Grading EVERY NBA Team's Offseason So Far

We're now well over a month into the offseason, and most of the excitement from this period is starting to die down. There are of course still a few key situations that still need to play out, but in general it feels like most of the movement that will happen already has happened, so it's time to take a look at the current landscape of the NBA as a whole. This brings us to today's video, where we'll be going through all 30 NBA teams, and we will be grading the offseasons that they have had so far, which will be based on a draft selections, free agent signings, and trades made while comparing those moves to the needs that they entered the offseason with, along with their goals moving forward, because every team is on a different path comparatively. Before we start though, it turns out a good amount of you watching right now aren't even subscribed to the channel, so if you enjoy the content, consider hitting the subscribe button as not only does it help out a ton, but it's also very much appreciated. Now with that being said, let's begin. We'll start in the Eastern Conference, then make our way over to the West, so first up we have the Atlanta Hawks, and the grade for their offseason so far is a B+. The Hawks finally started to look like a team with a sound foundation being formed last season, and this summer they've made moves with the priority of building on that. They brought back CJ McCollum, who was a big boost to them down the stretch of last year. They drafted Kingston Flemings to bolster their backcourt depth with a mature young player who impacts the game on both ends of the floor. They traded for Aaron Wiggins for pennies on the dollar, and they also made the tough but probably correct decision to move on from former number one pick Zachary Rissache, which cooped them Lude Dort in the process. Rissache just never looked like someone who's upside was anything more than a role player or bench player, and the longer you wait the lower his value would've become and the tougher the decision would've become, so being decisive and getting a better, helpful player with championship pedigree is pretty ideal all things considered. Next to the Boston Celtics in the grade for their season so far is a C-. The Celtics are responsible for what I believe was the worst move of the offseason. At the beginning of the period they traded away Jalen Brown for Paul George, which is one of the most lopsided player for player trades in recent NBA history. In a season where Jace and Tatum missed most of the year, and after the team had shipped out both Drew Holliday and Chris Epsporzingas, Jalen Brown stepped into a lead role and capably held down the fort, keeping them at the top of the standings, averaging about 29 points per game. To trade him away for a washed up old Paul George, who is currently being paid what might be the worst contract in the whole league, is terrible. There's no two ways about it. Obviously Paul George is still capable of playing good basketball, but he's incredibly injury prone now, being paid a supermax contract to provide role player production. Boston adding Mitchell Robinson and drafting Chris Seneca saves their grade from being an F, but overall it hasn't been a great summer for them at all. Next to the Brooklyn Nets, and their offseason grade is a B. The Nets are still rebuilding, but it feels like they're also still trying to figure out how they want to move forward with that process. They brought in Julius Randle in what was basically a salary dump from Minnesota, and the goal is for Randle to try to boost his value to be traded further down the line to maybe court them some assets at the trade deadline for a better return. That's sort of what they planned to do with Michael Porter Jr. last year too, but then Porter played so well last season that they're now considering extending him. The Nets also drafted Michael Brown Jr., who is already looking healthier than he did at Louisville, with a very promising future ahead. Keon Ellis is a low-key solid signing, and Joshua Jefferson is another player that they drafted in round one with promise, so overall, for what they're trying to accomplish, this has been a solid period. Next is the Charlotte Hornets, and their offseason grade is a C. The Hornets were one of the hottest teams in the entire NBA in the second half of the season, and going into the offseason it felt like they were on the verge of maybe breaking through. Instead of building on that momentum though, they decided to trade away LaMelo Ball and take the team in a different direction. I understand that LaMelo's playstyle is very polarizing, and he's probably not a true alpha of a franchise, but his playmaking was still incredibly important to the offensive success they had, and for them to just ship him out without replacing that level of playmaking, really at all, felt like a step backwards that they didn't need to take. They still have a lot of shooting in this lineup, but shooting alone doesn't equate to elite offense. You still need that setup man to generate the quality looks. They drafted well, bringing in Hans Steinbeck and Christian Anderson, Nas Reed is a great stretch big man they got from that LaMelo trade, and they re-signed Kobe White who will now be tasked with replacing LaMelo Ball in their lineup, but I'm sorry, I can't help but feel like they regressed coming out of this. Next is the Chicago Bulls, and the grade for their offseason is a B+. The Bulls are still at the beginning stage of their rebuild, but at the same time they're quietly positioning themselves to be a sleeper or to be better in the short term than most think. Caleb Wilson is already looking way better than advertised with a 3 point shot that he flashed in summer league that he rarely used in college, so them drafting him at 4 feels like a home run. Signing Norman Powell is another big boost to their offense as a reliable high volume shooter, Nick Claxton is a huge improvement at center for them who they brought in, and while they lost a lot of their guard depth from last year to free agency, their backcourt last year felt way too cramped anyway, so it's not really as big of a loss as it may seem on paper. They're building a young core with real promise, and that's all you can ask for from them at this point in time. Next to the Cleveland Cavaliers, and their offseason grade is a C. The Cavaliers felt like they were in the driver's seat to win the LeBron James sweepstakes for most of the summer, but in the end, they were not the ones who came away with LeBron. As a result of that, the rest of their offseason has been pretty uninspiring. They seem to have found a gem in the second round of the draft with Malik Thomas being a sharpshooter, they gave Donovan Mitchell a contract extension, and all signs point to James Harden re-signing with the team soon as well, but besides that, they've been pretty inactive, which for a team trying to stay in the mix at the top of the Eastern Conference isn't good enough. Next is the Detroit Pistons, and their offseason grade is a B-. Detroit also find themselves in a difficult position, having just finished as one seed in the East, but in this league, teams that finish at the top get passed up very fast if they don't stay aggressive, and Detroit's offseason has felt like a bunch of lateral moves at best, and in some ways has felt like a downgrade. Tobias Harris, Isaiah Stewart, and Karis Levert are now all gone, and in their place, the Pistons brought in John Collins and Isaiah Joe while also drafting Ibuka Okori, so they've lost some of their tough, tone-setting veterans to add shooting, but worse defense. Jalen Duren's situation is also now taking their summer hostage a bit, and it really feels like a lose-lose no matter what they do with him. Jalen Duren's showing in the playoffs this year exposed how disastrous paying him a max contract could end up, but at the same time, if they let him walk in free agency, they're losing him for next to nothing, with a sign in trade probably being the best outcome, so all in all, it feels like they lose regardless. Next is the Indiana Pacers, and their offseason grade is a B. The Pacers did most of their work to retool for the upcoming season during last season, having traded for Ivica Zubac, and after making it to the finals in 2025, they are fully expecting to be back in contention with a healthy Tyrese Halliburton back on the court. Because of that, they didn't necessarily need to take many big swings this summer, so the moves that they did make felt like additions on the margins. They signed both Kelly Oubre and Larry Nance Jr., who are experienced veterans with histories of two-way production, and neither of them are necessarily suited for starting roles anymore, so to have them as bench pieces only gives Indiana more useful bodies to throw at teams. Next is the Miami Heat, and their offseason grade is an A-. The Heat kicked their summer off by making a major splash, trading for Giannis Anadokoumpou, and anytime you land a of his caliber, it is cause for celebration. Giannis is still one of the best players in the entire NBA, and it's been clear that he's needed a fresh start elsewhere for a while now, so now that he's in Miami, he is looking to get back in the hunt for a championship. The Heat definitely paid a pretty hefty price to acquire him though, so the current roster is not very deep at the moment, but being able to also bring Bobby Portis in from that trade helps, and signing Tim Hardaway was another very strong addition they made, as a capable volume three-point shooter to space the floor. Next is the Milwaukee Bucks, and their offseason grade is a B+. The Bucks finally did what needed to be done, trading Giannis Anadokoumpou away, but as I just mentioned, they actually got a major haul for him in return too. Tyler Hero, Kal-El Ware, Kasperus Jackie Chonis, and Jaime Jaquez are all young players with a lot of talent, and Hero in particular is a player that they may look to trade again down the line to acquire even more assets to plan their future with. In the draft, the Bucks also had two lottery picks to use, and they used those selections on Braden Burries and Nate Ament, which is a duo that I really like together. Burries feels like the more sure thing of the two, with a pro-ready game as a physically gifted and very crafty three-level scorer as a combo guard, while Nate Ament is the raw wing talent with size, length, and upside to hopefully tap into as more of a project, so all in all, they're doing the right things as a newly rebuilding squad. Next is the New York Knicks, and their offseason grade is a C+. The defending champions are sitting atop their throne, happy as can be with what they have already, so they're content running it back with largely the same group that they reached the mountaintop with, but that doesn't change the fact that they really haven't done much this summer. They re-signed a few of their bench players, but they lost Mitchell Robinson, which might hurt a lot more than they think. They signed Andre Drummond, who's really the only addition they've made to replace Robinson, but at this point in Drummond's career, he's a shell of his former self, so you shouldn't expect him to be some major boost. Next is the Orlando Magic, and their offseason grade is an F. The Magic felt like the next up-and-coming young contender a few years ago, and now they feel like a group in a make-or-break situation on the verge of crumbling. They can't seem to figure out how to run a functioning offense, their two best players feel like they clash with each other, and after another first round exit in the playoffs, it was clear that they're not built to hang with the big dogs. And yet, this summer, they've been as quiet as a church mouse. Signing Nikola Vucevic is the only notable addition they've made, and he's coming in to replace Mo Wagner, who left in free agency to sign with Brooklyn. Vucevic, at this point in his career, is one of the worst defensive big men in the NBA, and just is not close to where he was on offense in his prime, so for a group still very far away from contention as they are, this has been a pretty bad offseason. Next to the Philadelphia 76ers, and their offseason grade is an A+. The 76ers, quite simply, have been the biggest winners of the entire offseason. They started things off by landing LeBaron Phylon late in the draft, which felt like a pretty big steal for someone with lottery talent. Then they somehow turned Paul George's disaster of a contract into Jalen Brown. Then they came away as the victors in the LeBron James sweepstakes, putting together as dangerous of a starting lineup as you will see on an NBA court. It feels surreal how well things are going for this squad, and it doesn't even end there. They signed Dean Wade, who is an outstanding low-key addition as an elite defensive talent who can also be a spot-up shooter on offense. And they also signed Anfernee Simons, who is someone who has averaged over 20 points per game multiple times in his young career already, and is one of the most electrifying 6th man scoring talents in the game as an explosive scorer with unlimited shooting range. So the Sixers now have high-end talent and depth around Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey for the first time in a long time. Next to the Toronto Raptors and their offseason grade is a C-. The Raptors almost pulled off a move that would've shot them into real contention by making a trade for Kawhi Leonard that was accepted by both parties. But then the NBA got involved with an investigation into the situation between Kawhi, the Clippers, and Aspiration after news of the scandal broke last summer, and the trade has been put on hold until that situation is sorted, and now it feels like the trade may not go through at all. In the draft, the team drafted Alan Graves, who felt like a safe pick with a high floor but a low ceiling, and besides that, there's not much else to show for besides signing Kyle Anderson. They lost Sandru Mamukalashvili, which hurts too, so all in all, they've been pretty quiet. Next is the Washington Wizards and their offseason grade is a B+. The Wizards secured the number one pick in the draft, which they used on AJ DeBanca, who's coming in as the favorite to win the Rookie of the Year award. He could legitimately average over 20 points per game immediately as a rookie because he's already that polished as a scorer. They also brought Chris Middleton back to serve as a nice veteran mentor in the locker room with championship experience to guide the young squad, and along with him, they signed DeAndre Ayton to be a backup center, which is a role that Ayton is probably more suited for anyway. After having traded for both Trey Young and Anthony Davis last season, they seem to be gearing up to make a run at the playoffs, and these are the type of moves that hammer that notion home. Now over to the Western Conference, next up is the Dallas Mavericks, and their offseason grade is a B. Dallas are making it clear that they're going to take their time during this rebuild process and not rush anything, and the moves that they've made this summer demonstrate that. In the draft, I feel like they reached a bit on their selection of Maress Johnson, but he will still end up being a very good defensive player in the long run who plays with good energy, so it's not like I see him busting or anything like that. They also bought low on Zachary Resache from Atlanta, and here in Dallas, he won't be under the same pressure that he was in in Atlanta, where he was held to being a number one pick in the draft type of standards. Sergio Delaria could be a sneaky good find that they drafted late in the first round, Santiago Dama is a quality depth addition as well, and the players that they lost weren't exactly key pieces in the grand scheme of things, so overall they did more good than bad. Next is the Denver Nuggets, and their offseason grade is a C minus. The Nuggets won the title in 2023, but ever since then, they have gradually felt like they're slipping further and further away from contention. Having a talent like Nikola Jokic on your squad should motivate you to be as aggressive as possible, and yet summer after summer, the Nuggets have been losing key contributors. This offseason, they've already lost Tim Hardaway Jr. and Jonas Valanciunas, the Peyton Watson free agency situation because he's a restricted free is still very much up in the air, and Bruce Brown is still not re-signed, so it's not a lock that he'll be back either. They've only added Marvin Bagley Jr. in free agency, and they drafted Trevon Brazil in the second round of the draft, but for a team in the position that they're in, this is a pretty poor summer all things considered. Next is the Golden State Warriors, and their offseason grade is a D. The Warriors are a team that just missed the playoffs during one of the few good years that Steph Curry has left, so you would think they'd be as active as possible to retool the roster for a bounce back year, but instead, they've sat back and done next to nothing of note. In the draft, they did select Yax Lendeberg, which is actually a pick that I like a lot as a fit for them, as Lendeberg is a more older and experienced prospect that can come in and help from day one, but he is literally the only new addition that they've made so far. They re-signed Draymond Green, Christaps Porzingis, and Al Horford, but after waiting out the LeBron James saga, hoping to be the team that he picks, only for LeBron to go in a different direction, the team's offseason doesn't really have much else to show for it right now. Next is the Houston Rockets, and their offseason grade is a B. The Rockets aren't necessarily a group that were desperate to take big swings, so the smaller moves on the margins that they did make should be helpful in the long run. They signed veteran Marcus Smart in free agency to bring some much needed leadership in the locker room and to add another two-way ball handler to their backcourt that ran pretty thin last year. Then they also signed Bogdan Bogdanovich, who has made a long career out of being a useful impact sub off the bench providing a scoring punch with his shooting. They also successfully traded away Dorian Finney-Smith to get off of the disaster of a contract that they gave him last summer, so all in all, they've done some good things and limited the bad things. Next is the Los Angeles Clippers, and their offseason grade is a C-. Things are not all bad in Clipper Town, there's just one very glaring storyline hanging over their head that could ruin everything. In the draft, they selected Keaton Wagler 5th overall, which is a player that definitely has a lot of promise in creation upside as a combo guard, but he got off to a shaky start in summer league which has some to being a bit wary about him. They also replaced John Collins with Rui Hachimura, which could be looked at as a slight upgrade, or at minimum, a lateral move. The storyline hanging over their heads though, is of course, the situation between ownership, Kawhi Leonard, and the company aspiration. This situation is why the originally agreed upon trade between the Clippers and Raptors that would've sent Kawhi back to Toronto has been put on pause, and now there's a chance that the trade falls apart, and if it falls apart, then that could mean that even more sanctions could be headed the organization's way. Next is the Los Angeles Lakers, and their offseason grade is an A. I've accepted the fact that I may be in the minority that actually like what the Lakers have done this summer quite a bit, and I'm okay with owning it. Once it became official that LeBron James was leaving, they needed to replace his level of playmaking and creation, and while I'm not here to say that can simply replace what LeBron provides, the team did at least make a good effort to address the areas they needed. Any team led by Luka Doncic needs a high level defensive anchor at center, and the Lakers finally found that when they acquired Walker Kessler from the Jazz. Some may say that Kessler got a bit overpaid, I just think that the world hasn't woken up to the fact that Kessler is a top 5 shot blocker, and a top 5 rebounder in the NBA, who finishes every opportunity he gets around the rim, and is about to feast off of Luka Doncic's setups. They also added quite a few impactful free agents like Sandro Mamoukalashvili, Quinton Grimes, and Colin Sexton, plus they drafted Cameron Carr, who was one of my personal favorite prospects in the draft this year, so life after LeBron James should still see some fruitful output. Next is the Memphis Grizzlies, and their offseason grade is a B+. The Grizzlies are officially in their rebuilding era, having completed the transition by trading Ja Morant away to the Portland Trailblazers. Successfully finding a team to take on Ja Morant is enough of a win as is because of how low Morant's value across the league landscape had become, and then the fact that they were also able to draft Cameron Boozer 3rd overall in the draft gives them a truly high level prospect to build around to get this process started. Next is the Minnesota Timberwolves, and their offseason grade is a B+. I'll start off by saying that I absolutely loved them making the trade for LaMelo Ball, because I've been someone that has been begging Minnesota to make a move and upgrade at their point guard position for years, since it was so clearly their biggest weak spot. Adding someone with LaMelo's natural playmaking feel next to Anthony Edwards is going to make his life so much easier, but for the rest of the team's offseason it makes me a bit nervous. Shipping out Nas Reed as a part of the LaMelo Ball trade is fine in terms of value in value out, but they also sent Julius Randle packing, dumping his contract on the Brooklyn Nets, which is two big blows to their frontcourt without replacing them. They did re-sign Ayo Dasumu which was a big win for them, but it feels like they overcorrected a bit losing significant frontcourt depth from all of this. Next is the New Orleans Pelicans, and their offseason grade is an F. I can't find a single good thing to say about New Orleans summer so far. They've been one of the league's biggest disappointments in back-to-back seasons now, and the entire basketball world understands the fact that they need to start shaking things up or possibly just blow up the entire roster, and yet they have sat back and done nothing notable whatsoever. They overpaid, washed up DeAndre Jordan to bring him back and waste a roster spot again, they didn't get to draft anybody in the first round of the draft this year, they haven't made a single notable free agency signing, and they haven't made a single trade, so it's almost like they're content with being a terribly constructed roster with no real upside. Next is the Oklahoma City Thunder, and their offseason grade is a B. The Thunder are still set up to be one of the most dominant teams in the NBA for the foreseeable future, but they are now getting to the point where making the money work is becoming increasingly difficult. They had to let guys like Lou Dort, Isaiah Joe, and Aaron Wiggins go because they knew they just weren't going to be able to afford them, but even though those are some significant losses, they can afford it because of how deep they are. In the draft, they made two selections that I like a lot for their current situation, bringing in Ade Mara and Bennett Sturtz. Then managed to re-sign Isaiah Hartenstein, which did surprise me, but with him back, they now have a ridiculous amount of size and length in their frontcourt depth. Next is the Phoenix Suns, and their offseason grade is an A-. The Suns have sneakily had one of the stronger offseasons for what they were trying to accomplish at this point in time. They successfully re-signed both of their most notable free agents in Colin Gillespie and Mark Williams, which is huge because those two both attracted a lot of other offers, and they chose to stay, and they're now able to continue building on the success they found last year. They also traded for Miles Bridges, who isn't necessarily a player that I'm thrilled on, but overall he is an improvement in terms of adding another capable volume scorer to their lineup. Plus, he's on an expiring contract, so they're by no means tied to him long term. In that trade, they did have to give up sharpshooter Grayson Allen, but they then signed Luke Canard in free agency to replace him, who may be an even better shooter with more on-ball talent to utilize. Plus, in the draft, they selected Koa Pete with the last pick of the first round, who I think people soured on as a prospect way too prematurely, and will prove a lot of people wrong long term. Next is the Portland Trail Blazers, and their offseason grade is a C+. The Blazers were the daring squad that stepped up and made the move to trade for John Morant, which could prove to be a risk worth taking with Morant's all-star upside, but they're also one of the teams that Morant's fit is most questionable with. The Blazers do still have Scoot Henderson, seemingly getting better and better every year at point guard. Damian Lillard is also coming back healthy this season, and now Morant is a third point guard in that mix. It can be seen as a positive that they were able to move off of Jeremy Grant's contract in the process, but this was basically the team's only notable move all offseason so far. Next is the Sacramento Kings, and their offseason grade is a C-. The Kings, like the Pelicans, are one of the clearest examples of a team that desperately needed to blow things up and start over because their current core is severely capped in terms of how good they can realistically be. Yet, this offseason, the Kings have yet to offload a single member of that core besides DeMar DeRozan who they waived. DeMontisimonis, Zach Levine, Malik Monk, these are all guys who should be shopped, and if they run it back with all of them, they're going to be in for another year near the bottom. I will say that I do like that they were able to draft Darius Acuff, but that's pretty much the only positive that has come from this summer for them. Next is the San Antonio Spurs, and their offseason grade is a B. The Spurs just made it to the NBA Finals and want to continue getting better, so they prioritized depth at their weak spots over big flashy moves. Signing Tobias Harris is a decent frontcourt addition with plenty of leadership and playoff experience, albeit not always very good playoff experience. Then in the draft, they took two swings on young centers, hoping to solidify the depth behind Victor Wembenyama by selecting Terrace Reed and Jaden Quaintance. I personally would have liked to have seen them shop De'Aaron Fox a bit, because it's incredibly difficult to trust him being a primary catalyst of their offense after what he showed in the playoffs this year, on top of the fact that he's also the one who is in the way of Dylan Harper getting the full green light by the team, but overall they've done more good than bad during this period for sure. And finally, the last team up is the Utah Jazz, and their offseason grade is a C+. I wanted to love what Utah have done over the last year or so, and after they traded for Jaron Jackson last season it felt like they were gearing up to be a group that just wanted to brutalize opponents with a ton of size and length, but that was based on the notion that they were pairing Jaron with Walker Kessler in the frontcourt. The fact that Utah refused to pay Walker Kessler and let him leave to the Lakers is a massive blow, because now that means Jaron will be back playing center as a big man that can't rebound the basketball. They also didn't replace Kessler's size and physicality, instead bringing in Jackson Hayes, who is just a big downgrade, but they did re-sign Yusuf Nurkic, which is a mediocre move overall. Drafting Jaron Peterson is something for them to be very excited about, but overall it felt like they squandered a golden opportunity to really make some noise. And with that being said, that's all I have for you today. Make sure to like the video, subscribe to the channel, and comment down below what you think about how the offseason has gone so far. Thanks for watching and I'll see you all next time.