The Boston Celtics have committed a lot of money to their roster for this season and for the next several years. Over $1.1 billion in guaranteed money, in fact. That’s a whole lot committed salary. More than any NBA team has ever locked in for in history.

However, as lyrical philosophers A Tribe Called Quest taught us (and Oklahoma City Thunder executive Sam Presti later referenced): “Scared money don’t make none”.

We recently examined how teams are building their rosters in the Apron Era. Some were conservative. Some made trades before hitting the first or second apron. Others focused on adding talent on minimum contracts. A few teams kind of threw their hands up and did nothing.

The Celtics loaded up pre-Apron Era and then went way past being in for a penny, in for pound. Boston is in for over 100 billion pennies and over one billion pounds. That’s an indisputable fact. The real question: Will this kind of roster building work?

So far, so good from the Celtics perspective. They won the 2024 NBA Finals, which justified a $44 million tax bill on top of $185 million in salaries for a total outlay of nearly a quarter-of-a-billion dollars.

It’s hard to argue against the approach right now. But is that approach sustainable long term? Unlike all of the other apron teams, which have fairly easy pathways out of their current situations, Boston seems pretty locked in. As much as that’s fine for right now, how will it look in two or three or four seasons?

While that question is completely fair, it’s also worrying about things down the line more than things right now. If we overly focus on the future, we often fail to thrive in the present.

In every possible way, the Celtics are content to let tomorrow’s problems be tomorrow’s problems. Today, there’s another title to chase.

Recently, Boston head coach Joe Mazzulla said he doesn’t really like the term “defending a title”. He prefers for his team to stay on the attack. Yes, the Celtics won the 2024 title. They’ll celebrate that again on opening night with rings and an NBA-record 18th banner being raised to the rafters.

Then the game will tip and the focus will turn to winning Banner 19. That’s how it works in Boston. You celebrate a title, then you chase the next one. What you’ve done is important and to be celebrated, but never at the expense of what comes next.

That mindset has informed the Celtics roster building strategy. For years, with roughly the same core, Boston chased Banner 18. As they finally secured it, Brad Stevens and staff went about making sure they’d be able go after Banner 19 and beyond. But that process actually started about a year in advance.

In late June of 2023 news broke that the Boston Celtics were close to acquiring Kristaps Porzingis from the Washington Wizards in a three-team deal that would send Malcolm Brogdon to the LA Clippers. That deal fell apart when the Clippers expressed concerns over Brogdon’s health.

Boston quickly pivoted to the Memphis Grizzlies and trading Marcus Smart. With how quickly the Celtics pivoted on that deal, there’s at least a decent chance that Boston and Memphis had previously discussed a deal centered around Smart.

At any rate, Boston now had Porzingis in the fold and had started the process of resetting around Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, who Brad Stevens had previously called the organization’s “pillars”.

Fast forward a few months, and the Celtics – who fortunately still had Brogdon and his $22 million salary – traded for Jrue Holiday. This deal happened only a few days after Holiday had been traded to the Portland Trail Blazers, who were rebuilding in the wake of dealing Damian Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks in the same deal.

Now, you’re probably saying “I know Boston got Porzingis and Holiday. Great moves, but that’s ancient history. Why does this matter now?”

When the new CBA went into effect, NBA teams were given what we like to call a “get your books in order” years. Whenever the NBA makes major changes to the cap or luxury system/structure, they give teams an opportunity to line things up for success cap- and tax-wise. In the past, this manifested in the form of an “amnesty provision” through which teams were able to wipe an unwanted contract off their cap sheet.

This time around, the league and union gave teams a buffer year. Some of the burdensome restrictions around the luxury tax and the first and second tax aprons started with the 2023-24 season, but the bulk of them would kick in with the 2024-25 season.

Many teams took advantage of this buffer year and set the stage to drop under the tax or one of the two aprons. The Celtics, and a few others, looked around and said “Last chance to load up!” and went for it.

Had the opportunities to acquire Porzingis and Holiday come a year later, under the full weight of the tax and apron restrictions, Boston might not have either player. They certainly wouldn’t have both players.

Both deals also came with some questions. Porzingis was an injury risk. Holiday was aging and coming off a rough 2023 playoffs. Both Porzingis and Holiday were also entering the final guaranteed years of their contracts. Given the cost (in terms of salary/tax and trading beloved players), both at the time and down the line, these weren’t no-risk acquisitions.

For the first time in a long time, the Celtics chose to go for it right now and to let tomorrow’s problems be tomorrow’s problems.

Shortly after acquiring Kristaps Porzingis, the team signed him to a two-year, $60 million extension. A couple of weeks later, the Celtics and Jaylen Brown signed the then-largest contract in NBA history with a five-year, $285.4 million extension.

After trading for Jrue Holiday on the eve of training camp, Brad Stevens was cautious of running afoul of NBA extension rules and would only say versions of “We hope Jrue is here for a long time”. It was clear there was more to come.

Before the season started, Boston and backup guard Payton Pritchard inked a four-year, $30 million extension. A more then reasonable deal, but yet another added long-term expense.

In season, the Celtics added Xavier Tillman Sr. and Jaden Springer ahead of the trade deadline. Tillman was acquired with the team saying they hoped he wouldn’t just be a rest-of-season addition. Springer came with an additional year left on his rookie scale deal of $4 million for the 2025-26 season.

Then, with the season wrapping up and extension restrictions lifted, Boston took care of keeping Holiday in town with a four-year, $134.4 million extension.

Roughly two months later the Celtics raised the Larry O’Brien trophy.

Preceding the title run, Boston added nearly $514 million in long-term salary through trades and extensions. But Brad Stevens and the Celtics weren’t done. When you’re in for half-a-billion pounds, you might as well be in for a billion pounds.

Things started off fairly relaxed. Boston re-signed Luke Kornet and Xaiver Tillman Sr. to minimum deals. One year for Kornet and two years for Tillman. On top of the two veterans, Neemias Queta signed on for three more years too. With Kristaps Porzingis set to miss the start of the season, the Celtics secured some frontcourt depth.

That trio of deals was Stevens cracking his knuckles before sitting down to bang out a concerto of spending.

Boston then extended Jayson Tatum on the currently-largest contract in NBA history of five years and a projected $313.9 million. Combined with Jaylen Brown’s extension, the pillars are in place for years to come.

The Celtics weren’t done.

Derrick White signed a somewhat surprising extension of $125.9 million over four years. The surprising part was that the Celtics got White for the most they could offer him under the veteran extension rules. White spoke often of finding a home in Boston and didn’t seek to cash in on his growing profile as much as he may have. That’s a major win for the guys in green.

Channeling Danny Ocean saying “You think we need one more?”, Stevens went back to work one more time.

Sam Hauser completed the extension/re-signing splurge by inking a four-year, $45 million deal.

All in all, after dropping nearly $514 million in new deals last season, the champs added nearly $500 million more in new contracts this offseason.

By acquiring (and then extending) Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday before they wouldn’t have been able to, then extending or re-signing almost everyone else, the Celtics have over $1 billion in committed salary on their books through the 2029-30 season. Oh, and the team is for sale too. That was one of the last newsy dominoes to fall this summer in Boston.

Will a new ownership group look at the cap sheet and decide it’s all too much? Will the team not win at a high enough level to justify spending that much? Will the considerable roster-building restrictions for a second apron team mean shedding a salary or two? Only time will bring those answers.

The Celtics are letting tomorrow’s problems be tomorrow’s problems.

For several years running, the Boston Celtics were a good, but never great team. They made the Eastern Conference Finals in three of four years from 2017 through 2020. They made the 2022 NBA Finals and then back to the East Finals in 2023.

In 2024, the Celtics finally brought home Banner 18 after a 16-year wait.

However, it was that 2022 team that really broke through. After years upon years of ownership saying that they’d pay the tax for a contender, that 2022 NBA Finals appearance seemed to do the convincing. Boston paid the tax in 2023 after several years of dodging the tax (minus a slight payment in 2019). They haven’t looked back since.

Without spending what it took to bring on Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, the Celtics don’t win the 2024 NBA Finals.

As A Tribe Called Quest told us: Scared money don’t make none.

Now, the Celtics have zoomed past the second apron. They aren’t quite as expensive this season as the Phoenix Suns or Minnesota Timberwolves. Boston is neck-and-neck with the Milwaukee Bucks, about $50 million behind the Wolves and $150 million behind the Suns in terms of total spending.

It’s next season and beyond when Boston takes the lead in committed salary plus tax penalties. As it stands today, for 11 players, the 2025-26 Celtics are sitting at nearly $445 million in salaries plus tax penalties. That figure will very likely zip well past half-a-billion when all is said and done.

Yes, the cap and tax are set to go up the maximum of 10% for at least each of the next few seasons. But Boston is so far over the second apron, it might take years for it come back into view again. Even in 2026-27, the Celtics are already at over $200 million on the books for just nine players.

Get ready for the term “second apron” to become a regular part of your Boston Celtics lexicon. Effectively, being over the second apron will limit the Celtics to re-signing their own players, signing their own draft picks (which may also be subject to getting moved to the end of first round), signing players to minimum contracts, and making trades where the salaries match exactly and Boston doesn’t send out more than one player.

You know what else? This team doesn’t need a lot of outside help at the moment.

The Boston Celtics went 64-18 last season with the fourth-best net rating in NBA history at +11.6. That was followed by rampaging through the playoffs at 16-3 with a +8.7 net rating. Say what you will about the competition, but that’s a historical level of dominance.

The Celtics aren’t letting worries about the future cost them anything right now. Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, Kristaps Porzingis, Sam Hauser, Payton Pritchard and the previously-extended Al Horford, all got their deals in the last year because Boston wanted to win Banner 18…and then to keep the good times rolling as long as they can.

You can’t ignore the future. Eventually, every bill comes due in the NBA. At some point, the Celtics won’t win enough to justify spending so much money.

But you can’t worry so much about what might happen two or three or four years down the road that you ruin what is pretty great right now.

The Boston Celtics have chosen to let tomorrow’s problems be tomorrow’s problems. That got them Banner 18 and it must just lead to Banner 19 and beyond too.

The NBA has entered a new era in terms of roster building. It’s no longer just cap space, over the cap, or luxury tax. Now, the first apron and second apron exist.

Not only do the first and second apron exist, but the full weight of their restrictions was felt this offseason. Instead of there being three ways to get hard-capped at the tax apron, there are now six ways to get hard-capped at the first apron and four additional ways to get hard-capped at the second apron.

In addition, if you are at or over the first or second apron, there are a whole bunch of things you can’t do. This includes all the things that would have hard-capped you at either apron, as that closes the loophole of starting out expensive and getting even more so.

Finally, there are the financial penalties and draft-related penalties for being over the second apron. The CBA reduced the financial hit for being just a little over the tax, but they made it even more taxing (pun very much intended) to be deep into the tax. And if you are up and over the second apron for several years, you start to get hit with the inability to trade picks and your draft pick can even be moved to the end of the first round.

Previously, we covered how the cap space teams operated this offseason. Now, we’re going to look at the teams on the other end of spectrum.

Before we fully dive in, it’s worth nothing that there are nine teams currently over the NBA’s first apron. We’re going to cover seven of them here. The Philadelphia 76ers had a unique summer in that they used cap space, but then ended up over the first apron by virtue of re-signing Tyrese Maxey to a maximum contract. If you want to read about the Sixers summer, you can find them covered in the link above.

We’re also going to cover the Boston Celtics in a separate article, because they had an interesting summer in terms of right now and long-term.

With all that said, let’s take a look at the other seven tax apron teams.

Second Apron Teams

Milwaukee Bucks

Acquisitions

Taurean Prince (signed via Minimum Exception), Gary Trent Jr. (signed via Minimum Exception), Delon Wright (signed via Minimum Exception), A.J. Johnson (2024 first-round pick), Tyler Smith (2024 second-round pick)

Re-signings

None

Analysis

A year after an offseason marked by the Damian Lillard trade and new deals for Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez, the Bucks had a far more lowkey summer. Milwaukee kept it simple, but that doesn’t mean their moves weren’t good ones.

The Bucks big win was signing Gary Trent Jr. via the Minimum Exception. When Trent got squeezed out of Toronto, there weren’t any landing spots left for more than the minimum. At least, nowhere that made sense for Trent. As it stands, should he deliver similar production to the last few years, Trent will be one of the best minimum signings the league has ever seen. He’ll add an important 3&D element for the Bucks that has been missing the last few years.

Taurean Prince and Delon Wright were terrific additions too. Prince gives the Bucks the combo forward they didn’t have last year. With Bobby Portis functioning as a third big, Prince can swing between either forward spot and give Milwaukee some shooting, defense and rebounding.

The Bucks played a lot of last season without a viable backup for Lillard. Wright will fix that. Given Milwaukee will prioritize keeping their vets healthy and rested for the postseason, having Wright will give Doc Rivers a trusted veteran behind his star point guard.

The Bucks didn’t retain any free agents from last year’s team over the offseason. With a now full roster, it’s unlikely any will return, unless it’s an in-season signing down the road.

This was an understated summer, especially compared to last year. But it was a very productive one for Milwaukee.

Phoenix Suns

Acquisitions

Tyus Jones (signed via Minimum Exception), Monte Morris (signed via Minimum Exception), Mason Plumlee (signed via Minimum Exception), Ryan Dunn (2024 first-round pick), Oso Ighodaro (2024 second-round pick)

Re-signings

Bol Bol (signed via Minimum Exception), Damion Lee (signed via Minimum Exception), Josh Okogie (signed via Early Bird rights), Royce O’Neale (signed via Bird rights)

Analysis

With the Golden State Warriors and LA Clippers resetting their rosters this offseason, Phoenix was this summer’s marquee second apron team. The Suns played “Veteran Minimum Roulette” again, but this time around the approach seems to have been more mindful of what the roster needs.

After experimenting for a season without a point guard, the Suns went out and got two really good veterans in Tyus Jones and Monte Morris. Jones was a surprise signing, but like Gary Trent Jr. with the Milwaukee Bucks, the player’s tepid market was the team’s gain. Jones should be the starting point guard for Phoenix and he’ll bring a layer of stability that the team was missing last season.

Morris is coming off a somewhat lost year, after injuries wrecked the first half of his season. Still, Morris showed with the Minnesota Timberwolves that he’s still capable of being a high-end backup. With Jones and Morris, a position that was a problem last season is no longer an issue.

Plumlee is replacing Drew Eubanks as Jusuf Nurkic’s backup. Because Plumlee is a solid screener and good passer, he’s a better fit for the Phoenix offense than Eubanks. Defensively, Plumlee won’t provide as much rim protection, but he’s a solid enough in the paint for backup minutes.

Where the Suns got creative was with their re-signings. Josh Okogie got overpaid for this season, as Phoenix basically turned him into an $8.25 million walking trade exception. While we don’t like thinking about players as strictly a cap number, that feeling is lessened when they get about four times as much as expected to become one. And if he’s not traded, Okogie could re-earn his spot as a defensive-minded guard/wing for the Suns.

Okogie needs to re-earn that spot, because Phoenix traded for Royce O’Neale last year and then re-signed him to a four-year, $42 million deal. That’s a solid value for O’Neale as a 3&D wing. And he’s very tradable on that contract too.

Should any of the veterans fail, Phoenix can turn to rookies Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro. Both players were targeted draft acquisitions. They are both raw offensively, but Dunn and Ighodaro are ready to contribute on defense right away, if necessary. And it’s not like the team needs more offense.

Unlike last year, when the Suns had fill out almost the whole roster following the Bradley Beal trade, this summer was a bit more relaxed. Getting Jones and Morris for the minimum was a pair of steals. Plumlee should deliver surplus value on a minimum deal too. We’ll take a bit more of a wait-and-see approach with O’Neale and Okogie, because it feels like those stories are still developing. That’s especially true with Okogie. However, in another summer of minimums, re-signings and draft picks, James Jones and crew seem to have figured out this second apron thing better than a year ago.

Minnesota Timberwolves

Acquisitions

P.J. Dozier (signed via Minimum Exception), Joe Ingles (signed via Minimum Exception), Rob Dillingham (2024 first-round pick), Terrence Shannon Jr. (2024 first-round pick)

Re-signings

Luka Garza (signed via Early Bird rights)

Analysis

After a 2023 summer that saw the Minnesota Timberwolves vault well past the second apron for the foreseeable future, the Wolves were more measured this summer. However, Tim Connelly and staff got creative to infuse their roster with some necessary young talent.

At the draft, Minnesota pulled off a stunner by trading into the lottery to draft Rob Dillingham. Connelly gave up a future first-round pick and a future first-round swap to get Dillingham in a deal with the San Antonio Spurs. This isn’t quite the homerun swing that trading for Rudy Gobert was, but it’s a healthy cut nonetheless.

Dillingham will have a chance to apprentice under Mike Conley (who extended last season) for a couple of seasons. That should work out perfectly for a Wolves team that is built to contend right now. In a perfect world, as Conley ages out of being a full-time starter (or retires), Dillingham will be ready to start alongside Anthony Edwards. For a team with limited resources, due to being so expensive, this is the kind of creative move to infuse the roster with young talent that we may see become more commonplace for second apron teams.

Terrence Shannon Jr. likely would have been selected higher in the first round, had he not been dealing with legal issues ahead of the draft. (Shannon was acquitted of all charges.) He’s a lottery talent and gives Minnesota a wing shooter/scorer with good size. As the roster develops in coming years, having Shannon will help with the team’s versatility.

Free agency was predictably muted for the Timberwolves. Joe Ingles is a terrific locker room presence, and he can still shoot and move the ball when he’s needed on the floor. P.J. Dozier – a Connelly favorite – may be the interim backup for Conley until Dillingham is ready.

Unless you nail some veteran minimum signings, as the Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns did, it’s hard to improve as a second apron team. However, Minnesota did well to trade into the lottery to snag Dillingham. That’s a move that should help this year, while paying off big time for years to come.

First Apron Teams

New York Knicks

Acquisitions

Mikal Bridges (via trade), Keita Bates-Diop (via trade), Cameron Payne (signed via Minimum Exception), Pacome Dadiet (2024 first-round pick) Tyler Kolek (2024 second-round pick)

Re-signings

OG Anunoby (signed via Bird rights), Precious Achiuwa (signed via Bird rights)

Analysis

The New York Knicks went for it this summer. After acquiring OG Anunoby ahead of last season’s trade deadline, New York doubled down on the wing by trading for Mikal Bridges. The cost was significant, but Bridges should be a perfect fit with the Villanova Knicks.

Bridges gives New York a solid scorer, who fits in perfectly in Tom Thibodeau’s defense-first, -second and -third schemes. The veteran wing was miscast as a primary scorer/creator in Brooklyn. With the Knicks, Bridges will be a better fit as a third option, who can play up as a second option when the occasion calls for it.

Anunoby was re-signed to a five-year, $212.5 million deal. That’s a significant investment, considering the Bridges trade and that Julius Randle is still in the fold. But Anunoby was terrific for the Knicks after his midseason acquisition. Like Bridges, he’s best when he’s a bit further down the pecking order on offense, and Anunoby is an excellent and versatile defender too.

Keita Bates-Diop and Cameron Payne seem like afterthought pickups now, but both veterans will stay ready and could contribute if needed.

Later in the summer, as backup big man options dwindled, the Knicks re-signed Precious Achiuwa to a one-year, $6 million deal. That’s pretty solid for an energy big off the bench. Achiuwa isn’t a perfect replacement for Isaiah Hartenstein, but the backup center market got picked over pretty quickly. Expect this to be a spot New York continues to work on throughout the season.

If all that wasn’t enough, Jalen Brunson signed a very team-friendly extension. Was that motivated by adding yet another Villanova buddy? Does Brunson just love New York that much? Did he want to make sure the team had flexibility, as opposed to cashing in for himself? Yes, yes, and yes.

Outside of the hole behind oft-injured Mitchell Robinson at the center spot, this was an outstanding summer for Leon Rose and the Knicks front office. They pushed into the tax and even past the first apron, but this is the best New York team in a decade. And, it feels like the Knicks might not be done yet, as they could still make another trade or two (Julius Randle, anyone?) to further rebalance the roster.

Denver Nuggets

Acquisitions

Russell Westbrook (signed via Minimum Exception), Dario Saric (signed via Taxpayer MLE), DaRon Holmes II (2024 first-round pick)

Re-signings

Vlatko Cancar (signed via Minimum Exception), DeAndre Jordan (signed via Minimum Exception)

Analysis

The Denver Nuggets pivoted a bit this summer. Tax and apron concerns (at least as the stated reason, as opposed to an unwillingness to spend) saw Kentavious Caldwell-Pope leave town. A failure to draft or develop viable backups for Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray saw the team invest their limited resources in those spots. This offseason feels like a step back for a title contender.

Losing Caldwell-Pope is a blow to one of the best starting fives in the NBA. Christian Braun is ready for a bigger role, but he’s not the shooter nor defender that Caldwell-Pope is. Braun is going to have to take another big leap to fill Caldwell-Pope’s no-maintenance-necessary role for the Nuggets.

Russell Westbrook gives the team the backup point guard they’ve been missing since Monte Morris was traded. Westbrook is a bit of a weird fit, since he can’t really play off the ball. But Westbrook will add energy and juice to a second unit that seemed stuck in the mud quite often last season.

Dario Saric is a nice addition behind Jokic…but did they really need to give him the full Taxpayer MLE? Not only does that feel like an overpay, but it removed using that tool on another player. In addition, that move hard-capped Denver at the second apron for a second consecutive season. Given the Nuggets reluctance to go deep in the tax, that may not be much of a barrier, but it’s still something to monitor.

Re-signing Vlatko Cancar and DeAndre Jordan are fine moves. Cancar looked primed for a bigger role before getting hurt in the summer of 2023 and missing all of last season. If healthy, he could be a rotation forward this year. Jordan is a respected veteran and he’s been surprisingly productive when called upon to play once every few weeks.

What hasn’t happened as of this writing is an extension for Jamal Murray. It’s been expected that Murray and the Nuggets would sign a maximum veteran extension, but that it would happen after the Olympics. We’re now nearly a month after the Olympics and there’s been nary a peep.

Did Murray’s struggles in the playoffs and then for Team Canada give Calvin Booth pause on handing the veteran guard a max deal? Is Denver ownership reluctant to go big to keep Murray, given Michael Porter Jr. is already on a max deal and Aaron Gordon has a new deal coming too? Is it really just a case of putting pen to paper when everyone is back together in Denver?

Until Murray is extended, those are all valid questions. Valid questions are kind of the theme around the Nuggets right now. A full year after basking in the glory of a title with a pretty stable roster, everything now feels far more tenuous in Denver.

Los Angeles Lakers

Acquisitions

Dalton Knecht (2024 first-round pick), Bronny James (2024 second-round pick)

Re-signings

LeBron James (signed via Bird rights), Max Christie (signed via Bird rights)

Analysis

Much to the consternation of their fans, the Los Angeles Lakers look pretty similar to last season. Spencer Dinwiddie and Taurean Prince left town and were replaced by two rookies in Dalton Knecht and Bronny James.

That’s the entire summation of the ins and outs of the Lakers roster this summer.

So…yeah.

Knecht was a terrific value pick, as he slipped out of the lottery. He should outproduce his draft slot, and possibly by a considerable margin. Drafting the younger James was something everyone saw coming, but it’s still a circus. However, the hit rate for late second-round picks isn’t all that high to begin with. So, being completely honest, why not make the pick that makes your star player happy and creates a fun story?

As for the elder James, he very famously was willing to leave a pretty big chunk of money on the table for the Lakers to make a big move or two. When Rob Pelinka was unable or unwilling to make those moves happen, James left only some money on the table.

As the latest former Los Angeles second-round pick to reach restricted free agency after two seasons, Max Christie got a four-year, $32 million deal. That’s probably a fine value for Christie, as he’s shown plenty of potential to develop into a solid 3&D wing.

Every other playoff team made moves to bolster their roster or to turn towards resetting their cap sheet. Los Angeles let the summer idle by with their toes dipped into the water while they napped lakeside.

That’s not good enough for a team that should be doing everything they can to maximize the remaining years LeBron James and Anthony Davis have left as elite players. That’s especially true when James was willing to leave money on the table. Instead, the same middling roster that wasn’t good enough in a deep Western Conference is back for another run. Not the best approach for maximizing the remaining years of James’ career.

Miami Heat

Acquisitions

Alec Burks (signed via Minimum Exception), Kel’el Ware (2024 first-round pick), Pelle Larsson (2024 second-round pick)

Re-signings

Haywood Highsmith (signed via Bird rights), Kevin Love (signed via Early Bird rights), Thomas Bryant (signed via Minimum Exception)

Analysis

After years of creaking through the regular season then turning it on for the postseason, the Miami Heat’s aging roster caught up with them. Injured, banged-up and worn-out players lost in fairly non-competitive fashion in the first round.

The roster screamed for a makeover of sorts, but no such big reset came. Years of trading for, signing and re-signing older players seems to have caught up with Miami. The Heat didn’t have the flexibility cap-wise or asset-wise to do a whole lot for a second straight summer.

Alec Burks is a nice addition for the minimum. He’ll play a role in a backcourt that always seems to beset by injuries. But Burks was the only veteran addition.

The draft continues to be a spot where Miami excels. Kel’el Ware looks like the latest in a string of solid picks. The knocks on Ware were his work ethic and hustle. It’s safe to say that the Heat will correct those issues, or they probably aren’t correctable. Bet on the former, and that’s great considering Ware has all kinds of talent and potential.

Miami set about re-signing Haywood Highsmith, and got him on a really nice deal. He’s become a key defensive-minded forward for Erik Spoelstra. Highsmith will be part of the group replacing Caleb Martin, who left for reportedly less money in Philadelphia.

Up front, Kevin Love is coming back, as is Thomas Bryant. Giving Love two seasons as this point in his career seems unnecessary, and Bryant wasn’t able to crack the rotation. But their presence gives Spoelstra a couple of vets behind Bam Adebayo in the frontcourt.

Given the Miami Heat have kind of become Lakers Southeast, it’s interesting that both franchises had similar summers. The draft additions are fine, but aren’t major upgrades for this season. And there wasn’t much done besides that.

Like the Lakers, the Heat should have done more to maximize things in Jimmy Butler’s remaining years as an All-Star level guy. Instead, they are basically running it back with a group that’s not a contender. Which begs the question: If you aren’t contending, why aren’t you resetting?

When the bubble wrapped up in 2020, the Orlando Magic were in a weird place. Their post-Dwight Howard team had finally broken through for back-to-back playoff appearances, but the Magic had been bounced in five games both times. The team Jeff Weltman and staff inherited was fine, but fine was never the goal.

Four years later, the Magic are finally growing into the team they always wanted to be post-Howard.

Following the bubble season, Weltman and crew went about tearing down the Magic. Out went mainstays Nikola Vucevic, Aaron Gordon and Evan Fournier. In came young players and draft picks.

The rebuild was on yet again in Orlando. But this time around it felt different.

A few years of losing delivered Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagnerand Jalen Suggs. Jonathan Isaac finally got healthy. Cole Anthony grew into a very good sixth man. A handful of vets signed to savvy, short-term contracts outplayed their deals.

In 2023-24, the Magic surprised everyone but themselves by making the playoffs. In fact, we all should have seen it coming the year before. After playing the first third of the 2022-23 season without any healthy guards and tasking their young forwards to do literally everything, Orlando was a forgettable 5-20.

Then the team started to get healthy. All the additional do-it-all reps Banchero and Wagner had forced upon them started to pay off. The Magic finished that season 29-28 over the final two-thirds of the season. The leap happened while most NBA fans were barely paying any attention.

Last season, Orlando announced their presence pretty early. Walkover wins over the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics were signature early-season moments. The blowout of Boston came in the midst of a nine-game win streak to close out November.

The winning never really stopped. Orlando competed for as high as the second seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs all the way until the end of the season. Ultimately, the Magic fell to fifth and lost in a seven-game battle to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the playoffs.

Immediately upon that Game 7 loss came decision time for Weltman and the Orlando brain trust. And that decision started with the age-old question for a young team making the leap: Is it time to go all-in?

We’ll pause about the Magic here for a moment to look at this situation, because it’s a fairly common one in the NBA. And, more importantly, it’s one that teams still haven’t been able to really solve for.

The question: Is our young team ready for us to add to it? Or do we still need more time and seasoning?

Add too early, and you end up stepping back because your team wasn’t ready. Add too late and you might miss your window entirely.

It’s a question of timing and it’s one a front office has to get correct. Far too many up-and-coming NBA teams never got there because their front office went too early or waited too long to add talent.

This is where the Orlando Magic found themselves this summer. Realistically, Jeff Weltman had two summers to use to cap space to add talent. It was happening in either 2024 or 2025. By the summer of 2026, Paolo Banchero would join Franz Wagner on a max extension, and presumably Jalen Suggs would be in a sizable deal of his own. By then, going the cap space route would be very unlikely.

It wasn’t quite now or never for the Magic, but more sooner or later. Orlando chose sooner.

Weltman decided his young, and still improving, stars were ready for reinforcements. Unlike the other cap space teams this offseason, the Magic didn’t go all-in on outside talent. They didn’t just use their space to retain their own players either. Instead, Orlando did a little bit of both.

When free agency opened, the Magic were one of the teams that were linked to Paul George. It was even reported that Orlando was one of the few teams who would get a meeting with George. Whether that meeting ever happened is unclear, but the Magic pivoted away from George fairly.

Orlando agreed to a three-year, $66 million team with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope before the first night of free agency was even two hours old. That suggests Caldwell-Pope was the Magic’s real target all along.

Instead of spending all of their cap space to bring in George, who undoubtedly would have helped Orlando, the Magic went with a player nearly three years younger. And Caldwell-Pope is additive without upsetting the ecosystem that Orlando has been building over the past few years.

All along, the Magic wanted players who would support, enhance and lift Banchero and Wagner. Those two are the Orlando’s pillars. Anyone the team added had to fit in alongside Banchero and Wagner but without taking anything away from them.

In Caldwell-Pope, the Magic have added a role player-plus. Over the last several years, Caldwell-Pope has figured out how to play off his teammates on offense, while maintaining an elite level on defense. Given he’s spent years playing with LeBron James and Nikola Jokic, Caldwell-Pope clearly knows how to play with big ballhandlers and playmakers. That’ll fit nicely within Orlando’s offensive system keyed by Banchero and Wagner. On defense, Magic coach Jamahl Mosley and staff have to be salivating at the thought of unleashing the combo of Caldwell-Pope and Suggs on opposing ballhandlers.

After signing Caldwell-Pope, Weltman and staff went about the task of retaining their own players. Moe Wagner, Gary Harris and Goga Bitadze are all key reserves and all are returning to Orlando. Only Bitadze got a contract with more than next season guaranteed, and his deal declines from year to year over the next two seasons.

With the bulk of the bench taken care of, the Magic turned their eyes towards the future. Franz Wagner agreed to a five-year, maximum rookie scale extension worth at least a projected $224 million. One pillar is in place years to come. It’s a great bet that Banchero will join him on a similar deal next summer. If Banchero makes All-NBA this season – which is a decent bet – he’ll be on an even bigger deal starting in 2026.

In a move to foster continuity, the Magic’s final big move was to renegotiate-and-extend Jonathan Isaac. After a year where Isaac got and stayed healthy, Orlando took care of him long-term. The Magic used their remaining cap space to bump Isaac’s salary from $17.4 million to $25 million for this season. Orlando then tacked on $59 million over the next four years through 2028-29. To protect themselves, the Magic are only on the hook for $23 million, unless Isaac hits some games-played markers each season.

Effectively, once Suggs inks an extension, Orlando will have this group in place for at least the next two to three seasons, with the major players locked in even longer.

The Orlando Magic didn’t quite go all-in this summer. But they didn’t sit the summer out either. Instead, they followed the same patient approach they’ve followed since Jeff Weltman took over the team.

The Magic added a veteran who outplays his 3&D tag. Orlando rewarded players who have done well for them by bringing them back. In every case, minus Franz Wagner’s max deal, the Magic are also fairly well-protected too.

For a team that had nothing but question marks as the team cratered following the bubble season, the Magic have turned things around in a big way. And their patient approach means they still have some flexibility moving forward too.

There isn’t a bad contract on the books in Orlando. Every single deal is very tradable. As this season and beyond show the Magic what they need to take the step from playoff team to contender, they’ll have the ability to fill those holes. That’s excellent drafting, good player development, terrific cap management and solid roster work all around.

It’s been 12 years since Dwight Howard left Orlando. There were a couple of nice seasons along the long road back to relevancy, but this is the team Magic fans have been waiting and hoping for.

This team has homegrown talent that wants to be in Orlando. They’ve supplemented with smart veteran additions, followed by savvy re-signings. This is where everyone wanted to be a dozen years ago when the Dwightmare ended.

It took longer than expected, but the Magic are here now. And they aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.

This offseason the NBA split into five distinct groups, as far as their approaches to roster-building. One-fifth of the league dealt with second-apron issues, as they were either over or dancing around that ominous barrier. The second bundle of teams had the same challenges, but slightly less so, with the first apron.

The third group found themselves just over or just under the tax line. A fourth set found that sweet spot of operating over the cap, but far enough under the tax that the extra penalties weren’t really a concern.

Then there was a last group: the cap space teams. The Philadelphia 76ers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Detroit Pistons, Utah Jazz, San Antonio Spurs and Charlotte Hornets all used cap space this offseason to build out their rosters.

But not all cap space is created equal.

The NBA offseason is full of harsh realities, especially for cap space teams. Some are good enough that they use their room to propel themselves to a new level. Some are so bad that their space is merely a dumping ground for others to get off undesirable contracts. And some…well…they just sort of flounder around without seemingly having much of a plan.

We’re going to look at how each of the six 2024 cap space teams handled their offseasons. The idea is to examine how circumstances, and not just money available, drove the summer for teams who used cap room.

Philadelphia 76ers

Acquisitions

Paul George (signed via cap space), Andre Drummond (signed via cap space), Caleb Martin (signed via cap space), Eric Gordon (signed via Minimum Exception), Reggie Jackson (signed via Minimum Exception), Jared McCain (2024 first-round pick), Adem Bona (2024 second-round pick)

Re-signings

Tyrese Maxey (signed via Bird rights), Kelly Oubre Jr. (signed via Room Exception), K.J. Martin (signed via Bird rights), Kyle Lowry (signed via Minimum Exception)

Analysis

The Sixers spent a full year planning to use their cap space to make a big splash. That’s a risky play, but Daryl Morey pulled it off. Philadelphia wouldn’t have been as successful without Tyrese Maxey foregoing a rookie scale extension and holding off to re-sign as a free agent this summer. Sure, Maxey got paid the same max deal in the end, but he took on all of the risk.

As for the other signings, once Paul George agreed to a max (the only All-Star level player to change teams via free agency this offseason), things came together pretty well for Philadelphia. Andre Drummond took $5 million to back up Joel Embiid. Caleb Martin took the rest of the cap space (and reportedly less than the Miami Heat were offering) to be a part of the wing rotation.

From there, Morey filled out the roster by re-signing Kelly Oubre Jr. via the Room Exception and Kyle Lowry via the Minimum Exception. The 76ers also added Eric Gordon and Reggie Jackson via the Minimum Exception, and Jared McCain and Adem Bona through the draft.

The last move we want to address was re-signing K.J. Martin to a two-year, $16 million deal. Martin got just under $8M guaranteed for this season, with next season fully non-guaranteed at just over $8 million. That makes him a perfect trade chip up to the trade deadline. But where Morey was really smart was that he didn’t use Martin in a sign-and-trade this offseason. That would have hard-capped the Sixers at the first apron, under which things were starting to get a little tight. Instead, Morey re-signed Martin and will likely trade him later this season in a deal which won’t trigger a hard cap.

That’s delayed gratification, for sure. But after a year of waiting to use cap space, Philadelphia fans can wait a little while longer.

The 76ers summer started with Joel Embiid, Ricky Council IV and Tyrese Maxey’s free agent rights. Over $62 million in cap room spent later, Philadelphia finds themselves near the top of Eastern Conference projections. That’s money well spent, especially when you consider the amount of roster spots the Sixers had to fill.

Related: Philadelphia Transactions

Oklahoma City Thunder

Acquisitions 

Alex Caruso (acquired by trade via salary-matching), Isaiah Hartenstein (signed via cap space), Nikola Topic (2024 first-round pick), Dillon Jones (2024 first-round pick)

Re-signings 

Isaiah Joe (signed via Bird rights), Aaron Wiggins (signed via Bird rights)

Analysis

Unlike the Philadelphia 76ers, the Thunder didn’t have to build an entire roster around a couple of returning players. The Thunder were able to make a targeted signing to fill a rotation weakness.

After acquiring Alex Caruso in a deal that took on money, but didn’t require using cap space, the Thunder filled out their rotation by using the bulk of their cap space to sign Isaiah Hartenstein.

Is $30 million for Hartenstein an overpay? Yes. Is that a bad thing? Not at all.

With Caruso already in the fold, Oklahoma City clearly felt that adding a starting-level center was their biggest need. Hartenstein was the best starting-level center on the market this summer. In order to get Hartenstein away from the New York Knicks (and possibly others), the Thunder had to go all Godfather and make him an offer he couldn’t refuse.

OKC had to spend some money this summer to hit the salary floor, and they didn’t have many roster spots to fill. So, it makes perfect sense to overspend on Hartenstein on a short-term deal. And that’s the key. This is a three-year, $87 million deal, but the final season is a team option. So, that makes it really more like a two-year, $58.5 million deal. That’s still an overpay for Hartenstein, but it’s a savvy one. More on that in a bit.

To finish up their summer, the Thunder used the old “decline the team option and re-sign” trick to retain both Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins. Both players have grown into rotation players for Mark Daigneault, and both players got really smart deals from the Oklahoma City side.

Just as Sam Presti can get out of the deal with Hartenstein as his team starts to get expensive (extensions for Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams are looming, as well as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s next deal), the Thunder used a smart structure for both Joe and Wiggins. Both of their contracts decline in value year to year. And, as is a trademark of Presti when he can get it, the deals both include a team option. That gives Oklahoma City tremendous flexibility when they have their young stars locked into max and near-max extension.

The Thunder only needed to fill one rotation spot, and they did it in a big way. Hartenstein will help as a starter or off the bench. Joe and Wiggins will continue to play key roles off Oklahoma City’s bench. Oh, and Sam Presti is still sitting on a bundle of future draft picks that he can use in future deals. This was as quick of a bounce back from contender to rebuild to contender as we’ve seen in NBA history.

Related: Oklahoma City Transactions

Detroit Pistons

Acquisitions

Tobias Harris (signed via cap space), Tim Hardaway Jr. (acquired by trade via cap space), Malik Beasley (signed via cap space), Paul Reed (acquired through waiver claim via cap space), Wendell Moore Jr. (acquired by trade via cap space), Ron Holland II (2024 first-round pick), Bobi Klintman (2024 second-round pick)

Re-signings

Simone Fontecchio (via Bird rights)

Analysis

Detroit didn’t have the same recruiting tools as the Philadelphia 76ers and Oklahoma City Thunder. The Pistons had the cap space, but they didn’t have the promise of winning. Despite that, new front office leader Trajan Langdon still upgraded his roster to start moving the rebuild forward.

The Pistons brought back old friend Tobias Harris with the bulk of their cap space. Is Harris a worth $26 million AAV over the next two seasons? Probably not. Unlike the Thunder, who spent to add Isaiah Hartenstein as the rotation player to put them over the top, the Pistons overpaid Harris when no one else was likely to beat their offer.

But that’s what you have to do sometimes as a bad team. And, despite being overpaid, Harris will help Detroit. He’s reliable as far as availability goes, he can hit a jumper and he’ll give the team a likeable, veteran presence. That’s all valuable for a team that all too often couldn’t get out of their own way last season.

Acquiring Tim Hardaway Jr. and Malik Beasley follows a similar thought process. Both have good track records health-wise, both can hit shots and neither will cause a stir in the locker room.

The good news? None of these deals run past two seasons. Harris is on a two-year deal, while Hardaway and Beasley will come off the books after this season. The Pistons didn’t really sacrifice any long-term flexibility. And, as Tom Gores challenged the team with, Detroit took on contracts, but for guys who can actually play. Minus maybe Wendell Moore Jr., who was more of a straight salary dump. But his contract is so small, that it doesn’t really matter.

Langdon used a chunk of cap space to claim Paul Reed off waivers. That’s a smart, no-risk pickup for Detroit. If he doesn’t work out, both years of Reed’s deal are non-guaranteed. The Pistons can get off of this contract at minimal to no cost.

Re-signing Simone Fontecchio was a bit of an interesting process. Detroit didn’t wait until they used all over their remaining cap space to bring the veteran shooting forward back into the fold via his free agent rights. Instead, the Pistons re-signed Fontecchio and ate up some cap space. While that’s probably not ideal, Langdon was about out of ways to use his cap space anyway.

As it stands, the Pistons still have about $10.2 million left in cap room. That’ll make them popular as the third-team-in as trade talks happen around the league. Detroit can help facilitate deals using that space, while picking up another asset or two for themselves.

The Pistons summer didn’t have the blockbuster feel of the Sixers. Nor did it even have the smart-overpay feel of the Thunder. But Detroit got better this offseason and they didn’t dip very far into any future flexibility. And there’s probably more to come before the trade deadline. The Pistons simply aren’t walking the same path as the Sixers or Thunder yet.

Related: Detroit Transactions

San Antonio Spurs

Acquisitions

Chris Paul (signed via cap space), Harrison Barnes (acquired by trade via cap space), Stephon Castle (2024 first-round pick)

Re-signing

Charles Bassey (via Minimum Exception), Sandro Mamukelashvili (via Minimum Exception)

Analysis

The Spurs are kind of in between the Detroit Pistons and the contenders in terms of cap space teams. San Antonio’s record has them closer to Detroit, but the presence of Victor Wembanyama has them closer to the contenders.

No, we’re not saying San Antonio is competing for a title. Just making the playoffs is an uphill task in a very deep Western Conference. But Wembanyama is here, he’s only getting better and the Spurs aren’t far off from contention.

Because they’ve drafted so many players, and re-signed a few players, in recent years, San Antonio wasn’t working with max cap space like the previous three teams. Still, the Spurs made savvy upgrades that will improve their team next season.

In order to fit Harrison Barnes’ deal into their remaining cap space, the Spurs wisely structured Chris Paul’s deal to include some incentives. Paul got a base salary that is roughly $10.5 million, with some unlikely bonuses that can push his deal up to just over $12 million. That difference of just over $1.5 million was enough for San Antonio to acquire Barnes.

Barnes’ $18 million contract slid into the remainder of the Spurs cap room. For taking on Barnes, who can still play and will actually help San Antonio on the court, the Spurs also picked up a potentially valuable 2031 pick swap.

Both Paul and Barnes will help some young players mature. Paul will help a young backcourt, as well as just making sure everyone is in the right spots to execute Gregg Popovich’s schemes. Barnes will be a boon to a young forward group that will benefit from seeing how he’s been such a consistent performer year over year.

When you are shy of max cap space, and you don’t want to push your building blocks into lesser roles, you have to be really careful. Brian Wright and the Spurs did a great job of using their room to add two additive vets to a roster that really needed them. That’s a productive offseason.

Related: San Antonio Transactions

Charlotte Hornets

Acquisitions

Josh Green (acquired by trade via cap space), Devonte’ Graham (acquired by trade via cap space, then waived), Reggie Jackson (acquired by trade via cap space, then waived), Taj Gibson (via Minimum Exception), Tidjane Salaun (2024 first-round pick)

Re-signings

Miles Bridges (via Bird rights), Seth Curry (via Minimum Exception)

Analysis

The Hornets split the difference this summer with the cap space. They used some room to take on unwanted contracts in Devonte’ Graham and Reggie Jackson, who were both later waived. Charlotte also used some cap space to bring in Josh Green in a six-team trade.

For new front office executive Jeff Peterson to pull off his moves, he had to work around Mile Bridges’ cap hold. Peterson had to keep Bridges on the books, in order to re-sign him later via Bridges’ Bird rights. That made things a bit more complicated, but the Hornets made it all work.

In exchange for renting out some cap space, Charlotte added Green, who should slot in as a potential 3&D wing in a lineup that can use those skills. The Hornets also added a second-round pick in the Graham deal. In the six-team deal that brought Green and Jackson to Charlotte, Peterson was able to add two future Denver second-round picks by trading away a 2025 second-round pick that should be near the end of the round.

Was it the “fresh start” summer that Hornets fans were dreaming of? Kind of. They have a new front office and a new coaching staff. But outside of Green, the roster is pretty similar to last season’s downtrodden group. 

Many were split on bringing back Bridges, given his past domestic violence issues. Strictly basketball-wise, the Hornets got a terrific deal on Bridges with a non-max declining contract year to year. But it would be silly to suggest such a deal would have happened without the past domestic violence issues. In the end, if the organization believes Bridges is a changed person and continuing to work on improving himself off the court, then this is a solid value deal. Given the Hornets paid him, it’s fair to suggest that’s exactly how they feel about Bridges.

Tidjane Salaun looks like he’s at least a year away from contributing. Seth Curry and Taj Gibson will probably contribute more in the locker room than on the floor. Everyone else is returning from a season that was wrecked by injuries and the inconsistency of youth.

All that said, Peterson did a nice job in his first offseason. The Bridges situation wasn’t an easy one to navigate right out of the gate. Charles Lee seems to be a perfect hire to grow with this still-young roster. And the Hornets did a fine job using cap space to pick up a helpful player in Green and a couple of long-term assets. As a bad team that is figuring things out on the fly with all new leaders in charge, Charlotte made out alright this summer.

Related: Charlotte Transactions

Utah Jazz

Acquisitions

Drew Eubanks (signed via cap space), Svi Mykhailiuk (signed via cap space), Cody Williams (2024 first-round pick), Isaiah Collier (2024 first-round pick), Kyle Filipowski (2024 second-round pick, signed via cap space)

Re-signings

Lauri Markkanen (renegotiated-and-extended via cap space), Johnny Juzang (signed via Bird rights)

Analysis

Utah’s offseason was going to go in one of two directions. Danny Ainge and Justin Zanik said the Jazz were going to go big-game hunting. If that path failed, they were prepared to make moves to keep some talent home in Utah long-term.

Utah ended up walking that second path, and used the bulk of their cap space to renegotiate-and-extend Lauri Markkanen’s contract. Markkanen’s salary went from just over $18 million for this season, up to the maximum allowable of just over $42 million. From there, the Jazz tacked on four new years at nearly $196 million for Markkanen.

Some have questioned the size of the deal, but Markkanen has proven to be an All-Star. And, most importantly, he really wanted to stay in Utah. That’s huge for the Jazz. Having Markkanen in the fold now precludes a trade this season, as Markkanen delayed signing the deal by a day to give himself a trade restriction that runs until after the trade deadline. However, Utah could always trade Markkanen next summer. His deal is large, but it’s far from untradeable, due to Markkanen’s talent and skillset. Given Ainge is running the team, never count out anything trade-wise.

The Jazz used the rest of their cap room to shore up a few roster holes. Drew Eubanks got what amounts to a one-year, $5 million deal to provide some center depth. Svi Mykhailiuk brings a championship ring and outside shooting to Utah on what is essentially a one-year, $3.5 million contract. Ainge also used cap space to sign Kyle Filipowski to a bigger deal than is allowed via the Second Round Pick Exception. The Jazz also re-signed Johnny Juzang to a four-year deal via his free agent rights, which has only this season guaranteed.

Even with Markkanen off the market for this season, the Jazz are still a team to watch in trade talks. Utah has a collection of veterans like John Collins, Jordan Clarkson and Collin Sexton, who could all be of interest to various playoff teams. Walker Kessler has also reportedly been dangled in trade discussions this offseason. There are even some deals out there that could return a big name (Brandon Ingram? Zach LaVine? A deal no one sees coming?) in a rebalancing or shedding long-term salary kind of trade.

Keeping Markkanen, while adding talent on short-term or pseudo short-term deals, is a solid summer for the Jazz. They didn’t sacrifice any long-term flexibility in any kind of harmful way. And there’s still the potential for another big move.

Oh, and let’s not forget the Jazz are sitting a bunch of extra draft picks, including as many as three first-round selections in the talent-rich 2025 NBA Draft. This is exactly where Danny Ainge wants to be. Ainge has the flexibility to keep rebuilding and adding assets, right up until he feels like it’s time to cash in and go for it.

Related: Utah Transactions

NBA Summer League season has now come and gone. Leagues in California, Salt Lake City and the big one in Las Vegas have wrapped up. That means it’s time to look back at how things went.

In this exclusive series for Spotrac, I’ll be looking at how each rostered player performed in Summer League this year.

A “rostered player” is someone who is either:

• Signed to a standard contract
• Signed to a two-way contract
• Signed to a training camp deal (or rumored to be signing one)
• Has their draft rights retained by the team

On occasion, another player may sneak in here if they did something that stood out. We’ll be going division by division, so that the articles don’t get too unwieldy. The hope is that series will give you a sense of how players looked, while giving you something to consume while we wait for NBA training camps to begin in a couple of months.

Previously covered:

Central Division

Golden State Warriors

Reece Beekman

Contract Status: One-year, Two-Way contract

Stats: 7.0 PPG, 30.8% FG%, 66.7% 3P%

Analysis: Beekman only appeared in two Summer League games, seemingly due to an injury of some sort. He was fine in those two games. Beekman hit a couple of three-pointers, did an ok job getting to his shot and his on-ball defense solid enough. There just wasn’t a lot to evaluate here with only 44 minutes played.

Trayce Jackson-Davis

Contract Status: Three-years, $6.5M, 2023 Second Round Pick Exception

Stats: 12.7 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 1.7 APG, 63.2% FG%, 73.7% FT%

Analysis: It was a short summer for Jackson-Davis, who became an established rotation player for the Warriors as a rookie. He was dominant on the interior as a scorer and did a nice job on the boards. 19 free throw attempts in 74 minutes were also a solid sign of development for Jackson-Davis.

Kevin Knox

Contract Status: Unrestricted Free Agent

Stats: 16.0 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 47.1% FG%, 35.1% 3P%, 79.2% FT%

Analysis: Knox looked overpowering at times, which is to expected for a six-year NBA veteran. However, Knox is still only 24 years old, so maybe he’s a later bloomer? This was the most aggressive Knox has been hunting three-point shots, as more than half of his shots came from behind the arc. He hit them at a decent clip too. Maybe a camp invite somewhere comes for Knox off a strong summer.

Daeqwon Plowden

Contract Status: One-year, Two-Way contract

Stats: 14.6 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 47% FG%, 39.6% 3P%

Analysis: It was an impressive summer for Plowden both in the California Classic and in Las Vegas. He got up 48 threes in 196 minutes, and nailed them at nearly 40%. Plowden has solid size for a wing shooter too. He was competitive defensively, but nothing jumped off the screen. He’ll be 26 years old when the season starts, so it’s more about showing he can help immediately if necessary vs being a developmental prospect.

Brandin Podziemski

Contract Status: Three-years, $12.9M, 2023 First Round Rookie Scale

Stats: 17.3 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 5.7 APG, 1.3 SPG, 43.2% FG%, 40% 3P%, 80% FT%

Analysis: Like Trayce Jackson-Davis, Podziemski had a short summer. Also like Jackson-Davis, Podziemski was terrific. Podziemski showed off the all-around skills he had flashed as a rookie. He did a nice job as the Summer Warriors primary playmaker when he played. The shooting was down a touch, but that mostly Podziemski working on his off-the-dribble shots, which looked good. He also got the line five times per game. All around, Podziemski looks poised for a big second season.

Quentin Post

Contract Status: Draft Rights Retained

Stats: 10 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 63.6% FG%, 40% 3P%

Analysis: Post only got into two games, but he was fairly effective. He’s got terrific touch, and his shot looked solid out to the NBA line. Only grabbing five rebounds in nearly 30 minutes wasn’t great. And Post didn’t show up defensively, but nothing was glaringly bad either. At the very least, Post is going to be a solid NBA backup center for his offensive game.

Jackson Rowe

Contract Status: One-year, non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 training camp deal

Stats: 9.1 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 1.4 SPG, 49% FG%, 31.3% 3P%

Analysis: Rowe looks the part of a solid wing. He’s got good size, he’s strong and he’s quick enough. Rowe got better as the summer went along too. Rowe will go to camp before landing with Santa Cruz this season.

Pat Spencer

Contract Status: One-year, Two-Way contract

Stats: 15.0 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 6.5 APG, 1.5 SPG, 74.3% FG%

Analysis: Spencer was impressive as a playmaker for the Summer Warriors. He was also unstoppable when he drove the ball. Right now, Spencer is like a Poor Man’s T.J. McConnell. He’s a reluctant shooter unless he is in/around the paint, but the jumper doesn’t look bad. Spencer is also a terrific athlete, but he’s also 28 years old. Any prospect shine is all but gone at this point.

LA Clippers

Kobe Brown

Contract Status: Three-years, $9.9M, 2023 First Round Rookie Scale

Stats: 16.6 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 4.2 APG, 49.2% FG%, 22.7% 3P%, 78.3 FT%

Analysis: After a non-descript rookie season, Brown showed up again this summer. He did some things well, while struggling in other areas. Brown was much-improved as a playmaker. He saw and made passes that he didn’t attempt as a rookie. He’s a solid finisher and scorer around the basket. The jumper remains inconsistent, and Brown is still only so-so in terms of on-ball defense. He doesn’t look ready to claim any NBA minutes yet.

Cameron Christie

Contract Status: Four-years, $7.9M, 2024 Second Round Pick Exception

Stats: 11.4 PPG, 37.3% FG%, 40.5% 3P%

Analysis: Christie showed the early look of a potential 3&D wing. He struggled to finish around the rim (just 4-of-14 on two-point shots), but he knocked down 15-of-37 three-pointers. For the 3&D role to come to pass, Christie is going to have to defend a bit better. He got better on that end as the summer went along, so that’s encouraging heading into training camp.

Moussa Diabate

Contract Status: One-year, Two-Way contract with the Charlotte Hornets

Stats: 12.2 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 64.1% FG%, 91.7% FT%

Analysis: Diabate was well-known to the Clippers, after two years of two-way deals. He did the same stuff he’s always done, as far as finishing around the rim and hitting the glass. The defense still needs work, but that’s something for the Hornets to work on with Diabate now.

Elijah Harkless

Contract Status: One-year, non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 training camp deal

Stats: 7.6 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 39.3% FG%, 31.3% 3P%

Analysis: Harkless’ best skill this summer was some pesky on-ball defense. It didn’t result in a lot of steals, but he was fairly disruptive. Offensively, Harkless is point-guard-sized, but he’s still more scorer than playmaker. He’ll return back to the G League Clippers after the preseason.

Jordan Miller

Contract Status: One-year, Two-Way contract

Stats: 25.4 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 2.6 APG, 1.4 SPG, 54.9% FG%, 60% 3P%, 80.4 FT%

Analysis: Miller was dominant throughout Summer League. This wasn’t just a case of being bigger, strong and quicker than those defending him, either. There was plenty of that, but Miller flashed a nice off-the-dribble jumper, as well as knocking in spot-up shots. He also got to the free throw line with regularity too. Miller is a good bet to be converted off his two-way deal at some point this season.

Los Angeles Lakers

Colin Castleton

Contract Status: One-year, Two-Way contract

Stats: 11.0 PPG, 9.3 RPG, 3.5 APG, 53.1% FG%

Analysis: Castleton was again solid in Summer League. He’s on the verge of being an NBA backup center. If the defense was a touch better, Castleton would already be there. As it stands, his touch, good hands and basketball IQ will have him rolling through G League until that NBA chance comes.

Blake Hinson

Contract Status: Two-years, Two-Way contract

Stats: 10.9 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 34.1% FG%, 32.8% 3P%

Analysis: Hinson was as advertised coming in. He’s a three-point gunner, who can defend a little bit. He gets up this three-point attempts with relative ease off catch-and-shoots. Defensively, Hinson is competitive, but looked overmatched with the better athletes in the summer setting. As an older prospect, development will have to come quickly for Hinson.

Dalton Knecht

Contract Status: Four-years, $18.5M, 2024 First Round Rookie Scale

Stats: 18.0 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 2.2 APG, 1.5 SPG, 36.7% FG%, 34.2% 3P%, 76.7% FT%

Analysis: We’re not going to worry too much about the shooting percentage. It’s such a small sample size, that an off game or two can completely swing things. All of that said, Knecht looked the part of NBA rotation player all summer. He knows how to play. It’s little things like driving, kicking and not watching, but relocating to an open spot for the return pass. Knecht also showed a knack for drawing fouls. And he did a good job getting his shot off against some tough defense. He should be a rotation player for the Lakers from Day 1, provided he can hold up defensively.

Bronny James

Contract Status: Four-years, $7.9M, 2024 Second Round Pick Exception

Stats: 7.0 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 32.7% FG%, 13% 3P%

Analysis: James looked as most unbiased observers expected. His shot is a major work-in-progress, as his feel as a playmaker. He’s got good physical gifts, but those mostly show up on defense right now. The good news? James gets a normal summer to work on his game. That’s a plus, before he’ll probably head to the G League for lots of minutes with South Bay.

Maxwell Lewis

Contract Status: Three-years, $6.5M, 2023 Second Round Pick Exception

Stats: 9.6 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 32.1% FG%, 21.7% 3P%

Analysis: This was a mess of a summer for Lewis. As a second-year guy, the expectation is that Lewis would have been one of the better Lakers. Instead, he couldn’t get any shots to fall. More worrisome was Lewis not being able to create his own looks. He’ll have to get better quickly, or Lewis will be a throw-in player/salary in a trade, or off the roster entirely.

Armel Traore

Contract Status: One-year, Two-Way contract

Stats: 6.9 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 48.7% FG%, 57.7% FT%

Analysis: Traore has NBA size and athleticism for a forward. He was solid enough finishing around the basket, but the jumper needs a lot of work. Traore was also able to get to the free throw line, but didn’t make many. Still, players with this kind of size/athleticism combo are worth developing through the G League, which is where Traore will spend this season.

Phoenix Suns

Jalen Bridges

Contract Status: One-year, Two-Way contract

Stats: 10.8 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 1.2 SPG, 42.9% FG%, 40% 3P%

Analysis: As a senior, Bridges showed some signs of being a potential 3&D forward. That continued with the Summer Suns. Bridges was pretty competitive defensively, even if it was tough to standout on defense with two other NBA-ready defenders on the roster. Most impressive was Bridges hit 40% from deep on seven attempts per game. That’s worth keeping an eye on with the Suns new G League affiliate.

Ryan Dunn

Contract Status: Four-years, $12.9M, 2024 First Round Rookie Scale 

Stats: 5.8 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 1.3 SPG, 1.5 BPG, 34.4% FG%, 0.77% 3P%

Analysis: Starting with the positives, Dunn is ready to defend in the NBA today. He’s got the size, skill and athleticism to guard almost any NBA wings and forwards. On the downside, Dunn has no jump-shot to speak of. And he struggled to finish in Las Vegas. The offense is going to take a while to come around.

Oso Ighodaro

Contract Status: Four-years, $7.9M, 2024 Second Round Pick Exception

Stats: 7.0 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 4.2 APG, 1.2 SPG, 1.2 BPG, 50% FG%, 90% FT%

Analysis: Ighodaro stuffed the stat sheet at Summer League. Like Dunn, he’s ready to defend in the NBA right now. He might get overpowered by the biggest centers, but Ighodaro will hold up against everyone else. He showed decent touch on his floater, and knocked down 9-of-10 free throws. Most impressive was Ighodaro’s decision-making as a passer. The Suns can use him as facilitator and short-roll passer on Day 1.

David Roddy

Contract Status: Two-years, $7.7M, 2022 First Round Rookie Scale (traded to Hawks after Summer League)

Stats: 14.8 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 2.4 APG, 45.8% FG%, 36.7% 3P%

Analysis: Roddy looked good, but this was his third Summer League. He’s too strong for guards, and he hit enough shots that simply stashing a forward on him didn’t really work. The problem for Roddy is that his lack of size and athleticism shows up against real NBA players. The Suns traded him to the Hawks, so maybe he can break through a crowded forward group in Atlanta.

Sacramento Kings

Adonis Arms

Contract Status: Unrestricted Free Agent

Stats: 20.7 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 3.7 APG, 1.7 SPG, 55.6% FG%, 21.4% 3P%, 69.2% FT%

Analysis: Arms was physically dominant in Summer League. He’s overpowering as an older, developed player at this level. The outside shot is what’s keeping Arms from cracking an NBA roster at this point.

Isaiah Crawford

Contract Status: One-year, Two-Way contract

Stats: 6.6 PPG, 52.6% FG%, 57.1% 3P%

Analysis: Crawford didn’t play a ton of minutes, but he showed enough that he’s worth developing as a potential 3&D guy. He knocked down 8-of-14 three-pointers, which carried over from two straight solid shooting seasons in college. The Kings might have found a real player, especially if Crawford flashes more of his all-around skills in the G League.

Boogie Ellis

Contract Status: One-year, non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 training camp deal

Stats: 10.0 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 1.5 APG, 1.3 SPG, 46.8% FG%, 47.1% 3P%

Analysis: Ellis looks the part as a scorer. He gets to his spots and his shot has nice touch. He gets nice lift on his jumper, and he’s a pretty good finisher too. The questions are his playmaking and defense. He’s going to have to become a better passer to make it in the NBA, and his lack of size really works against him on defense.

Keon Ellis

Contract Status: Two-years, $4.4M

Stats: 20.3 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 2.7 APG, 52.4% FG%, 38.9% 3P%, 76.9% FT%

Analysis: Ellis didn’t really need to play Summer League. He’s an established NBA guy. What was good to see is that Ellis looked like an established NBA guy. He got to his shots with ease and he hit everything at a good clip. Ellis should probably start for the Kings, as his offense-defense combo is a good fit with the other starters.

Colby Jones

Contract Status: Three-years, $6.7M, 2023 Second Round Pick Exception

Stats: 8.3 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 4.3 APG, 2.0 SPG, 30% FG%, 30% 3P%

Analysis: Jones couldn’t get any shots to fall, but he did a lot of everything else. His defense was terrific, he hit the boards and he showed up as a passer. Given he shot it well in the G League last season, we’ll give that a pass in favor of praising his all-around play. The Kings may need one more wing/forward and Jones could be it.

Isaac Jones

Contract Status: One-year, Two-Way contract

Stats: 9.9 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 2.5 SPG, 1.1 BPG, 49.2% FG%, 23.5% 3P%, 75% FT%

Analysis: Starting with the positives, Jones looks like he’s NBA-ready physically. He’s quick, he’s strong and he gets up to challenge shots. Jones showed he has a good feel for rebounding, both timing and positioning. Offensively, it’s clear the Kings challenged Jones to shoot jumpers, as he took more threes in eight Summer League games than he took in his entire senior season at Washington. That’s a good focus for Jones, because he needs to be able to shoot to stick in the NBA. Keep an eye on that progress in Stockton this season.

Mason Jones

Contract Status: One-year, Two-Way contract

Stats: 13.3 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 5.8 APG, 1.5 SPG, 47.8% FG%, 38.9% 3P%, 89.7% FT%

Analysis: Jones’ shooting and scoring wasn’t much of a surprise. As an experienced player in this setting, that’s be somewhat expected. Everything else jumped off the screen. Jones got on the glass better than we’ve ever seen. And his passing was outstanding. He was also a more competitive, active defender. Maybe everything is clicking for Jones now. If so, the Kings have a real player to watch on a two-way deal.

NBA Summer League season has now come and gone. Leagues in California, Salt Lake City and the big one in Las Vegas have wrapped up. That means it’s time to look back at how things went.

In this exclusive series for Spotrac, we’ll be looking at how each rostered player performed in Summer League this year.

A “rostered player” is someone who is either:

• Signed to a standard contract
• Signed to a two-way contract
• Signed to a training camp deal (or rumored to be signing one)
• Has their draft rights retained by the team

On occasion, another player may sneak in here if they did something that stood out. We’ll be going division by division, so that the articles don’t get too unwieldy. The hope is that series will give you a sense of how players looked, while giving you something to consume while we wait for NBA training camps to begin in a couple of months.

Chicago Bulls

Matas Buzelis

Contract Status: Four-years, $23.9M, 2024 First-Round Rookie Scale

Stats: 16.4 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 2.0 SPG, 2.0 BPG, 33.7% FG%, 21.4% 3P%, 74.1% FT%

Analysis: Buzelis came in with a chip on his shoulder and then played angry. That’s a good thing. He’s clearly not upset with being on his hometown Bulls, but Buzelis isn’t happy about slipping in the draft. He looked fine athletically. The shot, which was questionable in the G League, continues to be the real question.

Marcus Domask

Contract status: One-year, non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 training camp deal

Stats: 2.3 PPG, 1.7 RPG, 11.3 MPG

Analysis: Domask barely played in Las Vegas. He’s coming off a very solid all-around college career. Domask has good size for a wing. But he didn’t shoot well in college. If he can’t knock down shots, he’ll be a G League guy.

Henri Drell

Contract Status: Unrestricted Free Agent

Stats: 7.0 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 1.4 SPG, 37.1% FG%, 26.7% 3P%, 62.5% FT%

Analysis: Drell suffered from the same fate as a lot of the Summer Bulls as far as shooting goes. He’s already proven that he’s at least a solid player on a two-way contract. Right now, Chicago doesn’t have a two-way spot open, so Drell may be looking elsewhere for his next roster spot.

Andrew Funk

Contract Status: One-year, Two-Way contract

Stats: 2.4 points, 16.7% FG%, 17.6% 3P%

Analysis: The Bulls used Funk like a shooting specialist in Las Vegas. The issue was that Funk didn’t hit many shots. He’s on a two-way deal, but as a second-year two-way guy, consider that spot a little tenuous.

Julian Phillips

Contract status: Three-years, $6.5M, 2023 Second Round Pick Exception

Stats: 13.8 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 2.3 SPG, 1.0 BPG, 40.5% FG%, 36.8% 3P%, 70% FT%

Analysis: Phillips was one of the Bulls best players in Las Vegas. He was confident and pulled several shots off the dribble. That’s a good development, after a rookie year where he was mostly a stationary shooter. Phillips may have to fight for minutes this season, but don’t bet against him.

Adama Sanogo

Contract status: One-year, Two-Way Contract

Stats: 15.0 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 1.8 SPG, 1.0 BPG, 62.2% FG%, 87.5% FT%

Analysis: Sanogo solidified his status as a solid developmental big. He’s a good finisher, a tough rebounder and he’s got just enough lift to block and challenge shots. The Bulls don’t have a ton of depth at the center spot, so Sanogo could eventually work himself into a conversion to a standard deal.

D.J. Steward

Contract status: One-year, Two-Way Contract

Stats: 17.4 PPG, 6.4 APG, 3.0 RPG, 1.4 SPG, 47% FG%, 40% 3P%, 86.7% FT%

Analysis: Steward balled out for the Summer Bulls. So much so that he landed a two-way contract from Chicago. Steward was aggressive as both a driver and a pullup shooter. He did a better job as a playmaker than he’s shown to date in the G League. That’s encouraging, because to stick in the NBA Steward will have to be more than just a scorer.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Emoni Bates

Contract status: Restricted Free Agent

Stats: 16.3 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 2.3 APG, 36.2% FG%, 28.6% 3P%, 100% FT%

Analysis: Bates built on a strong rookie season by looking physically overpowering for a lot of summer defenders. We’re not going to worry too much about the missed shots. Bates was being tasked with creating a lot of his own looks. He was largely able to do so, for the most part. One really encouraging sign: Bates made some passes that he wouldn’t have attempted last year. That’s good stuff.

Pete Nance

Contract status: Unrestricted Free Agent

Stats: 11.6 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 1.4 BPG, 46.8% FG%, 34.8% 3P%

Analysis: Nance was basically the same guy he was in the G League last year. He’s a solid big who can space the floor a bit. The Cavs would do well to bring Nance back on another two-way deal for frontcourt depth.

Craig Porter Jr.

Contract status: Three-years, $6.5M

Stats: 13.0 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 4.0 APG, 2.3 SPG, 39.4% FG%, 21.4% 3P%, 71.4% FT%

Analysis: Porter made sort of a cameo appearance in Las Vegas. He’s already an established NBA guy, so the Cavs didn’t need to see much out of him. It would have been nice to see Porter hit more shots, but he was kind of playing a bombs-away style without anyone to set him up.

Luke Travers

Contract status: Draft Rights Retained

Stats: 8.3 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 2.0 APG, 1.3 SPG, 48.1% FG%

Analysis: Travers is a Summer League veteran at this point. He did his all-around thing in Vegas, but with less usage, as the Cavs focused on some younger players. Ideally, Travers would shoot it better, but he might be able to break through as an NBA rotation guy anyway. If he doesn’t come over this season, it’s probably worth wondering if Travers will ever come to the NBA.

Jaylon Tyson

Contract status: Four-years, $16.1M, 2024 First-Round Rookie Scale

Stats: 15.4 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 4.4 APG, 1.4 SPG, 58.8% FG%, 40% 3P%, 91.7% FT%

Analysis: Tyson wasn’t just the Cavs best player at Summer League, he was one of the best players in Las Vegas period. He looked calm, confident and composed. Tyson used his physical gifts to overpower lesser defenders to get into the paint over and over. He did a solid job as a finisher once at the rim. When that was shut off, he showed some surprising passing skills. The Cavs wing depth in a little shaky, especially beyond this upcoming season. Look for Tyson to claim a regular rotation spot before long.

Detroit Pistons

Ron Holland

Contract status: Four-years, $37.5M, 2024 First-Round Rookie Scale

Stats: 18.8 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 2.3 APG, 1.5 SPG, 40.8% FG%, 23.5% 3P%, 65% FT%

Analysis: Starting with the good, Holland is NBA-ready as an athlete. He can more than hang in that aspect. He also has pretty good basketball IQ. Holland took a few risks in Vegas, but they were ones worth taking. He also showed up as a competitive rebounder, which is always a plus for a wing. On the downside, Holland couldn’t get shots to fall. He missed open looks, contested looks and everything in between. For him to become what the Pistons need him to, Holland has to shoot it better.

Daniss Jenkins

Contract status: One-year, Two-Way contract

Stats: 9.6 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 3.8 APG, 1.2 SPG, 1.2 BPG, 34.9% FG%, 33.3% 3P%, 91.7% FT%

Analysis: Jenkins is super competitive for his size. He’s got good athleticism, which allows him to compete for rebounds and to take a shoulder, but stay in the play in on-ball defense. Jenkins needs to pick his scoring spots better, but he’s a good passer. Detroit has an interesting player to work with in the G League.

Bobi Klintman

Contract status: Four-years, $7.9M, Second Round Pick Exception

Stats: 11.2 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 3.8 APG, 1.0 SPG, 42% FG%, 41.9% 3P%

Analysis: Everything from Klintman was encouraging at Summer League, minus his finishing inside. He’s got enough size that he may eventually become a solid stretch-four option. That’s big for a Pistons team that is lacking somewhat in frontcourt depth. Apprenticing under Tobias Harris, who has a similar physical makeup and came in with a similar skillset, will be great for Klintman.

Wendell Moore Jr.

Contract status: Two-years, $7.1M, 2022 First Round Rookie Scale

Stats: 5.5 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 25% FG%, 16.7% 3P%

Analysis: Moore made a cameo appearance for the Pistons in Las Vegas. His spot on the team is mostly related to financial/cap matters, as opposed to Moore’s talent. We’ll see if that changes, but he has a lot of competition for minutes at either wing position.

Marcus Sasser

Contract status: Three-years, $10.8M, 2023 First-Round Rookie Scale

Stats: 12.2 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 5.2 APG, 2.0 SPG, 33.3% FG%, 25% 3P%, 79.3% FT%

Analysis: Sasser’s Summer League was like his rookie season: Flashes of brilliance around moments of inconsistency. Sasser was too quick, strong and smart for most point guard in Las Vegas. He got to the free throw line repeatedly. He also did a nice job defensively and made some plays as a passer. Unfortunately, Sasser was unable to build on a semi-encouraging shooting season as a rookie. The Pistons have more depth in the backcourt now. Sasser will have to fight to get consistent minutes this season.

Indiana Pacers

Kendall Brown

Contract status: Two-years, $4.4M

Stats: 9.6 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 2.2 SPG, 41.5% FG%, 20% 3P%, 70.6% FT%

Analysis: As a third-year Summer Leaguer, Brown should have dominated. Alas, he didn’t. At moments, Brown looked really good. He was able to get by opposing forwards off the dribble and into the paint. At other times, he couldn’t get past anyone and settled for contested jumpers. Brown’s spot on the Pacers roster is probably contingent upon a two-way guy beating him out or the team needing a veteran upgrade.

Enrique Freeman

Contract status: Draft Rights Retained

Stats: 8.2 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 1.0 BPG, 60.7% FG%, 45.5% FT%

Analysis: Freeman plays bigger than his 6-foot-7 size. That’s good, because he’s not ready to play on the perimeter in the NBA right now. Freeman’s shot is very much a work in progress. But when you compete as hard as he does, and you know how to play, betting on a guy like Freeman is always a solid move.

Johnny Furphy

Contract status: Four-years, $7.9M, Second Round Pick Exception

Stats: 14.0 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 1.8 BPG, 37% FG%, 28.6% 3P%

Analysis: Furphy was every bit the athlete he was advertised to be. He did a nice job running the floor. Furphy was competitive defensively and did a nice job getting on the glass on both ends. The shot will look better eventually too. The Pacers have a nice player to develop through the G League this season.

Quenton Jackson

Contract status: Restricted Free Agent

Stats: 11.0 PPG, 4.2 APG, 2.4 RPG, 1.8 SPG, 62.5% FG%, 45.5% 3P%, 66.7% FT%

Analysis: Jackson looked good in his third run through Summer League. He was confident at getting into his shots and he drilled them at a high rate. It’s easy to see why the Pacers have held his restricted free agent rights. He could be back on a two-way contract, but maybe something more opens up for him.

Tristen Newton

Contract status: Draft Rights Retained

Stats: 9.0 PPG, 4.6 APG, 3.8 RPG, 1.2 SPG, 20% FG%, 18.2% 3P%, 89.3% FT%

Analysis: This space is a huge fan of Newton and wanted to see him look better. On the plus side, he showed he can really run a team. That stood out even on a Summer Pacers team with some NBA vets. Newton also got to the free throw line regularly and knocked them down at a good clip. Unfortunately, Newton shot like crap from everywhere else. He couldn’t finish in the paint and couldn’t get his jumpers to fall. A season in the G League will do him wonders.

Ben Sheppard

Contract status: Three-years, $10.5M, 2023 First-Round Rookie Scale

Stats: 7.0 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 1.5 SPG, 25% FG%, 25% 3P%

Analysis: After he played in each of the Pacers playoff games, it was a surprise to see Sheppard make even a cameo appearance at Summer League. Sheppard shot it terribly, but this was apparently just getting a little extra run in. He’ll be battling for wing minutes in Indiana’s rotation this season.

Oscar Tshiebwe

Contract status: Restricted Free Agent

Stats: 11.6 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 61% FG%, 44.4% FT%

Analysis: Tshiebwe is who he is at this point. He’s an outstanding rebounder. He can finish around the rim at a decent clip. He’s ok defensively, but his lack of footspeed leaves him vulnerable on switches. Expect him back on a two-way deal this season. He’s good enough to provide emergency minutes in the frontcourt if necessary.

Jarace Walker

Contract status: Three-years, $21.5M, 2023 First-Round Rookie Scale

Stats: 18.0 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 4.8 APG, 1.0 SPG, 1.0 BPG, 42.6% FG%, 45.8% 3P%, 78.9% FT%

Analysis: Walker is ready for real minutes in the NBA. This summer, the Pacers clearly wanted to see him shoot threes and get to the free throw line. Mission accomplished. Walker also got on the glass and did a nice job as a playmaker. If he can shoot it consistently, he might crack Indiana’s wing rotation this season. Otherwise, it’s time for a trade to a team that can let him be a playmaking four.

Milwaukee Bucks

MarJon Beauchamp

Contract status: Two-years, $7.5M, 2022 First-Round Rookie Scale

Stats: 12.5 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 3.3 APG, 1.8 SPG, 32.7% FG%, 30.4% 3P%, 84.6% FT%

Analysis: Beauchamp should have been better as a third-time Summer Leaguer. The physical tools are good, but not good enough to make up for a shaky shot. We’re on the verge of the Bucks possibly declining their fourth-year rookie scale team option for Beauchamp to create some apron wiggle room for 2025-26.

Hugo Besson

Contract status: Draft Rights Retained

Stats: 7.8 PPG, 3.3 APG, 2.3 RPG, 33.3% FG%, 18.2% 3P%, 72.2% FT%

Analysis: Besson looked better physically in his second Summer League. He was creating contact vs simply absorbing it. He’s an ok playmaker, but struggled a bit at breaking down defenses off the bounce. And the shot was really, really shaky. He’ll be playing overseas again next season.

Jaylin Galloway

Contract status: One-year, Two-Way contract

Stats: 2.4 PPG, 1.6 RPG, 41.7% FG%, 28.6% 3P%

Analysis: Galloway’s summer was weird. He barely played, despite heading into Year 2 as a two-way player for the Bucks. There’s not much to analyze here.

Andre Jackson Jr.

Contract status: Three-years, $6.5M, 2023 Second Round Pick Exception

Stats: 4.3 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 2.0 APG, 50% FG%, 14.3% 3P%

Analysis: Jackson is never going to look good in this setting. He’s not an individual standout. Jackson shows up in the system/scheme. That said, it would have been nice to see him shoot it a bit better or even to be more aggressive hunting his shot. But that’s just not who he is.

A.J. Johnson

Contract status: Four-years, $14.6M, 2024 First-Round Rookie Scale

Stats: 11.2 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 2.8 APG, 32.3% FG%, 32.3% 3P%

Analysis: Johnson looks the part physically. He also understands pro-level spacing, which is a product of playing in Australia’s NBL last season. The big thing for Johnson will be figuring out NBA defense and refining his jumper. That’ll come in the G League, as the Bucks wing rotation is packed with veteran options.

Chris Livingston

Contract status: Three-years, $6.5M, 2023 Second Round Pick Exception

Stats: 14.8 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 2.0 APG, 53.7% FG%, 42.9% 3P%, 62.5% FT%

Analysis: Livingston was a nice surprise this summer. After a non-descript rookie season, he looked more NBA-ready this summer. Livingston was too much for a lot of his opponents to handle inside. He finished well, and flashed an improved jump shot too. He also got on the glass more too. The Bucks could use another frontcourt body. Livingston might be it.

Ryan Rollins

Contract status: One-year, Two-Way contract

Stats: 12.8 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 2.6 APG, 1.4 SPG, 47.8% FG%, 33.3% 3P%, 76.5% FT%

Analysis: Rollins looked pretty good in Las Vegas. He was able to create space for his shot. He did a nice job getting to the rim to shoot or to find passes. Rollins also knocked in a few pullup jumpers too. Defensively, he was fairly physical and flashed some quick hands. Solid summer for the Bucks two-way guard.

Tyler Smith

Contract status: Four-years, $7.9M, 2024 Second Round Pick Exception

Stats: 9.0 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 1.0 BPG, 40.4% FG%, 28% 3P%

Analysis: Smith has the stretch-big skills that everyone wants…in theory. He didn’t shoot it well in Las Vegas, but got the attempts up with ease. That’s a positive. He also did a really nice job on the boards and contesting shots around the rim. The skills are there and he’ll develop further in the G League this season.

TyTy Washington Jr.

Contract status: Unrestricted Free Agent

Stats: 11.3 PPG, 2.3 APG, 43.6% FG%, 36.4% 3P%, 87.5% FT%

Analysis: It seems that the Bucks wanted Washington to work more as a scorer this summer. That’s a change in role for him, but he did ok with it. Washington’s size works against him in a scoring role, but he did a good job hunting shots anyway. As a third-year Summer Leaguer, ideally things would have been a bit easier for Washington. Another G League season or a trip overseas is likely coming.

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.

The Memphis Grizzlies needed to clear some room under the luxury tax to re-sign a key rotation player. The Brooklyn Nets are in rebuilding mode. That made them ideal trade partners in a smaller late-July deal that could pay big dividends down the line.

Here are the particulars of the trade:

Brooklyn Nets acquire: Ziaire Williams, 2030 Dallas Mavericks second-round pick

Memphis Grizzlies acquire: Mamadi Diakite, draft rights to Nemanja Dangubic

Let’s dive in!

Brooklyn Nets

Incoming salary: $6.1 million in 2024-25

• Ziaire Williams (SF, one year, $6.1 million)

Outgoing salary: $2.3 million in 2024-25

• Mamadi Diakite (PF, one year, $2.3 million)

The Nets are taking a flyer on Ziaire Williams. This is the exact type of move a rebuilding team should be making. And this is the kind of no-risk move that has paid off big for Sean Marks in the past.

After a promising rookie year, where he played well in the second half of the season, Williams has suffered two injury-plagued seasons and never found his rhythm. As a rookie, the 6-foot-9 forward averaged 8.1 points on 45% shooting. From January onward, it seemed Williams had found his footing in the NBA, as he averaged 9.6 points on 48% shooting.

The next two seasons were a mess with injuries and inconsistent play. By the end of last season, Williams was back on the shelf with an injury, and had been passed in the rotation by Vince Williams Jr. and GG Jackson.

Still, Williams has good size and is a good athlete. He’s only turning 23 before next season. He’s extension-eligible, but it’s unlikely the Nets will look to sign Williams to a new deal.

It feels like Brooklyn is only just getting started with moving on from veterans this offseason. If they trade any of Dorian Finney-Smith, Bojan Bogdanovic or Cameron Johnson, Williams will have a clear path to all the minutes he can handle. At the cost of taking on about $5 million in guaranteed salary, that’s a no-risk flyer with upside.

Memphis Grizzlies

Incoming salary: $2.3 million ($1.4 million guaranteed) in 2024-25

• Mamadi Diakite (PF, one year, $2.3 million ($1.4 million guaranteed))

Outgoing salary: $6.1 million in 2024-25

• Ziaire Williams (SF, one year, $6.1 million)

No offense to Mamadi Diakite, but this trade wasn’t about him. Nor was this deal about acquiring the draft rights to Nemanja Dangubic either.

Diakite may stick around in Memphis for a while. They could use another frontcourt player, and Diakite is a hard worker who plays with great energy. Considering his deal is guaranteed for $1.4 million, the Grizzlies might as well bring him to camp to see what he can do.

As for Dangubic, the 31-year-old forward is unlikely to ever come to the NBA. He’s found a role as a journeyman backup shooting forward on various European clubs over the years. That’s likely to continue for the next couple of years.

For Memphis, this deal was about clearing some additional room under the luxury tax. The Grizzlies didn’t want to pay the luxury tax this season, and potentially start the clock towards being a tax repeater down the line. But Memphis did want to re-sign Luke Kennard. Something had to give.

Now, the Grizzlies can have the best of both worlds. Memphis is about $10 million clear of the luxury tax. That’s enough room to re-sign Kennard to a fair-value contract. Memphis could even start Kennard’s deal high and have it decline in value from year to year. That might mean shedding another salary along the way, but that’s hardly an impossible task.

This is also a good sign that the Grizzlies are open to cutting bait on former draft picks as necessary. Memphis has historically been reluctant to move on from players they invested in as former draft picks. And the Grizzlies also did swing a trade to acquire Williams, adding to their attachment. But sometimes, when the roster starts to get full, you have to move on, no matter the investment made.

Kennard will play a bigger and more important role in any success the Grizzlies have this season and beyond. Memphis has other options at the small forward spot now too. This was a good, smart move that should pay off in better roster balance with Kennard back in the fold.

The Denver Nuggets had been on the lookout for a backup point guard all offseason. The LA Clippers and Russell Westbrook had been headed towards a breakup, meaning they needed another guard themselves. With the help of the Utah Jazz, all three teams came out ahead.

We’ll cover on Westbrook’s fit with the Nuggets at the end, but first the particulars of the trade.

LA Clippers acquire: Kris Dunn via sign-and-trade

Utah Jazz acquire: Russell Westbrook, draft rights to Balsa Koprivica, 2030 second-round pick swap, $4.3 million in cash

Let’s dive in!

LA Clippers

Incoming salary: $5.4 million in 2024-25 (estimated)

• Kris Dunn (PG, three years, $17 million (estimated))

Outgoing salary: $4.0 million in 2024-25

• Russell Westbrook (PG, one year, $4.0 million)

The Clippers and Westbrook were headed for a breakup just about as soon as he picked up his player option. Westbrook didn’t want to leave a couple million on the table, but also didn’t want to stay with the Clippers. LA seemed to be of the same mind, so they immediately set about finding a trade. It took a bit to land on one, but eventually they got there.

Dunn has done a wonderful job getting his NBA career on track. After looking like he was headed out of the league, Dunn became a much-improved shooter. He also because a better playmaker. And his defense is at an elite level.

For roughly the Taxpayer MLE amount, the Clippers get a solid third guard for their rotation. Dunn can also start if/when necessary. On a team where some other guards and wings are older and/or injury-prone, this is an excellent get for LA. Don’t be surprised if Dunn passes some of his more notable teammates in the rotation fairly early in the season.

Utah Jazz

Incoming salary: $4.0 million in 2024-25

• Russell Westbrook (PG, one year, $4.0 million)

Outgoing salary: $5.4 million in 2024-25 (estimated)

• Kris Dunn (PG, three years, $17 million (estimated))

The Jazz seemed to be moving on from Dunn this summer, one way or another. They have a lot of other guards, and added another in Isaiah Collier at the draft. So, for renting out a bit of their cap space (and no actual money paid, because the Clippers covered Westbrook’s salary by sending cash), the Jazz picked up the rights to swap 2030 second-round picks.

Utah also received the draft rights to Balsa Koprivica in this draft. The 7-foot-1 inch center has spent the last three seasons playing for Partizan in Serbia. Koprivica has done well for Partizan, but hasn’t established himself as a regular starter. Because he’s only 24 years old, Koprivica could still have a future in the NBA, but it seems unlikely.

Denver Nuggets

The Nuggets weren’t involved in this trade, but will still land Russell Westbrook in the end. Denver could have acquired Westbrook directly, by absorbing his salary into the trade exception they have from sending Reggie Jackson to the Charlotte Hornets. But waiting to sign Westbrook after he’s waived by Utah is the more cost-effective strategy.

By waiting, Denver will sign the Westbrook to a veteran minimum salary worth about $2.1 million. That’s roughly a $2 million savings over the $4 million that will now land on Utah’s books. For Denver, who is dealing with a luxury bill and apron issues, they actually save nearly $5 million this way. And, the Nuggets also have the Jackson TPE, should they want to use it later.

On the court, Westbrook will play a big role for the Nuggets. The point guard depth behind Jamal Murray was pretty shaky. Jackson was salary-dumped, Jalen Pickett doesn’t appear to be ready to step in and Trey Alexander is a rookie on a two-way contract. Westbrook should have a clear runway to the backup job.

In the regular season, the veteran point guard will probably play around 20-25 minutes a night. That’s fine for a team that can use some juice on their second unit. In the postseason, when Westbrook’s lack of shooting shows up in glaring ways, his role will probably be reduced to 10 minutes a night. Michael Malone should be able to spot Westbrook minutes in lineups where his lack of a reliable jumper won’t matter as much.

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. 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!

Eastern Conference

Atlanta Hawks: Disliked 

The Hawks did ok in the Dejounte Murray trade. He was the only player of consequence that they lost. But they still traded him less than a year after signing him to a fair-value extension. That’s not great. Of the players the Hawks brought in, there’s a chance that only Dyson Daniels sticks and has a role. Larry Nance Jr. could be flipped in another trade, and E.J. Liddell and Cody Zeller might not make the opening night roster.

Murray was the only player of consequence that Atlanta lost this summer. The big addition for the Hawks was Zaccharie Risacher. It’s not Atlanta’s fault that they got the first overall pick in the weakest draft in a decade. But Risacher looks like he’ll be a player. However, that’s a crowded forward group that’s he’s trying to crack.

Mostly, this feels like the Hawks could and should have picked more of a direction. Instead, they feel like they are still somewhere around the Play-In Tournament. Not good enough to be a real playoff team. Not bad enough to get another high pick in a great draft. Just sort of stuck in the middle.

Boston Celtics: Liked 

Boston was miles above the second apron, so what they could do this summer was pretty limited. They re-signed Luke Kornet, Xavier Tillman Sr. and Neemias Queta at the center spot. That’s big, considering Kristaps Porzingis is likely to be out until the holidays and Al Horford will have his minutes and games managed. All three of Kornet, Tillman and Queta contributed at various points during the title run.

Most importantly, the Celtics extended both Jayson Tatum and Derrick White without even a hesitation on the part of the players or the team. Yes, the core is insanely expensive, and the team may not have a super long window with this group. But the champs are running it back. That’s great for Boston.

Adding Baylor Scheierman at the draft seems like a solid value with the 30th pick in the draft. And he played in South Dakota for part of his college career, so the cold weather in Maine won’t be anything new for him!

Brooklyn Nets: Liked 

The Nets are probably going to be awful next season. Maybe worst-in-the-NBA awful. But that’s ok! At least they have a direction.

Keeping Mikal Bridges and making some moves around him probably puts Brooklyn where Atlanta is: Play-In Tournament, but without much upside. That’s…not great.

Now, the Nets have their own picks back in the next two drafts, which look to be very deep. They have control over most of the New York Knicks draft future. That probably won’t yield much in the next few seasons, but things flip fairly quickly in the NBA. Having picks five-to-seven years out is huge.

The Nets have another trade or two in them too. Bojan Bogdanovic, Dorian Finney-Smith and Cameron Johnson won’t bring back monster returns, but all should net Brooklyn some assets.

This is going to be an ugly season. But an ugly season with purpose is a good thing.

Charlotte Hornets: Disliked 

This one is best termed as a pretty mild dislike. The Hornets didn’t really do anything bad. But they didn’t do anything great either. So, we’re just kind of in the same spot as before, but with a bit more salary on the books.

Miles Bridges’ contract isn’t bad. It declines in value year over year, which is nice. If he really pops, it’ll be hard to extend him, but that’s tomorrow’s problem. The bigger issue is whether or not Charlotte should have cut ties with Bridges entirely. It’s hard to argue against that, but they’ve already taken the PR hit that came from welcoming him back. If they believe Bridges is truly changing who he is, then it makes sense to keep working with him.

Josh Green was a pretty good flyer for the Hornets. His contract is fine and he’s already the best perimeter defender on the roster. If he shoots it well enough, Green will fit in nicely as a 3&D wing.

The knock on the offseason is two-fold. First, drafting Tidjane Salaun felt like a bit of a reach. Salaun is very young, so this is all about potential. Maybe he learns to shoot, and Salaun and Branon Miller become a like-sized switchable perimeter duo. But there were other players on the board with just as much upside, and far less downside.

The second knock is that the Hornets didn’t maximize their cap space. They took on Green, which was fine. But they ate Reggie Jackson’s contract for a second time. They got some second-round picks out of that, which is ok. But why not use that space to bring in someone who can actually help?

Chicago Bulls: Disliked 

If we were ranking the worst offseasons, the Bulls would near the top, if not at the very top, of the list. This is a real mess.

Trading Alex Caruso for Josh Giddey may end up working out fine. Giddey is good. He’ll have even more on-ball freedom in Chicago. We’re going to find out what he can really be this season. The downside, beyond his inability to shoot? Giddey is extension-eligible right now. That’s a tough needle to thread. It’s probably best to let it play out, but that could backfire if Giddey has a great season. Pay him now and he doesn’t play well, you’re stuck with his contract. Oh…and how do you not get even a single pick when making a deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder? They gave five second-round picks to the Knicks for a single late first-round pick. The Bulls couldn’t have gotten a second or two in this deal? Sheesh.

As for the rest of the summer, there were things that look good. Matas Buzelis looks like a steal. He’s incredibly competitive and he’s skilled. That’s a great combination. Plus, Buzelis is playing with a giant chip on his shoulder after slipping in the draft.

Patrick Williams’ contract is fine. There’s been some handwringing about the deal, but it’s fine. By the end, Williams will be making MLE money. He should at least deliver that kind of value. At least!

Jalen Smith’s deal is also a good one. The value is very fair at $9 million AAV. He’s young enough to fit on a rebuilding team, or good enough to fit on a team making a push for the Play-In Tournament.

And therein lies the rub: What is the plan here? Did the Bulls get caught trying to bottom out, but couldn’t find trades for Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic? Do they not want to trade one of both of those guys?

As it stands, Chicago is going to be bad, but if they have both LaVine and Vucevic, they won’t be really bad. And really bad is where they want to be in this draft. This is more of the same, half-in stuck-in-the-middle stuff. That’s not good enough, nor bad enough and not what Bulls fans deserve.

Cleveland Cavaliers: Disliked 

This assessment is strictly about a summer of mostly inaction. Cleveland did well to get Donovan Mitchell extended, even if he’ll hit the market earlier than hoped for. The Cavs also didn’t cave to pressure and trade away Jarrett Allen or Darius Garland. Making no deal far outweighs making a bad deal.

But making no deals at all, of any kind, that’s not a good thing. The only new player Cleveland has added is first-round pick Jaylon Tyson.

That’s the whole list.

And it’s not like Boston, who re-signed a bunch of guys off a title, or Memphis, who is welcoming back players who missed large chunks of last season.

The Cavs are just the Cavs.

That’s not necessarily bad, but as the rest of their Eastern Conference standings neighbors got better, Cleveland didn’t. That sort of doing nothing isn’t helpful. And it’s likely to cost the Cavaliers this season.

Detroit Pistons: Confused 

Look, the Pistons had to add some veteran talent. That part makes sense. Especially adding a couple of shooters. The worst thing you can do for young playmakers is to tell them to drive and kick, only to watch the jumpers repeatedly clank of the rim. Those drive-and-kicks become contested off-the-dribble shots instead. No one gets better that way.

Adding Malik Beasley and Tim Hardaway Jr. makes sense. They should both help open the floor the Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Ausar Thompson and rookie Ron Holland II (who was a good upside pick for Detroit).

But did they really have to sign Tobias Harris? And who were the Pistons competing against? And don’t say “Well, they need to hit the salary floor!” One, they don’t. That’s a choice. Two, there are a lot of other ways to hit the salary floor. And that’s true even if we recognize Harris isn’t nearly as bad as some pretend and that he’ll help the Detroit this season.

Swinging back to positives…Simone Fontecchio got a really good deal. Paul Reed was a terrific waiver claim. Bobi Klintman might be a steal in the second round.

Are the Pistons better? They should be. Are they good? Nope. Not yet. Did this knock them out of the running for a top-five pick in a deep draft? Unclear. And that’s where the confusion comes in.

Indiana Pacers: Disliked 

This one is really probably more of a “Meh” than a true dislike. Did the Pacers do anything truly bad? Nope. Did they do anything really good? Not really.

Some of this is the nature of Indiana making a pre-agency move by trading for Pascal Siakam last year. They were always going to re-sign him. He was always going to get the max or really close to it. So, good on the Pacers for making it for only four years. That part is probably a minor win.

This space also really likes Obi Toppin. And he got a pretty team-friendly deal too. If he played around 30 minutes per game, this deal would probably look even better.

But that’s the problem! The Pacers gave almost $250 million over the next four years to two guys who play the same position and can’t really play together. Maybe they’ll start putting Siakam and Toppin on the floor together, but in 17 playoff games (when Indiana was missing players due to injuries), the two power forwards logged only 8.9 minutes together. That was up from 6.0 minutes per game together in the regular season.

If Siakam and Toppin can’t play together, having that much money invested in overlapping players isn’t a good use of resources. That’s especially true of a team that has often acted with the luxury tax as a self-imposed hard cap.

To close on some positives: James Wiseman was a terrific flyer. Indiana did really well with Jalen Smith, who had failed to live up to his draft position. If they can work similar magic with Wiseman, they’ll have a steal for a partially guaranteed contract. Also, Johnny Furphy was a nice pickup in the second round. Most had a first-round grade on him, so he seems like a good value pick.

Miami Heat: Disliked 

The Heat lost a key rotation player in Caleb Martin, and it’s not entirely clear why. Martin ultimately took less money from the Philadelphia 76ers than the Heat reportedly offered him. This may have been about playing time or a bigger role. No matter what, Miami lost a good player and they lost him to a conference competitor.

Alec Burks was a nice pickup for the veteran minimum. He’ll play a big role while Josh Richardson works his way back. Richardson said recently that he’s hoping to be ready for training camp. That gives Burks an immediate avenue to playing time.

The draft delivered Kel’el Ware. He’s got talent for days, but his work ethic and hustle were question marks. It’s a good bet Miami believes they can correct that. Summer League has been a good indicator that they were right.

In the end, the Heat are kind of bringing the same team back as last year. And the year before that. But some of their key guys are older and just as injury-prone as before. And Jimmy Butler doesn’t seem happy. That’s never a good sign for a team.

Milwaukee Bucks: Liked 

When you start the process of considering, or grading, NBA offseasons, you have to keep in mind what the team had to work with in the first place. In Milwaukee’s case, they didn’t have much to work with, but made the most of their limited resources.

Adding Gary Trent Jr. (who should start), Taurean Prince (who will probably start when forwards miss time), and Delon Wright (ditto for when Damian Lillard is out) all on veteran minimums is great work. All three can play and are upgrades over the players they are replacing.

A.J. Johnson and Tyler Smith were upside picks at the draft. Doc Rivers isn’t about to play either rookie, so we’ll be tracking their development through the G League this season.

The Bucks probably didn’t close the gap on the Celtics by a significant margin or anything. And the Knicks and Sixers are now on the same tier as the Bucks are. But Milwaukee got deeper and better with only minimums to work with. That’s a solid summer.

New York Knicks: Liked 

The Knicks gave up a lot to get Mikal Bridges, but it was probably worth it. Especially if Bridges being in the fold influenced Jalen Brunson to sign such a team-friendly extension. They probably overpaid a tad to re-sign OG Anunoby, but it’s not by a glaring margin or anything.

The only real hole on this roster is at backup center. It’s kind of a big one, given Mitchell Robinson’s track record of missing games. But New York has enough tradable players to fill that spot when they find the right guy to acquire. In the interim, re-signing Precious Achiuwa to a reasonable deal is more than a serviceable get-by, should that come to pass.

There are some long-term questions, even with Brunson leaving some money on the table. Will Mikal Bridges do the same? What happens with Julius Randle? What if there are too many overlapping players for everyone to play enough?

But none of those questions are “right now” questions. The Knicks are deep, versatile and better. This is the best team New York has entered a season with in several years.

Orlando Magic: Liked 

The Magic had a busy summer. The big move was that they essentially replaced Markelle Fultz with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. As much as Fultz is a feel-good story for making it back from injuries to become a solid rotation player, Caldwell-Pope is a huge upgrade. He’s probably the best shooter on the roster now. And a Caldwell-Pope and Jalen Suggs backcourt is going to make life really difficult on opposing ballhandlers.

Beyond that, Orlando took care of their own guys. They re-signed Moe Wagner, Gary Harris, Goga Bitadze and renegotiated-and-extended Jonathan Isaac. All four of those players got fair-value deals. And the Magic have some level of team control/protection on Wagner, Harris and Isaac too. That’s good for future flexibility as the team gets more expensive.

Part of that “getting more expensive” is because the Magic extended Franz Wagner on a max deal. That might be a bit of an overpay, but it’s probably fine. Even in a terrible shooting year, Wagner played pretty well. If he can rediscover his shot, and he should be able to, Wagner is an All-Star candidate. And Wagner was the first to extend of a trio that also includes Suggs (this summer) and Paolo Banchero (next summer).

Orlando still needs to extend Suggs too, but unless they make a major mistake there, this was an outstanding summer for the Magic.

Philadelphia 76ers: Liked 

The Sixers put together their plan a year in advance. For a year, Daryl Morey made moves while preserving 2024 cap space. It all paid off in a monster summer for Philadelphia.

Paul George is the headliner, obviously. He’s the best player to change teams this summer, and it’s by a decent margin too. George is the only All-Star to jump to a new team. Even at his age, a max deal is perfectly fine.

Are there injury concerns for George and Joel Embiid? 100%. Anyone saying otherwise is trying to convince themselves that an alternate timeline has merged with ours.

Injury issues being acknowledged, George is an outstanding fit. He’s the big versatile wing the 76ers needed between Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. He can carry the offense when Embiid or Maxey are off the floor or missing a game. George is also a good, versatile defender, which Nick Nurse will love.

Beyond landing George, Morey worked some cap magic to fill out the roster. Maxey got his max deal, as we all knew was coming. Well-earned by him. Kelly Oubre Jr. was re-signed via the Room Exception. Andre Drummond is a luxury when Embiid plays, but a necessity when Embiid doesn’t play. That’s $5 million well spent.

Caleb Martin for the remaining cap space? Perfect fit. Kyle Lowry and Eric Gordon as the backup backcourt for the minimum? Yes, please! Jared McCain and Adem Bona as developmental players from the draft? Sign me up!

Even re-signing K.J. Martin to a perfectly tradable “human trade exception” contract is a win for both player and team.

The Sixers have been good before, but always a touch overrated. Is this team a title favorite? No. But they are close. Closer than ever since getting Embiid, actually. It’ll all depend on health come April, May, and Philadelphia hopes, June.

Toronto Raptors: Confused 

The Raptors have a nice collection of players. You look at the roster, and you’ll probably say to yourself, “I like him!” about at least 10 guys. But is this really a team?

They’ve got wings for days. Big wings, small wings, shooters, defenders, playmakers. It’s a grab-bag of talented guys who we have no idea if they fit together.

Maybe this one should have gotten more of the “Incomplete” moniker. But it’s more confusing than it is incomplete.

All of that said, Scottie Barnes is worth the max. He’s an All-Star level guy and the franchise building block. Immanuel Quickley’s deal might seem like some massive overpay, but he’s the 16th highest-paid point guard in the NBA this season. Deal doesn’t look so bad now, right?

They haven’t traded Bruce Brown yet, so that will probably linger into the season and maybe to the trade deadline. The Sasha Vezenkov situation is still playing out. It’s unclear how there will be minutes for so many wings, or which players will miss out.

None of these are necessarily bad things. They are just things that need sorted out that don’t have clear answers. Thus, the confusion about where this team is and where they are headed.

Washington Wizards: Incomplete 

The Wizards are on a path. They’re still working on the teardown process. Rather than simply letting players walk for nothing, Washington has retained players on tradable contracts, while making trades for others. The Jordan Poole acquisition, might have been a misstep, but that was last year.

This summer, it sort of feels like the Wizards aren’t done yet. Kyle Kuzma and Poole are both still around. Poole is probably going to stick for a while longer, but Kuzma could be on the move at any moment.

The same is true of Malcolm Brogdon, who was acquired this summer for Deni Avdija and draft picks. Heck, Richaun Holmes was extended on a deal that is specifically designed for him to get traded.

The Wizards did well at the draft with Alex Sarr, Bub Carrington and Kyshawn George. Saddiq Bey was a nice flyer on a good contract. But those guys won’t pay dividends this year, beyond development for the rookies and ACL rehab for Bey.

So, we’re just sort of waiting for the other shoe to drop. And that might carry on for a bit. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s just sort of incomplete.