NBA Teams with the Best and Worst Offseasons

Each summer, all 30 of the NBA's teams regroup to assess where they stand, what they need to get better or in which direction they'd like to head.

Whether it be self-inflicted misfortune or plain old bad luck, some of these organizations fail miserably trying to accomplish their goals, while others set out and execute their plan to perfection.

First up are three that wish they could do the offseason over, followed by three more that will head into 2014 extremely pleased with how their summer turned out. 

All salary information in this article can be found at ShamSports.com.

3. Dallas Mavericks

Dallas has spent the past two summers striking out in free agency. First it was Deron Williams, then Chris Paul and Dwight Howard. They also weren’t willing to take a risk on Andrew Bynum.

As a result, the Mavericks are spinning in place, a middling team just three years removed from winning the NBA championship. Their cap sheet should be generous next season (pending how much of a pay cut Dirk Nowitzki is willing to take), but long-term contracts for Jose Calderon and Monta Ellis are suspect at best.

This team is clearly trying to make the playoffs in 2014, but how do they expect to stop anybody? Next summer could be more of the same, with Nowitzki a year older.

2. Los Angeles Lakers

Since trading for Dwight Howard last summer, the Los Angeles Lakers knew their 2013 offseason would ultimately be defined by whether he chose to re-sign with them or seek employment elsewhere.

As we all know, Howard left California, opting to play the next four years of his career in a more promising environment with the Houston Rockets.

Given the collective age of their roster, Kobe Bryant’s Achilles tendon and the string of abysmal performances they suffered through last season (with Howard), the Lakers figured to be one of the league’s worst teams next year.

Instead of embracing that reality and setting their sights on the 2014 free-agency splurge or the lottery, the Lakers chose to sign productive players in an honest attempt to make the playoffs. It’s a strategy that could come back to bite them and, even after losing Howard, they may have made a bad situation worse.

1. Denver Nuggets

A quick rundown of how the Denver Nuggets imploded:

• They lost Andre Iguodala in free agency. A player who transcended their defense, facilitated their offense and fit their up-and-down system like a latex glove. Replacing Iguodala with Randy Foye obviously hurts.
• They traded Kosta Koufos (their starting center last season who’s owed $3 million this year, then is non-guaranteed in 2015) for Darrell Arthur (owed $3.2 million this year and is then up for a $3.4 million player option in 2015). The (illogical) thinking here was that Denver needed to give JaVale McGee more minutes.
• Denver then continued on with the theme of their offseason with another bad decision, paying Timofey Mozgov $14 million over the next three years—also known as over $1 million more next year than the team could’ve paid Koufos, the better player.
• They used their mid-level exception on J.J. Hickson, an undersized center/forward who Portland couldn’t wait to get rid of. Hickson also has potential to create a serious log jam with Arthur and the beloved hustling messiah, Kenneth Faried.
• Oh, has it yet been mentioned they fired George Karl, the 2012-13 NBA Coach of the Year, and let Masai Ujiri, the 2012-13 NBA Executive of the Year, take his act to Toronto?

The Nuggets didn’t have a “star,” but their organization was stable and consistent. Right now, they’re no closer to an All-Star and their leadership is no longer in place. What’s their long-term plan? What’s their short-term plan? Where are they headed?

3. Indiana Pacers

The Indiana Pacers were one game away from reaching the NBA Finals last season. With a rough offense and virtually no options on the bench, they went toe to toe with the best player in the world and didn’t blink (until Game 7).

Being that they’re a smart organization, Indiana spent the summer upgrading said bench and splashing offense on areas that sorely needed it.

They re-signed David West, their two-way lynchpin, traded spare parts for Luis Scola, upgraded the backup point guard position with C.J. Watson and signed Chris Copeland, an intriguing player who creates certain mismatch issues on the offensive end.

If the Pacers can figure out how to recreate their awesome synergy now that a healthy Danny Granger is set for integration, it’s tough to imagine them not being much better than they already are.

2. Los Angeles Clippers

The Clippers seriously upgraded at head coach, going from the spiceless Vinny Del Negro to Doc Rivers, one of four active head coaches to win a championship.

This change alone won’t make the Clippers NBA champions, but it’s significant nonetheless. The hire convinced Chris Paul to spend the rest of his relevant NBA career in Los Angeles, which then allowed the team to exchange Eric Bledsoe for players that will actually fix the team's weaknesses.

Jared Dudley and J.J. Redick are both on board, providing elite three-point shooting with capable defense on the wing. They also re-signed Matt Barnes, creating a revolving door of competence beside Paul all year long.

The Clippers still have their issues, and a lot of their team success still hinges on Blake Griffin’s evolution from “non-stop highlight reel” to “someone capable of using his athleticism to take games over on both ends of the court,” but overall, they had a fantastic summer.

1. Houston Rockets

Championship-level success in the NBA is dictated by how many superstars you can obtain, then how those superstars mesh, both with each other and the roster’s surrounding players.

The Rockets acquired Dwight Howard this summer, their second superstar and, at least on paper, a perfect teammate for their first, James Harden.

Houston also did a great job filling in their roster with players who can shoot, a skill set that’s necessary to help spread the floor whenever Howard has the ball and keeps defenses from pouncing on a Harden-Howard pick-and-roll that should be unstoppable.

For this reason, Houston clearly had the best offseason. They went from a borderline playoff team to a legitimate championship contender. It’s tough to beat that.