NBA free agency started pretty slowly, picked up a little, and then died back out quickly (there are still a few more interesting moves to come). But a couple monster moves have saved us from what could’ve been a dud summer: Kevin Durant to Houston being one, and the the Bucks going certifiably insane in signing Myles Turner at the cost of $22.5 million in Damian Lillard dead cap money for the next half decade being another.
But that wasn’t all the action worth noting. Below are what I believe to be the 10 best offseason additions, in order, with the caveat that we’re still waiting to see where Bradley Beal and Al Horford end up. I presume that both those guys will have a place on this list at some point.
But until there, here are my 10 best moves via free agency or trade so far this summer.
1. Rockets score Kevin Durant
If Houston has a problem, I damn sure can’t locate it. This team is ready for liftoff with the addition of Durant, who is arguably walking into this best title shot since leaving Golden State. It’s the West, so who knows, but Houston kept its elite defense intact with Amen Thompson, Tari Eason, Jabari Smith Jr. and Dorian Finney-Smith (whom we’ll get to shortly), and Durant can be an impactful help defender in his own right with that kind of on-ball support. That’s the championship foundation, as we saw with OKC.
But it’s obviously the offense that gets the real jolt. Houston was just outside a top-10 offense last season, so there was some real bones in place, but the inconsistencies of Jalen Green, and the lack of a true go-to scorer and overall shooting dependability was a fatal flaw. Durant, with Alperen Sengun by his side as a fellow All-Star scorer, fixes all of that. Incredible get for the Rockets, who immediately become a collective two-way force.
2. Magic go all-in for Bane
When you give up four first-round picks and two rotation players for dude who’s never made an All-Star team, you better know what you’re doing. Luckily, I think Orlando knows what it’s doing here. Bane is perfect as the scoring and shooting punch Orlando desperately needs. He’s not a classic point guard, but he can create and now when Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner drive they actually have a real knockdown threat to kick out to.
To that last point, Orlando’s potential fringe-contender ascension isn’t based only on what Bane does himself, but what he frees up Banchero and Wagner to do with a true third threat to open up some of their driving lanes. Last year when they drove they were a near lock to shoot, even if it wasn’t the best look, because there wasn’t anyone to kick out to even if defenses sagged down. Now if the sag down off Bane’s side, they’ll get hurt. The scoring efficiency for both Banchero and Wagner should go up even if their outside shooting doesn’t. If they do shoot better themselves, however, that’s when the Magic could become really dangerous.
3. Nuggets swap Porter for Johnson
Wait, you’re telling me the Nuggets were able to get off Porter Jr.’s contract AND get Cam Johnson in the same deal? That’s bordering on too-good-to-be-true territory. But it is true, and the Nuggets immediately vaulted into legit top-tier title contention.
Sure, the Nuggets lose their 2032 first-round pick, but Porter was something not too far from a salary dump so it was always going to cost Denver to get someone to take over his payments. To get Johnson, an elite movement shooter to pair with Jokic, out of the deal not only replaces Porter in both role and production but actually serves as an upgrade at half the price for next season. Throw in the Bruce Brown and Jonas Valančiūnas additions, and Denver is ready to roll.
4. Heat get Powell basically for free
After most of the offseason dust had seemingly settled, the Heat popped their head up to pull off a pretty sweet deal for Norman Powell. For my money, this guy should’ve been an All-Star last season. He’s a 20-plus PPG scorer who shoots plus-40% from 3, and all he cost Miami was Kevin Love and Kyle Anderson. That is a steal.
Now, the Heat will have to grapple with signing Powell next summer as a free agent when he will be in line for a significant raise, but for this season, Powell at $20 million is a damn near clearance-rack contract. Does it make Miami a contender? Probably not. But we have to grade everything on an Eastern Conference curve, and there’s a competitive case to be made for an Eric Spoelstra-led team with Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, Andrew Wiggins, Kel’el Ware and Powell. And again, Miami basically got him for free.
Norman Powell trade grades: Heat get scoring punch, Clippers add John Collins from Jazz in win-win-win deal
James Herbert
5. Rockets steal DFS from Lakers
It may pale in comparison to the Durant acquisition, but Houston signing Dorian Finney-Smith is a big deal. Not only does it weaken a direct competitor in the Lakers, but this is like the upgraded version of Nickeil Alexander-Walker to Atlanta in terms of DFS being another defender who can shoot (he’s probably not going to shoot above 41% again, as he did last season over 63 games with the Lakers and Nets, but he can definitely shoot).
If Finney-Smith is a little better version of Alexander-Walker in terms of fit and function, he feels like a lesser version of Alex Caruso. He’s not as a good as Caruso, but as a purely additive defender on an already great defense, the effect is exponential. Just a perfect support-staff hiring.
When it was announced that Houston got Finney-Smith on a reasonable $53 million deal over four years, this looked like a good deal. But with news breaking on Monday that the last two years of the deal aren’t even fully guaranteed, it looks even better for the Rockets.
6. Lonzo Ball a perfect fit for Cavs
Let’s stick with the Caruso comp here. Remember, when Ball and Caruso were healthy and playing together in Chicago, they were taking the entire league’s milk money as arguably the best perimeter defensive duo in the business, and indeed a healthy Ball can do for the Cavs a lot of what Caruso does for the Thunder.
Ball isn’t quite on Caruso’s level as a defender, but he’s very good both on an off ball, and he’s a much bigger offensive threat. I’ll still argue that he has some of the best basketball senses on the planet. He feels everything and connects everyone. He’s a Tyrese Haliburton-level pace pusher, particularly as a pass-ahead guy. And next to Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland and all their double-team demanding creation, he’s turned himself into an elite 3-point shooter off the catch.
Through a prism of place and player, Ball in Cleveland is a perfect match. He won’t have to play a ton of minutes or probably any back-to-backs because of the firepower around him. He’s the missing-piece 3-man into which Isaac Okoro, though he was pretty good last season, never fully materialized.
He’s also potentially a lot cheaper as Okoro is making $1 million more than Ball this season (which is a lot more than that when you factor in the tax punishment for every dollar spent by a second-apron team like the Cavs) and is guaranteed $11.8 million next season, whereas Ball only has a $10M team option.
That means if this doesn’t work out for any reason this year, namely if Ball’s knee turns south again, Cleveland isn’t locked in to next season’s salary. This is a perfect addition to a team clearly in win-immediately mode.
7. Hawks swoop in on NAW
Albeit in an underwhelming class, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, a first-rate defender who can be an offensive difference maker on the right night, was one of the prize free agents this summer and the Hawks adding him represents another addition to a suddenly stout defense. I really thought NAW was bound for Detroit.
If insulating Trae Young on the defensive end is your mission, which it should be and clearly is in Atlanta, it’s difficult to do too much better than Alexander-Walker, Defensive Player of the Year runner-up Dyson Daniels, Jalen Johnson, 2024 No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher and Onyeka Okongwu and/or Kristaps Porziņģis protecting the rim (along with Johnson).
If that defense can hold up to an even league-average level (this should be a bare-minimum expectation if they can stay healthy) while covering for Young, Atlanta should be able to crack at least the outer edges of Eastern Conference contention.
8. Hawks put Porziņģis alongside Trae
The only question with Porziņģis is health. If he’s on the court for 60ish games and a healthy playoff run, Atlanta is the perfect spot for him. There might not be a better pick-and-pop tandem in the league than Zinger and Trae, who is going to give defenses fits in the space Porziņģis provides with his easy 30-foot range. Imagine Porziņģis popping behind the line and Jalen Johnson cutting downhill as Young navigates the gray area until defenses are forced to commit one way or the other. Good luck.
Porziņģis is also a terrific paint protector. He only played in 42 games last season, but in that time he defended 17 shots per game (up there with just about any big man in the league) and held his men to a 42% conversion rate. That’s better than Victor Wembanyama and Anthony Davis. Let’s just hope Porziņģis can get, and stay, healthy for the Hawks. If he can, this is a huge addition.
9. Clippers bolster frontcourt
I quietly kind of love what the Clippers have done this offseason. They lose Norman Powell to the Heat, but it keeps them from having to make a hard call on Powell next summer as a free agent in line for a big pay bump and it also brings back John Collins.
Collins, who became something of a forgotten man in Utah even though he averaged 19 and 8 last season on 40% 3-point shooting, is in prime position to thrive as a back-end starter with the Clippers rather than being overtasked as a go-to guy as he was in his earlier days with Atlanta before the resurrection began with Utah. Think Aaron Gordon with the Nuggets. Being a go-to guy was too much with Orlando, but put Gordon with Denver’s starters where he can fill all the right cracks with his athleticism, shooting and cutting and he’s a superstar in his role.
Meanwhile, Lopez is about the best backup center money can buy. He shouldn’t be anchoring your defense anymore, at least not in the playoffs, but in playing behind Ivica Zubac, Lopez, along with Collins, gives the Clippers serious frontcourt depth in support of James Harden and Kawhi Leonard. Super-solid additions.
10. Knicks add to bench with Yabusele
The Knicks didn’t have to do much this offseason. Find a coach, which they finally did in Mike Brown, who will hopefully diversify and somewhat speed up the offense, and pick up a couple bench players to put some depth behind one of the best starting lineups in the league. Mission accomplished there, as well.
First the Knicks got Jordan Clarkson as the microwave scorer, but the move I really like is Guerschon Yabusele, who was quietly super sound for the 76ers last season. This is a 14-and-7 guy per 36 minutes, and his 50/38 shooting splits give the Knicks some breathing room in lineups where he potentially plays in place of Josh Hart as the shooter defenses can’t ignore.
No matter what lineups he’s a part of, Yabusele is a quality bench guy who can shoot and defend, even above his weight class, which means Brown should be able to lighten the starters’ loads without much, if any, falloff.
