There wasn’t much to begin with, but most of the cash available in the 2025 NBA offseason has dried up. The top free agents have new deals, rookies are on board and the trade chatter is quieting down.
That makes this a good time to hand out some offseason grades.
This can’t just be about whether a given roster looks better or worse than it did a year ago. Every team has different priorities, tools and intentions. These grades must acknowledge that reality.
We have to go a layer deeper, asking some important questions before passing judgment. What were the team’s priorities, and what were the realistic options for pursuing them? And then, did the team engage in that pursuit effectively—maximizing value, being opportunistic, operating on a clear timeline, etc.?
The Boston Celtics’ demolition has to be evaluated differently than, say, the Houston Rockets’ star acquisitions, or the Charlotte Hornets’ careful accumulation of future assets.
Three weeks into the offseason, most of the big business is done. Let’s see how all 30 teams have fared so far.