Best and Worst Deals of The 25 Off-Season

[vege]

Thankfully the Duncan Robinson deal is only guaranteed for 1 year. I do agree it's not the best, but given the Beasley situation Trajan had to pivot fast knowing he was going to lose Hardaway too.

I'm willing to give Duncan a shot on basically a 1 year deal that we can get out of. I don't think he's as terrible as others think too. His shot should open up a lot with Cade's gravity.

Yeah I see no problem with the Ducan Robinson deal. It’s a 1 year inflated contract that gives them flexibility to trade him during the season

Even the 1 year inflated contract is not bad, because Detroit dumped 8+ million of dead money into Miami. Fontecchio was not going to get playing time in Detroit, there were reports Detroit was trying to dump him (adding assets).

Fontecchio hopefully will be a good player for Miami (he seems to be a great guy), but he did not fit into JB's system, he was terrible.

[Slim Tubby]

Clarkson (vet min) and Yabusele (11/2) were good friendly deals for the Knicks.

I'm not a Knicks fan but it's impossible to deny that both of those signings are great value deals and make NY stronger. Sneaky good offseason for them.

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[pepe1991]

Worst is Pelicans trade on draft night.

To be determined.

Eh, not really... They gave up unprotected 2026 pick in season where their objective chance at making playoffs, on West, is like 0,1%.

On top of that, they drafted guy that:
1) was probably going to be there at 23# regardless
2) isn't position of need for them
3) wasn't that good of a player, even by college standards, in general.

You watch him even in SL, and yea, that whole "Baby Jokić" is more like "Baby Šarić". His desire to pass the ball surpasses his ability to pass the ball. He isn't that athletic, he has no burst, he can't go around defenders, he isn't much of a treat to shoot.

And even if he is much better prospect than he is, that trade still makes ZERO sense given fact that Pelicans will probably struggle to win 35 games again, but this time around, they will have no pick.

Btw Missi and Matković were fine last year, drafting another C makes so little sense ,roster construction vise. Their PG rotation is Jordan Poole, Murray who won't even suit up for probably 80% of a season and Alvarado. If you are dead set to notion that you will burn pick no matter what, at least draft player on position that you actually need...

It's such a dumb trade on so many levels.

[Mavrelous]

DFS has only 2 years guaranteed, it's a great deal, not a bad one.
If we're talking strictly FA signings, I think teams have become much smarter and there aren't any egregiously bad deals, if we include trades, then it's NOP trading unprotected 26 1st for Derrik Queen, the more you think about this deal, the worse it gets.

[Ruma85]

Worst is Pelicans trade on draft night.

To be determined.

Eh, not really... They gave up unprotected 2026 pick in season where their objective chance at making playoffs, on West, is like 0,1%.

On top of that, they drafted guy that:
1) was probably going to be there at 23# regardless
2) isn't position of need for them
3) wasn't that good of a player, even by college standards, in general.

You watch him even in SL, and yea, that whole "Baby Jokić" is more like "Baby Šarić". His desire to pass the ball surpasses his ability to pass the ball. He isn't that athletic, he has no burst, he can't go around defenders, he isn't much of a treat to shoot.

And even if he is much better prospect than he is, that trade still makes ZERO sense given fact that Pelicans will probably struggle to win 35 games again, but this time around, they will have no pick.

Btw Missi and Matković were fine last year, drafting another C makes so little sense ,roster construction vise. Their PG rotation is Jordan Poole, Murray who won't even suit up for probably 80% of a season and Alvarado. If you are dead set to notion that you will burn pick no matter what, at least draft player on position that you actually need...


It's such a dumb trade on so many levels.

Draft the best available for them, we have no idea what they look like start of 26-27 season.

[tmorgan]

Two things about the Pels (which, yes, I still think was a terrible trade, but….)

1) They’d already drafted a PG prospect in Fears (tho his lack of passing in SL was a little scary)
2) No chance Queen was going to be there at 23

[UcanUwill]

Worst is Pelicans trade on draft night.

To be determined.

Eh, not really... They gave up unprotected 2026 pick in season where their objective chance at making playoffs, on West, is like 0,1%.

On top of that, they drafted guy that:
1) was probably going to be there at 23# regardless
2) isn't position of need for them
3) wasn't that good of a player, even by college standards, in general.

You watch him even in SL, and yea, that whole "Baby Jokić" is more like "Baby Šarić". His desire to pass the ball surpasses his ability to pass the ball. He isn't that athletic, he has no burst, he can't go around defenders, he isn't much of a treat to shoot.

And even if he is much better prospect than he is, that trade still makes ZERO sense given fact that Pelicans will probably struggle to win 35 games again, but this time around, they will have no pick.

Btw Missi and Matković were fine last year, drafting another C makes so little sense ,roster construction vise. Their PG rotation is Jordan Poole, Murray who won't even suit up for probably 80% of a season and Alvarado. If you are dead set to notion that you will burn pick no matter what, at least draft player on position that you actually need...

It's such a dumb trade on so many levels.

I agree Pels trade is worst deal, making Atlanta the best deal, but there is no way Queen is still there at 23. There is a world where Queen ends up very good and Pels look smart at the end. Of course, the world where Atlanta drafts someone like Boozer with Pels pick next year, is far more likely world.

[cupcakesnake]

Okay, now do NAW and Kennard next!

Trent is making the minimum. He's not THAT much worse.

Trent is close to replacement level. He occasionally gets hot and makes you think he could be more than that. He's a good shooter, but not a versatile one. He'll knock down catch & shoot 3s, and hit a few off the dribble, but he's not a movement shooter flying off screens or working dribble handoff actions. He's a total zero as a passer. He's awful around the rim, and mediocre everywhere else besides behind the 3-point line. His defensive effort is maddeningly inconsistent. He showed late in Toronto that he was a defensive liability, and then continued to show that in Milwaukee. The Bucks had the worst perimeter defense in the NBA, and while Trent wasn't the main reason for that, he was part of the problem.

NAW is way better. He's a very solid secondary ball handler, an awesome connective passer, a good catch & shoot player, and above all else: he's one of the best point of attack defenders in the NBA. NAW absolutely harasses ball handlers, capable of picking them up full court and forcing turnovers. He's a good help defender too, both on the perimeter and in the paint. He's never really found his scoring game in the NBA. His drives go nowhere. He's good as a shooter and connective piece, and he can take care of the basketball, but if you ask him to go get a bucket, most of the time it wont end well. Plenty of people viewed NAW as one of the best free agent guards available. He's going into his prime, and he the ideal type of guard to put next to Trae Young. Next year, the Hawks can always have an elite perimeter defender next to Young with either Dyson or NAW out there. If NAW regresses though, the contract could end up a bad one. Very good player though. Super sad to lose him off the T-Wolves. He was one of my favorites.

I'm not really a big Kennard guy but I don't think it's complicated. He's a ridiculous shooter. He led the whole NBA in 3-point % 2 years in a row. He's a much better ball handler and passer than Gary Trent Jr. Kennard made more than the minimum but only got a 1-year deal.

[Stanq]

People have already mentioned that Duncan is actually a one year deal and the rest is not guaranteed. DFS is the same: it is a 4 year deal but actually just a two year guaranteed.

I really liked the Rockets off season. Got a go to guy for this year while keeping the good young players, got rid of a bad contract in Green, and still has some flexibility. Capela and DFS are great bench guys.

Both LA teams did great in my opinion.

Clippers traded Powell for a position of need, knowing that he would walk in free agency and they would not have much capspace to work with when he left. Signing BroLo gives them a good 10 minutes of center play for when Zubac seats, and he can still knock down the three. All of their moves where solid.

Lakers got guys who wore great once but need to prove it again. Given that Ayton is 26 and Smart 31, those two aren't old and washed, could def see them overperforming their contracts by a reasonable margin. LaRavia was a great signing for 6m a year. I like them going into the season with their assets available and guys like Vando, Gabe and Kleber getting opportunities to show they are not just matching salary but could help teams across the league. If this team is clicking before ASB, like in the 3rd seed in the west, I can def see them making a move by the deadline. Maybe overpaying by Herb Jones if Pels keep doing Pels, or even a reasonable deal for Wiggins once Miamis realizes his value isn't increasing.

Waive and stretch Lillard to overpay for Myles Turner is wild for me. Not that Turner is a bad player, but he is not worth all that cap hit, and the Bucks are now unable to do anything else before Giannis deal is done. This is a weird all in.

Booker deal is one of the worsts for me. You just made him untradeable while your team can't compete. Waive and stretching Beal is gonna hit their caps for a long time too.

[ConSarnit]

People have already mentioned that Duncan is actually a one year deal and the rest is not guaranteed. DFS is the same: it is a 4 year deal but actually just a two year guaranteed.

I really liked the Rockets off season. Got a go to guy for this year while keeping the good young players, got rid of a bad contract in Green, and still has some flexibility. Capela and DFS are great bench guys.

Both LA teams did great in my opinion.

Clippers traded Powell for a position of need, knowing that he would walk in free agency and they would not have much capspace to work with when he left. Signing BroLo gives them a good 10 minutes of center play for when Zubac seats, and he can still knock down the three. All of their moves where solid.

Lakers got guys who wore great once but need to prove it again. Given that Ayton is 26 and Smart 31, those two aren't old and washed, could def see them overperforming their contracts by a reasonable margin. LaRavia was a great signing for 6m a year. I like them going into the season with their assets available and guys like Vando, Gabe and Kleber getting opportunities to show they are not just matching salary but could help teams across the league. If this team is clicking before ASB, like in the 3rd seed in the west, I can def see them making a move by the deadline. Maybe overpaying by Herb Jones if Pels keep doing Pels, or even a reasonable deal for Wiggins once Miamis realizes his value isn't increasing.

Waive and stretch Lillard to overpay for Myles Turner is wild for me. Not that Turner is a bad player, but he is not worth all that cap hit, and the Bucks are now unable to do anything else before Giannis deal is done. This is a weird all in.

Booker deal is one of the worsts for me. You just made him untradeable while your team can't compete. Waive and stretching Beal is gonna hit their caps for a long time too.

I don’t think what the Bucks did is that crazy IF they are smart about it. If Giannis extends it’s a win. If it goes south and they actually nut up and trade Giannis it’s a win. Let’s say things don’t work out and the Bucks trade Giannis. They’ll get a massive package and they’ll enter into a rebuild. They should also be able to trade Turner for positive value. So they’ll enter a rebuild with a decent amount of assets but they’ll still have Dame’s money on the books but that won’t really matter because they’ll be in a rebuild. Now, if Giannis walks as a UFA the Dame stretch looks terrible but the other outcomes seem ok to me.

The Booker extension is interesting. I feel like the Suns could get positive value for him if they trade him before it kicks in. Teams seem like they will take the chance on a guy like Booker as long as he hasn’t suffered a big injury. If the Suns move early enough (which they probably won’t) they probably do ok on a Booker trade.

[Bornstellar]

Homer pick since no one has mentioned him yet:

Luke Kornet's deal with SA was really good once you realize only the first season is fully guaranteed.

[Stanq]

People have already mentioned that Duncan is actually a one year deal and the rest is not guaranteed. DFS is the same: it is a 4 year deal but actually just a two year guaranteed.

I really liked the Rockets off season. Got a go to guy for this year while keeping the good young players, got rid of a bad contract in Green, and still has some flexibility. Capela and DFS are great bench guys.

Both LA teams did great in my opinion.

Clippers traded Powell for a position of need, knowing that he would walk in free agency and they would not have much capspace to work with when he left. Signing BroLo gives them a good 10 minutes of center play for when Zubac seats, and he can still knock down the three. All of their moves where solid.

Lakers got guys who wore great once but need to prove it again. Given that Ayton is 26 and Smart 31, those two aren't old and washed, could def see them overperforming their contracts by a reasonable margin. LaRavia was a great signing for 6m a year. I like them going into the season with their assets available and guys like Vando, Gabe and Kleber getting opportunities to show they are not just matching salary but could help teams across the league. If this team is clicking before ASB, like in the 3rd seed in the west, I can def see them making a move by the deadline. Maybe overpaying by Herb Jones if Pels keep doing Pels, or even a reasonable deal for Wiggins once Miamis realizes his value isn't increasing.

Waive and stretch Lillard to overpay for Myles Turner is wild for me. Not that Turner is a bad player, but he is not worth all that cap hit, and the Bucks are now unable to do anything else before Giannis deal is done. This is a weird all in.

Booker deal is one of the worsts for me. You just made him untradeable while your team can't compete. Waive and stretching Beal is gonna hit their caps for a long time too.

I don’t think what the Bucks did is that crazy IF they are smart about it. If Giannis extends it’s a win. If it goes south and they actually nut up and trade Giannis it’s a win. Let’s say things don’t work out and the Bucks trade Giannis. They’ll get a massive package and they’ll enter into a rebuild. They should also be able to trade Turner for positive value. So they’ll enter a rebuild with a decent amount of assets but they’ll still have Dame’s money on the books but that won’t really matter because they’ll be in a rebuild. Now, if Giannis walks as a UFA the Dame stretch looks terrible but the other outcomes seem ok to me.

The Booker extension is interesting. I feel like the Suns could get positive value for him if they trade him before it kicks in. Teams seem like they will take the chance on a guy like Booker as long as he hasn’t suffered a big injury. If the Suns move early enough (which they probably won’t) they probably do ok on a Booker trade.

We agree on Booker.

Now, about the Bucks... Wouldn't all of that be true if they didn't waive and stretch Lillard? Trade Giannis for assets was always on the table - a bunch of assets, sure - but now whatever they do, and if they somehow become kinda competitive in 3 years... They are still stuck with starter money locked up for a few more years.
I don't think they would get more for Turner them they would if they operated as a cap space team and just hoarded assets like teams with cap do - like Brooklyn for instance. Turner signing cost them way too much compared to the return. Unless Giannis signs an extension, of course. But if all he needed to extend was a player like Turner, Bucks could have also played this better.

[Wolveswin]

To be determined.

Eh, not really... They gave up unprotected 2026 pick in season where their objective chance at making playoffs, on West, is like 0,1%.

On top of that, they drafted guy that:
1) was probably going to be there at 23# regardless
2) isn't position of need for them
3) wasn't that good of a player, even by college standards, in general.

You watch him even in SL, and yea, that whole "Baby Jokić" is more like "Baby Šarić". His desire to pass the ball surpasses his ability to pass the ball. He isn't that athletic, he has no burst, he can't go around defenders, he isn't much of a treat to shoot.

And even if he is much better prospect than he is, that trade still makes ZERO sense given fact that Pelicans will probably struggle to win 35 games again, but this time around, they will have no pick.

Btw Missi and Matković were fine last year, drafting another C makes so little sense ,roster construction vise. Their PG rotation is Jordan Poole, Murray who won't even suit up for probably 80% of a season and Alvarado. If you are dead set to notion that you will burn pick no matter what, at least draft player on position that you actually need...

It's such a dumb trade on so many levels.

I agree Pels trade is worst deal, making Atlanta the best deal, but there is no way Queen is still there at 23. There is a world where Queen ends up very good and Pels look smart at the end. Of course, the world where Atlanta drafts someone like Boozer with Pels pick next year, is far more likely world.

Hawks also have a nice all-in trade brewing when that NOP pick starts to look sexy before the 2026 trade deadline. Hawks have youth, picks, expiring salary filler to offer. Pels could help Hawks trade for the final piece in the weak East.

[BigGargamel]

Are we counting contracts or strictly trades? Because the Pelicans trading what will probably be a top 7 pick in a stacked draft to move up and draft a backup center has to be one of the worst draft day trades of all time. Nothing else this off-season even comes close.