NBA offseason grades: Pacific division

The NBA offseason is all but complete after eight weeks of drafts, trades and signings. So we are ready to assign grades to each NBA team, division-by-division, to see which teams flunked the offseason and which deserve the honor roll for their moves. First, we'll take a look at the Pacific division.

Golden State Warriors | Grade: B-

Players in: Buddy Hield (G/F), Kyle Anderson (F), De'Anthony Melton (G) | Players out: Klay Thompson (G), Chris Paul (G), Dario Saric (F/C)

The Warriors lost Klay Thompson, a 13-year Warriors veteran, in a sign-and-trade to the Dallas Mavericks. But they rebounded by turning the trade into a five-team affair to land sharpshooter Buddy Hield (22nd all-time in made three-pointers) and forward Kyle "Slow-Mo" Anderson, who can play a point forward role a la Draymond Green. To round out their moves, they brought in De'Anthony Melton, a 26-year-old three-and-D guard coming off an injury-plagued season with the 76ers.

The moves should make up for losing Thompson, whose defense had fallen off a cliff, but ultimately, Golden State had bigger ambitions. The Warriors couldn't get a trade done for Paul George or Lauri Markkanen, or get anything in return for veteran point guard Chris Paul. Ultimately, the Warriors seemed content to reduce their league-leading luxury tax payments and perhaps drop under the tax line entirely during the season.

Los Angeles Clippers: D+

Players in: Nic Batum (G), Derrick Jones Jr. (F), Mo Bamba (C), Kevin Porter Jr. (G) | Players out: Paul George (G/F), Russell Westbrook (G), Mason Plumlee (C)

Los Angeles' other NBA team is moving into a brand-new arena, but are doing so without George, who left for a big free-agent contract in Philadelphia. The Clippers could have resigned George, or convinced him to opt in to the final year of his contract to make a trade. Instead, they chose to simply drop his contract from their books, electing to not pay big taxes for a non-contender.

His immediate replacement is defensive wing Derrick Jones Jr., who had a breakout season with the Mavericks. L.A. didn't want to pay George a max, but they did give James Harden a whopping $70M for two years, a huge overpay on a deal likely agreed to before they traded four players and four picks for Harden last October.

The Clippers are paying much less in taxes, but the team is clearly worse.

The Clippers also added Kevin Porter Jr., who missed all of last season after being charged with assaulting his girlfriend . That comes after last season's signing of Josh Primo, who the Spurs released after allegations he repeatedly exposed himself to a team therapist. Now they have no Paul George, but two players with troubling histories with women. It's not the best way to open a prized new arena.

Los Angeles Lakers | Grade: C

Players in: Bronny James (G), Dalton Knecht (G) | Players out: Taurean Prince (F), Spencer Dinwiddie (G)

The Lake Show didn't have a ton of options this offseason. Disappointing players opted in to their contracts, limiting the available roster space. The team drafted their best player's son and gave him a guaranteed NBA deal, further shrinking their options, though that may have been a condition of extending LeBron, who took less than his max to get the Lakers under the second tax apron. New CBA rules further limited the high-payroll Lakers.

James reportedly was willing to take a pay cut to bring in certain veterans, but the Lakers struck out on options like Thompson, who reportedly took less money to join the Mavs.

Instead, expect the Lakers to make one or more in-season trade, specifically for center Jonas Valanciunas. They could also get contributions from dynamic scorer Knecht, who surprisingly fell to the Lakers at the No. 17 pick, and healthier seasons from Gabe Vincent and Jarred Vanderbilt.

But once again, the Lakers will be trying to make an in-season trade using expiring contracts and draft picks to lift them around aging superstars James and Anthony Davis. It worked in 2023, but we'll see if new coach J.J. Redick and this flawed roster can keep them close enough for it to matter.

Phoenix Suns | Grade: B+

Players in: Tyus Jones (G), Monte Morris (G), Mason Plumlee (C), Ryan Dunn (G) | Players out: Eric Gordon (G), Thaddeus Young (F), Drew Eubanks (C)

Phoenix didn't have much flexibility thanks to its massive payroll and all the picks it traded to add Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal. Nevertheless, the Suns managed to use those limited resources to address their biggest weakness from last season: their lack of a point guard.

Now they have a starting-level point guard in Tyus Jones and one of the league's best backup point guards in Monte Morris, both on minimum contracts. The Suns also added a legitimate backup center in Mason Plumlee to provide support for Jusuf Nurkic, and perhaps the best defensive guard in college basketball last season in Ryan Dunn. It's still a top-heavy roster in Phoenix, but the Suns added more real NBA players in support.

Sacramento Kings | Grade: A

Players in: DeMar DeRozan (F), Devin Carter (G), Jalen McDaniels, Jordan McLaughlin (G) | Players out: Harrison Barnes (F), Chris Duarte (F), JaVale McGee (C), Davion Mitchell (G), Sasha Vezenkov (F)

Sacramento hit a home run this summer.

The Kings convinced free-agent guard Malik Monk to return for four years and $78M, the maximum the Kings could offer. Then they made a blockbuster move to bring in All-Star DeMar DeRozan in exchange for Harrison Barnes, little-used Chris Duarte and second-round picks. While they lost the final play-in game to miss the playoffs, the upside was they ended up with one of the draft's most NBA-ready guards in Providence's Devin Carter.

Considering their salary restrictions, the Kings could hardly have done better. They added useful bench depth in Jalen McDaniels and Jordan McLaughlin, a must after injuries decimated them at the end of last season. They also dumped the salaries of Davion Mitchell and Sasha Vezenkov and it only cost them the No. 45 pick this year.

Is this team now a title contender? Probably not, but it might be one of the most exciting teams in the league to watch, with two of the league's very best clutch players in DeRozan and De'Aaron Fox. In a summer where a lot of Western Conference teams took a step back, the Kings definitely took a leap forward.