Eastern Conference Winners and losers
Two and a half weeks ago, free agency started in the NBA. With the injuries to Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton, the Eastern Conference is wide open. Anything teams can do to improve for this upcoming season is paramount. The West in my opinion is wide open too, more than people realize. I’ll write about that in another post. But let’s take a look at the East for now.
Atlanta Hawks: Winner. They were able to get Kristaps Porzingas, which that alone makes them better than the 40 win team they were last year. They are counting on Alexander-Walker to continue to improve. Luke Kennard helps them space the floor more. Losing Caris LeVert and Larry Nance Jr. might hurt a bit. But they did replace Nance with first round draft pick Asa Newell which will help. My only question; is Trae Young a winning basketball player? He puts up incredible stats (he averaged just over 24 ppg and 11 and a half assists last year). And he’s made some clutch baskets over his career. Are those “empty” stats though?
Boston Celtics: Winner. Interesting that I put them as a winner right? They traded away Porzingas and Jrue Holiday. And lost Jayson Tatum for the year due to injury. I put them as a winner because they have better flexibility to re-tool beyond the 25-26 season by getting under the second apron. And they have a proven track record of building a team. Something that a couple teams on this list can not say. They still have a shot at a play-in believe it or not. Getting Anfernee Simons back in the trade for Jrue Holiday may prove to be a great move down the line.
Brooklyn Nets: Loser. Rebuilding takes time. We all understand that. But to draft so many projects that have to develop? They could have drafted Demin roughly ten picks later. I get the feeling that Michael Porter Jr. will end up a tradeable asset in the 26-27 season with that expiring contract. And his ability to help a team win a championship. Unless Brooklyn sees him as someone you can build the franchise around? But at least the Nets get their first round pick next year before they have to give them up to the Houston Rockets in 2027.
Charlotte Hornets: Winner. I begrudgingly put them in this category. I like what they are building. I liked them drafting Kon Knueppel, although they likely could have traded back to 6 and got him. I feel like Tre Johnson would have been the better player. I liked them drafting Sion James in the second round. Getting Spencer Dinwiddie and Collin Sexton are good gets for when, not if, Lamelo Ball gets injured. And that is the reason I begrudgingly put them as a winner. They are getting a solid roster but, it all depends on the health of Ball. Ball has played in 105 out of a possible 246 games the last three years due to injuries. If he plays, he’s fabulous. But the Hornets need that if to become a when.
Chicago Bulls: Loser. Ugh. Exactly what is the plan with this team? Let’s get the one positive out of the way first…I liked them drafting Noa Essengue. He’s raw. But I believe that he will be a better player than Derrick Queen when their careers are looked at. Actually, there is a second positive. Re-signing Tre Jones was also a good move. But trading Lonzo Ball to a team in your own division? For Isacc Okoro? Wow. I get that anyone trading for Lonzo does so with the concern of his health. This team is afraid to trade for future assets for some reason. They traded Zach LaVine, Demar DeRozan, Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso for Zach Collins, Kevin Huerter, Tre Jones, a first round pick (which was theirs to begin with), Chris Duarte (no longer on the team), two second round picks, Isacc Okoro and Josh Giddey. The rumors are that they could have gotten at least one first out of Caruso at the previous seasons trade deadline. Not to mention letting a guy like Andre Drummond walk instead of prying assets out of a team for him. The rumor being three second round picks from Philly.
Cleveland Cavaliers: Winner. If the goal is to get to the finals and win a championship, they won. They were a flawed 64 win team last year. Especially towards the end of the season and into the playoffs. But they did have winning streaks of 15, 12 and 16 games. That doesn’t happen by accident. Adding Lonzo Ball, Larry Nance Jr. and Tyrese Proctor (via draft) and only losing Okoro and Ty Jerome is a win. They got better by adding pieces to the existing team that reeled off those winning streaks. Now, they need to perform better in the playoffs.
Detroit Pistons: Winner. Detroit won 44 games last season and I fully expect them to improve on that number this year. They improved their shooting by going from Tim Hardaway Jr. and Denis Schroder for Caris LeVert and Duncan Robinson. Although, Schroder’s ability to make plays will be missed. Drafting Chaz Lanier helps the shooting as well. Cade Cunningham was seventh in MVP voting after last season and if he takes that next step, Detroit could be a major player in the East.
Indiana Pacers: Winner. Losing Tyrese Haliburton is pretty bad. But they have enough depth to make another run to the playoffs. My question is; was their run to the Finals a fluke? I don’t think that the Pacers even sniff the Finals next year. Even with losing Haliburton to injury and Myles Turner to Milwaukee, I have the Pacers as a winner. They can score in bunches and might be the best defensive team in the league. They need continued development out of Jarace Walker and Johnny Furphy. And the drafting of Kam Jones was good because of his willingness to defend.
Miami Heat: Loser. They may improve on the 37 wins that they had last year but that’s not enough to call them a winner. Is Tyler Herro a number one option? I don’t think that he is. Neither is Bam Adebayo. While they have good number two’s and nice depth, this team doesn’t excite. The trade for Norman Powell is curious also. That’s a guy that you trade for if you are a solid role player away from competing for a title. Not someone that you add to an already crowded backcourt. Drafting Kasparas Jakucionis was very nice at pick #20 especially considering that he could have went in the top ten.
Milwaukee Bucks: Winner. I’ve seen a lot of people give the Bucks a failing grade for this off-season. I disagree. They will need improvement from their role players if they intend on competing for a title. They can compete though. The re-signings of Bobby Portis and Gary Trent Jr. were very good. The signing of Myles Turner is huge and he and Giannis should be able to play together. Cole Anthony and Gary Harris Jr. are good pieces as well. The downfall of Milwaukee though will always be that they are coached by Doc Rivers. Giannis and company might be able to will this team to a title despite Doc.
New York Knicks: Winner. The team that was two games away from the NBA Finals got better in a few regards. First, the firing of Tom Thibodeou. He’s a great coach and has helped develop the likes of Derrick Rose, Jimmy Butler, Jalen Brunson amongst others. He also runs his players into the ground. He did it in Chicago. He did it in Minnesota. And he did it in New York. Enter Mike Brown who spent quite a few years with the Warriors as an assistant coach on Steve Kerr’s staff after his not so good run in Sacramento. The Knicks are hoping that he learned a few things in that run with the Warriors. Getting Jordan Clarkson was another win for the Knicks. It allows the Knicks to give better rest to Brunson.
Orlando Magic: Winner. Signing Paolo Banchero to an extension was great obviously. The best thing for this franchise was trading for Desmond Bane. This team needed shooting in the worst way. Signing KCP was supposed to be the answer but he was a worse shooter with Orlando than he was in Denver. And Gary Harris regressed the last couple of years. They also drafted Jace Richardson and assuming he gets any playing time, Orlando’s shooting woes should be better. They traded Cole Anthony away in the Bane deal, which I think is a negative as he played pretty well off the bench. But signing Tyus Jones will definitely help. Orlando put all their chips in the middle of the table and declared all in.
Philadelphia 76ers: Loser. They’ll win more than 24 games this year just based on health alone. But Paul George has played more than 60 games just once in the last 6 seasons. Joel Embiid hasn’t played more than 40 the last couple. Tyrese Maxey will continue to improve and the drafting of VJ Edgecomb was great. And they should be fighting for a play-in spot at the very least. They did nothing to improve though outside of health. And when your two best players are injury prone, it’s just not good.
Toronto Raptors: Loser. Another case of what are they doing. The roster construction is not good. And then they signed Jakob Poeltl to a ridiculous contract extension. They desperately need Scottie Barnes to have a better season than he did last year. One bright note for Toronto is that RJ Barrett finally seemed to live up to his billing. They have tradeable assets so maybe they make a deadline deal to figure out this roster.
Washington Wizards: Winner. I would have called them a winner for just getting out from under Jordan Poole. The Wizards may have had the best off-season in the East. In trading Poole, they received CJ McCollum in return. A veteran presence that this young team needed. They are taking fliers on Malaki Branham, Blake Wesley and Cam Whitmore. These three guys couldn’t get regular time on their former teams the Spurs and Rockets because of the impressive youth that those teams have. And Tre Johnson falling to number six in this past NBA draft was incredible. Alex Sarr is still very much a work in progress. And now there isn’t any pressure for him to get better quickly. This could be a playoff team this coming season.