Who topped and who flopped in the NBA off-season

With the NBA off-season drawing to a close and teams starting to take shape for the 2014/15 season, it starts to become clear who has and hasn’t had the best break.

In this article I will give quick previews of the top-five best and worst-performing teams in terms of improvement made through player acquisitions – this is not a full NBA power-ranking.

1. Cleveland Cavaliers
Any time you acquire the best player in the world, you win the off-season championship. Not only did Cleveland manage to lure their fallen hero – their Darth Vader – back to the light side of the force, but they also picked first in the NBA Draft, and picked Andrew Wiggins.

Case closed. These two fantastic acquisitions, along with the positive Summer League play of last year’s top pick Anthony Bennett, puts Cleveland right in the conversation for next year’s NBA championship.

2. Dallas Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks employed the shrewd off-season tactic of acting sneakily while other teams had their backs turned and their eyes firmly rested on LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony. This tactic netted them future superstar Chandler Parsons, championship hero Tyson Chandler and former star Jameer Nelson.

They also managed to add to their pine the likes of Al-Farouq Aminu as well as Raymond Felton and Richard Jefferson, who should both thrive in lesser roles. Mark Cuban has again managed to position his team in line for the Larry O’Brien trophy without bottoming out.

3. Chicago Bulls
Just like last year, the Chicago Bulls will be one of the first teams in line for the Eastern Conference championship. If Derrick Rose can return healthy and find some form, they will be one of the first in line for the NBA championship. Chicago added invaluable experience in Pau Gasol and fan-favourite draft pick Doug McDermott.

They also brought over enigmatic European Nikola Mirotic to further beef up an already stacked front court. These astute additions have positioned Chicago for another run at the championship. However, their most important storyline throughout the year will be whether their number one can stay healthy or not.

4. Charlotte Hornets
Don’t look now, but the team everyone was laughing at a few years ago look to be in the championship conversation within the next few years. One of the best buys of the off-season was Lance Stephenson, the young grinder from the Indiana Pacers.

He adds to Michael Jordan’s backcourt a whole lot of hustle and x-factor that will be invaluable when they make their first serious Eastern Conference finals venture – which could potentially come as soon as this year. They also added draft slider Noah Vonleh, who was wanted by many teams before the draft, but dropped into Charlotte’s lap at number nine.

5. Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic’s fantastic off-season was headlined by the drafting of Aaron Gordon at number four – the Blake Griffin lookalike who hopes to impact the NBA similar to that man. His unlimited athleticism and upside should have Orlando fans drooling.

However, most of the Rookie of the Year talk out of central Florida has been about Elfrid Payton, a Rondo-esque point guard who was acquired on draft day from Philadelphia. They also managed to beef up their bench with Luke Ridour, Ben Gordon, Evan Fournier and Channing Frye, and all of a sudden, Orlando look set to be the best team out of Florida within a few years.

So there are the top five teams who have performed best during the off-season, now we have a look at the unlucky bottom five teams.

26. Sacramento Kings
Despite drafting Nik Stauskas, the moment that sticks out for the Sacramento Kings this off-season is losing their point guard of the future, Isaiah Thomas. And considering the offensive talent on the rest of the Sacramento roster, Darren Collison, while experienced, is not a starter, nor the kind of distributor that is needed. Here’s hoping that young Ray McCallum logs some serious time at the one this season.

27. Brooklyn Nets
The Brooklyn Nets have confused many basketball fans the past few off-seasons, and now they can add me to that list. Deep into win-now mode it is reasonable, but questionable, that they would let go of the great Paul Pierce to save some dollars.

However, the fact that they failed to replace him raises plenty of eyebrows. And if that wasn’t confusing enough, the only player they managed to add through free agency was Jarrett Jack. For a team needing to improve to vie for a championship this year, this is highly questionable.

28. Indiana Pacers
When competing for a championship, especially as close to as the Indiana Pacers are, losing one of your key starters, especially one as unique as Lance Stephenson, is inexcusable. And not only did they lose Stephenson, but they lost their backup Evan Turner also.

To make matters worse, they only managed to replace these two top-line players with Rodney Stuckey. Along with the horrific injury to Paul George, next year spells like a horrific collapse for Indiana.

29. Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets made the right decision – they held out for Carmelo Anthony or Chris Bosh. However to do this, cap space needed to be created, and when they didn’t manage either of the two stars, it left Houston with a rather ordinary-looking and shallow roster.

Patricky Beverley, Trevor Ariza and Terrence Jones are great players, but none of them are fit to start on a team with championship aspirations, and their bench is looking even thinner than last year, if that’s possible. Another year of disappointment is what seems to beckon for Houston.

30. Miami Heat
A rather controversial selection in some ways for the team with the worst off-season. While I recognise Miami replaced LeBron James about as best they could, there is no substitute for losing LeBron James. In lieu of this they made some good pickups, however this team as it stands now does not contend for a championship, and considering where they were last year, that is a massive step backwards.