The 2026 NBA offseason was completely crazy, with a massive amount of movement across the league. The Lakers led the NBA with eight new acquisitions, while other teams stayed way too quiet and did absolutely nothing to improve their situations.
There were honestly several candidates for this list of disappointing teams. I initially thought about the Celtics, because how the hell do you trade Jaylen Brown for a completely broken-down Paul George? It was genuinely the worst move of the entire offseason. The Kings were another option because they’re still a complete mess, although at least they found a future piece in the Draft with Darius Acuff Jr., who I really like.
So, here are the three most disappointing teams of the entire offseason. The list probably won’t surprise anyone, and I think we can all already imagine which California team will be sitting at the top of the ranking.
3. New Orleans Pelicans
The Pelicans finished last season with a horrible 26-56 record, missed the playoffs for the second straight year, and still decided that doing basically nothing was the correct answer to their contending issues.
Their only new player addition so far has been Kobe Bufkin, who signed a training camp deal and isn’t even guaranteed to make the regular-season roster. That’s it. A team that won 26 games brought in one player to compete for its final roster spot.
The Pelicans apparently believe that getting Dejounte Murray healthy will suddenly fix everything, and they don’t need anything more. Murray only played 14 games last season and averaged 16.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 6.4 assists, so obviously having him available should help. Still, acting like one healthy guard will turn a 26-win team into a playoff contender is pretty stupid.
This roster has been stuck in the same place for years. Every offseason begins with people talking about how talented the Pelicans could be if everyone stays healthy. Then somebody gets injured, the team falls behind, and the same conversation starts again one year later.
It’s starting to feel like the Clippers’ entire Paul George and Kawhi Leonard era. Every bad season gets excused because the roster wasn’t healthy, and every summer brings another promise that next year will finally be different.
At some point, they need to stop lying to themselves.
Trey Murphy III just averaged 21.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 3.8 assists while shooting 47.0% from the field and 37.9% from three. He’s one of the most attractive young wings in the league, and several contenders would probably give the Pelicans a massive package for him. Herb Jones also has major value as a versatile defender on a good contract.
Instead of waiting for this group to magically become good, the Pelicans should move Murphy, Jones, Murray, and basically every veteran who can bring back first-round picks or young players. They already have Jeremiah Fears, Derik Queen, Yves Missi, and other younger pieces who need minutes. There’s no reason to keep pretending this current core is one healthy season away from competing.
Maybe Murray returns and looks great. Maybe Zion Williamson stays healthy like last season, where he played 62 games, but still fell short of the end-of-season awards threshold of 65. Maybe Murphy takes another step, and Jordan Poole gets back to scoring as he did for the Warriors. Even then, are the Pelicans better than the Thunder, Spurs, Timberwolves, Rockets, Nuggets, Lakers, or several other teams in the West?
Probably not.
They had the assets to begin a proper rebuild and finally choose a direction. Instead, they kept nearly the same roster and added Bufkin on a camp deal. That’s an incredibly disappointing offseason for a franchise that desperately needed a serious decision.
2. Denver Nuggets
The Nuggets didn’t need to completely rebuild their roster. They went 54-28, finished third in the West, and still have Nikola Jokic leading one of the best starting lineups in basketball.
Their first-round elimination also needs some context. Aaron Gordon missed three games against the Timberwolves because of a left calf issue, while Peyton Watson missed the entire series with a right hamstring strain. Denver still pushed the series to six games before losing 4-2.
That’s why the Nuggets didn’t need some crazy trade. They needed to keep their best young player, protect their flexibility, and maybe move one contract to create enough room for another addition during the season.
Instead, they made everything more complicated. Denver matched the Thunder’s two-year, $12.0 million offer sheet for Spencer Jones. Jones is a sneaky good rotation player who averaged 5.5 points and 3.3 rebounds last season, but matching that deal pushed the Nuggets into the second apron and increased their projected tax penalty from around $36.0 million to $68.0 million.
Now the Nuggets have almost no flexibility. Second-apron teams face major trade restrictions and can’t sign players who become available through buyouts. That could become a massive problem in January or February when contenders normally search for one final rotation piece.
The worst part is that Denver still hasn’t solved Watson’s situation. Their breakout star averaged 14.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.1 assists while shooting 41.1% from three last season. He’s 23 years old, can defend several positions, and was clearly one of Denver’s most important players before the hamstring injury. The Nuggets reportedly offered him five years and $70.0 million, but Watson is considering taking his $6.5 million qualifying offer and becoming an unrestricted free agent in 2027.
Losing Watson after entering the second apron to retain Jones would be ridiculous. Jones is fine, but he isn’t the player who should decide the entire financial future of this roster.
Denver also gave Christian Braun a five-year, $125.0 million extension last year, before his production dropped harshly at the wrong time. Braun averaged 12.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 2.7 assists during the regular season, then fell to 8.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in the playoffs. He finished Game 6 with three points on 1-of-4 shooting.
I would’ve explored moving Braun before allowing the Watson situation to reach this point. Watson has more defensive versatility, more upside, and showed a much bigger offensive jump last season.
The Nuggets are still contenders because Jokic is that good. Still, they entered the summer needing to secure Watson and preserve some flexibility. Instead, they’re trapped in the second apron, Watson remains unsigned, and every possible signal says they won’t keep him for long, or most likely, they’ll have to move him this exact summer. That’d be one of the worst “L”s of the entire offseason.
1. Golden State Warriors
Where do we even start with the Warriors? They chased LeBron James and failed. They were connected to other stars and failed. Then, once all the major players were gone, they basically decided to bring everybody back and act like that was good enough.
Golden State finished 37-45, placed 10th in the West, and was eliminated by the Suns in the second Play-In game. Stephen Curry played only 43 games, averaging 26.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 4.7 assists while shooting 39.3% from three. The Warriors completely collapsed whenever their 38-year-old superstar wasn’t available.
Their answer was to re-sign the same veterans. Draymond Green declined his $27.7 million player option to create flexibility for the LeBron pursuit. Once LeBron chose the 76ers, the Warriors brought Green back on a one-year, $27.7 million contract, the exact same deal he had just rejected. They also retained Gary Payton II, De’Anthony Melton, Al Horford, and Kristaps Porzingis, keeping the same core that missed the playoffs.
That isn’t ambition. That’s just wasting time. Curry is entering the final year of his contract at $62.6 million and can become an unrestricted free agent in 2027. Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic also said Curry and the front office might not be on the same page, adding that Curry is probably tired of the constant star chasing without anything actually happening.
That should scare the hell out of the Warriors. Curry has given this franchise four championships and completely changed its value. He deserves one last serious attempt at winning, not another season where the entire plan depends on him staying healthy for 70 games and carrying an old roster by himself.
It feels like Joe Lacob is more scared of the post-Curry era than he is interested in maximizing the final seasons of Curry’s career. The Warriors don’t want to trade future first-round picks because they’re worried about having nothing left once Curry retires.
I understand the fear, but what are those assets being protected for? Golden State could spend the next 20 years searching for another player half as good as Curry.
The Warriors had a chance to be aggressive. Instead, they missed on every major target, brought back the same core, and kept their future assets safe while Curry’s career continues getting shorter.
That’s why they easily had the most disappointing offseason in the NBA. The Pelicans are confused, and the Nuggets made a terrible financial decision, but the Warriors are wasting the final years of one of the greatest players ever.
Curry deserves much better than this.
