NBA Offseason Recap

 For the 4 months after Stephen Curry began his ‘night-night’ celebration, NBA front offices scrambled and slogged daily to help their respective teams. Whether it was to improve their team from the past season and turn it into contenders, or to begin the almighty “tank” for who is proclaimed to be a generational prospect not seen since the likes of Lebron James twenty years ago, this offseason has given us a lot to look forward to. 

A typical NBA offseason showcases two kinds of teams: those that are buying, and those that are selling. Teams who fall under the “buying” category consider themselves to be contenders and look to acquire key pieces to strengthen their playoff chances for the upcoming season. “Selling” teams, on the other hand, are teams that do not believe themselves to be true championship contenders. They usually look to trade some of their quality assets for future draft equity, hoping to rebuild their team through the draft. These teams are also more likely to tank the regular season to land a higher pick in the draft, giving them a much greater chance of drafting the next superstar.

As the season begins, we reflect on these four months to recap what the biggest trades were, as well as the expectations teams may have for themselves going into the season. The purpose of this article is to look at the big trades that happened during the offseason and to break down whether or not they appear to benefit the chances of the involved teams. 

Utah Jazz 

Having tried the Mitchell-Gobert experiment for close to five years and seeing little to no success in the postseason, Danny Ainge decided to flip things around to begin the ultimate tank for Victory Wembyama (or alternatively Scoot Henderson). The Jazz has not been to the conference finals for a long time now, and it made no sense to keep both all-stars on the team when they were unable to lead the team even close to finals. Sensing this, both of them were traded to separate teams for seemingly outrageous settlements. 

At the beginning of July, Rudy Gobert was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Considered one of the biggest trades in NBA history, the Timberwolves dealt away five quality role players, four future first-round picks, and one pick swap for the three-time DPOY. Many would consider this borderline stupid, for a player whose only real value is defense. Gobert has never averaged more than 16 points per game in his career, with his career average being stuck at a lowly 12.4 points per game. His offensive game is extremely limited to the paint, as he has never made a three-pointer in his career, while also shooting just 63% from the free throw line.

Minnesota Timberwolves:

 

The Timberwolves ran one of the biggest deals in history to pair Rudy Gobert alongside Karl Anthony-Towns. On paper, the team looks solid, with four either previous or current all-stars in the starting five. What the Wolves gave up to procure Gobert is depth, with some of their leading role players shipped to Utah, not to mention the boatloads of draft capital. The move however does turn the Timberwolves into contenders, as they might get the defensive big that they had lacked last year. The Wolves are in win-now mode, but they have age on their side. Most of their squad is below twenty-eight years of age, with Gobert being the only noteworthy thirty-plus-year-old player. There is a contract issue that leads to over $100 million being paid to KAT and Gobert a couple of years down the line. However, if this deal turns out to be good enough to bring Minnesota its first championship, then I believe all is forgiven.

 

Brooklyn Nets:

 

After having one of the most tumultuous seasons in recent history, the Nets also had an equally up-and-down offseason. Planning to get rid of Kyrie Irving, the Nets allowed him to scour the market for a sign-and-trade deal. To their dismay, he did not receive any offers which meant that he would pick up his player option for what could be his last year in Brooklyn. Not too long after that came the Kevin Durant bombshell. Just days into free agency, KD demanded a trade from Brooklyn, saying he had had enough. He issued an ultimatum to owner Joe Tsai, which stated that Tsai was to choose between him, or the pairing of General Manager Sean Marks and head Coach Steve Nash. The Nets received offers from nearly half the teams in the league, with various teams taking interest in him. Ultimately, it became evident that the Rudy Gobert trade had set the bar too high for a superstar of Durant’s caliber to be traded, which meant that KD and the Nets were going to run it back for what might be one final time.

The Nets did lose key pieces during the offseason, such as rebounding powerhouse Andre Drummond. On top of that, they lost Bruce Brown, whose absence is very notable on the current roster, as well as a couple of old veterans who signed on league minimum deals elsewhere. This may have a deterring impact on the team, as the front office did nothing to shore up the defensive end, something that will have a major impact as the season goes on.

 

 

San Antonio Spurs:

 

Similarly to what seems to be half the teams in the league, the San Antonio Spurs have begun the tank. They had only one all-star player in Dejounte Murray, which meant that the team wasn’t bad enough to be in the lottery, but wasn’t good enough to be in the play-in conversation. Spurs GM traded Murray to the Hawks for three future first-round picks and a bunch of mediocre role players, further increasing their chances to obtain the first pick in next year’s draft. As the first week has concluded, however, the Spurs look like one of the better teams in their conference with a 3-1 record to start the season. This is unlikely to continue, but expect a few more trades to go down before the deadline’s arrival.

OKC, Magic, Rockets, Wizards, Kings, Pistons, Pacers, Hornets

These are all the teams that fit in the same category. All of them have given up all the valuable players they had, shifting them all around and searching for draft equity. For the most part, they have been successful. Between these eight teams, they acquired eleven second-rounders, as well as four first-round picks in this offseason alone. All of them are rebuilding teams who are willing to wait several years and groom players before heading into title contention. The Hornets currently have Lamelo Ball injured, while Miles Bridges is getting ready for his trial. The Wizards on the other hand have not made it past the first round since 2017. They have offered Bradley Beal a supermax that sees him making over $50 million for the next five years. 

All these teams are currently in the race for highly lucrative prospects next year, with projected 1st and 2nd picks being once-in-a-generation talents. Their signings were restricted to roster-filling free agents, while their trades were not noteworthy or beneficial to their team for the current season. It will be interesting to see how the season progresses for each of these teams.

Pelicans, Suns, Bucks, Heat, Grizzlies, 76ers

It is worth noting that each of these teams falls under the category of legitimate contenders, which shows that they are confident in their capability to go the distance with the same squad. 

These are teams that fall into the select category of those that did not make too many additions to their outwardly playoff-contending rosters. They made a few changes here and there, and mixed up their bench, and traded a role player for a role player, but their squads have largely remained the same. At most, each team has strengthened its bench and increased its depth, something that was lacking in multiple teams when key players were injured. 

Boston Celtics

After coming off a Finals run that severely exposed their depth issues, the Celtics decided to revamp their roster. They traded away reserve players to acquire a true point guard in Malcolm Brogdon, a move that is showing its success in the initial weeks of the season. They added a backup forward to Al Horford in Danilo Gallinari, adding a polished veteran to their young bench. Unfortunately for them, Gallinari got injured in the EuroBasket and is predicted to be out for the entire season. The loss of coach Ime Udoka and Robert Williams III ( 2 months at minimum) will certainly hurt them, but I expect the team to continue to dominate the East.

Atlanta Hawks

The Hawks added another dynamic offensive weapon alongside Trae Young to take some pressure off him. Dejounte Murray played brilliantly last season with impressive offensive numbers, averaging 21.2ppg (points per game) on 46% FG(field goal). This means that Young does not need to shoulder the offense every night, and the offensive and defensive improvement that Murray brings cannot be denied. He is a young star and can blossom even more. However, the Hawks did end up losing 3 first-round picks and a pick swap, which might be a heavy deal noting that the Spurs were going to end up trading Murray anyway.

New York Knicks

The Knicks upgraded their young core by adding twenty-six-year-old guard Jalen Brunson to their team in free agency. The team does not have the stars for them to make a deep playoff run; at the same time, they have enough strength to make sure that they do not make the playoffs at all. Due to this conundrum, the Knicks are left as mediocre, neither here nor there. This does give them a chance of making the playoffs, but the team does not look like anything more than a possible second-round exit.

LA Clippers

The Clippers strengthened their second unit by bringing in former five-time All-Star John Wall to run the second unit alongside Norman Powell and Terence Mann. This provides them with a much-needed boost in guard depth. The move also signifies their return to title contenders, as long as Paul George and Kawhi Leonard stay healthy the whole year.

Golden State Warriors

The Warriors began their title defense with a shaky offseason, losing key rotational players Gary Payton II and Otto Porter Jr. to the Blazers and Raptors respectively. They did try to make up for those losses, adding Donte Divincenzo and JaMychal Green, while also handing out four-year contract extensions to both Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins. Only time will tell if the team feels the loss of their key rotational players from last season.

Bulls, Raptors, Trail Blazers, Nuggets, Mavericks

These teams are the dark horses of the league. None of them have made any significant acquisitions in the offseasons except maybe a couple of role players, and they don’t seem to be championship contenders on the surface. Each of these teams is almost guaranteed playoff contenders. but the lack of bench depth and playoff experience is a big disadvantage for them. It is also a role player and veteran issue, as both teams do not have any noticeable veterans on the team nor do they have quality role players on the team to help them in a potential championship run. However, each team’s star power does have the quality to overlook each issue, and it would not surprise anyone if they can make a deep playoff run this year. 

Lakers

After seeing the disaster that was the big three of Russell Westbrook, Lebron James, and Anthony Davis, the biggest narrative heading into the offseason was that Russell was going to be traded. Not only did that not happen, but the Lakers also brought in various free agents to revamp their squad. They let go of older veterans in Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard, to bring in young guys who have historically not shot the ball well. This does not bode well for them as the three-point shooting is still not improving. The team is one of the best defensively, but it was often the offense that let them down last season, and they did not do much to fill that hole. 

Cavaliers

The Cavaliers upgraded their lineup by adding multiple three-time all-stars Donovan Mitchell in exchange for a couple of picks, a couple of role players, and a pick-swap. Their noteworthy young core now includes the likes of Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen, Darius Garland, and Caris Levert. They are all currently in the primes of their careers and will remain together for at least a couple of years as they are all younger than twenty-eight. With the current upgrade and the experience under each of their belts, Cleveland is now a legitimate contender. Their starting five accompanied by sixth man Kevin Love and quality role players Ricky Rubio and Robin Lopez has the potential to upset the favorites in the East. Most of them have been all-stars at some point in their careers, and all this experience and talent coming together has the potential to be very fun to watch.