Best Move: Trading Joe Johnson to the Nets- They freed up a lot more cap space over the next few seasons while also remaining relatively competitive in the immediate future.
Worst Move: N/A- I like everything the Hawks have done this offseason in relation to their options for each of those moves.
Offseason Review: The Hawks hired former Cavs GM Danny Ferry to run their basketball operations, and he's been largely aggressive up to this point which is a stark contrast to the type of GM his tenure in Cleveland portrayed him to be. Up to this point, it seems like the Hawks made a sound decision there. The Hawks then drafted sharpshooter John Jenkins with the 23rd pick in the NBA draft, he should provide an immediate scoring punch off the bench and he was a solid value pick. Immediately upon the opening of free agency, the Hawks got to work, dealing Joe Johnson for basically young cheap role players, expiring contracts and cap flexibility.
Later they dealt 2005 Draft bust and overpaid SF Marvin Williams to the Utah Jazz for the expiring contract of Devin Harris. The Hawks will play him behind Jeff Teague as a ballhandler and giddily watch as his contract comes off the books next offseason. They signed Lou Williams, formerly of the Philadelphia 76ers to a cheap free agent contract and traded for Kyle Korver's expiring contract.
All in all, the Hawks created salary cap flexibility while remaining a fringe playoff team in the Eastern Conference. They still have some huge holes in the frontcourt, and will make little to no noise in the post-season next year if they're fortunate to make it, but I like their team's situation a lot more than i did a few months ago.
Offseason Grade: B
Best Move: S&T for Courtney Lee- The Celtics acquire some insurance for them in the wake of Avery Bradley's shoulder surgery, but also a young 2-guard who is prime for a breakout season statistically.
Worst Move: Drafting Fab Melo with the 22nd pick in the Draft- The Celtics were in a prime position to stockpile young players who were capable of contributing immediately to this last run with Garnett and Pierce, but instead went the developmental route with Melo. Maybe Garnett teaches him well, but there had to be better options.
Offseason Review: The Celtics got things started by drafting Jared Sullinger, Fab Melo and Kris Joseph (2nd rounder) in the NBA Draft and then followed that up by quietly re-signing Jeff Green to a contract that somehow vacillates between modest and overpaid, I don't know it kind of depends on my mood. They also re-signed Brandon Bass to a modest deal and he should play as their starting PF for much of next season, depending on the development of Jared Sullinger.
Faced with the possibility that Ray Allen might bolt Beantown, the Celtics acted quickly, signing Jason Terry to a mid-level deal. I think Jason Terry is actually a better fit for Boston than Ray is at this point in his career. Still a factor in the clutch, plays younger, can create his shot much better and is more of a combo guard. The Celtics are quietly building one of the more versatile backcourt rotations in the league, highlighted by them working a sign-and-trade with the Houston Rockets for the Free Agent rights to Courtney Lee, giving them an exciting young shooting guard who's already played in an NBA Finals and whose playing style seems to fit this team seamlessly. The Celtics then re-signed Keyon Dooling, a savvy move since he performed well in backup duties last season and now he'll be relegated to 5th-string guard duties. And he also served as a mentor of sorts to Courtney Lee during their time in New Jersey. Celtics also signed Summer League player Dionte Christmas, and veteran Jason Collins.
The Celtics got younger, more athletic on the perimeter and more versatile in the frontcourt. They seemed poised for a few more runs at a title while Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett are still "on their last legs."
Offseason Grade: B+
Brooklyn NetsBest Move: Trading for Joe Johnson- Technically there best move was re-signing Deron Williams to a max contract extension, but he said so himself, if it wasn't for the acquisition of Joe Johnson he likely would've signed with the Dallas Mavericks.
Worst Move: Signing Gerald Wallace to a 4 year $40 million deal-The Lopez and Humphries deals were vital to any potential Dwight Howard deal so those were necessary. But who exactly were the Nets bidding against for the rights to pay an aging Gerald Wallace 10 million per over the next 4 years? Andrei Kirilenko, who signed for 2 years 20 million only could arguably be a better option at Small Forward AND the Nets were rumored to be in the running for his services.
Offseason Review: The Nets added Tyshawn Taylor and Tornike Shengalia through the draft; re-upped Brook Lopez, Kris Humphries, Deron Williams and Gerald Wallace as well as adding CJ Watson, Mirza Teletovic, Reggie Evans, Jerry Stackhouse and Keith Bogans through free agency; and traded to acquire Joe Johnson. Overall the Nets distinguished a solid rotation of D-Will/CJ at the 1, JJ/Gerald Wallace/Brooks/Stackhouse on the wings with Humphries/Lopez/Teletovic/Evans at the big man spots. I have trouble finding any shot blocking or size with this team and they're running a little low on shooters at the wing spots, but Joe Johnson and Deron Williams, and I wrote about this earlier, are going to form a potent guard combo. The Nets did a tremendous job of positioning themselves to both contend for a playoff spot as well as contend for a shot at Dwight Howard.
Offseason Grade: A-
Charlotte BobcatsBest Move: Drafting Michael Kidd-Gilchrist with the 2nd pick in the Draft.
Worst Move: Bobcats only made 4 moves, ehhhh.
Offseason Review: The Charlotte Bobcats rebounded from what was without a doubt the worst season in NBA history with the hiring of Mike Dunlap as head coach...he's a rookie head coach we'll hold out judgement, just know that I believe he was the interim head coach at St. John's last year...yeah. Then the drafting of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist with the 2nd overall selection in this past draft, loved the selection, he's going to be a stud. And picking up Jeffery Taylor with the 31st pick was an absolute steal as well. The Bobcats traded the expiring contract of Corey Maggette to the Detroit Pistons for two years of Ben Gordon at about $11 per...okay. I mean Ben Gordon is a nice pickup, he could be the starting shooting guard or your uber effective sixth man but he, amnesty pickup Brendan Haywood and free agent idiot Ramon Sessions aren't exactly going to lead this team back to the playoffs anytime soon. This grade would be alot lower if they'd passed on MKG for Beal or something.
Offseason Grade: C+
Chicago BullsBest Move: Signing Kirk Hinrich to a free agent contract to be their Derrick Rose insurance- ahhhh.....
Worst Move: Letting their entire bench leave and making up for it with Marco Belinelli, Vladimir Radmanovic and Nazr Mohammed.
Offseason Review: Yeesh, okay so the Bulls knew they'd have to get creative. They had Derrick Rose, Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah at contracts worth over 10 million dollars, and they had key contributors like Omer Asik, CJ Watson and Ronnie Brewer up for new contracts. The Bulls have never been keen on paying luxury tax penalties which would've kicked in had they brought the whole gang back at market value contracts. All these led us to believe the Bulls MAY look a little differently next season, but this...this is tough. They cut ties with Kyle Korver, Omer Asik, CJ Watson, John Lucas, Ronnie Brewer and they added the aforementioned "bargains" and also Marquis Teague through the draft. I mean, I'll get to their season when I do my season predictions in October by this Bulls team as of right now is....interesting to say the least. Rough offseason.
Offseason Grade: D+
Cleveland CavaliersBest Move: Drafting Dion Waiters with the 4th pick in the Draft-May regret not taking Harrison Barnes though...I like Dion though!..
Worst Move: Trading all those picks for Kelenna Azubiuike and the draft rights to Tyler Zeller- I see Tyler Zeller as a good 4th big man in the league. And the weirdest part is I think that's exactly what the Cavaliers see him as too. If that was the asking price for Zeller's draft rights, then let me get in that market.
Offseason Review: Not alot of activity from the Cavaliers thus far in this offseason. They recently announced they were done making offseason moves, which is an interesting thing to announce in the first place, but let's just assume they weren't bullshitting us. They added a player who they INTEND to be the 2-guard complement to Kyrie Irving, but from what we know about him, he needs the ball to be at his best and he doesn't have ideal size. Ok. They overpaid for Tyler Zeller and a guard off the bench in Azubiuke, and claimed The Great Typo Jon Leuer off waivers. So, basically they are what they were...still.
Offseason Grade: C
Best Move: Signing OJ Mayo to a bargain contract-He seems poised for a breakout year...or at least we hope he'll finally do something. Yeah that's more like it.
Worst Move: Mark Cuban not being in the freaking meeting to court Deron Williams- Apparently he had prior commitments....yeah, I'm just as confused as you.
Offseason Review: So thank god the Mavs had some semblance of a Plan B to their well thought out plan of landing Deron Williams and Dwight Howard, because you know, when was the last time a marquee free agent turned down Dallas? So they reloaded of sorts, after losing Jason Terry, Jason Kidd and missing out on D-Will. Picked up Elton Brand off waivers; dealt the rights to Tyler Zeller for immediate impact rookies in Bernard James, Jae Crowder and Jared Cunningham; signed OJ Mayo and Chris Kaman to free agent deals and re-upped Delonte West; and acquired Darren Collison and Dahntay Jones for third string big man Ian Mahinmi. They should compete for a low-ended playoff seed based on the drive of Dirk Nowitzki alone and then re-enter this same position next year. Solid title defense, Mark.
Offseason Grade: B-
Best Move: Re-signing JaVale McGee to 4 yrs $44 million-George Karl really got the best out of him last season. Interested to see if they help this kid reach his vast potential.
Worst Move: Clogging their frontcourt with a "too expensive" deal for Anthony Randolph- The Nuggets are in a positon where unless they get a frontcourt who's going to start at 4 over Kenneth Faried, they should just stop. They're loaded with tweeners.
Offseason Review: The Nuggets drafted Evan Fournier, opening the door for Rudy Fernandez to leave. A wash there. Liked the re-signing of Andre Miller, his game is tailor-made for him to play until his late 30's and he and Ty Lawson formed a really potent two guard line up last year. JaVale McGee should finally start at center and this Nuggets team looks like the true embodiment of George Karl's system. Should be a fun season. Like the 2nd round pickup of Quincy Miller as well, no risk-high reward.
Offseason Grade: B
Best Move: Drafted Andre Drummond to be the frontcourt mate of Greg Monroe- There's one thing Drummond can do right now and that's block shots, if he develops to about half of his potential he'd be a plain old IDEAL match in the lineup with Greg.
Worst Move: Trading Ben Gordon for Corey Maggette- An admittal that their 2009 ill-fated free agency splurge was in fact an ill-fated free agency splurge. And aside from that it also clogged their small forward position even further. That's like 67 small forwards now right?
Offseason Review: The Pistons didn't really put an indent on the makeup of their team in any way. They could develop a little more with their personnel and seemingly end up as a middle of the pack team in the Eastern Conference...what's the point of that? Brandon Knight and Rodney Stuckey are still a conflicting pairing at the guard spots from a stylistic point of view, but i like them both individually! I'm intrigued to see new signings Kyle Singler and Vyacheslav Kravtsov perform and see if they fit the current Pistons mold of "just average guys". Either way, the Pistons seem to be treading a treadmill right now...just not really going anywhere.
Offseason Grade: C
Best move: Drafting Harrison Barnes with the 7th pick- Kudos to the Warriors for not panicking and taking a big man to fill that 3rd big role, and selecting a smooth-operating Small Forward who looks like a sexy fit alongside Klay Thompson.
Worst move: N/A-I haven't "not liked" anything the Warriors have done this offseason. They even chose not to re-sign Nate Robinson! Round of applause.
Offseason Review: Biiiiiiiig season for the Warriors. I like everything they did, they got a legit starting Small Forward, traded their old Small Forward for a much needed backup point guard, picked up versatile bench players in Festus Ezeli and Draymond Green as well as sneaky free agent pickup Carl Landry. In fact, I dont remember the last time a team acquired Carl Landry and it wasn't sneaky. Feels like that's just his role now. They were able to indirectly slide Andris Biedrins over to his perfect role as a 3rd big man, and now they have a team! It all just hinges on Andrew Bogut....and his creaky Australian bones. If he's any bit close to the center he was a few seasons ago before he went down during the Bucks' 2010 playoff run then this Warriors team is in the playoffs. Oh, and also Stephen Curry's ankles! This team would have gotten an A+ if they were able to hire the Phoenix Sun's medical staff.
Offseason Grade: A-
Best Move: Backloading Jeremy Lin's contract- They need SOMETHING to show for absolutely gutting this team!
Worst Move: Letting their entire starting five from last year go....yeah probably that.
Offseason Review: The Rockets have an admirable goal for their future, a goal that I respect. They chose not to remain in the NBA wasteland that is the "fringe playoff contender" and actually bottom out with the hopes of either bottling assets to acquire a high-end player OR securing a high draft pick and rebuilding from that point. It was a risky move by well-respected GM Daryl Morey but a move that could reap golden benefits. The funny thing was that I still liked their draft haul from this past draft. All the players they took were value picks and should contribute right away to the battle for the 11th spot in the Western Conference. They got Omer Asik to play their center spot and Jeremy Lin to play their starting point guard spot, passing by on players who were arguably better than those two guys who played their last year! Ahh well, in the name of competitive balance!
Offseason Grade: C+
Best Move: Matching the offer sheet to RFA Roy Hibbert- Pacers were already thin enough in their front line, so naturally you wouldn't like to lose your best frontcourt player.
Worst Move: Drafting Miles Plumlee with the 26th pick- The Pacers are lucky they recently got...not as white or else this move would be...(stopping because I'm entering some risky territory)
Offseason Review: Pacers never really addressed their need for big man depth...unless you call Plumlee that? Eww let's move on. I like the additions of Gerald Green and DJ Augustin, they're different in a way of the guys they have last year and I can't lie I just want to see Gerald Green get up in a game that actually means something. The Playoffs will be better next year with his above the rim self. Orlando Johnson was good value in the second round, and Darren Collison was going to leave anyways so they might as well have gotten Mahinmi for him...but $4 million per year over the next four for him? I'll take it, what's their series lead over Miami again? Oh...
Offseason Grade: C-
Best Move: Re-signing Chauncey Billups- Much more important to that Clippers team, pre-injury than people think.
Worst Move: Still having Vinny Del Negro- For those who don't know, I'm not exactly a fan of Vinny's coaching abilities, but apparently he was given alot more control of Clippers' personnel and I actually like alot of their offseason moves. Well done, oh inept one.
Offseason Review: Clippers flipped Mo Williams to the Jazz in a 3-teamer to reacquire Lamar Odom with the hopes that living in LA and playing for the new rival to his former team will inspire some kind of a good year out of him. They then made up for the loss of Mo with Jamal Crawford. I like the move, but Jamal Crawford is a little inefficient and he'll probably man the bench unit and try to be that irrational confidence guy come playoff time. The Clippers are going to be a fun team to say the least. Hopefully that Blake Griffin guy is healthy, because they "made up" for their lack of frontcourt girth with the signings of Ryan Hollins and Ronny Turiaf....
Offseason Grade: B
Best Move: Trading for Steve Nash- No matter your opinion on what Nash can do at this stage in his career, this is the first time Kobe's played with an above average point guard in his career. (Sorry Smush Parker, sadface)
Worst Move: They didnt make enough moves for one to be bad. Although they're the Lakers so....
Offseason Review: The Lakers acquired Steve Nash in a trade with the Phoenix Suns and signed the smooth Antawn Jamison to a minimum deal. They re-upped Jordan Hill to a bargain contract to play the other backup big man spot and they may be in the running for Leandro Barbosa. There's also rumblings of them incorporating the Princeton offense into their repertoire, and to that I say FINALLY. They've done such a thorough job of shitting all over Pau Gasol's immense gifts that it seems about time they do something that actually highlights them. Jeez, that was painful.
Offseason Grade: B
Best Move: Trading Darrell Cunningham to the Timberwolves for Wayne Ellington- They just lost OJ Mayo in free agency and Wayne Ellington is a cheaper option and gives them another shooter.
Worst Move: Lack of a move to deal either Zach Randolph or Rudy Gay- I still think the Grizzlies will have to make a move with either of those two guys, or be stuck underneath their hefty contracts in addition to the contracts of Gasol and Conley.
Offseason Review: The Grizzlies will be better next season than they were last year. They added two backup point guards in Tony Wroten and Jerryd Bayless that give them two different looks stylistically. They'll have Darrell Arthur for a full season as well as Marreese Speights to provide a solid 5-big rotation of Gasol-Randolph-Arthur-Speights-Haddadi. But I'll tackle whether these changes will be enough to propel the Grizz to Western Conference elite in my Season Preview article. Let's just say it doesn't look good.
Offseason Grade: C+
Miami HeatBest Move: Signing Ray Allen to a free agent contract- Imagine LeBron James drawing a double team in the post or Dwayne Wade drawing one off a dribble drive and try to tell me a kick-out to Ray Allen isn't the most terrifying thing ever for opposing defenses. Actually there probably are more terrifying things...but you get my point.
Worst Move: The defending champs are in a scary place right now...there are no "worst moves". Although I probably would've liked them sign a player to replace Mario Chalmers in the doghouse. His baby face is too innocent, leave him alone.
Offseason Review: Out goes Ronny Turiaf and in goes Ray Allen, Rashard Lewis and new bench cheerleader Justin Hamilton. The Heat are coming off a scary Finals in which LeBron James showed flashes of the ability to legitimately dominate the league for the next 5 years. Not "potential" but like "it's a matter of time", so...Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis just got that much more sexy of pickups. Also their job description is too precious: sit outside beyond the arc and drill wide open threes. It's gonna be a fun year in South Beach.
Offseason Grade: B+
Milwaukee BucksBest Move: Re-signing Ersan Ilyasova- He's a player a team like the Bucks need if they want to contend. Got him for a decent deal as well.
Worst Move: They weren't very active this offseason. Merp.
Offseason Review: Samuel Dalembert is playing the last year unguaranteed so he's a great pickup to fill the Center slot with little to no risk attached to him. John Henson looked good in Summer League and he'll have a solid mentor in Dalembert to teach him how to dominate a game defensively. Doron Lamb is a knock-down three point shooter and this team will truly respect that with guys like Monta and Brandon Jennings who can get to the basket and force a defense to collapse. The Bucks were in playoff contention without a true center for much of last season and now they have a full season of Monta Ellis AND better frontcourt depth. We'll see.
Offseason Grade: B
Best Move: Low risk signings of Brandon Roy and Andrei Kirilenko- I actually expect a better than recent season for Kirilenko, playing in an offense tailor made to his cutting abilities. Brandon Roy is a no-risk, high-reward signing.
Worst Move: Trading Wesley Johnson and a 1st round pick to the Phoenix Suns- Was the Wesley Johnson draft pick really bad enough to where they could only dump him by throwing in a first round pick also? Just a reminder, he was taken one spot ahead of DeMarcus Cousins in the 2010 NBA Draft. Cue Minnesota fans slamming their heads against the desk.
Offseason Review: BIG year for Derrick Williams. He's apparently been working his body to play the Small Forward position next season, so the Timberwolves went ahead and nimbly added three Small Forwards to the roster. Enter Kirilenko, Budinger and rookie Robbie Hummel. I like this Timberwolves team though, and they added Celtics backup center Greg Stiemsma who played much of last season hurt, so that should provide some added girth up front where they lacked it last season. I mean, last year their third big man was Darko Milicic so...yeah. I'd like them alot more now if Rubio returned 100%. So here's to knee surgery progressions!
Offseason Grade: B+
New Orleans HornetsBest Move: Drafting Anthony Davis- a no brain decision, but still a move that could potentially transform the franchise.
Worst Move: Not getting a point guard- Austin Rivers could be a nice player, but I don't see him as a point guard at all. And a point guard is going to be vital for this team if they want to maximize the talents of Anthony Davis and get all their young talent good shots. I wouldn't be surprised if they were trying to swing a trade mid-season for a point guard.
Offseason Review: Drafted Anthony Davis and Austin Rivers with their two top 10 picks and then Darius Miller in the 2nd round. Darius Miller was great value at 46 and Austin Rivers is going to be a good player in this league, but I would've liked to have seen them get creative to fill that point guard slot. They sent Gustavo Ayon to the Orlando Magic in a sign and trade for reigning Most Improved Player of the Year, Ryan Anderson. Coupled with the additions of Hakim Warrick and Robin Lopez it looks like Ryan will be used in a sixth man type of role for this team, and just come in off the bench to light it up. This team isn't done building their team, with still 3 slots open before they reach the maximum 15 players, but thus far their moves have brought them alot closer to playoff contention than they were last year. Still a ways away though.
Offseason Grade: B+
New York KnicksBest Move: Acquiring Raymond Felton in a sign and trade with the Blazers- If he's healthy (not fat) and motivated, then he could be better from a production standpoint than former Knicks PG, Jeremy Lin. And he also has nice chemistry with Amare Stoudemire, with their time spent during the 2010-2011 season.
Worst Move: Letting Jeremy Lin leave as a RFA-He was such a valuable asset even with that $15 million dollar final season. I will never understand why the Knicks let him go.
Offseason Review: No draft picks so the Knicks built through trades in free agency. Signing Jason Kidd, Ronnie Brewer, JR Smith, Steve Novak, James White and Chris Copeland to free agent deals and swinging trades for the contracts of Marcus Camby, Kurt Thomas and Raymond Felton. The Knicks still have the loaded frontcourt of Amare Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler and I'm still not sure if I mean loaded as in talent or loaded as in wallet size, but alas the Knicks look better ON PAPER than they did last year. JR Smith is in a reserve role where he belongs, the Knicks boast shooting, veteran leadership, intangibles, a go-to scorer and a floor general. The only thing holding them back is the fact that they're still the Knicks.
Offseason Grade: B-
Oklahoma City ThunderBest Move: Drafting Perry Jones with the 28th pick in the draft-No risk with this pick and tons of upside. He's in the perfect spot as well.
Worst Move: Defending Western Conference Champs...we'll leave them alone.
Offseason Review: Hasheem Thabeet and Hollis Thompson, two young guys on non-guaranteed deals with tons to prove to go along with Perry Jones III who may have the most to prove out of any incoming rookie this season. Those types of players go great with the now seasoned young talent the Thunder will boast heading into next year. The Thunder just signed Daniel Orton earlier last night. Like that move alot if he can rebound from his knee injuries. But alas, expect a big season from the Okies.
Offseason Grade: C+
Orlando MagicBest Move: Hanging on to Dwight Howard- The Magic are creeping in on the specific point in time where they lose all the leverage in this charade, but their justifiably milking it until they get a good enough offer.
Worst Move: Re-signing Jameer Nelson to a 3 year deal worth over $19 million-I understand the Magic trying to "be savvy with their contracts" in not extending Ryan Anderson or even with their steadfast refusal not to trade Dwight Howard without a team taking on their "bad contracts". But Jameer Nelson's new deal pretty much makes him their worst contract other than Gilbert Arenas. So....what?
Offseason Review: This grade means nothing still, since Dwight Howard is still on their roster. And since the only way to solve the whole Dwight Howard fiasco is him leaving the team, I guess this "offseason" is incomplete for the Magic. But all in all I hated their re-signing of Jameer to that kind of contract, I thought they could've gotten better value at the 19th pick in the draft than Andrew Nicholson and Gustavo Ayon is no Ryan Anderson. If you want to get some good out of this, then check out my article I wrote earlier in mid-July about the Magic's little situation with Big Dwight.
Offseason Grade: D+
Philadelphia 76ersBest Move: Getting Dorell Wright for nothing basically- Dorell Wright was miscast as a starting small forward during his time in Oakland. He should excel for this team as their backup small forward and provide them with a dimension they didn't have last year in three point shooting.
Worst Move: Signing Kwame Brown to shore up their fronctourt depth- It's Kwame Brown.
Offseason Review: The Philadelphia 76ers made it to the second round of the playoffs last year, and albeit it was in large part due to the ACL tear of Derrick Rose in Round 1, they still made the Boston Celtics earn everything they got in Round 2. That Celtics team could've made the Finals, so it's impressive to a degree. The Sixers are incredibly versatile and athletic on the wings still, swapping the scoring of Lou Williams for the scoring of Nick Young and then adding Dorell Wright. They add athletic small forward Moe Harkless to the lineup and big man Arnett Moultre, both as first round draft picks. They rounded their offseason movement up by amnestying Elton Brand, re-upping Spencer Hawes and Lavoy Allen as well as snagging Royal Ivey from the Thunder. The Sixers still lack a premier scorer on the roster but they're just as versatile as ever.
Offseason Grade: B
Phoenix SunsBest Move: Signing Goran Dragic to a reasonable contract- He'll be their point guard of the future, I don't know where that leaves Kendall Marshall though, but i loved this signing.
Worst Move: Being unable to swing Steve Nash for a player- I have no problem with the haul the Suns received in exchange for the best player in that franchise's history, but with guys like Landry Fields, Iman Shumpert and such on the table at one point or another. It would've been interesting to see if they could've been a bit more creative.
Offseason Review: The Suns finally enter their year of transition post-Nash. They tried their best to land Eric Gordon to be their next star, and he was very vocal about his desire to be their as well so that may speak well to their ability to attract free agents in the future. But anyways their haul for the offseason of 2012 turned out to be just Goran Dragic, Michael Beasley, Shannon Brown (re-sign), Wesley Johnson, Luis Scola (amnesty wire), Jerome Dyson and Kendall Marshall (draft). They said goodbye to Robin Lopez, Hakim Warrick, Grant Hill, Steve Nash, Ronnie Price and the rights to Aaron Brooks. But most importantly this offseason saw them get rid of the always useless Josh Childress!!! (sound of Phoenix fans rejoicing in the desert or wherever they may reside). Not gonna lie that may have just earned them a few more grade points. But alas...
Offseason Grade: C- (way to semi-recover from that gut punch that was losing Steve Nash to the Lakers)
Portland TrailblazersBest Move: Re-signing Nicolas Batum-The Timberwolves attempted to pry Batum away with a huge RFA offer sheet, but the Blazers matched. Now Batum's a hugely important piece of their team. Hopefully with more touches he's worth the $11+ million he'll be owed over the next four years.
Worst Move: Meyers Leonard with the 11th pick-Just...yeesh. I mean...ahh.
Offseason Review: The Blazers added what they believe to be their lead guard and big man of the future with their two top-11 picks in the draft; Damian Lillard and Meyers Leonard. I love Lillard, he's a dynamic scoring guard and I think he'll be successful in this league. Leonard is an athlete...and that's great. He's going to have to be thoroughly developed in his first few years in my opinion if the Blazers want to see the type of production one would expect with a center taken with the 11th pick. They then re-upped JJ Hickson in free agency as well as Nic Batum, signed Ronnie Price from the Suns and got past draft picks Victor Claver and Joel Freeland to finally come in from their overseas playing duties. Through sign and trade deals the Blazers also acquired Jared Jeffries, Kostas Papanikoloau, Sasha Pavlovic and Giorgos Printezis. A little Will Barton was also sprinkled in to this offseason's plans. My fear is that the Blazers seem to be building a team poised to be a fringe playoff team in the near future.
Offseason Grade: C+
Sacramento KingsBest Move: Drafting Thomas Robinson with the 5th pick- If he stays in the paint and becomes that rebounding, athletic, workhorse that he's capable of being then the Kings may have just found their perfect complement to DeMarcus Cousins in the frontcourt.
Worst Move: Not solidifying their small forward position- Whether that be through a high impact signing or a trade possibly involving Tyreke Evans for an upper-echelon small forward the Kings sorely needed an upgrade. The Kings got no production out of their "small forwards" last season.
Offseason Review: The Hassan Whiteside era is over :(. Awww, he was such a valiant bench guy with his half asleep looking eyes over the last two years. My lasting impression of him will be his weak post move in some shitty February blow out at the hands of the Clippers getting swatted by the vastly undersized Trey Thompkins. Good luck wherever Hassan. Israel? Turkey? D-League? But anyways, the Kings again had a relatively quiet offseason. Re-signing Jason Thompson on an absolute steal of a contract, bringing in Aaron Brooks and James Johnson for nothing at all, and drafting Thomas Robinson with the fifth pick in a good draft. It was a solid offseason for the Kings though. Their lineups have the potential to be very versatile, but the improvement with this team is going to have to come from within. Thomas Robinson was a very good pickup and this team retained alot of future cap flexibility while also improving on paper.
Offseason Grade: C
San Antonio SpursBest Move: Re-signing Tim Duncan- One more go-round in San Antonio!
Worst Move: Spurs just brought all their guys back for one more run at a title. So close last year.
Offseason Review: The Spurs are bringing back the same group that went all the way to the Western Conference Finals last year except with additions of late 2nd round pick Marcus Denmon and past draftee Nando de Colo. The Spurs will look to improve from within, as they have a nice mix of young guys (Green, Leonard, Neal, Splitter) with their established veterans (Parker, Ginobili, Duncan, Diaw, Jackson, Bonner) and hopefully they ride the same wave as last year back to prominence. They're such a fun team to watch.
Offseason Grade: C
Toronto RaptorsBest Move: Trade to acquire Kyle Lowry from the Rockets- The Raptors have been in desperate need of a dynamic player and Lowry played like one for much of the last season until his injury. His acquisition also gives them flexibility as they shop around the expiring contract of their other point guard, Jose Calderon.
Worst Move: Overpaying for Landry Fields- This is kind of a bullshit "worst move" because they had to overpay for him, and he actually further solidifies their wing. But there were other options for the Raptors had they chose to go those other routes. They were largely influenced to make this move to take Landry out of the Knicks' trade assets in a potential Steve Nash deal, because at the time the Raptors wanted him as well.
Offseason Review: Lithuanian center prospect Jonas Valanciunas comes over along with 2012 draftees Terrence Ross, Quincy Acy and Tomislav Zubcic to provide a sudden infusion of young talent for the Raptors. Jonas Valanciunas has had trouble in these 2012 Olympics but the hope is that he'll be that solid big man complement to the floor stretching abilities of Andrea Bargnani. Terrence Ross and Landry Fields along with the re-signing of Alan Anderson should create enough wing man depth to give DeMar DeRozan that kick in the ass to improve his play the Raptors have been searching for. John Lucas III comes over from the Bulls to provide the Raptors with good guard depth.
Offseason Grade: C+
Utah JazzBest Move: Acquiring Mo Williams from the Los Angeles Clippers- Mo is an electric scoring guard off the bench who's value doubles considering he's also an expiring contract.
Worst Move: Dealing the expiring contract of Devin Harris for Marvin Williams- Devin Harris was a valuable asset as an expiring contract. And although Marvin is a small forward and he "fills a need", he's not like...a good player? So....
Offseason Review: The Jazz added Tennessee Tech product Kevin Murphy with the 47th pick in the draft, and he should be sure to get lost in their guard rotation unless they make some more adjustments. Through free agency the Jazz also added Randy Foye and re-upped Jeremy Evans to reasonable deals. The Jazz made the playoffs last year as an 8th seed over teams who've sinced taken a step back in Phoenix and Houston. They didn't really get any better, but this could be their last year to make a playoff run with this current core, as Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap are set to become free agents after this season. They better hope this was a good enough offseason.
Offseason Grade: C-
Washington WizardsBest Move: Amnestying Andray Blatche- I know that Bradley Beal getting drafted should be in this spot. But jeez, thank god Andray is out.
Worst Move: Trading Rashard Lewis for Emeka Okafor and Trevor Ariza-In some respects this was an admirable move by Wizards' brass. They made moves to put this team in a position to contend for a playoff spot while also still developing their young players (Wall, Beal, Vesely, Booker, Singleton, Crawford) and if Wall takes that next step and Beal gives them solid production at the 2-spot his first year then this is a great move! But Lewis was such a big expiring contract, was this really the best they could've gotten for him? And Ariza and Okafor pretty much clog up their cap space for the next 2-3 years. It better work out is all I'm saying.
Offseason Review: The Wizards drafted Bradley Beal with the 3rd pick in the NBA Draft and the athletic Czechian small forward Tomas Satoransky with the 32nd pick. They acquired Trevor Ariza and Emeka Okafor through trades as well as re-upping Cartier Martin to shore up their wing depth. The Wizards are hoping that alot of their young players develope to provide solid complements to their veteran presences in the frontcourt (Ariza, Nene, Okafor). We'll get to my season predictions of them later but for now this offseason represents that next step in this particular Wizards' team development. Now it's playoffs or bust.
Offseason Grade: C+
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