The NBA is back. Let us all rejoice in the fact that basketball is back. The 2023-2024 season had a lot of ups and downs, with controversy all over the place. It’s always great to start fresh, and look for the future. With that in mind, let’s go over the winners and losers of the off season, and see how the season is shaking up.
In the Eastern Conference, the Atlanta Hawks did not have their best season last year. They made the play in game, but lost in the first round. The Atlanta hawks lost a key player this off season, with Dejounte Murray being traded to the Pelicans, with them receiving Larry Nance Jr in return.
The Boston Celtics won the NBA championship last season, which surprised nobody. They build a super team, and they breezed through the playoffs to gain their 19th Championship. The Celtics are poised to defend their title by resigning Jayson Tatum and Derrick White.
The Brooklyn Nets lost one of their key stars, with Mikal Bridges being traded to their in state rivals, the New York Knicks. With losing their star player, it seems like the Nets may be in a sort of rebuild mode this season, hoping to make something happen with scraps.
The Charlotte Hornets have been in a constant state of purgatory for the last few seasons, as they can’t seem to get any momentum going, especially with their star Lamelo Ball always being injured. They resigned Miles bridges and Seth Curry, while also adding veterans like Taj Gibson.
The Chicago Bulls had a rather unproductive off season, with losing key players like Alex Curaso and Demar Derozan. They acquired Josh Giddey in a trade from the Thunder, and signed Jalen Smith to a three year deal.
The Cleveland Cavaliers had a tremendous off-season. They resigned almost all of their star players to solid extensions that should keep them as contenders for multiple years. Donovan Mitchel and Jarret Allen signed to three year extensions, while Evan Mobley got a 5 year.
The Dallas Mavericks are coming off making the NBA finals last year, and falling short to the Boston Celtics. The Mavericks will attempt to make it back to the Finals with the veteran signing of Klay Thompson, who has spent his entire career with the Golden State Warriors. The Maveriks will start the season without Derrick Jones Jr and Tim Hardaway Jr.
The Denver Nuggets, led by reigning MVP Nikola Jokic, will try to win their 2nd NBA title this year, and they will have a good chance. They resigned Jamal Murray, and signed Russel Westbrook to a 2 year deal. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, has departed from the team and signed a deal with the Orlando Magic.
Ah yes, the Detroit Pistons, the black sheep of the Detroit sports over the past couple years. They will try to turn their luck around with some solid off -season moves. They signed Tobias Harris to a 2 year deal, and acquired Malik Beasley and Tim Hardaway Jr.
The Golden State Warriors as previously mentioned, Klay Thompson departed from the warriors this off season to the Mavericks. Due to this, the Warriors signed another great 3pt shooter in Buddy Heild. They also acquired Kyle Anderson, and waived Chris Paul.
The Houston Rockets had a very quiet off season with not much to speak of. They resigned Aaron Holiday and Nate Williams, and that is it.
The Indiana Pacers had a solid season last year, making it to the semi-finals before ultimately falling to the Knicks. They resigned key role players this off season such as Pascal Siakim and Obi Toppin, while also adding center James Wiseman. They should be a threat to the eastern conference this year.
The Los Angeles Clippers are a rather peculiar team in the NBA, with their roster being so deep, yet constantly injured, making it difficult for them to put anything together. They resigned James Harden and Ivica Zubac, while adding Nicolas Batum and Derrick Jones Jr. They did however, have a key departure in Paul George leaving to join the Philadelphia 76ers. They also lost Russel Westbrook to the Denver Nuggets.
The Los Angeles Lakers will be on the quest for their 18th championship, and they extended Lebron James’s contract for another two seasons. They lost Spencer Dinwiddie and Taurean Prince this off season. One key standout for them was the draft, in which the lakers drafted Bronny James, Lebron’s son.
The Memphis Grizzlies had a rough season last year, with Ja Morant being suspended to start the season and then proceeding to get injured. They will look to rewrite the ship this year with a healthy team. They resigned Luke Kennard, and signed Scottie Pippen Jr.
The Miami Heat have been on the cusp of greatness for the last few seasons, but just have not been able to put it all together. The Miami Heat resigned Bam Adebayo and Kevin Love, while losing Caleb Martin.
The Milwakuee Bucks had a dissapointing season, with Gianis Antetakounpo and Damien Lillard being injured in the playoffs. They added Taurean Prince and Gary Trent Jr, while they lose Malik Beasley and Patrick Beverley.
The Minnesota Timberwolves made the conference finals last season for the team in 20 years, and they hope for this year to put them over the top. They added Joe Ingles and Julius Randle to their roster, while trading away Karl Anthony Towns. Many fans saw this as a rather strange move, so we will see how this season unfolds.
The New Orleans Pelicans should be a sleeper team in the western conference this year, with a solid roster of young stars. They acquired Dejounte Murray from a trade with the hawks, while losing Larry Nance Jr. and Cody Zeller.
The New York Knicks put together one of their best seasons in a long time, making the conference fina;s. They resigned Og Anunoby and Jalen Brunson, while also adding Mikal Bridges and Karl Anthony Towns. They lost a plethora of players however, such as Donte Divencenzo and Julius Randle. This roster is filled with star power, and they one of if not the biggest threats in the Eastern Conference.
Oklahoma City Thunder finished 1st in the Western Conference last season, and with a team full of young stars with a lot of potential, they are a big threat. They Signed Alex Caruso, an amazing defensive talent, while trading away Josh Giddey.
The Orlando Magic put together a solid season last year, finishing 5th in the conference. They resigned Jonathan Issac and Franz Wagner, while also adding Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. They did however lose Joe Ingles, a solid shooter.
The Philadelphia 76ers had a monstrous off season, adding and resigning an abundance of players. Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey both agreed to extenions. They signed Paul George, Andre Drummond, Eric Gordan and Caleb Martin. They also lost players such as Buddy Heild, Mo Bamba, and Nicolas Batum.
The Phoenix Suns had an acceptional off season, making solid moves for some role players. They resigned Bol Bol and Damion Lee. They signed Monte Morris and Mason Plumlee. They lost a key defensive player in Eric Gordan.
The Sacramento Kings have been a sleeper team for the last couple of seasons, and this year they hope to build on that, with a key signing of Demar Derozan. They lost Harrion Barnes and Chris Duarte in the off season.
The San Antonio Spurs added a future hall of famer in Chris Paul, who has been bouncing around teams for the past couple of seasons. They signed him to a one year deal, which most people think is to speed up the development of Victor Wembanyama. They lost Devonte Graham.
The Toronto Raptors signed both Scottie Barnes and Immanuel Quickly to 5-year extensions. These are key players for them, but this should be a sort of rebuilding year for them. They lost Jalen McDaniels and Gary Trent Jr.
The Utah Jazz are a young and rebuilding team, and they resigned some young stars to keep that same identity. They resigned Lauri Marrkanen and Johnny Juzang. They also added a veteran in Patty Mills. However, they did lose Kris Dunn.
The Washington Wizards have been a rather peculiar team as of late, with not much fire power to get them near the playoffs. They aquired Saddiq Bey, Malcolm Brogdan and Jonah Valanciunas. They lost Landry shamet and Tyus Jones.
We had a large amount of changes throughout for every team. Do you think your team had a good off-season? Let us know what you think and thank you for reading.
