NBA: Losers Of The 2013 NBA Offseason

The 2013 NBA offseason was difficult for the Los Angeles Lakers as Dwight Howard (left) bolted to the Houston Rockets. (Photo Credit: (Flickr.com)

All the excitement of the NBA offseason has died down now as the big-name players have been signed. Now, it’s time to review which teams made strides towards the Larry O’Brien Trophy and which teams regressed towards the lottery ping-pong balls.

Here are five teams that lost out in the NBA offseason sweepstakes:

Philadelphia 76ers

ADDED: General manager Sam Hinkie; F Royce White, C Furkan Aldemir (acquired from Houston); C Nerlens Noel (acquired draft rights from New Orleans)

LOST: G Jrue Holiday (traded to New Orleans); G/F Dorell Wright (signed with Portland); G/F Nick Young (signed with Los Angeles Lakers)

RETAINED: None – Source NBA.com

I don’t know about you, but either someone got bamboozled or the Sixers have an ace up their sleeve because I really don’t understand what the hell they are doing.

Last year, they traded Andre Iguodala — their best player — and in return, got center Andrew Bynum.  At face value, that seemed like a good deal since they already had a budding star in 23-year-old Jrue Holiday, who they envisioned Bynum would build a great partnerahip with. But as luck would have it, Bynum’s knees gave out and he didn’t even play a single second in the City of Brotherly Love; so I suppose it is somewhat understandable why they weren’t willing to gamble on him this summer.

The head scratcher though was the decision to trade away their All-Star point guard and, to all appearances, centerpiece of an up-and-coming team set to make some noise in Eastern Conference. To make things worse, Nerlens Noel (the main piece of the Holiday trade) won’t be healthy until around the New Year. Philadelphia is now without a name or face to hinge its season to–although it does look like the 2013-14 season is already over before it even starts. Moreover, general manager Sam Hinkie still hasn’t appointed coach Doug Collins’ successor yet, nearly four months since his departure. But hey, you can’t blame him for being meticulous, right?

At this point, my best guess is that Hinkie is placing all his eggs in the proverbial 2014 summer basket when the draft and free agency pools will be littered with talent. I just hope for his sake that he manages to pull off something big because the folks in Philly aren’t exactly shy about telling you how they feel.

In the meantime, maybe he’ll just have to pray Noel was worth giving up Holiday and he will come back from injury early next year and fulfill his potential along with guard Michael Carter-Williams. Who knows, maybe Evan Turner could have a breakout in his contract year and justify his second overall pick status.

Los Angeles Lakers

ADDED: G Jordan Farmar (one year, $884,000); G/F Wesley Johnson (one year, $884,000); C Chris Kaman (one year, $3.1 million); G Nick Young (two years, $2.3 million)

LOST: F Earl Clark (signed with Cleveland); C Dwight Howard (signed with Houston); F Metta World Peace (waived via amnesty, signed with New York)

RETAINED: G Jodie Meeks (picked up team option); C Robert Sacre (three years, $2.6 million)

We all know why the Lakers are here. They rolled their dice but came up short when Dwight Howard decided the Lakers’ stellar history, Hollywood spotlight and L.A. scrutiny just weren’t for him.

Then again was it really that much of a surprise? After all, Howard played for a coach he didn’t like and was in a system he didn’t like. The Lakers came well short of their championship expectations and let’s face it, Superman does have a tendency to go against the norm.

Nonetheless, it’s not all doom and gloom for the purple-and-gold as general manager Mitch Kupchak managed to salvage the pieces with what little money he had left to sign some good pieces to fill the gaps. It might be a bit of a long shot but I genuinely believe L.A. can and will make the playoffs in 2013-14.

Having said that, any postseason hope they have will be contingent on three things, A) Whether they can hold the ship together until Kobe Bryant returns from injury – although that should not take long considering his current progress and determination. B) Upon return, how long it would take for Kobe to return to “Mamba-mode?” C) Can he return to his usual lethal self? After all, a torn Achilles has ruined several great careers.

Utah Jazz

ADDED: F Richard Jefferson, C Andris Biedrins, G Brandon Rush (acquired from Golden State); G John Lucas III (two years, $3.2 million); G Trey Burke (first-round pick, ninth overall; draft rights acquired from Minnesota); G Ian Clark; C Rudy Gobert (first-round pick, 27th overall)

LOST: F DeMarre Carroll (signed with Atlanta); G Randy Foye (sign-and-trade with Denver); C Al Jefferson (signed with Charlotte); F/C Paul Millsap (signed with Atlanta); G Earl Watson (signed with Portland)

RETAINED: F Marvin Williams (picked up player option)

Despite having a bit of money to play with, Utah was never really in the running to land a big-name player and thus the turn towards the youth movement.

For now anyway, gone are the days of superstars such as Karl Malone, John Stockton and Deron Williams at the heart of the team. If they want a star in Salt Lake City, then they are going to have to carve one out themselves and what better chance than in next year’s draft loaded with talent.

Trey Burke will have ball right from the get-go and be able show he is ready to lead an NBA franchise just as he led Michigan to the national championship game in college.

Derrick Favors will finally have his chance to shine now with both Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap out of the picture–though I would have liked to see them keep Jefferson as insurance if the Favors-Enes Kanter gamble doesn’t pan out just yet.

With $31 million worth of expiring contracts, Utah will potentially be armed with a boat load of cap space. And with that flexibility the Jazz have a chance to make some noise do something special next year’s offseason. But for now, the only thing they have to look forward to is lottery ping pong balls.

Boston Celtics    

ADDED: Coach Brad Stevens; G Keith Bogans (acquired from Brooklyn via sign-and-trade); F Gerald Wallace, F/C Kris Humphries, G MarShon Brooks (acquired from Brooklyn); F/C Kelly Olynyk (first-round pick, 13th overall; C Vitor Faverani (three years, $6.2 million).

LOST: Coach Doc Rivers; F Kevin Garnett, F Paul Pierce, G Jason Terry (traded to Brooklyn); F Kris Joseph (waived)

RETAINED: None.

General manager Danny Ainge pressed the nuke button on the Celtics, tearing down everything from the Boston’s Big Three era–all except for Rajon Rondo.

This is now well and truly Rajon Rondo’s team without Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and coach Doc Rivers orchestrating everything. The All-Star point guard will be the veteran voice of this young team and it will be interesting to see how he receives his new coach, 36-year-old  Brad Stevens.

However, until he returns from his torn ACL, the likes of Avery Bradley and newly acquired MarShon Brooks and Kelly Olynyk will be able to take the reins and showcase their talent.

No one is expecting much from this year’s Boston Celtics squad so in a way, this will be Stevens’ year to get acclimated with NBA game. If he surprises people and starts to win, then good for him, but Danny Ainge will be hoping that doesn’t happen in order to increase the Celtics’ lottery odds for next year and speed up the rebuilding process.

Dallas Mavericks

ADDED: F DeJuan Blair (one year, $1.4 million); G Jose Calderon (four years, $29 million); C Samuel Dalembert (two years, $7.5 million); G Wayne Ellington (two years); G Monta Ellis (three years, $25 million); G Gal Mekel (three years, $2.25 million); G Shane Larkin (first-round pick, 18th overall)

LOST: F/C Elton Brand (signed with Atlanta); G Darren Collison (signed with Los Angeles Clippers); G O.J. Mayo (signed with Milwaukee); C Chris Kaman (signed with Los Angeles Lakers); G Anthony Morrow (signed with New Orleans)

RETAINED: F Shawn Marion (does not exercise ETO); C Brandan Wright (two years, $10 million); C Bernard James (one year, $884,000)

For me, this was a tossup between Dallas and the Milwaukee Bucks.

Would they keep Monta Ellis or Brandon Jennings? Turns out it was neither as Milwaukee failed to retain their two best players and didn’t really get much in return.

However, I have decided to go with Dallas simply because the Mavs were again targeting bigger fish and again they whiffed.

Last year, owner Mark Cuban was determined to add a superstar or two, namely, Deron Williams and/or Dwight Howard. Unfortunately, Williams didn’t fancy returning home and playing for Dallas and the ever-unpredictable Howard wound up in L.A.

Fast forward to this summer and the Mavs still haven’t found that running mate for Dirk Nowitzki as they failed to acquire that big name superstar Cuban so desperately craves. “Plan A,” a.k.a. Howard, did go to Texas, unfortunately it was to division rivals Houston, while other targets such as Chris Paul chose to stay put. Hell, they even missed out on Josh Smith, who ended up in Detroit.

Rather than saving up for another assault next offseason, the Mavs went and offered Ellis (three years, $25 million), G Jose Calderon (four years, $29 million) and C Samuel Dalembert  (two years, $7.5 million) multiple-year contracts that eat away at next year’s potential salary cap space. And although Mark Cuban is adamant he will not trade Nowitzki, the German product will be a free agent after next season.

Granted they did manage to add Monta Ellis who can fill up the cup in a hurry, but by no means is he the guy to transform Dallas into contender again. With that in mind, don’t be too surprised if there is a big midseason trade using the expiring contracts of Vince Carter and Shawn Marion.

Worth a shout:

Denver Nuggets

ADDED: Coach Brian Shaw; F Darrell Arthur (acquired from Memphis); G Randy Foye (via sign-and-trade with Utah, three years, $9.1 million); F/C J.J. Hickson (three years, $15 million); G Nate Robinson (two years, $4 million)

LOST: F Corey Brewer (signed with Minnesota); F Andre Iguodala (signed with Golden State); C Kosta Koufos (traded to Memphis). Coach of the Year George Karl; NBA Executive of the Year Masai Ujiri.

RETAINED: C Timofey Mozgov (three years, $14 million)