I know it's still extremely early into the offseason, but who do ya'll think has had the best and worst offseason so far: Best 1. Cleveland- Huges, Big Z, Marshall is a very good start to a long summer. 2. Milwaukee- Resigned Redd, drafted Bogut, signed Simmons, TJ could be back. I think the Bucks have helped themselves a lot so far, they could move up fast in the East. 3. Houston- We already filled our biggest need and we got our #1 choice for cheap. We still have expiring contracts and decent players we can package for a PG or SG. Honorable Mention: Celtics, Pacers, Jazz Worst 1. Seattle- Lost McMillan to the Blazers. They lost Daniels and James w/o any type of compensation. They resigned Allen which is good, but they ended up giving Allen what he wanted (the max), which might not be good in a 2-3 seasons as he ages. 2. Grizzlies- Played too much hardball w/ Swift contendors. They could have packaged some bad contracts w/ him, but ended up losing him for nothing. They have a lot of bad contracts for mediocre players. 3. Suns (potentially)- Trading Q for KT was a very premature move. I think they assumed resigning Johnson was a lock and didn't think about a max offer from another team. If they lose both Q and Johnson in the same summer, while still having max contracts in Nash, Marion, and Stoudemire (very soon) they could find themselves dropping down. 3-pt shooting is the key to their offense. Honorable Mention: Magic, Kings, Mavs
I think that the Bucks had one of the worst offseasons so far. They signed 2 swingmen to rediculous contracts. Redd is NOT a smax player and there is no way that you should pay Simmons $9 million per year. They would have been better off sticking with Mason at the three and going after a PF. The Clippers decided not to throw rediculous money at Simmons and got Mobley for less when Mobley has been the better player to this point. They had a good offseason IMO, and could challenge for the playoffs. Whoever gives Joe Johnson a rumored 90 million dollar contract (Hawks or Suns) will have the worst offseason. That is stupid money. Hughes is overrated. I look for the Cavs to regret that signing for the length of his contract. Shooting guards typically can hit at least 30% from downtown. LeBron isn't going to be too happy when all his kickouts result in ugly bricks. The Rockets addressed two of their 4 needs by signing Swift (to MLE only) and drafting Head. They still need to upgrade their 2 and backup 3, but so far so good. I would have rather gotten SAR than Swift, and I would have drafted differently, but these moves are still solid. I actually think the Knicks are doing okay this offseason. The contract for Jerome James was too big, but he does give them a semi-legit starting center and can be a backup once Channing Frye matures. They moved on of their multitude of PFs for another swingman, but Q is probably better than any of the others they already had, that trade should improve them. The Kings got greedy trying to get Nene for Cat, and in the end lost him for nothing. They will be worse than last year and with the improvement of some of the teams behind them may not make the playoffs. The Lakers made moves that could pay off down the road. They picked up Bynm in the draft, who could have a lot of potential. They also traded a superfluous swingman for Brown, who has a lot of upside. They should really consider trading Kobe, who is a bit of a cancer and could bring a lot in return. Not built to win now. The Wizards replaced Hughes with Butler (who is better IMO) and also added Daniels. They will be very solid next year. The Magic's problems started last year. The TMac trade was forced on them, but then they traded for Christie, which was a big error. They need to trade Fancy to whatever sucker franchise will take him for a quality player or two and draft picks. Their future looks bright with Howard and Nelson, but they need more young pieces. I don't get why they drafted a PG unless they plan to try Steve at the 2, which is a bad idea. The Warriors had a good draft, but haven't made much hay in the FA market. They should be trying to get another center. They made some big mistakes last year (Fisher and Foyle spring to mind) but since getting Baron Davis, they have been very good. If BD stays healthy, they will end their playof drought.
