NBA offseason grades for every team in the West: Low marks for Lakers, Warriors, plus one ‘F’

We are nearing the midway point between the end of the NBA Finals and the start of training camp, and most of the league’s offseason business is done. A dwindling contingent of players, including Tyus Jones, Luke Kennard and Markelle Fultz, remains unsigned, but it is unlikely any of them swings a championship.

So it is time for NBA offseason report cards. We covered the Eastern Conference. Now for the West …

The defending Western Conference champs needed shooting and landed one of the greatest shooters in the game’s history. The 34-year-old Thompson is a few years removed from consecutive season-ending injuries and nowhere near the player he was when he earned five straight All-Star nods. But he still shot 39% on nine 3-point tries a game last season and will feast on feeds from Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving.

Otherwise the Mavericks swapped out some of their role players, bringing in Marshall, Grimes and Dinwiddie to replace the departed Jones, Green and Hardaway. Marshall and Grimes are still developing skills that should benefit a Dončić-led team, and Dinwiddie enjoyed a stellar year in Dallas two years ago. Ultimately, the success of this offseason will depend on Thompson’s health and the development of both Marshall and Grimes, but the Mavs have earned the benefit of our doubt about moves on their margins.

GRADE: B+

(J’Kel Anderson/Yahoo Sports Illustration)

The 2023 NBA champions lost Caldwell-Pope to a three-year, $66 million offer from the Orlando Magic, which the Nuggets could have paid if ownership did not mind triggering some salary cap restraints. Instead, they let a valuable member of one of the league’s best starting lineups leave for no return. Denver also shed the salary of backup point guard Reggie Jackson, who played all 82 games last season.

In their place the Nuggets added Šarić — and potentially Russell Westbrook — and drafted Holmes, who suffered a season-ending Achilles injury in summer league. Šarić can eat some minutes as a reserve big, but no one replaces the loss of Caldwell-Pope, not even the further development of Christian Braun. Westbrook, meanwhile, would be an awkward…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba-offseason-grades-for-every-team-in-the-west-low-marks-for-lakers-warriors-plus-one-f-143142975.html

Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-07-24 14:31:42

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.