Much remains unsettled about what effects the NBA's new first- and second- apron restrictions will have on how teams are built in the future, but this offseason suggests one pretty clear trend: It's forcing franchises to be much more careful.

The Denver Nuggets and LA Clippers got meaningfully worse because they were unwilling to face the penalties of continued spending, and other squads maneuvered with great care to duck under the first and second aprons.

Despite the new rules engendering so much caution, teams still made mistakes this offseason. Some errors were larger than others, and we'll really have to stretch to identify them in a couple of cases.

When you look back a year from now and try to identify what went wrong with your favorite team, there's a good chance some of these offseason miscalculations will be to blame.

Atlanta Hawks: The Market for Trae Young

The Atlanta Hawks' decision to break up their backcourt by trading Dejounte Murray instead of Trae Young could turn out to be the right call. But by choosing to retain Young, whose presence has a more fundamental impact on Atlanta's identity—how it plays on offense, what it must do to compensate for him on D, how it builds out the rest of the roster—the team risks finding itself in a similar situation a year from now.

Which is to say: disappointed in the results and still looking for a true reset.

That the Hawks moved Murray suggests they still believe Young can be their central figure on the floor and in the locker room. Or it could mean packages for Young weren't as enticing as hoped.

Atlanta should feel good about landing Dyson Daniels and a couple of future firsts for Murray. In tandem with No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher, the Hawks are fashioning a bigger, more defensively oriented supporting cast around Young, which makes sense. But regret could come in two forms here: Either Young will continue to fall short as a leader and defender, resulting in the Hawks looking no better in their new form than they did in their old one, or Young will bristle at being shopped and ultimately kept.

Boston Celtics: Nothing

Good luck finding a Boston Celtics offseason decision worth nitpicking.

Jayson Tatum's record extension (five years, $314 million) was inevitable and, despite the sticker shock, simply the market rate for a championship-winning superstar entering his prime.

Derrick White's four-year, $126.9 million extension might be an underpay, given the versatile guard's indispensability to Boston's best lineups.

Luke Kornet and Xavier Tillman are both back, something of a pleasant surprise after it seemed the Celtics might have to choose one or the other. Center depth became a bigger issue with Kristaps Porzingis set to miss a chunk of next season as he recovers from surgery to repair a torn retinaculum and dislocated posterior tibialis tendon, and Boston handled the problem.

Even Sam Hauser is set to return after the Celtics picked up his player option and began extension talks.

In all, the Celtics will retain everyone who made a difference during their title run. As many of the league's other pricey power players (the Denver Nuggets, LA Clippers, Golden State Warriors) lose talent over cost concerns and the realities of the new CBA, Boston held the whole thing together.

We'll only do this once, but there's nothing to second guess about the Celtics' summer.

Brooklyn Nets: The Market's Desire for Bad Money

The Brooklyn Nets pulled off one of the slicker two-steps in a while when they shipped off Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks for five first-rounders and then swung a deal to get a pair of their own future firsts back from the Houston Rockets. They set themselves up to tank and, more importantly, made sure all those losses would pay off with improved lottery odds.

We love a strong commitment to either going for it or bottoming out around here, so the Nets get high marks across the board.

If forced to be critical, maybe we need to start with the fact that Ben Simmons is still on Brooklyn's payroll.

Due $40 million in the final year of his contract, Simmons has long seemed like a prime candidate to wind up in someone else's cap space. The Detroit Pistons were a logical dumping ground until they spent some of their cash on Tobias Harris in free agency, and apparently no one else clamored for Simmons with an asset attached.

Brooklyn isn't trying to win in 2024-25, so Simmons' presence doesn't matter as much as it otherwise might. But if the Nets couldn't simply offload him with an asset attached, one would have imagined them swapping him him for someone else's longer unwanted contract. Zach LaVine is just sitting there, seemingly undesired in Chicago.

Who knows? Brooklyn might even get an incoming asset if it swaps Simmons for a deal even more out of favor than his own. So far, though, nobody's biting.

Charlotte Hornets: Miles Bridges' Other Options

There's a discussion to be had about whether the Charlotte Hornets should have retained Miles Bridges at any price. His no contest plea to felony domestic violence charges in 2022 would have been sufficient grounds for many teams to cut ties entirely.

Tabling that broader question for now, we still have to figure out how Bridges managed to land a three-year, $75 million contract from Charlotte. Because, well...who else was even interested?

On the floor, Bridges is probably worth more than $25 million per season. But at the time of his signing in Charlotte, only the Detroit Pistons and Utah Jazz had the resources to come anywhere close to that number. The former already inked Tobias Harris and seemed more interested in using its space to take on bad money with picks attached, while the latter's cap room is likely earmarked for renegotiating and extending Lauri Markkanen's deal.

Why couldn't Charlotte have kept Bridges for something closer to the mid-level exception? Even if it was a $15 million annual value, that probably would have been enough to win the nonexistent bidding war.

Charitably, the Hornets could get a more impactful player in trade by sending out Bridges as a $25 million salary than they could have if he were making less. But Charlotte is rebuilding and not necessarily in the market for high-end talent acquisition, to say nothing of possibly needing to include picks to move Bridges in the first place.

This one's a head-scratcher.

Chicago Bulls: The Alex Caruso Trade

Even if you're a charter member of Josh Giddey's fan club, you have to admit the Chicago Bulls settled for less when they onboarded the Australian guard as the sole return in a trade that sent Alex Caruso to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Caruso is not a superstar, but his efficient three-point shooting, ball-handling and flat-out elite defense made him a hot commodity for the better part of the last two seasons. The Bulls rebuffed interest across multiple trade deadlines, choosing to chase the playoffs rather than add significant draft equity for a role player.

Per Will Gottlieb of CHGO, they more recently "...received offers from multiple teams, consisting of multiple protected first-round picks. One of those deals included a pick in the top-10 of the 2024 Draft."

Giddey is a brilliant passer and has uncommon size for a facilitator. But his poor shooting, lack of off-ball value and shoddy defense make him an iffy long-term prospect and, at the very least, a tricky one around which to build. When a starting guard can't space the floor or defend his position, it means the rest of the roster has to feature those already tough-to-find skills in abundance.

The Bulls either overvalued Giddey or failed to accept better offers for Caruso when they were available. Either way, it looks like they made a mistake.

Cleveland Cavaliers: The Status Quo Is Good Enough

The Cleveland Cavaliers successfully handled all their big business this offseason, notably retaining Donovan Mitchell on a three-year extension and building an impressive staff around new head coach Kenny Atkinson.

But is that good enough for a Cavs team that wants to take a step toward legitimate contention?

Cleveland still has fit issues with its two-small (also too small) backcourt of Mitchell and Darius Garland, plus the overlap between Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen up front. Last year's big acquisition, Max Strus, wasn't a world-alterer at the 3, which means the Cavs are still one piece short of a truly dangerous closing five.

They've signed no one of consequence in free agency and haven't added talent via trade. Rookie Jaylon Tyson is the only noteworthy newcomer.

This team's potential has always depended on Mobley developing into its best player, and he took strides in that journey last season. If he pops in 2024-25, perhaps after inking a max extension, maybe the Cavaliers won't really be running it back with the same core at all. An upgraded Mobley who performs at an All-NBA level could change everything.

That's not the most likely outcome, though, which means Cleveland is a more stable operation but not necessarily a very different one. If that means another 50-win season with a second-round ceiling, it'll be hard for Cavs fans to muster much excitement.

Dallas Mavericks: Klay's Offense is Worth his Defense

This falls more under the heading of *possible* miscalculations, as there's a decent chance the shooting upgrade Klay Thompson provides will be significant enough to offset his deficiencies in other areas.

Dallas added one of the greatest shooters of all time for a reasonable $50 million over three years, and his presence on the floor will force postseason defenses to strategize in entirely different ways. Leaving Derrick Jones Jr. and PJ Washington alone in the corners is tactically sound. Losing contact with Thompson for a millisecond invites catastrophe.

If opponents can't send Thompson's man to help slow Luka Dončić or Kyrie Irving, those two will cook one-on-one matchups and create advantages all over the floor.

The concern is on the other end, where Thompson effectively replaces defensive ace Derrick Jones Jr. Though Thompson can hold up against bulkier opponents, his days of effectively tracking guards are over. The guy who could once contain Tony Parker is long gone.

Dallas had the No. 1 defense in the league over 2023-24's final 15 games, so maybe it can afford some slippage on that end. But there's no guarantee Thompson, 34, won't continue to decline on D. If that happens, the Mavericks may not wind up getting a net positive value from their biggest offseason signing.

Denver Nuggets: The Length of a Post-Title Grace Period

We tend to excuse suspect decisions from recent title-winners. The championship grace period earns them the benefit of the doubt, and it also opens up the opportunity to respond to critics with some version of "Hey, they just won the whole thing? What more do you want?"

For the Denver Nuggets, who hoisted the Larry O'Brien trophy in 2023, that charitable window has closed quickly.

Denver is now the deserving recipient of, well...take your pick. Incredulity? Ire? A little bit of both?

By allowing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to leave in free agency, the Nuggets essentially broke up the league's most effective five-man unit of the last couple of years. And they did it because of money.

Denver had KCP's Bird rights, which would have allowed it to pay him anything up to his maximum salary once he declined his $15.4 million player option. Based on the three-year, $66 million deal Caldwell-Pope signed with the Orlando Magic, the Nuggets wouldn't have needed to go nearly that high to retain a two-time champion and integral piece of their core.

The Nuggets seemed to have been planning for this. They stockpiled a bunch of young, inexpensive guards and wings over the last 18 months, some of whom will now divvy up KCP's vacated minutes. Christian Braun should be the favorite to assume his starting spot.

Braun brings it on D and has seen Finals minutes in the past, but it's difficult to imagine him producing at Caldwell-Pope's level next season.

The wiser course would have been retaining Caldwell-Pope at market rates and waiting for one of those young pieces to develop enough to push the veteran out of Denver's long-term plans organically. Denver could always trade him for positive value down the road.

Instead, the Nuggets got scared of the luxury tax and punted KCP without knowing if any of their fallback plans will work. A champion made itself worse to cut costs. That's borderline unforgivable.

Detroit Pistons: Too Many Vets?

The Detroit Pistons have had themselves a solid little offseason. New top exec Trajan Langdon has been judicious with the team's cap space, using it to sign helpful rotation pieces to fair deals and as a means to acquire draft equity. Even his retentions have been shrewd; Simone Fontecchio for a total of just $16 million over two years might be one of the offseason's best values.

That said, if the Pistons are actually going to use newcomers Tim Hardaway Jr., Malik Beasley and Tobias Harris, it could cut into playing time for their younger prospects. Jaden Ivey, Ausar Thompson, Marcus Sasser and rookie Ron Holland need their reps.

Hardaway, Harris and especially Beasley provide shooting upgrades that should help some of Detroit's younger pieces by spacing the floor. If new head coach J.B. Bickerstaff can stagger minutes appropriately, mixing vets and youngsters, maybe this newfound depth won't be an issue.

But it could be tricky to find the right balance, and one of the biggest problems with Detroit over the past couple of years has been its failure to properly develop its youth. If the new signings get in the way of the recent draftees rather than helping them, the Pistons could be headed down a similar, frustrating road.

Golden State Warriors: Klay Thompson's Patience

In addition to understandably wanting "new experiences" and "a fresh start," per ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, Klay Thompson's decision to leave the Golden State Warriors owed to impatience.

The Warriors wanted the franchise legend back, even in the wake of two seasons that saw him sulk and act out over feelings he wasn't being valued,. Thompson wasn't willing to wait for them to pursue other business before circling back on his own free agency.

Thompson's stance was understandable. Others who'd done less (Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins) for the team got extensions before he did, and now he was being asked to wait his turn as the Dubs sought a trade partner for Chris Paul and chased down other trade options.

That order of operations was necessary for Golden State to maximize its potential talent upgrades, but Thompson was done being patient. Could the Warriors have explained themselves more completely? Could they have better communicated to Thompson that he truly was a priority?

Would it have mattered?

We may never know, and it's reasonable to guess that Thompson had already been pushed too far and was leaving anyway. But it's worth wondering whether the partnership could have continued or if a cleaner end might have been possible if the Warriors had better judged Thompson's level of patience.

Houston Rockets: Not Squeezing the Nets Harder

It's almost never a bad deal when you trade two first-round assets for four, but what if the Houston Rockets could have extracted even more value from the Brooklyn Nets?

Think about it: Brooklyn GM Sean Marks said the deal with Houston was connected to the bigger one that sent Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks for five first-round picks and a swap. That move made far more sense if the Nets had control of their immediate future first-rounders because they'd reap the draft-lottery benefits of tanking without Bridges.

Houston could have applied pressure from several angles, but the key point to note is that the Nets acted as if they had to swing the deal with Houston, while the Rockets would have been just fine holding onto the assets they already had from Brooklyn. That 2025 first-round swap could have wound up at No. 1 whether the Nets had Bridges or not.

Maybe the Rockets could have exploited that leverage and held the 2026 pick out of the deal. Or maybe they could have pushed for other sweeteners.

It feels a little off to criticize Houston's side of the deal when much of it centers around the wise move to short the Phoenix Suns' future. But the Rockets were in such a powerful negotiating position that it seems fair to ask whether they could have wrung out the Nets even more thoroughly.

Indiana Pacers: Holding Onto Youth

Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam will both earn 30% of the salary cap next year. Whether they want to embrace it or not, that means the Indiana Pacers are firmly in a win-now posture for the next several seasons.

That's what makes their reluctance to deal young, cost-controlled players like Benedict Mathurin and Jarace Walker a little frustrating.

Cue the outcry of Indy fans who, like those of most teams, overvalue homegrown talent. It's a natural affliction, and it's tied to being a diehard supporter. Nobody's judging that stance.

That said, the reality is that neither Mathurin nor Walker project to be as helpful to Indiana's cause as the more experienced players for whom they could be traded.

The Pacers have Haliburton, TJ McConnell, Andrew Nembhard, Ben Sheppard and Aaron Nesmith in the guard and wing rotation. Mathurin is a volume scorer with great foul-drawing chops, but he's been a net-negative on-court presence as measured by Estimated Plus/Minus, and his offense-first profile isn't what Indy needs. Walker is behind Siakam, Nesmith and the newly re-inked Obi Toppin in the rotation and barely played a year ago.

The longer the Pacers hold onto both former lottery picks, and the more their depth minimizes their production, the lower Mathurin and Walker's value plunges.

Indiana made the Conference Finals last year. If it wants to match or better that achievement, it needs to swap out promising youth for shorter-term upgrades.

LA Clippers: Money Solves Everything

Ever since Steve Ballmer took over ownership of the LA Clippers, they've been among the league's brashest dreamers and biggest spenders. Undeterred by the tax penalties under the old CBA that merely required teams to pay more money when they spent too wildly, LA assembled stars, traded away picks and handed out cash with abandon.

This offseason, during which the Clips allowed Paul George to get away because they wouldn't offer him more than the three-year, $153 million contract extension they handed Kawhi Leonard in January, showed that the new CBA can scare anyone.

LA had the resources, financially, to keep George. But it seemed to balk not just at the cost of George's next deal but also the roster-building restrictions that would come with continuing to spend beyond the tax line. The Warriors, who set the record for team payroll not so long ago, also stripped down and ducked the tax.

Deep pockets don't provide nearly the same advantage they used to, and owners who acquired teams thinking they could win by outspending the competition have a lot to think about.

Los Angeles Lakers: The Allure of L.A.

Every player's free agency presents a unique case, but it was nonetheless jarring to see Klay Thompson turn down a Los Angeles Lakers offer that was better than anything else the market presented.

B/R's Chris Haynes reported the Lakers were willing to give Thompson $20 million per season over three or four years, figures corroborated by Anthony Irwin on The Lakers Lounge podcast. Instead of returning to the team he rooted for as a kid, one with which his father won championships as a former No. 1 overall pick, Thompson opted for a fresh start and a three-year, $50 million deal with the Dallas Mavericks.

Often, the Lakers' legacy, star power and glamor market allow them to secure talent at a discount. This time, L.A. lost out on a key target who took less to go elsewhere.

Missing on Thompson wouldn't have stung as much if the Lakers had pivoted to other difference-making acquisitions. But because they've only re-signed LeBron James, agreed to terms with Bronny James and handed Max Christie a four-year, $32 million extension, their offseason rates as a major disappointment.

Maybe the allure of L.A. isn't what it used to be.

Memphis Grizzlies: The Depth of the Center Market

Prepare to disregard everything that follows if No. 9 pick Zach Edey plays all season like he did in his eye-opening Summer League debut against the Utah Jazz.

But in the event that Edey struggles in the ways many expect from a hulking center prospect who doesn't space the floor and may not be mobile enough to survive in space on defense, the Memphis Grizzlies may regret their relatively low level of aggression on the center market.

It seems like it happened ages ago, but it was only 2021-22 that Steven Adams led the league in offensive rebounds, pulverized every opponent in sight with devastating screens and added key dimensions to a 56-win Grizz team that reached the second round. Adams missed half the season in 2022-23 and was dealt away that offseason.

Edey aside, Memphis still hasn't addressed the hole in the middle.

Unless Jaren Jackson Jr. is in line to see more minutes at the 5, a look that has produced mixed results in the past, the Grizzlies will be stuck digging through the bargain bin for a big who might need to play 15-20 minutes per night. That's not ideal for a squad that is otherwise well equipped to make a run back up toward 50-plus wins.

Miami Heat: Caleb Martin's Willingness to Walk

Based on reporting from Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald that says Caleb Martin and his agent felt a five-year, $65 million extension offer was below market rates, the Miami Heat don't bear the brunt of the blame for what looks like a botched negotiation.

Martin settled for a four-year, $32 million offer from the Philadelphia 76ers a week after talks with Miami fizzled.

Perhaps Martin viewed the clearer path to a starting job with Philly as a justification for leaving $33 million on the table. Or maybe he sees the Sixers as having a higher ceiling with Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Paul George. But that's still a huge amount of cash to turn down for a 28-year-old who's only made $16 million in his career.

Martin's loss is also the Heat's. They watched a quality rotation player leave for nothing and have done little to offset that departure. Other than adding Alec Burks at the minimum, the Heat have only re-signed or extended their own players.

Martin told reporters there were behind-the-scenes reasons for his exit, which could shift responsibility back onto Miami. And in the end, it's always up to the team to manage its assets. The Heat got something pretty badly wrong with Martin along the way, and now they're worse off for it.

Milwaukee Bucks: Failing to Draft With a Win-Now Mindset

No. 23 pick AJ Johnson could turn out to be a perennial All-NBA selection, and he still might have been the wrong guy for a Milwaukee Bucks team (very expensively) built to win in the short term.

The 19-year-old prospect has undeniable athletic gifts but averaged just 2.8 points in 7.9 minutes per game for the NBL's Illawarra Hawks last season. Most mock drafts had him as a second-rounder.

In another situation, the pure upside play would have been defensible. But the Bucks are hamstrung by the second apron, can't sign anyone for more than the minimum and don't even have a clearly established fifth starter—let alone depth behind the first unit. Milwaukee needed someone who could contribute immediately, not a player who might have something to offer a winning team by 2028.

Weber State's Dillon Jones and Illinois' Terrence Shannon Jr. came off the board with the 26th and 27th picks, and both four-year collegians will be much more prepared to see rotation roles as rookies.

Johnson signed for less than a typical rookie-scale rate. If his selection was about saving money on a team that has a two-time MVP and wants to win a title, that's basically indefensible. Ditto if it was about the Bucks setting themselves up for a post-Giannis existence.

Milwaukee should be trying to build the best roster possible with little consideration for its future. The Johnson pick doesn't square with that aim.

Minnesota Timberwolves: A Net Loss of Playmaking

It's possible to love the boldness of the Minnesota Timberwolves dealing away first-round picks (one outright, one swap) in 2030 and 2031 in a trade for scoring spark Rob Dillingham while also noting the Kentucky product they picked at No. 8 may not be ready to help them win.

In conjunction with the departures of Kyle Anderson and Monte Morris in free agency, the team's apparent reliance on Dillingham to play real minutes is even more concerning.

To Minnesota's credit, it's one of the few teams with the defensive oomph to compensate for Dillingham's deficiencies on that end. If all he has to worry about is scoring the ball, the rookie could potentially get some fringe Sixth Man of the Year attention. Whatever his flaws, Dillingham can absolutely get you a bucket.

More realistically, he'll struggle on both ends as he adjusts to elevated competition. With Mike Conley entering his age-37 season, the need for capable backup playmaking is crucial in Minnesota, particularly because a relatively healthy Conley season was only enough to get the Wolves up to 16th in offensive efficiency last year.

Anthony Edwards is developing as a facilitator, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker can help in that area as well. But it's still true that the options behind Conley are either not creators by nature or vastly inexperienced.

It feels like the Wolves got weaker in an area that was already far from a strength.

New Orleans Pelicans: Waiting Too Long on Brandon Ingram

Per William Guillory of The Athletic, the New Orleans Pelicans don't want to give Brandon Ingram a four-year, $208 million extension, and the Atlanta Hawks weren't interested in acquiring the 26-year-old former All-Star in a trade.

We don't need sourced reporting to say New Orleans also doesn't want to lose Ingram for nothing in free agency after his contract expires next summer. That's a given.

That leaves the Pels in a tricky spot, as they find themselves choosing between mostly undesirable options. The closer Ingram gets to free agency, the lower his trade value will sink and the worse those options become.

As with the Bulls and Caruso, this rock-and-a-hard-place conundrum stretches back to well before the 2024 offseason. New Orleans should have acted sooner, either by extending Ingram on a sub-max deal or trading him with more time left on his current one. Perhaps that means the Pelicans' biggest miscalculation was assuming Ingram's value would remain stable or even improve after last season's trade deadline.

As it stands, New Orleans is either going to overpay to keep a player it doesn't seem to want, take back pennies on the dollar in a trade or lose Ingram without getting anything in return.

New York Knicks: Isaiah Hartenstein's Value

The New York Knicks had options.

There were ways for one of last year's most inspiring postseason performers to avoid hard-capping themselves at the first apron after swinging a major trade for Mikal Bridges and handing OG Anunoby a $212 million contract. Thread the needle just right, and New York could have offered Isaiah Hartenstein the largest contract allowed, one worth $72.5 million over four years.

It would have required restructuring the Bridges trade by adding additional salary, and it probably would have involved trading Mitchell Robinson or Julius Randle. The margins would have been razor thin. But it was possible.

And then, quite quickly, all those options and machinations were irrelevant. Hartenstein got a whopping three years and $87 million from the cash-rich Oklahoma City Thunder, a figure New York couldn't have matched.

It's tough to fault the Knicks for failing to anticipate a player on an $8.1 million 2023-24 salary commanding high-end starter money in 2024-25, and they deserve massive credit for preserving the ability to give Hartenstein that four-year offer. But the end result is a Knicks team without its hugely valuable first-unit center, and that's undoubtedly regrettable.

Oklahoma City Thunder: Not Acquiring Lauri Markkanen

Until the Oklahoma City Thunder shove enough assets across the table to acquire Lauri Markkanen from the Utah Jazz, I'll keep banging this drum.

OKC finished first in the West last year, virtually everyone who matters in its rotation projects to improve going forward and this offseason might be the last time it has any real roster flexibility before core pieces start to get more expensive.

Windows are vanishingly small in the NBA, and Oklahoma City's is open right now. It should do everything possible to make next year's team the best it can be.

That means trading heaps of future first-rounders with either Cason Wallace or Luguentz Dort as the headliner for Markkanen, a 7-footer who shoots the lights out from deep, attacks the basket decisively (77 dunks in 55 games last year) and would allow for five-out spacing without sacrificing size.

In a world where everyone's trying to figure out how to be big enough and skilled enough to compete with the Boston Celtics, Markkanen is a perfect addition. Slot him next to Chet Holmgren, and the Thunder would have a next-generation twin towers look, one that could punish defenses by shooting over the top of them from anywhere on the floor.

Just do it, Thunder. You have the means, and this is an opportunity that won't present itself again.

Orlando Magic: Franz Wagner's Max Extension

Franz Wagner is already a solid starter at a premium forward position, one who's been worthy of fringe All-Star consideration in each of the last two years.

The Orlando Magic still jumped the gun by giving the 22-year-old a full five-year max extension that could be worth up to $270 million.

Draft classmate Scottie Barnes got a similar deal, but Wagner hasn't been nearly as productive since joining the league. Cade Cunningham also got the max. He's lost plenty of time to injury but, like Barnes, is his team's clear No. 1 option. That's not a distinction Wagner shares because Paolo Banchero is so obviously Orlando's alpha.

What's more, Wagner's three-point accuracy dipped precipitously this past season. His hit rate of 28.1 percent was dead last among the 108 players who attempted at least 300 triples in 2023-24. Orlando clearly views that as a blip, which might be correct. But if it's not, the Magic just maxed out a perimeter player who might not possess the most important perimeter skill: shooting.

Wagner would have hit restricted free agency next summer, status that would have still given Orlando immense leverage. The Magic could have matched a max offer or even given him this exact extension after getting another full year of information.

Why the rush?

Philadelphia 76ers: The Need to Swing a Trade

It takes some serious mental gymnastics to frame the Philadelphia 76ers' offseason as anything other than a total success, but here goes: The Sixers probably thought they'd need to send out some of the draft equity they got back from the LA Clippers in the James Harden trade to land top-line talent.

As it turned out, the Clippers' refusal to offer Paul George a fourth year allowed Philly to make the offseason's biggest acquisition by using cap space alone.

The Sixers prepared themselves to both spend and trade for upgrades this summer, but they were probably surprised at how many impact pieces they were able to add without having to dip into any of the future draft picks in their war chest.

That's technically a miscalculation, but it's one the 76ers are happy to have made. Because now, still armed with enough assets to make a competitive offer for whichever star gets disgruntled next, Philadelphia's postseason roster could look even more dangerous than the excellent one it just built through free agency.

Phoenix Suns: The Strain of the KD Experience

The Phoenix Suns' reckless surge beyond the second apron has a good chance to go down as one of the biggest mistakes in recent NBA history, but that's not something tied directly to this offseason.

The more immediate concern is the predictable re-emergence of rumors surrounding Kevin Durant.

This is nothing new for KD, who's been dogged by whispers about his unhappiness with every team for which he's played. Even when choosing a destination, as he did with the Golden State Warriors, Brooklyn Nets and Suns, Durant never manages to escape the chatter that either he or his team wants to part ways. We heard him equivocate about sticking with the Suns in February, followed by rumblings of discontent in May.

Most recently, ESPN's Stephen A. Smith reported the Suns wanted out of the Durant experience.

KD does his best to shoot down rumors like this, but his itinerant history is the reason they gain traction. Past speculation that Durant wanted out has always turned out to be well-founded.

Phoenix's approach to building this roster has been about acquiring maximum top-end talent and figuring out the rest later. That has had devastating effects on the Suns' flexibility, depth and store of draft assets, costs they apparently deemed worth the benefits. But Phoenix may not have adequately considered the very specific effect of Durant's reputation for growing dissatisfied at every stop.

A team that is already short on chemistry and balance can't afford to add unsettled vibes to the mix.

Portland Trail Blazers: Stockpiling Centers

The Portland Trail Blazers are rebuilding, and rebuilding teams can get away with an imbalanced roster that doesn't make sense on paper...if the idea is to eventually trade a good portion of it for picks and young players.

But the Blazers' overstuffed center spot pushes that idea to the limit.

With DeAndre Ayton, Robert Williams III and Duop Reath already on the roster, they grabbed UConn big man Donovan Clingan at No. 7 in the draft. That decision might count as Portland's miscalculation all by itself, but we're considering it as part of a larger conundrum.

The Blazers will have a harder time shipping out Ayton, Williams or Reath if their roles are all limited by a positional logjam. It's not like any of them have the skills to play together in two-big sets. On top of that, potential suitors will know Portland is in a bit of a bind and that they can at least start trade talks with lowball offers.

If the Blazers are justified in believing Clingan was the best player available, more power to them. But adding yet another 5 to a team already overloaded at the position could make it harder to get good value in subsequent trades.

Sacramento Kings: The Downside Risk of DeMar DeRozan

DeMar DeRozan is an elite scorer and an unquestionable talent upgrade over Harrison Barnes, the principal player heading out in the sign-and-trade that brought DeRozan aboard. There's a good chance his presence gets the Sacramento Kings offense back into the rarefied air it occupied in 2022-23, which might even be enough to produce a second playoff appearance in three years.

The terms are reasonable, too. DeRozan is worth the $25 million he'll earn annually, and the third year of the deal is only guaranteed for $10 million.

But!

DeRozan's presence could also take the ball out of Domantas Sabonis' hands more often, sapping the value from one of the league's more imperfect stars. If Sabonis isn't initiating plays as often, his poor defense and lack of stretch diminish his utility to a frightening degree. If that happens, the four years and $180 million left on his deal could look even worse than they already do.

Add to that the disappointing reality that Keegan Murray may be ticketed for a reduced offensive role and the potential for De'Aaron Fox to struggle as an off-ball threat in the half court, and the DeRozan addition presents real risks to several key incumbents.

The Kings were probably justified in making this deal, but a team that was already struggling to haul itself out of the Play-In mix may have quietly exposed itself to a little more disaster potential than it seems.

San Antonio Spurs: Skimping on Shooting

The Chris Paul addition was terrific, and Harrison Barnes comes with the added bonus of swap rights on the Sacramento Kings' 2031 first-rounder. The additional future draft capital in 2030 and 2031 from the Minnesota Timberwolves could also be far more valuable than the No. 8 pick the San Antonio Spurs gave up to get it.

All in all, the Spurs added mature vets who'll make the team better and augment an already rock-solid culture. Wins across the board, basically.

San Antonio's quest to create a stable and professional environment (while adding future assets) around Victor Wembanyama, while wise and insightful in a big-picture sense, has so far neglected a more basic need.

The Spurs can't shoot.

Last year, San Antonio ranked 29th in three-point accuracy. Paul could help create better looks for teammates, but neither he nor Barnes brings high volume or elite accuracy from deep.

Wembanyama could be so dominant that a lack of stretch on the roster doesn't even affect him. But surely it'd be easier for him to thrive in space if there were more space to explore.

Toronto Raptors: A Slight Overpay for Immanuel Quickley

We don't have a lot of second-guess opportunities on the Toronto Raptors' offseason.

They gave Scottie Barnes a no-brainer max extension, retained locker-room sage Garrett Temple on a one-year deal and extracted a surprisingly good return package from the Sacramento Kings for Jalen McDaniels.

That only leaves the five-year, $175 million extension for Immanuel Quickley to poke at, and even that deal looks better when you realize $12.5 million of its total value is tied up in incentives.

We can still lean on the tried and true rhetorical question of "Where was the bigger offer coming from?" to suggest that maybe Toronto paid more than it had to.

Other than the Orlando Magic, it was hard to find a team willing to compensate Quickley as if he's a high-end starter at the point. His 2024-25 salary will rank somewhere in the teens at his position but notably above those of Derrick White, Jamal Murray, Jalen Brunson and Dejounte Murray.

Quickley could justify his deal (which will look better as the cap rises) by replicating the 18.6 points, 6.8 assists and 39.5 percent three-point shooting he showcased in 38 games as a Raptor last year. But he hasn't consistently played a level commensurate with his contract just yet.

You know the Raptors had a solid offseason when we have to pick nits this small.

Utah Jazz: Too Many Trade Rumors

Teams aren't in total control of their players appearing in trade speculation, but the Utah Jazz could certainly be doing a better job of quieting the chatter surrounding some of their key pieces.

That they haven't suggests they're fine with life at the center of the rumor mill.

While that might be a defensible strategy if the goal is to stir up interest to a degree that results in a team overpaying for Lauri Markkanen, Walker Kessler or someone else, it can also have a destabilizing effect.

Not that Utah is typically a free-agent power broker, but what if the constant whispers about its players dissuades potential signees from coming aboard? Danny Ainge already has a reputation as a cold-blooded opportunist when it comes to trades, and outsiders seeing Markkanen dangled like this might decide they'd rather play for a team that actually cares about offering peace of mind.

The Jazz could shut down a lot of the noise by coming out and saying Markkanen isn't available, but they haven't done so with any level of firmness. Could that make him more inclined to ask out, even if he renegotiates and extends his deal?

There's a fine line between keeping every avenue of talent-accumulation open and making your players feel like they're faceless assets that could be had for the right price. Utah might be on the wrong side of it.

Washington Wizards: How a Rebuild Works

Credit the Washington Wizards for getting the big item on the rebuild checklist taken care of. They did that last year, of course, when they offloaded Bradley Beal's contract to the desperate and reckless Phoenix Suns. This offseason has gone a little differently, though.

The Wizards traded away Deni Avdija, a promising 23-year-old forward on a reasonable contract that declines in value. All they got from the Portland Trail Blazers was Malcolm Brogdon, the No. 14 pick (Carlton Carrington) a distant 2029 first-round swap and a couple of seconds.

Avdija took a leap as a three-point shooter last year, bumping his hit rate up to 37.4 percent, while also flashing developing playmaking chops to go with defense that was already better than passable. Brogdon could be flippable for another asset, and maybe Carrington will pop. But Avdija has a chance to become a fringe All-Star as soon as this season while playing on a dirt-cheap deal. At the very least, the Wizards could have waited to see if he might be good enough to feature as a cornerstone.

What's more, the Wizards signed veteran center Jonas Valanciunas, who'll presumably take some center minutes away from No. 2 overall pick Alex Sarr. Perhaps Sarr doesn't project to play the 5; much of his appeal in the draft was tied to his potential to operate on the ball and attack the basket like a wing. But the best version of Sarr should see him applying those skills as Washington's center.

The Wizards are still well positioned to tank for the best odds at a top pick in a loaded 2025 draft, but a couple of their rebuilding moves were genuinely odd. Their intentions are in the right place, but the execution was curious.

Stats courtesy of NBA.com, Basketball Reference and Cleaning the Glass. Salary info via Spotrac.

Grant Hughes covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter (@gt_hughes), and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, where he appears with Bleacher Report's Dan Favale.