With a couple of the biggest shoes yet to drop—specifically, a trade for Portland superstar Damian Lillard and presumably one for future Hall of Famer James Harden as well—we’re still waiting to see how things ultimately change and shake out in the NBA landscape this offseason.
Still, it’s not too early to take a look at a handful of the most underrated pickups throughout the league to this point. We’ll start with the moves in the East today, before offering a look at some of the best under-the-radar acquisitions in the West later in the week.
Pistons: Monte Morris
Between Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, James Wiseman, Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart, Detroit has unmistaken young talent up and down its roster. Perhaps unsurprisingly then, the Pistons also had plenty of turnovers this past season en route to a league-low 17 victories.
Though internal improvement should be on the way given the team’s youth, it was necessary to bring in someone from outside, too, in hopes of stabilizing things within the club’s turnover-prone offense. Morris, for whom the Pistons surrendered a pair of second-round picks, is perfect for that gig, having been one of the league’s best assist-to-turnover floor generals in the league since being drafted by the Nuggets in 2017.
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Pacers: Obi Toppin
Where the Pistons might want to slow things down a bit to bolster their ball control, the Pacers have only doubled down on the business of playing faster. Led by first-time All-Star Tyrese Haliburton, one of the NBA’s most impressive young point guards, Indiana finished tied for third in the league in terms of transition efficiency (118 points per 100 possessions), and was second in transition frequency, with such plays accounting for a whopping 20.2% of the Pacers’ offense.
Given those things, it will be fascinating to not only witness the addition of wing extraordinaire Bruce Brown, who’s getting a huge payday from Indiana after making a huge contribution to the NBA champion Nuggets, but also the high-flying Toppin, who never got a full opportunity to spread his wings with New York in three seasons as a backup to All-NBA forward Julius Randle. Among players with 150 transition possessions over the past two seasons, Toppin—acquired for a pair of second-rounders—has had the highest effective field goal rate, per Synergy Sports. Not coincidentally, Haliburton and Brown rank second and third, respectively, on the same list. Of course Indiana needs to improve on D, too—it ranked fifth-worst in efficiency last season—but the offense will look like the Indy 500 when opponents fail to get back defensively.
Bulls: Jevon Carter and Torrey Craig
After keeping largely the same roster last offseason and then standing pat at the trade deadline despite lingering around play-in range all season, Chicago hasn’t done anything flashy this offseason, either. Some fans were disappointed that they brought in Nikola Vucevic on a three-year deal when there hasn’t been much lately to suggest that he, Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan are an on-court fit.
Still, you can’t knock the Bulls for landing Carter and Craig, a solid pair of ex-teammates who reached the NBA Finals together in Phoenix back in ’21. Carter’s steadying presence on both ends is meant to at least partially replace the absence of Lonzo Ball, who will miss another entire season because of issues with his left knee, which has undergone three surgeries now. Craig, on the other hand, gives Chicago a big body—bigger than the likes of thin, yet talented forward Derrick Jones Jr., who figures to leave the club—on the wing capable of hanging in against bigger ballhandlers like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard and Luka Doncic. He also shot nearly 40% from deep last season in the Suns’ offense.
