It simply wouldn’t be fair to compare every single other NBA team to the Golden State Warriors when it comes to handing out offseason grades. There is no doubt that the Warriors won the offseason with the addition of Kevin Durant, but there are a number of other teams that also significantly improved their rosters. Here is a look at the offseason grades for every NBA Central division team.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Grade: C+
Cleveland still needs to lock in LeBron James and J.R. Smith with new contracts but the assumption is that both players will be signed by the time that September rolls around. The question mark is whether or not they did enough to defend their crown in 2016-17 as they lost a handful of role players in Timofey Mozgov, Matthew Dellavedova and James Jones but they did manage to bring back Richard Jefferson. There was a lot of talk about the Cavaliers being close to signing Dwyane Wade but that didn’t happen. Cleveland will enter next season as the favorites in the Eastern Conference (and obviously in the Central Division) once again but it’s hard to give them anything more than a C+ grade after failing to add any substantial upgrades to this point.
Indiana Pacers
Grade: A
The Pacers earned our strongest grade out of the teams in the Central Division with some quality moves that should upgrade their roster moving forward. It made sense to trade a pick for Thaddeus Young and Indiana upgraded by trading out George Hill and acquiring Jeff Teague to replace him. Al Jefferson can still provide some key minutes off the bench as part of the Pacers’ second unit while Jeremy Evans and Georges Niang will be strong depth players. Indiana is talented enough to finish second in the Central division behind the Cavaliers and it will be very interesting to see if they can take another step forward as contenders in the Eastern Conference this season.
Detroit Pistons
Grade: B
Detroit signed Andre Drummond to a new deal that made him a franchise centerpiece for years to come but they didn’t stop there. The Pistons found a solid backup to Drummond in Boban Marjanovic and they added some depth scorers that can stretch the floor in Henry Ellenson and Jon Leuer. All of the moves will help Detroit take another step forward in the Central division and it will be interesting to see if it will be enough for the Pistons to make a return to the playoffs.
Chicago Bulls
Grade: B-
The Bulls had convinced everybody they were making a full push towards a youth movement when they traded Derrick Rose and opted not to bring back Joakim Noah and Pau Gasol. However, it didn’t take long for Chicago to move in a different direction by signing a pair of veteran free agents in Wade and Rajon Rondo. Rondo led the NBA in assists a year ago while Wade returns home for one last shot to contend for a championship in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls might not be talented enough to take down the Cavaliers but they should be one of the more entertaining contenders to watch in the Central Division and the Eastern Conference this season.
Milwaukee Bucks
Grade: C+
Milwaukee made a number of smaller additions but it’s hard to imagine this team being that much better based on the changes they made. Dellavedova is a role player on a team that is full of them. Beyond that, one has to question the decision to pay him $10 million a year for a player that has very little use to most teams. He’s a scrappy guy but where does he fit into the rotation?
Meanwhile, Thon Maker and Malcolm Brogdon both project as players that are at least a couple of players away – although Maker has been a nice surprise early on. The addition of Mirza Teletovic should help when it comes to stretching the floor with the three-ball but the Bucks didn’t add enough difference makers to believe they will be improved enough to make a return to the playoffs in 2016-17.
