My grades, with explanations later:
Coaching: A-.
The Draft: Incomplete / D
Trades And Free Agency: B
Overall: 2022 Season And Beyond: B
1. Coaching Search
I'm quite happy with Udoka. I would have preferred to keep Brad as a coach and hire a new President. Since that wasn't going to happen, I think hiring a former player with a hard-nosed, defense-oriented approach was a good idea. The assistants that were brought in are largely well-respected, as well.
If there's any criticism at all, I would have liked the team bring in an assistant with head-coaching experience. Hopefully this is mitigated a bit by Brad's presence in the organization.
2. The Draft
Meh. It's probably not fair to grade the draft independently, but bringing in young, cheap talent is the lifeblood of a lot of franchises. We'll be looking back at some point and wondering what would have happened if we'd made the pick instead of trading it.
Available options: #16 -- Alperen Sengun, Jalen Jackson, Usman Garuba
Available options: #45 -- Sharife Cooper, BJ Boston
Available trade: #16 for two protected #1s
My guess is that we won't lament the trade in the future, but history tells us that there will be useful players that we missed out on.
Free Agency And Trades
Out: Kemba Walker, Evan Fournier, Tristan Thompson, Semi Ojeleye, Luke Kornet, Tremont Waters, Tacko Fall
In: Al Horford, Josh Richardson, Dennis Schroeder, Kris Dunn, Bruno Fernando, Enes Kanter, Sam Hauser
In Then Out: Moses Brown
Extended: Marcus Smart
Is this the best possible off-season for Brad? No, I don't think it was. I think we'd be a better team if we'd signed Fournier; losing him for a trade exception makes us worse in the short-term. I know that there's significant debate about this, but I think that Fournier's 3 year, $54 million contract (plus a team option) was good value for him.
If there has been a narrative to this off-season, it's been maintaining flexibility. The Horford trade saved us $10 million this season, and potentially much more next off-season. The Richardson trade was about replacing Fournier without having to take on two additional years of salary. We included Moses Brown in that deal to yet again save money (Dallas wanted to do the deal without him). Trading Tristan Thompson saved guaranteed salary this year, as well.
Up until a few days ago, the money saving endgame was clear: preserve the possibility of creating max cap space. That doesn't necessarily mean we were going to sign a max free agent, but the possibility was there. That possibility alone could have been used to leverage a team (Wizards) to agree to a sign-and-trade with us, or risk losing its player for nothing.
And then, the Marcus Smart extension happened. Value wise, it doesn't seem like bad value, assuming that the lack of focus that Marcus showed last year was just a momentary regression. However, it took away the possibility of max space, and thus any leverage we may have had over a team. Now, a threat by Beal or another free agent will ring hollow when it comes to Boston; we are in no better position to force a sign-and-trade than just about any other franchise.
So, I'm not thrilled that we let an asset (Fournier) walk away for nothing but a trade exception, while still not being in a position to add the so-called "third star" that many of us covet. However, on paper the team is still in good shape. Horford, Richardson and Schroeder are all good NBA players. They're all recent starters on playoff teams. It's quite possible that Brad did the best he could with the budget he's operating under.
(As an aside: We debated whether Brad made the Kemba trade at the right time. I wonder: if we'd made traded the #16 to Houston for two #1s, could we have packaged one of those first rounders to OKC for Horford on / after draft night? I suspect that maybe we could have.)
Overall:
We should have a tough, competitive team next year. It's got nice potential as a gritty, "dirt dog" type of team. There should be a pretty clear hiearchy on the team: everybody's role is to play to Tatum's and Brown's strengths. The team isn't a top-tier contender, but has a chance at finishing top-three in the East, and should be competitive against any team in a playoff series. We might not advance far, but I don't think we'll be embarassed.
Regarding the future, a lot depends upon what Wyc is willing to spend. We're going to have the ability to greatly exceed the cap over the next season, meaning that in theory we can retain the core of this team while adding good players. Looking ahead to the 2022 off-season, we will have Bird rights for Richardson, as well as the MLE, a $9.7 million trade exception, and a $17.1 million trade exception. In theory, we can find a replacement for Schroeder (who will inevitably leave due to lack of options to pay him) while adding two more good rotation players. That means that potentially we can build a very good surrounding cast around Tatum and Brown.
Now, again, that's all in theory. It requires Wyc to spend in a way that a top-five franchise in both value and operating income (profit) should. However, that's all Brad can do: put the team in a position to succeed. Outside of a few quibbles, I think he's done that.
