We’re a few weeks away from the start of the 2023-24 NBA season, and all 30 teams have done their bit in trying to improve their respective rosters.
The league’s age-old rivals, the Lakers and the Celtics, are two of the teams that have reloaded this offseason after they missed out on the NBA Finals, and their NBA 2023 odds for a title bid have improved because of it.
The Suns, who added significant firepower to their backcourt, can also consider themselves winners this offseason. But on the other hand, the Sixers and the Nuggets have been particularly underwhelming with their moves thus far.
Read more below as to why SBOTOP classified these five teams as some of the biggest winners and losers of the offseason.
Winner: Lakers
The first domino was Anthony Davis agreeing to a three-year, $186 million max contract extension, which is the league’s richest per-season average salary. After that, the Lakers also brought back the likes of Austin Reaves, D’Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Rui Hachimura.
Moreover, they’ve added Gabe Vincent, Taurean Prince, Cam Reddish, and Jaxson Hayes through free agency while bringing in Jalen Hood-Schifino and Maxwell Lewis via the NBA Draft.
These reinforcements, along with the seemingly ageless LeBron James, will make head coach Darvin Ham’s life so much easier given the versatility of their current roster.
After making it to the WCF last season despite a poor start, Lakers GM Rob Pelinka should be given his flowers because he has given his team a legitimate shot to win the title this upcoming season.
Loser: Sixers
In contrast, the Sixers haven’t made any notable moves that improve their team, and it doesn’t help that they’ll have a disgruntled star heading into training camp.
Last month, James Harden called his GM, Daryl Morey, a liar because he didn’t get his desired long-term deal, prompting him to exercise his $35.6 million player option.
To be fair for the Sixers, they have valid concerns about Harden because of his age and declining production. Despite showing flashes of his old MVP self, especially against the Celtics in the ECSF, he failed to show up where they needed him the most, so they got bounced.
So far, the Sixers only have Kelly Oubre Jr., Mo Bamba, and Patrick Beverley as their key free agency additions, while they re-signed an injured Montrezl Harrell on a short-term deal.
In the process, they lost the likes of Jalen McDaniels, Shake Milton, and Georges Niang, all of whom were vital cogs off the bench.
Winner: Suns
Suns owner Mat Ishbia is clearly all about winning a title for the Phoenix faithful. After acquiring Kevin Durant in a midseason trade last year, he made yet another big swing by bringing in Bradley Beal in exchange for, essentially, Chris Paul, who is now with the Warriors.
Beal actually had a no-trade clause with the Wizards, but he ultimately chose to go to the Suns, as per the NBA 2023 news. With him joining forces with Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Deandre Ayton, Phoenix won’t be short of firepower.
It’ll be interesting to see how their top-heavy strategy works this upcoming season, but so far they’ve added serviceable players via minimum deals, such as Eric Gordon, Yuta Watanabe, Keita Bates-Diop, Bol Bol, Chimezie Metu, Udoka Azubuike, and Drew Eubanks, while re-signing Josh Okogie, Damion Lee, and Saben Lee.
Loser: Nuggets
Even with Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray still leading the way, the Nuggets’ chances of repeating this upcoming season don’t look too great because they lost a couple of their rotation players from last year’s title run.
Bruce Brown signed a lucrative contract with the Pacers, while Thomas Bryant, Jeff Green, and Jack White went to the Heat, Rockets, and Thunder, respectively. Brown’s departure, in particular, is the biggest loss.
The hope for Mike Malone and co. is that youngsters like Christian Braun and Peyton Watson will take a huge step up this upcoming season, while Justin Holiday is an underrated free agent signing.
Winner: Celtics
It’s going to be weird to see Marcus Smart not in a Celtics jersey, but Boston needed to revamp their roster after missing out on Banner No. 18 yet again last term.
By trading Smart, the Celtics got themselves Kristaps Porzingis, who is coming off his best NBA season, although he is considered a gamble given his injury history.
Losing Grant Williams to the Mavs will also hurt the Celtics’ depth, but the arrivals of Jordan Walsh, Oshae Brissett, and Dalano Banton certainly help fill the void.
●●●
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE BASKETBALL STORIES & ODDS
Stay updated with everything sports and betting.
Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
