10 Takes: The Most Baffling Moves in the West
NBA Substack on what's confused us this offseason
We asked 10 leading NBA voices on Substack:
Which Western Conference team or player made the most baffling moves?
Check out their answers and subscribe!
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The Nuggets will say that they targeted two free agents this offseason and got them both: Dario Šarić and (eventually) Russell Westbrook. They are certainly going to land those guys on team-friendly contracts, but Denver's ambition since winning the first championship in franchise history ... let's just say I would love to hear unvarnished thoughts from Nikola Jokić on his team's approach.
Bruce Brown left town without compensation last summer. And now Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has followed suit this summer. Making and merely even taking 3-pointers was a major issue last season and the Nuggets just lost more shooting with KCP's exit. I'm not sure it's baffling — since the Nuggets have been regarded as cost-conscious/luxury tax-averse for as long as I can remember — but this all has to be so frustrating for Nuggets fans who surely expected their team to keep chasing titles after finally winning the first in franchise history ... and maybe Jokić, too, if he'll ever tell us.
The Nuggets will have to rely heavily now on young players like Christian Braun, Julian Strawther and Peyton Watson heavily, and they sadly just lost one of those as well when newly drafted DaRon Holmes II sustained a torn Achilles in summer league that will cost him his entire rookie season. It's a lot (as all these words suggest).
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My choice is the Clippers refusing to just give Paul George a fourth year on his deal. The second-apron justifications don't make sense when you look at their books, and worrying about the fourth year when both James Harden and Kawhi Leonard would already be off the roster by then makes even less sense. Instead, they lost him for nothing and have no real path to either immediate improvement (because they don't have anything to trade and can't make impactful signings) or a long-term plan (because they don't have their picks).
Truly bizarre stuff, even before the bizarre statement they released to pre-emptively justify the decision.
Oh, and let's throw the Nuggets doing the same thing with KCP into this same boat. They didn't release a statement, but Calvin Booth basically said the team would be fine because KCP is just a fourth or fifth starter, and that is nearly as bizarre as what the Clips did.
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The Clippers baffle me, and not just for the PG-sized hole in the locker room. Why sign terrible human Kevin Porter Jr.? Why throw so much money at James Harden if they knew George wasn’t coming back?
Not every Clippers move was bad, as they added several players I quite like: Derrick Jones Jr., Nic Batum, and Kris Dunn. But despite the fact that the team had been talking with George for months, it felt like they were scrambling to adjust to his decision to sign with Philly. Baffling, indeed.
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The Warriors letting Klay Thompson walk is baffling to me. I know there's two sides to it, and someone doesn't leave a team that's been so seminal to them unless they really want or feel forced to, but the abruptness of it reads callous.
It also isn't how anyone would have pictured that Warriors dynasty ending, just by coming apart like pieces tinkered with too long that couldn't fit back together again.
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Can someone please wake up Rob Pelinka? The Lakers front office is acting like its roster doesn’t need any major changes, which – if you remember L.A.’s playoff series against Denver a few months ago – certainly isn’t true.
The Lakers aren’t deprived of talent, and they might even improve next season with a healthy Gabe Vincent and the addition of NBA-ready rookie Dalton Knecht. But the gap between L.A. and the top teams in the West is more vast than a solid backup guard and a rookie can close on their own. Do something!
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It’s difficult not to choose the Lakers here. Even aside from the Bronny drama, it’s the lack of moves that L.A. has made that is the problem here. The only moves they have made outside of the draft are re-signing LeBron and re-signing Max Christie … that's likely not pushing the team over into contention, as no changes are being made.
As always, Lakers fans tried to bet on DeRozan heading over, Trae Young being traded, blah blah blah. As much as the Lakers seem to be posturing, it hasn't gone anywhere as of yet. It's indeed baffling to me that a team in LeBron's twilight years would do so little to maximize them.
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I get that Nikola Jokić provides a lot of roster deodorant, but the Nuggets' offseason has fostered some stench that even the Joker’s greatness may struggle to mask. Deciding to be cheap on KCP is the type of core-gutting move that comes back to bite a team come playoff time.
Speaking of which, while Russell Westbrook had some good moments during this past regular season, he was abysmal last postseason and has shot just a combined 37.9% from the field and 30.5% from distance in the playoffs since 2018 — this is of course assuming that adding Russ is a foregone conclusion.
Denver needs to be doing everything within its power to surround Jokić with the best group to position him for title contention, but instead, the Nuggets' offseason moves felt both chintzy and flimsy.
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It’s been a little disappointing to see the Denver Nuggets dismantling the rotation around Nikola Jokić, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr. that gave them the ring only two seasons ago.
They’ve lost Bruce Brown, Jeff Green and now Kentavious Caldwell-Pope without compensation. Their biggest addition is Dario Šarić, who had a very modest season with the Warriors.
They needed depth, and that wasn’t addressed. They may be a worse team if Christian Braun doesn’t get to another level. I expect them to make a trade in-season, because it doesn’t make sense to have the best player in the world and a championship team, and let the team crumble like this.
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It may not be fair, but I find Memphis's lack of moves baffling. After a wretched 2023-24, they have every right to try out this team they formed last offseason with Marcus Smart.
However, the West has only gotten stronger while a lot of the Grizzlies' projected depth is playing in Vegas this week, and that group may not hold up like the group led by Tyus Jones, Xavier Tillman, and Kyle Anderson did in the past.
They have one more year beyond this one on Smart's and JJJ's current contracts, but it feels like they could be primed for a back-of-the-play-in outcome without a meaningful upgrade.
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My pick for most baffling is Dallas messing with the formula. Yes, the lack of scoring output by supporting players was an issue in the Finals.
But one has to remember what got them there: Surrounding Luka almost exclusively with long, athletic defenders. The ability to consistently make 3s is more like a cherry on top.
By swapping out Derrick Jones Jr., and to a lesser extent Josh Green, for 34-year-old Klay Thompson — who oftentimes appeared delusional about his impact during the Warriors’ dynasty — the Mavericks are inviting trouble.