RJ Barrett has been re-signed by the New York Knicks to a long-term deal. Photo: AP.
This NBA off-season has been a stop-start affair.
There was a flurry of early moves before everything ground to a halt as the league waited with bated breath for Kevin Durant and Donovan Mitchell to be moved.
In the end, Durant performed a most dramatic U-turn (how he’ll fare rebuilding bridges with his teammates and coach will be a fascinating watch) and Mitchell was moved to a team that never appeared to be on the trade radar.
Now that those last few off-season dominoes have finally fallen, it’s time we take stock of how each and every NBA team has fared in their roster building efforts.
Today we’ll examine the Atlantic Division.
Boston Celtics: A-
The top of the Celtics roster was already stacked but their lack of depth was exposed later in the playoffs.
With minimal assets up their sleeve, general manager Brad Stevens did a sterling job adding much needed depth to this roster.
He turned a 2023 first-round pick and assorted flotsam and jetsam into Malcolm Brogdon, who complements the existing stars on this Celtics team perfectly.
He’s an ace off-ball threat who can run the point when needed, without sacrificing any size in the back court. Sure, he’s an injury risk, but Brogdon won’t be burdened with the workload that he endured as a Pacer and Buck.
Speaking of injury risks, this writer isn’t going to penalise the Celtics for Danilo Gallinari’s season-ending ACL tear – it’s just straightforward bad luck.
The veteran forward was signed with the taxpayer mid-level exception and whilst he’s a defensive liability at this point of his career, ‘Gallo’ would have provided Boston with another outstanding shooter and an upgrade on Daniel Theis as the back-up to Al Horford.
Boston has filled out its roster with various minimum-salary signings, including one-time draft day upside darlings Mfiondu Kabengele, Noah Vonleh and Bruno Caboclo, who are nothing more than break-glass-in-case-of-emergency types. If they’re seeing significant minutes come playoff time, the Celtics injury list will make for terrifying reading.
Assuming Jaylen Brown isn’t unsettled by those Durant trade rumours (they do lose half a mark for that) the Celtics have had an excellent off-season.
Brooklyn Nets: D
In theory, the Nets had a great off-season. They retained Durant and Kyrie Irving, they made some excellent moves around them with the additions of Royce O’Neal and a low-risk flyer in TJ Warren, and they kept all of their key free agents, bar Bruce Brown. In theory, they’ll even get Ben Simmons back on to the court.
But …
They also had Durant request demand that both his coach and general manager be fired, they low-balled Irving and will likely lose him at the end of the season, they overpaid for O’Neal and they lost a key structural piece in Brown.
How this all turns out for Brooklyn is anyone’s guess.
All of this turmoil could galvanise Durant and Kyrie who, alongside a resurgent Simmons, a healthy Joe Harris and a motivated supporting cast, lead the Nets to the Conference Finals or beyond.
Alternatively, Kyrie could play out the string, Durant could emotionally check out, Simmons may not take to the court, Harris may have peaked as age and injury take their toll and Patty Mills may fall away. O’Neal’s defence has already slipped and his shooting may plummet outside of Utah’s pristine offensive ecosystem.
Losing the connective ability of Brown could make for a disjointed on-court product – and that’s before we mention that the superstars have already thrown their coach under the bus.
There are just so many ways that it can go poorly for Brooklyn. There is simply no way to say that they’ve had a successful off-season.
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New York Knicks: B
How you judge the Knicks’ off-season likely depends on where you lie on the aborted Donovan Mitchell trade.
If you think Mitchell is the man that could have put the Knicks back into quasi-contention in the East, then the haul Utah wanted is worth it and Knicks key decision maker Leon Rose missed a trick.
If you believe Mitchell is a good, but not great, lead option who can’t take a team beyond the second round of the playoffs, then you probably believe that Utah’s demands were extravagant and the Knicks were right to keep their powder dry.
Whilst they ultimately didn’t swing for the fences, the Knicks did make a series of solid moves.
Jalen Brunson is probably a little overpaid but is a solid guard both on and off ball, and Isaiah Hartenstein is one of the better young role-playing centres in the NBA whose playmaking especially will surprise people.
They also, through a series of transactions, turned the 11th overall pick in this draft into three future firsts and managed to simultaneously dump Kemba Walker’s contract and clarify their centre rotation in a single trade with Detroit.
The sliding doors moment of this off-season for New York is how the young players that could/would have been involved in the Mitchell trade develop.
RJ Barrett has been re-signed long term and might be a solid second option at worst, microwave scorer Immanuel Quickley has the look of a potential Sixth Man of the Year at some point in his future, Quentin Grimes – apparently the sticking point in trade negotiations – could be a two-way gem and Obi Toppin might be another Kyle Kuzma.
On the flip side, Barrett could fail to develop beyond the inefficient scorer that he is right now, Quickley could become the sort of dime-a-dozen low-efficiency shooter that a contender simply can’t carry, Grimes could be nothing more than a solid reserve guard and Toppin might never hone his jumper to the point where he becomes a genuine three-level threat.
All in all, a solid summer’s work from the oft-maligned New York front office, though watching the development of its youngsters will be fascinating.
Philadelphia 76ers: A
This writer thought for all the world that James Harden would opt in to his $47 million player option. Instead, Harden chose to take a payout, allowing long-time collaborator Daryl Morey to rebuild the Sixers roster. If you give Morey a little wriggle room, he’ll make things happen.
Philly kicked off its retooling by acquiring De’Anthony Melton from Memphis, who brings shooting and excellent defence to the Sixers guard rotation, and then Morey went all Joliet Jake and decided to put the band back together.
So far Morey’s Mission from God has brought in former Rockets and Harden lieutenants in PJ Tucker and Danuel House (quietly pretty good amongst the tyre fire that was Utah’s playoffs last season). Frankly, it’s astonishing that Eric Gordon is yet to find his way to the Sixers.
The common theme to the Sixers off-season so far is ‘3-and-D’ role players. Whether it’s fitting in around Harden’s drive-and-kick game or Joel Embiid’s post dominance, the Sixers finally look to have a group of supporting players that will complement their stars.
If there was ever a year for the Sixers to at long last leave their mark on the NBA, this might be it.
Toronto Raptors: B-
Not one to shy away from a splashy move, Raptors GM Masai Ujiri instead kept it low key this off-season, choosing to let his impressive young core get another season under its belt.
That said, at the height of the Durant drama, Toronto was mentioned from time to time as a potential trade partner. The last time the Raptors went in for a disgruntled superstar it turned out pretty well, so the logic was understandable.
Toronto did make a solid move around the edges in bringing in veteran forward Otto Porter Jr, fresh off helping the Golden State Warriors to the title. Porter’s defensive intelligence and 6’8” frame will fit in perfectly with the Raptors interchangeable phalanx of switchable defenders.
Still just 29, despite it feeling like he’s been around forever, the career 40 per cent three-point shooter also brings some much-needed marksmanship to the Raptors.
The Raptors also fleshed out their big man rotation with the additions of budding movie star Juancho Hernangomez as a free agent and the raw but uber athletic Christian Koloko through the draft.
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