Western Conference NBA Offseason Likes and Dislikes

Keith Smith, Resident NBA ExpertJuly 22, 2024

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The bulk of the offseason work is done around the NBA. There are a handful of impact free agents still available, but the vast majority of big names are off the board. Some teams are still looking at trades.

But we’re mostly done with the offseason. That means it’s time to start figuring out where teams are and what they’ve done this summer. (You can find the Eastern Conference here.)

Instead of grades, we’re going to bucket teams into one of four categories:

• Liked: Their moves or non-moves were solid and made sense 
• Disliked: Their moves or non-moves were questionable or didn’t make sense 
• Confused: What are they doing? 
• Incomplete: Feels like there has to be more to come
  
  

Let’s dive in!

Western Conference

Dallas Mavericks: LIKED

The Mavericks offseason moves were low in volume, but high in impact. Klay Thompson, Naji Marshall and Quentin Grimes all joined the team. Derrick Jones Jr., Josh Green and Tim Hardaway Jr. all departed. In terms of straight comparisons, those are upgrades for Dallas.

Thompson is clearly the signature acquisition here. His shooting alone will be an upgrade for Dallas. He’s not the athlete he once was on defense, but Thompson is still pretty solid. The biggest difference is that he’s no longer picking up opposing point guards, but instead is better against bigger wings and forwards. Mostly, this was about adding shooting and some championship experience. When Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving turn the corner, they know Thompson will hit off a kickout pass. That’s huge to open up the floor.

Grimes is essentially a version of what Green was for Dallas: a wing with 3&D potential. If Grimes can get healthy, he should be able to get on track. Don’t expect a rookie scale extension here, unless it’s very team-friendly. The Mavs are going to want to see Grimes on the floor first.

Marshall was an outstanding signing for only part of the MLE. If you believe in the shooting (was it contract-year focus or finally figuring it out?), then Marshall was one of the best values of the summer. He’s a switchable defender, and as a bit more heft than Jones. That’s good for a team that doesn’t have enough defensive versatility against wings.

Overall, the Mavs got better this summer. They still have a couple of holes to fill. (Who defends opposing point guards? If Luka Doncic or Kyrie Irving are out, who can step up as an additional on-ball creator?) But the defending Western Conference champs still have a move or two left in them too. This team is well positioned to make another run.

Denver Nuggets: DISLIKED

This one is pretty simple: Denver lost Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and it was for no reason other than not wanting to go deeper into the tax. Don’t let any “The second apron is so restrictive!” foolishness tell you otherwise here. The Nuggets didn’t have a lot of holes to fill. They could have signed Caldwell-Pope, but chose to save some money. That’s bad form for a title contender.

The additions were all fine. Dario Saric will help the frontcourt. His passing ability will allow the Nuggets to run some of the same stuff through Saric that they do with Nikola Jokic. DaRon Holmes II was a steal of a draft pick, but a torn Achilles during Summer League will cost him the season.

Even Trey Alexander and P.J. Hall were good gets on two-way deals. They are probably better than Jalen Pickett and Tyson Hunter, who both have two fully guaranteed seasons left on their deals. That’s something Denver will eventually have to figure out.

We’re going to factor in Russell Westbrook as an addition, as well. He’ll help the bench a lot more than most are giving him credit for. The Nuggets have very little behind Jamal Murray as far as ballhandling goes. Westbrook will help juice the Denver bench in non-Jokic and Murray minutes.

Speaking of Murray…What exactly is the holdup with his extension? If fears were so great of him getting hurt while playing with Canada at the Olympics, maybe he shouldn’t be playing? If that’s not it, then why not get him locked up and get this over with? It’s probably fine, but it’s a lingering to-do and that’s always a little worrisome.

The Nuggets still have a very good team. If Christian Braun is ready to start, they’ll be fine. But a questionable bench is still questionable. And Braun isn’t the defender or shooter that Caldwell-Pope is. Unless some of the kids pop in a way they haven’t yet, this summer feels like a miss for Denver.

Golden State Warriors: LIKED

It’s hard to have a good summer when you lose a franchise icon, but the Warriors bounced back just fine. Klay Thompson had slipped some, but he was still a good starter and he meant so much to the franchise’s rise. But the NBA calendar moves forever forward. Chris Paul and Dario Saric were also losses, but Golden State replaced them too.

The trio of Kyle Anderson, Buddy Hield and De’Anthony Melton are different from the guys they are replacing, but all are capable players.

Anderson will give the Warriors all the passing-related connectedness that Saric did. He’s also a better-than-you-think defender against forwards. Anderson can’t shoot like Saric, so Golden State does lose a bit of that stretch-big element.

It’s a little unfair to think of Hield as the Thompson replacement. Most of that will come from more minutes for Brandin Podziemski. But Hield will help replace some of Thompson’s shooting ability. When the Warriors need to open up the floor, Hield will be a big part of it.

Lastly, Melton should be a better fit for the team than Paul was. Paul is still a productive player, but he’s a primary creator. That never meshed well in a Warriors offense keyed around Stephen Curry opening actions and Draymond Green’s playmaking. Melton’s ability to play off-ball, but still attack as a secondary creator should fit better. And, if he’s healthy, Melton is a defensive upgrade over Paul at this point too.

Houston Rockets: Incomplete

There is no criticism here for the Rockets offseason. They nailed the draft pick of Reed Sheppard. Not only can he play (Sheppard is going to be a multi-time All-Star), but he also gives Houston some optionality in their backcourt. Sheppard can play as the primary point guard. Or he can shift over to play off-ball. Defensively, he’s competitive, even if a bit undersized.

But that was pretty much all the Rockets did this summer. Picking up A.J. Griffin was a solid enough flyer, but it’s not going to move the needle.

Houston seems to be holding off on extending either Jalen Green or Alperen Sengun, to increase their cap flexibility for the summer of 2025. That’s a fine plan. Green needs to play at a higher level for a longer period to prove he should land a big next contract. Sengun has shown that he deserves the big extension, but his smallish cap hold can be used to maximize cap space a lot like Philadelphia used Tyrese Maxey’s this summer.

As a result, this Rockets teams feels like they’re still a work in progress. And that’s ok! There are still a bunch of kids who have already shown a lot, with a lot more growth to come (something will eventually have to give with all of the forwards). Being patient is a choice, and it’s often the correct one. Next summer is the time for this team to really push things forward.

LA Clippers: DISLIKED

When you lose the only All-Star to change teams this summer, it’s going to be hard to have your offseason come up as one that we liked. Paul George has age- and injury-related concerns. He’s also really, really good!

Because there aren’t many movies about GMs and front offices, a favorite film of this space is Money Ball. When the Oakland A’s are trying to replace Jason Giambi, Billy Beane (as played by Brad Pitt) says, “Guys, you're still trying to replace Giambi. I told you we can't do it, and we can't do it. Now, what we might be able to do is recreate him. Re-create him in the aggregate.”

Even with the flexibility George’s departure created for the Clippers with the tax aprons and potential hard-caps, they still didn’t have cap space. So, to replace George, they had to think about recreating him in the aggregate.

Nicolas Batum, Derrick Jones Jr., Kris Dunn and Kevin Porter Jr. are all pretty good attempts at recreating some of what was lost in George. However, you can’t play six or seven players at once to replace the guy you lost. Also, in the NBA, four quarters rarely equal a dollar.

Batum and Jones will do well giving the Clippers some forward depth. Jones is the athletic big wing defender the team needed to replace George. Batum will give the Clippers a veteran who can defend bigger forwards, as well as providing some reliable shooting.

Dunn and Porter can recreate some of the on-ball ability lost in George’s and Russell Westbrook’s departures. If Porter’s head is right and he’s in a controlled system, he could put together a season that far outproduces his minimum contract. Dunn is a terrific defender and he’s been a much-improved shooter. He should be an upgrade over Westbrook, as either a starter or off the bench.

But the Clippers lost the best player to change teams this summer. Even if they did ok with bringing in guys to fill holes, this team is no longer on contender level. That’s a falloff from where LA has opened each of the last several seasons.

Los Angeles Lakers: DISLIKED

The Lakers drafted Dalton Knecht in the first round and Bronny James in the second round. They signed both players to standard first- and second-round contracts.

And that’s it.

Yes, LeBron James re-signed with the Lakers. And a handful of others picked up their options, because the Lakers give out player options like they’re candy on Halloween.

But as far as players in and out, it’s Knecht and the younger James in and Spencer Dinwiddie and Taurean Prince out.

That’s simply not good enough for a team that isn’t good enough. Sure, Knecht was a steal at the draft. He shouldn’t have fallen as far as he did. But Knecht alone isn’t turning around a poor offseason.

When LeBron James offered to take a good deal less than his max, the Lakers couldn’t close the deal to sign an impact player. They are now over the first apron and dancing around the second apron. That makes finding a trade that works a difficult task.

This offseason would have been termed “Incomplete” if it weren’t the culmination of several mismanaged offseasons in a row, dating back to the Russell Westbrook trade. While nothing has approached the disaster that deal turned out to be, it’s been a series of nicks and cuts to the cap sheet. That’s left the Lakers with LeBron James, Anthony Davis and a collection of role players, some of whom are overpaid and have overlapping skillsets. That’s why this summer of relative inaction gets a thumbs down.

Memphis Grizzlies: LIKED

The Memphis Grizzlies didn’t have a lot to do this summer. This offseason was mostly about getting healthy for several key Grizzlies. Another season of playing 30-plus different players simply can’t happen again.

That said, Memphis did do some nice work this summer. Zach Edey should be an outstanding fit at the center position. Memphis needed to get a five, and a long-term one, in the fold. Edey will need some time to adjust to the NBA, but he’s going to stumble into 10 points and eight rebounds per game just by being enormous. And his brief Summer League moments showed he could be a whole lot more.

The trade to clear out Ziaire Williams was a two-fold winner. One, it cleared out one of the many contenders for minutes at small forward. Now, Memphis can move forward with some combination of Marcus Smart, Vince Williams Jr., GG Jackson and Jake LaRavia at the three.

Just as importantly, Memphis now has the wiggle room around the tax line to re-sign Luke Kennard. The Grizzlies need Kennard’s shooting. They now have the ability to re-sign him without worry of tripping too deep into the tax or brushing up against the first apron.

Also, keep an eye on Jaylen Wells and Cam Spencer. Both second-rounders can play. Memphis has done a better job than most with developing players through the G League. Wells and Spencer might be next.

Minnesota Timberwolves: LIKED

As one of the NBA’s most expensive teams, what the Timberwolves could do this summer was pretty limited. But Tim Connelly and crew got creative at the draft and landed a big-time talent in Rob Dillingham.

There are few restrictions on trades for second-apron teams when they don’t involve salaries. Draft picks don’t involve salary in trade until the player is signed. Minnesota used this “loophole” to trade high into the first round to snag Dillingham.

The rookie point guard is going to get a nice apprenticeship under Mike Conley this season. Dillingham should be able to play through his mistakes as a backup, while figuring out the NBA. He’s going to have to be more of a playmaker for the Wolves than he was in college. Dillingham showed good signs of making that adjustment during Summer League. He was looking to create for others more than just trying to find his shot. That’s a positive start.

Terrence Shannon Jr. looks like a steal late in the first round. He went through some legal issues during his final collegiate season and the pre-draft process. Shannon was eventually cleared of the charges, and landed in Minnesota. He might need a season to adjust to the NBA, but eventually, Shannon will give the Timberwolves another wing scorer.

Joe Ingles was a terrific pickup to replace Kyle Anderson. Ingles is a better shooter and passer than Anderson. And he’s not far off Anderson as a forward defender. He’ll help keep things calm and composed on a second unit that will be led by a rookie point guard.

Without the ability to do much, Minnesota nailed the draft in a way we weren’t expecting. And then they picked up Ingles to replace Anderson. That’s a pretty productive summer.

New Orleans Pelicans: Incomplete

There might not be a team in the NBA who feels like they have more left to do than the Pelicans do. The team has a bunch of talented players, but they overlap positionally in a major way. As things stand, Willie Green has to find a way to play Zion Williamson, Dejounte Murray, Brandon Ingram, C.J. McCollum, Herb Jones and Trey Murphy III. Oh, and none of those guys are a center.

That means that two of that talented bunch are ticketed for a bench role. Maybe the team can squeeze another year out of Murphy coming off the bench, but the clock is ticking on that one. All of the others are established starters. And this isn’t a championship level of team calling upon a veteran to sacrifice for the greater good either.

Maybe an Ingram trade will deliver a center and clarity to the starting lineup. But it’s late-July now and no such trade has come yet. And the market doesn’t exactly seem to clamoring to trade value for Ingram and to sign him to a contract extension.

Despite the weird spot the Pelicans are in, getting Murray for some players who didn’t seem to have much future in New Orleans and a couple of picks was good work. He’ll be terrific for them, once the rest of the roster is sorted out.

As of now, Daniel Theis will probably start at center. Theis was a nice pickup, and he can be a solid spot-starter. But if he’s your every-game option at the five, that’s not good enough for a team that wants to be a solid playoff team. Yves Missi was a nice upside pick in the draft, but he’s going to need time before he’s ready to contribute to a winner in the NBA.

The other shoe hasn’t dropped in New Orleans yet. It’s now starting to feel like it might not either. It’s just kind of dangling there, hanging onto the end of the foot. We keep waiting for it to fall, but there’s been no movement yet.

Oklahoma City Thunder: LIKED

The Thunder were really good last year, even if it felt like it came a year early. They announced to the world that they were here and ready to win, regardless of whatever timeline we all might have put on them.

This summer, Oklahoma City got even better.

Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso were fantastic pickups for Sam Presti’s squad. And the Thunder sacrificed very little to get the two veterans.

Hartenstein gives Mark Daigneault lineup versatility he didn’t have before. When OKC faces off against the bigger centers in the league. Daigneault can go to Hartenstein for the extra bulk on the interior. And for those clamoring on about how “Chet Holmgren is best at the five because he’s a matchup nightmare for defenses!”, the Thunder can, and will, still use Holmgren as their five plenty. Hartenstein just gives the ability to go bigger when the occasion calls for it.

As for Caruso, his defensive ability gives Daigneault another ball-hawking guard/wing to throw at opponents. If Lu Dort is the bulky wing defender, Caruso is the quicker, point-of-attack version. Caruso’s connectiveness as a passer is also big. The Thunder will occasionally miss Josh Giddey’s on-ball creation and passing, especially when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is sitting. But some of those reps can be taken on by Jalen Williams, who is ready for more on-ball duties, and Cason Wallace, who should improve in Year 2. And Caruso’s defense and better shooting are welcomed additions in place of Giddey.

At the draft, Nikola Topic was a sneaky pick and might not pay off for a year. But Oklahoma City has experience with that with Holmgren. Dillon Jones is the kind of smaller-school, long, playmaking wing that the Thunder have developed already. And Ajay Mitchell is a funky, herky-jerky on-ball guard to develop on a two-way contract.

If all that wasn’t enough, the Thunder structured their moves this summer to leave flexibility for down the line too. The future is bright for Oklahoma City,  but the Thunder are already here and ready to contend now.

Phoenix Suns: LIKED

Like the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Suns didn’t have much they could do this summer. In a different way, the Suns also made the most of their limited resources.

Phoenix did well to get Monte Morris and Mason Plumlee in free agency. Both players will fill rotation spots while on the veteran minimum. That’s huge for a team that doesn’t have a lot of ways to upgrade.

The Suns also got a little creative and daring with re-signing Royce O’Neale and Josh Okogie. O’Neale’s contract is pretty fair value, even if it runs out a year longer than is ideal. Okogie got overpaid to turn him into a “human trade exception”, but not by an amount where his contract is untradable or anything. That’s good work to create some tradable salary by the Phoenix front office, and good for Okogie to get a nice bump in pay he otherwise wouldn’t have seen.

Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro were considered two of the best defensive players in this year’s draft class. The Suns got both of them. Dunn and Ighodaro both have a long way to go to improve offensively, but Phoenix isn’t lacking for offense. If the two rookies play defense, run the floor and finish at the rim, that’ll be enough to get them on the floor this season.

Part of evaluating an offseason is looking at what a team could do with the resources available to them. The Suns did a terrific job making the most of what they could do this summer.

Portland Trail Blazers: Incomplete

Portland traded Malcolm Brogdon to get themselves under the tax. In the process, they gave up a couple of draft picks, but also got back Deni Avdija. That’s a win.

And then the Blazers just kind of stopped making moves. And there’s still a lot more to do here.

Donovan Clingan was a great pick in the first round. He could, and arguably should, have been picked at least a few picks earlier. He should be a great fit in Portland, because Clingan can clean up for the guards (none of whom are great defenders), while giving them a big target on the interior.

The challenge? He’s now crammed into a center rotation that already includes Deandre Ayton (who is going to start) and Robert Williams III, who is back from another knee surgery. Something has to give there, because Clingan needs minutes.

The Trail Blazers also still have all of Jerami Grant, Matisse Thybulle and Anfernee Simons. There are other, younger players behind each of these veterans. That’s not necessarily a problem, but it’s a little crowded.

Mostly, Portland feels like a home that is being renovated one room at a time, as opposed to tearing it down to the studs and rebuilding from there. That’s not really a bad thing, but it makes the entire rebuilding process drag out longer than is ideal, and you have to live with some messiness while you rebuild.

Sacramento Kings: Confused

What exactly are the Kings building here? This team has a whole lot of offense, but not much defense. The offense also features a bunch of on-ball guys and not enough shooting.

DeMar DeRozan is a very good player. He’s also an upgrade over Harrison Barnes in a vacuum. But is he an upgrade for this particular Kings team? Only time will tell.

Sacramento started the summer off strong with a really great value deal for Malik Monk. He’s awesome and can excel as a starter or coming off the bench. For the way this roster is built, Monk should probably come off the bench. But he’s made some noise about wanting to start. We’ll see how that plays out.

Mostly, Sacramento has gone all-in on offense. There’s a ton of passing and creation on this roster now. DeRozan is adaptable and smart enough that he’ll find a way to mesh his game with the two-man excellence of De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis. Monk’s shooting will get him on the floor too. In some lineups, Keegan Murray is the fifth offensive option, which is a role he’s highly overqualified for.

Maybe that will make the Kings a regular season monster. It worked for the Indiana Pacers, who were differently built, but similarly offensive-focused. You won’t be able to take nights off against Sacramento, because they’ll score enough to challenge you.

But what is the ultimate goal here? They broke the playoff drought a couple of years ago. Are the Kings trying to advance into title contention? Or are they just trying to get back to the playoffs again?

San Antonio Spurs: Confused

The Spurs are going to be better next season. Chris Paul and Harrison Barnes will help this team grow up a lot quicker than they might have otherwise. Also, Victor Wembanyama is going to terrorize the league in whole new ways, now that he’s not adjusting to the NBA anymore.

But what’s the endgame? Are the Spurs trying to make the playoffs? If so, why not move a couple more of the kids and some draft picks and get another veteran to really push things forward? Are they just trying to be better, but not really cash in just yet? That seems like it was coming anyway.

This space begged for the Spurs to play a point guard to help Wembanyama and others last season. Paul is enormous upgrade if for that reason only. He’ll get everyone organized and create easier looks for a bunch of guys who were a DIY project last year.

Barnes will take the young forwards under his wing. He can teach them the value of defending, knowing when to stay rooted to your spot and when to make that late cut into space. Keldon Johnson and Jeremy Sochan should both benefit from going against and working with Barnes every day.

Stephon Castle can now apprentice under Paul for a year, because he and San Antonio seem hellbent on making Castle into a point guard. The bet here is that he makes the adjustment to primary lead guard, because Castle is too talented to not figure it out.

But the Spurs run the risk of improving enough that they’ll be out of range for another high draft pick. Is that really the best decision, given the strength of the 2025 draft class? And if it is, why not trade for someone like Lauri Markkanen or Brandon Ingram, who could lift this team into postseason contention this season?

Instead, it feels like the Spurs are caught kind of in between right now. No longer bad enough to get another great pick before Wembanyama lifts them into playoff contention all by himself. But maybe San Antonio knows Wembanyama was making that lift this season anyway, so why not give him a little help to get there? We’ll find out soon enough.

Utah Jazz: Incomplete

As of this writing, Lauri Markkanen is still a member of the Utah Jazz. And Utah still has over $30 million in cap space to work with this summer, should they want to go that direction.

However, Markkanen is still on the trade market. And the Jazz are still open to renegotiating-and-extending the All-Star forward’s deal when they are eligible on August 6. Or Utah could still make a move to trade for a high-salaried player and make a playoff push this season, then re-sign Markkanen next summer.

Starting to get that “Incomplete” feeling yet?

No one seems to have a real good sense for what exactly Utah is doing, beyond the fact that Danny Ainge isn’t done. Almost anything is on the table here of the above options. That also includes, renegotiating-and-extending Markkanen as soon as they can on August 6, so that the team could trade him when his six-month trade restriction lifts on trade deadline day of February 6.

As for what we can evaluate, the Jazz have done well. Cody Williams, Isaiah Collier and Kyle Filipowski were one heck of a draft class. Williams looks like he’s the kind of versatile wing that ever team wants nowadays. Collier was once considered to be the potential first overall pick, so the talent is there. And Filipowski had a first-round grade from most teams, until some weirdness ahead of the draft caused him to fall.

In free agency, the Jazz picked up Drew Eubanks, who is a nice addition at the center spot. Given Utah is still shopping Walker Kessler for whatever reason, Eubanks is nice to have in the fold. Johnny Juzang also got a nice contract after outplaying his two-way deal over the last two seasons.

Something more is coming for the Jazz. We have no idea what that is, which is probably just how Ainge wants it. Until then, this offseason and this roster is incomplete.