Dallas Mavericks

Additions: Quincy Acy, Harrison Barnes, Andrew Bogut, Nicolas Brussino, Seth Curry, Jonathan Gibson, A.J. Hammons

Subtractions: Jeremy Evans, Raymond Felton, David Lee, JaVale McGee, Zaza Pachulia, Chandlers Parsons, Charlie Villanueva

2016-17 Cap Space: None. Over Salary Floor. Under Luxury Tax.

2017-18 Maximum Cap Space: $39.1 million 

Analysis: The Dallas Mavericks continued their trend from previous offseasons of building a team around Dirk Nowitzki that will be competitive in the Western Conference, but just shy of being a true contender. Mark Cuban has stated that as long as Nowitzki is playing, the Mavs won’t go all in on a full rebuild. They feel they owe it to Nowitzki to be competitive for as long as he’s still in uniform.

The Mavericks were as active in the offseason as just about any team in the league. They added players through trade and free agency and have set themselves up to be an interesting team. As has been the case in the recent past, Nowitzki was a free agent and essentially let Dallas handle all of their business before re-upping himself. Different from the last time around, Nowitzki is getting back some of the money he sacrificed previously. Dallas will pay him $25 million this year with a Team Option for 2017-18, also at $25 million. This is more than fair when you consider what he’s meant to the Mavericks franchise, and factoring in that he’s still a very productive offensive weapon.

Knowing that they had Nowitzki in the fold, Dallas moved on to re-signing Dwight Powell. Powell has come a long way in Dallas since being a throw-in in the Rajon Rondo trade. He’s developed into a productive backup center/power forward and has a blossoming offensive game. The Mavs may have overpaid slightly at $37 million over four years, but given the money that bigs got on the market this summer, this deal looks more than fair. 

The Mavericks also brought back Deron Williams for another season to run the offense from the point guard position. In his first year with Dallas, Williams was fairly productive and relatively healthy. He’s no longer the playmaking force that he was with Utah or his early Brooklyn days, but he’s a smart offensive player who is content to play his role. Williams understands that his job is to get the Mavericks into their sets and then find his spot. His shooting slipped just slightly, but is still good enough for what Dallas needs. 

Dallas also helped Golden State facilitate the signing of Kevin Durant by agreeing to “eat” the last year of Andrew Bogut’s contract. Eating the deal is a bit of a misnomer, as Bogut is still a productive player. He’ll give the Mavericks the same sort of play he gave Golden State, with good passing/screening on offense and solid rim protection on defense. He’s an excellent passer from up top and Dallas will incorporate that in to a lineup that is still a little short on playmakers. Bogut will also be a good mentor for Powell, Salah Mejri and rookie A.J. Hammons.

Further helping the Warriors in their quest to build a “super team”, Dallas quickly agreed to a deal with restricted free agent Harrison Barnes. Barnes comes to Dallas as the replacement for Chandler Parsons, who signed with Memphis. While Barnes isn’t quite the same outside shooter as Parsons, he’s just as good as an overall scorer. In addition, his ability to competently defend opposing power forwards gives the Mavericks an ability to play small ball well on both ends they previously lacked. As Barnes takes on a more prominent role for his new team, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him average close to 20 PPG for the Mavs this season. 

After filling out the starting lineup, the Mavericks added two quality bench players in Quincy Acy and Seth Curry from the Sacramento Kings. Acy will give Dallas great energy off the bench. He’s primarily a power forward, but can switch out and defend some of the slower wings. He’ll run the floor well and stay in his lane offensively. Over the last couple of seasons, he’s occasionally shown an improved three point shot and that would help him a lot, as the Mavs like to have shooters on the floor at all five positions.

Curry was inexplicably non-tendered by the Kings as a restricted free agent. After bouncing around the league on several 10 Day Contracts, Curry seemed to have found a home with Sacramento. He gave the Kings terrific shooting and passable defense off their bench. With Sacramento needing shooting and having a need at point guard, it is hard to understand why they let him become an unrestricted free agent. Once they did, the Mavericks quickly pounced, giving Curry a two year contract using the Room Exception. In Dallas, he’ll join a backcourt group that includes veterans Williams, Wesley Matthews, J.J. Barea and Devin Harris. Curry’s ability to play to play both guard spots will help and Rick Carlisle will certainly make use of his ability to shoot the ball. 

To round out the offseason, Dallas gave partial and non-guaranteed contracts to a large group of players to compete for roster spots in the pre-season. Keep an eye on Nicolas Brussino from Argentina. He’s a 6’7’’ small forward who competes very hard on both ends of the floor. Dallas believes that they have a hidden gem in him. 

2016-17 Grade: B+. By refusing to rebuild, the Mavericks keep putting quality offseasons together. Adding Andrew Bogut, Harrison Barnes, Seth Curry and Quincy Acy, while retaining Dirk Nowitzki, Dwight Powell and Deron Williams, should keep Dallas in the playoff picture. This team has more versatility and more depth than previous editions as well.

Long-term Grade: B+. Mark Cuban went on record that the Mavericks probably should blow it up and tank for a draft pick to get back in contention. But he also said that isn’t happening while Nowitzki is still playing. In general, this type of short term thinking can really hamper the future. In this case, however, Dallas signed a good player in Barnes who is just hitting his prime. They also maintained almost all their future cap flexibility to build the next version around Barnes. The Mavs are in good shape both today and tomorrow.

Houston Rockets

Additions: Ryan Anderson, Tyler Ennis, Eric Gordon, Nene Hilario, Chinanu Onuaku, Pablo Prigioni

Subtractions: Michael Beasley, Andrew Goudelock, Dwight Howard, Terrence Jones, Josh Smith, Jason Terry (as of this writing Donatas Motiejunas also remains a RFA)

2016-17 Cap Space: None. Over Salary Floor. Under Luxury Tax.

2017-18 Maximum Cap Space: $16.2 million

Analysis: The Houston Rockets are attempting to rebuild their team on the fly around the talent of James Harden. Mainstays from recent years, Dwight Howard, Terrence Jones and Josh Smith, are out. In their places are offensive minded players who fit well in new coach Mike D’Antoni’s system.

Howard’s time in Houston ended on a sour note. Despite being a productive defensive player, efficient offensive weapon and good rebounder, the Rockets aren’t sad to see him go. His continued questionable attitude in the locker room and during games, along with his lack of ability to mesh with James Harden, saw him move on without even an offer to stay. The Rockets are essentially replacing him, and two backup bigs in Jones and Smith, with Ryan Anderson and Nene. It will be a different look in Houston, but one they are welcoming.

Anderson gives the Rockets an offensive weapon to add spacing around Harden. Despite some issues with his health the last few years, Anderson’s game remains strong. He’s still a very good outside shooter as a prototypical stretch 4. He’s also a decent rebounder. In D’Antoni’s system, he should do a nice job out of pick and pop plays with Harden. He’ll also give them a credible threat from the corner, which was lacking from the Houston bigs last year. 

Nene could start if Houston wants to go with an offensive look to begin games. Or he could back up budding youngster Clint Capela, if the Rockets want more defense on the floor. Either way, Nene will give the Rockets a suitable replacement for Howard in terms of low post offense. As he’s aged and his athleticism has slipped, Nene still gets it done with strength and guile inside. He’s also a passable defensive player, who uses positioning to challenge shots and get rebounds. 

On the wing, the Rockets doubled down on the Anderson signing and added even more shooting with Eric Gordon. Gordon comes with his own set of health issues, but he’s a career 38% three point shooter. He might not start games, but Gordon should see between 25 and 30 MPG next to Harden in plenty of lineups where Harden is the primary ball handler. When he’s on the floor, he’ll be asked to focus on scoring the ball and providing even more spacing for Harden to get to the basket.

In a trade on the eve of training camp, Houston shipped out Michael Beasley, who saw a career rebirth when he joined the Rockets after a stint in China, for point guard Tyler Ennis. Ennis struggled to gain much a foothold in the league in both Phoenix and Milwaukee, but Houston likes him as a depth piece behind Patrick Beverley and offseason addition Pablo Prigioni.

The Rockets biggest move was to use the remainder of their cap space to renegotiate and extend James Harden’s contract. The Rockets brought Harden’s salary, which was under market value for a play of his caliber, up to his maximum and added two more years to the deal. This move assures Houston of having a true franchise player in place for the rest of his prime. 

2016-17 Grade: B. The Rockets will look different, but should be improved. The players all seem bought in to D’Antoni’s system. There is considerable excitement and the fans seem to be looking forward to this year, after many of them bailed on last year’s team. With the new additions around James Harden, Houston should score plenty. If the Rockets can have even a somewhat passable defense (top 20 or so), Houston will be in the mix for the top half of the Western Conference. 

Long-term Grade: C-. The long term future doesn’t look quite as bright as it does for this year. Having Harden locked up is terrific and necessary. But the rest of the team has a lot of questions. Anderson and Gordon are both being paid a lot of money over the next four seasons for players that have health concerns. Trevor Ariza and Corey Brewer are both signed for one more year beyond this one, and both of their deals are somewhat questionable. Clint Capela is the only young player who has shown the ability to be a rotation player. Overall, Houston seems locked into a group without a lot of upside for the future.

Memphis Grizzlies

Additions: Wade Baldwin IV, Troy Daniels, Deyonta Davis, James Ennis, Andrew Harrison, Chandler Parsons

Subtractions: Chris Andersen, Matt Barnes, Bryce Cotton, Jordan Farmar, P.J. Hairston, Xavier Munford, Lance Stephenson

2016-17 Cap Space: None. Over Salary Floor. Under Luxury Tax.

2017-18 Maximum Cap Space: $8.2 million

Analysis: After suffering a season that was wracked by injuries, the Grizzlies went into the summer with the goal of building enough depth to avoid it happening again. With the addition of four likely rotation pieces and a big, new contract for their floor general, Memphis appears poised to continue their run of six straight playoff appearances. To go further, the Grizzlies will need their new additions to add more than just depth around their core.

The first piece of business for Memphis this summer was to keep Mike Conley Jr. in the fold long term. They accomplished that in the largest of fashions by giving him a full five-year, maximum contract worth $152.6 million. With Conley coming off an Achilles’ tendon injury that prematurely ended his season; there are some questions about the length of the deal. But with few quality starting point guards on the market this summer, and Conley being a key cog for Memphis, they had no other realistic option.

After locking Conley up, but before officially signing him, the Grizzlies had plenty of cap space to use. And they used it to bring in three free agents to shore up their wing depth. Chandler Parsons signed a four year, max deal to hold down the small forward position for the foreseeable future. The Grizzlies hope that Parsons will give them the consistent perimeter shooting they have long lacked, along with solid passing and playmaking to pair with Conley.

To back up Parsons and Tony Allen, the Grizzlies added two more shooters in Troy Daniels and James Ennis. Neither Daniels nor Ennis has carved out a consistent role in the NBA to this point, but both have shown the ability to shoot well from behind the arc. Ennis was with the Grizzlies for a period of time last year after being acquired from Miami. He was waived when Memphis needed to add depth at other positions. Ennis then caught on with similarly injury ravaged New Orleans and played lights out over the last few weeks of the season. He’ll give Memphis a versatile option at the 2 and 3, while Daniels is more of a pure shooting guard.

After playing point guard roulette after Conley went down, the Grizzlies added depth at the draft by selecting Wade Baldwin IV. Baldwin has good size for the position and will benefit from being able to learn behind Conley. But pressure is on him, with Memphis having no other point guard options guaranteed to be on the roster. Deyonta Davis was also drafted as a developmental big man prospect. Many thought Davis would be a first round pick, maybe even late lottery, but the Grizzlies selected him in the second round after trading up with the Celtics. Given Memphis’ track record of developing bigs with JaMychal Green and Jarell Martin, Davis seems to be in good hands. 

Seemingly haven taken care of their biggest needs, the Grizzlies biggest additions, literally and figuratively, will be players returning from injury. Marc Gasol missed most of the second half of the year after breaking his foot and Brandan Wright missed most of the year with a knee injury. Both of those players will give Memphis a huge boost on both ends of the floor.

2016-17 Grade: B+. The Grizzlies got depth, shooting and hopefully healthier over the summer. Chandler Parsons should give them everything they’ve been looking for at the small forward spot. Daniels and Ennis are quality depth for the wing spots. And Baldwin gives them a reasonable option behind Conley. The Grizzlies might not be as much “Grit ‘N Grind” as previous years, but that is a good thing, especially if it takes them deeper in to the postseason.

Long-term Grade: D+. While things seem good in Memphis this year, the future is far cloudier. Gasol, Conley and Parsons all have considerable worries about their health. Zach Randolph isn’t getting any younger. Tony Allen has started to slow down. The young players are promising, but none are ready for starring roles. And Memphis may not have the cap space, due to the contracts for Conley, Parsons and Gasol to do much external improvement.

New Orleans Pelicans

Additions: Cheick Diallo, Langston Galloway, Buddy Hield, Solomon Hill, Terrence Jones, E’Twaun Moore, Lance Stephenson

Subtractions: Ryan Anderson, Luke Babbitt, Norris Cole, Toney Douglas, James Ennis, Eric Gordon, Kendrick Perkins

2016-17 Cap Space: None. Over Salary Floor. Under Luxury Tax.

2017-18 Maximum Cap Space: $30.4 million.

Analysis: The New Orleans Pelicans are coming off a season derailed by injuries. Only reserve forwards Dante Cunningham and Alonzo Gee played more than 80 games last season. Starters Anthony Davis, Omer Asik, Eric Gordon and Tyreke Evans missed between 14 and 57 games. Jrue Holiday had his minutes managed, often rotating between starting and coming off the bench and only appeared in 65 games. Overall, the Pelicans used 21 total players over the course of the season. For a team that started the year with aspirations of a second straight postseason appearance, the injuries were too much to overcome. 

New Orleans’ primary goal this summer was to use cap space to bring in productive players with a clean bill of health. The secondary goal was to add shooting around their franchise player Davis. The first goal seems to have been accomplished. The second will have to play out over the course of the season. 

The Pelicans’ first major decision was to let Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon leave. Seeing two productive players that the team had invested a lot of time and money in was hard, but it had to be done. To begin turning the corner to becoming a consistent playoff contender, New Orleans has to have players they can count on to be there for a full season. This led the team towards new additions Solomon Hill, E’Twaun Moore, Langston Galloway and draftees Buddy Hield and Cheick Diallo. 

Hill comes to New Orleans after three up and down seasons with the Pacers. As a rookie, Hill played sparingly and never had much of an impact. In his sophomore season, with Paul George injured for the bulk of the year, Hill was a productive starter with averages of 9 PPG and 4 RPG. Last year, with a healthy George around, Hill dropped back to being a part time player, whose efficiency was better but whose minutes were down. New Orleans is likely counting on Hill to either start at the small forward position or to be one of the first reserves off the bench at the 3. That position has long been a problem for the Pelicans and they paid Hill $48 million over 4 years to stabilize it. Hill’s versatility to play 2-4 will be a nice addition to a team that should look to go small with Davis at center quite a bit this year.

With so much turmoil at the guard position last year, the Pelicans invested somewhat heavily to add E’Twaun Moore and Langston Galloway, while also re-signing Tim Frazier. Jrue Holiday will miss part of the season while his wife undergoes surgery and Tyreke Evans doesn’t project to be ready to play after offseason surgery for quite some time. New Orleans wasn’t going to be caught without quality depth in the backcourt once again.

Both Moore and Galloway are combo guards who can handle the ball and play off the ball as well. At this point, Galloway is probably more of a point guard, while Moore is more of an off guard, but New Orleans will make use of each player’s versatility. Moore’s game is based around getting to the basket and making plays for himself or his teammates. Galloway is good at getting his team into a set and then playing off his teammates and shooting from the perimeter. Both are active, if not always effective defenders, who will benefit from having good defenders behind them at the rim. 

At the Draft, New Orleans continued their quest to add shooting by drafting Buddy Hield. Regarded by many as the best shooter in the draft, Hield will be asked to give New Orleans a consistent weapon from behind the arc. The Pelicans haven’t had enough shooting around Davis to open things up inside. If Hield can live up to the promise he showed in college, they’ll have their best shooter in quite some time. 

The Pelicans also add Cheick Diallo in the second round. He was highly regarded by many as an athlete and prospect, but slipped due to a lack of true skills. In Summer League he showed great athleticism and a willingness to run the floor, but that is the perfect venue for a player with those skills. New Orleans signed Diallo to two fully guaranteed years and will let him develop as a prospect. 

After it was announced that Evans would miss more time than originally thought, the Pelicans made a late signing and brought in Lance Stephenson. With 15 players already under fully guaranteed contracts, New Orleans added Stephenson on a contract that is only $100,000 guaranteed. He’ll be given every opportunity to win a roster spot that could use his playmaking ability if he can show he still has it. 

2016-17 Grade: B-. The Pelicans didn’t sign any superstars, but brought in reliable players who should give them consistent play. A lot of this summer’s grade depends on what you think of Solomon Hill. If you see him as a player who only put up numbers when the Pacers had no one else and that Indiana was right to decline his Rookie Option, you don’t like their summer. If you think Hill just needs an opportunity and may be a late bloomer, it is hard to find much fault with the Pelicans offseason.

Long-term Grade: B+. The most important thing the Pelicans did was to sign Anthony Davis to a full 5 year, max deal in the summer of 2015. That deal kicks in this year and keeps the Pelicans franchise player in town for at least 4 years. Having a player of Davis’ talent can make up for a lot of other ills on the roster. Beyond that, the Pelicans aren’t carrying any truly bad contracts outside of Omer Asik. And even Asik’s deal, with the cap explosion, doesn’t look as bad as it once did. If he can give the team 20 minutes a night of solid defense and good rebounding, he’s now fairly compensated. Assuming better health and continued smart cap management, the Pelicans should be back to contending for the playoffs year in and year out, possibly as soon as this season.

San Antonio Spurs

Additions: Davis Bertans, DeWayne Dedmon, Pau Gasol, Livio Jean-Charles, David Lee, Dejounte Murray

Subtractions: Matt Bonner, Boris Diaw, Tim Duncan, Boban Marjanovic, Kevin Martin, Andre Miller, David West

2016-17 Cap Space: None. Over Salary Floor. Under Luxury Tax.

2017-18 Maximum Cap Space: $28.1 million

Analysis: The San Antonio Spurs hit the summer off a nearly historic yet ultimately disappointing season. In most years, 67 wins would assure a team of the #1 seed in the playoffs. The Spurs had the unfortunate luck of being behind the Warriors all year long and had to face the Thunder in the second round. Despite a very competitive series, it seemed like San Antonio wore down and Oklahoma City eliminated them in 6 games. This ushered in a summer of change for San Antonio and started them down a transitional path.

The biggest change was the retirement of Tim Duncan in mid-July. After 19 years, Duncan chose to retire. He’s made himself available to the Spurs to assist with practices and helping in some capacity basketball-wise, but his playing days seem over.

With Duncan retiring, the Spurs took the opportunity to begin the makeover of their frontcourt. Boris Diaw was traded to Utah to create cap space, David West and Boban Marjanovic both signed elsewhere and Matt Bonner was left unsigned. In their places the Spurs added a trio of NBA veterans in Pau Gasol, DeWayne Dedmon and David Lee, along with overseas veteran Davis Bertans, whose Draft Rights were acquired in the Kawhi Leonard trade.

Gasol, despite some signs of aging, gives San Antonio an accomplished scorer alongside LaMarcus Aldridge up front. Gasol also remains a good rebounder and turned in surprisingly solid defense with the Bulls. He also gives the Spurs a bit of a different look from their previous bigs, as he has a very good outside shot and a more versatile offensive game. He should assimilate into the Spurs system on both ends fairly easily as well, being a veteran who has played under different coaches previously.

The Spurs hope Dedmon will give them some of the defensive presence and rebounding that they lost with Duncan’s retirement. Duncan is one of the all-time great defenders in the history of the league, so Dedmon won’t be asked to replace everything he did. But if can give San Antonio 20-25 minutes a night with some shot blocking and rebounding, they’ll be happy.

Finally, Lee and Bertans come in to replace what San Antonio got off the bench from West and Diaw. Lee struggled through most of the year with the Celtics before rebounding to a good finish in Dallas. He’s still a solid rebounder, passer and can score inside. He’s not the same ball handler that Diaw is or the same scorer West is, but he’ll be a solid enough replacement that the Spurs shouldn’t see too large of a drop off. Bertans is a bit of a mystery at the NBA level. He’s never been a big scorer, but he’s a very good outside shooter who could give San Antonio much of what they loss with Bonner no longer on the roster. 

In the backcourt the Spurs re-signed Manu Ginobili for $14 million dollars for one more year. He’ll return to be the sixth man and will likely continue to give the Spurs productive minutes off their bench. The large salary is of little concern, since it is for just one year. The expectation is that the Spurs will continue to manage his minutes and he’ll get regular rest days throughout the season to keep him fresh and ready for the playoffs.

Ginobili is joined by Tony Parker, Danny Green, and Patty Mills in the Spurs backcourt for what feels like the umpteenth season. They’ll be joined by youngster Dejounte Murray, who is likely to spend play of time in Austin with the D-League Spurs, as he learns the ropes of the NBA before he’s ready for a bigger role.

2016-17 Grade: C. San Antonio is starting a long forestalled transition from the Duncan/Parker/Ginobili era to the Leonard/Aldridge era. By having two established All-Stars in the fold, the Spurs are in good shape almost no matter what they do. But to have lost productive veterans across the frontcourt is concerning. The new arrivals can all play, but all are lesser versions than the players they replace. The Spurs will still be good, but aren’t likely to challenge the Warriors for the top seed as they did for most of last season.

Long-term Grade: C+. Long term the future is a little brighter in San Antonio. Leonard is locked up for the next 3 seasons at least. Aldridge has two more years. The challenge comes in that Tony Parker is obviously slowing down and there depth behind him is questionable. Patty Mills a free agent after this year and Dejounte Murray may not be ready. Danny Green, who is hoping to bounce back from a rough year, and Gasol are both likely to be back at least next year for a combined $26 million dollars. The Spurs aren’t in terrible shape, but lack the flexibility to improve much for at least the next couple season. That means they’ll be counting on internal improvement, which should never be counted out in the Spurs system.