Every NBA Team's Biggest Win and Loss of the 2023 Offseason – Bleacher Report

While we patiently await the futures of Damian Lillard, Pascal Siakam and James Harden, it’s (probably) safe to start reviewing the 2023 NBA offseason.
All 30 teams have experienced some wins or losses, whether they’re related to free agency, the draft, trades, coaching changes or simply not addressing a need.
Though some wins and losses were certainly greater than others, here’s where every NBA team has gone right and wrong this summer.

Biggest Win: Signing Dejounte Murray to four-year extension
One of the best free agents of the 2024 class is already off the board, with Murray agreeing to a four-year, $114 million extension with the Hawks that includes $6 million in incentives.
This was the most Murray could have signed for by extending off his current $17.7 million salary. A new rule in the CBA allows players to extend for 140 percent of their salary, up from 120 percent, which Atlanta took advantage of.
This is a terrific contract for the cash-conscious Hawks, especially since Murray looked like he was headed for a max deal after making the All-Star Game in 2022. It’s a good deal for Murray as well, who locks in a ton of guaranteed money, gets a player option in Year 4 and a 15 percent trade kicker.
Biggest Loss: The John Collins trade return
Trading Collins was inevitable if the Hawks wanted to extend Murray and give new deals to players such as Saddiq Bey and Onyeka Okongwu, both free agents in 2024.
Still, a return of 36-year-old Rudy Gay and a future second-round pick is a far cry from what Atlanta could have gotten for Collins the past few years, especially before he signed his five-year, $125 million deal.
The Hawks did clear salary and create a $25.3 million trade exception, although this still seems like a disappointing end to what was once a promising career for Collins in Atlanta.

Biggest Win: Trading for Kristaps Porziņģis
Porziņģis is 27, coming off the best season of his career and fills a need as a two-way big man who can space the floor and protect the rim for Boston.
While there’s durability concerns and some bad postseason performances to be wary of, Porziņģis only needs to be a third option next to Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown instead of the co-star role he failed in alongside Luka Dončić.
If Porziņģis is healthy, this could be a perfect fit.
Biggest Loss: Trading Marcus Smart
Can a single trade be a team’s biggest win and loss?
The original version of the Porziņģis trade involved sending out Malcolm Brogdon instead of Smart, a deal that ultimately failed due to Brogdon’s injury status. Losing Smart—the team’s starting point guard and defensive ace who was the primary voice of the locker room—is a far greater loss.
This means bigger roles for Derrick White and Brogdon (if healthy), with Brown likely playing more 2-guard as well.
Getting Porziņģis was great, but losing Smart is going to have a greater ripple effect than just on-court production for Boston.

Biggest Win: Signing Cam Johnson to four-year, $94.5 million deal
While the original reported amount of $108 million over four years felt generous for Johnson, his contract ended up being far more team-friendly for Brooklyn.
The 27-year-old will get $94.5 million guaranteed with another $18 million in incentives. Of this $18 million, only about $4.5 million is considered likely incentives.
The Nets also did a terrific job structuring the deal, with his highest cap hit this season ($25.6 million and an average of $22.9 million the following three years). For someone who can play either forward position at 6’8″, is a solid defender and has shot 41.6 percent from three over the past two years, this is a really good contract for both sides.
Biggest Loss: Losing Joe Harris, Seth Curry and picks for nothing
Harris and Curry are Nos. 4 and 6 on the all-time three-point accuracy list. Not only did Brooklyn lose both of them this offseason, it also had to attach two second-round picks to do so.
The Nets sent a pair of future second-rounders to the Detroit Pistons to dump Harris’ expiring $19.9 million, giving them enough money to re-sign Johnson and stay under the luxury tax. Curry left to sign a two-year, $8 million contract with the Dallas Mavericks on what looks like one of the best value deals of the offseason.
While the reasoning was there for dumping Harris, this was still a disappointment to lose two of the best shooters in NBA history, especially when giving up draft equity in the process.

Biggest Win: Signing LaMelo Ball to five-year extension
Coming off a horrendous season, the Hornets had to get an extension done with Ball before any signs of disgruntlement began popping up.
The 21-year-old is now under contract for the next six seasons thanks to this extension, one that’s guaranteed at $205.9 million but could increase to $260 million if Ball wins MVP, Defensive Player of the Year or makes an All-NBA team this season.
While ankle injuries limited him to 36 games in 2022-23, Ball is still the centerpiece of this franchise. The Hornets offense increased its output by 5.7 points per 100 possessions when he was on the floor (89th percentile, per Cleaning the Glass).
Biggest Loss: Dennis Smith Jr. signing with Brooklyn Nets
While we wait to see what happens with free agent Kelly Oubre Jr., the only notable loss to date for Charlotte has been Smith.
The team’s backup point guard (and occasional starter) played well for the Hornets last season, averaging 8.8 points, 4.8 assists and 1.4 steals in his 54 games.
With durability concerns hovering around Ball, Charlotte should be on the lookout for a veteran point guard to replace Smith as an insurance plan.

Biggest Win: Signing Jevon Carter to three-year deal
Carter made our early “best value free agents” list before free agency started, as the veteran point guard is the perfect complement to stars with his defense, three-point shooting and ability to play on or off the ball.
Chicago was smart to add him to a backcourt that will once again be without Lonzo Ball, as Carter can start at point guard or be a key rotation player off the bench to mix and match with Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and Alex Caruso.
The Bulls can certainly use his 42.2 percent three-point shooting and playmaking ability. Getting Carter for under $20 million over three years was a great signing.
Biggest Loss: Patrick Beverley signing with Philadelphia 76ers
Chicago didn’t suffer any major losses this offseason after re-signing Nikola Vučević, with Beverley being the most significant.
While the Bulls played better and nearly knocked off the Miami Heat in the play-in tournament after signing Beverley midseason, Chicago was statistically worse (minus-8.0 points per 100 possessions, per Cleaning the Glass) with the veteran guard on the floor.
Overall, swapping Beverley for Carter was an upgrade.

Biggest Win: Adding shooting around core four
A first-round playoff meltdown proved the Cavaliers needed far more floor-spacing and depth around Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen.
Cleveland addressed these needs by orchestrating a sign-and-trade for Max Strus, signing Georges Niang and Ty Jerome and bringing back Caris LeVert. Strus will almost certainly replace Isaac Okoro as the team’s starting small forward, forcing defenses to spread out their coverage and open up more driving lanes for Mitchell and Garland.
While Strus isn’t a typical three-and-D wing with his 6’5″ size and average defensive ability, he’s an upgrade for the Cavs overall, who had to pay him nearly $16 million a season and part with some picks and players to complete the deal.
Biggest Loss: Trading Cedi Osman
Osman was the longest-tenured Cavalier, a solid role player and popular locker room veteran in Cleveland. His salary was needed to complete the sign-and-trade for Strus, however, along with Lamar Stevens, another gritty rotation player.
Osman shot 37.2 percent from three last year and would occasionally erupt for some random 20-point games, carrying the Cavs on nights when the stars were struggling.
The Cavs are better in the end, but Osman was a solid piece to this organization for the past six years.

Biggest Win: Draft night
Possessing the 10th overall pick going into the draft, the Mavericks ended the night by moving their worst contract while also adding a second first-rounder in the process.
Moving back from No. 10 to No. 12 in a swap with the Oklahoma City Thunder allowed Dallas to move Davis Bertāns’ remaining two-year, $33 million contract while also opening up a $17 million trade exception. The Mavs were still able to draft center Dereck Lively II at No. 12.
By taking Richaun Holmes’ contract into their newly created trade exception, the Mavericks were given the 24th overall pick and the right to select Olivier-Maxence Prosper.
When the dust settled, Dallas had added two high-upside prospects and swapped Bertāns for Holmes, all by just using the 10th pick.
Biggest Loss: Kyrie Irving’s contract
After Irving was forced to play under his $36 million player option last season, was suspended by the Brooklyn Nets and later traded to the Mavs, it didn’t look like the 31-year-old was heading for a raise this summer.
In the end, however, Irving got $120 million in guaranteed money over three years with another $6 million in incentives. A third-year player option also makes the deal more head-scratching for Dallas, as this massive salary seemed enough for a player who hasn’t exactly been available for his teams over the past few years.
Yes, the Mavericks couldn’t afford to lose Irving, but this seemed like Dallas won a bidding war against itself.

Biggest Win: Peyton Watson’s summer-league play
The Nuggets are going to be forced to rely on a number of young players next season after losing Bruce Brown and Jeff Green in free agency. Watson is destined for more minutes as a second-year wing coming off a strong summer-league performance.
In his pair of games in Las Vegas, Watson averaged 19.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.5 steals, 1.5 blocks and shot 52.2 percent overall in 31.2 minutes. This was a huge step up from his summer-league play the year before (8.4 points on 31.6 percent shooting) and a good sign of things to come for Denver.
If the 6’8″ wing can soak up some of Brown’s minutes, his summertime development will be Denver’s biggest offseason win.
Biggest Loss: Bruce Brown signing with Indiana Pacers
This seemed inevitable given the $7.8 million Denver was allowed to sign Brown for, as he ultimately left for Indiana for nearly three times as much money.
No one should blame either side here, as Brown made the best financial choice for himself, and the Nuggets will always be thankful for his championship contributions.
Still, losing Brown as a ball-handler, three-point shooter and multi-positional defender is truly going to hurt Denver’s bench next season.

Biggest Win: Hiring Monty Williams
Williams never deserved to be fired by the Phoenix Suns, but the Pistons should certainly be happy that he was.
One of the very best in the league and the 2021-22 Coach of the Year, Williams was the Pistons’ top free-agent signing this offseason, even if it could cost Detroit $100 million over the next eight years.
Still, getting the right guy at this stage of the rebuild is crucial for Detroit, a team that needs to start winning while also developing what’s become one of the best collections of young talent in the NBA. Signing Williams was a home run.
Biggest Loss: Not addressing the wing more
Detroit has a lot of guards and bigs on this roster and needed more wing help this summer. While the Pistons traded for Joe Harris and drafted Ausar Thompson at No. 5 overall, getting one more 6’9″-ish defender who can space the floor would have been perfect for this team.
We may see Cade Cunningham running point guard on offense while being forced to defend other team’s small forwards given his 6’6″ frame. Williams may be forced to get creative with some of his lineups unless Detroit makes a trade for a more traditional wing.
A Marvin Bagley III-Reggie Bullock swap with the San Antonio Spurs (or something similar) would better balance the roster.

Biggest Win: Moving Jordan Poole’s contract
Swapping Poole for Chris Paul changed the Warriors’ financial outlook from a potential crisis to just another expensive roster, all while lowering the ceiling but raising the floor for this team next season.
Poole simply wasn’t worth $32 million a year for a Warriors team that already features enough offensive pop, especially if Moses Moody and Jonathan Kuminga continue to develop. Draymond Green needed to get paid, and Stephen Curry is set to be the NBA’s highest-paid player next season at $51.9 million.
Having Chris Paul as a backup point guard is nice, but this deal was about moving Poole’s contract.
Biggest Loss: Donte DiVincenzo signing with New York Knicks
Pegged as my most underrated signing of the 2022 offseason, DiVincenzo indeed played so well for the Warriors that they couldn’t afford to keep him this summer.
After averaging 9.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.3 steals and shooting 39.7 percent from three, DiVincenzo did the right thing by turning down his player option with the Warriors to get a four-year, $46.9 million deal from the Knicks.
It wasn’t a surprise to lose the 26-year-old guard, but this is still a loss that will be felt in Golden State’s rotation.

Biggest Win: Selecting Amen Thompson and Cam Whitmore in the first round
Outside of the San Antonio Spurs, no team had a better draft than these Rockets.
Thompson is going to be an immediate contributor to this rotation with his size, passing, athleticism and rebounding. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see the 20-year-old push Fred VanVleet for the starting point guard job as early as next season.
Whitmore fell to No. 20 overall, a drop we’re going to continue to shake our heads at for the next several years. The 19-year-old looked dominant in summer league, winning MVP honors while taking the Rockets to the finals and averaging 19.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.5 steals and shooting 44.7 percent overall. He also set a summer-league record with eight steals in a game.
While free agency stole most of the show in Houston this offseason, draft night was actually the Rockets’ biggest win.
Biggest Loss: Giving Dillon Brooks $86 million
For a Rockets team that struggled to shoot the ball last season, adding a high-volume, low-percentage shooter doesn’t make any sense.
No other team would have given Brooks this kind of money. His own team didn’t even want to re-sign him. Now, Houston has to pay Brooks over $20 million per year into his 30s while he takes shot opportunities away from players like Jalen Green, Jabari Smith Jr., Thompson, Whitmore, Alperen Şengün, Kevin Porter Jr. and others.
Yes, this team needed defense and veterans. No, this wasn’t the right contract or player for the Rockets to invest in. This was easily one of the offseason’s worst moves from any team.

Biggest Win: Signing Tyrese Haliburton to five-year extension
Halliburton is one of the most likable players in the league, a terrific passer and efficient scorer who’s only getting better at age 23. Making him the face of the franchise for at least the next six seasons was a big win for Indiana.
The 6’5″ floor general will make $205.9 million over the life of his five-year extension, a contract that could increase to $260 million if he wins MVP or Defensive Player of the Year or makes an All-NBA team. If the Pacers are much improved and Haliburton puts up similar numbers to last season’s (20.7 points, 10.4 assists, 3.7 rebounds, 1.6 steals, 40 percent shooting from three), a spot on an All-NBA team is a real possibility.
Seeing a small-market team keep an All-Star player is always a win.
Biggest Loss: Trading Chris Duarte to Sacramento Kings
Indiana is having a good summer overall. Punting on a lottery pick after just two seasons was a bit of a letdown, however.
Duarte was selected No. 13 overall in 2021 but struggled in his second year with the Pacers. For someone who played well off Domantas Sabonis, Duarte never established the same chemistry with Haliburton, especially as the Pacers began adding more wings.
This trade will be good for Duarte to reunite with Sabonis in Sacramento, but it’s a disappointment for a Pacers team that had high hopes following his 13.1-point-per-game rookie year.

Biggest Win: Getting younger and more athletic
No one could blame the Clippers for loading up on win-now vets around Kawhi Leonard and Paul George the past few years. As injuries to both continue to add up, however, it became clear that Los Angeles needed some younger legs to balance out the roster and help fill minutes.
The Clippers started this process by trading for Bones Hyland at the February deadline and have only continued this summer with the additions of Kenyon Martin Jr. via trade and Kobe Brown in the draft.
Having a bench with Hyland, Martin, Brown and Terance Mann actually gives this team some upside to lean on or some trade assets to offer up in future deals.
Biggest Loss: Waiving Eric Gordon
No one is arguing that Gordon deserved his $20.9 million non-guaranteed salary this season, although his 22-game tenure in Los Angeles should be viewed as nothing less than a disaster now.
The Clippers had to give up Luke Kennard, the team’s best shooter, for Gordon at the trade deadline, as well as move back from No. 20 to No. 30 overall in the 2023 draft after giving up swap rights with the Houston Rockets. This cost Los Angeles the chance to draft Cam Whitmore, who ultimately slid to No. 20.
Gordon has since signed with the Phoenix Suns, the team that knocked the Clippers out of the 2023 playoffs and is one of the major roadblocks to a potential final run for L.A. now.

Biggest Win: No other team giving Austin Reaves an offer sheet
As a restricted free agent, Reaves was never going to leave Los Angeles this summer. Another team could have made it a lot more painful for the Lakers to keep the young guard, however.
A max offer sheet for Reaves would have been valued at $98.5 million over four years, a number the Lakers couldn’t offer him outright. Teams like the San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets had the cap space to make such an offer, which would have tied up twice as much space for Lakers over the four-year deal.
In the end, no team made an offer, which helped the Lakers re-sign Reaves to a four-year, $53.8 million deal instead.
Biggest Loss: Leaning too much on unproven talent
The Lakers have had a terrific summer overall, doing the smart thing by bringing back players like Reaves, Rui Hachimura and D’Angelo Russell.
They’ve also made some gambles, however, signing some unproven young players over win-now vets during LeBron James’ age-39 season.
Bringing in Cam Reddish and Jaxson Hayes, two top-10 picks in 2019, is a risk. Both weren’t even given qualified offers from their respective teams, speaking to their lack of production in their NBA careers.
Both could turn into solid role players with real upside, although the Lakers aren’t exactly in development mode. It’s a bit curious why Los Angeles didn’t take the Phoenix Suns path, opting for more veterans with their minimum deals instead.

Biggest Win: Trading for Marcus Smart
The Grizzlies were one of the sneaky offseason winners, due primarily to the addition of Smart.
The 29-year-old guard already has 108 playoff games under his belt, having never missed the postseason since entering the NBA in 2014. His toughness, defense, leadership and passing is exactly what this team needed, and going against Ja Morant every day in practice is the definition of iron sharpening iron.
He’s under a good contract for the next three years, and this could end up being a Jrue Holiday-esque addition, pushing the Grizzlies into true title contention.
Biggest Loss: Trading Tyus Jones to Washington Wizards
While Smart is an upgrade over Jones, Memphis will still miss all that the 27-year-old brought to the organization.
Developing into the best backup point guard in the NBA over the past four seasons with the Grizzlies, Jones was often called to step in when Morant missed time. He was a good locker room presence and playmaker who Memphis needed over and over again.
If Smart can stay healthy, losing Jones won’t be a big deal. If not, the Grizzlies will miss their insurance plan, one that they’ve leaned on heavily for Morant’s entire career.

Biggest Win (for now): Adding/retaining bargain-bin vets
While we wait to see if the Heat trade for Damian Lillard, Miami has already done a good job adding some veteran talent around Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.
Getting Kevin Love back for two years and $7.8 million was a good deal, as the veteran forward fit in well and added some floor-spacing for Miami last season. Josh Richardson was a bargain at $5.9 million over two years and could end up starting for the Heat if a Lillard trade goes through. Richardson’s best season came with Miami in 2018-19 when he averaged 16.6 points and 4.1 assists.
Thomas Bryant is a three-point shooting big who brings a new element to the center position behind Adebayo. Once again, the Heat got a great deal with a two-year, $5.3 million contract for Bryant.
Biggest Loss: Max Strus, Gabe Vincent getting too expensive to keep
Miami will almost certainly be a luxury-tax team this season and are $13.2 million over the tax line. If the Heat had kept both Strus and Vincent, their total roster cost alone before tax implications would have crossed $200 million.
Of course, no franchise is better at finding talent and developing it than Miami, so the next Strus and Vincent will eventually come along. Assuming the Heat trade for Lillard, the loss of Vincent won’t be felt nearly as much, either.

Biggest Win: Signing Malik Beasley for the veteran minimum
Re-signing Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez was the priority for Milwaukee, although neither seemed like a major threat to leave.
Getting Beasley for the vet minimum was huge, however, as the 26-year-old averaged 12.7 points last season and is a career 37.8 percent marksman from deep. He has a chance to start for Milwaukee alongside Jrue Holiday, Middleton, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Lopez, or at the very least be the team’s sixth man.
Keeping the core together wasn’t enough for a Bucks team that lost in the first round. This was a big signing for Milwaukee, especially at this price.
Biggest Loss: Jevon Carter signing with Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls’ biggest win was the Bucks’ biggest loss, as Carter started 39 games for Milwaukee last season, playing in 81 total. He became an important combo guard to pair next to Holiday or take over his starting role when the All-Star point guard had to miss time.
Bringing back everyone simply wasn’t in the budget for a Bucks team already facing a $40 million luxury-tax bill. Losing valuable role players like Carter and Joe Ingles was inevitable.

Biggest Win: Signing Anthony Edwards to five-year extension
With apologies to Devin Booker, Donovan Mitchell and others, it won’t be long until Edwards establishes himself as the best shooting guard in the game. Going into Year 4, Edwards still hasn’t turned 22 yet and is coming off a playoff series where he averaged 31.6 points against the eventual champion Denver Nuggets.
With his new extension, Edwards will be in Minnesota for the next six seasons at least. There’s no player option in the deal, either, another win for the Timberwolves.
Everything the Wolves do from now on should come back to Edwards and how they can build around him. Karl-Anthony Towns isn’t good enough to be a No. 1 option on a title team. Edwards looks like he will be.
Biggest Loss: Waiving Taurean Prince
Minnesota waived Prince’s $7.4 million salary in order to create for financial flexibility, eventually using the savings to bring in Shake Milton, Troy Brown Jr. and re-sign Nickeil Alexander-Walker.
This was a necessary sacrifice, although Prince was a solid veteran who averaged 9.1 points and shot 38.1 percent from three last season. Minnesota is deeper overall now, even at the cost of Prince.

Biggest Win: Signing Herb Jones to four-year extension
The Pelicans had one more cheap year on Jones’ rookie contract at $1.8 million, but wisely turned down the option to lock him in for the next four years instead.
His new deal, $53.8 million over the next four years, is going to age really well. Already one of the best defensive wings in the league, Jones’ 6’8″ frame allows to defend nearly every position. If he continues his three-point shooting improvements, the Pelicans will have one of the better two-way players in the league on a mid-level exception-esque contract.
Jones wins with a $10 million increase in pay next season as well.
Biggest Loss: Josh Richardson signing with Miami Heat
The Richardson era in New Orleans is over after just 23 games.
The Pelicans parted with four second-round picks to acquire the versatile wing at the trade deadline, only to see him leave for a modest two-year, $5.9 million deal in Miami, one New Orleans should have topped. While the trade also offloaded Devonte’ Graham’s contract, this was a lot of draft equity to part with for a rental.

Biggest Win: Signing Donte DiVincenzo to four-year deal
The Knicks have been fairly quiet this offseason as we wait on potential extensions for Josh Hart and Immanuel Quickley. By Hart picking up his player option instead of opting out and signing a bigger deal, New York was able to keep its full mid-level exception to use on DiVincenzo.
A four-year, $46.9 million is going to be less than the full mid-level for the length of the deal, beginning at $10.9 million next season. While it means a potential crowded backcourt along with Jalen Brunson, Quentin Grimes, Quickley and Hart, DiVincenzo is versatile enough with his playmaking and off-ball ability to play with anyone.
Biggest Loss: Trading Obi Toppin to Indiana Pacers
Dumping Toppin on the Pacers for a pair of future second-round picks helped keep the Knicks under the luxury tax line, although this was a wildly disappointing end to the No. 8 overall pick’s tenure in New York.
Toppin could have been used as a trade asset at least, a 25-year-old with great athleticism and an improving three-point shot.

Biggest Win: Chet Holmgren’s summer league play
The Thunder didn’t make any earth-shattering moves this offseason despite their mountain of future draft picks, instead relying on internal improvements and the return of Holmgren from a foot injury.
Assuming he can stay healthy and continue to add weight to his frame, we may be looking at the next great big man in the NBA.
Holmgren is a force defensively already and should be a threat to lead the league in blocked shots. In his two summer league games in Las Vegas, Holmgren averaged 20.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.0 steals and 3.5 blocks while shooting 56.0 percent overall.
Biggest Loss: Taking on Dāvis Bertāns’ contract to move up two spots in draft
Paying $33 million is a LOT to move up two draft spots. The Thunder did just this by agreeing to take on Bertāns’ remaining two-year deal, although the second season is guaranteed at $5 million and only becomes fully guaranteed if he plays in 75 percent of his team’s games. In other words, Bertāns may be getting a lot of nights to “rest” this upcoming season.
Assuming the Mavericks were going to take Dereck Lively II at No. 10, the Thunder only needed to worry about the Orlando Magic at No. 11 selecting Cason Wallace, who ended up taking shooting guard Jett Howard from Michigan.
If the Thunder can rehab Bertāns’ value a bit and use his salary in a future trade, this won’t look so bad. For now, it looks like a rare miss from an OKC front office that is one of the NBA’s absolute best.

Biggest Win: Signing Joe Ingles to two-year deal
A 35-year-old Ingles getting a two-year, $22 million deal looked like an overpay at first, although the second season is a team option. This is essentially a one-year, $11 million deal for a terrific veteran who can still shoot the cover off the ball.
Ingles shook off a slow start in a return from a torn ACL to make 50.6 percent of his three-point attempts over his final 19 games last season while averaging 8.1 points and 3.6 assists in less than 20 minutes.
He’ll keep the ball moving on this young Magic team, making sure everyone gets involved while opening up the floor with his own outside shooting.
Biggest Loss: Waiving Bol Bol
This one didn’t make much sense for the Magic.
Bol looked like he had found a home in Orlando, coming off a career year where he averaged 9.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 21.5 minutes as a starter and reserve. He’s shown some three-point shooting ability at age 22 and is a massive 7’2″ with a 7’8″ wingspan.
Waiving him now was confusing, especially since even a title-chasing team like the Phoenix Suns were quick to snatch Bol up.

Biggest Win: Hiring Nick Nurse
With the James Harden saga coming to an ugly end, there haven’t been a lot of wins in Philly this offseason. The additions of Patrick Beverely and Mo Bamba were fine, but ultimately didn’t move the needle that much closer to a championship.
Swapping Doc Rivers for Nurse was an upgrade, however. The 55-year-old had a .582 win percentage in five seasons in Toronto, and was even better during the playoffs (61.0 percent).
The year he had a bonafide superstar in Kawhi Leonard, the Raptors won the Finals. Now with Joel Embiid, Nurse has another loaded roster to work with.
Biggest Loss: Joel Embiid’s patience
Perhaps no one is more interested in Harden’s future than Embiid, who needs another star back in return to stay in a championship race.
Beginning a four-year, $213 million max extension, Embiid is entrenched in Philly, at least for now. This is a new era in the NBA, as we just saw Kevin Durant ask for and be granted a trade with four years remaining on his own deal.
After the Ben Simmons fiasco and now Harden wanting out, Embiid’s patience may be running out. The Sixers have to improve this offseason and keep their MVP happy.

Biggest Win: Trading for Bradley Beal with no first-round picks
It’s fair to question the fit of Beal alongside Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, the $200 million-plus remaining on his four-year contract and the long-term financial implications for the Suns franchise now.
At the end of the day, however, swapping 38-year-old Chris Paul for 30-year-old Bradley Beal coming off a season where he averaged 23.2 points and 5.4 assists on 50.6 percent shooting is a massive talent upgrade.
Six second-round picks and four first-round pick swaps isn’t nothing, but players as talented as Beal simply don’t get traded without a first-round pick or significant young talent coming back in return. Phoenix sacrificed neither and still got an All-Star caliber guard in his prime, thanks to Beal’s no-trade clause.
Biggest Loss: Not getting a true point guard
Losing Paul and then trading backup point guard Cam Payne in a salary dump means the Suns are running short on floor generals. While any of their three stars can handle the ball and create for others, Phoenix could still use a veteran pass-first guard in its rotation.
The Bol Bol signing has brought the Suns’ roster up to a full 15 players, so bringing in a free agent doesn’t look likely. Eventually trading Deandre Ayton for some role players could fetch a true point guard, but that looks unlikely at this time as well.
This offense has the chance to look a little clunky at times, even if the overall star power on the floor should eventually figure things out.

Biggest Win: Drafting Scoot Henderson No. 3 overall
Brandon Miller should go on to have a long, prosperous career with the Charlotte Hornets. WIth that being said, Portland should be thrilled that Henderson fell to them at No. 3.
If not for Victor Wembanyama, Henderson would have likely been locked in as the No. 1 overall pick for a year now. His talent jumps off the screen, whether it’s with Henderson’s athleticism, passing or massive dunks in traffic.
The Blazers are going from Peyton Manning to Andrew Luck here with the assumption that Damian Lillard is traded, making this a bittersweet time in Portland.
Biggest Loss (for now): Giving Jerami Grant $160 million
Until Lillard is moved, the Grant contract is easily the biggest L the Blazers have taken this offseason.
Outside of Dillon Brooks, this might be the worst contract handed out during free agency and was the most expensive at a total of $160 million. Grant is a good player, but he’s not a No. 2 or No. 3 option on a title team, something that he’s getting paid like now.
Kudos to Grant for getting paid, as he’ll likely end up on a contender by the trade deadline. Giving him this kind of money AND a player option on the final year was a real head-scratching move by Portland, however.

Biggest Win: Signing Domantas Sabonis to four-year extension
Sabonis was going to be one of the best free agents on the market next summer and could have easily signed a max contract after putting up 19.1 points, 12.3 rebounds and 7.3 assists on 61.5 percent shooting.
The Kings’ wisely used their cap space to give Sabonis more money this upcoming season while also extending him for four additional years at a below-max rate.
Sabonis now gets $186 million over the next four years, ending with $48.6 million in 2027-28. For comparison, Karl-Anthony Towns has a player option for $64.9 million that season, and will make $48.6 million more than Sabonis over the next four seasons, despite Sabonis being the superior player.
This was smart cap work by the Kings overall.
Biggest Loss: Giving up the 24th overall pick in a salary dump
Sacramento already had cap space going into the offseason but opted for more by unloading Richaun Holmes’ two-year, $24.8 million salary on the Dallas Mavericks.
This wasn’t a cheap salary dump, however, as the Kings had to give up their first-round pick (24th overall) to do so. By comparison, the Brooklyn Nets only parted with two second-rounders to move Joe Harris and his $19.9 million deal to the Detroit Pistons.
With their 2024 first-rounder already owed to the Atlanta Hawks, the Kings have to hope they have enough young talent in this core already.

Biggest Win: Drafting Victor Wembanyama
This was an easy choice.
The Spurs made a lot of smart moves this offseason, using their cap space to take on vets like Reggie Bullock, Cedi Osman and Cam Payne while collecting draft picks.
With that being said, this summer was all about Wembanyama, who puts the Spurs on a completely different trajectory as a franchise. Twenty years after LeBron James came into the league, San Antonio perhaps has the next generational prospect in Wembanyama. Everything from here on out revolves around the 7’3″ big man and his development.
Biggest Loss: Keita Bates-Diop signing with the Phoenix Suns
There’s really nothing to complain about regarding the Spurs’ summer.
Bates-Diop was a nice role player for San Antonio this past season (9.7 points, 39.4 percent shooting from three) although at age 27 he didn’t truly fit the rebuild here. Having him leave to sign with the win-now Suns wasn’t a surprise.

Biggest Win: Re-signing Jakob Poeltl to four-year deal
Regardless of what the Raptors do the rest of the offseason, bringing Poeltl back was a must after Toronto gave up a first and two second-round picks at the February deadline to acquire him.
A four-year, $78 million deal is fair on both sides, as Poeltl doubles his previous annual salary while also getting a player option in Year 4. The Raptors were a whopping 14.1 points per 100 possessions better with Poeltl on the floor last season (98th percentile, per Cleaning the Glass), as he averaged 13.1 points, 9.1 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.2 steals, 1.3 blocks and shot 65.2 percent overall.
Biggest Loss: Fred VanVleet signing with the Houston Rockets
This one stings.
VanVleet’s time in Toronto was movie-worthy as he grew from an undrafted free agent to playing a big role on a championship team. He blossomed into an All-Star and 20-point-per-game scorer, bringing a great deal of toughness, defense and leadership overall.
While it’s understandable that the Raptors didn’t want to pay him north of $40 million a season like the Houston Rockets, replacing him with Dennis Schröder is a downgrade for a team that went just 41-41 overall last season.
Toronto is in a bad spot overall as a franchise, especially with Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby entering the final year of their contracts as well.

Biggest Win: Jordan Clarkson’s unique contract extension
Coming off a career year where he averaged 20.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.4 assists and shot 44.4 percent overall, it was surprising to see the 31-year-old pick up his $14.3 million player option instead of trying to get a new long-term deal as an unrestricted free agent.
As it terms out, both sides had a plan.
Clarkson ended up receiving a two-year extension and $37.7 million in total, although $9.2 million was tacked on to his upcoming player option thanks to Utah’s cap space. This means a lower total moving forward (roughly $14 million in 2024-25 and 2025-26), giving the Jazz more cap space in the future as well.
It was a beautifully-designed deal for both Clarkson and Utah.
Biggest Loss: Trading Damian Jones to Cleveland Cavaliers
There weren’t many losses for Utah this summer, as the team only gave up Rudy Gay and a future second-round pick in exchange for John Collins and traded Jones to the Cavaliers to open up a roster spot.
Jones played 15.8 minutes a night in his 19 games last season and is a solid rim protector. With a bigger role expected for Walker Kessler and adding Collins who can play some center, Jones became expendable.

Biggest Win: Kristaps Porziņģis opting into his deal, allowing Wizards to trade him
The rebuilding Wizards were in danger of losing both Porziņģis and Kyle Kuzma for nothing in free agency this summer. While Kuzma ultimately re-signed on a four-year deal, Porziņģis agreed to pick up his player option to facilitate a trade to the Boston Celtics.
Thanks to this, Washington was able to add Tyus Jones from the Memphis Grizzlies (likely the team’s new starting point guard) as well as Danilo Gallinari and Mike Muscala from the Celtics. All three could be flipped at some point for future draft picks.
The Wizards did well by getting something for their second-best player.
Biggest Loss: The Bradley Beal trade return
Yes, the Wizards ultimately got Jordan Poole, a future first-round pick from the Golden State Warriors, six second-round picks and four pick swaps from the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Beal.
No, this is nothing compared to what offers they could have fielded the past few years before signing Beal to a five-year deal with a no-trade clause.
This new Wizards front office likely did the best they could, especially if the Miami Heat were holding on to their trade assets for a run at Damian Lillard (which, we now realize they were wise to do so).
Still, a player of Beal’s caliber, one of the greatest in franchise history, should have gotten a far better return.

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