In three separate stories for The Athletic, David Aldridge ranks the offseason moves of each NBA team. The Pelicans (No. 30), Warriors (No. 27) and Knicks (No. 21) are among the teams in Aldridge’s bottom 10, with the Suns (No. 20), Celtics (No. 12) and Lakers (No. 11) falling in the middle tier.

So which teams had the best offseasons? Aldridge believes the Hornets (No. 3), Heat (No. 2) and Sixers (No. 1) deserve kudos for the work they did this summer.

As Aldridge writes, Charlotte received strong return packages when they traded away LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges; Miami acquired two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo; and Philadelphia had a transformative offseason, prompting Aldridge to say new president of basketball operations Mike Gansey should win the Executive of the Year award.

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

• Looking ahead to the 2027 offseason, Dan Devine of Yahoo Sports lists his five most interesting potential free agents, starting with Warriors star Jimmy Butler, who is currently recovering from a torn right ACL. Michael Porter Jr. of the Nets and RJ Barrett of the Raptors are among the other players on Devine’s list.
• Alcorn State has named former NBA guard Monta Ellis as the new general manager of the men’s basketball program, the school announced in a press release. A Mississippi native who spent 12 years in the NBA after being selected 40th overall in the 2005 draft, Ellis averaged 17.8 points, 4.6 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.7 steals in 833 regular season contests (34.8 minutes per game) with Golden State, Milwaukee, Dallas and Indiana.
• Serbian big man Alen Smailagic has signed with the Turkish club Galatasaray, per an announcement from the team. The 39th overall pick of the 2019 draft, Smailagic spent two seasons with Golden State prior to continuing his career overseas. After a three-year run with Partizan Belgrade, the 25-year-old played for Zalgiris Kaunas in 2024/25 and spent last season with Virtus Bologna in Italy, another EuroLeague club.