This summer, there were a
handful of teams that got better through the NBA Draft and
free-agency period. Recently, our staff discussed the organizations
that had the best offseason as well
as the most underrated moves of this
summer. But who didn't take advantage of this window to add to
their roster?
Today, we asked our
writers:
Which NBA team had the
worst offseason?
Nekias Duncan:
I’m just not a fan of what the Portland Trail Blazers did. Their
coaching hire of Chauncey Billups was mired in controversy. There’s
been no major swing on the roster, with their best free agent
acquisition being Cody Zeller. They got virtually nothing from the
draft, then followed that up by building a summer league roster
that frankly didn’t make much sense. I can’t say I’m
a fan of how things have been handled.
Jackson Frank:
It’s the Dallas Mavericks for me. They didn’t get substantially
better in an offseason when they touted lots of cap space and
resemble a very similar team to last year. They still need a
secondary creator to aid Luka Doncic. The wing defense is
lackluster. The center rotation is worrisome. This just felt like a
considerable misstep, given Luka’s superstardom and the financial
flexibility drying up moving forward.
Alex Kennedy:
In one of the most important offseasons in the Portland Trail
Blazers' history (given what's at stake with Damian Lillard's
future), Neil Olshey and Co. dropped the ball. The team lost
Carmelo Anthony, Enes Kanter and Zach Collins, and their only
notable moves were re-signing Norm Powell and adding Cody Zeller,
Tony Snell and Ben McLemore. Entering this offseason, Lillard said:
"I think if you look at our team as it is going into next season, I
don’t see how you can say, ‘This is a championship team. You just
need a new coach.’" He's 100% right, and now the roster is arguably
worse than when he made that comment. When asked about Portland's
free-agency moves, Lillard was honest and said, "We weren’t
able to go out there and get some of the guys that we would have
liked."
Spencer Davies:
Surprisingly, I am asking myself what the San Antonio Spurs are
doing with their money. Bringing in veterans like Thaddeus Young,
Doug McDermott, Zach Collins, Bryn Forbes and Al-Farouq Aminu would
make more sense if they were contending for a postseason spot...
but that almost certainly won’t be the case. From a developmental
standpoint, it should be good to have these guys around to mentor
Dejounte Murray, Derrick White and Keldon Johnson. Still, it kind
of takes time away from Lonnie Walker Jr. and Devin Vassell, and
that’s the last thing you want for a team that’s going to reset
after losing DeMar DeRozan and a slew of vets who had been around
for years. That said, taking Josh Primo as a take-your-time project
is intriguing... just maybe not so much for the other young players
who play that position. Oh, and Jakob Poeltl signed an extension
not too long ago too, yet R.C. Buford decided to invest in Collins.
This summer just seemed like an interesting, maybe not-so-smart way
to use cap space for one of the best-run organizations in
sports.
Imman Adan: The
New Orleans Pelicans. They went all in, giving up two future
first-round picks in the Memphis Grizzlies deal for Jonas
Valanciunas, and a pick swap. They also didn’t re-sign Lonzo Ball,
moved off of Eric Bledsoe and Steven Adams' money and gave up Wes
Iwundu with very little to show for it. I’m all for big swings, but
this didn’t feel all that calculated. It's hard to understand what
they’re trying to accomplish, and they certainly took a step
back.
Evan Sidery: I
have no idea what the Spurs are doing. Why sign Doug McDermott to a
big contract, while also signing Bryn Forbes? Zach Collins on a
multi-year deal was another head-scratching move. The Spurs
should be trying to tank this
year, but that might not be their plan internally. Give those
minutes opened by veteran departures to your young core, not new
free agents. Now, players like Devin Vassell and Lonnie Walker are
still stuck to the bench.
Ethan Fuller:
Portland could win this off of the Chauncey Billups hiring (and
subsequent fallout) alone, and I'm sure some of our fellow writers
picked the Trail Blazers. So I'll add another team in the Dallas
Mavericks, whose offseason consisted of a front-office
blowup, three minor
roster additions
headlined by Reggie
Bullock and the hiring
of Jason Kidd as head coach. Kidd not only was convicted of
domestic abuse in 2001 — and has done little publicly to atone for
it — but he also has a 183-190 record as the head coach of talented
teams. And there is anecdotal evidence of a problematic
past in Milwaukee. It's
hard for a team to regress with a rising star, but that seems to be
what the Mavs are doing despite Luka Doncic's ascension.
Jesse
Blancarte: In an offseason where the Portland Trail
Blazers are at risk of superstar Damian Lillard demanding to be
traded, the franchise failed to make any moves that would quell the
situation. Re-signing Norman Powell was a good move. However,
Portland lost notable players like Enes Kanter, Carmelo Anthony and
Zach Collins. The only other additions so far include Cody Zeller
on a minimum contract, Tony Snell and Ben McLemore. Unless Portland
has a few tricks up its sleeves, it seems likely Lillard and C.J.
McCollum are going to lack the support they need on the court to
take Portland on a deep playoff run next season.
Drew Maresca: I
was on the fence between the Dallas Mavericks and Portland Trail
Blazers, but Doncic’s re-signing made the difference for me.
Ultimately, Dallas is now where Portland was two years ago. The
Blazers needed to do something to impress Damian Lillard, and they
failed. Lillard is insanely loyal, but even the most loyal among us
has limits. Lillard will end up giving Portland an ultimatum at
some point in the near future, and the Blazers might find
themselves stonewalled into trading Lillard instead of building
around him. Who knows, it might already be too late.
Chris Sheridan:
That is a tough one because the summer is a time of hope for all 30
teams. But the Orlando Magic are the winners of this category. They
added Robin Lopez and head coach Jamahl Mosley, but little else
outside of their draft picks. I hated the Nikola Vucevic trade when
they made it. I hated it even more when Khem Birch was waived and
outplayed his replacement Wendell Carter Jr. with the Toronto
Raptors late last season. I do not see much hope here for an
Orlando win total north of the teens.