NBA offseason grades for every East team: Are Knicks, Bucks among cont

Our offseason grades for every team in the NBA’s Western Conference turned out so perfectly — without a single complaint — that we decided to be nice and give you an inarguable list of grades in the East, too.

The conference took a pair of haymakers to its face in the playoffs, as the 2024 and 2025 East champion Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers, respectively, lost Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton to torn Achilles tendons. It was already a watered-down conference that sent its sixth seed to lose to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals.

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It stood to get worse if Giannis Antetokounmpo had requested a trade, which he did not, if only because his Milwaukee Bucks made one last (wild) attempt to satiate his championship desires. Presumably, we can expect Joel Embiid to rejoin the Philadelphia 76ers, though his health perennially remains a concern.

The Atlanta Hawks and Orlando Magic made significant upgrades, capitalizing on the absences of Tatum and Haliburton and joining a list of legit challengers to the Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks. The conference looks a lot different, and we are now here to hand out grades for how it got to be that way …

Atlanta Hawks • Boston Celtics • Brooklyn Nets • Charlotte Hornets • Chicago Bulls • Cleveland Cavaliers • Detroit Pistons • Indiana Pacers • Miami Heat • Milwaukee Bucks • New York Knicks • Orlando Magic • Philadelphia 76ers • Toronto Raptors • Washington Wizards

Win totals from BetMGM

Atlanta Hawks

• Key additions: Kristaps Porziņģis • Nickeil Alexander-Walker • Luke Kennard • Asa Newell

• Key subtractions: Clint Capela • Larry Nance Jr. • Georges Niang • Terance Mann

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The Hawks paired four-time All-Star point guard Trae Young with do-it-all center Kristaps Porziņģis, and all it really cost them was Georges Niang. Porziņģis can efficiently score anywhere from 30 feet to the basket. He protects the rim well…