We’re well into NBA free agency at this point and most of the top players are off the board. We also have a much better understanding of how every team is going to look, which we get by looking at the moves made in free agency. Grading these moves is the next step as we slowly ease out of NBA free agency in the coming weeks.
Did you miss the Eastern Conference Team Grades? Check them out here.
Denver Nuggets
When healthy, the 2020-21 Denver Nuggets were as good as any team in the NBA. League MVP Nikola Jokic dominated all year long but eventually, he and his Nuggets teammates ultimately couldn’t overcome the absence of scoring machine Jamal Murray in the playoffs. Due to their success prior to Murray’s injury, the team felt confident entering this offseason that drastic changes were not necessary. This team could compete with anyone when healthy.
After re-signing Will Barton, JaMychal Green and Austin Rivers the team shifted their focus to actual free agency. They added versatile forward Jeff Green, who spent last season with the Brooklyn Nets. It appears veteran forward Paul Millsap will not be back on the Nuggets. Green makes complete sense as a replacement who can bring a couple of new twists at the forward spot and has experience playing in big games and alongside big-time players.
The biggest concern right now for the Nuggets is the depth behind their MVP. While Bol Bol should absolutely be in the rotation and Green should play some small-ball five throughout the season, the Nuggets need an athletic defender behind Jokic at least as an option for some game situations. Remember, the Nuggets traded for JaVale McGee at the last deadline. They should sign a player with that skill set now instead of needing to once again trade for another big man to have down the stretch of the season.
Grade: C+
Minnesota Timberwolves
The Timberwolves entered the offseason with extremely limited options in terms of adding talent. Outside of trading away talent for new talent, they were pretty much set with the roster they ended last season with. They already traded away Ricky Rubio and got Taureen Prince in return. They have been very quiet since that deal.
While moves will happen at some point, they’ve already sat out the bulk of player availability due to the restrictions they have in adding salary right now. Those restrictions are explained here.
Until they join the conversation they are strictly being graded off their inactivity. While they still have exciting young talent on their roster, getting outside help would have been huge for this group. Inactivity isn’t a win for the Timberwolves.
Grade: D
Oklahoma City Thunder
The Thunder have not signed any outside free agents yet. They did agree to a five-year, $172 million maximum rookie contract extension with Shai Gilgeious-Alexander, though. Besides that move, the Thunder have used their cap space to take on contracts in trades. The Thunder received Derrick Favors and a future first-round draft pick in order to help the Utah Jazz save some money.
Mike Muscala was re-signed on a multi-year deal at 30 years old. As aggressive as the Thunder have continued to be about assets and young players, this move seemed to contradict most of their decisions. Unlike the Timberwolves, the Thunder could have been active in adding talent but they simply aren’t in that process of their plan yet. Due to inactivity in free agency, they grade lower than the sum of their decisions in general.
Grade: D
Portland Trail Blazers
The Trail Blazers are under a ton of pressure to improve quickly. Damian Lillard has handled everything in a very team-friendly way so far and deserves credit for that. It’s hard to see him restraining from making things uncomfortable if things continue on the current trajectory.
The Trail Blazers saw veterans Carmelo Anthony and Enes Kanter move on in free agency. Considering the improvements the Trail Blazers must make, letting both guys walk was smart. Cody Zeller is a solid backup center addition to play behind Jusuf Nurkic.
The Trail Blazers gave Norman Powell the big money he was due while also adding shooters from the open market. They picked up Ben McLemore and Tony Snell to deepen their roster. Unfortunately, they are being graded with what we know must be done to keep Dame long-term in mind. Their grade drops because this roster simply isn’t where it needs to be.
Grade: D+
Utah Jazz
The Jazz made it clear they are no longer a rising team in the NBA. They are among the best teams in the league, period. They deserve the respect the top-tier teams get from fans.
It would have been understandable if much of their improvements this offseason were expected to come from within. Those improvements are bonuses after they made a few strong moves to add to what was already one of the deepest teams in the entire league.
Rudy Gay brings them depth on the wing and another player who can score coming off an already great bench. Hassan Whiteside is as good of a backup they can get behind Rudy Gobert. Bringing him in helps the Jazz remove some of the struggles they faced when Gobert wasn’t on the court last season.
The Jazz did as good of a job in free agency as they possibly could have. Expect them to be one of the best teams in the Western Conference once again next season.
Grade: A
Golden State Warriors
The Warriors are going to be much stronger next season unless something goes wrong before the start of the season. Despite limited flexibility to make drastic changes in free agency they are a much-improved roster. That is due to a few things.
First, they had two lottery picks in the NBA Draft. Second, they will be getting Klay Thompson back at some point moving forward. Improvement was inevitable. In free agency, they haven’t been very active, which was expected because of their big contracts. Signing Nemanja Bjelica was a very under-the-radar move and he will fit in perfectly with what they want to do.
Wing Otto Porter Jr. was a steal for the Warriors. He is looking to rebound a bit from some down seasons recently but remains a gifted player. Both the Warriors and Porter Jr. could benefit from this relationship long-term.
Holes still exist on their roster but they got great value in Bjelica and Porter Jr. Now they will explore different ways to fill their remaining holes.
Grade: B-
Los Angeles Clippers
The Clippers got good news when they were informed Kawhi Leonard would be signing a long-term deal. That alone makes their overall offseason a big win as a franchise. In free agency, they made one of the sneakiest additions from a contender by agreeing to a deal with forward Justice Winslow.
Questions arise from the move, like how much help is he when they already feature Leonard and Paul George on the wing? Or how much can they count on him to help given his injury history?
Either way, he is a great talent. If he can get everything back where it was years ago, the Clippers may have their X-Factor. If he doesn’t get there, they have a solid bench player.
Grade: B
Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers signed a number of free agents after nearly emptying their roster in the trade for Russell Westbrook. Due to the money Westbrook makes the Lakers needed to sign impact players that would join them on minimum contracts. They also had the mid-level exception to use.
They signed well-known names that are entering the later stages of their careers like Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard and Trevor Ariza. Age concerns are very fair, to a certain extent, for this group. Although, LeBron James has taught us age is just a number in recent seasons. Where the Lakers really impressed in free agency is with their not-so-old additions.
Getting Malik Monk on the minimum is a steal and Kendrick Nunn with their exception gives them a couple of younger backcourt pieces that are both very capable scorers and shooters.
Grade: A
Phoenix Suns
The Suns are looking to avoid a fall from their surprising contender status this past season. They are off to a very good start after making the right kind of additions to ensure they are a deeper team while maintaining all of their core pieces. We won’t get into the newest Chris Paul contract here because they really did not have a choice.
The Suns added a veteran with championship experience to play behind their rising stud center Deandre Ayton. That would be JaVale McGee, who joined the team after spending the end of last season with the Nuggets. He is a perfect depth option for the Suns and even as the years go on he maintains his ability as a rim protector and rim runner.
Landry Shamet was another very nice addition and adds to the bench unit they have. He is a good shooter and has recent experience playing for a winning organization as he was with the Brooklyn Nets last season.
Grade: B
Sacramento Kings
The Kings are known to have an eye on potential big-name trade targets like Ben Simmons. While that longshot remains possible they are also working to add talent to their current group led by rising point guard De’Aaron Fox.
Their moves have been a mix of confusing and good so far in free agency. For example, retaining big man Richaun Holmes was a very good move. It was followed up by agreeing to deals that brought in two more centers. Alex Len was signed and Tristan Thompson was added in a sign and trade deal that saw the Kings move on from Delon Wright.
The good far outweighs the bad here but it’s worth noting the someone confusing priorities of the Kings so far.
Grade: B-
Dallas Mavericks
The Mavericks brought back two of their key role players that were free agents by agreeing to new deals with both Tim Hardaway Jr. and Boban Marjanovic. By trading away Josh Richardson for big man Moses Brown they had a hole to on the wing. They added two solid players in Sterling Brown and Reggie Bullock to fight for minutes this season. Bullock will bring the shooting the Mavericks expected to get from Richardson one year ago.
Grade: B-
Houston Rockets
The Rockets are not where anyone expected them to be just a year and a half ago. The rebuild is in full effect and got off to a great start when they landed the second overall pick in the NBA Draft. They selected Jalen Green with that pick.
Big man Daniel Theis was brought in as a veteran presence on the suddenly young Rockets and it is a great fit. Not only is his contract very fair for both parties he also will help young players like Green maximize their game early. He is a rolling big man that can also shoot from outside when he gets it going. They signed Theis and lost Kelly Olynyk, which is a significant upgrade for them on the court.
Grade: B+
Memphis Grizzlies
The Grizzlies made a big-time trade by sending out Jonas Valanciunas and getting back Eric Bledsoe and Steven Adams. Bledsoe and Adams will be better with the Grizzlies than they were last year with the Pelicans but both are likely overpaid. Their large contracts play a massive role in the Grizzlies lack of activity so far in free agency.
Grade: D
New Orleans Pelicans
The just mentioned Valanciunas trade is a big win for the Pelicans as they look to bounce back from multiple poor decisions last offseason. Although their other additions have been via sign and trade deals, those acted as free agent moves in one way or another. Tomas Satoransky and Garrett Temple were added because the Chicago Bulls got Lonzo Ball and the Pelicans facilitated the deal.
Obviously losing Ball is not good. The less-than-inspiring additions don’t do much at all to make up for the disappointment of losing Ball. Adding Devonte’ Graham certainly helps lessen the blow of losing Ball, though. He is a good shooter and playmaker and at a much cheaper price tag could be the better long-term fit next to Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram.
Grade: C+
San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs have been pretty active which is not a surprise. They entered free agency with a lot of financial flexibility. So far it has netted them Chandler Hutchison in a sign and trade in addition to forwards Doug McDermott and Zach Collins. Hutchinson and Collins are good upside signings that could develop into nice players long-term with the Spurs. McDermott is a lights-out shooter that got paid like one. That is great for most teams but the Spurs could likely benefit from having that $40M+ invested elsewhere.
Grade: C-
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