NBA offseason judgments don't all age the same.

Some no-brainer thoughts we had this summer have turned out to be exactly that. LeBron James and Anthony Davis work basketball magic together—imagine that. Kemba Walker has been perfect for the Boston Celtics, as expected. Terry Rozier looks over his head as a starting point guard, just like the stat sheet said he would.

But dispense as many hot takes as the hoops world does in 2019, and there are bound to be some misfires.

From seemingly overpaid players earning their keep to a contender's improvement plan failing to launch, here are five offseason moves we already think we judged prematurely.

Pacers Betting Big on Malcolm Brogdon

Malcolm Brogdon spent the past three seasons establishing himself as a solid-but-unspectacular role player for the Milwaukee Bucks. So, it raised more than a few eyebrows when the Indiana Pacers threw a four-year, $85 million deal his way and parted with three future picks, including a first-rounder, to complete a sign-and-trade swap with Milwaukee.

"[It] is a daunting price to pay ... and that's before you consider the injury risks (he was red-flagged in the draft because of injury concerns; he played 48 games in 2017 and 64 games in 2018)," Andrew Sharp wrote for SI.com. "... Brogdon made a ton of sense as a complementary piece on a title team; as a foundational piece in Indiana, I'm less sold."

Apparently, the Pacers knew what they were doing.

Pressed into a featured role by Victor Oladipo's absence, Brogdon has surged out of the gate and ascended to heights befitting of his new economic status. He ranks as a top-20 talent by value over replacement player, and he has a top-10 spot in total win shares. A career per-game contributor of 13.2 points, 3.9 assists and 3.6 rebounds, he's now one of only four players averaging 20 points, eight dimes and five boards.

He looks like a legitimate difference-maker, and few people outside of the Circle City and the Brogdon family thought that was possible.

Pelicans Positioning Brandon Ingram as a Building Block

Reaction to the New Orleans Pelicans' side of the Anthony Davis megadeal was mostly positive—or as positive as it could have been under the circumstances. The Brow clearly wanted out of the Big Easy, and all the links to the Los Angeles Lakers had limited the Pelicans' leverage.

For New Orleans to still walk away with three prospects, three first-round picks and an option to swap firsts down the line was no small feat. ESPN's Kevin Pelton gave the Pels an A-minus for their effort, but the grade could've been higher if he was a bigger believer in 2016's No. 2 pick, Brandon Ingram:

"For me, Ingram is the question mark. While fans see his strong scoring (18.3 points per game last season at age 21) and solid ballhandling skills for a 6-foot-9 forward, Ingram's reliance on midrange jumpers has limited his efficiency, and he rarely contributes elsewhere in the box score. As a result, Ingram rated below replacement level by Basketball-Reference.com's box plus-minus metric last season."

A few weeks into the season, Ingram already looks like the most exciting Pelican not named Zion Williamson. The lanky forward has pushed nearly his entire stat sheet to personal-best levels, impressively elevating both his volume and efficiency simultaneously.

His 25.9 points per game are buoyed by a 53.7 field-goal percentage. His 46.9 three-point percentage grows all the more encouraging when paired with the fact he's launching more than twice as often as ever before. His boards, assists, blocks and steals all set or match his career highs, even though this is the second-fewest minutes he's averaged.

He looks like a centerpiece, and he should only be harder to handle once Williamson gets right.

Rockets Replacing Chris Paul with Russell Westbrook

The first response to the Houston Rockets swapping out Chris Paul for Russell Westbrook felt like deja vu all over again. Just like with Paul's Space City arrival, there were questions about the new point guard's fit with James Harden and whether there were enough touches to go around.

But the second was that this could be Two-Headed Monsters 2.0, a newer, better version of the original.

"It's the same problem they had before. But to me, Russ is an upgrade over Chris," a Western Conference executive told B/R's Ken Berger. "... They're two alpha guys who want to win. But Russ is an upgrade, no question."

About that...

While the Rockets can't complain about an 8-3 start, they can question whether Westbrook nudged them forward. The stat sheet sees it the other way. Houston has been abysmal with Westbrook on the floor (minus-11.5 points per 100 possessions). Even if it wasn't all smooth sailing with Paul last season, at least Houston dominated when he stepped inside the lines (plus-5.8 net rating differential, second-highest on the team).

Paul averaged more assists (8.2 to 6.9) with fewer turnovers (2.6 to 4.3) than Westbrook is now. The Point God buried Westbrook in three-point shooting (2.2 makes on 35.8 percent to 1.1 on 22.4), and that was a down shooting year for Paul. The Rockets could survive without Harden last season (plus-2.5 off-court); they're no longer functional when the Beard needs a breather (minus-9.0).

How is Houston better off again?

Suns Spending Large for Ricky Rubio

There were two ways to spin the Phoenix Suns' signing of Ricky Rubio to a three-year, $51 million deal.

Option one was recognizing the club had a glaring need at point guard and filled it with a player who ended last season among the position's top 20 in ESPN's real plus-minus. Option two involved some combination of jaw-dropping and railing against today's "out-of-control" NBA contracts while noting the Suns had just spent funny money on a non-shooting perimeter player—in 2019.

Most opted for the latter.

"They paid him a lot of money, and he isn't very good," an Eastern Conference scout told ESPN's Tim Bontemps. "Maybe it was the best they could do to finally get a point guard, but you're designed for less than mediocrity."

It is a lot of money. It's also one of the biggest reasons why the Suns are suddenly looking down at mediocrity.

Plenty of factors have contributed to Phoenix's 6-4 start—Devin Booker joining the MVP race chief among them—but Rubio's arrival is among the most significant. His fingerprints are all over Phoenix's flight from 29th to 13th in defensive efficiency. Ditto the leap from 17th to first in assist percentage. He's even knocking home 40.0 percent of his triples, because why not.

Even if the contract was bigger than needed, good luck finding anyone in the desert feeling buyer's remorse right now.

Wizards Taking Flier on Isaiah Thomas

What was the hottest take you remember hearing about the Washington Wizards inking Isaiah Thomas to a one-year pact for the veteran's minimum?

Actually, that's a trick question. No one paid enough attention to respond to the signing.

The agreement was made July 1 while the Association was in a spending frenzy seldom seen outside of Black Friday. Few gave it the light of day, and those who did offered only the faintest of hopes the undersized scorer might finally show signs of life again.

Whoops.

Thomas has been electric out of the gate, and not just for someone who's coming off two injury-ravaged seasons. His debut, delayed by a thumb injury, featured three straight games of 16-plus points. He's only been held to single digits once, even though he's getting just 24.1 minutes per game.

His nightly contributions are 13.9 points and 6.3 assists. Only 21 other players are matching or beating those marks. Of those 21, no one else logs fewer than 25.9 minutes per night and most see 33-plus. Thomas' per-36-minutes marks are 20.7 points and 9.4 assists, which are more or less on par or better than his career averages. Same goes for his field-goal (44.0) and three-point (38.5) percentages.

He looks like himself, right down to the unwavering confidence.

"I know I can be an All-Star again," Thomas said, per Candace Buckner of the Washington Post. "I know I can be All-NBA again."

While Thomas' new ceiling is a discussion for another day, clearly we should've all paid more attention to his arrival in the District.

All stats, unless otherwise noted, used courtesy of NBA.com and Basketball Reference and current through games played on November 13.

Zach Buckley covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, @ZachBuckleyNBA.