Atlanta Hawks

Additions: DeAndre Bembry, Malcolm Delaney, Dwight Howard, Jarrett Jack, Taurean Prince

Subtractions: Kirk Hinrich, Al Horford, Lamar Patterson, Jeff Teague

2016-17 Cap Space: None. Over Salary Floor. Under Luxury Tax.

2017-18 Maximum Cap Space: $51.2 million

Analysis: The Atlanta Hawks are in the midst of the most successful stretch in franchise history since the 1960s and early 1970s. They’ve made the postseason in nine straight seasons, including rebuilding on the fly a few years back when they added Paul Millsap and DeMarre Carroll. To continue their run of playoff appearances the Hawks will need to re-make their identity once again in an improved Eastern Conference.

This summer the Hawks saw long term mainstays Al Horford and Jeff Teague depart the team via free agency and trade respectively. Horford signed a four-year maximum contract with the Celtics after Atlanta never offered a fifth year to stay. Teague was traded to another Eastern Conference rival, the Indiana Pacers, in a three-team deal that saw George Hill land in Utah and the Hawks pick up an additional first round pick. More importantly, Teague’s departure opened up the starting point guard spot for Dennis Schroder. Atlanta has been working Schroder into the fold over his first three seasons and with Teague an impending free agent, they decided it was time to hand the job over to their point guard of the future.

The other losses are losses in name only. Kirk Hinrich gave the Hawks very little as a backup point guard after arriving in a deal at the Trade Deadline. Lamar Patterson is the only other player to move on. While he was an intriguing prospect on the wing, the Hawks have plenty of other option, including two draftees.

By holding the line on Horford, Atlanta essentially chose to invest in another of their own free agents and re-signed Kent Bazemore. When Atlanta initially signed Bazemore he was a lightly regarded, end of the bench option on the wing. Two years later, after replacing Carroll, Bazemore is now a key component to Atlanta’s success on both ends. Paired with Kyle Korver in Mike Budenholzer’s system where wings are interchangeable, Bazemore has the task of defending the opponent’s best scorer at small forward and shooting guard. Beyond defense, Bazemore, like Carroll before him, also has to be a reliable shooter for the offense to function efficiently. With lineup changes this summer that saw good shooters replaced by questionable ones, Bazemore will be counted on even more as a shot maker.

The Hawks also retained Kris Humphries on a team friendly one-year, $4 million deal. After being traded from Washington to Phoenix and then bought out, Humphries signed with Atlanta last year for the stretch run. He gave the Hawks good production off the bench and seems to have accepted that is his role going forward.

To replace Horford at center, the Hawks brought Dwight Howard home to Atlanta. The narrative is Howard isn’t the same player he once was as he enters his 13th season and that he can’t have an impact for a playoff team. The numbers and film suggest something different. Howard is no longer going to give you 20 and 14 with DPOY level defense, but he’s still a great rebounder, good defender and can score around 15 PPG at an efficient rate. Given the Hawks struggles at times protecting the rim and rebounding, they’ll take that trade off from Howard to Horford on that end versus what they’ll give up offensively.

With Teague out and Schroder promoted to the starting role, Atlanta was in the market for a backup point guard. They settled on two different options and will let things sort themselves out in camp and the preseason. The battle for the backup spot will be between NBA veteran Jarrett Jack and overseas veteran Malcolm Delaney. Jack is coming off a good season as the starting lead guard for the Nets that was cut short by a torn ACL. He’s been a productive backup for the majority of his NBA career and the Hawks are hoping a return to Atlanta (he played his college ball at Georgia Tech) coincides with a return to health. Jack also gives them a different look from Schroder, as he’s a scorer who can shoot it from deep.

Delaney is a player that several teams have monitored as he has bounced all over Europe from France to Ukraine to Germany and finally Russia. While in Europe. Delaney has developed into a consistent starter, an achievement in itself where lineups are changed regularly by coaches, and a good scorer and distributor. He also has good size for the position at 6’3’’ and is an active defender who likes getting his body on opposing guards. Delaney may carry more of the load behind Schroder early on if Jack needs time to continue recovering. They may also play together some in bench units, as both are capable off the ball as well.

At the Draft, the Hawks added two intriguing and productive college forwards in Taurean Prince and DeAndre Bembry. Despite being a year older and with an extra year of college under his belt, Prince is more of a project, while Bembry might be ready to play right away. At Summer League, Bembry flashed the ability to be a versatile playmaking wing. He’s a willing defender, good ball handler and passer and can get to the rim. He needs to continue to improve his outside shot, but the Hawks may have their next student in what Nate Duncan has tabbed “Hawks University” where they crank out productive wings year over year.

Prince grew into a productive combo forward at Baylor, but needs work before he’s ready for the NBA. He’s not nearly as confident in his handle, passing or scoring ability as Bembry is. He’s also better at defending opposing bigs at this point than he is on small forwards. The Hawks won’t push either player, as they have quality depth to get by while they develop.

2016-17 Grade: D+. After developing an offensive system where it was repeatedly stressed that all five players needed to be able to shoot, the Hawks are making a major departure this season. Dwight Howard and Dennis Schroder are downgrades offensively from Al Horford and Jeff Teague. Atlanta could offset the drop in offense by having an improved defense, but large gains seem unlikely on that end. Also, by retaining Bazemore, the Hawks lost the ability to add other pieces to upgrade the team. The bench is still a question mark with a lot of the player who will be counted on for production being older, coming off serious injuries, or both. The Hawks should still be good, but they are likely to drop off towards the lower half of the playoff picture vs fighting for homecourt advantage.

Long-term Grade: D-. The long term future doesn’t look any better than the short term. Paul Millsap is almost certain to opt out of his contract at the end of the year. He’ll be looking to join a contender for a shot a ring as his career is closer to the end than the beginning. Kyle Korver is free agent and could also look to move to a contender. Much of the Atlanta offensive system has been built around Korver, but this summer’s moves signal a new direction. Having Howard locked up for over $70 million dollars for the next three seasons is questionable given his troublesome back, declining athleticism and somewhat cantankerous nature in the locker room. Beyond that, the Hawks have no young players who seem a sure thing to blossom. The hope is that Schroder can be a top end point guard, but he’s unproven as even a starter. One plus for the Hawks is that beyond Howard and Bazemore they have no significant money tied up, leaving them with good cap flexibility.

Charlotte Hornets

Additions: Marco Belinelli, Roy Hibbert, Brian Roberts, Ramon Sessions, Mike Tobey, Christian Wood

Subtractions: Troy Daniels, Jorge Gutierrez, Tyler Hansbrough, Al Jefferson, Courtney Lee, Jeremy Lin

2016-17 Cap Space: None. Over Salary Floor. Under Luxury Tax.

2017-18 Maximum Cap Space: $24.4 million

Analysis: The Charlotte Hornets made the postseason for the second time in three seasons since Steve Clifford took over as head coach. The franchise is in as good a position as it has been since the first iteration of the Hornets back in in the late 1990s/early 2000s. With a good mix of veterans, players coming into their prime years and developing younger players, Charlotte seems poised to be in the mix for home court advantage come playoff time.

The Hornets started the offseason by making a major commitment to Nicolas Batum of $120 million over five years. After being acquired by Charlotte last offseason, Batum bounced back from a relatively poor season in Portland the year prior. He averaged a career high in points and assists, while also supplying good rebounding and generally solid defense on the wing. The Hornets rewarded the soon to be 28-year-old with the largest contract in franchise history. Charlotte also struck quick enough with Batum that he reportedly never seriously entertained any other offers, allowing them to sign him for less than a max deal.

After Batum was in the fold, the Hornets signed veteran Marvin Williams for the next 4 years and $54.5 million. The versatile forward is coming off arguably the best all-around season in his 11 year career. Williams has embraced the stretch 4 role and shot a career high from behind the arc and averaged the most rebounds of his career last year. In addition, he played some of the best defense of his career while battling opposing power forwards full time for the first time.

With over $33 million invested in their two free agents, Charlotte focused on adding role players the rest of the summer to complement their core. Marco Belinelli was added at the draft in hopes that he could recapture his play from his Spurs’ days and give the Hornets some shooting off the bench. Roy Hibbert joins the team to give them a veteran backup big man who can provide a different look from their other bigs and rim protection off the bench. Ramon Sessions comes in fill the backup point guard role and provide some scoring punch for the reserve units. And Brian Roberts returns for another go around in Charlotte as the third point guard.

Essentially, the Hornets replaced an effective bench group that included Jeremy Lin, Al Jefferson, at times Troy Daniels and occasionally Courtney Lee with the above signings. It is a slightly more defensively focused group coming off the bench this time around, as opposed to the offense-first players they are replacing. Lin and Jefferson, in particular, were very effective for Charlotte, so Hibbert and Jefferson will need to be up to the task. If they aren’t solid replacements, the Hornets risk getting caught in the morass of teams in the Eastern Conference fighting for position behind the top tier.

2016-17 Grade: C+. As mentioned, the bench is a question mark. If the bench is good, the Hornets should be looking at back to back playoff appearances and maybe even homecourt advantage. One other benefit for Charlotte is that Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is almost an addition himself, after missing most of last season. He’ll give the team a great defensive presence along the wing next to Batum.

Long-term Grade: B. Charlotte has been proactive in signing their younger players to team friendly deals. Having starters like Kemba Walker and Kidd-Gilchrist locked up for the next three seasons at a combined $25 million per season makes constructing a roster around them an easier task for Rich Cho. Cody Zeller is up for an extension this summer, but his up and down play makes putting a price on him a difficult task. The Hornets are also helped by the fact that the only questionable contract they are carrying is that of Jeremy Lamb. If Lamb can look like the rotation piece he was for the first half of last season, it would help things a lot. If not, the Hornets might have to move him in a trade.

Miami Heat

Additions: Luke Babbitt, Wayne Ellington, James Johnson, Willie Reed, Dion Waiters, Derrick Williams

Subtractions: Luol Deng, Gerald Green, Joe Johnson, Amar’e Stoudemire, Dwyane Wade, Dorell Wright

2016-17 Cap Space: None. Over Salary Floor. Under Luxury Tax.

2017-18 Maximum Cap Space: $25.6 million

Analysis: The Miami Heat will take the floor without Dwyane Wade as a member of the franchise for the first time in 13 years. The last time the Heat started a year without Wade, their starting five featured Eddie Jones, Brian Grant, Caron Butler, Malik Allen and Travis Best for most of the season. It will certainly be a different look on South Beach without Wade wearing the black and red #3 jersey.

Wade’s loss is probably more sentimental than anything else at this point though. Although Wade was relatively healthy for the first time years and his counting stats looked good, he wasn’t very efficient on offense. Somehow he managed to play 74 games and make only 7 threes on 16% shooting. That isn’t going to cut it from an NBA shooting guard anymore. In addition, his defense was below average. He turned up his performance in the playoffs, but it more than fair to question if he can bring it for a full season anymore.

Fellow starter Luol Deng also moved on. After re-inventing himself as a small ball power forward, Deng cashed in on his likely final big contract and headed off to lead the very young Lakers. Deng’s loss will be felt more than Wade’s because of his versatility and ability to carry the team at times on both ends of the floor.

Three starters do return to Miami with Goran Dragic, a hopefully healthy Chris Bosh, and a re-signed Hassan Whiteside. Dragic could be in for a better season, as he’s always been better when he’s the lead ball handler and doesn’t have to share those duties as much. Don’t be surprised if Erik Spoelstra builds much of the offense around Dragic’s ability to get to the basket and find cutters diving to the rim. Bosh's health remains uncertain, but if he can play, his offense will be welcomed back in a big way. He’s able to score both inside and outside and is a capable pick and roll partner for Dragic.

Whiteside was the summer’s big move. The Heat had to choose between Whiteside in Wade in a lot of ways, and they chose the younger, bigger player. Whiteside was given a 3+1 max deal to anchor the back end of the Miami defense as they transition to their next phase of the franchise. He’s matured quite a bit over the last few years and Miami is betting he can be a franchise player for them.

After re-signing Whiteside, the Heat chose to match a large offer sheet that the Nets extended to Tyler Johnson. Johnson has had his moments and Miami likes him as a combo guard who can defend both the 1 and 2. He also has an improving offensive game and is a nice fit with Dragic as a secondary ball handler and passer. The money for this season and next is reasonable due to the deal structure. But then it jumps to over $19 million for the final two years of his deal. It remains to be seen how Miami will feel about that in a couple of years for a guy who is a role player at best at the moment.

As far as additions go, it is fair to say the Heat shopped for bargains that could pay off in a big way. Derrick Williams found his game in the new NBA as a small ball 4 who brings energy and scoring off the bench. James Johnson will provide energy and toughness at both forward positions, in addition to some playoff experience from his time with the Raptors. Wayne Ellington has been an up and down shooter over the course of his career, but the Heat are betting he can add a little offense off their bench. And Willie Reed was added as a project big man. He’s flashed a lot of talent in the past, but has never quite put it together. Miami is hoping they struck gold twice and that Reed will take a similar path to Whiteside.

Just when Miami was putting the finishing touches on their roster, Oklahoma City pulled the Qualifying Offer to Dion Waiters making him an unrestricted free agent. With scoring still a need, the Heat snapped up Waiters for only the cost of the Room Exception. Waiters was a productive reserve in Oklahoma City, especially in the postseason, and at such a low cost, Miami really couldn’t go wrong with this signing.

2016-17 Grade: D-. This grade might seem harsh, but Miami lost the face of the franchise and another productive starter. They committed big money, and thus big responsibility, to a player who has matured but isn’t quite a grownup in Hassan Whiteside. As of this writing both the Heat and Chris Bosh are hopeful he can return to action, but after missing the second half of the last two years it remains to be seen if he can make it through a whole year. After that the roster is a collection of role players. Miami’s best bet is that Justise Winslow makes huge strides offensively and that Tyler Johnson and Josh Richardson are ready for bigger roles. Otherwise, it could be a long season for the Heat

Long-term Grade: D-. If there are questions about the immediate future, the longer term view isn’t any clearer. As mentioned, Winslow, Johnson and Richardson are nice young pieces to have, but there is a lot of overlap there. Johnson’s deal could also be very questionable in two years if he doesn’t make big gains in his improvement. Dragic needs to find his game again and get back to an All-Star, if not All-NBA, level. If Bosh takes the floor again and, in the worst case scenario, has to sit back out with health issues, it just delays the cap relief Miami would have coming. And Whiteside is a nice player, but is he a max player?

Orlando Magic

Additions: D.J. Augustin, Bismack Biyombo, Jeff Green, Serge Ibaka, Jodie Meeks, C.J. Wilcox, Stephen Zimmerman

Subtractions: DeWayne Dedmon, Ersan Ilyasova, Brandon Jennings, Devyn Marble, Shabazz Napier, Andrew Nicholson, Victor Oladipo, Jason Smith

2016-17 Cap Space: None. Over Salary Floor. Under Luxury Tax.

2017-18 Maximum Cap Space: $43.0 million.

Analysis: After a few years of patient rebuilding and collecting assets, the Orlando Magic decided to fast forward the process towards contention. At the trade deadline they dealt away Tobias Harris to clear salary cap space. They followed that up by swinging a blockbuster trade at the NBA Draft by sending Victor Oladipo, Ersan Ilyasova and Domantas Sabonis to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Serge Ibaka. Those two moves laid the groundwork for an offseason spending spree that rivaled that of any team in the league.

Upon acquiring Ibaka, the Magic signaled that improving their interior defense was a priority. While he’s no longer DPOY level as a rim protector, Ibaka is better than anyone else the Magic have had in awhile. In addition, his ability to consistently hit jumpers from behind the line is a great fit next to Nik Vucevic up front. One challenge with trading for Ibaka is that it slides Aaron Gordon to the small forward position almost full time. The Magic have stated that they see Gordon as a three and have plans for him to be their version of Paul George in Frank Vogel’s system. All reports are that Gordon has much improved handle and jumper, which will be necessary for this move to work.

If adding Ibaka was a costly but necessary upgrade, the next series of moves could be best described as pricey and confusing. In rapid fashion the Magic added four presumable bench pieces in Bismack Biyombo, D.J. Augustin, Jeff Green and Jodie Meeks. And they paid a combined $45.8 million dollars this season to do it.

Let’s start with Biyombo. The interior defense of the Magic was enough of a problem that they decided to double down with Ibaka and Biyombo to fix it. After a standout performance in the playoffs replacing an injured Jonas Valanciunas, Biyombo cashed in with a four-year, $68 million dollar deal. It remains to be seen if he can take the starting job from Vucevic or if he’ll come off the bench. But that doesn’t really matter to Orlando. They signed Biyombo to be able to finish games and give them a defensive presence at the rim and on the boards. When paired with Ibaka, opposing offenses may find it very difficult to score. Both players excel at hedging on pick and roll action and then recovering to get back and protect the basket area. And both are good rebounders. Biyombo won’t give the Magic much on offense, but he’s being paid to defend and rebound and he should do that in spades.

Next up, Orlando addressed the backup point guard spot by signing Augustin. The team is worried enough about Elfrid Payton’s ability to shoot consistently that they gave Augustin a fully guaranteed four-year deal for $29 million. He won’t be asked to start unless Payton and the offense is a complete disaster, but he will be asked to give the Magic shooting from behind the arc on a nightly basis. He’s struggled to hold down the backup role in both Detroit and Oklahoma City the last two years and Orlando really needs him to come through for them.

Green fills the backup swing forward role off the bench. He’s only consistent in his inconsistency, having a big game one night and then going missing for a week. In many ways, Green’s play may remind Magic fans of Tobias Harris. You know he’s been on the floor and his numbers are ok, but you don’t remember him making a single impact play. But with no pressure to start and carry a team, Green should make for a versatile veteran presence off the bench behind Ibaka and Gordon.

As for Jodie Meeks, he’s unlikely to be ready for the start of the season after suffering a recurrence of the foot issue that sidelined him for most of last year. When healthy, the Magic are hoping Meeks can provide them with some much needed shooting off the bench. He won’t be asked to do much more than that and has shown the ability to excel in that role in the past. The key for Meeks will be getting and staying healthy. To fill in for Meeks, Orlando is taking a flyer on C.J. Wilcox. Wilcox hasn’t played much in his short career with the Clippers, but showed the ability to shoot the ball in college and in short D-League stints.

Finally, the Magic also signed Evan Fournier for the next five years at $17 million per season. Fournier found a home in Orlando after being picked up in a Draft day trade a couple of years ago with Denver. He’s shown enough promise on both ends that the Magic effectively prioritized keeping him over Harris and Oladipo. And now they have signed him to a deal that is more than fair for the rest of his prime years.

2016-17 Grade: B. The Magic had to get better to remain relevant. The fan base in Orlando was growing impatient and, even worse, indifferent. Orlando is in the heart of football country, so even when the Magic are competitive, they struggle to draw interest until around Christmas or so. With the rapid rise of Orlando City Soccer, the Magic also have a competitor for interest in the spring. By cashing in some of their young pieces, the Magic should be a much better team this year. Frank Vogel was arguably the best addition of all. His always sound defensive system will have the Magic in just about every game. They might not be the prettiest team to watch, but they’ll be competitive. And that is a great first step back to respectability.

Long-term Grade: B-. Although they committed a ton of future money this summer, the Magic didn’t kill their overall flexibility. You can question the length and size of the deals for Biyombo and Augustin, but neither is a cap killer. Fournier is signed long-term. The team has every intention of making Aaron Gordon, and to a lesser extent Mario Hezonja, the faces of the franchise moving forward. The single biggest question for the future flexibility is if the team can reach an agreement with Serge Ibaka and how much cap space that will eat up.

Washington Wizards

Additions: Trey Burke, Ian Mahinmi, Andrew Nicholson, Tomas Satoransky, Jason Smith

Subtractions: Alan Anderson, Jared Dudley, Drew Gooden, J.J. Hickson, Nene Hilario, Ramon Sessions, Garrett Temple

2016-17 Cap Space: None. Over Salary Floor. Under Luxury Tax.

2017-18 Maximum Cap Space: $5.0 million

Analysis: The Washington Wizards went into the summer with two goals: re-sign Bradley Beal and improve the frontcourt depth. Mission accomplished on Beal. As for the frontcourt depth, it depends on your point of view on the players arriving versus those who left.

On Beal: the Wizards gave their shooting guard a full five-year maximum contract with no options. There is no question that Beal has the talent to be a top tier option on the wing, but there are questions about his ability to be healthy enough to play an entire NBA season. Over the course of his four years in the NBA, Beal hasn’t appeared in more than 73 games, and last year he played in a career low 55 games. Washington had a plan to manage his minutes by playing him off the bench occasionally, but that didn’t seem to help very much.

Given the extremely large investment in both years and dollars, the Wizards are making a massive gamble and have to hope Beal can give them at least 70 games per year. When he does play, he shoots it at 39.7% for his career from behind the arc. He’s also improved his game off the dribble and ability to get to the basket. His passing and defense are both also passable. In many ways, he’s the ideal backcourt partner for John Wall’s hectic fly up and down the court, attack the basket style. And he needs to be, because Washington now has the two paired together for big money for the next three seasons.

After agreeing with Beal, the Wizards used their cap space to build up depth in the frontcourt. Out are productive players Nene, Jared Dudley and Drew Gooden. In their places are Ian Mahinmi, Andrew Nicholson and Jason Smith. With these moves, Washington made a concerted effort to improve their defense and rebounding, while potentially sacrificing some offense and versatility.

Mahinmi is the replacement for Nene and the two are essentially opposite players. Nene’s game is based around his ability to score in the post. He offers very little beyond that, but he’s so good at that facet that he gets by as a one trick pony. Mahinmi, while having improved his offensive game, is a rim protector and rebounder first and foremost. He gives Washington a different look behind starter Marcin Gortat, who is generally more focused on the offensive end.

With Dudley's departure, the Wizards are losing one of the more versatile players in the NBA. Dudley is capable of playing 2-4 on both ends of the court. He’s found a lot of success as a small ball 4 in particular. He’ll be replaced in the rotation by Andrew Nicholson, who comes over from division rival Orlando. Nicholson has shown flashes of being a good offensive player, but his game is fairly limited. He’s ok in the post or shooting standstill jumpers, but he can’t create off the dribble. In addition, he’s solely a power forward and struggles when asked to defend on the perimeter. Washington is sacrificing known production and versatility for cap savings and potential with this swap.

As for Gooden and Smith, they are two players who are both best served to be 4th or 5th bigs. Smith was productive for Orlando and is a professional who is ready to play when called upon. Like Gooden, he can play both big man positions and is more of a threat to shoot from 15 feet or so.

Washington also made some changes in the backcourt rotation as well. They let both Ramon Sessions and Garrett Temple leave town and brought in younger options to replace them in Trey Burke and Tomas Satoransky. Burke was acquired in a trade with Utah to give Washington backup minutes behind John Wall. Burke has had some good moments over his first three years, but never justified his draft position with the Jazz. He may find himself in a good spot with a change of scenery and less pressure as a backup. Satoransky was drafted by Washington back in 2012 and has played in Spain since then. He’s a good ball handler and passer with great size (6’6’’). He plays a slashing game where he attacks the basket to score himself or set up his teammates. He’s replacing Temple as the Wizards backup swing guard and should be a nice upgrade.

2016-17 Grade: C. Despite some changes in personnel, the Wizards are essentially the same team that ended last season. The starting five of John Wall, Bradley Beal, Otto Porter, Markieff Morris and Marcin Gortat returns. Behind them are mostly new backups who are different in style, but will offer similar results. Running the show is Scott Brooks in place of Randy Wittman, but that may not be an upgrade pending your view of either coach. The Wizards could be better in 2017 than 2016 by virtue of better health, but beyond that it is hard to see much improvement from Washington.

Long-term Grade: D. By signing Beal, the Wizards gave up a lot of their future flexibility. They are also facing a contract extension for Porter and they have no viable in house replacement for him. In addition, while Morris, Gortat, Nicholson, Smith and Mahinmi are on fair contracts individually, when you add them together they eat up a large chunk of the team’s cap space and overlap a lot in the frontcourt. There doesn’t appear to be a clear path for improvement from outside, so Washington has to hope for internal improvement and better health to get to contender status.