2015 NBA Offseason Awards: Which Teams Deserve Our Cheers and Jeers?
They say there are no awards for winning the NBA offseason.
We beg to differ.
Training camps are just around the corner, with team facilities officially opening doors Sept. 29. The league's annual summertime break is all but over, and though it seems like we watched the Golden State Warriors small-ball their way to last year's title just seconds ago, it's already time to look ahead to the start of a new season.
First, we'll scan back, highlighting the overall winners and losers of the offseason, the teams that made smart moves and the ones that would probably like to take a big, fat eraser to their July and August ledgers.
Some squads recognized trends and capitalized on them, while others stubbornly conducted business as though the NBA weren't undergoing marked stylistic and ideological changes. We'll acknowledge shrewd moves and miscalculations alike.
The 2015 offseason is all but wrapped, so let's put a bow on it with official awards.
Best Offseason Award: San Antonio Spurs
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Through organizational cachet and flawless cap management, the already-rich San Antonio Spurs got a whole lot richer.
Exit Tiago Splitter and Cory Joseph. Enter LaMarcus Aldridge and David West (at the minimum). Not a bad exchange, all things considered.
Note, too, how those crafty Spurs held off on Kawhi Leonard's five-year, $90 million extension until this summer. That decision preserved Leonard's smaller cap hold, and by waiting until after their other free-agent moves to make the deal official, the Spurs got to have their transactional cake and eat it, too.
Oh, and both Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili agreed to return for another run, at rates substantially below their market values.
A contender last year, the Spurs have a new star in his prime in Aldridge, along with virtually every important piece of a club that won a ring two seasons ago.
Age and injury could spoil the party, but that's been a concern for what seems like forever in San Antonio. In terms of pure roster-building, nobody did a better job this offseason.
The Spurs Spursed because they are the Spurs and the Spurs always Spur.
Check back next year to see how the NBA's most unkillable modern dynasty extends its life yet again.
Shout out to the Los Angeles Clippers, who had zero flexibility but somehow managed to add Paul Pierce, Lance Stephenson and Josh Smith while wrenching DeAndre Jordan back from the brink of Dallas Mavericks-dom.
The Clips almost Spursed, but not quite.
Worst Offseason Award: Sacramento Kings
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Those poor Mavs warrant mention here because they had and lost Jordan under unusual circumstances. If not for the now-infamous (and mostly sensationalized) meeting between Jordan and the Clippers, Dallas might have added DJ, Wesley Matthews and Deron Williams to its Dirk Nowitzki-Chandler Parsons core.
That would have been intriguing.
Either in response to or in anticipation of Aldridge's exit, the Portland Trail Blazers napalmed themselves. Damian Lillard and roughly three dozen young big men now take the place of the roster that occupied the fringes of title contention for the past few seasons.
Still, neither the Mavs nor the Blazers matched the Sacramento Kings for sheer offseason face-palmery.
George Karl and DeMarcus Cousins occupied separate sides of a rift the width of the American River (local Sacramento reference for you there); the front office is now run by Vlade Divac and Peja Stojakovic (total experience: zero); and the biggest summer transaction was a multi-stage move that gave up a first-rounder, a future pick swap, last year's lottery selection and Jason Thompson for the cash that ultimately turned into Rajon Rondo and middling free agents.
By all appearances, there is little long-term vision and less harmony in Sacramento.
At least they have an award to show for one of the most haphazard and cringeworthy offseasons in recent memory.
Market Inefficiency Exploitation Award: Charlotte Hornets and Toronto Raptors
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The voting panel composed of my Draymond Green bobblehead and me couldn't break a one-to-one deadlock on which team most opportunistically locked up its young talent this offseason, so the Charlotte Hornets and Toronto Raptors share this award.
By inking Michael Kidd-Gilchrist to a four-year, $52 million extension, the Hornets locked in an elite defender and developing offensive player who is six months younger than Anthony Davis. And they did it at an annual cost that will be below that of an average starter in the NBA's new higher-cap reality.
MKG is already an above-average starter on the strength of his defense alone. Given his age and improvement to this point, he'll represent an increasingly massive bargain for the Hornets going forward.
The same goes for Jonas Valanciunas, who the Raps signed to a four-year, $64 million pact in August.
At just 23 years old, Valanciunas' per-minute scoring and rebounding rates have increased every year. If he develops defensively, he'll be one of the top centers in the league. Even if he doesn't, Valanciunas will collect average-starter money throughout the life of his extension.
As was the case with Kidd-Gilchrist, Valanciunas is probably a bargain now and could easily become a steal if he gets even marginally better—which, given his age, he certainly should.
There's risk in committing long-term money of any kind, especially to players with plenty left to prove. But the deals Toronto and Charlotte swung with their up-and-coming talents are exactly the kind that can eventually facilitate the construction of a championship roster.
To truly get over the top, it's vital to have players making less than the market dictates they should because it frees up money to pay others at or above the market rate when necessary. Based on these extensions, it seems the Raptors and Hornets understand that better than most.
The Somebody Pinch Me Award: Golden State Warriors
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You don't have to be a Dubs fan to go all weak in the knees over the news that Steve Nash and the Warriors are finalizing an agreement for the two-time MVP to become a part-time consultant for the team, as first reported by ESPN.com's Marc Stein.
You just have to appreciate the possibilities that partnership creates. Possibilities like Stephen Curry, last year's MVP and world's best shooter, happily studying under a player who led his team to the league's top offensive rating for six straight seasons.
"Finally we get a decent coach around here," Curry joked on Instagram.
Like a team with already-stellar chemistry getting regular visits from one of the most unselfish superstars ever.
Like head-to-head-to-head shooting competitions in practice between Curry, Nash and head coach Steve Kerr—who still has the highest career three-point percentage in NBA history.
Nash's involvement is a testament to the Warriors having the right people in charge (Kerr, assistant Bruce Fraser and team president Rick Welts all worked with Nash in Phoenix), but also to the Warriors clearly building the kind of top-down cultural harmony that attracts seemingly ungettable commodities. Keep that in mind when Kevin Durant hits free agency next summer.
Nash's role may not be a huge one, but it's a sign the Warriors' reign atop the league may have only just begun.
This is one of those too-good-to-be-true stories that, inexplicably, is actually true.
The Shhhh...Nobody's Paying Attention to Us Award: Houston Rockets
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The Houston Rockets improbably rose from the dead to knock off the Clippers in the West semis last year, then managed to take a game from the Warriors in the conference finals—despite a roster riddled with injuries.
Having MVP runner-up James Harden helped, but even he wasn't good enough to get Houston into the Finals. After a quietly productive offseason, one of last year's final four teams looks capable of an under-the-radar run.
Ty Lawson was a smart gamble—one that comes with almost no risk after a contract restructuring removed a ton of guaranteed money from his deal. And though Josh Smith's departure to the Clippers hurts, the potential for Houston's frontcourt to get much better is real.
Healthier years from Donatas Motiejunas and Terrence Jones will be the key, but with Sam Dekker and Clint Capella looking like potential rotation-quality bigs, the Rockets' frontcourt could be frighteningly deep. Toss in the return of point guard Patrick Beverley, and Houston looks like a fully retooled contender.
We haven't even mentioned Harden's $200 million deal with Adidas, which probably includes design input on a new sneaker that increases the effectiveness of "Eurosteps" by 58 percent.
The Spurs and Clippers had flashier summers, the Warriors are still monsters and the Oklahoma City Thunder are a sleeping giant. But the Rockets were one of the last two teams standing out West last season, and they've gotten markedly better.
File that away for next spring, when they may very well be chasing a title.
Oh, and a solid nod is in order for the Utah Jazz, who nobody remembers finished 19-10 after the All-Star break and should feature a top-five defense behind Rudy Gobert in 2015-16. They're enjoying a similar lack of attention, and a surprise playoff berth is very much a possibility.
You're Doing It Wrong Award: Memphis Grizzlies
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The gritty, grindy Memphis Grizzlies do things their way.
It's part of their charm, and that stubborn adherence to defense, size and a molasses-in-January pace has led to plenty of success. But it's also part of the reason Memphis seems to run into trouble postseason after postseason.
The NBA is increasingly a shooter's league, and the Grizzlies have been slower to acknowledge that fact than most. They finished 29th in three-point attempts per game last season, connecting on just 33.9 percent of their long balls. In the playoffs, the Warriors exposed the Grizzlies' lack of shooting, collapsing the paint and utterly ignoring Tony Allen on the perimeter.
To address the issue this past offseason, the Grizzlies went out and totally overhauled their perimeter rotation, adding a glut of shooters who'll surely space the floor and bring Memphis' offense into step with modern trends.
Kidding. They traded for Matt Barnes.
Look, Memphis is still dangerous, and it retained Marc Gasol, which means its future is fine. But for a team with one glaring weakness, the Grizzlies acted as though preserving the status quo was sufficient.
As CBSSports.com's Matt Moore argues, that may have been a mistake: "They'll just have to grit their teeth and grind on. Memphis isn't going backwards, but they may not have made up any ground in the West either."
Hey, Grizzlies, threes are the future. You're doing it wrong.
Ongoing Faustian Bargain Award: Miami Heat
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You've got to be careful with these kinds of accusations, and nobody's explicitly suggesting Miami Heat president Pat Riley struck some kind of deal with the man downstairs. But, man, the Heat seem to catch some unholy breaks.
They somehow navigated the contractual minefield of Dwyane Wade's new deal, inked Goran Dragic to a sub-max pact and retained Luol Deng at a fair rate. In addition, the on-the-cheap signings of Gerald Green and Amar'e Stoudemire provide bargain-bin rotation talent. And, of course, Justise Winslow's incomprehensible drop to No. 10 in the 2015 draft gave the Heat a diabolically big value pick.
Now, Miami will get to see how its terrifying-on-paper starting unit looks. Only it'll take that gander with the knowledge that there's real depth behind it if one or more pieces falter or fail to fit together. There may be some hiccups, but it's difficult to imagine Dragic and Chris Bosh struggling to build chemistry for long. Though the pair didn't play a second together last year, they seem ideally suited for a devastating pick-and-pop attack.
Most teams that lose the game's best player take a while to recover. The Cleveland Cavaliers, for example, didn't sort themselves out until they got said player back on the roster. But here the Heat are, entering their second year without LeBron James, looking very much like the second-best team in the East.
And hey, if you take into consideration Cleveland's sneakily considerable injury concerns, maybe the Heat are actually just as good as the reigning conference champs.
Or maybe I'm just playing devil's advocate.
Permanent Ear-to-Ear Smile Award: Alvin Gentry
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Hey, Alvin Gentry, you just won a ring as the lead assistant with the Warriors, got a ton of credit for the offensive overhaul that made that possible, signed a deal to coach the New Orleans Pelicans and then saw Anthony Davis ink his own long-term deal to stay right there with you.
So, how'd your summer go? Great or...great?
Gentry is in basketball heaven these days, revered for his rapport with players and his Mike D'Antoni-derived offensive genius. And he gets to bring all that to bear on a Davis-led Pelicans team that isn't yet burdened with overly high expectations.
The Pellies finished eighth in the West last year, but according to Odds Shark, they've got just the seventh-best odds to win the conference this year. In other words, nobody's anticipating a huge leap up the standings.
They probably should, though, because Davis might be the best player in the league, and rotten health (Ryan Anderson and Jrue Holiday missed a combined 63 games) depressed New Orleans' win total last year. This is a team that could easily win over 50 games, climb as high as fourth in the conference and win a playoff round or two.
Yet, there doesn't seem to be much pressure on Gentry to deliver right away.
This guy's got it made.
Take Your Big Market and Shove It Award: Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks
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The economic times are changing in the NBA. Or at least it seems that way, after another offseason in which the big-market powerhouses failed to lure major talent.
The Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks settled for mid-priced, mid-tier moves this offseason, which means neither did damage to its long-term chances of acquiring big names down the line; that'll always be the goal for these teams, regardless of present free-agency impotence.
The Lakers, burdened by Kobe Bryant's contract and some ugly recent seasons, did fairly well to secure Lou Williams and Brandon Bass, but neither are needle-movers. Getting Roy Hibbert on an expiring deal from the Indiana Pacers (for next to nothing) was a shrewd low-risk, high-reward swap as well.
But none of the big names seemed to seriously consider L.A. as a destination.
In New York, the Knicks contented themselves with Robin Lopez, Arron Afflalo and Kyle O'Quinn after Greg Monroe turned down a max offer. Not bad!
But not great either, and in both cases, the real gets were lottery picks D'Angelo Russell and Kristaps Porzingis, respectively. And you have to admit it's a little strange when two franchises that always chase the established stars should probably be most excited about their rookies.
Media exposure and endorsement opportunities are everywhere now. Kevin Durant can be a household name in Oklahoma City, and LeBron James is an international presence based in Cleveland. Worldwide relevance no longer depends on being located in a cultural hub.
Maybe that increasingly apparent reality will force the Lakers and Knicks to conduct business like organizations without built-in advantages, which would probably be a good thing. Or maybe the trend will reverse and both teams will be major free-agent players next summer.
Either way, their unspectacular efforts in 2015 earn them this dubious award.
Just Crazy Enough to Work Award: Greg Monroe and the Milwaukee Bucks
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This whole thing was weird on a lot of levels, going back as far as last season.
Monroe played his final year with the Detroit Pistons (and played very well) after accepting a qualifying offer in the summer of 2014—a rare decision that signaled Monroe's intent to exit as an unrestricted free agent. He followed through, signing for three years and max money with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Monroe spurned similar offers to do that, turning away the Knicks, Lakers and Trail Blazers because he saw the Bucks as likelier playoff participants.
That's one of those "let that sink in for a second" sentences.
The Bucks are young, offensively challenged and were blown out of the 2015 postseason by the Chicago Bulls in ugly fashion. And Monroe chose them over three established franchises with bigger resources, market exposure and entrenched names on the roster?
He sure did. And he was right to do it.
Because the Bucks are a perfect fit—loaded with perimeter defenders and equipped with a cutting-edge scheme that gums up opposing offenses with scary length and aggressive switching. Milwaukee finished second in defensive efficiency last year, according to NBA.com. For Monroe, a suspect interior defender, few personnel groupings could have been better fits.
And with Monroe's demonstrated offensive excellence, he fills a gaping hole as Milwaukee's scoring focal point inside. As a distributor from the elbow, a scorer on the block and a punishing dive man in the pick-and-roll, Monroe will get to show off all of his greatest strengths...while having his main weaknesses hidden on the other end.
The Bucks are on the cusp of something, and Monroe sensed it.
Awards all around.
Follow Grant Hughes on Twitter @gt_hughes.
Stats courtesy of NBA.com unless otherwise indicated.
