of them to get cap relief.
Because of the impending salary hit, the Thunder kept their spending down. They made a great pickup in the draft with Jones, who slid from a potential lottery pick to the late first round because of questions about his left knee and his motor. He has looked solid in the summer league, and with Durant as his mentor, he could be the star of the draft.
Thabeet has been a bust, but he is young, blocks shots and is on a cheap two-year deal. Thompson was one of my undrafted sleepers. He shoots well and has good size and athletic ability at the 3. He is a nice, cheap pickup.
GRADE: B
ORLANDO MAGIC
Key additions: Jameer Nelson (re-sign), Andrew Nicholson (draft),Gustavo Ayon (trade), Kyle O’Quinn (draft), Rob Hennigan (GM)
Key subtractions: Ryan Anderson, Stan Van Gundy (coach), Otis Smith (GM)
The good news, Magic fans? GM Otis Smith is gone.
The bad news? I’m not sure Jerry West, let alone rookie GM Rob Hennigan, can fix the mess Smith left.
The Dwight Howard situation is out of control. The Magic screwed up badly when they didn’t trade him before the season began or at the trade deadline. Smith mistakenly thought that the longer the Magic waited, the better offers they would get. It has turned out to be the opposite.
Howard is largely to blame. His decision to give the Magic just one team to trade him to backfired. The Magic couldn’t get enough assets from the Nets to make the deal worthwhile, and Brooklyn got so frustrated that the management finally threw its hands up in the air and went in a different direction.
Now, Howard and the Magic are at a bit of a standoff. Howard is threatening to bolt this summer for the Mavericks. The Mavs have virtually nothing of value to offer the Magic in return. The other interested teams — the Lakers, Rockets and Hawks — have decent offers but are reluctant to pull the trigger without Howard’s commitment. (The Rockets may be an exception to this.)
The Magic’s best hope may lie with the Rockets, who are amassing an enormous amount of assets and cap space, hoping that the Magic will reconsider their offer if Houston is willing to take back most of Orlando’s undesirable contracts — Hedo Turkoglu, Jason Richardson, Glen Davis and/or Chris Duhon — as part of the deal. If nothing else, that offer would allow the Magic to start over from scratch.
However this ends — and we’re all praying it ends sometime before February — it won’t end well for either Howard or the Magic. In the meantime, the Magic are in limbo. They re-signed Nelson and added a few interesting draft prospects; I’m a fan of Nicholson and O’Quinn. But they lost Anderson, their second-best player last season, when his contract demands escalated, and they are still burdened by a few awful contracts.
The road back to relevance for the Magic has never been more obfuscated.
GRADE: F
PHILADELPHIA 76ERS
Key additions: Moe Harkless (draft), Spencer Hawes (re-sign), Nick Young (FA), Dorell Wright (trade), Lavoy Allen (re-sign), Arnett Moultrie (draft)Key subtractions: Elton Brand, Lou Williams
The Sixers are loaded with athletes and a coach, Doug Collins, who can get them to play hard. This year, they added some more of the same while filling a huge hole on their roster with a pair of good shooters.
First, the athletes. Harkless and Moultrie were two of the best athletes in the draft, and the Sixers tabbed both of them in the first round. Harkless is raw but showed major potential as a Trevor Ariza-type forward as a freshman at St. John’s. Moultrie is a bouncy athlete who led the SEC in rebounding last season. Neither is probably ready to be a major contributor in Year 1, but the talent is there.
The question is, how much did the Sixers lose in the process? Brand is past his prime and is overpaid, but he was the team’s second-best rebounder and best interior defender. Williams was the team’s leading scorer and excelled at getting to the basket. The Sixers continue to shop Andre Iguodala, though it’s unclear where he may land.
Overall, the Sixers did well in helping shore up their foundation for the long haul, but in the short term, their win-loss record may take a hit.
GRADE: C+
PHOENIX SUNS
Key additions: Goran Dragic (FA), Michael Beasley (FA), Kendall Marshall (draft)Key subtractions: Steve Nash
The sun has set on the Suns’ franchise. Nash, the heart and soul of the club, was traded to the Lakers for a couple of first-round picks. Nash said his first preference was to stay in Phoenix, but the Suns decided to move in a different direction and ended up getting a few minimal assets in return.
With Nash gone — and Grant Hill likely to follow — the team is officially in the throes of rebuilding.
The one bright spot this summer was the addition of Dragic. He’s not Nash, but he is a good, young point guard who fits the Suns’ system. If you ignore the fact that Phoenix traded Dragic away to the Rockets a year ago — and gave the Rockets a first-round pick to take him — he was a solid pickup.
The rest of the team is a work in progress.
The Suns did make a max offer for Eric Gordon, who would have been a terrific addition, but the Hornets have made it clear from the beginning that they would match any offer. Once they do, it looks like the Suns will focus on getting O.J. Mayo to replace him.
Phoenix’s other big move was Beasley. The forward is talented, but his difficulty playing with others will be an issue. The fact that they’ll likely have to play him out of position at the 3 isn’t great either.
Marshall is a true point guard who sees the floor as well as anyone in the draft, but his lack of athleticism and defensive ability make me wonder if they reached a bit on him in the lottery.
At some point, the Suns will get around to realizing they should have traded Nash two years ago when he still had enormous value. What they’re left with is a handful of pieces that will struggle as a late-lottery team for the next few years.
GRADE: C-
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS
Key additions: Damian Lillard (draft), Meyers Leonard (draft), J.J. Hickson (re-sign), Victor Claver (draft), Joel Freeland (draft), Will Barton (draft), Neil Olshey (GM)Up in the air: Nicolas Batum (RFA, offer sheet)
Key subtractions: Jamal Crawford, Brandon Roy, Hasheem Thabeet, Nate McMillan (coach)
Three years ago, the Blazers could do no wrong. They’ve been in a downward spiral ever since. Is this the summer things start turning around in Portland?
I thought Lillard was the best point guard in the draft. He is in for a pretty big adjustment, going from the Big Sky Conference to the NBA, but he is such a hard worker and so fundamentally sound that I think it will happen. Leonard, a project, was a little more of a reach, but he has the requisite size and athletic ability to be a starting NBA center someday. Barton was a bit of steal in the second round. He is a good scorer with a nice midrange game. Overall, they had a strong draft.
The Blazers also added two former first-round picks, Claver and Freeland. Claver, a 3 with a high basketball IQ, played well in Spain last season. Freeland is an athletic big from England. Neither player projects as a star or even a starter in the NBA, but they add depth and should finally give the Blazers some return on their picks.
Hickson was solid for the Blazers last season and is re-signing on a reasonable one-year, $4 million deal.
The biggest question surrounds Batum. The Blazers, despite pronouncements to the contrary, have had to take a deep breath on the Wolves’ offer sheet. It’s more than they want to pay, but they are loath to just give him away, even with a sign-and-trade, to Minnesota. They’ll likely match, but they’ll do it reluctantly.
GRADE: B-
SACRAMENTO KINGS
Key additions: Thomas Robinson (draft), Jason Thompson (re-sign)Key subtractions: None
The Kings had another nice draft by adding Robinson. He is tough, physical and athletic and plays with a passion. Most importantly, Robinson doesn’t need the ball in his hands to make an impact. Between him and DeMarcus Cousins, they’re going to grab a ton of rebounds.
The Kings’ next move — re-signing Thompson to a multiyear contract averaging $6 million a year — was an odd deal for a player who won’t be able to beat out Cousins or Robinson for the starting job in the long term. Thompson is a solid player, but after working so hard to clear all their bad contracts, I think the Kings overpaid.
All of this raises the question: What did the Kings do to get better this summer? Robinson will help some, but he is not adding 10 wins to this roster. The Kings are probably looking at another year in lottery purgatory. Are they ever getting out?
GRADE: B-
SAN ANTONIO SPURS
Key additions: Tim Duncan (re-sign), Danny Green (re-sign), Boris Diaw (re-sign)Key subtractions: None
We say it every year: The Spurs are old.
Duncan is 36. Manu Ginobili turns 35 at the end of the month. EvenTony Parker is 30.
But it’s hard to break up a team that still performs the way San Antonio does.
The Spurs finished tied with the Bulls for the best record in the NBA last season. While Duncan, in particular, showed a little wear and tear, San Antonio is still dangerous.
Because of that, the Spurs’ moves this summer were modest. They are flirting with the luxury tax and are limited in what they can do. Their most important move was signing Duncan to another three-year deal. There was zero chance he was going anywhere else, so there was little drama. They also re-signed Green and Diaw, two important contributors to their run last season.
At some point, the Spurs’ foundation will start to crack, and when it does, Kawhi Leonard looks like the only true young building block for the future. You’d love to see the Spurs doing some of the things the Celtics are doing to shore up their future, but it’s hard to argue with the results.
GRADE: B-
TORONTO RAPTORS
Key additions: Kyle Lowry (trade), Jonas Valanciunas (draft),Terrence Ross (draft), Aaron Gray (re-sign), Quincy Acy (draft)Up in the air: Landry Fields (RFA, offer sheet)
Key subtractions: Jerryd Bayless, Gary Forbes
GM Bryan Colangelo went all-in on Steve Nash this summer. He had the hometown hero angle working for him. He offered Nash the biggest contract. He gave Fields a ridiculous contract to cut the Knicks’ sign-and-trade offer for Nash off at the knees. He even had Wayne Gretzky in his corner.
The one thing Colangelo didn’t have? A team that was close to Nash’s kids. In the end, Nash chose family over money or fame and, in doing so, inadvertently stuck another dagger into the hearts of Raptors fans everywhere.
While losing Nash was a blow, Raptors fans have things to look forward to this season. Getting Lowry for a future draft pick was a steal. He is a big upgrade at the point and gives them some toughness they desperately lacked.
Adding Valanciunas is also a pretty big deal. He may not be an impact player right out of the gate, but most general managers agree that he would have been the No. 2 pick in the draft behind Anthony Davis. Ross gives them a great shooter and athlete on the wing, and Acy is the type of player who will do all of the dirty work in the paint.
Pair those three with Andrea Bargnani, DeMar DeRozan and friends and the Raptors have a team that should be much more competitive this season.
The Raptors’ grade will go up another notch if the team lucks out and Fields’ offer sheet is matched by the Knicks. I don’t care what the Raptors are saying, they would have never paid him that much money had they known Nash was heading to L.A. If they’re stuck with him, it’s not the end of the world, but it’s a pretty big blemish on what has otherwise been a pretty positive summer.
GRADE: B-
UTAH JAZZ
Key additions: Mo Williams (trade), Marvin Williams (trade), Jeremy Evans (re-sign), Kevin Murphy (draft)Key subtractions: Devin Harris
The Jazz continue to quietly rebuild. They shocked just about everyone when they made the playoffs last season and did a few things this summer to make sure they stayed in contention for a seventh or eighth seed in the West.
Once again, GM Kevin O’Connor deftly used his assets to add depth to his roster. He turned Mehmet Okur‘s trade exception into a starting point guard and turned Harris’ expiring deal into Marvin Williams.
Williams should be a significant upgrade over Harris. He is a better shooter, he plays the pick-and-roll much better than Harris, and his shooting stroke and defensive abilities give Utah some much-needed depth at small forward.
I also liked their second-round draft choice. Murphy was one of the best scorers in college basketball last season, and he has deep range on his jumper. He is not the strongest or most athletic guy, but he could give the Jazz a nice scoring bump off the bench.
Utah has significant assets going forward, with expiring contracts in Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson along with, most likely, the Warriors’ 2013 first-round pick. If the Jazz want to make another big deal, they have the tools to get it done.
But Utah’s real progress will be determined by the growth of its young players. Derrick Favors and Gordon Hayward both have a chance to be special. Enes Kanter and Alec Burks could end up being solid as well. If they continue to improve, the Jazz are going to be tough to beat in a few years.
GRADE: B+
WASHINGTON WIZARDS
Key additions: Bradley Beal (draft), Emeka Okafor (trade), Trevor Ariza (trade)Key subtractions: Rashard Lewis
The Wizards went all-in this summer with a mixture of moves that should propel them from the second-worst record in the NBA into the hunt for a playoff spot in the East.
Adding Nene at the trade deadline was the first major shift, but the addition of Okafor and Ariza solidifies their front line. They now have toughness, some athleticism and some real defensive punch.
But the real story for the Wizards is Beal. Many scouts believed Beal was the second-best player in the draft — a sweet-shooting 2 who resembles Eric Gordon. The Wizards desperately needed to pair John Wall with a shooter, and Beal looks like the perfect fit.
If Wall turns the corner this season in his development, the Wizards have put together a formidable starting five without dramatically sacrificing their young core. The moves they made take away any cap flexibility for the next two years, but by the time Okafor and Ariza come off the books, Wall and Beal should be in a position to lead this team.
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