EASTERN CONFERENCE

Atlantic Division

• Boston Celtics
• Brooklyn Nets
• New York Knicks
• Philadelphia 76ers
• Toronto Raptors

Central Division

• Chicago Bulls
• Cleveland Cavaliers
• Detroit Pistons
• Indiana Pacers
• Milwaukee Bucks

Southeast Division

• Atlanta Hawks
• Charlotte Hornets
• Miami Heat
• Orlando Magic
• Washington Wizards

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Northwest Division

• Denver Nuggets
• Minnesota Timberwolves
• Oklahoma City Thunder
• Portland Trail Blazers
• Utah Jazz

Pacific Division

• Golden State Warriors
• Los Angeles Clippers
• Los Angeles Lakers
• Phoenix Suns
• Sacramento Kings

Southwest Division

• Dallas Mavericks
• Houston Rockets
• Memphis Grizzlies
• New Orleans Pelicans
• San Antonio Spurs

Free agent signings:

Note: Exhibit 9 and 10 deals aren’t included here.

• Spencer Dinwiddie: Three years, $54MM. Third year partially guaranteed. Includes $7,714,284 in unlikely incentives. Acquired via sign-and-trade.
• Raul Neto: One year, minimum salary. Re-signed using minimum salary exception.
• Cassius Winston: Two-way contract. Accepted two-way qualifying offer as restricted free agent.

Trades:

• Acquired Spencer Dinwiddie (sign-and-trade; from Nets), Kyle Kuzma (from Lakers), Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (from Lakers), Montrezl Harrell (from Lakers), Aaron Holiday (from Pacers), the draft rights to Isaiah Todd (No. 31 pick; from Pacers), and cash ($1MM; from Pacers) in a five-team trade in exchange for Russell Westbrook (to Lakers), Chandler Hutchison (to Spurs), either the Bulls’, the Lakers’, or the Pistons’ 2022 second-round pick (whichever is most favorable; to Spurs), the Bulls’ 2023 second-round pick (to Lakers), either the Wizards’ or the Grizzlies’ 2024 second-round pick (whichever is most favorable; to Nets), either the Wizards’ or Grizzlies’ 2024 second-round pick (whichever is least favorable; to Lakers), the right to swap the Warriors’ 2025 second-round pick for the Wizards’ 2025 second-round pick (to Nets), and the Wizards’ 2028 second-round pick (to Lakers).

Draft picks:

• 1-15: Corey Kispert
  • Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $16,364,407).
• 2-31: Isaiah Todd
  • Signed to four-year, $6.89MM contract. Fourth-year team option. Signed using non-taxpayer mid-level exception.

Waiver claims:

• Joel Ayayi: Two-way contract.

Contract extensions:

• Daniel Gafford: Three years, $40,182,480 (story). Team option for 2022/23 exercised as part of deal. Starts in 2023/24.

Departing players:

• Isaac Bonga
• Caleb Homesley
• Chandler Hutchison
• Alex Len
• Robin Lopez
• Garrison Mathews
• Ish Smith
• Russell Westbrook

Other offseason news:

• Hired Wes Unsled Jr. as head coach to replace Scott Brooks.
• Hired Mike Miller, Joseph Blair, Pat Delany, and Zach Guthrie as assistant coaches; lost assistant coaches Mike Longabardi, Corey Gaines, Robert Pack, Tony Brown, and Mike Terpstra.
• Thomas Bryant continues to recover from ACL surgery and will be sidelined until at least December.
• Rui Hachimura was absent from training camp for personal reasons and remains sidelined for the start of the season.

Salary cap situation:

• Remained over the cap and below the tax line.
• Carrying approximately $134.7MM in salary.
• Hard-capped at $143MM.
• $8,036,000 of non-taxpayer mid-level exception still available ($1.5MM used on Isaiah Todd).
• Full bi-annual exception ($3,732,000) still available.
• One traded player exception ($2,161,920) available.

The Wizards’ offseason:

With Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook on maximum-salary contracts and Davis Bertans earning $16MM per year, it was difficult to see how the Wizards would be able to make meaningful upgrades to their roster entering the 2021 offseason. They had limited financial flexibility to pursue free agents with all three players on the books, but they had no interest in moving Beal, and Westbrook’s and Bertans’ pricey salaries made them mediocre trade chips.

So when Westbrook approached the team with a request to be sent to the Lakers, it was something of a blessing in disguise.

It’s generally considered a disaster for a team if a star player requests a trade, and the Wizards likely would’ve felt that way if Beal had asked out. But as impressive as Westbrook was down the stretch last season when he helped lead the team to a playoff spot, a roster headlined by him and Beal almost certainly didn’t have championship upside.

Westbrook’s unwieldy contract (he was owed nearly $92MM over two years) also reduced his value — the Wizards likely would’ve had trouble getting fair value from any team besides the Lakers. Knowing LeBron James and Anthony Davis supported the move, L.A. was willing to meet Washington’s asking price. So, rather than having to try to figure out how to add a third impact player to complement their All-Star backcourt, the Wizards were able to load up on reliable role players when they dealt Westbrook to Los Angeles.

Trading a star for a handful of rotation players is another outcome that an NBA team typically tries to avoid, but it made sense for the Wizards. Last year’s roster was short on depth, and turning Westbrook’s $44MM cap hit into several mid-sized salaries will give the team more options on the trade market if Montrezl Harrell, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and/or Kyle Kuzma need to be flipped down the road.

The deal with the Lakers also netted the Wizards a first-round pick, which they flipped to Indiana in exchange for point guard Aaron Holiday and the No. 31 overall pick that became Isaiah Todd. The move allowed Washington to add more veteran depth while also taking a flier on a young prospect with some upside.

Neither Holiday nor the re-signed Raul Neto could be relied upon to take Westbrook’s place as the starting point guard, however, so the Wizards went shopping in free agency. Even after shedding Westbrook’s salary, Washington didn’t have the cap room necessary to offer more than the mid-level, but when Spencer Dinwiddie zeroed in on the idea of becoming a Wizard, the front office got creative to make it work.

Without the ability to sign Dinwiddie outright, the Wizards folded his three-year, $54MM+ deal into the agreed-upon (but not yet finalized) Westbrook and Holiday trades, negotiating sign-and-trade terms with the Nets.

When the dust settled, five teams were involved in the mega-deal, which cost the Wizards several future draft assets. In order to complete the Westbrook swap, entice the Nets to accommodate the sign-and-trade, and dump Chandler Hutchison‘s salary onto the Spurs, Washington surrendered five second-round picks and a second-round pick swap. Still, it was a win for the Wizards to be able to replace Westbrook with Dinwiddie, four solid (and reasonably priced) rotation players, and a promising rookie without giving up a first-round pick.

That five-team trade encompassed most of the Wizards’ major offseason moves, but there were a few others worth noting. The club used its own first-round pick to add some shooting, selecting Gonzaga’s Corey Kispert with the No. 15 overall selection. Kispert played four college seasons and was viewed as one of the draft’s most NBA-ready prospects, though he has gotten off to a slow start this fall.

The Wizards also locked up center Daniel Gafford to a long-term contract, picking up his minimum-salary team option for 2022/23 and then tacking three more years onto his deal. Washington’s depth chart at center is relatively crowded, with Gafford, Harrell, and Thomas Bryant (who is still recovery from ACL surgery) all in the mix, so that extension is a nice vote of confidence for Gafford, who was acquired at least season’s deadline and played well in D.C. down the stretch.

The Wizards also made a head coaching change, parting ways with Scott Brooks after five years and hiring Wes Unseld Jr. as his replacement. Unseld’s father is a franchise legend who won a championship with Washington as a player and later served as both a front office executive and head coach. However, hiring his son wasn’t just a sentimental move by the Wizards — the younger Unseld paid his dues as an assistant coach for four NBA teams over the course of 16 seasons, earning the opportunity to finally lead his own team.

The Wizards’ season:

The Wizards’ offseason moves diversified the team’s offensive attack and improved its defensive personnel. The team lacks star power – it’s hard to imagine anyone on the roster besides Beal making an All-Star team – buts its newfound depth makes it a more well-rounded group than we’ve seen in D.C. for the last few years.

As much as I liked Washington’s offseason, I still don’t view the club as a legitimate contender to come out of the East this season. Still, the early returns have been good — Unseld’s squad has an 8-3 record, tied for the top mark in the conference.

They’ll almost certainly slide down the standings a little as the season progresses, but these Wizards appear capable of at least repeating last year’s result (making the playoffs via the play-in tournament), and general manager Tommy Sheppard has more flexibility to make roster moves going forward without Westbrook’s massive cap figure on the books.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders and Spotrac was used in the creation of this post.

Free agent signings:

Note: Exhibit 9 and 10 deals aren’t included here.

• Mike Conley: Three years, $68.04MM. Third year partially guaranteed. Includes $4.5MM in unlikely incentives. Re-signed using Bird rights.
• Rudy Gay: Three years, $18.55MM. Third-year player option. Signed using taxpayer mid-level exception.
• Hassan Whiteside: One year, minimum salary. Re-signed using minimum salary exception.
• Jarrell Brantley: One year, minimum salary. Partially guaranteed ($84,414). Accepted qualifying offer as restricted free agent.
  • Note: Brantley was later waived.
• Malik Fitts: Two-way contract. Converted from Exhibit 10 contract.
• Trent Forrest: Two-way contract. Accepted two-way qualifying offer as restricted free agent.

Trades:

• Acquired either the Thunder’s, Rockets’, Pacers’, or Heat’s 2027 second-round pick (whichever is least favorable) and cash ($2MM) from the Thunder in exchange for Derrick Favors and the Jazz’s 2024 first-round pick (top-10 protected).
  • Note: The Jazz created a $7,475,379 trade exception in the deal.
• Acquired the draft rights to Jared Butler (No. 40) pick, the Grizzlies’ 2022 second-round pick, and the Grizzlies’ 2026 second-round pick from the Grizzlies in exchange for the draft rights to Santi Aldama (No. 30 pick).
• Acquired Eric Paschall from the Warriors in exchange for the Grizzlies’ 2026 second-round pick (top-42 protected).

Draft picks:

• 2-40: Jared Butler
  • Signed to two-year, minimum-salary contract. Signed using minimum salary exception.

Contract extensions:

• None

Departing players:

• Jarrell Brantley
• Derrick Favors
• Ersan Ilyasova
• Juwan Morgan
• Georges Niang
• Matt Thomas

Other offseason news:

• Promoted general manager Justin Zanik to head of basketball operations.
• Executive vice president of basketball operations Dennis Lindsey transitioned to advisory role
• Rudy Gay underwent offseason surgery on his right heel and remains sidelined to open the regular season.
• Hired Erdem Can and Irv Roland as assistant coaches.

Salary cap situation:

• Remained over the cap and below the tax line.
• Carrying approximately $153MM in salary.
• Used full taxpayer mid-level exception ($5.89MM) to sign Rudy Gay.
• Would need to shed salary to use more than taxpayer portion of mid-level exception or any part of bi-annual exception ($3,732,000), since doing either would create a $143MM hard cap.
• One traded player exception ($7,475,379) available.

The Jazz’s offseason:

The 2020/21 season represented Utah’s best chance in over a decade to make a serious playoff run. The Jazz posted the league’s best regular season record (52-20) and, after dispatching the Grizzlies in the first round of the postseason, they faced a Clippers team that lost its best player – Kawhi Leonard – to a season-ending knee injury in Game 4, with the series tied at two games apiece.

The Jazz, who had a couple banged-up starters in their own right, couldn’t take advantage of the golden opportunity, dropping the next two games to the Kawhi-less Clippers to bring their season to an end.

It was a discouraging finish, but a promising season overall for the Jazz, whose top six most-used players remained under contract for 2021/22, providing a solid starting point for this season’s roster.

Although Utah didn’t have to worry about bringing back stars like Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, the team was facing a bit of a cap crunch. Re-signing Mike Conley and Georges Niang while retaining all of last year’s roster would have put team salary way over the luxury tax line, and while new owner Ryan Smith was willing to become a taxpayer, he wasn’t quite prepared to spend like the Warriors or Nets.

In order to keep the payroll in check, the Jazz made some tough decisions. Conley was a crucial part of the club’s success last season and had to be re-signed, but Niang was allowed to walk, while Derrick Favors was attached to a protected future first-round pick and sent to Oklahoma City in a salary-dump trade.

The Favors trade put the Jazz in a better financial position to give Conley a three-year deal worth about $68MM, plus incentives. It’s a steep price to pay for a point guard who turned 34 in October, but it cost Utah less to lock him up than it cost the Suns and Heat to sign Chris Paul and Kyle Lowry, who are older, or the Bulls to sign Lonzo Ball, who is less accomplished. Conley’s third year also isn’t fully guaranteed, so the Jazz will have an exit ramp if they need one.

With Conley back and Favors and Niang gone, fortifying the frontcourt was a top priority for the Jazz. The team addressed that need by using the full taxpayer mid-level exception to add forward Rudy Gay, signing center Hassan Whiteside to a minimum-salary contract, and acquiring forward Eric Paschall in a minor trade with Golden State.

Gay is an especially intriguing addition. Like Niang, he has the size to match up against bigger opposing forwards. Unlike Niang, Gay has the ability to create his own shot on offense, giving Utah another weapon alongside Mitchell, Conley, and Bojan Bogdanovic. Gay is recovering from offseason heel surgery and has yet to suit up for the Jazz, but he looks like a nice fit. He’ll likely cut into Paschall’s minutes once he’s ready to play.

In replacing Favors with Whiteside, the Jazz acknowledged that they don’t need to spend big on a big man who is essentially just there to back up Gobert. Whiteside isn’t the star that his numbers in Miami and Portland might’ve suggested, but as long as he’s willing to accept a modest role and buy into a team-first philosophy, he’s perfectly capable of providing 15 or 20 productive minutes per game, especially going up against second-stringers.

The Jazz saved a little more money and acquired some future assets by moving down from No. 30 to No. 40 on draft night. The deal netted Utah a pair of future second-round picks (one was flipped to the Warriors for Paschall) and allowed them to fill out the roster with a minimum-salary player instead of a first-rounder who would earn $2MM as a rookie. And by all accounts, Jared Butler – the prospect the club selected at No. 40 – was the same player Utah was eyeing at No. 30.

Butler, originally viewed as a potential mid first-round pick, slipped down draft boards due to reported concerns about his knees and a heart condition. However, he received full clearance from the NBA’s Fitness to Play panel, and the Jazz loved what they saw from the former Baylor star in training camp. He may not get to play much on a veteran-heavy team with title aspirations, but Butler has a good deal of upside for a mid second-rounder.

The other major development in Utah this offseason was the demotion of longtime head of basketball operations Dennis Lindsey, with general manager Justin Zanik taking the reins. The move didn’t necessarily represent a significant change in direction for the organization, given that Zanik had worked under Lindsey for several years. But it was certainly looked like a vote of confidence in head coach Quin Snyder, who reportedly had a “long-running disconnect” with Lindsey.

The Jazz’s season:

I wrote above that last season was Utah’s best chance in a long time to make a deep playoff run. But this year’s team might be even better. Barring injuries, there’s no reason not to expect the Jazz to finish the 2021/22 campaign with one of the NBA’s best records, and they’ll be a very tough out in the playoffs.

Until the Jazz break through, there will be questions about Mitchell’s ability to be a No. 1 option on a championship team, about Gobert’s ability to make the sort of impact in the playoffs that he does in the regular season, and about the team’s ability to slow down offensive initiators with size, like LeBron James and Paul George. Utah will be motivated to answer all those questions this spring.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders and Spotrac was used in the creation of this post.

Free agent signings:

Note: Exhibit 9 and 10 deals aren’t included here.

• Gary Trent Jr.: Three years, $51.84MM. Third-year player option. Includes $750K in unlikely incentives. Re-signed as restricted free agent using Bird rights.
• Khem Birch: Three years, $20MM. Re-signed using non-taxpayer mid-level exception.
• Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk: Two years, minimum salary. Second-year player option. Signed using minimum salary exception.
• Ishmail Wainright: Two years, minimum salary. First year partially guaranteed ($250K). Second year partially guaranteed ($125K). Signed using minimum salary exception.
  • Note: Wainright was later waived.
• Isaac Bonga: One year, minimum salary. Partially guaranteed ($200K). Signed using minimum salary exception.
• Sam Dekker: One year, minimum salary. Partially guaranteed ($350K). Signed using minimum salary exception.
• Justin Champagnie: Two-way contract.

Trades:

• Acquired Goran Dragic and Precious Achiuwa from the Heat in exchange for Kyle Lowry (sign-and-trade).

Draft picks:

• 1-4: Scottie Barnes
  • Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $33,064,660).
• 2-46: Dalano Banton
  • Signed to two-year, minimum-salary contract. Second year partially guaranteed. Signed using minimum salary exception.
• 2-47: David Johnson
  • Signed to two-way contract.

Contract extensions:

• None

Departing players:

• Aron Baynes
• DeAndre’ Bembry
• Freddie Gillespie
• Jalen Harris
• Rodney Hood
• Stanley Johnson
• Kyle Lowry
• Paul Watson

Other offseason news:

• Signed president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri to contract extension and promoted him to vice chairman.
• Hired Nate Bjorkgren, Earl Watson, and Trevor Gleeson as assistant coaches; lost assistant coaches Sergio Scariolo and Jama Mahlalela.
• Being investigated by NBA for possible gun-jumping violation in Kyle Lowry sign-and-trade.
• Received clearance to resume playing home games in Toronto after spending 2020/21 season in Tampa.

Salary cap situation:

• Remained over the cap and below the tax line.
• Carrying approximately $136.3MM in salary.
• Hard-capped at $143MM.
• $3,186,000 of non-taxpayer mid-level exception still available ($6.35MM used on Khem Birch).
• Full bi-annual exception ($3,732,000) still available.
• Three traded player exceptions available, including one worth $4.8MM.

The Raptors’ offseason:

Kawhi Leonard left Toronto during the 2019 offseason and both Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka departed a year later, but it wasn’t until 2021 that it felt like the Raptors began a new era in earnest. Having gone 53-19 in 2019/20, a year after winning its title, the team fell off a cliff in a ’20/21 season spent far from home.

The Raptors’ slide down the standings can be blamed on a handful of factors that go beyond having to play their home games in Tampa — injury issues and a midseason COVID-19 outbreak didn’t help matters, and the club’s inability to adequately replace Gasol’s and Ibaka’s production at center played a part. Regardless of the reason for it, Toronto’s ’20/21 collapse opened the door for president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri to retool the roster.

That retooling process began with a 10-28 finish to the season, which bumped the Raptors to seventh place in the NBA’s lottery standings. Some good fortune on lottery night resulted in the team climbing a few spots higher and securing the No. 4 overall pick. While that selection didn’t give the Raps an opportunity to draft Cade Cunningham, Jalen Green, or Evan Mobley, it put them in a great position to nab a potential All-Star from what was considered a four-player top tier.

However, the Raptors disagreed with the conventional wisdom that slotted Gonzaga guard Jalen Suggs alongside those top three prospects. Ujiri and company passed on Suggs in favor of Scottie Barnes, a promising young forward who was viewed as a talented, versatile defender whose offensive game remained quite raw.

It might take years to determine with certainty whether the Raptors made the right call by taking Barnes over Suggs, but fans disappointed by the selection on July 29 have to like the early returns — the 20-year-old Barnes has averaged 16.6 PPG and 8.7 RPG on 52.4% shooting in his first nine NBA games, and his defense has been as good as advertised, if not better.

As one potential cornerstone arrived in Toronto, another departed. After earning six All-Star nods and a title during his nine years with the Raptors, Kyle Lowry decided to move on and maximize his remaining years by joining a team closer to title contention. Toronto accommodated a sign-and-trade deal that sent Lowry to Miami.

If the Heat hadn’t been confident in the Raptors’ willingness to play ball on a sign-and-trade, they could’ve declined Goran Dragic‘s team option and made some other small moves that allowed them to open up the cap space necessary to sign Lowry outright. In that scenario, the Raptors would’ve been able to create some cap room of their own rather than taking on Dragic’s expiring $19MM+ contract in the Lowry sign-and-trade.

Operating over the cap allowed Toronto to acquire Precious Achiuwa along with Dragic in exchange for Lowry, then to use part of the mid-level exception to re-sign Khem Birch. If the Raptors had instead gone under the cap and simply let Lowry walk, they could have made a competitive offer for a big man like Richaun Holmes (they could’ve outbid the Kings), then tried to re-sign Birch using the room exception (their offer would’ve been limited to about two years and $10MM, rather than $20MM over three years).

Of course, there’s no guarantee that Holmes would’ve wanted to come to Toronto or that Birch would’ve accepted a little less to remain with the Raptors, but it’s an intriguing “what if.” The Raps made a big bet on Achiuwa, and perhaps are counting on Dragic to maintain enough value to make him a useful trade chip rather than just a buyout candidate.

Outside of the Lowry sign-and-trade and the Barnes pick, the Raptors’ most notable transaction was re-signing restricted free agent Gary Trent Jr. to a three-year, $51MM+ contract that includes a third-year player option.

The terms of that deal were a little surprising. Of the reliable rotation players available in free agency this offseason, few – if any – were younger than Trent (22), so Toronto’s decision to negotiate a contract that allows him to reach unrestricted free agency at age 24 was curious. It will be interesting to see whether or not that deal ultimately works out better for the Raptors than a longer-term commitment would’ve.

The Raptors filled out their roster with minimum-salary players and second-round picks. Among those, the most noteworthy additions were Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, a solid sharpshooter who had a down year but had still made 36.2% of his career 3-pointers entering this season, and Dalano Banton, a second-round pick out of Nebraska whom ESPN’s Jonathan Givony described as “one of the more unique players in college basketball” due to his combination of size (6’9″) and play-making abilities.

Finally, you could make a case that the biggest news of the Raptors’ offseason wasn’t related to player movement at all — it was the extension and promotion the organization awarded Ujiri. The cost was significant – Ujiri will reportedly earn a $15MM salary and can receive incentives based on the franchise’s value continuing to increase – but it looks like a worthwhile investment for one of the most talented executives in the sport.

The Raptors’ season:

Even with Leonard, Lowry, Gasol, and Ibaka gone, the Raptors still have a couple key pieces from their 2019 title team still on the roster, in Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam. OG Anunoby, who didn’t contribute to that championship run for health reasons, has taken a huge step forward over the last couple years, Trent is a reliable rotation player, and Barnes looks ready to contribute immediately.

If the Raptors can get decent production out of some combination of Achiuwa, Birch, and Boucher up front, and a few of the reserves step up and provide consistent minutes, there’s enough talent here to make Toronto a playoff team.

Still, this roster as constructed doesn’t look like a great bet to make a run in the postseason, so the priorities this season should be developing Barnes and assessing how the club’s top three forwards (Siakam, Anunoby, and Barnes) fit together. While earning at least a play-in spot is certainly a realistic and achievable goal, the Raptors are probably still at least a year or two away from making any real noise in the East.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders and Spotrac was used in the creation of this post.

Free agent signings:

Note: Exhibit 9 and 10 deals aren’t included here.

• Doug McDermott: Three years, $41.25MM. Includes $750K in unlikely incentives. Acquired via sign-and-trade.
• Zach Collins: Three years, $22.05MM. Second year partially guaranteed. Third year non-guaranteed. Signed using cap room.
• Bryn Forbes: One year, $4.5MM. Signed using room exception.
• Keita Bates-Diop: Two years, minimum salary. Second year non-guaranteed. Signed using minimum salary exception.
• Jock Landale: Two years, minimum salary. Second year non-guaranteed. Signed using minimum salary exception.

Trades:

• Acquired Chandler Hutchison (from Wizards) and either the Bulls’, the Lakers’, or the Pistons’ 2022 second-round pick (whichever is most favorable; from Wizards) in a five-team trade in exchange for the draft rights to Nikola Milutinov (to Nets).
• Acquired Doug McDermott (sign-and-trade), the Pacers’ 2023 second-round pick (top-55 protected), and the right to swap their own 2026 second-round pick for either the Pacers’ or the Heat’s 2026 second-round pick (whichever is least favorable) from the Pacers in exchange for the Spurs’ 2023 second-round pick (top-55 protected).
• Acquired Thaddeus Young, Al-Farouq Aminu, the Bulls’ 2025 first-round pick (top-10 protected), either the Pistons’ or Bulls’ 2022 second-round pick (whichever is most favorable), and the Bulls’ 2025 second-round pick from the Bulls in exchange for DeMar DeRozan (sign-and-trade).
  • Note: If the Bulls don’t convey their 2023 first-round pick (top-four protected) to Orlando in 2023, the first-round pick they send the Spurs will be pushed back until at least 2026.
  • Note: The Spurs already had the ability to swap the Lakers’ 2022 second-round pick for either the Pistons’ or Bulls’ 2022 second-round pick (whichever is most favorable). Now they’ll receive the Lakers’ pick and the most favorable of the Pistons’ and Bulls’ picks.
  • Note: Aminu was later waived.

Draft picks:

• 1-12: Joshua Primo
  • Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $18,415,445).
• 2-41: Joe Wieskamp
  • Signed to two-way contract.

Waiver claims:

• Devontae Cacok: Exhibit 10 contract. Converted to two-way contract after being claimed.

Contract extensions:

• None

Departing players:

• DeMar DeRozan
• Gorgui Dieng
• Rudy Gay
• DaQuan Jeffries
• Trey Lyles
• Patty Mills
• Luka Samanic
• Quinndary Weatherspoon

Other offseason news:

• Hired Manu Ginobili as special advisor to basketball operations.
• Hired Matt Nielsen as assistant coach; lost assistant coach Will Hardy.

Salary cap situation:

• Went under the cap, used their cap room, then used the room exception.
• Carrying approximately $117.9MM in salary.
• Hard-capped at $143MM.
• $410,000 of room exception still available ($4.5MM used on Bryn Forbes).

The Spurs’ offseason:

It’s been more than two decades since the Spurs have needed to rebuild, but it appears the youth movement is now fully underway in San Antonio. The veteran core that led the team to the play-in tournament last season is gone, and the roster is constructed around a promising group of 25-and-under players.

The transformation began last winter when San Antonio shut down and eventually reached a buyout agreement with LaMarcus Aldridge, who was the starting center for the first half of the season. DeMar DeRozan, Rudy Gay, and Patty Mills all departed in free agency over the offseason, speeding up the transition to a younger group.

Gregg Popovich, the league’s oldest and longest-tenured head coach, has welcomed the opportunity to start teaching again after so many years of having a veteran-laden team. The Spurs are now led by 25-year-old Dejounte Murray, who leads the team in points, assists and steals through the early part of the season; 22-year-old Keldon Johnson, who earned a spot on the U.S. Olympic team; and 25-year-old Jakob Poeltl, whose strong play last season led to the decision to part with Aldridge.

The Spurs spent the summer searching for players to complement their young nucleus. They added a sharpshooter by acquiring Doug McDermott from the Pacers in a sign-and-trade deal that didn’t cost them any assets besides cap room. McDermott is a career 40.7% shooter from three-point range who should help stretch opposing defenses and provide plenty of driving lanes for San Antonio’s guards.

More shooting came through a reunion with Bryn Forbes, who played a role off the bench for the champion Bucks last year after spending his first four NBA seasons in San Antonio. Forbes, whose modest $4.5MM deal fit into the room exception, is another deadly outside threat, connecting at 41.2% for his career from beyond the arc.

The Spurs gambled on former Trail Blazers big man Zach Collins, who has been through multiple foot surgeries over the past two years and was limited to a combined 11 games in that time. Collins agreed to a three-year, $22MM contract, but the only guarantees are $7MM for the first season and half of his $7.35MM salary in the second season. The team hopes Collins will be ready to start playing sometime after Christmas.

The other significant offseason addition was Thaddeus Young, who was part of the return in the sign-and-trade that sent DeRozan to Chicago. Now in his 15th NBA season, the 33-year-old power forward brings a touch of veteran leadership to the roster and figures to be in demand at the February trade deadline.

Al-Farouq Aminu, who was acquired from the Bulls in the same deal, was waived before the start of the season, despite having a guaranteed $10MM+ salary. The Spurs also opted to part with Luka Samanic, whom they took with the 19th pick in the 2019 draft. He’s only 21, but San Antonio had more than 15 players with guaranteed contracts in camp and Samanic didn’t produce enough in his two years with the organization.

The Spurs provided one of the surprises of this year’s lottery, using the 12th pick on Alabama guard Joshua Primo, who was the youngest player in the draft. Primo has already been assigned to the G League and may spend much of the season there so he can get regular playing time and develop his skills.

With the 41st pick, San Antonio drafted Iowa guard Joe Wieskamp, another shooting specialist. He has also been sent to the G League, and like Primo, is considered more of a long-term prospect than someone who will help right away.

The Spurs’ season:

The Spurs reaching the playoffs used to be the safest bet in sports — they got there in a record 22 consecutive seasons. Those days are gone now, as the rebuilding team that may be a long shot to return to the play-in tournament. Instead of molding a title contender, Popovich will focus on developing his youngsters and paving the way for the next era of Spurs basketball.

The Spurs have drafted well over the years and have plenty of talent on the roster. Derrick White, Devin Vassell and Lonnie Walker IV are other intriguing members of the young core, and San Antonio has plenty of roster flexibility, with no player earning more this season than Murray’s $15.4MM salary.

The most pressing question about the Spurs’ future is how much longer Popovich plans to be part of it. With his 73rd birthday looming in January, he’s already the oldest coach in NBA history and he accomplished a major career goal over the summer when he led Team USA to an Olympic gold medal.

There have been conflicting rumors about Popovich’s plans for the future, but the latest report indicates the Spurs are expecting him to step down within the next two years. Before that happens, he almost certainly will pick up the 23 victories he needs to become the all-time leader in coaching wins. Popovich may not coach another title contender before he leaves, but he can develop some of the players that could eventually take San Antonio to that level again.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders and Spotrac was used in the creation of this post. Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Free agent signings:

Note: Exhibit 9 and 10 deals aren’t included here.

• Richaun Holmes: Four years, $46.52MM. Fourth-year player option. 15% trade kicker. Re-signed using Early Bird rights.
• Maurice Harkless: Two years, $8.91MM. Re-signed using Non-Bird rights.
• Terence Davis: Two years, $8MM. Re-signed as restricted free agent using Early Bird rights.
• Alex Len: Two years, $7.65MM. Signed using mid-level exception.

Trades:

• Acquired Tristan Thompson from the Celtics in a three-team trade in exchange for Delon Wright (sent to Hawks).

Draft picks:

• 1-9: Davion Mitchell
  • Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $20,951,517).
• 2-39: Neemias Queta
  • Signed to two-way contract.

Contract extensions:

• None

Departing players:

• Kyle Guy
• Justin James
• Hassan Whiteside
• Delon Wright

Other offseason news:

• Team owner Vivek Ranadivé bought out shares of multiple minority stakeholders.
• Hired Doug Christie and Mike Longabardi as assistant coaches; lost assistant coaches Rex Kalamian and Jesse Mermuys.

Salary cap situation:

• Remained over the cap and below the tax line.
• Carrying approximately $130.4MM in salary.
• $5,804,000 of non-taxpayer mid-level exception still available ($3,732,000 used on Alex Len).
• Full bi-annual exception ($3,732,000) still available.
• Two traded player exceptions available, including one worth $3.6MM.

The Kings’ offseason:

The most notable aspects of the Kings’ offseason were the things they didn’t do. They tried to pull off a blockbuster deal with the Lakers involving Buddy Hield, who had just completed the first year of a four-year, $94MM contract extension. However, Los Angeles shifted gears when Russell Westbrook became available and moved some of the pieces that may have gone to Sacramento — including Kyle Kuzma and Montrezl Harrell — to Washington.

The Kings also explored trades for colossally disappointing Marvin Bagley III, the No. 2 pick of the 2018 draft. They couldn’t move the oft-injured Bagley, then declined to pursue a rookie scale extension with the young big. He’s currently buried on Luke Walton’s bench.

Re-signing center Richaun Holmes was a priority, but heading into free agency it was anticipated that the Kings would be priced out of his market. Speculation was that Holmes would command between $15-$20MM annually, so Sacramento was pleasantly surprised to retain his services for four more seasons at less than $12MM per year.

Defense-oriented veteran wing Maurice Harkless re-signed at a reasonable price and Sacramento retained young shooting guard Terence Davis, who was acquired from Toronto for a second-round pick prior to last season’s trade deadline.

The Kings also brought back center Alex Len for a second stint. Len was with the club during the 201920 season. He and Tristan Thompson will provide depth in the middle behind Holmes.

Thompson was the only player Sacramento wound up acquiring via the trade route — his expiring $9.72MM contract may be more valued by the front office than whatever he’ll add on the court.

Draft night produced Sacramento’s biggest offseason addition. The Kings surprised a lot of people by adding Baylor star Davion Mitchell to their backcourt with the No. 9 pick. Mitchell’s perimeter defense and winner’s mentality were coveted by an organization lacking in both areas. His ability to distribute the ball and knock down 3-pointers added to his appeal.

The Kings’ season:

In an ironic twist, the Kings are trying to end their 15-year postseason drought by emphasizing continuity. Walton is in his third year as head coach and the club has a quality, youthful backcourt rotation led by De’Aaron Fox, Tyrese Haliburton and rookie Mitchell. Re-signing Holmes provided some stability to the big man rotation.

A trip to the playoffs should certainly be the expectation for this group, since it’s had ample time to build chemistry. Finding a new home for Bagley would be a bonus — the current situation doesn’t seem particularly healthy for either party. A strong season from Hield, who has become a high-priced sixth man, is also a necessary ingredient for a playoff push. Sacramento thus far is off to a 4-4 start with Harrison Barnes showing signs that he might have a career year.

If the Kings come up short again, there will certainly be many more changes made next offseason, or perhaps even before this season’s trade deadline if things go sour this winter.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders and Spotrac was used in the creation of this post. Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Free agent signings:

Note: Exhibit 9 and 10 deals aren’t included here.

• Norman Powell: Five years, $90MM. Re-signed using Bird rights.
• Ben McLemore: One year, minimum salary. Signed using minimum salary exception.
• Tony Snell: One year, minimum salary. Signed using minimum salary exception.
• Cody Zeller: One year, minimum salary. Signed using minimum salary exception.
• Dennis Smith Jr.: One year, minimum salary. Non-guaranteed. Signed using minimum salary exception.
• Keljin Blevins: Two-way contract.
• Trendon Watford: Two-way contract.

Trades:

• Acquired the draft rights to Greg Brown (No. 43 pick) from the Pelicans in exchange for the Trail Blazers’ 2026 second-round pick and cash ($2MM).
• Acquired Larry Nance Jr. from the Cavaliers in a three-team trade in exchange for Derrick Jones (to Bulls) and the Trail Blazers’ 2022 first-round pick (top-14 protected; to Bulls).

Draft picks:

• 2-43: Greg Brown
  
  • Signed to three-year, minimum-salary contract. First two years guaranteed. Third year non-guaranteed. Signed using mid-level exception.

Contract extensions:

• None

Departing players:

• Carmelo Anthony
• Zach Collins
• Harry Giles
• Rondae Hollis-Jefferson
• Derrick Jones
• Enes Kanter
• T.J. Leaf

Other offseason news:

• Hired Chauncey Billups as head coach to replace Terry Stotts.
• Hired Scott Brooks, Roy Rogers, Steve Hetzel, and Edniesha Curry as assistant coaches; lost assistant coaches Nate Tibbetts, Jannero Pargo, Jim Moran, and John McCullough.
• Newly-hired assistant coach Milt Palacio placed on administrative leave after being accused of defrauding the NBA’s health and welfare benefit plan.

Salary cap situation:

• Remained over the cap and above the tax line.
• Carrying approximately $139.6MM in salary.
• $4,964,742 of taxpayer mid-level exception still available ($925,258 used on Greg Brown).
• Would need to shed salary to use more than taxpayer portion of mid-level exception or any part of bi-annual exception ($3,732,000), since doing either would create a $143MM hard cap.
• One traded player exception ($1,663,861) available.

The Trail Blazers’ offseason:

The addition of Norman Powell at the 2021 trade deadline put the Trail Blazers in position to make some noise in the playoffs — the five-man lineup of Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, Robert Covington, Jusuf Nurkic, and Powell was one of the NBA’s best down the stretch, and the Blazers drew a fairly favorable first-round matchup, facing a Nuggets team that was missing Jamal Murray.

However, the Blazers couldn’t get past Denver, sending them back to the drawing board this summer. The disappointing finish to Portland’s season also prompted Lillard to do some summer soul searching.

The six-time All-Star professed his loyalty to Portland over and over again during his first nine years in the NBA, but a frustrating 2020/21 season made him question that commitment, if not for the first time then at least more seriously than he has in the past. For several weeks, it seemed as if Lillard might be on the verge of requesting a trade, especially since the Blazers didn’t exactly swing for the fences with their moves in free agency.

Lillard ultimately decided he wanted to remain in Portland, in large part due to the one major change the team did make in the offseason. After parting ways with longtime head coach Terry Stotts, the Blazers chose first-time head coach Chauncey Billups as his replacement.

The move initially received significant push-back from a number fans in Portland due to a perception that the Blazers didn’t look into a 1997 sexual assault case involving Billups as thoroughly as they should have. President of basketball operations Neil Olshey was cagey about the team’s investigation, simply asking fans to trust the organization’s findings and its belief that Billups hadn’t engaged in any wrongdoing.

Despite that shaky start to the Billups era, the team ultimately weathered the PR storm and the new head coach quickly established a strong connection with Lillard, who recommitted to the Blazers after weighing his options for much of the summer.

Of course, Lillard’s decision to stick with Portland came with a caveat — he wants to make sure the front office is doing all it can to build a roster capable of competing for a title. That led to speculation that the capped-out Blazers might make a major splash in the trade market this offseason, perhaps moving McCollum or Nurkic.

Instead, the team was relatively quiet in July and early August, signing Cody Zeller, Tony Snell, and Ben McLemore to minimum-salary contracts while parting ways with free agents like Carmelo Anthony, Enes Kanter, and Zach Collins. The only major move the Blazers made at that point of the offseason was an expected one — they committed to a lucrative new five-year deal for Powell, using his Bird rights to pay him $18MM per year over the course of the contract.

Zeller, Snell, and McLemore are solid veterans, and there was a sense that moving on from offense-first players like Anthony and Kanter might help shore up a defense that ranked 29th in the NBA in 2020/21. Still, it felt like an underwhelming offseason for a front office under pressure to show Lillard it was serious about winning. Even if Billups could make a positive impact, he wasn’t taking over a championship-caliber roster.

Just when it looked like the Blazers’ offseason was over, Olshey ventured into the trade market, getting involved in a three-team trade with the Bulls and Cavaliers in order to land Larry Nance Jr. from Cleveland in exchange for Derrick Jones‘ expiring contract and a lottery-protected first-round pick.

It was a nice bit of business for Olshey and the Blazers. Nance isn’t a star, but he’s an underrated two-way contributor who is on a team-friendly contract (two years, $20.4MM). He gives the team another reliable rotation player who brings plenty of energy and doesn’t need the ball in his hands to be effective. While Nance may not be the missing piece for a title, he increases Portland’s floor and ceiling for the 2021/22 season.

The Trail Blazers’ season:

The Blazers are off to an underwhelming 3-5 start this fall, but their underlying numbers look a little better than that (they have a positive net rating) and Lillard is mired in a shooting slump that presumably won’t last too much longer.

When the dust settles, I expect Portland to finish somewhere in the neighborhood of where they did last season, when they claimed the sixth spot in the Western Conference and were tied with both the fifth- and seventh-place teams.

As that result showed, there’s little margin for error in the West, so the Blazers will need a couple of their bench players – perhaps youngsters Anfernee Simons and Nassir Little – to step up and complement a strong starting five if the team hopes to clinch a playoff spot without going through the play-in tournament.

It’s easy to write the Blazers off as first-round playoff fodder for the conference’s more dangerous teams, but it’s worth noting that Portland made the Western Conference Finals just two years ago in 2019. The team still has enough talent to a win a playoff series or two if everything breaks right. If everything goes wrong, Lillard’s future could become a hot topic again in 2022.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders and Spotrac was used in the creation of this post.

Free agent signings:

Note: Exhibit 9 and 10 deals aren’t included here.

• Chris Paul: Four years, $120MM. Third year partially guaranteed. Fourth year non-guaranteed. Re-signed using Bird rights.
• Cameron Payne: Three years, $19MM. Third year partially guaranteed. Re-signed using Early Bird rights.
• JaVale McGee: One year, $5MM. Signed using non-taxpayer mid-level exception.
• Abdel Nader: Two years, $4.16MM. Second-year team option. Re-signed using Bird rights.
• Frank Kaminsky: One year, minimum salary. Re-signed using minimum salary exception.
• Elfrid Payton: One year, minimum salary. Signed using minimum salary exception.
• Chandler Hutchison: Two-way contract.

Trades:

• Acquired Landry Shamet from the Nets in exchange for Jevon Carter and the draft rights to Day’Ron Sharpe (No. 29 pick).

Draft picks:

• None

Contract extensions:

• Mikal Bridges: Four years, $90,000,000. Starts in 2022/23.
• Landry Shamet: Four years, $42,500,000. Includes non-guaranteed third year and fourth-year team option. Starts in 2022/23.

Departing players:

• Ty-Shon Alexander
• Jevon Carter
• Torrey Craig
• Langston Galloway
• E’Twaun Moore

Other offseason news:

• Hired Bryan Gates, Michael Ruffin, and Jarrett Jack as assistant coaches; lost assistant coach Willie Green.
• Parted ways with senior vice president of basketball operations Jeff Bower.
• Dario Saric continues to recover from a torn ACL and is expected to miss most or all of the season.
• Were unable to reach a contract extension agreement with Deandre Ayton.

Salary cap situation:

• Remained over the cap and below the tax line.
• Carrying approximately $128.4MM in salary.
• $4,536,000 of non-taxpayer mid-level exception still available ($5MM used on JaVale McGee).
• Full bi-annual exception ($3,732,000) still available.

The Suns’ offseason:

Phoenix’s 8-0 run during the 2020 summer restart at Walt Disney World portended the team’s jump in the standings in 2020/21, but even the most optimistic of Suns fans must have been pleasantly surprised by just how successful a season it was.

After finishing below .500 for six consecutive years and missing the playoffs for an entire decade, the Suns put up the second-best regular season record in the NBA (51-21) and knocked off the Lakers in the first round of the playoffs, then just kept winning. Phoenix ultimately got within two games of the title before being stopped by the Bucks.

The Suns benefited from a little injury luck during their 2021 playoff run, but their success wasn’t a mirage — this is a deep, talented roster, and the club’s offseason moves reflected a desire to keep the group intact.

That meant re-signing Chris Paul, even if the idea of committing four years and $120MM to a 36-year-old may have been hard to swallow for team owner Robert Sarver. Fortunately for the Suns, only the first two years of that contract are fully guaranteed, which means that even if Paul’s performance drops off a cliff in the next year or two, it should never become a major albatross.

For comparison’s sake, CP3’s new deal includes less total guaranteed money ($75MM) than John Wall was still owed ($91.7MM) at the time the Rockets shut him down indefinitely earlier this year, and about the same amount ($74MM) that Kemba Walker was owed when he reached a buyout agreement with the Thunder.

The Suns locked up three more of their own free agents, re-signing Cameron Payne, Abdel Nader, and Frank Kaminsky. Nader and Kaminsky will play modest roles, but bringing back Payne as Paul’s backup following his career resurgence was crucial. Securing him to a new deal helped allow Phoenix to package its third-string point guard – Jevon Carter – with a first-round pick in a deal for another floor-spacing wing, Landry Shamet.

Carter is a solid defender, but reliable outside shooters like Shamet are harder to come by in today’s NBA, and the win-now Suns were unlikely to draft an immediate contributor with the No. 29 pick, so the deal made sense — especially since Phoenix was able to replace Carter on the depth chart by signing another defensive specialist, Elfrid Payton, to a minimum-salary contract.

The Suns’ other notable outside free agent addition was JaVale McGee, a solid veteran center who can help Deandre Ayton match up with star big men like Nikola Jokic, Anthony Davis, and Rudy Gobert in the playoffs.

Phoenix’s offseason signings didn’t push team salary for 2021/22 into tax territory, but the club projects to be a taxpayer starting in ’22/23. That knowledge informed many of the team’s remaining roster moves.

For instance, the Suns were unwilling to exercise Jalen Smith‘s 2022/23 team option after having drafted him with the 10th overall pick less than a year ago. There has simply been no room in the rotation for Smith since he arrived in Phoenix, and the club clearly didn’t expect that to change much going forward. Rather than paying Smith a $4.67MM salary in ’22/23, the team will likely sign a minimum-salary player next year to be that emergency big man off the bench.

The Suns also didn’t complete a rookie scale extension for Ayton, a former No. 1 overall pick, despite the fact that so many other members of his draft class (a record-setting 11) got new deals. Ayton’s camp reportedly refused to entertain anything less than a five-year, maximum-salary contract, which Phoenix was unwilling to offer.

Waiting until restricted free agency to work something out with Ayton is a risky move for the Suns, since it opens the door to some less desirable outcomes. Phoenix may have to match an offer sheet that features a trade kicker and an early opt-out. There’s even a chance Ayton could accept his one-year qualifying offer, putting him on track for unrestricted free agency in 2023.

But the franchise appeared more comfortable taking those risks than making such a significant financial commitment to its starting center. The best-case scenario for the Suns is that a lack of suitors with cap room results in no offer sheet for Ayton, who in turn accepts a little less than the max to remain in Phoenix, like John Collins did with Atlanta this past offseason.

The Suns did complete rookie scale extensions for Shamet and Mikal Bridges, viewing them as core players who could be locked up at a reasonable price (about $10.6MM per year for Shamet and $22.5MM annually for Bridges).

The Suns’ season:

Paul won’t play at an All-NBA level forever, but further improvements from young players such as Devin Booker, Ayton, and Bridges could offset some regression from the future Hall-of-Fame point guard. And while there are plenty of talented teams in the West, there’s not one that stands out as the clear-cut favorite to win the conference, like the Warriors were from 2016-19. Another deep playoff run is a reasonable goal for Phoenix.

One more trade to address the hole left by Dario Saric‘s ACL injury would help solidify the Suns’ place as a legit title contender, but assuming Paul doesn’t take a major step back and the team isn’t plagued by more bad injury luck, the biggest question marks in Phoenix this season may be about off-the-court issues, rather than on-court talent.

Will Ayton be distracted at all by his contract situation? Will the rumored report accusing Sarver of a series of misdeeds see the light of day? If so, will those allegations be deemed credible enough to cause an ownership shake-up?

The Suns won’t sneak up on anyone in 2021/22, so it will be fascinating to see how capable they are of defending their Western Conference crown with a target on their backs and potential off-court distractions looming.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders and Spotrac was used in the creation of this post.

Free agent signings:

Note: Exhibit 9 and 10 deals aren’t included here.

• Danny Green: Two years, $20MM. Second year non-guaranteed. Re-signed using Early Bird rights.
• Furkan Korkmaz: Three years, $15MM. Re-signed using Bird rights.
• Georges Niang: Two years, $6.77MM. Signed using mid-level exception.
• Andre Drummond: One year, minimum salary. Signed using minimum salary exception.
• Aaron Henry: Two-way contract.
• Grant Riller: Two-way contract.

Trades:

• Acquired the No. 53 pick in the 2021 draft from the Pelicans in exchange for cash ($2MM).

Draft picks:

• 1-28: Jaden Springer
  • Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $10,393,483).
• 2-50: Filip Petrusev
  • Stashed overseas.
• 2-53: Charles Bassey
  • Signed to three-year, minimum-salary contract. Second year partially guaranteed. Third year non-guaranteed. Signed using mid-level exception.

Contract extensions:

• Joel Embiid: Four years, maximum salary. Includes fourth-year player option. Starts in 2023/24.
  • Note: Embiid’s starting salary in 2023/24 will be 35% of the ’23/24 salary cap.

Departing players:

• Gary Clark
• George Hill
• Dwight Howard
• Mike Scott
• Anthony Tolliver
• Rayjon Tucker

Other offseason news:

• Ben Simmons asked to be traded and was a holdout for the first two weeks of training camp. He remains on the roster but has told the team he’s not mentally ready to play.
• Hired Jamie Young as assistant coach; lost assistant coach Popeye Jones.
• Hired Tad Brown as CEO to replace Scott O’Neil.

Salary cap situation:

• Remained over the cap and above the tax line.
• Carrying approximately $142.9MM in salary.
• $1,664,742 of taxpayer mid-level exception still available ($4,225,258 used on Georges Niang and Charles Bassey).
• Would need to shed salary to use more than taxpayer portion of mid-level exception or any part of bi-annual exception ($3,732,000), since doing either would create a $143MM hard cap.

The Sixers’ offseason:

Following some major changes prior to last season – most notably the hiring of Doc Rivers as head coach – Philadelphia wasn’t particularly active this summer. The Sixers didn’t make a noteworthy trade and their free agent moves were mainly window dressing. Under normal circumstances, they would have been under the radar, quietly preparing for another winning season and banking on their recent playoff experiences to prime them for a championship run.

Instead, the Sixers were all over the news, thanks to their disgruntled point guard in the early stages of his maximum-salary contract. Ben Simmons‘ subpar performances in last year’s playoffs, punctuated by a reluctance to shoot and woeful free-throw numbers that made it difficult to keep him in at crunch time, had a carryover effect. His offensive issues led to plenty of criticism and contributed mightily to the team’s conference semifinal loss to Atlanta. There were all kinds of detractors who wondered whether the Sixers could ever win a championship with Simmons running the show.

He could have used that as fuel to prove the critics wrong. Instead, he took the opposite approach. With four years left on his max deal, Simmons made it clear during the summer that he had no desire to suit up for the organization again. Team executives, coaches and players couldn’t make Simmons change his mind. The front office and his agent, Rich Paul, looked into potential deals but Philadelphia made it clear from the start it wanted a major haul for the three-time All-Star.

Simmons eventually ended his holdout, but the drama continued into the regular season. He has yet to play this season while top executive Daryl Morey publicly dug in his heels, saying he has four years to get a deal done.

While Simmons pushed to leave Philadelphia, the team’s other big star was happy to commit long-term with a new max extension. Despite some concerns about Joel Embiid‘s health issues, the Sixers made it clear that they’re determined to win a title with their All-Star center leading the way.

Philadelphia also brought back two key perimeter players in free agency, re-signing Danny Green and Furkan Korkmaz. Green has started on the wing since he joined the 76ers prior to last season and brings plenty of championship experience to the table. Korkmaz has been a valuable reserve the last two seasons, providing some size on the wing along with 3-point shooting.

The Sixers did go shopping for upgrades at forward and center on their second unit. They opted for former Jazz backup Georges Niang and former All-Star Andre Drummond. Niang is another player who does most of his offensive damage from beyond the 3-point line.

Drummond’s value has dropped dramatically since his first few seasons with Detroit. He had a chance to reestablish his worth when he signed with the Lakers last season after he was  bought out by Cleveland following the trade deadline. Drummond was so ineffective that he wound up getting benched in Game 6 of the conference quarterfinals against Phoenix. He’s capable of putting up big numbers at times, but he’s not used to coming off the bench.

The Sixers’ season:

Rivers admitted that the Simmons drama took some of the fun and excitement out of the start of Philadelphia’s season. The franchise is in a win-now mode and that doesn’t figure to change with Embiid locked up long-term.

It’s difficult to gauge how this season will unfold until there’s more clarity regarding Simmons’ status. It’s hard to imagine him getting back in uniform and winning over Philadelphia’s demanding fans after what has transpired over the last few months. At this point, a trade would seem like the best option, but Morey will have to drop his asking price for that to happen.

The Sixers still have the league’s top big man, a rock-solid scorer and rebounder in Tobias Harris, and a promising young point man in Tyrese Maxey. They also have plenty of shooting, led by Seth Curry. But even if Embiid is healthy for the playoffs, the Sixers will need to add a quality starter via a Simmons trade to make a spirited run this season.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders and Spotrac was used in the creation of this post. Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Free agent signings:

Note: Exhibit 9 and 10 deals aren’t included here.

• Robin Lopez: One year, $5MM. Signed using non-taxpayer mid-level exception.
• Moritz Wagner: Two years, minimum salary. Second year non-guaranteed. Signed using minimum salary exception.
• E’Twaun Moore: One year, minimum salary. Signed using minimum salary exception.
• Ignas Brazdeikis: Two-way contract.

Trades:

• Acquired the Pistons’ 2026 second-round pick and cash from the Clippers in exchange for the draft rights to Jason Preston (No. 33 pick).

Draft picks:

• 1-5: Jalen Suggs
  • Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $29,955,705).
• 1-8: Franz Wagner
  • Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $22,781,932).

Contract extensions:

• Wendell Carter Jr.: Four years, $50,000,000. Starts in 2022/23.

Departing players:

• Dwayne Bacon
• James Ennis
• Otto Porter
• Chasson Randle
• Sindarius Thornwell

Other offseason news:

• Hired Jamahl Mosley as head coach to replace Steve Clifford.
• Hired Nate Tibbetts, Jesse Mermuys, Dale Osbourne, Bret Brielmaier, and Lionel Chalmers as assistant coaches; lost assistants Tyrone Corbin, Pat Delany, Steve Hetzel, and Michael Batiste.
• Jonathan Isaac and Markelle Fultz continue to recover from ACL tears and are sidelined to start the season.
• Michael Carter-Williams is recovering from ankle surgery and is sidelined to start the season.
• Chuma Okeke is dealing with a bone bruise in his hip and is sidelined to start the season.

Salary cap situation:

• Remained over the cap and below the tax line.
• Carrying approximately $113.7MM in salary.
• $4,536,000 of non-taxpayer mid-level exception still available ($5MM used on Robin Lopez).
• Full bi-annual exception ($3,732,000) still available.
• Three traded player exception available, including one worth $17.2MM.

The Magic’s offseason:

A whirlwind 2021 trade deadline paved the way for the Magic to have a relatively quiet offseason. Back in March, Orlando decided to launch a full-scale rebuild and finalized three separate trades that sent Nikola Vucevic to Chicago, Aaron Gordon to Denver, and Evan Fournier to Boston.

That type of roster overhaul is more common during the summer than midway through the season, but the Magic had been hit hard by injuries and had lost 27 of 35 games leading up to the deadline after winning six of eight to open the year. They weren’t going to make the playoffs and they were in a position to be one of the league’s few major in-season sellers, so they struck early.

That decisiveness allowed the Magic to perhaps extract more for Vucevic than they would’ve if they’d taken a more patient approach. When the Bulls sent their top-four protected 2021 first-rounder to Orlando in the package for the standout center, they were presumably counting on grabbing one of the last couple playoff spots in the East and sacrificing a pick in the 15-16 range. Instead, Chicago struggled down the stretch and had to convey the No. 8 overall pick to the Magic.

The Magic’s draft luck continued when, despite having their own pick land at No. 5 in the lottery, they were able to land one of the consensus top-four prospects in the 2021 class. Toronto surprised observers by snagging Scottie Barnes at No. 4, allowing Jalen Suggs to slip to Orlando.

Whether Suggs will turn out to be a better pro than Barnes remains to be seen, but the former Gonzaga guard was the higher-ranked player on most experts’ – and, by all accounts, most teams’ – draft boards. The Magic likely could’ve extracted a significant price from a club interested in trading up for Suggs, so staying put and selecting him – even with point guards Markelle Fultz and Cole Anthony already locked up for the next three years – is a good indication they’re high on his potential.

Orlando used its second lottery pick (courtesy of the Bulls) to select Michigan’s Franz Wagner, a talented young forward who looks capable of becoming an impact player on both sides of the ball. The idea of pairing Wagner with Jonathan Isaac – once Isaac gets healthy – and letting the two young forwards loose on the defensive end is a tantalizing one.

While adding Suggs and Wagner were the Magic’s major moves of the summer, the team also decided to invest long-term in Wendell Carter after acquiring the former Bulls big man in the Vucevic trade. The price Orlando paid – $50MM over four years – suggests the team is confident the former Duke standout can continue to improve after putting up pretty similar numbers in each of his first three seasons.

Even if Carter plateaus, the contract will never be an albatross. Its descending structure means it will be worth just $10.85MM by its final year in 2025/26, making it a good trade chip if WCJ is no longer in Orlando’s plans by then.

The Magic were relatively quiet on the trade market and made just a couple free agent additions, bringing in steady veterans Robin Lopez and E’Twaun Moore on inexpensive one-year contracts. Lopez, in particular, is a heady player who will be able to impart plenty of knowledge on young big men Carter and Mohamed Bamba over the course of the season.

Orlando’s offseason was ultimately defined by the rookies it added, both on and off the court — besides drafting Suggs and Wagner, the team hired first-time head coach Jamahl Mosley to replace Steve Clifford. Mosley gained a strong reputation for player development during his time in Dallas under Rick Carlisle and will be tasked with guiding a young Magic team through the toughest stage of its rebuild. The losses will come early and often for Mosley, but if guys like Suggs, Wagner, Fultz, and Isaac are improving under his tutelage, he’ll be doing his job.

The Magic’s season:

The Eastern Conference will be competitive this season, with 12 or 13 teams eyeing a playoff berth or at least a play-in spot. The odds of the Magic joining that group are slim — they and the Pistons are good bets to occupy the 14th and 15th spots in the conference, in some order.

Still, there are some intriguing building blocks here, especially once the team gets healthier. Suggs, Wagner, Carter, Fultz, Isaac, Bamba, Anthony, Chuma Okeke, and R.J. Hampton aren’t all future stars, but there’s plenty of untapped upside in that group, and the Magic have the ability to add a few more assets to their collection by trading Terrence Ross at some point in the coming months.

There’s a long way to go before the Magic will be talking about contending again, but the rebuild has taken a good first step or two this year.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders and Spotrac was used in the creation of this post.

Free agent signings:

Note: Exhibit 9 and 10 deals aren’t included here.

• Mike Muscala: Two years, $7MM. Second-year team option. Re-signed using non-taxpayer mid-level exception.
• Paul Watson: Two-way contract.

Trades:

• Acquired Kemba Walker, the No. 16 pick in the 2021 draft, and either the Celtics’ or Grizzlies’ 2025 second-round pick (whichever is most favorable) from the Celtics in exchange for Al Horford, Moses Brown, and either the Thunder’s, Wizards’, Mavericks’, or Heat’s 2023 second-round pick (whichever is least favorable).
  • Note: If the Mavericks’ and Heat’s 2023 second-round picks are the two least favorable of the four, the Celtics would acquire the most favorable of those two picks.
  • Note: Walker was subsequently bought out.
• Acquired the Pistons’ 2022 first-round pick (top-16 protected) and the Wizards’ 2023 first-round pick (top-14 protected) in exchange for the draft rights to Alperen Sengun (No. 16 pick).
• Acquired the draft rights to Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (No. 32 pick) from the Knicks in exchange for the draft rights to Rokas Jokubaitis (No. 34 pick) and the draft rights to Miles McBride (No. 36 pick).
• Acquired Derrick Favors and the Jazz’s 2024 first-round pick (top-10 protected) from the Jazz in exchange for either the Thunder’s, Rockets’, Pacers, or Heat’s 2027 second-round pick (whichever is least favorable) and cash ($2MM).
  • Note: If the Jazz don’t convey their 2022 first-round pick (top-six protected) to Memphis in 2022, the first-round pick they send the Thunder will be pushed back until at least 2025.

Draft picks:

• 1-6: Josh Giddey
  • Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $27,214,807).
• 1-18: Tre Mann
  • Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $14,047,213).
• 2-32: Jeremiah Robinson-Earl
  • Signed to four-year, $7.89MM contract. Third year non-guaranteed. Fourth-year team option. Signed using non-taxpayer mid-level exception.
• 2-55: Aaron Wiggins
  • Signed to two-way contract.

Draft-and-stash signings

• Vit Krejci (No. 37 pick; 2020 draft)
  • Signed to four-year, minimum-salary contract. Second year partially guaranteed. Third year non-guaranteed. Fourth-year team option. Signed using non-taxpayer mid-level exception.

Contract extensions:

• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: Five years, maximum salary. Projected value of $172,500,000. Projected value can increase to $207,060,000 if Gilgeous-Alexander earns All-NBA honors in 2022. Includes 15% trade kicker. Starts in 2022/23.

Departing players:

• Tony Bradley
• Charlie Brown Jr.
• Moses Brown
• Josh Hall
• Jaylen Hoard
• Al Horford
• Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk

Other offseason news:

• Hired Nick Collison as special assistant to general manager Sam Presti.

Salary cap situation:

• Remained over the cap and below the tax line.
• Carrying approximately $78.1MM in salary.
• $23MM below salary floor.
• Hard-capped at $143MM.
• $3,110,742 of non-taxpayer mid-level exception still available ($6,425,258 used on Mike Muscala, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, and Vit Krejci).
• Full bi-annual exception ($3,732,000) still available.
• Two traded player exceptions available, including one worth $12.8MM.

The Thunder’s offseason:

Two years after initially launching their rebuild by trading Paul George and Russell Westbrook, and one year after sending Chris Paul to Phoenix, the Thunder entered the 2021 offseason in no rush to speed up the process.

Armed with a ton of potential cap room and a massive stash of future draft picks, Oklahoma City could have begun cashing in its chips and taken a significant step toward contention this summer. However, general manager Sam Presti made it clear he’s still very much in asset-gathering mode and won’t be rushed into pushing for the playoffs quite yet.

The approach makes sense. The Thunder have one potential future All-Star in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who received a maximum-salary extension from the team in August, but none of the team’s other young prospects have displayed that sort of upside yet. Oklahoma City will also still have cap flexibility for years to come even after accounting for Gilgeous-Alexander’s lucrative new deal. And the team owes its lottery-protected 2022 first-round pick to Atlanta — that obligation will turn into two second-rounders if OKC keeps its 2022 first-rounder. In other words, it would be premature for the club to push all its chips into the center of the table so soon.

That meant the Thunder were happy to accommodate a couple more salary dumps this offseason, securing extra first-round picks from Boston and Utah for taking on Kemba Walker and Derrick Favors, respectively. Oklahoma City also avoided free agency nearly entirely — its only non-two-way signing was an inexpensive short-term investment in Mike Muscala, a trusted veteran who will provide leadership but won’t make much of an impact on the team’s win-loss record.

Given Presti’s patient approach, it was a little surprising that the Thunder were willing to complete a buyout with Walker shortly after acquiring him from the Celtics. He seemed like a candidate to be the club’s next Paul — a star point guard who could rebuild his value after an injury-plagued season and could eventually be flipped for another bad contract and another draft pick.

Still, the decision to complete a buyout early was justifiable for a few reasons: Walker was willing to give up a significant chunk of salary (about $20MM over two years); the franchise wanted to show it treats its veteran players well; and Kemba might’ve compromised the quest for another top-five pick by making the team a little too competitive.

Conversely, the decision to trade this year’s 16th overall selection for two heavily-protected future picks was a perfect example of the Thunder’s willingness to play the long game. Rather than selecting promising big man Alperen Sengun, Oklahoma City accepted a Pistons first-rounder that may not convey for several years (it’s top-16 protected in 2022, then top-18 protected in 2023 and 2024 before becoming top-13 protected in 2025), along with a lottery-protected Wizards 2023 first-rounder that’s also at least two years from turning into anything concrete.

It’s entirely possible – perhaps likely – that Sengun will be a better pro than the two players eventually selected with those future picks, but for a Thunder team focused on accumulating assets, the deal made sense. Turning one first-rounder into two helps ensure that OKC’s pile of future assets will be well-stocked when the team eventually wants to cash them in. It’s just not that time yet.

The Thunder did use their No. 6 pick to select Josh Giddey, an intriguing young point guard who came off the board a few spots earlier than expected. The fact that Oklahoma City wasn’t willing to pick up more assets by trading down a little and hoping Giddey was still available is a reflection of how much the team likes him.

It’s still too early to know what Oklahoma City has in Giddey, but he flashed his real upside in his third career game on Sunday when he filled up the box score with 19 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, and four steals. The Thunder are going to lose a lot this season, but it’ll at least be entertaining watching Giddey and Gilgeous-Alexander play together in the backcourt and imagining what they could look like two or three years from now.

Tre Mann, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, and 2020 pick Vit Krejci are among the Thunder’s newly-added rookies. The Robinson-Earl selection was a sign that the organization is prepared to consolidate its assets in order to land a player it likes — OKC gave up the 34th and 36th picks to move up just two spots to No. 32 to snag Robinson-Earl. We can probably expect more moves along those lines in years to come, since the Thunder control way too many future picks to realistically use them all.

The Thunder’s season:

The Thunder are off to an 0-4 start this season, putting them dead last among the NBA’s 30 teams. It’s probably safe to assume they’ll remain in that spot – or pretty close to it – for most of the season. This just isn’t a team that’s built to win yet, and the front office will be happy to pile up the losses and secure a high lottery pick in the 2022 draft while assessing its young talent and starting to determine which players are keepers.

The most pressing question in Oklahoma City this season isn’t how the team will perform on the court — it’s what moves will be made off it. The Thunder remain well below the salary floor for the 2021/22 league year, which means they’ll almost certainly be looking to take on more unwanted contracts in midseason trades. There should be a handful of clubs looking to either get out of luxury tax territory or reduce their tax bill, and the Thunder are well positioned to help out more than one of them, procuring a few more future draft picks for their cooperation.

The Thunder’s extreme approach to asset-gathering may feel like overkill, but the more ammunition Presti stockpiles, the more leeway he’ll have to take big swings down the road when the club eventually pivots to playoff contention.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders and Spotrac was used in the creation of this post.

Free agent signings:

Note: Exhibit 9 and 10 deals aren’t included here.

• Evan Fournier: Four years, $73MM. Fourth-year team option. Acquired via sign-and-trade.
• Derrick Rose: Three years, $43.56MM. Third-year team option. Re-signed using Early Bird rights.
• Alec Burks: Three years, $30.04MM. Third-year team option. Re-signed using cap room.
• Nerlens Noel: Three years, $27.72MM. Third-year team option. Re-signed using cap room.
• Kemba Walker: Two years, $17.89MM. Signed using cap room.
• Taj Gibson: Two years, $10.07MM. Second year non-guaranteed. Re-signed using room exception.
• Wayne Selden: One year, minimum salary. Non-guaranteed. Signed using minimum salary exception.
• Luka Samanic: Two-way contract.

Trades:

• Acquired the draft rights to Rokas Jokubaitis (No. 34 pick) and the draft rights to Miles McBride (No. 36 pick) from the Thunder in exchange for the draft rights to Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (No. 32 pick).
• Acquired the draft rights to Quentin Grimes (No. 25 pick) and the Pistons’ 2024 second-round pick from the Clippers in exchange for the draft rights to Keon Johnson (No. 21 pick).
• Acquired the Hornets’ 2022 first-round pick (top-18 protected) from the Hornets in exchange for the draft rights to Kai Jones (No. 19 pick).
• Acquired Evan Fournier (sign-and-trade), the Hornets’ 2022 second-round pick (top-55 protected), and either the Thunder’s, Wizards’, Heat’s, or Mavericks’ 2023 second-round pick (whichever is least favorable) from the Celtics in exchange for cash ($110K).
  • Note: If either the Heat’s or Mavericks’ 2023 second-round pick is the least favorable of the four, the Knicks would instead receive the second-least favorable pick of the four.

Draft picks:

• 1-25: Quentin Grimes
  • Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $11,128,042).
• 2-34: Rokas Jokubaitis
  • Stashed overseas.
• 2-36: Miles McBride
  • Signed to three-year, minimum-salary contract. Third-year team option. Signed using cap room.
• 2-58: Jericho Sims
  • Signed to two-year, two-way contract.

Contract extensions:

• Julius Randle: Four years, $106,444,800 (base value). Includes $15,966,720 in incentives, a fourth-year player option, and a 15% trade kicker. Starts in 2022/23.

Departing players:

• Reggie Bullock
• Jared Harper
• Frank Ntilikina
• Elfrid Payton
• Norvel Pelle
• Theo Pinson
• Luca Vildoza

Other offseason news:

• Signed general manager Scott Perry to two-year contract extension.

Salary cap situation:

• Went under the cap, used their cap room, then used the room exception.
• Carrying approximately $119.1MM in salary.
• Hard-capped at $143MM.

The Knicks’ offseason:

Armed with more cap flexibility than just about every other team in the NBA entering the 2021 offseason, the Knicks could’ve gone in a number of different directions in free agency and on the trade market.

Although New York hadn’t been the most desirable destination for top-tier free agents over the last several years, the team earned a playoff berth last season and its new-look front office and coaching staff helped established some stability within the organization. If the Knicks had wanted to go out and chase impact free agents, those players were probably more inclined to listen to the club’s pitch than they would have been in past years.

Rather than shaking up their roster too significantly though, the Knicks doubled down on the core that led the turnaround in 2020/21.

That meant Alec Burks and Nerlens Noel, who signed team-friendly one-year deals in 2020, got three-year contracts and sizable raises. Derrick Rose, a midseason trade acquisition who was a key part of New York’s second-half push into the postseason, also received a three-year deal and a pay bump. Even Taj Gibson, who helped solidify the frontcourt during Mitchell Robinson‘s injury absence, was rewarded with a salary increase — after Gibson initially agreed to a minimum-salary contract, the Knicks decided to give him $5MM per year with their room exception that may have otherwise gone unused.

In addition to re-signing their own free agents, the Knicks made a long-term commitment to Julius Randle, offering the most money they could over four years ($106MM, or up to $122MM with incentives) following his breakout season. Some of the gains Randle made in 2020/21 – such as his .411 3PT% – may be unsustainable, but the extension was still a win for New York. The 26-year-old could easily have decided to wait a year and try his luck in free agency, where he would’ve been eligible for a much larger payday. The Knicks were able to lock him up at a rate more commensurate with a No. 2 option than a maximum-salary star.

Not every one of the team’s key players returned. Reggie Bullock, a three-and-D specialist who played more minutes last season than every Knick except for Randle and RJ Barrett in ’20/21, chose the Mavericks in free agency. New York had plenty of cap room to replace him though, and after considering other wings like DeMar DeRozan, the front office brought in Evan Fournier, whose four-year, $73MM contract was the biggest free agent deal handed out by the organization this summer. Fournier isn’t the defender Bullock is, but he has a more well-rounded offensive game.

Finally, there had been speculation entering the summer that the Knicks would make a run at a free agent like Spencer Dinwiddie or Lonzo Ball to address the point guard position, which was viewed as their most glaring need. New York did turn to free agency to fill its hole at the point, but the choice was an unexpected one — after being traded from Boston to Oklahoma City, Kemba Walker reached a buyout agreement with the Thunder that allowed him to sign with his hometown Knicks.

It was a fortuitous turn of events for the team. Walker has a history of knee issues that could be a problem, but when he’s healthy and at his best, he’s an All-Star caliber player who was available at a bargain price due to the circumstances of his availability and his desire to play in New York. Walker is a defensive downgrade from Elfrid Payton, and relying on Kemba and Rose as the top two point guards on the depth chart is a risky endeavor. But as long as he’s available, Walker will provide a major influx of offensive firepower.

Besides having plenty of cap room, the Knicks entered the offseason with four 2021 draft picks, including two in the first round and three in the top 32. The team made multiple draft-night deals to move down from their original slots, picking up a couple future picks in the process, but still came away with four players — two (Quentin Grimes and Miles McBride) who made the 15-man roster, one (Jericho Sims) on a two-way deal, and one (Rokas Jokubaitis) who will remain overseas for at least another year. Given the amount of veteran depth the Knicks are carrying, I wouldn’t expect them to count on any of their rookies to play big roles right away.

The Knicks still have a surplus of future draft picks they could use to go shopping on the trade market at some point, but this offseason essentially represented the end of their rebuilding era. The years they spent hoarding cap room and drafting in the top 10 are over for the time being — while most of the contracts the Knicks handed out this offseason have early outs (via non-guaranteed final seasons), the team will be operating well over the cap in 2022.

The Knicks’ season:

After finishing no better than 18 games below .500 for six straight seasons, the Knicks posted a 41-31 record and claimed the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference in 2020/21. That kind of massive jump is a rarity in the NBA, and it’s fair to expect some regression going forward.

Still, even if the Knicks take a step back, it shouldn’t be a big one. Tom Thibodeau‘s impact is real, there’s plenty of depth on the roster, and Barrett should keep getting better. Plus, it’s not as if everything went right last season — Robinson missed more than half the season, and Rose only arrived midway through the year. It’s overly optimistic to count on 82 games from Rose, but if he and Robinson play more minutes in 2021/22, it should only increase the club’s ceiling.

Competition in the Eastern Conference will be stiffer going forward than it was last season, when presumed contenders like the Celtics, Heat, Raptors, and Pacers all fell well short of expectations. Another top-four finish may be unlikely, but the Knicks have more than enough talent to remain firmly in the playoff mix.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders and Spotrac was used in the creation of this post.

Free agent signings:

Note: Exhibit 9 and 10 deals aren’t included here.

• Devonte’ Graham: Four years, $47.3MM. Fourth year partially guaranteed. Acquired via sign-and-trade.
• Josh Hart: Three years, $38MM. Second and third years non-guaranteed. Third-year player option. Re-signed as restricted free agent using Bird rights.
• Garrett Temple: Three years, $15.47MM. Third year non-guaranteed. Acquired via sign-and-trade.
• Didi Louzada: Four years, $7.68MM. Third and fourth years non-guaranteed. Re-signed as restricted free agent using Non-Bird rights.
• Willy Hernangomez: Three years, $7.33MM. Third-year team option. Re-signed using Non-Bird rights.
• Jose Alvarado: Two-way contract.
• Daulton Hommes: Two-way contract.

Trades:

• Acquired cash ($2MM) from the Sixers in exchange for the No. 53 pick in the 2021 draft.
• Acquired the Trail Blazers’ 2026 second-round pick and cash ($2MM) from the Trail Blazers in exchange for the draft rights to Greg Brown (No. 43 pick).
• Acquired Jonas Valanciunas (from Grizzlies), Devonte’ Graham (sign-and-trade; from Hornets), the draft rights to Trey Murphy (No. 17 pick; from Grizzlies), and the draft rights to Brandon Boston (No. 51 pick; from Grizzlies) in a three-team trade in exchange for Eric Bledsoe (to Grizzlies), Steven Adams (to Grizzlies), the draft rights to Ziaire Williams (No. 10 pick; to Grizzlies), the draft rights to Jared Butler (No. 40 pick; to Grizzlies), the Lakers’ 2022 first-round pick (top-10 protected; to Grizzlies), Wesley Iwundu (to Hornets), the Pelicans’ 2022 first-round pick (top-14 protected; to Hornets), and cash ($2MM; to Hornets).
  • Note: The Pelicans created a $17,073,171 trade exception in the deal.
• Acquired the Kings’ 2022 second-round pick (top-54 protected) and cash ($2.5MM) from the Clippers in exchange for the draft rights to Brandon Boston Jr. (No. 51 pick).
• Acquired Tomas Satoransky, Garrett Temple (sign-and-trade), the Bulls’ 2024 second-round pick, and cash ($1.2MM) from the Bulls in exchange for Lonzo Ball (sign-and-trade).

Draft picks:

• 1-17: Trey Murphy
  • Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $14,779,414).
• 2-35: Herb Jones
  • Signed to three-year, $5.32MM contract. Third-year team option. Signed using non-taxpayer mid-level exception.

Contract extensions:

• Jonas Valanciunas: Two years, $30,135,000. Includes trade kicker ($1MM or 15%; whichever is lesser). Starts in 2022/23.

Departing players:

• Steven Adams
• Lonzo Ball
• Eric Bledsoe
• Wenyen Gabriel
• Wesley Iwundu
• James Johnson
• James Nunnally

Other offseason news:

• Hired Willie Green as head coach to replace Stan Van Gundy.
• Hired Jarron Collins as assistant coach and Mike D’Antoni as coaching advisor.
• Zion Williamson underwent offseason foot surgery and remains sidelined to start the season.
• Jaxson Hayes was arrested and charged with battery following a domestic dispute.
• Being investigated by NBA for possible gun-jumping violation in Lonzo Ball sign-and-trade.
• Launched new G League affiliate, the Birmingham Squadron.

Salary cap situation:

• Remained over the cap and below the tax line.
• Carrying approximately $114.9MM in salary.
• Hard-capped at $143MM.
• $7,836,000 of non-taxpayer mid-level exception still available ($1.7MM used on Herb Jones).
• Full bi-annual exception ($3,732,000) still available.
• Two traded player exceptions available, including one worth $17MM.

The Pelicans’ offseason:

The Pelicans hit the reset button again over the summer in their effort to build a contending team around Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram. They brought in a new backcourt, a new center, and the third head coach in Williamson’s three seasons in New Orleans.

The coaching change came first, as the Pelicans turned to Willie Green following a disappointing year with Stan Van Gundy at the helm. A former player, the 40-year-old Green spent time as an assistant with the Warriors and Suns, and the organization hopes he’ll be able to motivate his players more effectively than Van Gundy did.

New Orleans shook up its roster with a pre-draft trade agreement that sent Eric Bledsoe and Steven Adams to the Grizzlies for Jonas Valanciunas and an exchange of draft picks. That trade was folded into a three-team deal with the Hornets once the Pelicans reached an agreement with Devonte’ Graham in free agency.

Valanciunas, who agreed to a two-year extension this week, is more of a scoring threat than Adams while providing the same rugged inside presence. He is now signed through the 2023/24 season and will hopefully be able to complement Williamson’s unique skills. The Pelicans gave Adams a similar extension after acquiring him last year, so the team is counting on better results from its commitment to Valanciunas.

The Pelicans decided against bringing back point guard Lonzo Ball, even though they could have matched offers for the restricted free agent on the open market. Instead, they worked out a sign-and-trade that sent Ball to Chicago in exchange for Tomas Satoransky, Garrett Temple and a future draft pick. The deal gives New Orleans a stronger veteran presence in its backcourt and potentially opens up more playing time for young guards Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Kira Lewis.

The other significant move in free agency was re-signing swingman Josh Hart, one of the pieces still remaining from the Anthony Davis trade. Hart, who has been a useful bench player during his two seasons in New Orleans, agreed to a three-year deal that only has guaranteed money in the first season. The Pelicans can waive him by June 25 if they want to get out of the final two years of that contract without a financial hit.

New Orleans kept two more of its own free agents by re-signing Willy Hernangomez and Didi Louzada.

In the draft, the Pelicans used their first-round pick to add Virginia forward Trey Murphy, who shot 43.3% from three-point range last season and should help space the court. Alabama’s Herb Jones, taken with the 35th pick, provides a strong defensive presence and is expected to see time as a backup center.

Every move the Pelicans make is under the shadow of a looming decision by Williamson, who will be eligible for a rookie scale extension next summer. No player has ever turned down a maximum-salary rookie extension, but there has been speculation that Williamson might consider doing so if he’s not happy with the direction of the team. Amid rumors that Williamson’s family wants him to move on and that he has a strained relationship with head of basketball operations David Griffin, there is an obvious need to make progress before that offer gets put on the table.

The offseason shakeup leaves the Pelicans with a much different group to put around their two stars. They have security with Ingram, who is under contract through the 2024/25 season, but the direction of the franchise will change drastically if Williamson doesn’t accept an extension next year.

The Pelicans’ season:

Injury concerns with Williamson are already threatening to throw this season into chaos. He underwent surgery on his right foot during the offseason, and there’s no firm timetable for when he’ll be able to start playing. Williamson is a game-changing talent when healthy, but he has played just 85 total games in his first two NBA seasons.

The Pelicans know what to expect from Ingram, who has become one of the league’s most consistent scorers. He has averaged 23.8 PPG during both of his seasons in New Orleans and was an All-Star selection in 2019/20. He’s capable of carrying the offense until Williamson returns.

The Pelicans need a strong season from Graham, who was overshadowed by rookie LaMelo Ball last year with the Hornets after a breakthrough season in 2019/20. They were confident enough in the 26-year-old guard to give him a four-year deal and let him take over for Lonzo Ball. New Orleans needs to work out the roles for its other guards and determine whether it’s better to play Satoransky or use those minutes to develop Lewis and Alexander-Walker.

The Pelicans are hoping to at least reach the play-in round, but it seems like a lot to ask in a tough Western Conference where the top eight or nine teams appear already set. A quick return by Williamson would help as New Orleans will need big things from him to become a contender. But no matter what happens on the court, the real excitement for the Pelicans will begin next offseason.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders and Spotrac was used in the creation of this post.

Free agent signings:

Note: Exhibit 9 and 10 deals aren’t included here.

• Jarred Vanderbilt: Three years, $13.12MM. Includes incentives. Third year partially guaranteed. Re-signed as restricted free agent using Bird rights.
• Jordan McLaughlin: Three years, $6.48MM. Includes incentives. Third year non-guaranteed. Re-signed as restricted free agent using Early Bird rights.
• Nathan Knight: Two-way contract.
• McKinley Wright: Two-way contract.

Trades:

• Acquired Taurean Prince, the Wizards’ 2022 second-round pick, and cash ($2.5MM) from the Cavaliers in exchange for Ricky Rubio.
• Acquired Patrick Beverley from the Grizzlies in exchange for Jarrett Culver and Juan Hernangomez.

Draft picks:

• None

Draft-and-stash signings:

• Leandro Bolmaro (No. 23 pick; 2020 draft)
  • Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $11,805,395).

Contract extensions:

• None

Departing players:

• Jarrett Culver
• Ed Davis
• Juan Hernangomez
• Ricky Rubio

Other offseason news:

• Fired president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas; promoted Sachin Gupta to head of basketball operations.
• Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore approved as part-owners; the Wolves’ succession plan calls for them to take over as majority owners in 2023.
• Hired Elston Turner, Micah Nori, and Joe Boylan as assistant coaches; lost assistant coaches David Vanterpool, Bryan Gates, and Joseph Blair.

Salary cap situation:

• Remained over the cap and below the tax line.
• Carrying approximately $135.8MM in salary.
• Full non-taxpayer mid-level exception ($9,536,000) and bi-annual exception ($3,732,000) still available.
  • Note: The Timberwolves wouldn’t be able to fully use both exceptions, since doing so would hard-cap the team at $143MM.
• One traded player exception ($4.75MM) available.

The Timberwolves’ offseason:

Through mid-August, few NBA teams had experienced a quieter offseason than the Timberwolves. They entered the offseason with no draft picks and no cap space, limiting their ability to make meaningful roster upgrades.

The trade market was the Wolves’ best bet for a shakeup, but two weeks into free agency, the club’s activity had been limited to one deal: sending Ricky Rubio to Cleveland in exchange for Taurean Prince, a future second-round pick, and some cash.

The benefits of the move were three-fold — while both players are on expiring deals in 2021/22, Prince makes less money than Rubio, freeing up a little extra room below the tax line for the Wolves. The team also picked up a couple extra assets in the swap (the draft pick and cash) while addressing, to some extent, its major hole at the forward position. Prince isn’t a difference-maker, but he’s capable of taking on a rotation role and playing either the three and four. Minnesota was in short supply of that type of player last season.

Still, it’s not as if Rubio was someone the Wolves necessarily wanted to salary-dump. The Spaniard had a real impact on rookie Anthony Edwards last season, and the team’s point guard depth chart looked a little thin without Rubio on it — especially since D’Angelo Russell was coming off an injury-plagued season in which he was limited to 42 games.

So, with virtually all the top free agents off the market, the Wolves once again turned to the trade market a couple weeks into the new league year, sending Juan Hernangomez and Jarrett Culver to Memphis in exchange for veteran guard Patrick Beverley.

The Wolves’ relationship with Hernangomez became strained over the summer when the organization held him back from participating in the Olympics due to a shoulder injury, so it made sense to move on from him. Trading Culver was a tougher pill to swallow. Gersson Rosas‘ first major move when he took over as the head of basketball operations in Minnesota in 2019 was to trade up from No. 11 to No. 6 in order to nab Culver. However, the former Texas Tech standout made little impact at the NBA level in his first two seasons, prompting the Wolves to admit defeat on that pick.

Beverley isn’t the passing maestro that Rubio is, but he’s a better shooter, and the Wolves hope he can play a somewhat similar role, bringing toughness and veteran leadership to a team that needs it. He’ll be Russell’s backup, but he’s capable of playing alongside him too, handling the tougher defensive assignments in order to allow D-Lo to focus more on his offensive game.

The Wolves filled out their depth chart in September by re-signing a pair of restricted free agents, Jarred Vanderbilt and Jordan McLaughlin, to multiyear contracts. Vanderbilt was one of the few forwards the team could rely on in 2020/21 and should continue to play a regular role going forward.

The team’s acquisition of Beverley suggests the front office wasn’t comfortable with the idea of having McLaughlin as its primary backup at the point. But he has provided steady production in limited minutes over the last two seasons and looks a lot better as the third option behind Russell and Beverley.

Minnesota also made up for its lack of a first-round pick this year by signing 2020 first-rounder Leandro Bolmaro after stashing him in Spain for a year. It’s not the most satisfying consolation prize, since Bolmaro probably isn’t ready for regular NBA minutes and the team surely would’ve rather had the No. 7 pick it had to send to Golden State as part of last year’s Russell trade. But it’s better than nothing.

Just as it seemed like the Wolves were wrapping up a fairly quiet, uneventful offseason, the team shocked the basketball world by firing Rosas and replacing him with top lieutenant Sachin Gupta.

The timing of the move – which happened just days before training camp – raised eyebrows around the league, and while team ownership insisted it was performance-related, it’s safe to assume the extramarital relationship Rosas was reportedly having with a team staffer resulted in the team expediting his dismissal. While current owner Glen Taylor announced the decision, the incoming ownership group – which won’t take full control until 2023 – certainly would’ve been involved in those discussions too.

Rosas’ fingerprints all over the current roster, which he overhauled upon taking the reins in 2019. Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Okogie are the only players from the previous regime still with the current group, and Rosas mortgaged major draft capital in the trade for Russell. He may no longer be a part of Minnesota’s front office, but the way this year’s squad performs will be a reflection on Rosas’ team-building ability, for better or worse.

The Timberwolves’ season:

The Timberwolves won 19 games in 2019/20 and 23 in 2020/21. On paper, with so few changes to this year’s roster, there’s little reason to expect much improvement on those numbers.

But some better injury luck would go a long way toward allowing Minnesota to at least compete for a play-in spot. Good friends Towns and Russell have barely played together since D-Lo was acquired at the 2020 trade deadline, and Malik Beasley missed about half the team’s games last season due to injuries and a suspension.

Availability wasn’t a problem for Edwards, the one Minnesota player who appeared in all 72 games in ’20/21, but the club can still expect more from him in his sophomore season, as he appeared to be taking the first steps toward stardom in the second half of his rookie year.

The Wolves are probably a power forward away from becoming a legit playoff team (they’re one of the few clubs that would be a great fit for Ben Simmons, and they have interest). But there’s enough talent here to avoid another bottom-three finish in the West, and if things break right, a play-in spot could be in play.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders and Spotrac was used in the creation of this post.

Free agent signings:

Note: Exhibit 9 and 10 deals aren’t included here.

• Bobby Portis: Two years, $8.91MM. Second-year player option. Re-signed using Non-Bird rights.
• George Hill: Two years, $8MM. Signed using taxpayer mid-level exception.
• Thanasis Antetokounmpo: Two years, minimum salary. Second-year player option. Re-signed using minimum salary exception.
• Rodney Hood: One year, minimum salary. Signed using minimum salary exception.
• Semi Ojeleye: One year, minimum salary. Signed using minimum salary exception.
• Justin Robinson: Two-way contract.

Trades:

• Acquired the draft rights to Sandro Mamukelashvili (No. 54 pick), the draft rights to Georgios Kalaitzakis (No. 60 pick), either the Pacers’, Cavaliers, or Jazz’s 2024 second-round pick (whichever is most favorable), and either the Pacers’ or the Heat’s 2026 second-round pick (whichever is most favorable) from the Pacers in exchange for the draft rights to Isaiah Todd (No. 31 pick).
  • Note: If the Cavaliers’ and Jazz’s 2024 second-round picks are the two most favorable of the three, the Bucks would acquire the least favorable of those two picks.
• Acquired Grayson Allen and cash ($1MM) from the Grizzlies in exchange for Sam Merrill, either the Pacers’, Cavaliers, or Jazz’s 2024 second-round pick (whichever is most favorable), and either the Pacers’ or the Heat’s 2026 second-round pick (whichever is most favorable).
  • Note: If the Cavaliers’ and Jazz’s 2024 second-round picks are the two most favorable of the three, the Grizzlies would acquire the least favorable of those two picks.

Draft picks:

• 2-54: Sandro Mamukelashvili
  • Signed to two-year, two-way contract.
• 2-60: Georgios Kalaitzakis
  • Signed to three-year, minimum-salary contract. First year partially guaranteed. Second and third years non-guaranteed. Signed using taxpayer mid-level exception.

Contract extensions:

• Grayson Allen: Two years, $17,000,000 (base value). Includes $2.55MM in incentives. Starts in 2022/23.

Departing players:

• Elijah Bryant
• Mamadi Diakite
• Bryn Forbes
• Justin Jackson
• Sam Merrill
• Jeff Teague
• Axel Toupane
• P.J. Tucker

Other offseason news:

• Signed head coach Mike Budenholzer to three-year contract extension.
• Signed general manager Jon Horst to a long-term contract extension.

Salary cap situation:

• Remained over the cap and above the tax line.
• Carrying approximately $155.5MM in salary.
• $964,742 of taxpayer mid-level exception still available ($4,925,258 used on George Hill and Georgios Kalaitzakis).
• Three traded player exceptions available, including one worth $1.62MM.

The Bucks’ offseason:

Following a half-century climb to return to the NBA mountaintop, the Bucks have a new – and just as difficult – challenge: How do they stay on top? For the most part, Milwaukee chose to stick with a winning formula.

The Bucks have the same starting five, including the Big Three of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday. They also re-signed key frontcourt reserve and fan favorite Bobby Portis to a team-friendly two-year deal.

The biggest offseason acquisition, Grizzlies swingman Grayson Allen, was something of a surprise. The Bucks didn’t have to give up much to acquire Allen, who started 38 of 50 regular-season games for Memphis last season. He’ll give the team another perimeter threat (38.0% on 3-point attempts) and a dependable free throw shooter (83.2%). He essentially replaces Bryn Forbes, who knocked down 45.2% of his 3-point tries during his lone season in Milwaukee.

The Bucks thought enough of Allen to hand him a tw0-year extension that can be worth up to $19.55MM. That deal, finalized right before the October 18 deadline, gave the Bucks some coverage in case they don’t re-sign Donte DiVincenzo as a restricted free agent next summer.

Milwaukee didn’t show much interest in re-signing 36-year-old P.J. Tucker, even though Tucker averaged 29.6 MPG during the championship run. The Bucks instead chose to add Semi Ojeleye, who’s 10 years younger than Tucker. Ojeleye was a rotation player with Boston for the last four seasons, and while he won’t contribute much offensively, he’s a versatile defender.

George Hill is back for a second stint with the organization. The 35-year-old Hill will back up Holiday after the Bucks chose not to re-sign Jeff Teague. The club also took a flyer on swingman Rodney Hood, a 36.7% 3-point shooter whose career has been sidetracked by injuries, most notably an Achilles tear in December 2019.

GM Jon Horst and head coach Mike Budenholzer were rewarded with long-term extensions for a job well done.

The Bucks’ season:

The Bucks caught some breaks during their postseason run and had the talent and toughness to take advantage of their good fortune.

If Kevin Durant hadn’t stepped on the 3-point line in Game 7 at the end of regulation, the Bucks would have gone home after the conference semifinals and Budenholzer would probably have been seeking other employment. Milwaukee also got favorable matchups in the final two rounds, downing a pair of upstart contenders without significant playoff experience – the Hawks and Suns – in the Eastern Finals and NBA Finals.

There’s no reason for Milwaukee to be anything but a major contender to win it all again. The team has a two-time MVP in the prime of his career flanked by two All-Star caliber veterans. The chemistry of the first unit is undeniable and the Bucks’ continuity will make it nearly impossible to rattle them when they enter the postseason this spring.

Still, there are some questions, namely whether the second unit has enough answers to keep the starters from getting gassed by the end of the 82-game grind. As a taxpaying team, the Bucks don’t have a lot of leeway to make in-season adjustments. They may need to explore the buyout market after the trade deadline to fortify the bench.

Provided they stay generally healthy, the Bucks will provide their fans with plenty more thrills this season, and perhaps another long and rewarding journey to the Finals.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders and Spotrac was used in the creation of this post. Luke Adams contributed to this post.