Which 5 Teams won the NBA Offseason and Which 5 Lost?

The Warriors got better, and OKC got worse — but what else?

It’s been a whirlwind month in the NBA. Just one month ago, Golden State had survived Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant and was on the brink of a title. Now KD is a Warrior, Cleveland is still partying, free agency is mostly a wrap, and the rookies have been drafted and played a full Summer League already.

Let’s not waste our breath on yet another Warriors or Thunder article. The Warriors obviously got better; the Thunder will be worse. The tankalicious Sixers improved by adding Ben Simmons and other young talent.

But what other less obvious teams won or lost this offseason?

Winner — Boston Celtics

The Celtics missed out on Kevin Durant, but Boston is still an obvious winner since they nabbed the second biggest free agent of the summer to actually switch teams, Al Horford — and there’s more to it than that.

This was the first big name to sign with Boston in ages, so that’s a big win for team culture and a coaching staff that may be as good as everyone says. The easiest way to get a star is often to have another one first, and the easiest way to get a third star is to have two. The first is always the most difficult.

Even better, don’t overlook the obvious — for all their treasure chest of assets, Boston gave up a grand total of nothing to sign Al Horford. Free agents are just that — free. Boston wins by getting Horford but they win even bigger because it’s so much easier to overpay in a trade for a second star now, or even a third. Plus they kept their financial flexibility for next summer’s free agents, and those next two Brooklyn first round picks are looking better and better.

Paging Russell Westbrook or Jimmy Butler?

Loser — Houston Rockets

If the 2015 Houston Rockets that made the conference finals were the equivalent of a rocket landing on the moon, the 2016–17 version is starting to look like the Space Shuttle Challenger.

For years, Daryl Morey has hoarded his cap space like a ’90s suburban mom hoarded Beanie Babies, saving every precious penny for the chance to sign a second or third star. Now the Rockets give Dwight Howard the boot and then inexplicably go all in on Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon?! They’ll pay the pair $123 million over the next four years and might be lucky if they get 200 games with both on the court together given injury history.

Even worse, it’s impossible to imagine either of those guys playing with James Harden and forming an even remotely palatable NBA defense under new coach Mike D’Antoni, let alone all three together. Houston might score 115 points a game, but they’re going to give up 130 too.

What looked like the best team in the West a year ago may not even be a playoff team now.

Winner — Miami Heat

Wait, what? You mean the team that missed out on Kevin Durant and then saw its best player in franchise history walk away for nothing?

All that glitters is not gold. Of course Durant would have been nice but Miami was never a real 2016 option — their meetings were setting up the hope of 2017. And as for Dwyane Wade, he is indeed the face of the franchise but Pat Riley may have been wise to cut bait and more forward. Lakers fans will always remember game 82 last season, but I bet they’d like to forget the previous three seasons when they won just 65 of 246 games (26%) thanks in large part to Kobe’s onerous contract and constant chucking.

Sometimes a clean break is just easier for everyone. Now the Heat can build around their young stars Justise Winslow and Hassan Whiteside. They’ve got Josh Richardson on the cheap and were able to resign Tyler Johnson for a reasonable deal and add the mercurial Dion Waiters for the minimum. They also get a half signing in Goran Dragic by removing Wade and putting the ball back in his hands, where he can go back to being a pick-and-roll master and running the offense.

If Chris Bosh plays this year, the Heat might actually be a top contender in the East. If he has to retire, Miami has ton of cap room, a roster of young assets, and tax-free South Beach to offer next year’s slew of top free agents.

Occasionally you have to play the long game.

Loser — Chicago Bulls

Sometimes you can lose by winning. This pains me as a Bulls fan, but they got the losing end of the Dwyane Wade deal. Wade at his best, like he was in the playoffs, may still be worth 2 years and $47.5 million. But even if he is, it’s impossible to see how he fits in with Jimmy Butler and new teammate Rajon Rondo. These are three guys that all want the ball in their hands, and none of them can shoot to save their life. Though Wade and Rondo did shoot 52% combined last season… like, 52% if you literally combined their percentages.

The Bulls finally moved on from Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah but all they have to show for it is another banged big man in Robin Lopez and a point guard Jerian Grant that hasn’t shown much outside of summer league.

The Bulls are going nowhere fast, and the worst will be if signing Wade and Rondo is just enough to push Jimmy Butler out the door too.

Winner — Utah Jazz

Other than the Warriors, the Jazz may well have been the biggest winner out West. The Thunder fell from power. The Clippers kept status quo. The Spurs got older and lost Tim Duncan and Boris Diaw. And Utah quietly grabbed George Hill, Joe Johnson, and Diaw and got healthy all summer.

The Jazz only finished a game out of last year’s playoffs and just 4 games away from the 5-seed, and that was after a season with injury hell and no competent point guard to speak of. Hill is a perfect Jazz PG — he’ll lead a nasty defensive lineup featuring underrated star Rudy Gobert in the middle, while Johnson and Diaw add veteran depth and scoring punch off the bench.

Utah will make the playoffs this year. They might just be the biggest real threat to Golden State out West.

Loser — Portland Trail Blazers

The Blazers were everyone’s darling this year and even lucked into the second round when the Clippers imploded with a slew of unfortunate injuries.

Heading into the summer, Portland was a team to watch with Dame and McCollum and plenty of cap room. But then they struck out on every big target and backed up a dump truck of cash for a dump truck of a player in Evan Turner. Turner is a horrible fit and cost Portland a lot of flexibility.

The Blazers picked the perfect year to win a couple extra games in a watered-down West, lucked into a 5-seed and then a second round berth… and decided to go all in on that team. Usually, going 44–38 in the West would mean an 8-seed and a first round exit, or even missing the playoffs entirely.

The Blazers just went all-in on 9–8 suited.

Winner — Memphis Grizzlies

The Grizzlies were another winner out West. They kept Mike Conley without much of a fight and then landed another max player in Chandler Parsons, an oft-injured but talented player still in his prime. They also drafted talented young players Wade Baldwin and Deyonta Davis and can now roll out one of the best complete lineups in the West.

Of course all of that has a huge *when healthy asterisk since the Grizz were a veritable M*A*S*H unit this year and add Parsons injury history to Conley, Gasol, and ZBo. They could win 60 and be a contender, or they could implode and be cap tied for years. There’s a good chance of the latter happening.

But Memphis wasn’t really in a position to do much else. They’re missing a first rounder soon and already had Gasol on a long term deal, so they went for it. For a mid market like Memphis, this was the best possible offseason.

Loser — Toronto Raptors

Meanwhile the Grizzlies’ expansion partner Toronto just came off their best season ever, a 2-seed and a conference finals berth, and had a lottery pick to boot… and basically did nothing.

The Raps overpaid DeMar DeRozan to stay and let Bismack Biyombo leave, replaced with a Valanciunas clone in #9 pick Jakob Poeltl. And they still don’t have a real power forward, unless you count new signee Jared Sullinger.

Toronto had a chance to take another step forward but sat on their hands instead.

Winner — New Orleans Pelicans

The Pelicans were way too quiet last season for a team that has one of the NBA’s transcendent young stars in Anthony Davis. They weren’t really in the mix, and they’ve yet to find any decent players that fit around the Brow.

This offseason it looks like they finally have a plan in place. The Pels let Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon walk, rather than doing the ‘00s Cavs thing and overpaying B- players to surround their star. Instead they added bargain pieces E’Twaun Moore, Terence Jones, Langston Galloway, Solomon Hill, and Tim Frazier and drafted stud shooter Buddy Hield.

The team should have far better spacing and a much stronger defense moving forward with Davis, even if they still don’t have a second star yet.

Loser — Los Angeles Lakers

We saved the best for last, or maybe the worst.

The Lakers got laughed off the internet for their midnight July 1st signing of Timofey Mozgov, and the deal only looked worse and worse as the summer went on. Then they overpaid Luol Deng too, a nice player who will take away minutes from young guys like Brandon Ingram and Larry Nance.

Mozgov and Deng are both in their 30s already but the two will eat up a combined $34 million for each of the next four years just in an effort to make the Lakers less of a lottery team. They were two of the summer’s worst deals.

The Lakers did get Brandon Ingram and kept Jordan Clarkson on a nice contract, but they couldn’t even get a meeting with any of the top free agents. They just don’t look like the Lakers anymore.

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