1996 Offseason Grades

[Craig]

Boston Celtics
Key Additions: Derek Fisher, Kurt Thomas, Roy Rogers
Key Losses: Isaiah Rider, Mark Buford, Dee Brown
The Celtics are riding out some very large contracts in Barkley, Higgins, and Schmidt on his farewell tour. They sold high on Isaiah Rider, landing what ultimately became three 1st round picks (one of which became Derek Fisher) and Kurt Thomas. All told it’s a pretty good haul for a SG in Rider who will likely command a big contract after this season. Picking Derek Fisher and Roy Rogers in the middle of the 1st round, while unspectacular, aligns pretty well with realistic, optimistic expectations for those pick slots. The team is definitely less talented but that probably bodes well for re-building while they try to get out of their salary cap constraints. Getting off Barkley and/or Higgins would have been ideal but that’s probably not too realistic at this point.
Grade: B

Miami Heat
Key Additions: Eric Piatkowski, Dwayne Schintzius
Key Losses: Kevin Garnett, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Scott
The Heat are an interesting team to evaluate here. They’re looking like major title contenders, but is that because of the most they made this off-season? They probably would have been anyway, but their moves certainly didn’t hurt their chances in the short term. Moving Dennis Scott for a couple of 1st round picks obviously downgrades the talent but their books had to be cleaned up and they got decent value. Dwayne Schintzius is a very valuable piece to plug into their lineup, and Eric Piatkowski is a phenomenal scorer that will make the Heat offense tough to stop. It’s hard to argue with the end product but giving up what is likely the most valuable asset in the league in Kevin Garnett (along with the very good Scottie Pippen) to get them is not great asset management. It’s not sacrilegious to move KG for an upgrade, but with more diligence they would have found even better talent than they got for him. They’re still getting a good grade as they might’ve locked up a chip but downgrading it slightly for the asset play.
Grade: A-

New Jersey Nets
Key Additions: Loy Vaught, A.J. English, Moochie Norris
Key Losses: Drazen Petrovic, Kevin Willis, Don Maclean
The Nets are looking like a strong Eastern Conference contender this season, even after losing mainstay Drazen Petrovic in free agency. The biggest move was capitalizing early on their cap space during the draft to snag Loy Vaught for a future 1st round pick. Vaught is not really a guy I’d want on a max contract but you can’t argue too much with the production, especially if he can score as efficiently as he did during the pre-season. They look like they might’ve gotten a steal in the draft in Moochie Norris at #22 and they used their free agency exceptions very well with A.J. English, Clifford Robinson, Scott Williams, and Mark Buford, while retaining Kevin Duckworth on a one-year deal.
Grade: B+

New York Knicks
Key Additions: Steve Nash, Patrick Ewing, Mark Bradtke
Key Losses: Mitchell Jordan
The Knicks’ most important task this off-season was nailing their #4 draft pick in a pretty stacked draft. Getting it right could really move the re-build along significantly. Taking PG Steve Nash looks like it should work out pretty well long term. They have two other recent lottery picks at PG but Nash already looks like the best of the bunch and the others could prove to be valuable trade assets. They were able to use their cap space to sign & trade Drazen Petrovic to Cleveland for a ’98 1st, which honestly might not be a terrible pick with Hakeem showing significant signs of age. On the other hand, they kind of needlessly lost an asset in Mitchell Jordan by letting him walk in free agency for just the MLE. I know they had a hard time moving him last year but I feel like bringing him back on a lower salary would’ve made moving him much easier.
Grade: B+

Orlando Magic
Key Additions: Carson Tornopsky, Arvydas Sabonis
Key Losses: Richard Dumas
The Magic’s most significant move was trading out of the late lottery for a future 1st from the Nets. It’s a gamble for sure, as there were some solid players available to draft at #11. For me, they’re just trading a lottery pick for a significantly worse pick in ’98. Maybe there’s a world where the Blazers scuffle and the removed protections from their pick owed to Orlando is significant, but it still seems safe to assume that pick will be mediocre. The team is in dire need of high-end talent and just kind of punted for more pick volume. Their pick at #27 is a total bust and they nailed their #39 pick but did not extend Tornopsky’s contract to get to 3 bird years on the deal. Sabonis was an OK MLE signing and could probably net them a 2nd or two. Just one more year until Rodman is off the books and they can really start to try to make some moves.
Grade: D+

Philadelphia 76ers
Key Additions: Todd Lichti, Steve Scheffler
Key Losses: Clyde Drexler, Cedric Ceballos
Pretty quiet off-season in Philly. Losing Drexler and Ceballos isn’t super since there isn’t a lot of guard depth here but it’s also not catastrophic since they’re pretty average. Getting Todd Lichti for the MLE is pretty good value, especially in the paint-oriented system they run. They also snagged a couple of decent minimum signings in Steve Scheffler and Carson Nichols, while drafting Kerry Kittles at #14, the value of which is still TBD, as he’s not showing much yet but is still young. Overall I think the moves were a slight net positive.
Grade: C+

Toronto Raptors
Key Additions: Lorenzen Wright, Anthony Taylor
Key Losses: Marlon Maxey
Not a ton of movement in Toronto either, but they did manage to move veteran big man Marlon Maxey for a 1st that is four years out, so that’s a definite win for a guy will be limited behind the team’s two young cornerstones in Chris Webber and Glenn Robinson. In the draft, they selected C Lorenzen Wright at #7, who so far looks like he could be a solid piece moving forward. Passing on Antoine Walker is tough but they would have had to make some tough decisions on Webber/Robinson if they did. They also signed tank All Star Anthony Taylor to a big one-year deal, so we’ll see what he brings to the table. Overall, they added a couple of solid assets to the re-build.
Grade: B

Atlanta Hawks
Key Additions: Marcus Camby, Bison Dele, Shawn Harvey
Key Losses: Wayman Tisdale
The Hawks are bringing the band back again, with only the aging Wayman Tisdale gone from last year’s rotation. While panned a bit at the time, drafting Marcus Camby may end up being a solid selection long term to pair with Brian Grant. They snagged Bison Dele and retained LeRon Ellis so that they can have a rotation of actual bigs, which is an improvement. They seem to have passed up another opportunity to send out someone from their stable of PG’s to get some value elsewhere, though, which is a disappointment.
Grade: C

Charlotte Hornets
Key Additions: Les Jepsen, P.J. Brown, Emanual Davis
Key Losses: Jon Koncak, John Salley, Jon Sundvold
Charlotte was another team with a quiet off-season. They shuffled around some depth, but in my opinion the replacements for guys like the 3 John’s (Koncak, Salley, Sundvold) are a bit of a downgrade. In the draft, they picked up a project at the end of Round 1 (Vogel) and a couple of role players in the 2nd round (McCarty, Davis) but it looks like they’ll have to wait a while to see if it worked out. Overall, pretty underwhelming in Charlotte but they still have all their picks for flexibility.
Grade: C-

Chicago Bulls
Key Additions: Antoine Walker, Antonio Davis
Key Losses: George Ackles
The Bulls look to have acquired a ready-now scorer at pick #8 in Antoine Walker. Scoring is something the team doesn’t have a lot of talent for, so he is a solid pick there. It remains to be seen whether he’ll be able to hold up defensively and, on the boards, long term. Otherwise, they retained/brought in some less than exciting frontcourt depth while they likely hunt for another high lottery pick next season.
Grade: B-

Cleveland Cavaliers
Key Additions: Drazen Petrovic, Mitchell Jordan, Doug Smith
Key Losses: Patrick Ewing, A.J. English, Magic Johnson
The Cavs acquired themselves one of the better MLE signings in the history of the league with 5-time All Star PG Mitchell Jordan. He offers them a significant talent boost in the backcourt. Prior to this signing, they used their cap space on PF Doug Smith, coming off a breakout year in Houston. I am skeptical of Smith being a top tier PF but getting him on a 1yr deal limits the downside. Later, with contending in Hakeem’s time on the mind, they shipped Patrick Ewing and a ’98 1st for Jordan’s former running mate in Drazen Petrovic. This is a dicey proposition, as this is the most perimeter talent they’ve had in the ‘Dream’ era, but Hakeem is aging pretty quickly at this point, so them not missing that pick for next year is a tenuous assumption. All in all, they did what was needed to stay relevant, it just may be fruitless if the Heat just rampage through the East.
Grade: B

Detroit Pistons
Key Additions: Dee Brown, Othella Harrington
Key Losses: Latrell Sprewell, Mark Alarie
The Pistons lost two starters after a Finals appearance, so a bit of a dip this year is likely; however, the team has some guys that are capable of filling in nicely. This season may show how important their quality depth was to their recent run. Jamal Mashburn, Terry Mills, and Lance Blanks are still a very nice wing trio and Othella Harrington (picked #25) will look to offset the loss of Alarie with the incumbent frontcourt rotation. Losing Sprewell and Alarie hurts, but Spree on a max contract has definite bust potential so I understand not going that high for him.
Grade: C-

Indiana Pacers
Key Additions: Allen Iverson, Ray Allen, Shawn Kemp, Scottie Pippen, Darnell Robinson
Key Losses: Jerry Stackhouse, Loy Vaught, Vin Baker, John Stockton
The Pacers took a big swing in the draft to give up multiple future 1sts in exchange for the #2 pick to draft Ray Allen. The team is super young, so it’s a gamble, but at the end of the day they got the #2 pick in a loaded draft and hit a homerun with the pick. The future picks have a slight chance at being juicy, but I think you take the bird in the hand in that scenario, so great move. Perhaps spooked by giving up those picks, they made what I think was a hasty follow-up move in trading promising SG Jerry Stackhouse to the Clippers for Scottie Pippen and Shawn Kemp. Unfortunately, I’m not a fan of this move. If they wanted win-now role players, they could’ve easily found comparable options for much cheaper. Stack was likely the odd man out anyway, but they needed to do much better when dealing him. On a minor note, Darnell Robinson looks like a great 2nd round pick.
Grade: B

Milwaukee Bucks
Key Additions: Dennis Scott, Sharone Wright, Duane Cooper
Key Losses: Toni Kukoc, Kurt Thomas, Brad Sellers
The Bucks went all in this off-season, moving 3 first round picks to acquire Dennis Scott and Sharone Wright in two separate trades. They now have a top-6 that can compete with most teams in the league and are looking for a title in the near future. Any injuries that occur are going to hurt, as there is little depth after the top 6 and their salary situation gets dicey after this season, but they’re title contenders with no starters over the age of 30.
Grade: A-

Washington Bullets
Key Additions: Derrick Chievous, Steve Alford
Key Losses: Todd Day, Isaac Austin
No real significant moves for what seems like the 10th straight year in D.C. They retained Brad Daugherty on a hefty contract, which I don’t love, and importantly brought back Kenny Anderson on a max deal, which was necessary. They added a project in Zydrunas Ilgauskas at pick #13 but passed on some much better prospects in my opinion. They’re relying on internal improvement from Anderson, Juwan Howard, and Eric Williams to move up the standings.
Grade: C-

Dallas Mavericks
Key Additions: Ben Wallace, Mark Alarie, LaPhonso Ellis
Key Losses: Benoit Benjamin, Bison Dele, Milos Babic, Felton Spencer
The Mavs look like they got a good pick at #16 in Ben Wallace to man the middle in the future. They then used their cap space on LaPhonso Ellis and Mark Alarie for their frontcourt. I think these guys are high floor, low ceiling signings at a pretty high number but the contracts are not long term so it’s less cumbersome. Last year’s frontcourt is gone but the replacements are just as capable. This team has their superstar in Jim Jackson and Kevin Ollie looks like a star in the making, so the Mavs just need to get the role players right around them.
Grade: B

Denver Nuggets
Key Additions: Michael Jordan, Jon Koncak
Key Losses: Hank Gathers, Leon Wood
The Nuggets took a big, all-in swing by moving Hank Gathers and the #6 pick for superstar Michael Jordan, to pair with former MVP David Robinson. This gives them perhaps the best 1-2 punch in the league and a legitimate shot at the Finals. They will be tough to deal with on both ends. The team also snagged an underrated MLE signing in Jon Koncak, to help fill their thin frontcourt rotation. This season largely depends on young PG Jalen Rose.
Grade: A-

Houston Rockets
Key Additions: Hank Gathers, Stephon Marbury, Dallas Comegys
Key Losses: Michael Jordan, Doug Smith, Kenny Williams
The Rockets were the Nuggets’ partner in the blockbuster Jordan trade. With the #6 pick, they grabbed PG Stephon Marbury. He looks to have a lot of upside but it will be a while before we know if he was a good pick. They owe their pick to Orlando this season, so if things don’t go well, they’re basically banking on Marbury being better than anyone they’d get in the draft this year. They may regret taking themselves out of title contention but this might’ve been about their last chance to capitalize on the trade value of Jordan, so if they weren’t confident in their title chances, it’s not the worst move.
Grade: B-

Minnesota Timberwolves
Key Additions: George Zidek, Anthony Avent
Key Losses: Clarence Weatherspoon, Todd Lichti
Bit of a rough go in Minny I think. Weatherspoon probably got a contract more than he’s worth, but the Wolves don’t really have a great way to replace him. George Zidek is an ok rotation big but not really a big minute player. They’ve made a bet on Melvin Booker taking over the PG spot, though he might need a bit more time. This is a team that I think didn’t do anything crazy but unfortunately got a bit worse and they do not own their pick.
Grade: D+

Phoenix Suns
Key Additions: Felton Spencer, Marlon Maxey
Key Losses: Ralph Sampson, Michael Ansley
The biggest change in Phoenix after a disappointing end to last season is the retirement of future HOF’er Ralph Sampson. He was more of a role player by the time he got to Phoenix but was a big part of the rotation. To replace him, the team brought in Felton Spencer on the MLE and moved a future 1st for Marlon Maxey. The Spencer signing is solid value, but the Maxey trade is probably a net loss, unless he can re-capture his 1994 form. The Suns look to be a good team again but have a lot of competition for the Finals/Championship.
Grade: C-

San Antonio Spurs
Key Additions: None
Key Losses: Tom Hammonds
The Spurs, after retaining Alonzo Mourning and Tom Gugliotta on max contracts after their title run, did not have much roster turnover. Their salary books are quite full, so gone is Tom Hammonds from their starting lineup, replaced by his backup John Turner. They retained Johnny Dawkins for the PG spot and will look to make another title run.
Grade: C

Utah Jazz
Key Additions: Priest Lauderdale, Benoit Benjamin, George Ackles
Key Losses: Arvydas Sabonis
The Jazz made the controversial move to take a huge gamble by moving the #2 pick to Indiana for their next two 1sts and #17. As mentioned above, I’m not a fan of this quantity over quality approach when the pick you have in hand is so good. The Pacers could stumble and have that combined with some lottery luck to make this worthwhile for Utah, but that’s a lot to count on. Ray Allen would have been a great pickup. Aside from this deal, they did snag a great pickup at #17 with big Priest Lauderdale, so that definitely helps. From there, the Jazz used their large amount of cap space on as many FA big men as they could get their hands on, hoping to move them for more future assets, which has yet to occur, but there’s still time. They also obtained rookie PG Jeff McInnis (pick #26) for free from Milwaukee, which is an ok piece of business as a small trade.
Grade: C-

Golden State Warriors
Key Additions: Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Todd Fuller
Key Losses: Anthony Avent, Armen Gilliam
Little movement in the Bay, as per usual. They drafted Shareef Abdur-Rahim at #7, which could turn out to be a decent pick, but it looks like it’ll be a while before we know for sure. Would’ve liked to see them do something one way or the other, whether that’s moving on from Manning/Johnson or moving picks/youth to get better while they still have the vets. Looking like another year in the lottery.
Grade: C

Los Angeles Clippers
Key Additions: Kevin Garnett, Jerry Stackhouse, Rony Seikaly
Key Losses: Eric Piatkowski, Shawn Kemp, Dwayne Schintzius
Not really sure what kind of blackmailing/pestering this dude is doing to get other GM’s to give up their young talent at major discounts, but it’s working. Swinging Piatkowski, Kemp, Schintzius, and a pick swap for Kevin Garnett and Jerry Stackhouse is quite advantageous for them. Their books are cleared moving forward and they’ve got two young cornerstones to build around.
Grade: A

Los Angeles Lakers
Key Additions: Isaiah Rider, Clarence Weatherspoon
Key Losses: Sharone Wright, Nate McMillan
The Lakers paid a pretty high price during the draft to snag up-and-coming SG Isaiah Rider from the Celtics. He’s a good a good scorer/defender but is a poor rebounder/passer and about to get expensive. He’s a talent, though, and is both young and conducive to winning in the present. They also used their cap space to bring in enigmatic big man Clarence Weatherspoon on a large contract. He’s got a lot of talent, but it remains to be seen whether he’ll be worth that money. Early returns are not great but not terrible either. The team has a lot of frontcourt talent and will be tough to keep off the boards, keeping them in the thick of the playoff race.
Grade: B


Portland Trailblazers
Key Additions: Erick Dampier, Clyde Drexler, Clifford Rozier
Key Losses: Rony Seikaly, Tim Perry
First and foremost, the Blazers traded into the lottery without having to give up much of anything, which seems to happen quite frequently. They selected Erick Dampier at #11, who looks like a solid selection, but it remains to be seen whether they regret passing on Ben Wallace or Priest Lauderdale. In free agency, they snagged an aging Clyde Drexler and 75 other mediocre big men, most of whom are not super useful, in my opinion. Their losses shouldn’t hurt them too badly, but their acquisitions are not going to catapult them up the standings, I don’t think.
Grade: C+

Sacramento Kings
Key Additions: Latrell Sprewell, Samaki Walker
Key Losses: Griffin McAdoo
The Kings took another gamble on a young SG in offering a maximum contract to lure Latrell Sprewell away from the Pistons, where he can have a more featured role. As of right now, this was an overpay, but there is likely still some untapped potential there, so there’s a chance the gamble pays off. With pick #12, they added another young big man to their stable, hoping to catch lightning in a bottle at some point. Early returns on him are pretty average, so we shall see. It would’ve been nice to keep McAdoo as a trade chip, but he got a bit more money than expected and he was obviously replaced reasonably well.
Grade: B-

Seattle Supersonics
Key Additions: Horacio Llamas
Key Losses: LaPhonso Ellis
The Sonics finally finished their long period with no 1st round picks and a bare roster. Moving forward, they’ll hopefully be able to add a cornerstone in the draft. Otherwise, they didn’t do much with their cap space, though they did bring PG Jarrett Wedge back on what is probably a value deal. Otherwise, they unfortunately lost LaPhonso Ellis to Dallas on a bit of an overpay. Ellis isn’t a star but was one of very few rotation-worthy players on the roster, so that loss stings a bit. Overall, the roster is still pretty bleak but there is finally light at the end of the tunnel.
Grade: C-

Vancouver Grizzlies
Key Additions: Peja Stojakovic, Griffin McAdoo, Vitaly Potapenko, Magic Johnson
Key Losses: Anthony Taylor, Randolph Keys, Olden Polynice
The Grizz landed themselves the #1 pick and decided to move down to #3 in order to pick up extra assets in Loy Vaught (who netted them an additional 1st) and a future 1st. As a general asset play, it wasn’t a terrible proposition in a good draft, but unfortunately the prospect they selected at #3 (Peja Stojakovic) is looking like he’s a tier below the other top guys in the draft so far. There’s still time for this to correct, but early returns aren’t great. They did manage a value pick at #19 with Vitaly Potapenko and signed a few veteran free agents that will hopefully net them some assets down the road.
Grade: C-

[jibbajabba614]

+5… hopefully I can see you in finals.

[Foxyg1396]

Good stuff man, I’ve got some other stuff in the works to potentially get another MVP caliber player

[dd10snoop28]

"it just may be fruitless if the Heat just rampage through the East."


pssht, Heat r talented but experience > talent.

1. Nets
2. Heat
3. Bucks/Pistons
5. Cavs

[dd10snoop28]

Also I think u gotta give Jazz higher based off Priest pick alone.

[dd10snoop28]

+5… hopefully I can see you in conf finals.

fixed

[dd10snoop28]

Mavs should get A- too with getting Ellis and Ollie's tc

[Craig]

Mavs should get A- too with getting Ellis and Ollie's tc

I mean its great for them but theres not really anything the GM did during this off-season to make that TC happen lol.

[Foxyg1396]

"it just may be fruitless if the Heat just rampage through the East."


pssht, Heat r talented but experience > talent.

1. Nets
2. Heat
3. Bucks/Pistons
5. Cavs

Heat have a 20 ppg differential. The nets have 4

[dd10snoop28]

"it just may be fruitless if the Heat just rampage through the East."


pssht, Heat r talented but experience > talent.

1. Nets
2. Heat
3. Bucks/Pistons
5. Cavs

Heat have a 20 ppg differential. The nets have 4

Ya with 3 starters on my bench tho.

[dd10snoop28]

Mavs should get A- too with getting Ellis and Ollie's tc

I mean its great for them but theres not really anything the GM did during this off-season to make that TC happen lol.

Pressing the "sim tc" button doesn't count as doing something?

[Craig]

Mavs should get A- too with getting Ellis and Ollie's tc

I mean its great for them but theres not really anything the GM did during this off-season to make that TC happen lol.

Pressing the "sim tc" button doesn't count as doing something?

touché

[pistolpetejr]

Nice to know I’m considered as having had the best offseason despite joining after the draft haha:)

[Foxyg1396]

"it just may be fruitless if the Heat just rampage through the East."


pssht, Heat r talented but experience > talent.

1. Nets
2. Heat
3. Bucks/Pistons
5. Cavs

Heat have a 20 ppg differential. The nets have 4

Ya with 3 starters on my bench tho.

Fair enough hah

[Oregon Ownage]

Great writeup!

Dallas Mavericks
Key Additions: Ben Wallace, Mark Alarie, LaPhonso Ellis
Key Losses: Benoit Benjamin, Bison Dele, Milos Babic, Felton Spencer
This team has their superstar in Jim Jackson and Kevin Ollie looks like a star in the making, so the Mavs just need to get the role players right around them.
Grade: B

This has been the hardest part so far