Winners And Losers Of The NBA Offseason

I don’t ever mean for this to be an NBA blog, but here in the dog days of summer there’s really not a whole lot going on. Baseball? Too early to immerse myself in it yet. Football? The draft and free agency are basically over, so there’s not much to get excited about. Tennis? Volleyball? Not hating on either, but it’s going to take a lot for me to write about ‘em. So, let’s stick with the NBA, which for my money is the most fun “hot stove league” around anyway. With the draft complete and most of the marquee free agency destinations determined, let’s pick out this offseason’s winners and losers.

Winners

Brooklyn Nets…Whether they land Dwight Howard or not, the Nets offseason has to already be classified as a success. They retained Deron Williams, the prize of this year’s free agent class, and traded for the so-overrated-he’s-suddenly-become-underrated Joe Johnson. Jerry Stackhouse’s 1 year deal doesn’t exactly sweeten the pot, and I’m not sold that a theoretical big 3 of Williams-Johnson-Howard would put them in Miami’s class anyway, but Brooklyn suddenly has 1 of the best offensive backcourts in the league. They should be a playoff team next season at the very least.

Indiana Pacers…This might seem odd because Indiana hasn’t done anything particularly flashy, and they used a 1st round draft pick on Miles Plumlee for f***’s sake, but as an up-and-coming team they seem willing to keep their young core intact, inking George Hill to a deal and matching Portland’s offer sheet to Roy Hibbert.

Atlanta Hawks…Even though I don’t see Joe Johnson as the complete dog that a lot of people do (see above), shedding Marvin Williams and Johnson’s onerous contracts has to be considered a plus. Let’s face it, in Johnson, Al Horford, and Josh Smith, the Hawks had a lot of talent, but their ceiling seemed to be a 2nd round playoff team. They needed to start over and rebuild through the draft or free agency…although hometown boy Dwight Howard seems to have no interest in coming to the ATL for whatever reason.

Miami Heat…To the victor goes the spoils. I’m not sure what Rashard Lewis has left in the tank (it’s hard to judge when an old vet gets plopped onto a stinky team like the Wizards), but the addition of Ray Allen would make this a good offseason for the Heat if they did nothing else. Miami lost out on their other big need (a rim protector) when Marcus Camby decided on the Knicks, but don’t be surprised if they make another sneaky signing or trade…either that or they are committed to the small-ball lineup they used for most of the playoffs with LeBron James at the 4.

Ok, that's pretty weird looking.

LA Lakers…Speaking of “sneaky”…I didn’t see the Steve Nash sign-and-trade to the Lakers coming at all. They are still old and slow, but I’m not sleeping on LA swooping in on Dwight Howard just yet. Howard has repeatedly said the only place he wants to be traded to is Brooklyn, but those talks seem to be breaking down, and the Lakers are always up to stuff.

New Orleans Hornets…It looks more and more like Eric Gordon is going to peace-out of New Orleans, and I already documented my skepticism of both Anthony Davis and Austin Rivers turning into stars as pros, but it’s hard to argue against any of the Hornets’ moves on paper. I could be wrong, and their 2 rooks could be the cornerstones of the franchise for the next decade. Combining Davis with Ryan Anderson could make for an interesting frontcourt mix as well. And let’s not forget all the money they got off the books by trading away Emeka Okafor and Trevor Ariza and by buying out Rashard Lewis.

Losers

Boston Celtics…Yes, they will at least have Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Rajon Rondo. Yes, Jason Terry (and possibly Courtney Lee) will cushion the blow of losing Allen. Yes, Jared Sullinger could very well end up being the steal of this year’s draft, and they presumably have Avery Bradley and Jeff Green returning to action next season as well…but they will still all be a year older, and the psychological blow of losing Allen to their hated rival might just be too much to overcome.

New York Knicks…I’m not ever quite sure what the Knicks are trying to accomplish. They trade for an ancient Jason Kidd, lose their best healthy (sorry, Iman Shumpert) perimeter defender in Landry Fields, piss off Jerermy Lin, and then pick up Marcus Camby…which is smart in 1 way because it blocked Miami from getting him, but it adds 1 more big guy to the mix, which pretty much eliminates your best lineup (pulling a Miami and playing Carmelo Anthony at the 4).

Chicago Bulls…Is it possible that the Bulls’, who had the East’s best record the last 2 seasons and the youngest MVP in Derrick Rose in league history 2 years ago, window is closing? Chicago brought back Kirk Hinrich, but lost 3 key bench guys in Ronnie Brewer, CJ Watson, and Omer Asik. I’m not saying they are going to take a huge dip next season, but what have they done to improve?

Houston Rockets…All that maneuvering, and the Rockets look like the same kind of middling team they have been for the last several seasons. If they can’t get Dwight, maybe they should try to go after Pau Gasol again.

Dallas Mavericks…An entirely separate post could be dedicated to the Mavs’ losing offseason. Instead of trying to repeat last year, Mark Cuban basically went all-in on trying to bring both D-12 and D-Will to the Big D this summer. Since then, Tyson Chandler, DeShawn Stevenson, JJ Barea, Jason Kidd, and Jason Terry have all departed. Other than Dirk Nowitzki and Shawn Marion, the cupboard is completely bare. (And let’s all try to forget that whole Lamar Odom debacle.)

At least he got the 1 ring, right?