During the NBA offseason, several blockbuster moves were made to shake the league’s pecking order.
As a result, some moves sank under the radar and received little to no recognition.
How exactly have those moves panned out for the parties that made them? Today, we’ll examine six acquisitions made in the offseason that didn’t necessarily break the internet but still served a purpose.
Alex Caruso, Oklahoma City Thunder: B-
They traded from the Chicago Bulls for Josh Giddey
Alex Caruso is 30 years old and on his 3rd team, but it’s not due to his incapabilities as a player.
Caruso is a two-time All-Defensive Player, as well as the reigning Hustle Player of the Year. He also is shooting 37.8 from the three-point line for his career. So, when the #1 seed in the West saw him up for grabs on a rebuilding Bulls squad, they couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get him. With Caruso on the roster, the Thunder have a bolstering 3&D presence to run point guard duties whenever they please.
The problem is that they are yet to get the three out of him in his first few games. Caruso has started the year cold, shooting only 14.3% from behind the arc through the Thunder’s first four games. In terms of overall shooting, Caruso is 23.7% from the field, so the offensive production as a whole isn’t yet there for him.
The Thunder, however, are getting exactly what they expected from him on defense. Caruso is averaging 2.0 steals per game, with a block per game to go along with those swipes. In terms of the defensive box plus/minus, Caruso is a +5.2, good for the top spot in the league. He has contributed to a stifling Thunder defense that is first in defensive rating, at 91.8, with a 7-1 record to start the year.
That shooting will eventually get going. When it does, this will certainly be up there for acquisition of the offseason. For now, it’s an above-average pickup.
Buddy Hield, Golden State Warriors: A+
Acquired in a six-team Sign and Trade from the Philadelphia 76ers
The Golden State Warriors of yesteryear are a distant memory.
Long gone are the days of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Kevin Durant destroying the league and whatever stood in their way. If Golden State has any aspirations of getting back to those days, they might have their next Splash Brother to get the job done. Buddy Hield’s game is simple: shoot the lights out from three, and give his team 15 a night (he averages 15.6 PPG for his career).
In the 5 games Golden State has played, he’s skyrocketed past those totals, averaging 21.1 PPG – that’s the most on the entire team! He’s not just putting the ball in the hoop either, he’s doing it efficiently. Hield’s splits are 52/51/86, and he’s eighth in the league in PER. He’s even putting up a steal a night for good measure.
Replacing the second-best three-point shooter in league history is no easy feat, but Hield has done masterfully thus far. The Warriors are 4-1 and aren’t even fully healthy yet. This pickup is a major reason why. A+ acquisition for Golden State.
Mason Plumlee, Phoenix Suns: C
Signed with the Phoenix Suns for one year, $3.3 million
12-year veteran Mason Plumlee was without a home heading into the offseason. A Suns team in desperate need of another big to tag along with Jusuf Nurkic took a chance on him, giving Plumlee the veterans minimum for one season.
So far, Plumlee is averaging around the same numbers he did last year on the Clippers: 4.3 points, 0.5 blocks, 0.3 steals and 5 rebounds per game. Phoenix got what they paid for. Nothing spectacular, just average. Advanced stats tell another story. His win shares this year are 0.3, down from 2 last year.
His offensive box +/- is also down from last year, which was already in the negative at -1.1 – it’s -2 this year. VORP is short for Value Over Replacement Player, which is a stat that tells how many points a player contributes per 100 possessions. A replacement-level player has a VORP of -2, and Plumlee is at exactly 0 so far. That means he’s neither losing nor gaining his team points; he’s bang-on average.
Average is not an insult here. For a team that struggled massively to defend and rebound off the bench last season, average is exactly what they needed. Plumlee holds it down while the stars are off the court, which is exactly what they signed him to do.
Derrick Jones Jr, Los Angeles Clippers: B
Signed with the Clippers for 3 years, $30 million
We now go from a Clippers departure to a Clippers arrival.
Derrick Jones Jr, fresh off of a Finals run with the Dallas Mavericks, was signed on to fill in the Paul George-sized hole in Los Angeles. He’s gotten the starting nod in all eight games thus far and is averaging 12 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game. His splits are 57/54/50 with a box +/- of 0.8. All the stats listed are improvements from his last season in Dallas. His team’s success hasn’t translated like Los Angeles wanted.
It kind of makes sense, though. Derrick Jones Jr isn’t Paul George. He’s not going to go and give the Clippers 30 or 35 on any given night – his career high is 25 points, which he achieved back in 2019 with Miami. He will, however, give them a solid shooting option with a lot of athleticism that can play ruthless defense in multiple positions. So far, he’s shooting lights out, he’s still sky-walking at the rim, and his defense has been a net positive.
Derrick Jones Jr isn’t Paul George, but the Clippers weren’t looking for a Paul George replacement. They simply wanted stability at that spot, and Jones has done that well.
Quentin Grimes and Naji Marshall, Dallas Mavericks: B-
Traded from the Detroit Pistons for Tim Hardaway Jr and signed by the New Orleans Pelicans for 3 years, $24 million
The Dallas Mavericks were so close to lifting title #2 this past season. Unfortunately for them, they ran into the Boston Buzzsaw.
Dallas couldn’t sit back and relax, they had to make a move.
Everyone they ran into during those playoffs made moves. Minnesota brought in KAT and Donte DiVincenzo. The aforementioned Alex Caruso trade has been interpreted to be another body to throw at Luka should the two teams meet again in the playoffs. We just talked about the Clippers signing Derrick Jones Jr. So what did Dallas do?
Dallas’ response
The big response for Dallas was going out and getting Klay Thompson in a six-team trade that sent Buddy Hield to the Bay.
They made two smaller acquisitions too, and we’ll key in on those right now.
Naji Marshall came over from New Orleans and filled a 3&D void in Dallas. Marshall shot 38.7% from deep last season whilst sporting a 1.6 defensive win share. Similar to Caruso, however, he hasn’t been bringing the offensive part of the 3&D player. Marshall is only shooting 22.2% from the floor and is yet to make a three in six attempts.
The defensive prowess has shined through though. Marshall is averaging a steal per game and has a defensive +/- of 0.5, good for second on the team. In his last game, Marshall got switched onto Anthony Edwards late and got a steal off him, sealing a victory for Dallas. Marshall, like Caruso, will get it going on offense, but until then, his defense will 100% suffice.
Now for Quentin Grimes. Grimes is shooting 37.5% from three with a +/-of 7.2, so he’s a net positive overall for the team. He’s playing the fewest minutes of his career thus far, with 11.1 a game, but he’s making good work of those minutes. Overall, not a bad signing.
Both these signings are doing exactly what they were meant to do: fill holes and give the Mavs more shooting. Dallas did well with both of these signings.
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