RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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We gave you our Eastern Conference offseason report card .
So, it is time to hand out grades in the West, where no single team earned an A or F. That fact reflects how little movement of consequence occurred in the conference.
While NBA icons LeBron James and (we presume) Kawhi Leonard are headed East, LaMelo Ball and (we think) Brandon Ingram are the stars bound for the opposite direction, and neither moves the needle much for his new team. Same goes for Ja Morant, who was traded from the Memphis Grizzlies to the Portland Trail Blazers.
Morant and Ball may raise the ceilings for the Blazers and Minnesota Timberwolves, respectively, but they also lower their floors. In all likelihood, neither Portland nor Minnesota is any closer to contention than it was without doing a thing, so each of those teams earned a C, because we grade around the curve of: Did you get better?
Teams are also graded on asset management. Regardless of how we feel about the present state of a roster, did the franchise take steps this summer to build toward a better future? Here's looking at you, Los Angeles Lakers, who spent big, both in salary and draft picks, locking themselves into a team that is … still not a contender ?
But before we give too much away, our Western Conference offseason report card …
(Dillon Marshall/Yahoo Sports Illustration)
Dallas Mavericks
2025-26: 26-56
2026-27 wins O/U : 34.5
Key additions: Santi Aldama • Zaccharie Risacher • Marcus Sasser • Morez Johnson Jr. • Sergio de Larrea
Key subtractions: Khris Middleton • D'Angelo Russell • Ryan Nembhard • Dwight Powell • Brandon Williams
The Cooper Flagg era is upon us, and it will continue apace in his second season with a presumably healthy Kyrie Irving in place of Ryan Nembhard at the point guard position — a pretty massive upgrade. That was the roster already in place — a mismatch of timelines (Flagg is 19; Irving is 34), but a combination of brilliant offensive players.
Around them, in the aftermath of the Luka Dončić trade, which was followed by the Anthony Davis trade — both made under the previous regime — new lead executive Masai Ujiri opted for incremental upgrades. Santi Aldama is one of the league's more underrated floor-spacing forwards, while Zaccharie Risacher and Marcus Sasser are former first-round picks who are worth a look working alongside brilliant playmakers.
Oh, and Morez Johnson Jr. — another top-10 pick, another winner — joins the rotation, along with his college coach, University of Michigan's Dusty May. The pair won the 2026 NCAA national title together and generates even more creativity for the roster.
Grade: B
Denver Nuggets
2025-26: 54-28
2026-27 wins O/U : 49.5
Key additions: Marvin Bagley III • Trevon Brazile
Key subtractions: Jonas Valančiūnas • Tim Hardaway Jr.
Denver's entire offseason hinges on the restricted free agency of Peyton Watson. Keep him at the price he could command elsewhere, and it may send ownership into a spending stratosphere with which it is not comfortable. Lose him, though, and the championship window that has been open for some time could be shut for good.
It's not that Watson is great. He's very good. And the Nuggets need as many good players as they can get. They have Nikola Jokić, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Cam Johnson and Christian Braun — a lineup that outscored opponents by 14.7 points per 100 meaningful possessions last season, according to Cleaning the Glass — but that group (without the injured Watson) also just lost in the first round of the playoffs.
Granted, Gordon was hobbled, but that is becoming a habit, and the Nuggets need Watson for security. They have lost Jonas Valančiūnas and Tim Hardaway Jr. from a bench that was already thin, replacing them with Marvin Bagley III and Trevon Brazile. It's not the most inspiring offseason, at least until we learn of a contract for Watson.
Grade: D
Golden State Warriors
2025-26: 37-45
2026-27 wins O/U : 40.5
Key additions: Yaxel Lendeborg
Key subtractions: Quinten Post
It seemed for a moment, as Draymond Green also waited in the wings as an unrestricted free agent, that LeBron James might join Stephen Curry's Warriors. It did not happen, and that robbed them of an opportunity to be special once again.
They did retain Green, Al Horford and Kristaps Porziņģis, who, when paired with Curry and eventually a healthy Jimmy Butler, form one of the league's oldest lineups. It could be really fun on a lot of nights, like it was when they ousted the Los Angeles Clippers in last season's play-in tournament, but on others it could be equally painful.
They let restricted free agent Quinten Post walk to the Memphis Grizzlies on a three-year, $30 million contract, so much of their offseason depends on the development of 23-year-old rookie Yaxel Lendeborg — another Michigan product, another winner. He could be helpful at some points, but at what point? In time to save the twilight of Curry's career?
Grade: C
Houston Rockets
2025-26: 52-30
2026-27 wins O/U : 47.5
Key additions: Marcus Smart • Bogdan Bogdanović • Bruce Thornton
Key subtractions: Josh Okogie • Dorian Finney-Smith • Aaron Holiday
The Rockets lost in fairly embarrassing fashion in the first round of the playoffs to a Los Angeles Lakers team that was largely missing Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves. Yes, Kevin Durant was injured, and that matters, but they did drop a six-game series to a 41-year-old LeBron, and ownership opted to run it back with last year's vision.
Retaining Ime Udoka as head coach, lead executive Rafael Stone chose to tinker around the edges of his roster, adding Marcus Smart, Bogdan Bogdanović and Bruce Thornton (the first overall pick of the second round in this past June's draft) to replace the outgoing trio of Josh Okogie, Dorian Finney-Smith and Aa...
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