MY off-season Grades (first half of teams).

after reading the other thread with a "pros' giving their grades, I thought I'd give it a whirl.

MY NBA off-season grades.
These grades are only about off-season moves made by teams.
A- Great off-season
B- Above average
C- Average
D- Below average
F- HORRIBLE


Atlanta: 38-44 last year
Lost- L. Williams
Added- T. Sefolosha, K. Bazemore
Drafted- A.Payne
Overall grade- C- not a lot of movement or improvement for the Hawks. Though if Horford can stay healthy, they should be a playoff team.

Boston: 25-57
Lost- K. Humphries, J. Bayless
Added- T. Zeller, M. Thornton, E. Turner?
Drafted- M. Smart, J. Young
Overall grade- B- Zeller over Humphries give better balance to the roster. The rookies and Turner bumps the grade to a B. The second year of Stevens as coach should see some more wins, though no playoffs yet.

Brooklyn: 44-38
Lost- A. Blatche, P. Pierce, S. Livingston
Added- J. Jack, S. Karasev, M. Teague, B. Bogdanovic
Drafted- See Boston
Overall grade- D- Hard to see how the Nets took a step forward this off-season with their roster, but replacing Kidd with Hollins is probably an improvement. They also get Lopez back from injury, for how long is always a question though. On the Bubble as a playoff team in the East in KG’s final year.

Charlotte: 43-39
Lost- J. McRoberts, A. Tolliver, B. Gordon, R. Sessions
Added- M. Williams, L. Stephenson, B. Roberts
Drafted- N. Vonleh, PJ Hairston
Overall grade- B- Replacing Sessions with Stephenson is a plus, but McRoberts and Williams are a wash to me. Vonleh was a good pick at #9. They should be a playoff team again.

Chicago: 48-34
Lost- C. Boozer, DJ Augustin, N. Mohammed, M. Teague
Added- P. Gasol, N. Mirotic, A. Brooks, E. Moore
Drafted- D. McDermott
Overall Grade- B- Gasol is an upgrade over Boozer, while McDermott should be able to replace Dunleavy at SF as the season progresses. If Mirotic is as good as some say the grade should be higher. Not only are the Bulls a playoff team, but they will push for the East championship.

Cleveland: 33-49
Lost- T. Zeller, A. Bennett, A. Gee, J. Jack, CJ Miles, E. Clark
Added- L. James, K. Love, S. Marion, M. Miller, J. Lucas, B. Haywood
Drafted- See K. Love trade w/ Minnesota
Overall grade- A- This team is still light at center with Varejao and Haywood and a couple rookies there. But when you add the KING and Love in the same off-season, it has to be an A grade. Will this team need a year together before winning a championship is the question.

Dallas: 49-33
Lost- S. Dalembert, D. Blair, S. Marion, V. Carter, J. Calderon, S. Larkin
Added- T. Chandler, A. Aminu, C. Parsons, R. Jefferson, R. Felton, J. Nelson
Drafted- no one
Overall Grade- B- a lot of movement this off-season for the Mavs. Some of it is just shuffling pieces to me. But Parsons and Aminu are enough to push the grade up a bit. Still a playoff team and they COULD make some playoff noise if Chander can stay healthy inside.

Denver: 36-46
Lost- E. Fournier
Added- A. Afflalo, E. Green
Drafted- J. Nurkic
Overall Grade- C- While replacing Fournier with Afflalo is an excellent move, there wasn;t a lot else that happened here. That said, Shaws’ team could challenge for a playoff spot if his injured players return at their best ( Gallinari and McGee). IF McGee can’t get healthy and keep his head on straight, they are week at center.

Detroit: 29-53
Lost- R. Stuckey, C. Billups
Added- J. Meeks, C. Butler, DJ Augustin , Van Gundy (coach)
Drafted- no one that matters
Overall Grade- B- Meeks and Stuckey are a wash, but Butler and Augustin are pluses. The grade gets pushed up for hiring Van Gundy as coach. This team is still a mess and has no chance of making the playoffs this year. But there was positive moves made.

Golden State: 51-31
Lost- J. O’ Neal, S. Blake
Added- S. Livington, L. Barbosa , Kerr (Coach)
Drafted- none
Overall Grade- C- Replacing Jackson with Kerr as Head coach is an unknown to me. Jackson for all his problems, seemed to get the young guys to play last year. Kerr ahs no experience, so we’ll see. This alone could push the grade down to a D or even F. As for player movement, none that really matters here. Ezeli should be able to come back from Injury to replace the ancient O’Neal . Livingston may be a slight upgrade over Blake at Guard. Players are there to be a playoff team again, is the new head coach up to the task?

Houston: 54-28
Lost- O. Asik, C. Parsons, J. Lin, O, Casspi
Added- T. Ariza, A. Gee, J. Terry, I. Smith
Drafted- C. Capela, N. Johnson
Overall grade- F- how does Morey still have a job after this off-season? Losing Parsons in a stupid move and replacing him with Ariza is nothing but a downgrade. Asik and Lin were moved to make cap room for a star…that never came! Jason Terry, really? Nick Johnson could have a chance to get minutes on this rotten bench. McHale could be out early if they get off badly and with Howard’s tendency to give up when things don’t go well, I could see this year being a big downer in Houston. I think they will struggle to make the playoffs.

Indiana: 56-26
Lost- L. Stephenson, R. Butler, E. Turner
Added- R. Stuckey, Cl. Miles, D. Rudez
Drafted- none
Overall Grade- D- Replacing Stephenson and Turner with Stuckey and Miles is a downgrade in anyone’s book . Add the George injury and you have a team that seemed to be reeling last year to one that could implode this season. IF Hibbert gets his head straight they may have enough to be a playoff team again.

LA Clippers: 57-25
Lost- J. Dudley, W. Green, D. Collison
Added- S. Hawes, E. Udoh, C. Douglas-Roberts, J. Farmar
Drafed- CJ Wilcox
Overall Grade- B- more depth inside and less at back up point. SF still seems to be a weakness on this team. Overall grade also reflects new ownership. If The Clippers don’t at least play for the western conference championship, it will be a disappointing year for them.

LA Lakers: 27-55
Lost- C. Kaman, P. Gasol, J. Meeks, K. Bazemore, K. Marshall
Added- C. Boozer, E. Davis, J. Lin
Drafted- J. Randle, J. Clarkson
Overall grade-D- While Randle may win rookie of the year , the Lakers simply lost too many players to give them anything higher than a D here. Scott may be any upgrade over D’Antoni, which could help in the long term. Unless Kobe and Nash can roll back the clock about 10 years, this team is in the lottery.

Memphis: 50-32
Lost- E. Davis, J. Johnson, M. Miller,
Added- V. Carter, B. Udrich
Drafted- J. Adams, J. Stokes
Overall Grade- C- replaced Miller with Carter, but lost some depth up front. Rookie Adams could surprise and see some playing time. A healthy Gasol could help them make some noise in the playoffs out west.

These grades are only about off-season moves made by teams.
A- Great off-season
B- Above average
C- Average
D- Below average
F- HORRIBLE

Miami- 54-28
Lost- L. James, S. Battier, R. Allen, M. Beasley, R .Lewis
Added- J. McRoberts, L. Deng, D. Granger, S. Brown
Draft- S. Napier
Overall grade- D- You lose LeBron and you get an F to start, but Riley did a good job of picking up the pieces here. They will be a playoff team in the east if Wade can play much this year. I think the whole team would love to beat the King in the playoffs, if they get the chance.

Milwaukee- 15-67
Lost- who cares!, they sucked last year.
Added- J. Dudley, J. Bayless, K. Marshall
Draft- J. Parker, D. Inglis, J. O’Bryant
Overall Grade- B- Parker alone gives them a B. Dudley and Bayless are upgrades over last year’s bench players. Kidd as Head coach might bring that grade down a bit. Even IF Kidd shows he can coach and Sanders, Henson, Parker, Alphabet man and Knight all play up to their hype, this is STILL a lottery team for now. But they could more than double their wins from last year too.

Minnesota- 40-42
Lost- K. Love, D. Cunningham, A. Shved
Added- T. Young, A. Bennett, M. Williams
Draft- A. Wiggins (Trade), Z. LaVine, G. Robinson
Overall Grade- C- While this team will lose more games than last year, they set themselves up nicely in the future with the Love trade. Young and M. Williams are nice veteran additions also.

New Orleans- 34-48
Lost- J. Smith, G. Stiemsma, A. Aminu, A. Morrow, B. Roberts
Added- O. Asik, J. Salmons, J. Fredette
Draft- R. Smith
Overall Grade- C- This is a team that looks like they have stood pat here. Adding Asik helps the defense, but the other loses were not addressed. A. Davis might take the next step this year to star status and a healthy R. Anderson will help, but it’s hard to see them in the playoffs in the west this season.

New York- 37-45
Lost- T. Chandler, R. Felton, J. Tyler
Added- S. Dalembert, J. Smith, A. Acy, T. Outlaw, J. Calderon, S. Larkin
Draft- C. Early
Overall Grade- C- Jackson kept Anthony as his first bit of business and also started the re-tooling of the roster in year one. If Fisher can show any coaching abilities the Knicks can match last year’s win totals. Jackson is building for longer term however.

Oklahoma City- 59-23
Lost- T. Sefolosha, D. Fisher, H. Thabeet
Added- A. Morrow, S. Telfair
Draft- M. McGary, J. Huestis
Overall Grade- C- close to giving them a D for their off-season, but I think McGary and Morrow will give them enough to offset the losses. If Jackson and Lamb continue to step up, they will again be one of the top teams in the West.

Orlando- 23.59
Lost- A. Afflalo, J. Nelson, E. Moore
Added- C. Frye, B. Gordon, W. Green, L. Ridnour, E. Fournier
Draft- A. Gordon, E. Payton
Overall Grade- B- Frye is a solid vet added for now and both Rookies were good licks for the future. Oladipo already made Afflalo expendable, adding Gordon and Green adds depth. Like the Celtics we should see some improvement this year, but no playoffs yet.

Philadelphia- 19-63
Lost- T. Young, J. Anderson
Added- L. Mbah a Moute, A. Shved, P. Jackson
Draft- J. Embiid, J. Grant, KJ McDaniels, J. McRae
Overall Grade- F- The NBA shouldn’t allow a team to tank this bad. It is embarrassing to the NBA frankly. Their likely starters are Sims, Noel, Thompson, Wroten and Carter-Williams…is this a D-League team?
Un-believable!

Phoenix- 48-34
Lost- C. Frye, I. Smith, L. Barbosa, E. Bledsoe?
Added- A. Tolliver, I. Thomas, Bledsoe?
Draft- TJ Warren, T. Ennis
Overall Grade- C- Thomas and the rookie Warren should be able to replace Frye and the backup guards that were lost. This grade assumes Bledsoe returns. IF Len is ready to step up inside, they could even be a playoff team this season, but I think they will take a step back until they resolve Bledsoe’s issue to his satisfaction.

Portland- 54-28
Lost- M. Williams
Added- C. Kaman, S. Blake
Draft- none
Overall Grade- C- Blake is a step down from Williams, but Kaman is an upgrade up front for depth. Another playoff season looks in the cards, though they might not be ready to make much noise once there yet.

Sacramento- 28-54
Lost- T. Outlaw, I. Thomas
Added- D. Collison
Draft- N. Stauskas
Overall Grade- C- Stauskas and Collison will make up for the loss of Thomas. But for a team that wins 28 games last year, they should have made more moves. Despite the newish owners, this team still looks like a lottery team.

San Antonio- 62-20
Lost- None
Added- None
Draft- K. Anderson
Overall Grade- C- No changes for the Champs, except the late round rookie. As long as the old guys stay healthy, they West will need to go through them, however I don’t see them repeating in Duncan’s final year.

Toronto- 48-34
Lost- S. Novak
Added- G. Stiemsma, L. Nogueira, J. Johnson, L. Williams
Draft- None
Overall Grade- B- Williams, Johnson and Stiemsma add depth to a playoff team. Toronto should be a top 4 team in the east.

Utah- 25-57
Lost- M. Williams, R. Jefferson, J. Lucas
Added- T. Booker, S. Novak
Draft- D. Exum, R. Hood
Overall Grade- B- Booker and Williams are a wash, but Exum is a big upgrade from the draft. This is still a young team that is a long way away, another lottery pick coming.

Washington- 44-38
Lost- T. Booker, A. Harrington, T. Ariza
Added- K. Humphries, D. Blair, P. Pierce.
Draft- None
Overall Grade- B- Added experience vets to a playoff team in a win more now scenario at Washington. Another playoff season, but I;m not sure how far they can go once there. HOWEVER if Wall and Beal continue improving, you never know.

Kdp,
Mostly agree.
Unfortunately you are not an ESPN expert therefore you're totally wrong.

AK

Kdp,

How long did it take you to prepare that post?  It's really impressive.

Sam

I'm not sure how impressive it is, it's all pretty simplistic and common sense stuff. I am not about in depth stuff, the obvious will do.

took me maybe an hour total, did over two days.

glad someone read it, but someone has to think differently on some of the teams. how about some different opinions? where I got it wrong about a team?

I even did a projected win total that I didn't include here.

Chic- 54
Clev- 50
Tor- 49
Wash-47
Char- 46
Mia- 44
Atl- 41
Bkn- 40
Ind- 39
NY- 34
Bos- 33
Det- 32
Mil- 30
Orl- 27
Phil- 20

LAC- 58
Okl- 57
SA- 55
Port- 54
Dal- 50
Mem- 48
GS- 47
Hou- 42
Phoe- 40
Den- 38
Sac- 33
Minn- 32
Utah- 28
LAL- 26

kdp,

Wow. What a post! Fantastic! I agree with Sam.

Thanks,

bob


.

Hey, kdp,  maybe you, your predictive prowess, and I could take a little trip to Las Vegas.

Sam

Very good work, KDP.

I would have probably given Minnesota a little higher grade, however. They knew K. Love was going to depart and they got the absolute most they could out of the deal, as well as a solid draft.


KJ