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Utah is definitely a dark horse if they move mitc
All this talk of whether the Spurs are tanking (semantics) and just how bad they'll be got me thinking, so I came up with these off the top.
I base it on a combination of regular season upside and championship equity. Obviously, potential Durant, Irving, Mitc and Westbrook (addition by subtraction) trades can and will alter it, but for now . . .
Upper top: Clippers, Warriors, Bucks, Celtics, Nuggets
Lower top: Suns, 76ers, Grizzlies, Mavericks, Heat, Nets
Upper middle: Raptors, Timberwolves, Pelicans, Hawks, Bulls, Cavaliers
Lower middle: Trail Blazers, Lakers, Knicks, Wizards, Hornets, Jazz
Upper bottom: Kings, Thunder, Pistons, Magic
Lower bottom: Pacers, Rockets, Spurs
Utah is definitely a dark horse if they move mitc
If they are not trying to tank that is who I would love for us to trade Poeltl to. I think they are trying to tank though. If they start off well then maybe they give us a call.
I'd be tempted to put the Nets & 76ers in the upper top also. Both made such good moves to upgrade their roster. But with so many variables, it could all fall apart.
I really like this classification. That upper middle class holds some exciting teams who are only a piece away (either internal development, or an additional talent) away from making a big jump the next few years. They atleast offer an exciting brand of basketball.
Hopefully PATFO is taking notes. Only so long we can blame Leonard for where we are. That time has passed.
I’ll also point out the lower top, sans Grizzlies need to be better managed to break into the upper top. Too many boneheaded moves. Keeping them close but not close enough.
Agree... I mean raptors technically lost Kawhi a season after us and rebuilt on the fly
Kind of. They were surprising to get 5th seed last season but got lucky that Chicago faded down the stretch and Brooklyn and Atlanta underperformed.
Obviously they are better team than us right now...but I feel like they are still in the same position Spurs were with Demar/LMA. Probably good to make the playoffs, but not really a contender.
Solid list...I might could quibble over the Hawks and Trail Blazers but not with a lot of conviction...good work..
The list is pretty spot on. I would drop the nets a tier because of the Kyrie and Durrant situations though. You could redo the list in 6 months and a few teams will move up, and some will move down because of injuries to important players or trades that didn't pan out, but the one constant we can probably count on is that the the spurs will still be on the bottom tier looking up. No matter what the "plan" is, tanking still sucks. Hopefully this plan pays off at some point, sooner rather than later. Please remember that good planning doesn't rely on luck.
76ers: Between Embiid's lack of durability, Harden's questionable status (MVP days are over, but they need All-NBA caliber, not All-Star candidate) and Tucker's age, I can't see all three breaking their way.
With the Nets, clearly on paper they're better, but the combination of turmoil and durability of their big 3 led to my hedging.
Only the Pelicans I could see breaking into the top tier because they have a potential superstar if he could ever stay healthy + the trade assets to trade for another superstar.
The Timberwolves are interesting because for all of their potential flaws, depending on Edwards progress and how long Gobert's prime lasts, they might have 3 top 20ish players at some point.
S bag is still the biggest reason for the Spurs being in the state they are.
That's because they lucked into not having to give up a single long term core piece thanks to S bag's antics tanking his value and the Spurs losing their minds. Still, despite hipster media nerds obsession, they're a treadmill team.
Obviously not a lot separating many teams bunched close together, so they could easily break either way.
Entire league: massive gotry tier.
Who cares? Trying to impress a bunch of guys in a bball forum
help me understand
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