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Toronto Raptors

Not in the public relations sphere, but in a competitive sense, Toronto had a great off-season. If Leonard, who was in town on Friday, arrives healthy and happy, he’s the best all-around player the franchise has ever had, the best defensive player in the NBA. Danny Green brings even more defence, as well as some shooting and Toronto should battle with Boston for the top spot in the East. Tossing DeMar DeRozan and Dwane Casey aside unceremoniously might not play well optically, but if success follows, nobody will stay mad about the moves.

Oklahoma City Thunder

Paul George didn’t flee to his native Los Angeles, something that was seen as a given a year ago, instead he signed long-term on a team-friendly deal. The club also managed to trade Carmelo Anthony for Dennis Schroder instead of eating all of the cash Anthony was owed, and lowered what would have been the biggest luxury tax bill in NBA history by quite a bit. In the East, OKC would be a sure-fire homecourt playoff squad. Too bad the Thunder plays in the West.

Dallas Mavericks

This depends on how much you like Luka Doncic. We like him a lot, like he should have been the top pick a lot. Doncic is going to learn at the feet of living legend Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavs finally landed DeAndre Jordan, should see more in Year 2 from big-time talent Dennis Smith Jr. and still have Harrison Barnes and Canadian big man Dwight Powell, who quietly had a fine season. Not a contender, but fun, with a lot of upside and letting Nowitzki go out on his own terms in a fun environment.

Honourable mentions: New York Knicks (Kevin Knox and Mitchell Robinson both look like good draft picks and those Kevin Durant 2019 rumours won’t go away); Denver Nuggets (Former third-team All-NBA guard Isaiah Thomas at the minimum? If he has anything left, that’s a steal. Denver also got star Nikola Jokic locked up long-term, re-signed Will Barton, dumped a lot of salary and emerged as a darkhorse future contender; Brooklyn Nets (ex-Raptor Ed Davis arrived on the cheap and the Nets kept stocking the long-depleted treasure chest with a number of deals and now boast a boatload of bonus picks in the next few years and tons of cap space).