NBA Teams That Improved Most This Offseason
While a few free agents remain on the market, it only took a week for the entire NBA landscape to change. Rosters were revamped, massive trades no one saw coming were completed and one of the most exciting offseasons in memory played itself out.
In addition to all the free-agent signings, teams made trades like the NBA was the New York Stock Exchange. Paul George is with the Los Angeles Clippers, D'Angelo Russell is a Golden State Warrior, Al Horford is a Philadelphia 76er and Jimmy Butler is with the Miami Heat.
The upshot of all this is that no clear favorite for the NBA title exists at this stage. As many as 10 teams have a legitimate chance at the 2019-20 championship. That's a third of the league.
Let's rank the ones that did the most to improve this offseason, keeping in mind these rankings are an assessment of the team's improvement, not the team itself. Squads like the 76ers, Warriors and Boston Celtics aren't included, though they made great moves to compensate for losses.
5. New Orleans Pelicans
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If there's anything to the adage about what to do when life hands you lemons, David Griffin, the New Orleans Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations, turned the Smoothie King Center into one heck of a lemonade stand.
Faced with the inevitability of losing franchise payer and resident superstar Anthony Davis, he turned the big man into a young core of players to build around and freed up enough cap space to add quality veterans. Suddenly, the Pelicans not only look primed for the future, but they're also prepared for the present.
The Los Angeles Lakers gave the Pelicans their start with Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart, along with the draft rights to De'Andre Hunter (which were then traded to the Atlanta Hawks with Solomon Hill for a package centered around the Nos. 8 and 17 picks), two first-round picks, a first-round swap and cash.
Trading Hill opened another $12.8 million in cap space, and the Pelicans then landed Derrick Favors, JJ Redick and Euroleague star Nicolo Melli in free agency. They also drafted generational talent Zion Williamson with the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, then added Jaxson Hayes at No. 8 and Nickeil Alexander-Walker at No. 17.
Suddenly, the Pels have a deep team featuring five guys who were taken with top-three picks (Williamson, Ingram, Ball, Favors and Jahlil Okafor).
That depth and versatility is the perfect potting soil for Williamson to plant his roots and grow. It wouldn't be a shock to see them win 10-15 more games than last year's 33, or for Williamson to become one of the rare No. 1 overall picks to play in the playoffs the year he was drafted. Only five top picks (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Elgin Baylor, Tim Duncan, Derrick Rose, Chris Webber) have accomplished that feat and won Rookie of the Year.
Williamson could very well be the sixth.
4. Utah Jazz
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The Utah Jazz might not have received as much media coverage as some of the other teams, but they were aggressive and improved markedly. For a team that won 50 games last year, that's impressive.
They traded Grayson Allen, Kyle Korver, Jae Crowder and draft compensation to the Memphis Grizzlies for Mike Conley. Then they agreed to bring in Bojan Bogdanovic through free agency.
Sports Illustrated's Andrew Sharp broke it down:
"With [Donovan] Mitchell still on his rookie deal, this was Utah's best chance to go all-in for a team that could go to the NBA Finals. VP of Basketball Operations Dennis Lindsey and GM Justin Zanik are not only seizing that opportunity, but they have done so by assembling a nucleus that's about as interesting as anyone could have dreamed as recently as a few weeks ago. The fit is clean, most of these guys are tough and in the middle of their prime and the Jazz will be really good next year."
The fit is most compelling.
With Conley taking over as the primary shot-creator and Bogdanovic filling an off-ball role (44.9 percent on catch-and-shoot threes), Donovan Mitchell has perfect complements around him while continuing to function as the go-to scorer. And as Sharp pointed out, these are tough-minded, gritty players who will fit in on the defensive end, as well.
The Jazz are going to be really good, folks. Don't rule them out as contenders.
3. Los Angeles Lakers
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The Lakers launched the offseason with the first major move: pairing Anthony Davis with LeBron James but giving up just about their entire roster to do so.
While it was worth the price, the Lakers had to part with their young core of Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart.
In the official press release, Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said: "Anthony Davis is arguably the most dominant all-around young player in today's NBA. Anthony represents everything we stand for, with his unwavering commitment to excellence as both a person and athlete. This is a historic moment for the Lakers franchise, and we couldn't be more proud to have him."
After waiting for Kawhi Leonard to finally make up his mind about where he was going, the Lakers had to scramble and sift through what was left of free agency to assemble a cast around James, Davis and Kyle Kuzma. They brought back Rajon Rondo, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and JaVale McGee. They added Danny Green, DeMarcus Cousins, Jared Dudley and Quinn Cook.
If that core can stay healthy, it should be highly competitive. But that's a big if. The group missed 193 combined games last year, and James, Davis and Cousins accounted for 105.
While James will be coming in more rested than he's been in over a decade, only five players in NBA history have played more total minutes. By the end of the season, that number will likely be down to one.
Because of age and injuries, expect the Lakers to do a lot of load management, which is difficult when you have a short rotation. If all goes well, they'll peak in the playoffs when the games matter most. However, securing home-court advantage in the first round will still matter, and that's not guaranteed.
The Lakers did get better, but there's still a good chance injuries and age keep them from advancing past the second round.
2. Brooklyn Nets
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We're just two years removed from the Brooklyn Nets being the worst team in the league with no draft picks, no cap space and no hope for the future. But who needs all that when you have Sean Marks?
Brooklyn, through a series of smart moves by its general manager, reset the organizational culture and established its status as a well-run team. That's increasingly the thing star players want to see.
Marks has been setting up for this since he took over in 2016.
He hit on late first-round picks like Caris LeVert and Jarrett Allen. He brought in cast-aside players like Spencer Dinwiddie. He traded Timofey Mozgov and Kyle Kuzma for D'Angelo Russell, giving him the chance to blossom into an All-Star. Then he swapped Russell (technically) for Kevin Durant in a sign-and-trade.
This summer, Marks also added Kyrie Irving into the fold. And in an underrated acquisition, he sent Allen Crabbe and a pair of picks to the Atlanta Hawks for Taurean Prince.
It's because of all those previous changes that the Nets were able to persuade NBA stars that they, not the crosstown rival and big brother New York Knicks, were the city's premier destination.
The Nets, who won 42 games and made the playoffs last year, look likely to improve this season even without Durant, who will probably be recovering from his torn Achilles throughout the calendar. They could even be a top-four seed. They are vastly improved this year, and they should even be a true contender during the 2020-21 campaign when Durant is back on the floor.
They've effectively flipped the narrative for the future. They're one of the biggest winners this season, and it hasn't even started.
That's quite a turnaround over just a few years.
1. Los Angeles Clippers
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In a week filled with surprise moves, the ending was most shocking of all.
Kawhi Leonard going to the Los Angeles Clippers wasn't surprising in and of itself, but bringing Paul George with him was an absolute stunner. The Los Angeles Lakers could learn a thing or two from the Clippers and Oklahoma City Thunder about not leaking.
Leonard and George are a phenomenal pairing, especially considering both are in their primes. They each excel on both ends of the court and are now the best tandem in the NBA because of it.
While both are capable of scoring and creating shots for others, what they can do together defensively might be more terrifying. They both defend on the ball, cut off passing lanes, generate turnovers and stand strong and tall enough to protect the rim.
The Clippers also brought back Patrick Beverley, who is another bulldog against the point of attack. Combined with George and Leonard, he's going to make it difficult to gain penetration against this team.
Offensively, they have all the bases covered.
Montrezl Harrell is a handful inside who averaged 22.7 points per 36 minutes and shot 61.5 percent from the filed. Only Giannis Antetokounmpo and Andre Drummond made more shots at the rim (and Harrell had just two fewer makes than Drummond on 98 fewer attempts).
Sixth man Lou Williams has scored more points (11,375) off the bench than anyone in the history of the NBA. Ivica Zubac, Maurice Harkless and Rodney McGruder help round out the rotation but aren't likely to see important minutes.
The Clippers are impressively constructed with multiple players who can score, defend, rebound and pass. Basketball isn't just about collecting stars; it's about being able to execute and keep the other team from executing. The fewer holes you have on either end, the easier that becomes.
This roster just doesn't have any. In fact, the Clippers should be favorites to win the title after this offseason established them as the NBA's most improved team.
All stats, unless otherwise indicated, courtesy of Basketball Reference and NBA.com.
