NBA Offseason

[jterrell]

My NBA FA/off-season Grades
Western Northwest

DEN: B-. Largely stood pay but did steal Jerami Grant for a 1st. Good team that got a bit better.
POR: C+. Losing Aminu stings a bit and trading for Whiteside seems a very short term benefit that'll hurt cap. But really good team that has locked in its megastar.
UTA: A-. Loved them adding Bogdanovic, Green and Davis at those prices without losing much.
OKC: B+. OKC was a good but not great team that had been poorly built around it's stars. Complete overhaul that led to unprecedented future draft capital was a heck of a job of a reboot once hand was forced. More trades may push this higher.
MIN: D+: No cap space so no real movement. Culver out of draft might help provide a 2 way 3 and D guy but lost more NBA talent than they gained.

 

[jterrell]

My NBA FA/off-season Grades
Western Pacific

LAL: C-. Traded a lot for AD but he should prove worth it. Lack of proper use of that 32m remaining is a major issue. Lot of below rotation level players will be playing for LAL. Boogie could prove a steal but collecting names isn't usually smart.
LAC: A++. Made a quality team with good coach into the title favorites. Look like team to beat the next 3 seasons even if there aren't any true superteams. Depth galore.
PHO: D+. Hard to understand what they ever do. Rubio all that money? Paying Oubre that much but shorter term as opposed to locking in a developing asset?
GSW: C-. Tough to ignore losing KD, Iggy and 2 R1 picks and gaining only DRussell. But KD was always gone and Iggy is old money off the books. Russell could blossom in that offensive system following Curry. Like Looney, Cauley-Stein prices.
SAC: D. HB is such a good dude and team guy but he's a 3rd option at best on a low playoff seed. Holmes and Dedmon are active bigs who actually had more Win Shares than HB last year bug move the needle very little.

 

[jterrell]

My NBA FA/off-season Grades
Western Southwest

SAS: D. Having Morris back out was tough after you made moves to free up space for him. Gay and Carroll were both overpaid
NOP: A+. Moved a disgruntled star but got the one lock in draft class and loaded up on assets then went about signing quality affordable vets that can be traded later for more assets. Superb GM'ing.
HOU: B+. CP3 is a still good player but a very unhappy person. He's toxic and was not a fit with Harden. Russ is not very efficient but might be the league's best athlete. Tipped a lot of draft capital but dug out of a hole quite nicely.
DAL: C-. Re-signed KP and found value deals for returnees but Seth Curry and Delon Wright are only going to excite the metrics nerds. Wasted 15 or so M cap space but possibly better long-term result than hitting on Kemba.
MEM: C-. Rebuilding and moved off arguably their franchise's best ever player. Added some assets but far below OKC in race to rebuild now.

 

[CowboysRock1980]

My NBA FA/off-season Grades
Eastern Southeast

ORL: B+. Resigning Vucevic and snagging Aminu were key. Re-upping Terrence Ross was simply smart business. Team has collected assets now that can be moved for a star player.

As a Magic fan, I did not understand why Magic would resign Vucevic and sign Aminu because I thought Magic is going to let Vucevic walk and let Bamba start, sure Bamba might not be ready but he can always improve and as for signing Aminu, Magic has Gordon and Isaac so Aminu will not see any minutes unless Gordon and Isaac gets hurt and as for Ross signing, I agree that was a very smart signing and I am happy Ross is back

 

[jterrell]

As a Magic fan, I did not understand why Magic would resign Vucevic and sign Aminu because I thought Magic is going to let Vucevic walk and let Bamba start, sure Bamba might not be ready but he can always improve and as for signing Aminu, Magic has Gordon and Isaac so Aminu will not see any minutes unless Gordon and Isaac gets hurt and as for Ross signing, I agree that was a very smart signing and I am happy Ross is back

Asset mgmt at it's best.
Aminu is a very underrated defender who can guard 2-4 and small ball 5.
You collect assets for trading later rather then lose them to air.
Gordon has been lightly shopped and could end up on a contender at some point if the haul is right.
Vucevic is kinda same boat. Quality player who helps you win now and also has value around the league.

 

[CowboysRock1980]

Asset mgmt at it's best.
Aminu is a very underrated defender who can guard 2-4 and small ball 5.
You collect assets for trading later rather then lose them to air.
Gordon has been lightly shopped and could end up on a contender at some point if the haul is right.
Vucevic is kinda same boat. Quality player who helps you win now and also has value around the league.

I doubt Gordon is going to be traded, he is only 23 and just entering his prime and he is getting better and as for Vucevic, I can see him getting traded in 2 years and let Bamba start but you do have a good point of collecting assets

 

[RoyTheHammer]

Philly a D?

Lol

 

[Manwiththeplan]

I recently (re)watched Duke/Gonzaga replay and Barrett basically lost that game for Duke.
Barrett is REALLY overrated IMHO.
Of all the top guys he is to me the most overrated.

NYK hasn't drafted well yet they've tanked to draft... it's kinda nuts.
They took their shot with Phil but need to go back to the well with a proven basketball man in there.

I thought NOT meeting KL was smart BUT perhaps they could have gotten PG13 AND KL.
The fall back to signing some 2nd tire guys I liked. Those non max type contracts can become assets in trade.

Not saying you’re wrong, but Barrett was a lot better the last two games. If he ever develops a consistent jump shot he’ll be a very good player for a long time.

 

[Johnny23]

My NBA FA/off-season Grades
Eastern Central

MIL: B+. Resigned everyone they wanted except Brogdon whom they were able to slip for a 1st. Added value good chemistry vets.
IND: C. Added Brogdon who fits really nicely next to Oladipo but paid handsomely, lost Thad Young and Bogan.
DET: C-. .500 club that tread water. Swapped Wayne Ellington for Derrick Rose.
CHI: C+. Added Thad Young and and Satoransky wothout losing anything of note.
CLE: D-. Really bad team that stood pat. Needs to get something for aging but quality vets but cap space has dried up all over. Paying off title debt.

I think the Bulls get an A because they added a really good defensive big in Thad Young and a solid pg option in Satoransky to ease Coby White into the lineup and Jettison Kris Dunn. Nothing spectacular considering big time free agents aren't coming to Chicago. It's all about Lavine,Lauri, and Carter, Jr. How well they progress this year. Bulls stay healthy and they might be back in the playoffs this coming season.

 

[darthseinfeld]

Really looking forward to this NBA season coming up. So much movement its going to be interesting to see how these teams gel

 

[darthseinfeld]

My NBA FA/off-season Grades
Western Northwest

DEN: B-. Largely stood pay but did steal Jerami Grant for a 1st. Good team that got a bit better.
POR: C+. Losing Aminu stings a bit and trading for Whiteside seems a very short term benefit that'll hurt cap. But really good team that has locked in its megastar.
UTA: A-. Loved them adding Bogdanovic, Green and Davis at those prices without losing much.
OKC: B+. OKC was a good but not great team that had been poorly built around it's stars. Complete overhaul that led to unprecedented future draft capital was a heck of a job of a reboot once hand was forced. More trades may push this higher.
MIN: D+: No cap space so no real movement. Culver out of draft might help provide a 2 way 3 and D guy but lost more NBA talent than they gained.

Dont forget adding Conley for Utah

 

[Manwiththeplan]

I can't wait to see the 5 PF line-up from the NY Knicks...gonna take the league by storm

C- Julius Randle...I don't know if he's a really good bad player, or a really bad good player. Time will tell.
PF- Taj Gibson...to old to be a wing, so yea, 90s NY Knicks basketball time
SF- Marcus Morris...suck it Popovich, bet you regret winning the 99' finals now!
SG- Bobby Portis...makes sense to move him to the back court, just ask Nikola Mirotic how Portis deals with a position logjam

PG- Kevin Knox...kind of a small ball PF, actually may be his best position in a few years

I knew we should have saved money to sign Jabari Parker ​

 

[jterrell]

Not saying you’re wrong, but Barrett was a lot better the last two games. If he ever develops a consistent jump shot he’ll be a very good player for a long time.

He is a less athletic version of Wiggins to me.
To me the most over-hyped prospect of last year.

He doesn't have elite quickness or skills or defense. But he is a very solid project as far as being 6'7 and 200 pounds.
He was able to dominate HS age kids with blow-bys and dunks.
He's 6'7" and can handle the rock.

As for Summer league stuff, kinda gotta ignore that mostly. Vets left to commit to teams after a few games and play got worse.
The other Knicks Canadian rookie has outplayed Barrett though which is a sign of how much Barrett has to work on.

Garrett is a top 10-12 guy from the class but he was propped up as it's best for much of the last year.
Duke itself found out he wasn't better than Zion and they started running the ball through Zion but early season it had been Barrett.
The lost to the Zags and were down to Texas Tech before they went to Zion in the 2nd half. Barrett was 0-7 from 3 and took 22 shots to score 16 points....
He had 6 turnovers, 1 assist and 4 fouls to go with 3 rebounds... he was flat awful.

 

[jterrell]

I can't wait to see the 5 PF line-up from the NY Knicks...gonna take the league by storm

C- Julius Randle...I don't know if he's a really good bad player, or a really bad good player. Time will tell.
PF- Taj Gibson...to old to be a wing, so yea, 90s NY Knicks basketball time
SF- Marcus Morris...suck it Popovich, bet you regret winning the 99' finals now!
SG- Bobby Portis...makes sense to move him to the back court, just ask Nikola Mirotic how Portis deals with a position logjam

PG- Kevin Knox...kind of a small ball PF, actually may be his best position in a few years

I knew we should have saved money to sign Jabari Parker ​

The Knicks are set to tank which is smart.
Spend 2 years trading off all the Veteran assets you have and tank it out then build around elite guys that work out.
I hate tanking but the Knicks are really left no choice and the 5 PF lineup will be good for that.

 

[Manwiththeplan]

The Knicks are set to tank which is smart.
Spend 2 years trading off all the Veteran assets you have and tank it out then build around elite guys that work out.
I hate tanking but the Knicks are really left no choice and the 5 PF lineup will be good for that.

I certainly hope so...I'd love to add PF James Wiseman

And fwiw, I'm not being sarcastic with this

 

[Manwiththeplan]

He is a less athletic version of Wiggins to me.
To me the most over-hyped prospect of last year.

He doesn't have elite quickness or skills or defense. But he is a very solid project as far as being 6'7 and 200 pounds.
He was able to dominate HS age kids with blow-bys and dunks.
He's 6'7" and can handle the rock.

As for Summer league stuff, kinda gotta ignore that mostly. Vets left to commit to teams after a few games and play got worse.
The other Knicks Canadian rookie has outplayed Barrett though which is a sign of how much Barrett has to work on.

Garrett is a top 10-12 guy from the class but he was propped up as it's best for much of the last year.
Duke itself found out he wasn't better than Zion and they started running the ball through Zion but early season it had been Barrett.
The lost to the Zags and were down to Texas Tech before they went to Zion in the 2nd half. Barrett was 0-7 from 3 and took 22 shots to score 16 points....
He had 6 turnovers, 1 assist and 4 fouls to go with 3 rebounds... he was flat awful.

I guess we'll see. I think at the collegiate level, Barrett was better than both Wiggins and Ingram. Outside of points per game, he put up more assists than those 2 combined, which is impressive for a non PG. And I don't know if they score more points than they did, if they were the second option. Barrett certainly has to improve as a shooter, and give more effort defensively, but I do think he's a future all star.

 

[jterrell]

Philly a D?

Lol

What would you give them and why?

I did not like any of the contracts they signed at the prices they paid.
They traded off a lot of assets for Jimmy and Tobias to get pennies back for Jimmy and pay Tobias a monster deal.
Horford is a 33 year old 13 point 7 rebound guy they just gave 100m to.
They lost 32 points a game scoring with Butler and Redick to bring back 29 points of Horford and Richardson with far less range.
They made one of the worst 3pt shooting teams worse by losing Redick and Butler.
The entire team is seemingly 3's and 4's which is the league-wide trend but they don't have the pure shooters other teams focus on for spacing.

They still have a lot of talent but they had arguably the most in healthy talent in basketball outside TOR to start Free agency and instead of targeting specific pieces they re-shuffled the deck with the same weaknesses.

 

[jterrell]

Dont forget adding Conley for Utah

I'm pretty neutral on Conley given his age but it is def going to help this year.
Utah is probably my pick as the 2 seed right this second.

 

[jterrell]

I think the Bulls get an A because they added a really good defensive big in Thad Young and a solid pg option in Satoransky to ease Coby White into the lineup and Jettison Kris Dunn. Nothing spectacular considering big time free agents aren't coming to Chicago. It's all about Lavine,Lauri, and Carter, Jr. How well they progress this year. Bulls stay healthy and they might be back in the playoffs this coming season.

Thad is 31 years old and the Bulls are coming off 22 wins.
So he was kinda an odd fit as their chief target for me.
Felt like they could have drawn a better lot than that.
Chi-town is an appealing city to many.

Sato is a really good shooter so I did like that move.

I start all teams at C. So they got a tiny bump up from me but no one really moved the needle and they had a lot of needle to move.

 

[darthseinfeld]

I'm pretty neutral on Conley given his age but it is def going to help this year.
Utah is probably my pick as the 2 seed right this second.

Major upgrade over Rubio who just doesnt fit the modern NBA. Long term they have to figure who they want at point with a Mitchell/Gobert core