Off-Season Grades: Central Division

Cleveland Cavaliers: C+

Draft: Kay Felder
Trades: Mike Dunleavy
Signings: Mo Williams (opt-in), Richard Jefferson (2 yr, $5mm)
Departures: Timofey Mozgov, Matthew Dellavedova

Breakdown: When you’re the defending champions and most of your team is under contract, you don’t need to make major adjustments. That’s exactly how the Cavs approached the off-season. Mozgov and Dellavedova were shoo-ins to leave Cleveland and that’s what happened. The Cavs were smart though and were able to do a sign and trade with Milwaukee to make a trade exception out of Delly. The addition of Kay Felder should eventually make up for the departure of Dellavedova, but it will take some time. When healthy, Dunleavy can be a great shooting weapon off the bench. These moves are minor and shouldn’t affect the core of the team. If J.R. Smith re-signs then we’ll be looking at essentially the same roster that shocked the Warriors in the 2016 Finals.

Indiana Pacers: A

Draft: Georges Niang
Trades: Jeff Teague, Thaddeus Young, Jeremy Evans
Signings: Al Jefferson (3 yr, $30mm)
Departures: Ian Mahinmi, George Hill, 20^th pick (Caris LeVert)

Breakdown: In the past month, the Pacers have completely changed their outlook on this upcoming season. A team that seemed to be a middle of the pack squad in the East, now looks like they could contend for the 2 seed. Indiana had one of the most active off-seasons and you can’t help but love the moves they made. The Pacers are looking to go smaller and more up-tempo this year and their personnel moves reflect that. Next year’s starting five of Tegue, Ellis, George, Young, and an emerging Turner will be explosive on the offensive end. Al Jefferson will provide much needed toughness off the bench and the draft pick of Niang gives them a glue guy who won’t blow you away, but can do it all. The Pacers may be a top-5 league pass team next year. Keep an eye out for them in the fast-break.

Detroit Pistons: B+

Draft: Henry Ellenson, Michael Gbinije
Trades: Cameron Bairstow
Signings: Andre Drummond (5 yr, $127mm), Ish Smith (3 yr, $18mm), Jon Leuer (4 yr, $41mm), Boban Marjanovic (3 yr, $21mm)
Departures: Anthony Tolliver, Spencer Dinwiddie, Jodie Meeks

Breakdown: The Pistons had two main agendas this year. Ink Drummond to a long term extension and add depth to the roster. It didn’t take long for them to accomplish both of these goals. Draft night was a success when they netted Henry Ellenson, a potential top-10 talent, with the 18^th pick. Ellenson is a young stretch four with a high ceiling. After the draft, the attention turned to Drummond. The Pistons locked him up with a max deal before allowing other teams to discuss terms with the league’s leading rebounder.

The rest of the Pistons moves aren’t going to break the internet, but they were all solid additions. Marjanovic gives them a giant center (7’3”) to back-up Drummond. Ish Smith is an explosive point guard that is always in attack mode and Jon Leuer is a good shooter who will probably split minutes with Morris at power forward. The Pistons clearly lacked bench production last year and were able to address the holes in their roster without breaking the bank.

Chicago Bulls: D+

Draft: Denzel Valentine, Paul Zipser
Trades: Robin Lopez, Jerian Grant, Spencer Dinwiddie
Signings: Dwyane Wade (2 yr, $41mm), Rajon Rondo (2 yr, $28mm)
Departures: Pau Gasol, Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, Justin Holiday, Mike Dunleavy, Cameron Bairstow

Breakdown: This was a weird off-season for Chicago. After finally being able to move Rose, it looked like it was about to be a full blown rebuild. With pre-draft rumors of All-Star Jimmy Butler potentially being on the move to Boston or Minnesota, 2016-17 didn’t look too promising for Bulls fans. The Bulls ended up keeping Butler and drafted the do-it-all Spartan, Denzel Valentine. In a questionable move, they decided to bring in Rajon Rondo on a 2 year deal that looks more like a one year deal.
And then things got interesting. Wade decided to leave Miami and landed in Chicago, his home city. The back-court in Chicago is strange. With a potential starting line-up of Rondo, Wade, Butler, Mirotic, and Lopez a lot of people are wondering where the shooting will come from. With Butler moved out of his natural position for an aging Wade and a starting lineup featuring three ball dominating guards, Chicago has the potential to be a complete dumpster fire. Or maybe they’ll be the 8^th seed in the East and earn the right to get trampled by the Cavs.

Milwaukee Bucks: B-

Draft: Thon Maker, Malcolm Brogdon
Trades: Matthew Dellavedova (4 yr, $38mm)
Signings: Mirza Teletovic (3 yr, $30mm)
Departures: Jerryd Bayless, Damien Inglis, Johnny O’Bryant, O.J. Mayo (2 year ban from NBA)

Breakdown: The Bucks were a disappointment last year. After making the playoffs in 2015, the expectations were too great for the young team. The Bucks hope to get back to playing the stifling defense that made them so tough to beat two years ago. In addition to lousy defense, the Bucks had a few issues to address this off-season. They needed to add perimeter shooting and a back-up point guard to split minutes with Carter-Williams behind experimental point Antetokounmpo. They did just that. By drafting Thon Maker, they added a developmental prospect with the potential to become an elite NBA rim protector. They also drafted Malcolm Brogdon, a strong perimeter defender with the ability to hit outside shots. Teletovic, a power forward who shot 39% from three last season, continued the trend of outside shooting and Dellavedova gives them an energetic point, who is one of the better catch and shoot players in the league. The departures are maintainable and don’t really affect the core of the team.

Grayson Gold-Garvey