But there was a lot of roster upheaval, too, most notably Drummond’s being dumped off to Cleveland.
Christian Wood and Luke Kennard were bright spots, and, generally speaking, Detroit is in a decent position. The Pistons have cap flexibility — depending on what the cap looks like — and a lottery pick.
But they have to make a decision on Griffin. He’s an all-N.B.A. talent who has struggled with injuries for much of his career. He’s on the books for two more years at about $36 million and $38 million. It might be worth tearing the whole thing down and seeing what you can get for him.
Atlanta Hawks (20-47)
In terms of rebuilding, the Hawks are in a great position: They have a dynamic young star in Trae Young, frontcourt teammates that perfectly complement him (John Collins and Clint Capela), other young players with potential (Kevin Huerter, Cam Reddish), a lottery pick and financial flexibility.
Atlanta is a very attractive team to buy stock in. It will probably be in playoff contention next year with its current core — and could be even better if the team adds some pieces and hits in the lottery. (Something to consider: The cap will almost assuredly be lower than usual, and this free agent class doesn’t have much star power.)
Chicago Bulls (22-43)
The opposite of Atlanta, the Bulls are not in a healthy spot after this disaster of a season. They don’t have the financial flexibility of other teams. Lauri Markkanen took a step back — injuries played a role. Zach LaVine, who sometimes looks like a viable No. 1 option, actually shouldn’t be any team’s No. 1 option.
The Bulls revamped their front office, nabbing Arturas Karnisovas, the former Denver Nuggets general manager, to be executive vice president for basketball operations. The first decision he will have to make is on the fate of Coach Jim Boylen, who mused about playoff expectations before the season. Boylen’s no-nonsense style, which included calling timeouts late in games that were already out of hand, has not endeared him to his roster.
Charlotte Hornets (23-42)
It is unlikely that anyone will make a documentary about Michael Jordan’s tenure running the Hornets. But one mea culpa: I thought the Hornets made a mistake in giving Terry Rozier roughly $19 million a year for three years to replace Kemba Walker. Rozier played well: 18 points a game and 4 assists with 55 percent true shooting — solid value.
