MANY franchises search for that perfect ingredient to become relevant and remain in contention in the NBA. A right mixture of players, coaches and support staff fused together by a great culture is usually the recipe for success. However, only a few teams get it right year to year and more often than not, teams fail.

This season, some teams have finally gotten over years of mediocrity. Impactful trades and signings have paid off for a handful of organizations.

The Chicago Bulls have missed the playoff five times in the past six seasons. In the offseason, the Bulls went all in with three big free agent signings.

Their most impressive move was getting DeMar DeRozan from the San Antonio Spurs in a sign and trade deal. Chicago paid the 32-year-old DeRozan $85 million over the next three years in what many thought was a gamble at best given his age. So far, it has been worth it as DeRozan is playing the best ball of his career averaging 26.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists.

Another great pick-up was Lonzo Ball, who was a restricted free agent. The Bulls now have a true blue passfirst point guard who is a great complement to resident superstar Zach Lavine.

To fortify their bench and playmaking, the team also plucked Alex Caruso from the Lakers. Caruso is an energizer off the bench and contributes across the stat lines.

The Bulls ended last season as the 11th team in the East. This year, they are No. 2 in the conference with a winloss record of 15 wins and eight losses and show no signs of slowing down as they won eight of their last 12 games.

Another team making waves this early are the Washington Wizards. Despite making it to the first round of the playoffs last season, the Wizards have been a mediocre team.

If you recall, the team was stuck with the massive contract of John Wall (four-year, $170-million contract signed in 2017). Wall was beset with so many injuries that he simply couldn’t contribute for the team.

The Wizards traded John Wall to Houston for Russell Westbrook in December 2020. In the offseason, the team traded Westbrook to the Lakers and got Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Montrezl Harrell who have been contributing for the team this season. Kuzma is a proven scorer who has been in LeBron’s shadow far too long. Harrell was a Sixth Man of the Year awardee a few years removed and is now the team’s second leading scorer. KCP, meanwhile, ticks off all the boxes and is the team’s best wing defender.

The Wizards also signed point guard Spencer Dinwiddie who plays well with Bradley Beal in the backcourt.

Another “signing” for the Wizards is first-time head coach Wes Unseld Jr. who is reportedly “beloved” in the locker room. Washington is currently just a game behind the Bulls in the standings after losing to the Cleveland Cavaliers, another surprise team in the East, on Saturday.

In a relatively short period of time, the Bulls and the Wizards have turned it around and managed to put themselves in a much better position to make the playoffs.