5 NBA Teams That Sneakily Had INCREDIBLE Offseasons

NBA offseasons lately have seen a lot of major moves go down featuring some of the biggest names in the sport, and this summer we saw exactly that trend continue. Those big moves are always the ones that dominate the headlines, and the teams that come away with those players are often the ones that people laud as the ones that had the best offseasons. But you don't always have to take big swings to have a great summer, which brings us to today's video. Today we're going to be discussing the five NBA teams that have had sneakily incredible offseasons without needing the big flashy moves to have accomplished it. So no, we're not talking about teams like the 76ers or the Heat or teams like that, we're looking more at those that were making great moves on the margins. With that being said now, let's dive right in. The first team we'll be discussing today that has sneakily had an incredible offseason is the Bulls. The Bulls have been stuck in purgatory for a while trying to find a way out of this middling realm of mediocrity, and as a team that finally seemed to be shifting into a rebuild, that process is already off to a flying start, with a foundation that could genuinely be built on. This offseason in particular, things got off to a hot start when the draft lottery gifted them the fourth pick in a draft where there were four prospects clearly in a tier above the rest of the pack. This allowed them to then draft Caleb Wilson, who comes in with genuine two way all star upside. What made him such an intriguing prospect in the first place was his incredible energy and activity on defense as a versatile destroyer of actions, blocking a ton of shots and generating a lot of steals. And on offense, he looks like a dominant driver of the ball who dunks everything and anything when he gets around the rim. Then in the summer league, Wilson also showed off a pretty useful three point shot that he barely flashed when he was in college and all of a sudden there is a real three level scoring upside to develop in his game. The addition of Wilson isn't the only reason they're on this list though. The Bulls young core was pretty thin in the frontcourt, and after having traded away Nikola Vucevic last year at their center spot, it was even weaker, so then they traded for Nick Claxton, who has during stretches of his career been one of the best shot blockers in the league and a double double threat. He isn't coming off of necessarily his best showing, but a change of scenery could be exactly what's needed to rejuvenate his career, anchoring the next generation of Bulls basketball as a player who is still in his mid-twenties himself. They also landed Norman Powell in free agency fresh off of his first all-star nomination of his career, and with the new draft lottery rules, they're set up perfectly to competitively tank, which is what seems to be rewarded most moving forward now. Veteran presence is still important in the locker room, and all of these moves complement the core that was already in place. Josh Giddey has continually grown in confidence since being moved to Chicago, Matas Bezelis still has a ton of upside to tap into, and even though this group may not be super competitive immediately, it feels like they have a group similar to the Detroit Pistons before they broke out, so their time will come. The next team that had a sneakily awesome offseason is the Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks last season, funnily enough, arguably gave the Knicks their toughest test in the playoffs before New York went on to win the finals. In the first round, the Hawks actually got off to a 2-1 series lead against them, before ultimately being bested, but going into this summer, there was positive momentum building and they definitely carried that into the way that they operated this summer. With a new look defensive identity forming fresh off of a year where the team ranked in the top 10 of the league on defense, they are smartly doubling down, with that being where the success will stem from, and most of their offseason moves fit that mantra. They've actually been one of the most active teams on the trade market, and the biggest deal that they executed shocked everybody, but it was also probably the right move, being of course the one where they traded away Zachary Risache in a three-team trade that brought them in, Lou Dort from the Thunder. Risache is a former number one overall pick in the draft, so giving up on him after two years may seem excessive, but at the same time, he just has not lived up to the expectations of a guy in that position, and it's honestly best to get ahead of this if they know they don't value him long term, rather than to mistakenly hand him a big contract extension like most number one picks get and then get stuck with him long term. Trading him and being able to get an NBA champion elite defender like Lou Dort in return is an absolute win, and he'll be able to make a difference in this rotation from day one. That's not even the only trade that they made with the Thunder, as they also went out and acquired Aaron Wiggins from them in a trade bringing in a much needed impact scorer off of the bench. Wiggins didn't always get to show it on a regular basis due to how deep the Thunder's rotation is, but he has had plenty of big time scoring games, and in a team that is much more in need of his services like the Hawks are, he could potentially break out as a candidate. The Hawks did let Jonathan Kuminga walk in free agency, but again, despite Kuminga's upside and potential always being there, his end product resulted in a lot of mixed results, especially on defense, further hammering home what this team is prioritizing. Plus, in the draft, the Hawks selected Kingston Flemings in the lottery, who is a very solid two-way contributor at point guard, with impressive playmaking talent and a relentless motor on defense, so all in all, this was a group who knew what they were looking for and executed their plan to perfection. The next team that had a sneakily great offseason this summer is the Los Angeles Lakers. The biggest piece of Lakers-related news this summer was that LeBron James was leaving the team, so it's very easy to just assume that they'll be taking a step back as a result of it, but that could not be further from the truth. Yes, the absence of LeBron James is a big hit that they took, but their front office has been one of the most active groups in the entire league, making sure that they brought in more than enough reinforcements to still stay afloat near the top of the Western Conference. Making sure they have enough offensive firepower seems to have been their priority, and it started in the draft, where they landed what I believe could be the steal of the draft, taking Cameron Carr 24th overall as he is an explosive athletic two-guard with great size and length, and the type of flamethrower scoring prowess that should translate very well to the level. Their biggest move of the summer was acquiring Walker Kessler in a sign-and-trade with the Utah Jazz, who I believe is a sleeping giant at center that the NBA community hasn't fully caught up to yet due to the fact that he's been in a Jazz team that's been mostly out of the limelight. He's one of the league's best rim protectors, having ranked in the top five of the NBA in blocks every season of his career, and he was amongst the best rebounders in the league the last time that he was healthy, he's just coming off of an injury-riddled season where he hurt his shoulder. They also addressed their power-forward position by signing Sandro Mamoukaleshvili, who is coming off of a career season in Toronto, where he averaged about 11 points per game and shot 39% from three, so he's a nice stretch four for them. And on top of all of that, they even added strong backcourt depth, signing Colin Sexton and Quinton Grimes, who can both go for big scoring nights on their day. They went from being incredibly top-heavy to now having a ton of depth to supplement the elite creators they have in Luka Doncic and Austin Reeves, leading the way for their offense. The next team having a sneakily great offseason is the Washington Wizards. The flashy moves made by Washington were done last season when they traded for Trae Young and Anthony Davis, but what they're accomplishing this offseason specifically has flown more under the radar in a positive manner. As a team that has been in the basement of the standings for a while, rebuilding they needed to prove that they were capable of taking a leap to get those two players fully bought in, especially with Trae Young's contract expiring after last season and Anthony Davis having a player option he could opt out of after this upcoming year. Of course, all Wizards discussions need to start with the fact that they were awarded the number one pick in the draft this year where they selected A.J. DeBonza, who is a walking bucket at 6'9", and will be a strong favorite to take home the Rookie of the Year award this season. Beyond that though, the Wizards have been rounding out their roster with pieces that bolster the areas that they were weak at. For one, a team with this much youth needs veteran leadership in the locker room, and they went out and acquired Chris Middleton again to provide just that. He's a former all-star who was a major factor in the Bucks winning the title back in 2021, and even though his best days are behind him, having someone with championship pedigree like that around is still very important. They also signed DeAndre Ayton, who has been heavily scrutinized throughout his career for falling short of expectations as a former number one pick, and while those criticisms do have merit to them, that was for being compared to what is expected of a high-end starting center. He'll be a backup in Washington, serving in a more reduced role, which is a role that I think he'll be much more suited for and can be way more impactful in shorter bursts. They also acquired Trey Mann in a trade for the low, who has struggled with injuries but when he is on the court, provides crucial playmaking help off of the bench, and all of these moves combined with the natural development of their strong young core make them a realistic threat to now break into the playoff picture. Trey Young is fully bought in, having also signed his contract extension with them for four more years as a nice cherry on top. And finally, the last team we'll be discussing that sneakily had a great summer is the Phoenix Suns. The Suns were one of last year's unexpected breakout teams, and this offseason they have continued making smart moves on the margins that won't necessarily grab attention or dominate headlines, but they'll end up being very impactful when the season actually gets underway. They started this period off by successfully re-signing both of their key free agents that hit the market in Mark Williams and Colin Gillespie. Williams finally had a healthy season in his first year in Phoenix, and as their starting center, did a good job holding things down in the middle, on the glass, and on defense. Gillespie is a sharpshooting point guard who plays very under control and makes good decisions with the ball, and is one of the only true point guards they have on their roster right now, so they needed him back for sure. They also gave Dylan Brooks a very team-friendly contract extension, paying him about 24 million dollars annually for three more years, which is another win, and what they're building long term, that helps immensely. In the draft they landed Koa Pete with the last pick of the first round, and Pete is a talent that for a lot of the season was actually discussed as a lottery caliber player, who got soured on around the time of the draft combine, but it felt like things overcorrected too much when he slipped that far, and they may have actually found a hidden gem as a result of it. After that, they also traded for Miles Bridges, which is a pretty polarizing addition as a player whose whole career has been productive scoring but inconsistent with struggling inefficiency at times, and it also felt a bit empty in Charlotte, but Phoenix did need another creator in a secondary role on offense, and Bridges can at least be that as an upgrade over what they had, plus he only has one year left on his contract anyway, so they're not necessarily committed to him long term if it doesn't work out. In that trade, they had to give up Grace and Allen, but in free agency, the Suns signed Luke Kennard to replenish the sharpshooting that Allen left behind, so overall, I really like pretty much every move that this team made this summer. And with that being said, that's all I have for you today. Make sure to like the video, subscribe to the channel, and comment down below what you think about the offseasons that these teams had. Thanks for watching, and I'll see you all next time.