Pat Riley
This guy has been nearly undefeated over the last decade in offseason moves. He's the Godfather of acquisitions. If Pat Riley wants something, he gets it. Unfortunately, that sort of came true once again but for the wrong reasons. In an attempt to lure another superstar like Kevin Durant to Miami, Riley kept the cornerstone of the organization on the back burner. Dwyane Wade was undoubtedly waiting for a reasonable contract that both reflected his abilities left and his legacy with the organization, but he was met with an underwhelming presentation.
Now, Riley is left with a team of spare parts that are constantly hurting. Chris Bosh's future is still hanging in the balance, Goran Dragic is aging in a point guard dominated league, and the supporting cast consists of a bunch of ho-hum players. Hassan Whiteside shows a great deal of promise, but his light isn't enough to patch up the gaping wound that was created when Wade left.
Los Angeles Lakers
Oh my, how the Lakers have fallen. In what could've been a pleasant summer for the Lakers by bringing in a semi-star to surround a bunch of talented youngsters turned into a head scratching few weeks. I remember getting a text from a friend that simply read "Timofey Mozgov........ LOL". I didn't think much of it, naturally Mozgov is just funny to me, but then when I saw the massive contract he earned I actually did laught out loud.
Mozgov is coming off a major knee injury and is now "over the hill." Instead of nabbing Festus Ezeli or Bismack Biyombo, the Lakers signed a clearly inferior center to anchor their poor defense. Signing Luol Deng brings a much needed veteran presence into the locker room, but there are so many miles on his feet that the Lakers can't honestly believe he's going to give them a lot on the floor during the season. Time will expose the chemistry between a core of four young guys, but all the Lakers had to do was nab one key guy and the summer could've been labeled a success. Timofey Mozgov was their big success.
Washington Wizards
Remember when there was a legend in the making of Kevin Durant returning home to play for the Wiz and finally give LeBron James a serious Eastern Conference opponent? That pipe dream fizzled out all too quickly once other contenders for KD became involved, and then he ultimately shocked the NBA world by joining the best regular season team in NBA history. The Wiz have all the parts to go the distance with KD on their side, but they struck out and are now a bottom feeder in the newly strengthened conference.
Oklahoma City Thunder
If you haven't sent a condolence letter to 100 West Reno Avenue Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73102 yet, please do. This location is home to one of the greatest tragedies of this NBA era. Now that KD has joined the Thunder's most fierce rival, there is nothing the Thunder can do but hope for a meaningless first round (at best) exit in the Western Conference Playoffs. Sure, we will now see Russell Westbrook reach his ultimate form, but that's barely a silver lining in this mess. Victor Oladipo is a young stud which should make for an exciting guard combo, but he doesn't help the Thunder space the floor which they now need desperately. The Thunder were seemingly becoming the only team that could match up well with the Warriors, now they will simply hope sneak into the playoffs.
Chicago Bulls
The Bulls won some, but they mostly lost during the offseason. By drafting Denzel Valentine, the Bulls have added to a promising young core that are many years away from competing on their own for a title. The front office was certainly aware of this fact, so they nabbed Rajon Rondo and Dwyane Wade. This is move most benefits Jimmy Butler in terms of growth as Wade will surely take him under his wing and bestow years of legendary wisdom upon the young star. However, these players don't mesh well for the current play in the NBA. The Bulls three best players are now slashers with an combined below average three ball prowess. The best shooter on the Bulls is now Nikola Mirotic which should frighten any Chicago fan due to his head scratching shot selection at times. Rondo and Wade are legends, but their averaged salary next year is greater than Butlers and neither of them will be doing half the damage that people think they can still do. Expect missed games from both Rondo and Wade for injuries and some mid-season "Who is the real leader on the Chicago Bulls?" type articles.
Orlando Magic
Frank Vogel is dropping straight into the middle of a mess in Orlando. The Magic's best player was traded for Serge Ibaka who joins a frontcourt of Nikola Vucevic and Bismack Biyombo. Bismack was given one of those massive contracts that were being dealt like complimentary waters during a marathon this offseason. Bismack is now the highest paid big man on the Magic, yet, he seems like the most likely candidate to come off the bench behind an established power forward in Ibaka. Aaron Gordon will now have to slide to small forward, and the guard lineup will consist of a few guys that aren't going to cause any trouble to the many superior guard duos in the league. Losing Oladipo really hurt the Magic, now the best they can hope for is to stuff the paint night in and night out, but how well is that going to work in an three point happy NBA?