NEW YORK, New York – This astute ranking assigns a grade to each Eastern Conference club based on the amount of off-season business completed.

The Philadelphia 76ers: A

Adding a superstar without making any trade-offs is the easiest way to get a “A” offseason grade. When the Philadelphia 76ers signed Paul George, they accomplished more than that. They really left the George signing having strengthened their entire asset base, if you follow the deal all the way back to its starting point, the James Harden trade to the Clippers during the previous season, which formally created the space they would need to sign George. The Clippers sent the 76ers two future first-round selections in 2028 (unprotected) and 2029 (top-three protected, via swap rights) in exchange for Harden. At this point, such selections appear to be rather useful!

In a star trio, George’s fit in Philadelphia is as flawless as it gets. Joel Embiid is the center, Tyrese Maxey is the guard, and George is the forward. Each of the three is a shooter. There are two elite defenders. Depending on who is on the court at any one time, they can play in different styles and at varying speeds. Right now, the 76ers could have the strongest trio in the NBA.

Brooklyn Nets: A

We’ll talk about why the Knicks made sense in trading Mikal Bridges shortly. However, that completely changed the game for the Nets. Bridges isn’t really famous. He will never be a star because of how unquestionably successful last season was. Before his inexpensive deal expired in 2026, the Nets could not have found a star with whom to match him. They needed to relocate him. In two years, at most, they would have to give a non-star a star wage. In the worst case scenario, they would lose him for nothing. According to Ian Begley’s reporting, he would have chosen the Knicks in any case.

The Nets obtained five first-round selections and one first-round swap in exchange for a player who declined to play for them and has never participated in an All-Star Game, despite their awkward situation. Arguably, this was the third-best deal in this franchise’s history; the only two trades that ranked higher are the additions of Jason Kidd and Julius Erving.

Boston Celtics: B+

The fact that the Boston Celtics are already the Boston Celtics is fantastic news for them. This was discussed previously. Beating Boston is currently the East’s main objective. The fact that the Celtics are the only team that does not need to defeat them offers them a significant edge, which the team further solidified by putting even more emphasis on just being the Celtics.

Here, pay is given to everybody. Supermax extension was given to Jayson Tatum. Derrick White secured a $125.9 million, four-year contract extension. A $45 million, four-year extension was granted to Sam Hauser. These are all deals that are good for teams. For now, Boston’s financial future is not too hazy. Before draft selections start to be dumped at the end of the first round, the Celtics will keep this squad intact for the two permitted second apron years.

Milwaukee Bucks: B-

One might easily argue that the Bucks have signed the greatest group of free agents with minimum salaries in recent NBA history. According to the reports, Gary Trent Jr. may have been eligible for a $15 million annual salary from the Raptors. Just now, Taurean Prince outperformed a contract with a bi-annual exception. A defender worthy of the playoffs is Delon Wright. The Bucks just acquired three significant contributors for the minimum, which is generally difficult to come by. This offseason, Milwaukee was desperate for NBA guys who could play. The Bucks were just too emaciated. With relatively little resources, they have made a nice improvement to their depth.

More teams rated on part 2 of this NBA Team rank gradings!