2012 NBA Offseason: Grading the Atlantic Division
By Matt Shetler
Baring a trade of Dwight Howard, the 2012 NBA offseason is all but over as there aren’t many big names left on the market that will offer a ton of impact for the 2012-13 season.
That gives me a chance to look at what each team has accomplished, or failed to accomplish so far this summer,as I will look at each division separately in articles throughout the week.
With that being said, here’s a look at how all the teams in the Atlantic Division grade out so far this offseason.
Atlantic Division
Boston Celtics
Players Added
NBA Draft: F Kris Joseph, C Fab Melo, F Jared Sullinger
Free Agents: F Brandon Bass (re-signed), C Jason Collins, F/C Kevin Garnett (re-signed), G Jason Terry, F/CChris Wilcox (re-signed), Jeff Green (re-signed)
Trades: G Courtney Lee
Players Lost
Free Agents: G Ray Allen
Trades: F/C JaJuan Johnson, G E’Twaun Moore, G/F Sasha Pavlovic, F/C Sean Williams
Danny Ainge was able to improve the Celtics with the likes of Bass, Garnett, Terry and Lee. Depending how Sullinger pans out, the Celtics could be much deeper and bigger than they were a season ago. The loss of Allen hurts, but not nearly as much as people would like to believe. Boston will be tough in 2013. Grade: B+
Brooklyn Nets
Players Added
NBA Draft: F Ilkan Karaman, F Tornike Shengelia, G Tyshawn Taylor
Free Agents: G Keith Bogans, F Kris Humphries (re-signed), C Brook Lopez (re-signed), G/F Jerry Stackhouse, F Mirza Teletovic, F Gerald Wallace (re-signed), G C.J. Watson, G Deron Williams (re-signed)
Trades: F Reggie Evans, G Joe Johnson
Players Lost
Free Agents: G/F Gerald Green
Trades: G Jordan Farmar, F Anthony Morrow, G Johan Petro, F DeShawn Stevenson, F Jordan Williams
The Nets lost out on Howard for now, gave up a top lottery pick for the right to overpay Wallace, got stuck with Johnson’s ridiculous contract and overpaid Lopez. But this was still a very good offseason as no team in the NBA improved as much as Brooklyn.
They kept Williams and added parts around him. while I still don’t think they are title contenders, they will be very good and may even be a team that can get out of the first round in 2013. Grade: B+
New York Knicks
Players Added
NBA Draft: F Kostas Papanikolaou
Free Agents: G/F James White, G Jason Kidd, F Steve Novak (re-signed), G J.R. Smith (re-signed), G/F Chris Copeland, G Pablo Prigioni
Trades: C Marcus Camby, G Raymond Felton, F Kurt Thomas
Players Lost
Free Agents: G Jeremy Lin (restricted), G Landry Fields
Trades: G Toney Douglas, C Josh Harrellson, C Jerome Jordan, F Jared Jeffries, C Dan Gadzuric, F Kostas Papanikolaou
The Knicks let Jeremy Lin walk and committed $15 million to Novak (who scored a total of 12 points in the playoffs) and committed close to 420 million more to aging vets like Camby and Kidd.
The message is simple and that’s the Knicks are going for it. I like the Felton trade, but don’t know if the Knicks did enough to contend. They will likely still add a 2-guard, but it may not be enough. Grade: B
Philadelphia 76ers
Players Added
NBA Draft: F Maurice Harkless, F Arnett Moultrie
Free Agents: F/C Lavoy Allen (re-signed), F/C Spencer Hawes (re-signed), G Nick Young, C Kwame Brown
Trades: F Darryl Watkins, F Dorell Wright
Players Lost
Free Agents: G Lou Williams
Trades: F Edin Bavcic
Waived: F Elton Brand (amnesty)
The Sixers did well to add parts of the future in Harkless and Moultrie, two of the best athletes in the draft, but losing Williams (leading scorer) and Brand (second leading rebounder) may be tough to replace in the short-term.
Young adds some needed shooting, but I really don’t know if the Sixers got much better than what we saw in 2012. Grade: C-
Toronto Raptors
Players Added
NBA Draft: F Quincy Acy, G Terrence Ross, F Tomislav Zubcic
Free Agents: G Landry Fields, Aaron Gray (re-signed)
Trades: G Kyle Lowry
Players Lost
Free Agents: G Jerryd Bayless
Trades: F Gary Forbes, F James Johnson
The Raptors got better with the additions of Fields, Lowry, Ross and Acy. Don’t forget that Jonas Valanciunas will be making his way to the NBA this season, so that’s just like having an additional first round pick.
They lost out on Steve Nash and Jeremy Lin, but getting Lowry for a first was a steal. Add Lowry, Fields and the rookies to Andrea Bargnarni and DeMar DeRozan and the Raptors should be much more competitive in 2013. Grade: B
Follow Matt Shetler on Twitter for news, reaction and analysis from around the NBA.
Follow Buckets Over Broadway on Twitter