Which NBA Eastern Conference teams have done the best and worst this offseason?
Although the futures of Kevin Durant and Donovan Mitchell remain unresolved, the bulk of the NBA's summer activity has been completed, giving executives a much-needed chance to take a break after conducting three drafts and free agency periods in the past 21 months.
As a result, it's time to look back on how well teams took advantage of their opportunities to upgrade their rosters for either the 2022-23 season or the more distant future. Immediate improvement won't necessarily get credit if it came at the expense of long-term results.
These offseason grades are on a curve, with B as the most common outcome, and reflect the opportunities teams had to improve their rosters via the draft and cap space to use in free agency. Teams, therefore, don't necessarily get credit for having a high draft pick or cap space as the product of past moves. And the draft isn't weighted as heavily as moves involving NBA veterans because of our uncertainty about prospects.
Keeping that framework in mind, let's get to the grades.