NBA Offseason: Winners

The NBA offseason has been off to a great start, so let's see what teams are going to head into next season with a significantly better roster.

The team that stands out as a clear winner for me is the Atlanta Hawks. They have a great star piece in Trae Young, who is always at an all-star level and has shown that he can lead a team to a deep playoff run. With Jalen Johnson returning, they still needed to improve their roster significantly. Some of their underrated pick-ups have been getting Asa Newell in the draft at pick 23, which was a steal in my eyes, and also getting the guy who has led the NBA in three-point percentage over the last 5 years in Luka Kennard. Along with improving their depth, they signed Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who is a great guard defender and three-point shooter that will be great off the bench and will get playing time in the clutch moments. Lastly, they made a huge trade in acquiring Kristaps Porzingis, who is one of the best big men shooters in the league, who gives you 20 points a night and 2 blocks. The Hawks improved their depth and offensive and defensive firepower by a large margin, which, in a weak Eastern Conference, means they can easily be a top 4 seed and make a deep run in the playoffs. Next year.

Another team that improved its roster after a great last season is the Houston Rockets. The big move was making the trade for Kevin Durant, which gives them a consistent scorer to add to their top 5 defense from last year. Durant has always been an excellent playoff scorer, and the Rockets struggled to generate much offense in last year's playoffs, so getting a 20-point scorer at high efficiency will give them some offensive success. They also re-signed key players such as Jabari Smith Jr, Fred VanVleet, and Jae'Sean Tate, which keeps their young core intact and their veteran guard to initiate the offense. The most underrated move they made was extending Steven Adams, and they kept the next offensive rebounder in the NBA and added Clint Capela to give their all-star center support.

The team that I think has a real shot to win the finals based on their moves is the Denver Nuggets. Trading away Michael Porter Jr for a more consistent shooter in Cam Johnson was a great trade because they get a better version of their old player that can fit with Jokic well. Also, adding Tim Hardaway Jr gives Jokic another spot-up shooter that can help spread the floor to the best passer in the NBA. The team almost seems dysfunctional when Jokic gets subbed off, so they get a Jonas Valanciunas, who is the best second-string center the Nuggets have had for Jokic. Bruce Brown also rejoins the team to give them a spark player off the bench who scored an efficient 12 points a night in the playoffs during their championship year. Other than the Pacers, the Nuggets were the biggest threat to the Thunder, and they added great role players who provide shooting and scoring around the best player in the NBA, which was missing last year. These moves make the Nuggets the best competition for the Thunder after taking them to 7 games last playoffs.