Steve Aschburner: Boston. Malcolm Brogdon and Danilo Gallinari fill specific needs in the Celtics rotation with battle-tested veterans. That team has a talented enough core that plugging holes offers a major overall impact. To me, Minnesota adding Gobert and Cleveland picking up the other ex-Utahan, Donovan Mitchell, pose as many questions as answers. Brooklyn improved by not tearing itself down, but it will be a while before we know if the Nets’ minds are right.
Brian Martin: While we saw other teams acquire All-Stars via trade — Dejounte Murray to Atlanta, Rudy Gobert to Minnesota, Donovan Mitchell to Cleveland — Philadelphia retained an All-Star at a discount price in order to do some more shopping in free agency. James Harden’s new two-year deal (with a player option for next season) at below market value gave GM Daryl Morey and the 76ers the financial bandwidth to add some key players to complement the trio of Kia MVP runner-up Joel Embiid, former MVP Harden and rising star Tyrese Maxey. It’s a bit of a Rockets reunion with free agents P.J. Tucker and Danuel House from the Harden/Morey era in Houston. in the fold. Adding that duo along with De’Anthony Melton (from the Memphis Grizzlies) helps bolster the Sixers’ perimeter defense and 3-point shooting.
Mark Medina: The Cleveland Cavaliers improved their roster the most this offseason. After all, Cleveland landed a three-time All-Star guard still in his prime (Donovan Mitchell) from Utah. Of course, the Jazz extracted plenty from Cleveland, including young talent (Collin Sexton via sign-and-trade, Lauri Markkanen, Ochai Agbaji), unprotected first-round picks (2025, ’27, ’29) and pick swaps (’26, ’28). But the Cavs still retained most of their core group: last season’s Kia Rookie of the Year runner-up (Evan Mobley), an All-Star guard (Darius Garland), an All-Star center (Jarrett Allen) and a former All-Star that has adapted to a reserve role (Kevin Love). Cleveland has not climbed to the top of the Eastern Conference just yet as the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks have reserved that space. By acquiring Mitchell, though, Cleveland should jump to No. 6 after flaming out in the Play-In Tournament last season.
