With nearly all the top free agents on the market signed, the NBA summer league in Las Vegas concluded, and teams shifting to preparations for training camp, it's time to take a look back at what they did this summer. Starting today with the Eastern Conference and wrapping up Wednesday with the West, I'm grading all 30 teams on their offseasons. And, fortunately for them, I'm an easier grader than L.A. Clippers guard J.J. Redick.
Atlanta Hawks
Added: Tim Hardaway Jr. (trade), Justin Holiday (FA), Paul Millsap (re-signed), Tiago Splitter (trade), Walter Tavares (draft rights)
Lost: Pero Antic (FA), DeMarre Carroll (FA)
Grade: C
The Hawks had a problem this summer: They were too good last season, making starters DeMarre Carroll and Paul Millsap two of the top free agents on the market. To afford to re-sign both players at their 2015-16 salaries, Atlanta would have had to trade backup wing Thabo Sefolosha.
Instead, Atlanta tried to find the next Carroll by signing Holiday, whose skill set is a 3-and-D starter kit. The Hawks used the money they saved to add Splitter, who gives their frontcourt an entirely different look. But trading a first-round pick for Hardaway, a poor defender whose shooting hasn't been as good as advertised in the NBA, looks like a bad gamble.
Atlanta figured to take a step back no matter what, and the offseason hasn't helped.
Boston Celtics
Added: Jae Crowder (re-signed), R.J. Hunter (draft), Jonas Jerebko (re-signed), Amir Johnson (FA), Perry Jones (trade), David Lee (trade), Jordan Mickey (draft), Terry Rozier (draft)
Lost: Brandon Bass (FA), Luigi Datome (FA), Phil Pressey (waived)
Grade: B
Unable to land the big star they've long coveted, the Celtics have continued to stockpile young talent and contracts high on value. After trying and failing to trade up, they drafted both Hunter and Rozier in the first round. Second-round pick Mickey was the team's best rookie during the NBA summer league in Las Vegas, averaging 13.8 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game. Mickey and Johnson give the team much-needed rim protection. It's a bit trickier to see where Lee fits in a suddenly crowded frontcourt. Boston also brought back Crowder on a contract that figures to age well as the cap rises -- five years and $35 million.
Brooklyn Nets
Added: Andrea Bargnani (FA), Wayne Ellington (FA), Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (trade), Shane Larkin (FA), Brook Lopez (re-signed), Chris McCullough (draft), Thomas Robinson (FA), Thaddeus Young (re-signed)
Lost: Alan Anderson (FA), Mason Plumlee (trade), Mirza Teletovic (FA), Deron Williams (waived)
Grade: C+
There's a lot to like about the Nets' offseason. Buying out Williams' contract enabled them to get under the luxury tax, and they did a nice job of targeting young free agents with upside like Larkin and Robinson on the cheap. Still, Brooklyn is left with a 2015-16 team that is unlikely to make the playoffs because of a gaping hole at point guard without Williams. Since the Nets have no protection on their first-round pick, owed to the Celtics from the Kevin Garnett/Paul Pierce trade, they won't reap the rewards if they do end up in the lottery. And it's unclear that a core of Lopez and Young will entice free agents to take Brooklyn's max-level cap space next summer.
Charlotte Hornets
Added: Nicolas Batum (trade), Spencer Hawes (trade), Frank Kaminsky (draft), Jeremy Lamb (trade), Jeremy Lin (FA)
Lost: Bismack Biyombo (FA), Gerald Henderson (trade), Lance Stephenson (trade), Noah Vonleh (trade), Mo Williams (FA)
Grade: C-
After going from the playoffs to the lottery, the Hornets seem to be feeling the urgency to win now. They traded 2014 lottery pick Vonleh to Portland for Batum, a veteran in the final season of his contract, and passed up an offer of multiple future picks to draft Kaminsky ninth overall. Charlotte should be better than last season, having upgraded its shooting and nabbed a bargain in Lin. Yet the Hornets aren't a surefire playoff team as constructed, and another lottery trip could trigger an organizational overhaul.
Chicago Bulls
Added: Aaron Brooks (re-signed), Jimmy Butler (re-signed), Mike Dunleavy (re-signed), Bobby Portis (draft)
Lost: None
Grade: B+
Chicago's biggest move of the offseason was replacing Tom Thibodeau with Fred Hoiberg, and only time will tell whether Hoiberg's greater sense of the bigger picture can outweigh Thibodeau's strategic acumen. The Bulls took care of business by re-signing starters Butler and Dunleavy, pushing them into the tax, and also brought back Brooks. Nazr Mohammed, an unsigned free agent, is the only player who won't likely be back. Chicago filled his spot by nabbing Portis after an unexpected draft-night slide, a coup for the team.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Added: LeBron James (re-signed), Kevin Love (re-signed), Iman Shumpert (re-signed), Mo Williams (FA)
Lost: None
Grade: A
There's still work to be done for the Cavaliers, who have three of the top remaining unsigned free agents on the market in J.R. Smith, Tristan Thompson and Matthew Dellavedova. So far, however, Cleveland has hit every note in attempting to improve on last season's NBA Finals loss. Williams filled a key need for a creator with the second unit, and gives the Cavaliers leverage in their negotiations with Smith and Dellavedova, both of whom should be back. More importantly, Cleveland was able to keep Love on a five-year contract that will quiet the incessant questions about his happiness with the Cavaliers. And, of course, Cleveland re-signed James to a new one-year contract with a player option.
Detroit Pistons
Added: Joel Anthony (re-signed), Aron Baynes (FA), Steve Blake (trade), Ersan Ilyasova (trade), Reggie Jackson (re-signed), Stanley Johnson (draft), Marcus Morris (trade)
Lost: Caron Butler (trade), Greg Monroe (FA)
Grade: C+
Having added five potential rotation players while losing just three who averaged more than 20 minutes per game (unsigned free agent Tayshaun Prince is the other), the Pistons are certainly a deeper team than in 2014-15. But nobody Detroit added is as good as Monroe, so Detroit will have to hope depth and better fit yield improved results. The team of Stan Van Gundy and Jeff Bower has done a nice job adding stretch 4s Ilyasova and Morris in trades. In free agency, the Pistons may have overpaid for Baynes (three years, $19.5 million for a limited reserve) and gave Jackson $80 million over five years when few other teams had the ability to make Jackson a similar offer as a restricted free agent. (John Wall wasn't a fan.)
Indiana Pacers
Added: Lavoy Allen (re-signed), Monta Ellis (FA), Jordan Hill (FA), Rodney Stuckey (re-signed), Myles Turner (draft), Joseph Young (draft)
Lost: Roy Hibbert (trade), Damjan Rudez (trade), Luis Scola (FA), C.J. Watson (FA), David West (FA)
Grade: C
The Pacers might be next season's biggest mystery after a curious offseason. Indiana lost the three big men who saw the most minutes last season -- starters Hibbert and West and reserve Scola -- replacing them with Hill and the 19-year-old Turner. That clearly signals regular minutes for Paul George at power forward, whether he wants to play the position or not. With more shooting on the court and Ellis as another shot creator, the Pacers should be better offensively. The question is whether they can maintain any semblance of their once-elite defense without much in the way of rim protection.
Miami Heat
Added: Goran Dragic (re-signed), Gerald Green (FA), Amar'e Stoudemire (FA), Dwyane Wade (re-signed), Justise Winslow (draft)
Lost: None
Grade: A
After a disappointing 2014-15 season, the Heat have rebounded with an impressive offseason. They got fortunate when Winslow unexpectedly slid all the way to the 10th pick, giving them a long-term solution on the wing. Wade returned on a one-year deal for $20 million, which Insider's Tom Haberstroh explained was the ideal outcome once Wade opted out. That and a new contract for Dragic pushed Miami into the tax, but Pat Riley filled out the bench on the cheap by convincing Green and Stoudemire to play for the veteran's minimum. There's an argument the Heat will be the leading challenger to the Cavaliers in the East, and their books remain in good shape for the summer of 2016. It's not signing LeBron James, but it will do.
Milwaukee Bucks
Added: Khris Middleton (re-signed), Greg Monroe (FA), Greivis Vasquez (trade), Rashad Vaughn (draft)
Lost: Jared Dudley (trade), Ersan Ilyasova (trade), Zaza Pachulia (trade)
Grade: B+
The Bucks made three of the summer's weakest value trades, giving up a 2016 first-round pick (from the Clippers) for one year of Vasquez's services and then trading away key reserves Dudley and Pachulia for in all likelihood one midround second-round pick. Yet they still got better because they were able to parlay their unexpected playoff run into landing Monroe, one of the top free agents to change teams. Milwaukee also got a great deal on Middleton, who signed for $70 million over five years. The Bucks have one of the league's better young cores and ample cap space to build around them.
New York Knicks
Added: Arron Afflalo (FA), Lou Amundson (re-signed), Jerian Grant (draft), Robin Lopez (FA), Kyle O'Quinn (trade), Kristaps Porzingis (draft), Lance Thomas (re-signed), Derrick Williams (FA)
Lost: Cole Aldrich (FA), Andrea Bargnani (FA), Shane Larkin (FA), Alexey Shved (FA), Jason Smith (FA)
Grade: B
Star free agents weren't interested in the Knicks' money, so they turned to Plan B with mixed results. Lopez's four-year, $54 million deal is reasonable for a two-way contributor, and O'Quinn's four-year, $16 million contract could prove a steal. However, Williams will have to improve considerably to be worth $9 million over the next two years, and Afflalo's poor track record in ESPN's real plus-minus suggests New York paid $8 million a year for a replacement-level player. The Knicks did well to land Porzingis and Grant in the draft, showing admirable long-term thinking.
Orlando Magic
Added: Tobias Harris (re-signed), Mario Hezonja (draft), Jason Smith (FA), C.J. Watson (FA)
Lost: Ben Gordon (FA), Kyle O'Quinn (trade), Luke Ridnour (trade)
Grade: B-
The biggest decision Orlando made was hiring Scott Skiles as head coach, a move that signals the Magic are planning to compete whether their young core is ready or not. Orlando added some much-needed shooting by drafting Hezonja and signing Watson to a reasonable three-year, $15 million contract. But replacing the promising O'Quinn with journeyman Smith is puzzling, given O'Quinn will make slightly less money this season and has been the more productive of the two players. Ultimately, Skiles' ability to mold the Magic's young talent into a winning unit will be the measure of this offseason.
Philadelphia 76ers
Added: Pierre Jackson (FA), Carl Landry (trade), Jahlil Okafor (draft), Nik Stauskas (trade), Jason Thompson (trade)
Lost: Thomas Robinson (FA)
Grade: B+
The Sixers are still playing a different game than the rest of the league. Their only signing to date has been Jackson, who is returning from a ruptured Achilles suffered last summer. Instead of free agency, Philadelphia used its mammoth cap space to take on Landry and Thompson from the Sacramento Kings in order to get Stauskas, a future first-round pick and the option to swap picks the next two years. That heist helped soften the blow of news that center Joel Embiid will not play again this season. A strong rookie season from Okafor playing next to Nerlens Noel would do the same thing.
Toronto Raptors
Added: Bismack Biyombo (FA), DeMarre Carroll (FA), Cory Joseph (FA), Norman Powell (draft), Luis Scola (FA), Delon Wright (draft)
Lost: Amir Johnson (FA), Greivis Vasquez (trade), Lou Williams (FA)
Grade: B+
It's easy to figure out Toronto's goal this offseason. Basically every player the Raptors added is a plus defender, and they shed defensive liabilities Vazquez and Williams. The hope is Toronto can execute Dwane Casey's scheme like in 2013-14, when the team ranked ninth in defensive rating before slipping to 23rd last season. The Raptors paid handsomely to bring Joseph home to Toronto (four years, $30 million), but their decision to strike fast and offer Carroll nearly $60 million over four years looks prescient given how quickly wing talent dried up.
Washington Wizards
Added: Alan Anderson (FA), Jared Dudley (trade), Drew Gooden (re-signed), Gary Neal (FA), Kelly Oubre (draft)
Lost: Paul Pierce (FA)
Grade: B
I'm not sure the Wizards could have done anything more to retain Pierce, who returned home to L.A. to play for former coach Doc Rivers at a far lower salary than Washington offered. Given that disappointing departure, the Wizards rallied well to replace Pierce with Dudley. Adding another combo forward signifies they plan to continue employing the smaller units that were effective in the postseason, and Anderson and Neal give Randy Wittman more options on the wing while Oubre develops.