The many ways in which the NBA offseason came up short

Teams use the offseason as a way to re-sculpt their roster heading into opening night. With that said, certain front offices made some head-scratching moves that left us puzzled. We'll take a look at the most confusing transactions of the summer so far.

Even though there was no guarantee he’d get drafted, networks and analysts spoke about Bronny James just as much as some of the other top 2024 prospects. Yahoo Sports and others questioned whether James was ready for the NBA, which was fair considering his college career. However, this angle dominated coverage in the days leading up to the draft.

The Bronny James content machine didn’t stop there, as his initial summer league performances have been dissected with a fine-tooth comb. He scored four points against the Sacramento Kings in his first contest, which has the NBA world buzzing as they wonder what his future holds. Analysts are locked in on his defense, which may be his calling card early on.

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Fox Sports, Last Word on Sports and others wrote about how weak the 2024 NBA Draft was leading up to the event. This perception seemed to reflect reality, as members of the media started to poke holes in Zaccharie Risacher’s skill set. The Atlanta Hawks took the Frenchman first overall in the draft.

WABE’s website wrote that Risacher is going to focus on the positive opportunity he has in front of him, rather than the notions that he won’t fulfill expectations as a number one pick. USA Today has lowered the bar for him, saying that he doesn’t need to be a great player in Atlanta, but simply a good one.

Not many would have predicted that Jonas Valanciunas would sign with the Washington Wizards during free agency. That’s because Valanciunas is an established veteran center who fans thought might have wanted to play on a legitimate playoff team. It’s also because the Wizards just invested the second overall pick in the draft on Alexandre Sarr.

FanSided wrote that Valanciunas’ move to Washington was “baffling.” With that said, the three-year, $30 million contract he signed might be attractive as a trade piece down the road. It’s not an exorbitant price for his services, and a contending team might be willing to overpay Washington to acquire him at the trade deadline.

It would have been fun to see Luka Doncic lead Slovenia in the Olympics, but they didn’t qualify. That’s because Greece knocked off the Slovenians on the way. Sports Illustrated noted that Doncic didn’t check back into the contest because the game was already well out of reach.

With that said, even Doncic had to admit that Greece’s team could be a force to be reckoned with down the road. He told Sports Illustrated “Well first, they have Giannis, and he is a lot, but then other players like Calathes and Walkup organize the team very well. They all know how to play basketball and are very well-coached by coach Spanoulis.”

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It didn’t feel like it could actually happen until it became official, but Klay Thompson departed the Warriors to join the Dallas Mavericks. The NBA is a business, and it’s understandable why Thompson left, but it’s disappointing for basketball fans to accept that he won’t finish his career in the place where he won four championships.

Bleacher Report revealed that Warriors star Stephen Curry cried on a phone call with his longtime backcourt mate, realizing that their time together as teammates was coming to an end. It was strange hearing Thompson's logic for selecting 31, his new number in Dallas.

NBA news has been chock-full of players getting handsome contract extensions, but the five-year, $224 million pact the Orlando Magic offered to Franz Wagner left some confused. FanSided wrote that the Magic are betting on themselves and the infrastructure they have in place currently to keep developing Wagner into a max player.

Sports Illustrated noted that Franz Wagner had the worst three-point shooting season of his career in 2023-2024, making the timing of the lucrative extension somewhat curious. The lack of ability from the outside turned Wagner into a liability as Orlando’s first round playoff series with Cleveland dragged on.

Toronto Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri has charted his vision for the future of the franchise. He’s committed five-years and $225 million via an extension to Scottie Barnes, and five-years and $175 million to Immanuel Quickley. “Our future starts here,” Ujiri told the Toronto Star.

However, others aren’t so sure, as they believe Ujiri may have backed the Raptors into a corner with these decisions. The Score’s website thinks that Toronto’s future is still very much uncertain, even with Barnes and Quickley under team control. Bleacher Report gave the Quickley deal a B in its grading exercise.

It seemed like a certainty that the Chicago Bulls would trade Demar DeRozan this offseason, and it finally happened. DeRozan is now a member of the Sacramento Kings, as he looks to play for a more competitive team in 2024-2025.

While the Kings have a brighter future than the Bulls, it doesn’t feel like the trade left DeRozan with a legitimate chance to win a title in the twilight of his career. According to Sports Illustrated, Sacramento is still +7500 to win the championship, which leaves them far from being favorites in the Western Conference.

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