The NBA offseason has been swallowed by the headliners. LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jaylen Brown and maybe even Kawhi Leonard have dominated the conversation, which is exactly how a summer like this goes: the biggest swings grab the spotlight, and the quieter moves get buried.
That’s a mistake. Some of the best additions aren’t the loudest ones.
They’re the deals that give teams balance, flexibility and a real chance to make the rest of the roster work. A few of those moves stand out already.
Dean Wade landing with the 76ers fits that mold perfectly. Philadelphia’s new-look roster is loaded at the top, but there are real questions about how all the pieces will fit together on both ends.
Wade should help answer some of them. He’s a low-maintenance 3-and-D forward who can slide in next to any of the team’s ball-dominant stars, and while he now projects as a reserve, he can also start when needed.
Wade has never averaged more than six points per game, but that’s not the point. The Sixers need a dependable glue guy willing to do the dirty work, and that’s exactly what he became over seven seasons in Cleveland.
He’s shot better than 35% from deep every year of his career and has hit 37.1% of his long-range tries over the last three seasons. On a four-year deal that costs about 5% of the salary cap, he looks like a bargain.
Charlotte’s move for Naz Reid got lost in the noise because it came in the same transaction that sent former franchise star LaMelo Ball away. But Reid is far more than a throw-in.
The former Sixth Man of the Year finally gets a shot to start full time, and he should be ready for it. He’s a sturdy two-way big who can play power forward or small-ball center, and his career 37% mark from 3-point range gives him real value as a floor-spacer.
Reid also brings a smart, respected presence to what the Hornets are building around Kon Knueppel and Brandon Miller. He should become a quick fan favorite in Charlotte, just as he was in Minnesota.
And at 27 in August, with a long-term contract that pays him less than 15% of the annual cap, he still fits the Hornets’ timeline.
John Collins to Detroit is another move that deserves more attention. He never quite became the All-Star many expected, but at this point he may be underrated himself.
Collins, 28, is still a productive and efficient frontcourt player, and he’s improved as both a defender and a shooter. Last season, he was one of only four qualified players to shoot better than 60% inside the arc and 40% from deep.
Among 83 players who averaged at least 13 points per game, his 64.3% true shooting ranked sixth. For the Pistons, a three-year, $51-million contract with only the first year and $17 million guaranteed is a clear win in what has otherwise been a disappointing summer.
If Detroit keeps All-Star center and reportedly disgruntled restricted free agent Jalen Duren, Collins can fit as a floor-spacing partner next to him or as an interior scorer in smaller lineups.
Matisse Thybulle gives the Lakers a different kind of value. After losing James and reshaping the roster around Luka Doncic, Los Angeles still looks incomplete and short on answers, especially with little financial flexibility or trade ammunition left to fix the problems down the road.
Thybulle, on a one-year veteran’s minimum deal, can help cover some of those cracks. He’s an elite stopper and defensive playmaker, and there have been signs that his 3-point shot is coming along.
Over his last two injury-shortened seasons, the 6-foot-5 wing hit 41.1% from deep, and he should see plenty of clean looks alongside Doncic and Austin Reaves. If the health holds, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him work his way into the starting five and become one of the team’s most important players.
That’s the catch, though: after averaging 69.6 appearances per 82 games in his first five seasons, he missed 119 games over the last two seasons with thumb, ankle and knee injuries.
Then there’s Zaccharie Risacher in Dallas, a move that barely registered compared with the bigger names involved in the Hawks-Thunder-Mavericks three-team deal. Lu Dort going to Atlanta and Oklahoma City ducking the second apron got the headlines.
Dallas got something different: a former No. 1 overall pick, with Ryan Nembhard going out as the Mavs took a swing on Risacher. His draft identity is already unusual - the top pick between Victor Wembanyama’s and Cooper Flagg’s classes - and now he gets to play with Flagg.
The 21-year-old probably won’t live up to the expectations attached to his draft slot, but he brings real defensive promise and enough shooting to matter, having hit 36% from 3 in a 6-foot-8 frame. There’s value there if Dallas can uncover it during the rebuild.
He also won’t carry the same pressure in Dallas that he did in Atlanta, and if he becomes even a steady 3-and-D starter next to Flagg, the Mavericks will have something to celebrate.
That same deal also sent Nembhard to Atlanta, and he shouldn’t be overlooked either. The 23-year-old guard averaged 6.6 points and 5.3 assists as a rookie, and his playmaking instincts stand out. In his first eight starts in November and December, he put up roughly 13 points and seven assists on 70% true shooting.
In Other News...
Austin Reaves Just Sparked A Lakers Legacy Debate Fans Will Not Ignore
Austin Reaves found himself in familiar territory on the Pardon My Take podcast, but the question put him in an awkward spot: build an all-time NBA starting five and make room for himself. The Lakers guard said the exercise was tougher than it sounded, and the result was a lineup that mixed his own era with some of the biggest names he grew up watching, including Stephen Curry, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Shaquille ONeal.
Reaves also offered a couple of different versions once the self-inclusion part was out of the way, leaning toward players such as Tim Duncan and Kevin Durant at the four. What made the conversation stand out for Lakers fans was the way Reaves framed the picks around players he actually watched and admired, which is exactly the kind of filter that turns an innocent podcast game into a small but very real legacy debate. [Read more 🡒]
George Lopez Just Turned His Back On The Lakers
George Lopez has long been one of the more visible celebrity faces in the Lakers orbit, but his latest comments suggest that relationship has cooled in a big way. Speaking on The Big Podcast with Shaq alongside Shaquille O'Neal and Adam Lefkoe, Lopez framed his connection to both the Lakers and the Dodgers through a political and historical lens, saying his feelings about the teams have changed because of who owns them and what their institutions represent.
For the Lakers, that puts an uncomfortable spotlight on the franchises broader public image at a time when star power and celebrity allegiance usually help keep the brand humming. Lopez also linked his disassociation from the Dodgers to the history of Dodger Stadium and the neighborhood that was cleared to make room for it, leaving a familiar Los Angeles sports figure making a very unfamiliar break from two of the citys biggest teams. [Read more 🡒]
Lakers Frontcourt Search May Be Zeroing In On A Real Answer
The Lakers are still sorting through ways to add frontcourt depth, and the search has started to narrow around a big man who can stretch the floor and help on the glass. Jalen Smith fits that profile, with the kind of outside touch and rebounding that could give Los Angeles a different look behind its current rotation, though he is also on an expiring contract and not the sort of target the Bulls would be expected to move cheaply.
What makes the pursuit more complicated is the price tag, since a deal could take more than a simple one-for-one swap and might force the Lakers to part with multiple players and draft capital. Smiths season also ended early because of a calf injury, which only adds another layer to the evaluation, while the team has a veteran-minimum fallback option available if the trade market proves too expensive. [Read more 🡒]