NBA offseason ratings: Signings for the Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors and every Western Conference team
Which NBA Western Conference team performed best and worst this offseason?
While Kevin Durant and Donovan Mitchell are still up for the future, much of the NBA's summer trading campaign has been completed, with three draft picks and three free agent markets over the past 21 months, giving NBA team management a much-needed break.
So it's time to look back at how teams are using their respective opportunities to complement the 2022-23 season and beyond. (If at the expense of long-term outcomes, immediate reinforcement is not necessarily sanctioned.) ）
Individual teams have offseason ratings that curve, with the most common result being a "B", which reflects the team's roster for improving teams through draft picks and opportunities to use salary space in the free market. Teams don't necessarily get high ratings because of their high draft picks and salary space, as this is a product of past operations. At the same time, due to the uncertainty of the prospects for the draft, the draft is not as important as the veterans of the NBA.
With this framework in mind, let's take a look at the ratings of Western teams, starting with a competitor who has just lost the cornerstone of a team:
Dallas Maverick: D
Watching free agent Jaylen Brunson sign with the New York Knicks was a heavy blow to the Lone Ranger, who had just reached the Western Conference Finals. Last summer, Dallas chose not to offer Brunson the biggest possible contract extension ($55.6 million for four years, which Dorian Finney-Smith signed in February), and Dallas watched as Brunson's contract doubled and was reluctantly beaten by a $110 million contract.
The Mavericks are already mired in a luxury tax, with limited options to replace Brunson and opt to sign Javier McKee with a middle-class exception. After trading for Christian Wood and leaving Maxi Kleber and Dwight Powell, McGee's addition allowed Dallas to have a group of people up front. As a result, the Lone Rangers want Spencer Dinwiddie Jr. and Tim Hardaway Jr. to fill the gaps in ball-holding and shooting left by Brunson's departure.
Denver Nuggets: B-
The series of actions Denver took during the offseason represented an interesting gamble. By trading Will Barton and Monte Morris to Get Kentavius Caldwell Pope, the Nuggets reinforced their starting Five at the expense of depth. Signing Bruce Brown with a mid-level exception reinforced the wing rotation, but Denver needed to rely on second-year defender Nashon Hyland to be the starting janitor Jamal Murray who missed the entire 2021-22 season due to ACL injuries.
In addition, the Nuggets must identify the rotation behind MVP Nikola Jokic. Newcomer DeAndre Jordan has already dropped out of the rotation of two teams last season, meaning Denver may need to rely on a small squad with Jeff Green and Cheek Nagy as the frontcourt. However, as long as Murray and Michael Potter Jr. are healthy, then the Nuggets' starting Five tigers will look strong.
Golden State Warriors: B+
The Warriors' offseason says they do have the budget. Golden State lost two important rotation players in last year's championship team, gary Payton II to the Portland Trail Blazers and Otto Porter to the Toronto Raptors. It's all a trade the Warriors have the ability to match. Nemania-Belitsa is also about to return home.
Those departures cleared the way for 2021 lottery drafts Jonathan Cumminga and Moses Moody to play bigger roles in their second season.
In addition, Golden State used a middle-class exception to get Donte DiVinchenzo in a bargain deal as he sought to bounce back after ankle surgery. The Warriors also added Jeermichael Green as a rotation for James Wiseman, who is about to return to the field after missing all of the games of the 2021-22 season.
Houston Rockets: B+
Entering their second full year of rebuilding after James Harden's departure, the Rockets continued to add to their young core through three first-round draft picks. Of course, Jambary Smith is most important to the Rockets' future, and his shooting and defensive abilities should match the 2021 first-round players Jaylen Green, Alperen Shintin and Josh Christopher.
I particularly liked the 17th pick for striker Tari Ethan from Louisiana State University. Ethan was in the top ten of my data-based predictions, and in the end, the Rockets selected Tate Washington with the final draft at the end of the first round. To make room for young talent, Houston sent Wood to Dallas for the players selected in the first round.
Los Angeles Clippers: B+
Taking full advantage of boss Steve Ballmer's checkbook, the Clippers maintained their competitiveness last season without Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, though that was limited to 31 games. The Clippers renewed Robert Covington and Ivitsa Zubac before opening the free agent market before re-signing Nicholas Batum and Amir Kofi.
The Clippers did lose backup center Isaiah Haltenstein, suggesting they could play more small ball this season to take full advantage of their unparalleled wing depth, and instead of looking for a replacement for Hardenstein, the Clippers used a mid-class contract to sign John Wall to improve point guard.
Los Angeles Lakers: B--
Last summer, the Lakers only signed a number of experienced players on a short contract, but the results were disappointing, so this time they wisely chose young free agents. None of the new players were older than 29. If I need to pick at least a few players, I'll pay particular attention to the growth of Troy Brown and the emergence of Juan Toscano Anderson as a player with both passing and defending.
On the downside, the Lakers didn't get a reliable player with both offense and defense to meet their biggest needs. The Lakers signed Lonnie Walker with a mid-class exception, and his three-point shooting percentage last season was just 31 percent (career 34 percent). Even if Walker makes some progress, like Malik Munch, the Lakers may have a hard time using non-bird rights to keep him with the Lakers after the end of the season.
Memphis Grizzlies: C+
As the Grizzlies' young talent begins to sign new contracts, including a max-salary extension that Ja-Morant quickly signed, the consolidation of some talent is inevitable. Memphis lost forward Kyle Anderson in free agency and traded guard Danton Melton to the Philadelphia 76ers, which would break a situation last season that was still difficult to beat even though Morant was injured by the Grizzlies.
To replace them, Memphis will be counting on a bigger role in the 2021 first-round pick, Jayle Williams, and immediately contribute to this year's debut shows Jack Lalavia and David Roddy. On the bright side, the Grizzlies re-signed backup point guard Tyes Jones on a reasonable two-year, $29 million contract that would expire when Desmond Bain was eligible for a renewal.
Minnesota Timberwolves: C--
In the 2022-23 season, the Timberwolves should be one of the fastest improving teams in the NBA after trading for three-time defensive player of the year Rudy Gobert. The question is what the long-term cost of trading four unprotected first-round picks, one first-round swap, giving up two players selected in the most recent first-round (Leandro Bormaro and Walker Kesler) and two starters (Patrick Beverley and Jared Vanderbilt) will be.
The huge return on trading Gobert resets the free market, which may make sense for a superstar who is at his peak, but may not make sense for a player who has already earned a hefty salary ($170 million over the next 4 years) and has recently turned 30. The lack of draft picks and increased salaries will limit Minnesota's ability to get better, including responding to questions about whether D'Angelo Russell should enter the long-term starting players in the final season of his contract.
New Orleans Pelicans: B
With all 14 players on contract with the team, they struggled through the game and met the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the playoffs, and the Pelicans didn't have much work to do this summer about strengthening the roster. No. 8 James Is the only rookie on the team.
The most important step in New Orleans is to extend the contract of 2019 champion Cain Williamson. The Pelicans gave Cain a contract with a maximum salary, despite the protection in terms of guaranteed wages — especially since there was no player option in the final year.
Oklahoma Thunder: B
As always, most of the Thunder's additions were made through the draft, where the team had already picked three players in the top 12 picks after the team selected Osman Gion with the No. 11 pick for the Knicks' next three first-round picks. Chet Homegren joined Oklahoma, with Josh Gidey and Shay Giljaz Alexander at its core.
After the Thunder rejected Luganz Dolt's team option, we may have to put him in that category so that the team could re-sign him for $87.5 million in one point, betting on his development and constantly improving ceiling.
Before Shay Gilges-Alexander's contract extension began, Oklahoma used the remaining salary space to compete for Denver Nuggets' Jay Michael Green and add a future draft pick in exchange for this year's No. 30 pick before buying out Green. The Thunder also renewed Kenridge Williams' contract for 4 years, 27 million, a signing that is age-appropriate and the players are constantly improving.
Phoenix Suns: C+
Even after the Suns chose to match the Indiana Pacers' offer negotiations, it was still difficult to say what the team was aiming for in communicating with restricted free agent DeAndre Ayton. If Phoenix wants to force Ayton to choose between a one-year qualification offer and a multi-year contract that isn't top salary, the result does look realistic until the Pacers step in. The Suns were very lucky because Ayton's contract was not friendly to players, with no player choice or trading bonuses. Still, the way Phoenix handles Ayton's free agents could have long-term implications.
With Ayton's new contract set to pay a luxury tax, the Suns' other moves are to add players at a minimum. I love the value of Damien Lee, who silently played for the Warriors during the regular season.
Portland Trail Blazers: B-
When the Blazers never seemed to seriously consider trading Damian Lillard in free market, it was a sign that they intended to recalibrate the roster built around him this summer. Notably, the first-round picks they received by trading CJ McCollum helped them trade Jerami Grant, who is younger and better suited to partner Lillard.
Anfenni Simmons has just re-signed a four-year, $100 million contract that will take mccollum's place and Form a new backcourt combination with Lillard. Portland also retained starting center Yusuf Nurkic on a four-year, $70 million contract, a deal that appears generous considering the center-forward market and limited team space. After getting Payton to provide more defensive power from the bench and taking over Sheldon Sharp with the seventh pick in the first round, the main operation in the offseason was to offer Lillard a two-year contract extension that could be worth as much as $122 million, depending on the salary cap.
King of Sacramento: B
When Keegan Murray won the Las Vegas Summer League MVP, the Kings had to be happy with the fourth pick to win the Iowa forward. I agree that Murray was the most promising player at that point in time, although it was too early to decide whether to pick him ahead of the equally promising Jaden Ivey.
The rest of the Sacramento offseason was largely focused on the backcourt, with the Kings signing free agent Malik Munch in the backcourt and Kevin Hultert from the Atlanta Hawks. Hurther and Munch only needed to shoot around point guards Daron Fox and David Mitchell, and their golden age was just beginning, but the Kings left Di Vincenzo, who was probably more valuable than both newcomers, free.
San Antonio Spurs: B+
After trying to add young talent while trying to compete for a playoff spot, the Spurs fully embraced the rebuilding plan in the offseason, sending Dezhangtai Murray to the Hawks and securing three first-round picks. The move puts San Antonio with more than $30 million to cap, giving the Spurs the ability to get more paychecks (say, maybe Russell Westbrook?). ) to add more options.
Currently, San Antonio will have one of the youngest players in the league, three first-round picks (Malachi Brannham, Jeremy Sohan and Blake Wesley), and they will also be in the draw in 2023. Spurs have made Kelton Johnson part of their future plans, renewing his contract for 4 years.
Sir Utah: A
Utah's six-time consecutive impact tour of the Western Conference playoffs is over, and that's clearly disappointing. But the Jazz have had a hard time improving their roster because they have given out multiple first-round picks in past trades, have few young talents and have to bear luxury taxes. Trading Gobert allowed Utah to start rebuilding and choose a surplus over a loss.
The Jazz still have a lot of work to do. If they don't trade Mitchell before this season, then they also need to readjust the temporary squad to meet the needs of small strikers and centers and address the problem of a surplus of players in the backcourt. Mitchell's deal will put Utah into the table tennis game, with more draft picks to come.