The time for NBA teams to try and even the scales that separate the good and the bad has all but concluded. Some teams did well to close the gap between themselves and a title and others were content to continue the rebuild. Still others found themselves happy standing pat. Part 1 will focus on the teams with A and B grades. Part 2, released Wednesday, will examine all the average or below-average grades.
Minnesota Timberwolves – A
After acquiring Jimmy Butler from the Chicago Bulls, the team snagged Justin Patton in the draft using Chicago’s 16th pick. They turned Ricky Rubio into a first-round pick from the Jazz and trimmed their roster to give them plenty of cash to play with. Then they picked up Taj Gibson, Jeff Teague and Jamal Crawford to upgrade at point guard while keeping the bench intact. They greatly improved the starting five by letting head coach Tom Thibodeau build the team he could make great, then made sure the bench stayed strong behind the starters. The Wolves upgraded to a playoff team.
Golden State Warriors – A
The Warriors players received the praise and glory after taking the 2016-17 title, now time to give their front office a standing-O after retaining Stephen Curry AND Kevin Durant for the next pair of seasons. Then they strengthened the bench behind the All-Star foursome by bringing back David West on the vet’s minimum, and both Shaun Livingston and Andre Iguodala came back on three-year deals. This cannot be emphasized enough: keeping a solid core while offering a bench that does not give away leads is not only difficult to do but incredibly important to playoff teams. The Warriors did both while having the best collection of starters in the league.
Boston Celtics – A
While the Raptors and Cavaliers stood pat, the Celtics went out and signed Gordon Hayward. With the trio of Hayward, Isaiah Thomas and Al Horford, the young pieces they have in Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Marcus Smart can develop with a small minute load and less pressure to hit right away. They also tightened up the rotation by letting Amir Johnson, Kelly Olynyk and Tyler Zeller walk. To manage their cap, they also had to let Avery Bradley go but did get Marcus Morris from Detroit in return, giving them a cheap defensive piece back. The Celtics are primed to take the No. 1 seed in the East for a second straight year.
Houston Rockets – A
Whether you think the team paid too much for James Harden or gave away too much for Chris Paul or may have too many ball hogs on one team, the fact remains that this team now has two multi-time All-Stars on the roster. They kept Eric Gordon and Nene while adding P.J. Tucker to help the defense. With Mike D’Antoni’s shrewd minute staggering, the Paul/Harden combo has great upside and shows that another team is making a run to challenge the Warriors.
Oklahoma City Thunder – A
After a handful of games behind a top-level defense and offensive line made to protect post neck surgery Peyton Manning, the Houston Texans gave Brock Osweiler a $72 million contract. While this will still go down as the biggest heist in sports, what the Thunder did to trade for Paul George has to be second. After having pieces like Kevin Love and the Brooklyn pick from Boston on the table, the Indiana Pacers were able to fight past it all to acquire: Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis? After the huge get of George, the Thunder kept Andre Roberson on the roster and solidified the defense to try and weather a team like the Warriors and back Russell Westbrook’s offense.
New Orleans Pelicans – B
New Orleans is not a basketball town, the team has never been run very well and while the city is big, the organization plays like they are a small-market team. After the team was able to trade for DeMarcus Cousins and pair him with Anthony Davis, there were signs of life. While the next 20 odd games were not awe inspiring, there were flashes of greatness. All this to say, running this team back and keeping Jrue Holiday with the All-Star bigs is a really big move for the Pelicans. Running it back and trying to get the Boogie and Davis duo to work is the team’s best shot.
Sacramento Kings – B
Some teams go after the big name, All-Star free agents, others go through the draft and build on their young talent. With Buddy Hield and Willie-Cauley Stein on the roster, the Kings added De’Aaron Fox and Zach Collins via the draft. They then brought in George Hill, Vince Carter and Zach Randolph, all good enough to prop up the youth while old enough to give way to the next generation. This is a good way to build for the future and wait out the Warriors.
Denver Nuggets – B
Chip Kelly and the Oregon Ducks were on the frontline of the hurry-up, spread offense game in college football. While the rest of the Pac-12 conference scrambled to catch up, the Stanford Cardinal went the other way, sticking to ground-n-pound, smash mouth football, leading to the success of the program. Now the Nuggets are going to try the same play, running with a great front court in Nikola Jokic and Paul Millsap, offering dynamic scoring from down low and outside. With Kenneth Faried cleaning the glass and every team getting smaller and smaller, the Millsap addition could push this team over the hump.
Milwaukee Bucks – B
The Bucks did not make any huge splashes in free agency, re-signing Tony Snell being the sole splash they had. But they kept their team together and added another long wing in D.J. Wilson who can stretch the floor and play big, just as the Bucks like. They have a solid team of young guys who play long, position-less basketball, and if their draft picks keep hitting behind Giannis Antetokounmpo, then this team should keep heading up.
Washington Wizards – B
The starting five is very good, and the John Wall/Bradley Beal duo is an offensive juggernaut. But they still have a depleted bench and had to pay dearly to keep from losing Otto Porter, keeping them from bolstering their roster. This team will be as dangerous as their best players, but also that thin.
Portland Trail Blazers – B
The teeth of this team will always be in the back court as long as Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum are the primary players. This team’s weak spot was the front court not playing up to the back court’s level. In steps Caleb Swanigan, the first college player since David Robinson to average a double-double, with Harry Giles and Justin Jackson. The roster needed solid play from the front court to make the next step. A solid draft gave this team a shot at playoff relevance; now it is on the new names.
Dallas Mavericks – B
The team set itself up perfectly during the season for a few key moves in the offseason. Grabbing Nerlens Noel and Seth Curry to spark both sides of the ball while Harrison Barnes came into his own at the end of the season allowed the team to make some tweaks, instead of an overhaul. They extended Dirk Nowitzki and then drafted Dennis Smith Jr. to bolster the backcourt. If the potential of Smith comes through, this roster will be very dangerous given the complete first five to six players.
Charlotte Hornets – B
The Hornets barley climb into this category, and only because Malik Monk fell in their lap. The signing of Dwight Howard is starting to look bad even on paper as his list of ex-teams gets longer and longer. However, if he has something left to offer a team, the Howard rebounding paired with the Kemba Walker and Monk perimeter assault should work in the team’s favor. At the worst, they drafted an elite shooter to pair with an All-Star point guard.
L.A. Lakers – B
They got rid of the Timofey Mozgov contract and cleared the way for Lonzo Ball by moving D’Angelo Russell for Brook Lopez. They let Nick Young walk and made trades for more first-round picks. Now Ball has some players with years under their belts, like Lopez and Julius Randle, to help the youth on the team. Ball, Brandon Ingram and Jordan Clarkson need to elevate their game for this season. The Lakers also resisted jumping at George when he’s probably headed their next season anyway. It was a solid year for the young Lakers.
Check back Wednesday for Part 2 and see the teams who graded out C or worse.
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