2023 NBA Offseason Recap: Pacific Division

Keith Smith
Keith Smith, Resident NBA ExpertJuly 19, 2023
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#nba #golden state warriors #golden state warriors #la clippers #la clippers #los angeles lakers #los angeles lakers #phoenix suns #phoenix suns #sacramento kings #sacramento kings
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The NBA offseason is just about wrapped up. As of this writing, we’re still waiting on trades for Damian Lillard, James Harden and maybe Pascal Siakam. There are a handful of impact free agents left on the board, but every team has used almost all of their meaningful cap space. There are lots of exceptions left, but it seems as though teams are in wait-and-see mode, as the calendar moves through mid-July.

That means it’s time to reset where each roster stands. We’re going to look at who is returning, who was acquired and who has departed. We’ll also answer a few key questions about each team.

We covered the Atlantic Division already. Next up: The Pacific Division!

Golden State Warriors

Players Returning (8):

 Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Jonathan Kuminga, Kevon Looney, Moses Moody, Gary Payton II, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins

Players Added (5): 

Trayce Jackson-Davis, Cory Joseph, Chris Paul, Brandin Podziemski, Dario Saric

Players Lost (9): 

Patrick Baldwin Jr., Donte DiVincenzo, JaMychal Green, Andre Iguodala, Ty Jerome (two-way), Anthony Lamb, Jordan Poole, Lester Quinones (two-way), Ryan Rollins

Roster Openings: 

2 standard spots and 3 two-way spots.

Cap/Tax Status: 

Golden State is $25.5 million over the second tax apron.

Spending Power Remaining: 

The Warriors are far over the super tax line and can only offer minimum contracts to free agents.

Biggest Move of the Summer: 

Re-signing Draymond Green. Yes, the Jordan Poole for Chris Paul trade was a big one, but it’s not on the level of keeping Green in the fold. Green is the key to the Warriors defense, and an important player for the offense because of his facilitation skills. The Warriors had to keep him. It also signals that the core has enough left to keep competing for titles.

As for the Paul trade, it was at least as much about shedding long-term money for Poole as it was about acquiring Paul. The role for the veteran Point God is unclear, and the fit is a little messy. We’ll see how that all plays out.

Work To Do: 

The Warriors need to fill out their roster. They added a nice piece in the frontcourt with Dario Saric, but the big man rotation could use another guy. And Golden State could use another bench shooter, unless they think Moses Moody is ready for a bigger role, or rookie Brandin Podziemski is ready to play from the ump.

Keep an eye on Chris Paul too. His deal is pretty tradable, as it’s basically a $30 million expiring contract (the 2024-25 season is non-guaranteed). Golden State is pretty limited in what else they can do, so having Paul as a living $30 million trade exception could end up just as valuable as what he could do on the court.

The Warriors also need to fill out their two-way spots. Lester Quinones is a good bet to return, as the team remains high on him. Golden State has also done a nice job in recent years with developing players and getting them to the main roster. Don’t bet against that happening again with whoever they bring in on two-way deals this summer.

LA Clippers

Players Returning (15): 

Nicolas Batum, Brandon Boston Jr., Amir Coffey, Robert Covington, Moussa Diabate (two-way), Paul George, Bones Hyland, Kawhi Leonard, Terance Mann, Marcus Morris Sr., Mason Plumlee, Norman Powell, Jason Preston, Russell Westbrook, Ivica Zubac

Players Added (2): 

Kobe Brown, Kenyon Martin Jr.

Players Lost (2): 

Eric Gordon, Xavier Moon (two-way)

Roster Openings: 

2 two-way spots.

Cap/Tax Status: 

The Clippers are $11.3 million over the second tax apron.

Spending Power Remaining: 

LA can only offer minimum contracts, due to being over the second apron.

Biggest Move of the Summer: 

Re-signing Russell Westbrook. After joining the Clippers during buyout season, Westbrook played really well. LA had very little at the point guard position, so bringing back Westbrook for $7.8 million over the next two seasons is a good value signing.

The Clippers snagged Kenyon Martin Jr. for a second-round pick and draft rights to a player who will likely never come to the NBA. Given they needed to inject some athleticism into an older roster and ground-bound frontcourt, this was a steal for LA.

Re-signing Mason Plumlee was also a smart move by LA. He combines with Ivica Zubac to give Ty Lue 48 minutes of solid center play. Plumlee is also a smart passer who knows to keep the ball moving to the team’s stars.

Work To Do: 

Should they trade for James Harden? That’s the question the Clippers front office has to be asking themselves. It’s clear Harden wants to go to the Clippers. LA has the ability to match salary in a trade without surrendering any key rotation players. But it would sap some of the team’s depth, and given the past injury histories of the main players, the Clippers can’t have enough depth.

Beyond that, there’s not a lot left for LA to do. The Clippers are returning more players from a season ago than any other team in the NBA. They need to waive or trade a player from a standard deal. And the Clippers have a couple of two-way spots to fill. This roster is pretty well finished, minus a Harden trade.

Los Angeles Lakers

Players Returning (8): 

Max Christie, Anthony Davis, Rui Hachimura, LeBron James, Austin Reaves, D’Angelo Russell, Cole Swider (two-way), Jarred Vanderbilt

Players Added (8): 

Colin Castleton (two-way), Jaxson Hayes, D’Moi Hodge (two-way), Jalen Hood-Schifino, Maxwell Lewis, Taurean Prince, Cameron Reddish, Gabe Vincent

Players Lost (9): 

Mo Bamba, Malik Beasley, Troy Brown Jr., Wenyen Gabriel, Shaq Harrison, Scotty Pippen Jr., Dennis Schroder, Tristan Thompson, Lonnie Walker IV

Roster Openings: 

2 standard spots.

Cap/Tax Status: 

Los Angeles is $1.4 million under the luxury tax.

Spending Power Remaining: 

The Lakers have $1.9 million of the Non-Taxpayer MLE remaining, but are functionally limited to veteran minimum contracts, which pay just over $2 million for next season.

Biggest Move of the Summer: 

Re-signing Austin Reaves. The Lakers re-signed all of their most important free agents, but Reaves was the most most-important player of that group. He’s blossomed into a multi-faceted offensive player, who is equally productive starting or coming off the bench. Reaves also didn’t get the massive $100 million offer sheet that was projected by many. That meant the Lakers got him on a four-year deal for right around the Non-Taxpayer MLE. That’s a great value.

Los Angeles also did well to get Rui Hachimura and D’Angelo Russell back on solid deals. They are both important rotation players. And adding Gabe Vincent for the actual Non-Taxpayer MLE was a good value signing for the Lakers too.

Work To Do: 

Los Angeles will likely fill their 14th roster spot ahead of training camp. They’ll bring in camp guys, but may choose to leave the 15th spot open. That could make it easier to convert a two-way player (keep and eye on Colin Castleton, who was terrific in Summer League) or to sign a veteran player in-season.

Overall, the Lakers roster is far deeper than at this point a year ago. And it makes sense with good positional balance. They probably need to add one more rotation-level big, just to make sure they don’t overtax Anthony Davis, and for when he inevitable misses some games. But this roster is deep and balanced.

Phoenix Suns

Players Returning (7): 

Deandre Ayton, Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, Damion Lee, Saben Lee (two-way), Josh Okogie, Ishmail Wainright

Players Added (9): 

Keita Bates-Diop, Bradley Beal, Bol Bol, Toumani Camara, Drew Eubanks, Jordan Goodwin, Eric Gordon, Chimezie Metu, Yuta Watanabe

Players Lost (9): 

Darius Bazley, Bismack Biyombo, Torrey Craig, Jock Landale, Chris Paul, Cameron Payne, Terrence Ross, Landry Shamet, T.J. Warren

Roster Openings: 

2 two-way spots.

Cap/Tax Status: 

The Suns are $4.7 million over the second tax apron.

Spending Power Remaining: 

Phoenix can only sign players to minimum contracts, due to being over the second apron.

Biggest Move of the Summer: 

Trading Chris Paul for Bradley Beal. This was the Suns all-in move. Beal isn’t a perfect fit, as he overlaps quite a bit with Devin Booker, but he should be just fine for Phoenix. Adding Beal took on a lot of long-term money, and put the Suns in a position to be one of the more expensive teams in the NBA for at least the next few years.

Because Beal, Booker and Kevin Durant have all played alongside other superstars for most of their careers, they should be able to make this work as a trio. The bigger concern: Who is going to make sure Deandre Ayton gets enough touches to stay engaged?

Work To Do: 

Phoenix’s roster is probably about set for the regular season, minus a couple of two-way signings. It seems as though the Suns intend to keep Deandre Ayton. James Jones and the front office did a wonderful job filling out the roster with impact players, despite only have minimum contracts to work with. They added depth and balance behind the star-studded starting lineup.

Now, it’s up to Frank Vogel to turn this collection of players into a team. It’s likely to be a little bumpy early on, but there’s enough talent here that the Suns should eventually be a terrific team.

Sacramento Kings

Players Returning (11): 

Harrison Barnes, Kessler Edwards, Keon Ellis (two-way), De’Aaron Fox, Kevin Huerter, Alex Len, Trey Lyles, Davion Mitchell, Malik Monk, Keegan Murray, Domantas Sabonis

Players Added (5): 

Chris Duarte, Colby Jones, Nerlens Noel, Jalen Slawson (two-way), Sasha Vezenkov

Players Lost (6): 

Terence Davis, Matthew Dellavedova, P.J. Dozier, Richaun Holmes, Chimezie Metu, Neemias Queta (two-way)

Roster Openings: 

1 standard spot and 1 two-way spot.

Cap/Tax Status: 

The Kings are $21.6 million under the luxury tax.

Spending Power Remaining: 

Sacramento has about $1.4 million remaining of the Room Exception. Beyond that, it’s minimum contracts for the Kings.

Biggest Move of the Summer: 

Renegotiating-and-extending Domantas Sabonis. It was a busy summer of retaining talent for Sacramento, but getting Sabonis signed long-term was their best move. He’s become an All-Star center, and made All-NBA last year. He’s a perfect pairing with De’Aaron Fox as the co-engines that make the Kings offense hum. Creating and using cap space to keep Sabonis around was creative and smart by Monte McNair and his front office staff.

Extending Harrison Barnes for a second time, along with re-signing Trey Lyles were also great moves. And finally brining Sasha Vezenkov over, six years after drafting him, seems like a really solid move too. He’ll be a rotation guy from Day 1.

Lastly, keep an eye on Chris Duarte. He went through a mess of a season with injuries, and he got lost in the shuffle in a crowded wing group in Indiana. He can play and the bet here is that he ends up a key guy off the bench for the Kings.

Work To Do:

Sacramento has a couple of roster spots to fill. They could maybe use one more point guard, as a break-glass type of player. But the frontcourt and wing groups seems pretty fleshed out.

It’s not an immediate thing, but the Kings are well clear of the luxury tax. That should give them the flexibility to take on money during any in-season dealings. But that’s something that will make itself known as the season goes along.

Sacramento is talented and deep. That’s a combination that should make it so that last season’s playoff appearance started a new streak vs being a one-year blip.

 


#nba #golden state warriors #golden state warriors #la clippers #la clippers #los angeles lakers #los angeles lakers #phoenix suns #phoenix suns #sacramento kings #sacramento kings
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