We are officially into the NBA’s quiet days, where we’ll be spending the next six weeks listening to the occasional rumor while waiting for basketball to return. Free agency is all but done. All the big moves we expected (a Kevin Durant trade, notably) and some we didn’t (Damian Lillard being bought out and going back to Portland) have happened. The draft has come and gone. The coaching vacancies have been filled. We’re still waiting on some stuff, notably the Warriors, who we’ll get to shortly.
That said, for the most part, we’re in a good position to start sussing out the winners and losers of the summer. Now, for some teams it isn’t that cut and dry. So before we get to what I feel are the most definitive winners and losers, here are six gray-area teams that have a case to be viewed either way.
The Gray-Area Teams
Boston Celtics: On the one hand, they’re set to enter this season down four of their top six guys from the 2024 championship team (Jayson Tatum has a torn Achilles, Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porziņģis were traded, Al Horford is presumably gone), to say nothing of the Luke Kornet loss, which will also hurt. On the other, the Celtics have saved over $300 million in taxes and salaries for this season alone, and they were always headed for a bit of a gutting this summer, even before the Tatum injury. Maybe a gap year isn’t the worst thing after all the deep playoff runs they’ve made over the last half-decade plus. Minnesota Timberwolves: I think we can all agree that $225 million for Julius Randle and Naz Reid feels like a lot, and losing Nickeil Alexander-Walker is a definitive loss. But in the end the Wolves managed to work their books in a way that allows them to keep the bulk of a team that has been to two straight conference finals together. If Randle isn’t the guy we saw in the playoffs and Reid can’t develop beyond his current bench role, this is a loss. But until then the Wolves did fine. Cleveland Cavaliers: Flipping Isaac Okoro for Lonzo Ball is a win for two reasons. First, Ball is a better two-way player and…..
