Grading Some of the BIGGEST Offseason Signings of 2020
Some Woj bombs took our breath away, while others left us scratching our heads. A shortened offseason had management working with less time in order to put together their ideal roster for the 2020–2021 season. Some general managers seemed to strike gold in the open market, while others made moves that have been openly criticized by the public.
Nevertheless rosters league wide gained new faces but what signings will garner the biggest impact come tip-off on December 22nd?
Lets find out.
Charlotte Hornets sign Gordon Hayward to a 4-year, $120-million deal.
Grade: B+
After declining a $34-million player option with the Boston Celtics, many were quick to claim that Hayward had left a lot of money on the table.
Boy oh boy were they all wrong.
This signing was met with a lot of criticism initially. Three years removed from a gruesome ankle injury, many suspected that the market for Hayward wouldn’t consist of max contract type money so on Saturday afternoon when news broke, many were shocked. His four-year deal was the most any player had received in regards to a total salary at that point of free agency, soon being eclipsed by Donovan Mitchell’s max rookie extension.
Hayward is coming off a year where he averaged 17.5 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.1 assists as arguably the fourth option in the Celtics offense. He’s proven to be an All-Star caliber player in this league dating back to his days in Utah and for Charlotte, they had to spend that money somewhere so why not Hayward?
Charlotte is a small market and no big name free agent will be passing up on bigger markets to sign there. Charlotte took a risk in order to find some competitiveness and with Hayward, Ball, and Graham leading the charge, perhaps the Hornets can sneak into the playoffs come 2021.
Christian Wood inks a deal to be the perfect stretch big for Houston but is it too late to convince The Beard to stay?
Grade: A
During another down year for the Detroit Pistons, Christian Woods play after the All-Star break was nothing short of superb.
In a nine-game span, Wood shot 57.1% from the field and 38.9% from beyond the arc while averaging a near double-double with 24.0 points and 9.6 rebounds per game. On his fifth team in his fifth season Wood looked to solidify himself as a big name in this league. However, this wasn’t the first sample size in which Wood showcased his potential.
Dating back to the 2018–2019 season, Wood averaged 16.9 points and 7.9 rebounds in eight games for the New Orleans Pelicans. After two stints with eye catching contributions, Wood finally received his big pay day.
This signing is a win no matter what transpires over the weeks with both Westbrook and Harden. If one, or both even, remain a Rocket then Wood will fill that stretch five role just nicely, relieving P.J. Tucker of his unorthodox small ball five duties. However, if the Rockets indeed blow it up then Wood suffices as a nice piece apart of the young core the Rockets will look to build. Wood is just 25 years old and recently blossomed when given the opportunity to showcase the potential he possesses.
For five years a home eluded Wood as he moved from town to town. Now on a three-year deal, Wood can look to settle into a new role and continue to excel in the minutes he is given.
Danilo Gallinari joins the youthful Hawks on a three-year deal worth $61.5-million.
Grade: B-
On the surface, Galo to Atlanta is arguably the best signing to happen in the free agency period but recent reports knock the grade down in hindsight.
General manager Travis Schlenk made it known that Gallinari was brought in with a specific role in mind: the backup forward for 23-year-old big John Collins.
Though the role seemed to be a mutual interest for both parties, but paying a 32-year-old forward an average of $20.5-million over the next three years doesn’t seem ideal. Collins is set to receive his rookie extension at some point in the next 12 months, with Young’s extension in the following year. With both young Hawks on track to get max extensions or close to it, you cannot help but wonder how the Hawks will handle the books in terms of salary when the time comes.
With that being said, the veteran forward certainly elevates the Hawks ceiling as a unit. Since their season came to an unfortunate end last year, you always had the feeling that the Hawks were on the brink of being a playoff team and the Galo signing very well could push them from the bottom of the East all the way into the 5–8 range in the Eastern Conference standings.
One of the glaring holes in the Hawks roster was the lack of veteran leadership from guys that could act as these mentors for the Hawks young core. As a 13-year veteran Galo is exactly the guy to put with Collins as he looks to continue to elevate his game next to Trae Young. Sure, the Galo signing worries you as you look towards the future when it comes to money, but as of now, it’s a “win now” move that could give Young, Collins, etc. the playoff experience needed in their young careers.
Jerami Grant chooses Detroit over Denver and signs on with a three-year, $60-million deal.
Grade: B+
After an impressive showing in the Western Conference Finals Jerami Grant elected to sign his largest contract to date with the Detroit Pistons .
The Pistons were active early in the free agency period, signing three front court players which included Jerami Grant. With the logjam of big men in the Pistons’ rotation, many would speculate that the Pistons will look for a suitor in order to unload the remaining $75.5-million left on his original five-year max deal.
Griffin’s departure will open a plethora of minutes up to Grant who is coming off a great year in his one season with the Denver Nuggets. Though the numbers may not jump off the stat sheet, Grants undeniable impact can be felt on both ends of the floor as he continues to progress. Grant is a proven defender as he held opponents to just 30.4% shooting beyond 15 feet on the court. For comparison, six-time All-Defensive Team member Kawhi Leonard held his opponents to 29.4% shooting from the same distance.
What makes Grant such an intriguing signing is his play in the playoffs, specifically when the Nuggets found themselves fighting back from deficits. Timely buckets and lockdown defense against some of the best players this league has to offer helped propel the Nuggets to their first conference finals appearance in over a decade.
Where questions start to slide in is when you compare the current state of the Pistons to situations Grant has been involved in. He doesn’t have a Russell Westbrook like he did in OKC. He doesn’t have a Nikola Jokic or even a Jamal Murray running the offense. Was Grant a product of the system he was in or are the sudden bursts of excellence signs of what is to come?
Time will only tell.
The Pistons quickly sign Mason Plumlee to a three-year deal to open their free agency.
Grade: C+
Plumlee’s three-year deal was one of the first signings to become public once the market opened up on noon of November 20th.
He is currently one of the three front court acquisitions made by Detroit and of the three his stands out the most, and not for the best of reasons. Keeping in mind that an average of $8.3-million a year for a backup center is a steal, especially for a guy like Plumlee who does a lot of things so well in the minutes he’s given, he doesn’t fit the timeline that Detroit has set for them.
Plumlee is 30, turning 31 years old in March of 2021, and is entering his eighth season. Detroit is not competing for a championship, let alone a playoff spot any time in the next three seasons. It isn’t a matter of bad contract or bad player. It all boils down to the fact that that’s $8-million that could have been used to bring Christian Wood back.
You’re looking to build a young core and build the confidence of these young guys on the roster. Plumlee could easily come in and play that starting center role with 30+ minutes on any given night. What does that leave the younger guys like Sekou Doumbouya?
At the end of the day, Plumlee provides veteran leadership for this Pistons team as they look to continue their rebuild ahead of their 2020–2021 season.
Montrezl Harell moves to the other side of the Staples Center and joins the Los Angeles Lakers on a two-year deal.
Grade: A+
How?
When asked if how he felt on the Clippers wanting him back, Harrell gave a very interesting answer.
“Apparently not if I’m on the other side.”
So just over a month removed from hoisting the Larry O’ above their heads in the NBA Bubble, the Lakers have now added the reigning Sixth Man of the Year to their rotation as they have bolstered their roster ahead of the 2020–2021 NBA season. Harrell now stands as arguably the third guy on this Lakers depth chart, something that we didn’t really see over the course of their past championship season.
It’s the biggest steal of the offseason. The energy Harrell brings is unmatched and now the Lakers look to be one of the deepest teams out west. Adding an 18.6-point per game scorer to an already solidified championship contending team has pushed the Lakers to a clear cut favorite. But what does Harrell really change for this Lakers team?
Well for starters, he relieves Anthony Davis from playing an overabundance of minutes at the five. Harrell played 243 minutes in his fourth NBA season. Interestingly, all 243 minutes were logged at the five, a position that Anthony Davis has been very vocal about being unhappy playing.
On top of positional concerns, Harrell just adds another dynamic that the Lakers needed at times last season. With Javale McGee and Dwight Howard running with the second unit at times, the lack of scoring on the floor was almost detrimental for the Lakers. Of course LeBron and or Davis were on the court at all times but asking them to be the entire offense for five to six minute incriminates at a time of every quarter of every game over an 82-game season takes a physical toll that now won’t seem to be such an issue with Harrell running with the second unit — alongside newly acquired Laker Dennis Schroeder as well.
A signing that shook the foundation of the Western Conference. After a year of constant mention of the LA versus LA rivalry that seemed to be heading to an inevitable playoff showdown, we never got that series. Now things are much different. The Clippers weaknesses have come to light and now have to go to battle without Harrell, who had been the poster boy of the new Clippers attitude, as he finds himself on the other side of the frontline.
Harrell’s addition brings a whole new threat and a threat that cost them little to nothing. Absolutely unreal.
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