The Raptors received the highest offseason grade among Atlantic Division teams from Chris Mannix of SI.com, who gave them a B+ largely for their signing of DeMarre Carroll to a four-year, $58MM deal. Carroll’s pact is one that fills a significant need for Toronto, albeit at a premium, Mannix writes. Mannix gave the Sixers the division’s lowest grade, a C-, for once more failing to make any major additions outside the draft, though Philadelphia just handed out the largest free agent deal of the Sam Hinkie era, signing Kendall Marshall for $8MM over four years. See more from the Atlantic Division:
- The non-guaranteed deal that 11-year veteran Dahntay Jones signed with the Nets last week is a one-year arrangement for the minimum salary, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). It has limited injury protection, Pincus adds, which indicates that it’s an Exhibit 9 contract.
- The Nets are paying in spades now for ill-fated spending in years past, and the cap flexibility the team is poised to have next summer is unlikely to lead to a star signing, given the unappealing supporting cast that Brooklyn could offer Kevin Durant or another top free agent, opines Shaun Powell of NBA.com. The four-year, $50MM deal that the Nets gave Thaddeus Young and the trade that sent Mason Plumlee to the Trail Blazers weren’t wise moves, Powell also argues.
- The Celtics own Brooklyn’s 2016 first-round pick without protection, so they stand to benefit from the Nets’ misfortune, but Boston’s path to a finding a star still remains unclear, as Tim Bontemps of the New York Post believes (Facebook link).
- Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe updated us on all things Celtics earlier today in our latest installment of The Beat.