Grading the 2019 NBA offseason for all 30 franchises

Brooklyn Nets

After a pre-draft trade with Atlanta freed up the necessary cap space, the Brooklyn Nets were all-in to make a splash on the free-agent market. With organizational stability and a relatively proven roster, it was enough to land Kyrie Irving before free agency even officially started.

For as much baggage as he may bring off the court, the signing of Irving alone would’ve been a step in the right direction for a franchise that’s lived in the shadows of its big-city counterpart.

The subsequent signing of Kevin Durant brought the NBA to its knees with the latest in a potentially long line of championship contenders.

The caveat, of course, is the right Achilles of Durant that will probably need a full year to properly recover. An Achilles tear is probably the worst injury in all of sports that leaves little guarantee for a player of any stature to return to their previous level of greatness.

It’s simply an outcome we’ll have to wait on to assess just how likely Brooklyn’s title hopes are.

Should KD never return to the status that helped him claim two Finals MVP trophies, the Nets would still walk away winners of the 2019 offseason.

They’ve spent the last few years creating a respectable culture while sitting idly by as the mass media sent Durant to the New York Knicks long before even the Finals had begun.

To not only sign one of the biggest free agents on the planet but to essentially steal him away from a cross-town rival in a more desperate pursuit speaks volumes to what this organization has accomplished since that infamous draft-day trade in 2013.

Grade: A+