I think most would agree that it's been a very bizarre NBA offseason. Many players had to make tough decisions because of the upcoming changes to the salary cap, and organizations had similarly difficult decisions to make. With that being said, let's take a look at my winners and losers:
LOSER: Dallas Mavericks
Added: DeAndre Jordan and Wesley Matthews
Lost: Monta Ellis and Rajon Rondo
I think this "Loser" label will come as a surprise to some. Here's my problem with the Mavs' offseason: They added two of the most highly sought after players -- DeAndre and Wes Matthews -- but they didn't dramatically improve their position in the brutally competitive Western Conference.
Many of you already know my stance on DeAndre; he's one of the best rebounders and off-the-ball shotblockers in the NBA, but he has no game. I don't place immense value on players with no game. He has no post ability, cannot make a short or mid-range jumper and cannot make free throws. He has no touch. His buckets need to be spoon fed to him. Taking that into consideration, how is he going to fare without Chris Paul? He's going from CP3 to JJ Barea and possibly Jeremy Lin. Talk about two completely different stratospheres. Long and short of it is, DeAndre's not the guy to get this team over the top.
On the other hand, I think letting Monta Ellis go was a critical mistake. He was far and away their best offensive player this past season, and playing for superb head coach Rick Carlisle, Monta really improved his passing and unselfishness in recent years. To me, he was the engine of the Mavs' offense. Dirk is still solid, but aging to the point where he is not a go-to, franchise-type offensive player. This means Chandler Parsons is really going to have to be a primary playmaker for this team. That ain't gonna cut it in the West.
As for Matthews, I am definitely a fan. I really wanted the Knicks to get him, but he wouldn't even grant them a meeting (and who could blame him?). The problem is that Wes is primarily a catch-and-shoot offensive player who is best suited to play alongside a playmaking, drive-and-kick point guard. The Mavs have failed to properly address that position. I don't think Wes can reach his maximum value with the Mavs constructed as they are.
This kind of feels like a mismatched group of random parts. After this offseason, I do not view the Mavs as a legitimate threat in the West.
WINNER: San Antonio Spurs
Added: LaMarcus Aldridge
Lost: Tiago Splitter and Marco Belinelli
I mean, this is really a no-brainer. Any time you subtract a detrimental player like Splitter while adding a superstar like Aldridge, your organization is a big-time winner. Coach Pop and the Spurs were also able to lock up Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green for the future, so they basically just killed it all the way around. In my opinion, even though the Warriors won the championship, I still feel like the Spurs were the most cohesive and well-oiled team in the playoffs. I honestly felt like they fell victim to horribly bad luck, catching the Clippers in the best series they have ever played, not to mention a one-legged game winner by CP3 in Game 7. Ouch.
Anyway, this offseason makes the Spurs the favorites to win it all. In addition, Pop, Duncan, Parker and Ginobili can use the next couple of seasons to groom Aldridge for the future. My only concern is that "LA" likes to get the lion's share of shot attempts, so he'll have to work on his consistent willingness to pass when necessary. The Spurs certainly have the personnel to help him with that.
LOSER: Portland Trail Blazers
Added: Mason Plumlee, Gerald Henderson, Al-Farouq Aminu and Ed Davis
Lost: LaMarcus Aldridge, Wesley Matthews and Nicolas Batum
Yikes. Not much really needs to be said here. They lost three of their four best players and added a pile of mediocre guys. Plumlee sucks, Henderson and Davis are okay and I actually like Aminu, but this is a clear all-around downgrade. This team is now one of the few Western squads that cannot contend for a playoff spot. The others are likely the Nuggets, Lakers and probably the T'Wolves, unless they emerge quicker than expected.
Added: Rajon Rondo, Marco Belinelli, Kosta Koufos and Willie Cauley-Stein
Lost: Derrick Williams and Nik Stauskas
The saga continues. Can you imagine? A team with so much offseason turmoil, actually somehow improved? I think that's the case here. George Karl and DeMarcus Cousins may hate one another, but that doesn't change the fact that Rondo, Belinelli, Koufos and Cauley-Stein make this a much better team than last year.
I hate Rondo and I'm sure they'll be plenty of drama involving him, Karl and Cousins, but this is the right personnel for his skill set at this stage of his rapidly declining career. Cousins and Rudy Gay can create a lot on their own and don't require a point guard who can do an awful lot, except maybe get them the ball when the opposing defense has decided to overplay and deny them. That's one of the few things Rondo can actually do. He also somehow improves the team's depth, giving them two veteran (and not completely useless) players at the point guard position, the other of course being Darren Collison.
Collison is definitely a better all-around player than Rondo at this stage in their respective careers, but I'm sure Rondo will get the starting job. This isn't necessarily a bad thing for the Kings because Collison is far more capable of carrying the second unit.
I don't think the Kings will make the playoffs because they will be too dysfunctional on and off the court, but they will be better than last season. Thus, they are an offseason winner.
WINNERS WITH ONE MOVE: Bucks and Pacers
Added: Greg Monroe and Monta Ellis, respectively
The Bucks may be the second-best team in the East heading into the the 2015-16 NBA season. People have already been fighting me on that contention with the conservative picks like the Bulls, Wizards, Hawks and Heat, but I really do believe Milwaukee will contend for the two-seed. They already gave the Bulls a tough series this past postseason, and now they'll have Monroe and Jabari Parker. This is a long, fast, hungry and well-coached squad. Monroe adds the offense and technical skill that they really needed. This was a huge pick up for an organization on the rise.
I've already spoken a bit about Ellis, so let's just say that the Pacers have really given themselves a chance by adding him. Of course everything in Indiana will boil down to Paul George's ability to stay healthy and (perhaps) return to form. Only time will tell in that case.
TEAMS THAT WON BY BRINGING BACK (BASICALLY) THE SAME TEAM:
Cavs, Bulls, Warriors, Rockets, Grizzlies, Heat, Nets, Pelicans, Thunder and Jazz.
I really love what GM David Griffin and the Cavs did this offseason. Instead of being completely results-oriented and saying, "We lost in the Finals, we really have to change things" he instead said, "We probably had the best team in the NBA as we were, and the Kyrie and K-Love injuries are what ultimately derailed us."
And he would be correct in thinking that. Therefore, they brought back essentially the same team and should cruise to an easy repeat Eastern Conference championship. That's simple and smart organizational thinking. No one else in the East really has a chance.
TEAMS THAT LOST IN ONE EXCHANGE:
Atlanta Hawks: DeMarre Carroll downgrade to Tim Hardaway Jr.
Detroit Pistons: Greg Monroe downgrade to Ersan Ilyasova.
Los Angeles Clippers: DeAndre Jordan downgrade to no one. What are they doing? They are going to have to go all out for JaVale McGee now? Give me a friggin' break. They better hope Paul Pierce is an all-around savior. Sent from the heavens. And speaking of Paul Pierce...
Washington Wizards: Paul Pierce downgrade to Jared Dudley. They will need Dudley and Gary Neal to somehow collectively pick up the slack. Neal is the better player of the two.
Ughhhhh, I had a whole 'nother section here that didn't save because I lost my Internet connection. I hit Control-C (copy) and tried to Control-V paste but nothing returned. I'm not writing it all again. Now I'm pissed. Fuck it, it was something like this:
-I love
Brad Stevens and the evolution of the Celtics' culture, but they really didn't do much this offseason. I thought they really would have benefited from the addition of Greg Monroe. Also, they won't have the element of surprise this season in the Eastern Conference.
-
Michael Jordan's Hornets had a nice little offseason, adding
Nicolas Batum and rookie
Frank Kaminsky. I like the idea that they are going to throw Kaminsky right into the fire with big minutes and a lot of touches because they aren't a championship-caliber team. They are better off giving him the opportunity to learn on the fly during real professional game action. I can only hope
Phil Jackson and Knicks will make similar decisions regarding rookies
Kristaps Porzingis and
Jerian Grant. They probably won't because they always do the wrong thing.
-Overall summary: The
Hawks got worse, the
Nets and
Celtics stayed put, the
Hornets got better, the
Cavs and
Bulls stayed put, the
Mavs failed to improve, the
Nuggets stayed put, the
Pistons got worse, the
Warriors and
Rockets stayed put, the
Pacers got better, the
Clippers got worse, the
Lakers are different but still shitty, the
Grizzlies and
Heat stayed put, the
T'Wolves and
Bucks got better, the
Pelicans stayed put, the
Knicks got better but still suck, the
Thunder and
Magic stayed put, the
76ers are a circus, the
Suns failed to improve, the
Blazers got worse, the
Spurs,
Kings and
Raptors got better, the
Jazz stayed put and the
Wizards got worse.
-Number of Eastern teams that improved: 5 (Hornets, Pacers, Bucks, Knicks and Raptors)
-Number of Eastern teams that weakened: 3 (Hawks, Pistons, Wizards)
-Number of Western teams that improved: 3 (T'Wolves, Spurs and Kings)
-Number of Western teams that weakened: 2 (Clippers and Blazers)
8 teams improved, 5 teams got worse and the rest are status quo. That is your 2015 NBA offseason in a nutshell.
