Grading All 15 Western Conference Teams 2024 Offseason
Asher gives all 15 Western Conference Teams a letter grade depending on the moves they made this offseason.
Northwest:
Oklahoma City Thunder
B+
(Photo by Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports / Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports)
Right before the NBA Draft the Thunder came with a blockbuster trade that saw one of their generational players Josh Giddey get traded to the Chicago Bulls for Alex Caruso. Alex is one of the best defenders and was one of the key contributors to the Los Angeles Lakers final run in 2020. The Thunder brought back two of their best role players in Isiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins. To add some more depth they also signed the Knicks big man Isiah Hartenstien.
Denver Nuggets
C-
(Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
After losing in 7 to the Minnesota Timberwolves the Denver Nuggets needed to make changes. Their first move was bringing back DeAndre Jordan and signing Dario Saric for two years each. After losing both of their shooting guards Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Reggie Jackson they decided to sign Russell Westbrook after he got waived by the Jazz for the second time.
Minnesota Timberwolves
C-
(Photo by Stephen Maturen/GettyImages)
The Minnesota Timberwolves had a pretty bad off-season. They lost a lot of their amazing talent that led them to the conference finals such as Kyle Anderson, Jordan McLaughlin, and Monte Morris. The only major moves they made were re-signing Iowa star Luka Garza and Joe Ingles. A move that many people have overlooked from Minnesota was trading for the 8th overall pick Rob Dillingham. Rob was a key contributor for Kentucky averaging 15 points per game.
Utah Jazz
B-
(Photo by Scott G Winterton/Deseret News)
The Utah Jazz had an offseason full of up and downs. They started off by signing in Johnny Juzang to a four year deal. The biggest thing for the Jazz later on was acquiring Russell Westbrook via trade but they imminently waived him to clear up some extra cap space. The Utah Jazz had the best NBA draft out of all the NBA teams but I’ll talk about that in my upcoming post.
Portland Trailblazers
D-
(Photo by Jaime Valdez/USA TODAY Sports)
The Portland Trailblazers had an interesting offseason to say the least. They started off by drafting Donovan Clingan with the 7th overall pick in this year’s NBA draft. Before the Blazers 14th pick they ended up making the worst trade of this entire offseason. The Blazers traded Malcom Brogdon, the 14th overall pick, a future 2029 first-round pick in exchange for Deni Avdija.
Pacific:
Los Angeles Clippers
B-
(Photo by Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports / Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports)
The Los Angeles Clippers had a busy offseason. They started off by losing their superstar Paul George to the 76ers so they added more squad depth with that extra money. They added Mo Bamba, Nicolas Batum, Derrick Jones Jr, Kevin Porter Jr, and Kris Dun. They also resigned James Harden for two years $70 million. The Clippers had an overlooked offseason and they are starting with a fresh new roster as they enter a new era with a full rebrand.
Los Angeles Lakers
F
(Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images)
This pains me to say because I am one of the biggest Lakers fans, but they had the worst offseason I’ve seen in a long time. The Lakers have to use this time wisely since it’s the last few years of LeBron James era. The only two moves they made this free agency was re-signing LeBron James and Max Christie. In the draft they got lucky that a projected lottery player Dalton Knecht fell all the way to them at 17th overall.
Phoenix Suns
D-
(Photo by Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports)
The major problem with the Phoenix Suns is that they don’t have many young players after trading away all their draft picks to get Kevin Durant. This offseason they didn’t add any younger talent but mainly brought back and added important role players. They re-signed Bol Bol, Damion Lee, Josh Okogie, and Royce O’Neale. They also added Monte Morris and Mason Plumlee.
Sacramento Kings
A
(Photo by Jeff Chiu/Associated Press)
The Sacramento Kings had one spectacular off season. Their first order of business was re-signing sixth man of the year candidate Malik Monk. Then the decided to move on from Davion Mitchell by trading him to the Toronto Raptors for Jalen McDaniels. Then they added another star in Demar DeRozan in a three team sign and trade. The Kings also added Jordan McLaughlin and Orlando Robinson in free agency.
Golden State Warriors
B
(Photo by Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports / Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports)
The Warriors offseason was full of both happiness and sadness. The first part of free agency was letting go of the Game 6 Klay Thompson to the Dallas Mavericks. After that major heartbreak the Warriors got to work. They signed major players such as Kyle Anderson, Buddy Hield, and De’Anthony Melton.
Southwest:
Dallas Mavericks
A+
(Photo by Tony Gutierrez / ASSOCIATED PRESS)
The Mavericks started getting to work after the NBA finals. They started off by trading Tim Hardaway Jr to the Pistons in exchange for Quentin Grimes to clear up some cap space. Then the Mavericks signed Klay Thompson, Naji Marshall, and brought back Spencer Dinwiddie with that extra money.
New Orleans Pelicans
B-
(Photo by Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports)
The Pelicans had an overrated offseason. The reason that their offseason was overhyped was because they traded for Dejounte Murray. In this trade the Pelicans traded Dyson Daniels, Larry Nance Jr, E.J. Liddell, and two first round picks for Dejounte Murray. They also lost Jonas Valanciunas, Cody Zeller, and Naji Marshall. In my opinion they lost a lot of solid players that made a difference last year.
Houston Rockets
D+
(Photo by Lucas Peltier-USA TODAY Sports / Lucas Peltier-USA TODAY Sports)
The Houston Rockets had one boring offseason. They re-signed Aaron Holiday for two years. The Rockets also traded for AJ Griffin from the Atlanta Hawks. The Rockets were lucky and got the third overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft where they selected Reed Shepard from Kentucky. Reed looked like a future superstar in this league and I am sure he will play amazing next to Alperen Şengün and Jalen Green.
Memphis Grizzlies
C-
(Photo by Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports)
The Grizzlies offseason only saw them moving on from Zaire Williams as he leaves to the Brooklyn Nets. The main exciting factor for this team is their future center Zach Edey. Because of the major injuries the Grizzlies had last year they got lucky to land the 9th overall pick. Zach Edey won all 6 National Player of the Year honors at Purdue last year.
San Antonio Spurs
C+
(Photo by Logan Riely/NBAE/Getty Images)
The Spurs had an exciting offseason that saw them get two amazing veteran players. They first got Harrison Barnes part of a three team trade with the Kings. They also signed Chris Paul to a year with the Spurs to recreate Lob City with a new partner. The Spurs also re-signed Charles Bassey and Sandro Mamukelashvili.
I pray it works out for the Lakers...
Great article!