Exploring one move from the 2023 NBA offseason that every team is already beginning to regret.
The holiday season is nearly over. 'Tis the season now to look back at all the amazing gifts you have received from loved ones and friends, and start looking for those gift receipts to return those gifts you never wanted in the first place. Oh, the holidays! I mean a digital scale for the bathroom, a standard definition DVD of the newer Starsky and Hutch, a Hoobastank CD, and a hand-knit sweater from gam gam, seriously? While NBA teams can't just return some of the moves that they regret making in the offseason, we'll do it for them here, in this article.
Whether it was a draft pick, a free agent pickup, a contract extension, or a trade, we are examining all the moves made by each team to find out which gift is getting tossed. When we discuss contract extensions and signings it's important to note that we aren't saying they don't deserve to be signed or re-signed, it's typically the length and annual contract value we are "returning."
We are not saying that the team should "return" their offer on their young wing, however, "return" the amount or the years. We are operating under the notion that each offseason move represents a gift received for the holidays.
In tandem, we are operating under the knowledge of what we know now. In-season moves have not been considered for this exercise. With that, let's take a look at your favorite team's offseason moves and pick the one that just hasn't worked out.
Atlanta Hawks: Drafting Kobe Bufkin with 15th pick in 1st round
I mean this is a tough one. Kobe Bufkin had a fine two years at Michigan and he has solid size for a combo guard, at 6-foot-5. In hindsight, there were several more worthy players to take ahead of Bufkin. Keyonte George and Jaime Jaquez Jr. were both taken shortly after Bufkin and while you can't fault the Hawks for not going after Jaquez, George was expected in some mock drafts to go top-10.
They could have stopped his slide and picked up a combo guard, who in his own right, is exceeding expectations. George is currently starting for the Utah Jazz while Bufkin has yet to truly make any difference for the Hawks. Tough look for the Hawks, and unfortunately for Bufkin, you're heading to the post office.
Boston Celtics: Signing Lamar Stevens over Mo Bamba
Two things can be true at the same time. Mo Bamba has not lived up to being the 6th overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft. The Celtics could still use his services. Lamar Stevens has not been the long, rangy, defensive difference-making wing the Celtics were hoping for when they signed him.
He rarely sees the court, and his impact is not often felt when he sees minutes. For a team as deep as the Celtics are, while being as light in the frontcourt simultaneously, they really could have used a cheap big man, who in theory plays big, blocks shots, and hits 3's. The C's could have taken a flyer on Bamba and not wasted time with Stevens.
Brooklyn Nets: Not packaging their 2 first-round picks to move up in the draft
The Brooklyn Nets held on to both of their first-round picks this past draft, holding the 21st and 22nd picks. The three rookies who were drafted immediately ahead of Noah Clowney (21st pick) and Dariq Whitehead (22nd pick) were 18: Jaime Jaquez Jr., 19: Brandin Podziemski, 20: Cam Whitmore.
For a Nets team looking to re-brand after the Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden debacle, moving up even 1 or 2 picks could have easily changed this team's fortunes. Who knows how far they could have moved up, but keeping the two instead of making a move up is being sent back with non-prepaid postage.
Charlotte Hornets: Letting Kelly Oubre Jr. walk for nothing
There's an argument to go with P.J. Washington's contract extension here, but young 20-some-odd-year-old forwards making $15M annually for producing above-average stats is not that regrettable. What should be considered regrettable is letting Kelly Oubre Jr. go to the Philadelphia 76ers for absolutely nothing.
Coming off of a career-high in points per game with 20.3, Oubre Jr. should have had some value. Instead, he ends up in Philly, signed with their mid-level exception, and has been playing some of the best basketball of his career. That's a tough one to swallow for the Hornets.
Chicago Bulls: Re-signing Nikola Vucevic to a 3-year, $60M contract extension
Oof. Looking back at this offseason move, it almost makes you second-guess so much more for the team. Nikola Vucevic is being paid for what he has done in the past and not for what he's doing now. That is a dangerous game for 33-year-olds whose play has been declining each season with the Bulls.
For a big man who shoots 3-pointers, he is currently shooting the 2nd worst percentage in his career at 28.1%. Not great for a not-so-athletic 33-year-old who's not contributing to many wins. The Bulls may have thought they'd be able to get away with this one but it hasn't worked out all that well.
Cleveland Cavaliers: Signing Max Strus to a 4-year, $64M contract
The Cleveland Cavaliers were between a rock and a hard place in the offseason. They needed wing depth following a loss to the New York Knicks in the first round of the playoffs. Max Strus went undrafted out of DePaul and became a very solid role player for a Miami Heat team that gets the most out of their undrafted free agents.
Strus was coming off a good 2023 playoffs and the Cavs bit. If you are going to get paid to be a 3-point shooter, you better make your 3s. Currently, Strus is hitting just over 34 percent from 3, on over eight attempts per game. While this might be a bit nit-picky, this could easily fall into the regrettable category pretty quickly.
Dallas Mavericks: Sign Grant Williams to a 4-year, $54M contract
Grant Williams was supposed to be the low-volume, 3-and-D forward the Dallas Mavericks were missing around Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. Williams has supplied the 3-point shooting and currently makes 38.2 percent, however, he is not providing the defense we are used to seeing out of him.
The Mavs are allowing more points per game this season (117.6) than last year (114.1). What's the deal with that? Where's the stingy, Giannis-stopping Grant we are used to seeing? Someone please find him, but for now, he's making his way back back to the shop.
Denver Nuggets: Signing DeAndre Jordan instead of other centers available
Talk about nit-picking, huh? The Denver Nuggets won the championship last year and didn't have many moves to make in the offseason. It stung losing Bruce Brown to the Indiana Pacers, but they couldn't offer him the amount of money the Pacers could. DeAndre Jordan is a non-factor, so by default if they were to get someone else who could contribute every now and then, that would be great for a team that rides the shoulders of Nikola Jokic.
There were several other minimum-level centers available, and running it back with Jordan just seems like you might want to not have opened that box in the first place.
Detroit Pistons: Signing HC Monty Williams to a 6-year, $78.5M deal
I mean, it's tough to be the coach of a team with the NBA record for most losses in a row while simultaneously being the highest-paid coach in the NBA. Unluckily for Monty Williams, that's where he finds himself. The Pistons haven't been super competitive in recent years, but this bad? After their most recent loss to the Celtics, that's now 27 losses in a row.
There's no beating around this bush, the Pistons should return this gift and ask for cash or a gift card or something because as of the writing of this article, this is not working out on any front.
Golden State Warriors: Re-signing Draymond Green to a 4-year, $100M contract extension
Being suspended indefinitely is a tough place to get to. I'm not sure I've ever seen a player in my lifetime be suspended indefinitely. Draymond is getting paid more per chokehold than I have earned in my professional career thus far. At what point do you say enough is enough?
While he's been dubbed as the "heartbeat of the team," does that mean you no longer have a heartbeat out there on the court while he serves his suspension? This was an easy choice here. Draymond and his career antics have hurt this team in meaningful games and committing to him long-term at $25 million a year at this point, is pretty tough.
Houston Rockets: Drafting the wrong Thompson brother
Hindsight is 20/20 and unfortunately for the Houston Rockets, with the 4th overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft, they might want to re-think which Thompson brother they should have drafted. Ausar Thompson has cooled off a bit from his hot start, but his contributions to the Detroit Pistons significantly outweigh the contributions made to the Rockets by his twin brother, Amen.
It's still early, but the Rockets have to be second-guessing what could've been had they used the 4th pick more efficiently.
Indiana Pacers: Not packaging picks and players for star
The Indiana Pacers are mediocre. That is not to say that everything they do is mediocre. Their offense is terrific and Tyrese Haliburton is having an All-NBA type season. They are the highest-scoring offense in the league, yet they are only two games over .500.
The Pacers should regret the notion from the offseason that they are fine without making a move for a star. They had the assets in the offseason to pull off something special, but stayed put and find themselves as the eighth seed in the playoffs. As Eames says to Arthur in the film, Inception, "You mustn't be afraid to dream bigger, darling."
LA Clippers: Waiving Eric Gordon
The LA Clippers had a pretty successful offseason filled with goodies. The offseason move we are tossing here is the waiving of Eric Gordon. He's having a relatively successful year as a reserve on the Phoenix Suns and while the Clippers seem to be getting along just fine without him, they could still use a microwave scorer off the bench who can play multiple positions.
Bones Hyland is currently the third point and shooting guard off the bench, so by sending "waiving Eric Gordon" back to where they found it, they'd have even more depth and options to explore for a potential championship run.
Los Angeles Lakers: Signing Gabe Vincent to a 3-year, $33M contract
The Los Angeles Lakers should want to have this move back. They should almost wish that they didn't celebrate this signing at all. Gabe Vincent is the player that you thought you really wanted at the moment until you realized that you didn't really need him.
He hasn't played much for the Lakers due to a knee injury but prior to the injury, he was having an awful season, especially from 3-point range, hitting 11.8 percent. It's easily the biggest regret the Lakers should have from the offseason.
Memphis Grizzlies: Allowing the Celtics acquire Kristaps Porzingis
Seeing how well Kristaps Porzingis is playing for the Celtics, if any team had helped bring the big man to Boston, they'd all probably prefer to send that back. The Grizzlies helped Boston in the trade that sent Tyus Jones to Washington, Marcus Smart to Memphis, and KP to Boston.
In hindsight, the fit between Porzingis and the Celtics is perfect and they are currently the best team in the NBA. Memphis, meanwhile, started the first 25 games of the season at 6-19. I'm sure they'd reconsider this move in hindsight, which is why this move should be deeply regretted.
Miami Heat: Not running it back with their undrafted shooters
If you watched the Eastern Conference Finals last year, the announcers could not and would not stop talking about the amount of undrafted free agents the Miami Heat were playing, all of whom playing well.
Max Strus and Gabe Vincent landed on the Cavs and Lakers, respectively, via free agency. Although Miami is not playing poorly this season, why not run it back with your guys and provide this team with some depth? They could use another wing and they could definitely use some guard depth, especially at the point guard position.
Milwaukee Bucks: Re-signing Khris Middleton to a 3-year, $93M contract extension
Here is the caveat: The Milwaukee Bucks had a great offseason, and this pick was tough. Sometimes the most regrettable move of the offseason is one that a team still needs to make. I ultimately went with this because Khris Middleton is another year older, another bit slower, another bit less efficient and you're giving him a long-term deal over $30 million per season at 32 years old.
For this pick, there's general concern over injuries and showing evidence of declining play, which isn't uncommon for early-thirty-year-old wings/forwards. If the Bucks could return any item they received this year, this would be the one.
Minnesota Timberwolves: Re-signing Jaden McDaniels to a 5-year, $136M contract extension
Another team that requires an explanation. The Minnesota Timberwolves are the best team in the Western Conference. They also had an awesome offseason. In this case, we have to nit-pick and nit-picking vet minimum moves or on-the-margin moves for the best team in the West ain't cutting it.
By default, we have to return giving Jalen McDaniels a 5-year, $136M contract. He's young enough and has the potential to make this contract sing. However, paying over $30M a season for five years for a guy who hasn't averaged over 13 points per game in his NBA career is an interesting look. The NBA does like its defensive-minded players, but they LOVE its offensive-minded players.
New Orleans Pelicans: Running it back and not making a move
The New Orleans Pelicans have plenty of young assets to package with manageable veteran contracts, so this would be the offseason where they make a big splash and fully commit to Zion, right? **buzzer noise** WRONG. This is the same Pelicans team that hasn't won a first-round playoff matchup since 2018 and has never been to the Western Conference Finals in team history.
Sometimes you have to fully commit like Toronto did in 2019 when it rented Kawhi Leonard out for a year to bring Toronto a championship. The Pelicans should very much regret an offseason of complacency. The Pelicans have enough star-powered complimentary parts to be a real force if they were given a big offseason move.
New York Knicks: Not bringing in a superstar in the offseason
These are the New York Knicks. They play in the Mecca that is the Madison Square Garden and they are coming off a Game 6, second-round loss to the Miami Heat last postseason. They were tied to almost every star this offseason, including Karl-Anthony Towns, Zion Williams, Zach LaVine, and others (Trae Young??).
The Knicks chose not to make a big splash and added complimentary pieces around what they already had instead. The Knicks are fully in the playoff picture right now, but with a previous move for a superstar, they could have brought the gift of being a top 3 seed in the East and a championship favorite.
Oklahoma City Thunder: Not cashing in on assets
The Oklahoma City Thunder have a good thing going and their offseason was a big success. In the case of nit-picking, we once again find ourselves here, and for the simple sake of you can't physically keep all the players that they'll be able to draft over the next five years, with their trove of picks, they should have cashed in on their assets and made a larger move. The team is humming right now, but imagine if they landed Pascal Siakam or OG Anunoby in the offseason.
They'd both be tremendous fits on this team. You never want to waste draft picks, Sam Presti covets these picks for a reason. However, you'll have to offload most of them regardless, so you might as well make a move with them now and give yourself time to try to put it together.
Orlando Magic: Selecting Jett Howard with the 11th pick in the draft
There has to be at least a little regret in the Orlando Magic's decision to select Jett Howard with the 11th pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. For now, it doesn't appear as if it was the right selection.
Dereck Lively II, Jordan Hawkins, Keyonte George, Jaime Jaquez Jr., and Brandin Podziemski are a few rookies taken shortly after Howard, all of whom could have provided better value with the 11th pick than Howard.
Philadelphia 76ers: Not moving James Harden earlier
"Daryl Morey is a liar," said one angry James Harden, who later skipped practices, missed games, and created a media circus. He wasn't wrong, Morey reportedly promised Harden that if he were to take a pay cut, he'd reward him with a max contract in the offseason... and he didn't.
Harden's frustrations were warranted, but the public fit for which he threw was immature and unprofessional. Turns out, the 76ers don't need him to be good at basketball, and they probably should have moved him sooner so this drama didn't bleed into the regular season. They should have moved him immediately and let their two stars, Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey be rid of any possible distractions.
Phoenix Suns: Trading for Bradley Beal
Bradley Beal has not shown up for the Phoenix Suns at all this season. Beal was supposed to form an unstoppable offensive trio of Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. Look at their season thus far, and Beal is missing. He just hasn't played and the Suns have struggled being a cohesive unit. There is still so much experimentation happening and it almost feels like another lost season for Durant.
He can't afford many more lost seasons, and if Beal is going to be a value add to the team, he better find his way on the court, because as of right now, this Beal trade has to be one of the Suns' offseason regrets.
Portland Trail Blazers: Re-signing Jerami Grant to a 5-year, $160M contract extension
Maybe the Portland Trail Blazers actually thought that by selecting Scoot Henderson with the third overall pick and re-signing Jerami Grant to a 5-year, $160M contract Damian Lillard would want to run it back. Nope.
The Blazers instead traded him to the Milwaukee Bucks and now the odd man out in Portland is Grant. For what Grant offers, this contract might not seem outrageous, but I'm in the camp that his value has always been inflated. At best, he's a 20-point-per-game scorer who gets you a couple of rebounds, plays good defense, and doesn't move the basketball efficiently.
He will also be 35 years old at the end of the contract. Does that sound like a player you'd want to throw over $30M a season for five years?! I don't think so, and neither should Portland.
Sacramento Kings: Not upgrading to Jerami Grant
"Wait a minute. Matt, in your last team breakdown with the Trail Blazers you were just clamoring about how the Trailblazers should not have given Grant the contract extension. What gives?" If this thought ran through your head, you're not wrong. I do believe Grant is the wrong fit for a rebuilding Blazers team that is not looking to win many games. I also believe that the Kings would be more competitive if they made a move for him in the offseason.
This essentially means that they'd upgrade Harrison Barnes with Jerami Grant and seeing as though the Kings could always get better on the defensive side of the court, having a long, rangy defender on the perimeter is exactly what they wanted for the holidays, but instead they had to settle for the lesser model, and looking back, maybe they should have gone with the upgrade instead. For this, they're regretting not making a move for Grant.
San Antonio Spurs: Re-signing Devin Vassell to a 5-year, $135M contract extension
The San Antonio Spurs are another team that had a good offseason, one filled with smart and calculated moves. By default, we are going with the contract extension of Devin Vassell. It's just a lot of money and a lot of years for a player who hasn't proven he can help his team win.
This is very similar to the Jaden McDaniels slide from earlier, but at least Vassell has shown both defensive and offensive prowess. I am a fan of Vassell's and his extension inclusion here is almost by default. But, this is the exercise and I'm sorry to say, Devin's contract extension is the most regrettable move made by the Spurs this offseason.
Toronto Raptors: Not blowing it up
The Toronto Raptors seemingly could have made a multitude of moves this offseason involving their stars. Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby were ripe for the taking. Yet, a couple of months later, the Raptors are well out of the playoff picture and Siakam and Anunoby are still on the roster. Why did the Raptors insist on running it back and not blow up the roster?
They haven't been all that competitive since their 2019 Finals run. Right now, especially with the uncertainty that possibly awaits during the offseason, the Raptors have to be second-guessing their entire strategy from the offseason.
Utah Jazz: Drafting Taylor Hendricks with 9th pick in 1st round
I won't take long on this slide, as we have visited this point before. There were several rookies taken after Taylor Hendricks who have made strong contributions to their respective teams. Hendricks has not been a major contributor to his team this season, so it's easy to see if this might quickly end up being one of the biggest regrets from the 2023 offseason for the Jazz.
Washington Wizards: Trading for Jordan Poole
You didn't think it would be anything else, did you? The Washington Wizards may have made more than one misstep this past offseason, but may not have been worse than the move for Jordan Poole. Remember at one point, NBA analysts actually thought that Poole could lead the league in scoring and become an All-NBA/All-Star caliber player? Well, that's not happening any time soon.
The struggle bus is here and there's no telling when it's leaving the station. Poole has been inconsistent, inefficient, and disinterested in playing. Look at his teammates when they call for the ball and he ignores them, then pulls up for an ill-advised, contested three. He is deflating the energy of the entire team.