NBA · 1 year ago

NBA Offseason: 10 Winners Between the East and the West

John Canady

Host · Writer

San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs entered the offseason as a team that had many different avenues they could take ahead of next season. Following an impressive rookie year from Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio made it a point to surround their young star with a team that could help him take a leap in year two. But with two picks inside the top ten and plenty of cap space, the Spurs had some decisions to make. Ultimately, San Antonio elected to pick Stephon Castle out of UConn with the No. 4 overall pick in the draft while trading No. 8 overall to the Timberwolves. But Castle wasn’t the only guard the team opted to bring in, as the Spurs signed Chris Paul in free agency after the future Hall of Famer was waived by the Warriors. After signing Paul, San Antonio stayed active. He played a role in the three-team deal that sent DeRozan out West, ultimately landing two-way forward Harrison Barnes in San Antonio. Looking ahead to next year, the Spurs will have a fun mix of youth and veterans in their rotation that could help Gregg Popovich get his team back to their winning ways.

NBA Championship Odds: San Antonio Spurs +15000
NBA Offseason: Winners from the East and the West
The NBA offseason is fully underway, and every team is making moves, hoping to get one step closer to a championship. There are many moving pieces across the league, from draft night to free agency and even making moves on the trade market. These are the offseason winners in the NBA up to this point.
Orlando Magic
The Magic are fresh off one of the most promising seasons in recent years. After a first-round exit in Orlando, the young squad’s performance put confidence in the front office to make offseason moves in hopes of the Magic making some noise in the East next year. Orlando signed a big-time free agent in Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who fits perfectly for what Jamahl Mosley is trying to do on each side of the court. Aside from outside free agents, the Magic brought back and extended some of their own players, including Franz Wagner, Jonathan Isaac, Mo Wagner, and Gary Harris. Not to mention the team drafting Tristan da Silva in the NBA draft, another solid building block.

NBA Championship Odds: Orlando Magic +4000
Detroit Pistons
The Pistons entered the offseason with a new regime and plenty of cap space. After having a rough season yet again last year, Detroit decided it was time to mix things up in hopes of surrounding Cade Cunningham with talent. The Pistons managed to sign an old friend in Tobias Harris, and a sharpshooter in Malik Beasley. In addition, Trajan Langdon opted to re-sign Simone Fontecchio and bring in more offense with the acquisition of Tim Hardaway Jr. Detroit now hopes the team can bring winning basketball back to Motor City.

NBA Championship Odds: Detroit Pistons +100000
Milwaukee Bucks
The Bucks had one of the wildest years this past season. Between firing their rookie head coach, hiring Doc Rivers, and injuries to Giannis Antetokounmpo right before the beginning of the postseason, Milwaukee ended the year as a first-round exit for the second straight season. And with little cap space to work with, the Bucks knew they needed to make changes. Milwaukee signed Gary Trent Jr., Taurean Prince, and Delon Wright this offseason, hoping a mix of new faces could help them return to the promised land.

NBA Championship Odds: Milwaukee Bucks +1500
Boston Celtics
The Celtics entered the offseason with little cap space to work with. Fortunately for Boston, as the reigning champions, few moves needed to be made. With the C’s finding the right mixture of players to complete the ultimate goal, Brad Stevens opted to run it back. The Celtics were able to re-sign the majority of their free agents, including Luke Kornet, Neemias Queta, and Xavier Tillman. Boston also added one of the draft's best shooters, Baylor Scheierman, with the last pick in the first round. To top off the offseason, the Celtics extended Jayson Tatum to a long-term deal, along with Derrick White, who took a team-friendly deal to stay in Boston for the coming future. Ultimately, the Celtics remain the team to beat next year and bring back the same squad as next year solidifies that even more with continuity.

NBA Championship Odds: Boston Celtics +300
Philadelphia 76ers
After the 76ers first-round loss against the Knicks this past season, Daryl Morey pledged that Philadelphia would be aggressive this offseason and come back as one of the top teams in the East next year. And while the production has yet to be seen on paper, Morey has done just that. Philly started the offseason by drafting a talented guard, Jared McCain, from Duke in the first round of the draft. As for free agency, the Sixers managed to land the biggest fish of this offseason in Paul George while bringing in other quality rotation pieces in Caleb Martin, Andre Drummond, and Eric Gordon. In addition, the team managed to re-sign Kelly Oubre Jr. and Kyle Lowry while extending emerging star Tyrese Maxey to a long-term deal. Now, looking ahead to next season, Philadelphia has all the pieces to put together a run in hopes of dethroning the reigning champions, the Boston Celtics.

NBA Championship Odds: Philadelphia 76ers: +850
Oklahoma City Thunder
The Thunder seemingly took the league by surprise this year, with their young core taking the league by storm and clinching the top seed in the West. Oklahoma City carried their success into the postseason with a second-round exit to the Mavericks, who advanced to the NBA Finals. Nonetheless, Sam Presti managed to bolster the squad's rotation by making a deal to acquire one of the best glue players in the league, Alex Caruso. To land the Bulls guard, the Thunder sent former lottery pick Josh Giddey, who fell out of the team’s rotation in the playoffs, to Chicago in a player-for-player trade. The Thunder also managed to use their cap space to land Isaiah Hartenstein to bolster the team's frontcourt depth, allow Chet Holmgren to play a bit more positionless, and give the team more versatile lineups. The Thunder look poised to continue their success from last season and hope to get over the hump.

NBA Championship Odds: Oklahoma City Thunder +750
New York Knicks
The Knicks are another team that looked to make big moves this offseason in hopes of getting over the hump next season. After their playoff run to Game 7 of the second round despite injury woes, it gave New York’s front office the confidence to make moves this offseason. The Knicks started the offseason with a bang by trading for Mikal Bridges in a blockbuster deal to land the Nets wing. Many thought the team's move to acquire Bridges would take them out of the running to re-sign OG Anunoby, but the Knicks managed to strike a long-term extension to keep their midseason addition in New York. Reports suggest that New York is still looking to make additional moves, but as of now, the Knicks roster has the talent to be a top team in the East next year and in the league.

NBA Championship Odds: New York Knicks +900
Sacramento Kings
The Kings missed the postseason this season, just one year after clinching a playoff spot to end a 16-year drought. Entering a pivotal year for the team’s future, Sacramento was reportedly looking to make a significant addition this offseason to give De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis another difference-maker. The Kings managed to do just that by landing DeMar DeRozan in a sign-and-trade deal with the Bulls while keeping Keegan Murray and Kevin Huerter. In addition, the Kings re-signed Malik Monk to a long-term contract to play a huge role off the bench in Sac-Town for years to come. The team managed to draft one of the more talented players in the draft, Devin Carter, to give the team depth at the guard position after losing Davion Mitchell in another offseason trade. Nonetheless, the new big three of Fox, DeRozan, and Sabonis could make noise in the West next year.

NBA Championship Odds: Sacramento Kings +5000
Dallas Mavericks
Fresh off an appearance in the NBA Finals, the Mavericks looked to add more firepower to the team's roster as Dallas looks for redemption next season. The team made headlines in the offseason by acquiring Klay Thompson in a sign-and-trade deal from the Warriors to land the sharpshooter. In addition to Thompson, the Mavs signed Naji Marshall in free agency to give the team another versatile forward in the frontcourt to defend at a high level and stretch the floor. Despite losing Josh Green, the team added another young guard, Quentin Grimes, in a trade that sent Tim Hardaway Jr. to the Pistons. With the Mavericks' moves this offseason, Dallas looks to pick up where they left off in the Western Conference next season.

NBA Championship Odds: Dallas Mavericks +1000
San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs entered the offseason as a team that had many different avenues they could take ahead of next season. Following an impressive rookie year from Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio made it a point to surround their young star with a team that could help him take a leap in year two. But with two picks inside the top ten and plenty of cap space, the Spurs had some decisions to make. Ultimately, San Antonio elected to pick Stephon Castle out of UConn with the No. 4 overall pick in the draft while trading No. 8 overall to the Timberwolves. But Castle wasn’t the only guard the team opted to bring in, as the Spurs signed Chris Paul in free agency after the future Hall of Famer was waived by the Warriors. After signing Paul, San Antonio stayed active. He played a role in the three-team deal that sent DeRozan out West, ultimately landing two-way forward Harrison Barnes in San Antonio. Looking ahead to next year, the Spurs will have a fun mix of youth and veterans in their rotation that could help Gregg Popovich get his team back to their winning ways.

NBA Championship Odds: San Antonio Spurs +15000
NBA Offseason: Winners from the East and the West
The NBA offseason is fully underway, and every team is making moves, hoping to get one step closer to a championship. There are many moving pieces across the league, from draft night to free agency and even making moves on the trade market. These are the offseason winners in the NBA up to this point.

NBA Offseason: 10 Winners Between the East and the West

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