The NBA offseason is already almost over. Not in terms of the calendar, as it's still July, but in terms of its activity -- LeBron James ' latest decision awaits, but most of the moves that will affect the 2026-27 season have already been made.
So, it's time to grade how each team did with its overall set of trades , free agent signings and extensions this summer. Picks in the 2026 draft are not considered for this exercise; read Ben Golliver's draft grades for a comprehensive review there.
Note that I'm treating a "C" grade as neutral; grades better than a C suggest a team met its offseason goals to at least some extent, while the few grades lower than a C suggest the opposite. These grades are in order of best to worst, with ties at each grade in alphabetical order: Jump to a team: ATL | BOS | BKN | CHA | CHI | CLE DAL | DEN | DET | GS | HOU | IND LAC | LAL | MEM | MIA | MIL | MIN NO | NY | OKC | ORL | PHI | PHX POR | SAC | SA | TOR | UTA | WAS San Antonio Spurs Grade: A You could quibble with how the Spurs built out the end of their bench even after a lack of depth hurt them in the playoffs, although Tobias Harris' two-year deal fills a big hole on the roster.
But the Spurs receive a top grade because of one major move: They locked Victor Wembanyama into a 25% maximum extension rather than a potential 30% supermax, which could save them more than $50 million over half a decade. That decision could have significant repercussions not only for the Spurs (as they build and maintain a championship-caliber roster around Wembanyama) but also for the NBA as a whole, as the owners and the players' union consider and eventually negotiate over the current financial landscape.
Full list of San Antonio's transactions. Utah Jazz Grade: A Losing Walker Kessler makes the Jazz a less compelling dark horse contender next season, and it will be interesting to see how much coach Will Hardy uses Jaren Jackson Jr .
as a center in Kessler's stead, because neither Jusuf Nurkic nor free agent addition Jaxson Hayes is a top-level starter. But the Jazz made arguably the best trade of the summer when they landed two unprotected first-round picks and two swaps for a good but not star-level player in Kessler.
It's hard to fault them for taking another temporary step back when the Lakers were offering so much future value. Full list of Utah's transactions.
Atlanta Hawks Grade: A- Depending on how coach Quin Snyder structures his rotation, the Hawks might not have added a single starter this offseason -- although they did well to re-sign CJ McCollum to a solid one-year deal -- so their short-term ceiling still relies on Jalen Johnson 's development into a star. They made fairly dramatic upgrades to their bench, however, to meaningfully raise their floor.
They acquired Luguentz Dort , Aaron Wiggins and Devin Carter in salary dump trades, as well as Ryan Nembhard to help stabilize the backcourt. Full list of Atlanta's transactions.
Charlotte Hornets Grade: A- The Hornets were the NBA's hottest team for a large swath of last season, with the league's best five-man lineup. But they weren't sold on that group's long-term potential.
So they dealt 28-year-old Miles Bridges and 24-year-old LaMelo Ball to build up one of the league's largest stashes of draft picks and reorient around the younger duo of Brandon Miller and Kon Knueppel . Charlotte probably won't be as good next season because Ball's playmaking was so central to the team's success.
But the Hornets doubled down on depth and shooting, and even their other moves -- from re-signing Coby White to trading for Dorian Finney-Smith and draft picks -- graded well. Charlotte took one step back to set up multiple steps forward down the line.
Full list of Charlotte's transactions. Philadelphia 76ers Grade: A- Regardless of Jaylen Brown 's precise value , turning 36-year-old Paul George into a 29-year-old All-NBA wing is a big win for Philadelphia.
The forward positions have long been a concern for the 76ers, but they're on much firmer ground now with Brown and Dean Wade , and Brown is specifically a strong fit next to Joel Embiid because of his reliability. The 76ers' roster isn't perfect -- it lacks some shooting and is still too reliant on Embiid for its size -- but Philadelphia at least has a narrow path to the Finals now, when such a route didn't exist before this summer.
Full list of Philadelphia's transactions. Houston Rockets Grade: B+ Some shine has come off the Rockets due to their dispiriting