2023 NBA Offseason Recap: Central Division

Keith Smith
Keith Smith, Resident NBA ExpertAugust 03, 2023
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The NBA offseason is just about wrapped up. As of this writing, we’re still waiting on trades for Damian Lillard, James Harden and maybe Pascal Siakam. There are a handful of impact free agents left on the board, but every team has used almost all of their meaningful cap space. There are lots of exceptions left, but it seems as though teams are in wait-and-see mode, as the calendar moves into the dog days of August.

That means it’s time to reset where each roster stands. We’re going to look at who is returning, who was acquired and who has departed. We’ll also answer a few key questions about each team.

We covered the Atlantic Division and Pacific Division already. Next up: The Central Division!

Chicago Bulls

Players Returning (12) 

Lonzo Ball, Alex Caruso, DeMar DeRozan, Ayo Dosunmu, Andre Drummond, Carlik Jones, Zach LaVine, Justin Lewis (two-way), Dalen Terry, Nikola Vucevic, Coby White, Patrick Williams

Players Added (5)

Onuralp Bitim (two-way), Jevon Carter, Torrey Craig, Julian Phillips, Adama Sanogo (two-way)

Players Lost (5)

Patrick Beverley, Javonte Green, Derrick Jones Jr., Marko Simonovic, Terry Taylor (two-way)

Roster Openings

None.

Cap/Tax Status

The Bulls are $1.8 million under the luxury tax line.

Spending Power Remaining

Chicago has $6.2 million remaining of the Non-Taxpayer MLE. The Bulls also have a $10.2 million Disabled Player Exception for Lonzo Ball.

Biggest Move of the Summer

Extending Nikola Vucevic. It was a controversial extension, because some Bulls fans were hoping the team would blow up the roster and start over. But Chicago got Vucevic on a fair deal for $60 million over the next three seasons. It would have been better if the Bulls had some protection on the final season of the deal, but it’s still a fair value.

As far as outside additions go, Jevon Carter was a very nice pickup, as was Torrey Craig. Both players will give the Bulls a boost defensively, and both have shot it well in recent years.

Work To Do

Chicago doesn’t have a lot left to do. The roster is more or less finished. They don’t currently have a spot to give a player if they use the Lonzo Ball DPE to sign someone. That means that will be a piece of spending power that lingers into the season.

Mostly, it’s a good, if uninspiring roster. The Bulls should compete for a spot in the playoffs, but likely through the Play-In Tournament. That’s the kind of stuck-in-purgatory situation that Chicago fans were hoping to avoid this season.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Players Returning (10)

Jarrett Allen, Darius Garland, Caris LeVert, Sam Merrill, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, Isaiah Mobley (two-way), Isaac Okoro, Ricky Rubio, Dean Wade

Players Added (6)

Emoni Bates (two-way), Ty Jerome, Damian Jones, Georges Niang, Craig Porter Jr. (two-way), Max Strus

Players Lost (7)

Mamadi Diakite (two-way), Danny Green, Robin Lopez, Raul Neto, Cedi Osman, Lamar Stevens, Dylan Windler

Roster Openings

2 standard spots.

Cap/Tax Status

The Cavaliers are about $2.8 million under the luxury tax

Spending Power Remaining

The Cavaliers have $3.6 million remaining of the Non-Taxpayer MLE.

Biggest Move of the Summer

Adding shooting via Max Strus, Georges Niang and Ty Jerome. It’s hard to narrow this down to one move, because all three players are going to help Cleveland a lot. Strus got the biggest payday by a wide margin, and he could start on the wing for the Cavs. So, he’s probably the single biggest move.

Cleveland also brough back Caris LeVert on two-year, $32 million deal. That was more than fair, given his ability to be a productive bench scorer. Retaining LeVert should allow the team to avoid offensive droughts when Darius Garland or Donovan Mitchell sit.

Finally, sometimes the best moves are ones you don’t make. The Cavaliers didn’t swing a major trade involving one of their core players, despite some chatter that a big deal could be a thing. Instead, they added very solid pieces around that core in hopes of a deeper playoff run this season.

Work To Do

Cleveland has a couple of roster spots to fill. They could use another veteran center to replace Robin Lopez. Damian Jones was a fine addition, considering his minimum deal, but he’s been inconsistent throughout his career. Having Dean Wade healthy will help quite a bit to round out the frontcourt too.

The Cavs could also use one more point guard. Ricky Rubio really struggled last season, and he’ll be 33 years old this season. Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell are awesome, but one more ballhandler for depth purposes should be added before the season starts.

Detroit Pistons

Players Returning (11)

Marvin Bagley III, Bojan Bogdanovic, Alec Burks, Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duren, Killian Hayes, Jaden Ivey, Isaiah Livers, Jared Rhoden (two-way), Isaiah Stewart II, James Wiseman

Players Added (5)

Malcolm Cazalon (two-way), Joe Harris, Monte Morris, Marcus Sasser, Ausar Thompson

Players Lost (5)

Hamidou Diallo, R.J. Hampton, Cory Joseph, Rodney McGruder, Eugune Omoruyi

Roster Openings

1 standard spot and 1 two-way spot.

Cap/Tax Status

Detroit is $29.6 million under the luxury tax.

Spending Power Remaining

The Pistons have their full Room Exception of $7.7 million available.

Biggest Move of the Summer

Adding Joe Harris and Monte Morris. The Pistons have made it clear that they are trying to move forward this season. As bench veterans, Harris and Morris will help toward that end. Harris adds much-needed shooting, while Morris can be a steady hand to run the offense.

Detroit also held on Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks, which seemed likely after not trading either player at last season’s trade deadline. This team has an interesting mix of solid veterans around a lot of developing young players.

On the sideline, Detroit gave Monty Williams the richest coaching deal in NBA history. Williams is a respected coach and the Pistons are hoping he’ll lead them back to playoff appearances.

Work To Do

There isn’t a lot left to be done roster-wise. The Pistons have viable NBA players or highly-touted prospects at every position. Monty Williams isn’t going to hand minutes to anyone who hasn’t earned them. There are going to be a lot of fun roster battles at each position to monitor throughout the preseason.

Indiana Pacers

Players Returning (12)

Kendall Brown (two-way), Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield, Isaiah Jackson, Bennedict Mathurin, T.J. McConnell, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Jordan Nwora, Jalen Smith, Daniel Theis, Myles Turner

Players Added (6)

Bruce Brown, Ben Sheppard, Oscar Tshiebwe (two-way), Obi Toppin, Jarace Walker, Isaiah Wong (two-way)

Players Lost (5)

Oshae Brissett, Chris Duarte, George Hill, James Johnson, Gabe York

Roster Openings

None.

Cap/Tax Status

The Pacers have the ability to still create $7.5 million in cap space.

Spending Power Remaining

In addition to their cap space, Indiana has the entirety of the $7.7 million room exception remaining.

Biggest Move of the Summer

Extending Tyrese Haliburton. The Pacers have their star and franchise player in Haliburton. He’s happy in Indiana and the team got him signed to a Designated Rookie extension. Having a young All-Star locked up for years is huge for a small market team.

Coming in behind extending Haliburton is adding Bruce Brown. Did Indiana overpay a little for Brown? Probably. But it’s really a one-year, $22 million deal, because the Pacers have a team option on the second season. If for some reason things aren’t working out, Indiana can move on with ease next summer. But we’re betting things work out just fine.

Getting Obi Toppin for a couple of relatively minor second-round picks was also a steal by Indiana. They needed to add some size and Toppin’s skillset should be a perfect fit for the go-go-go Pacers. He could end up being a breakout player this season.

Work To Do

Indiana is pretty much done roster-wise. They could hammer out an extension with Obi Toppin. But don’t be surprised if the Pacers want to see how he fits before committing long-term money.

The roster still skews heavy with guards and wings, but that’s something Kevin Pritchard and his staff can figure out in-season. There isn’t a lot of size at the forward and center spots, so Indiana could move some of their perimeter depth for a bit more frontcourt depth.

Milwaukee Bucks

Players Returning (12)

Grayson Allen, Gianis Antetokounmpo, Thanasis Antetokounmpo, MarJon Beauchamp, Pat Connaughton, Jae Crowder, A.J. Green, Jrue Holiday, Brook Lopez, Khris Middleton, Bobby Portis, Lindell Wigginton (two-way)

Players Added (5)

Malik Beasley, Andre Jackson Jr., Chris Livingston, Robin Lopez, Omari Moore (two-way)

Players Lost (5)

Jevon Carter, Goran Dragic, Joe Ingles, Meyers Leonard, Wesley Matthews

Roster Openings

1 two-way spot.

Cap/Tax Status

The Bucks are $6.5 million over the second tax apron.

Spending Power Remaining

Milwaukee can only offer minimum contracts, as they are over the second tax apron.

Biggest Move of the Summer

Re-signing Khris Middleton. There were rumors for months that one of the cap space teams was going to throw the proverbial bag at Middleton. Whether that happened or not, we’ll never really know, as he re-signed with Milwaukee for $95 million guaranteed over three seasons. If healthy, Middleton is a perfect fit with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday and a solid two-way wing. Given the Bucks couldn’t replace him if he left, getting Middleton back was huge.

Only slightly less important was retaining Brook Lopez for $48 million over the next two seasons. He’s been one of the best defensive centers in the league since signing in Milwaukee, and his offensive game fits like a glove around the Bucks stars.

Getting Malik Beasley on a minimum deal was a nice pickup too. He’ll give first-year head coach Adrian Griffin another option on the wing. That’s important, given Middleton’s propensity to miss games.

Work To Do

The Bucks have a two-way spot to fill, but they’re basically done. The roster is deep and balanced. Health is probably the biggest question for how deep of a run this team can make.

The next biggest question is how Adrian Griffin will adapt to being a first-time head coach. Griffin was advocated for by the players, so that should make his transition a bit smoother. But Mike Budenholzer had an incredible amount of success in Milwaukee. So, it’s natural that there will be some “prove it” moments coming this season.

If there is anything the Bucks seem to be missing from this roster is a proven backup point guard behind Jrue Holiday. That’s something the team could still address in the coming weeks, or leading up to the trade deadline.

 


#nba #chicago bulls #chicago bulls #cleveland cavaliers #cleveland cavaliers #detroit pistons #detroit pistons #indiana pacers #indiana pacers #milwaukee bucks #milwaukee bucks
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