Let’s break down the league, with the teams that got better, worse and stayed close to the same.
Better
76ers: Adding in-his-prime Jaylen Brown, at a cost of past-his-prime Paul George and two first-round picks, elevates Philly, which already was coming off the East semifinals, courtesy of a first-round upset of Boston. Who knows how the Tyrese Maxey/Brown chemistry will work? But it’s not a terrible problem to have. The Sixers also added Anfernee Simons, who probably won’t help, and Dean Wade, who probably will.
Raptors: Kawhi was one of the NBA’s best players last season. He was second-team all-NBA and, at age 34, had the most productive season of his career, averaging a career high 27.9 points, playing 65 games for the Clippers, with a career high .629 true-shooting percentage. Toronto gave up Brandon Ingram and Gradey Dick, plus some solid draft capital, including two first-round draft picks. But pairing Kawhi with Scottie Barnes elevates the Raptors into Eastern Conference contender status.
Heat: Miami gave up its depth and some future drafts by getting Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis from Milwaukee. The Heat sent out Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez and Kasparas Jakucionis. Miami isn’t likely to be an East contender, but the pairing of Giannis and Ben Adebayo is formidable on both ends of the floor, and the playoffs are back on the table for the Heat. Plus it signed Tim Hardaway.
Slightly better
Spurs: San Antonio signed big wing Tobias Harris, who turns 34 in two weeks. Harris is a solid pro who had a solid season in Detroit, averaging 13.3 points on .574 true-shooting percentage. You know what you’re getting with Harris. He’ll be a little upgrade over veteran Harrison Barnes, whose minutes he figures to take. But the Thunder will live with the addition. At least it wasn’t Rui Hachimura, who remains unsigned.