This past weekend, the NBA set the world on fire when Kawhi Leonard signed with the Los Angeles Clippers and orchestrated a secret trade to obtain Paul George. It also sent my group chat into a frenzy as we all spontaneously projected the Western Conference playoffs for the upcoming season. Seeing as I needed to improve my “rank writing”, I decided to unabashedly give you my own list.
1. Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers has had a whole weekend of adrenaline following their signing of Kawhi Leonard and acquisition of Paul George, and it may continue into the season. It’s not common for teams to lock down a reigning Finals MVP as well as a regular season MVP and Defensive Player of the Year finalist in the same year, in the wake of these accomplishments. But it’s not just a couple of two-way players that are going to have the Clippers cutting up. LAC re-signed guard Patrick Beverly, who can be a defensive nuisance for a lot of opponents. When the Clips get the ball back, former 6th man of the Year, Lou Williams will probably be lighting up opposing defenses. In addition to the talent that will be on the floor, they have an experienced head coach in Doc Rivers who knows how to utilize big name veterans and role players (i.e. Boston Celtics Big Three in 2008).
2. Lakers
Whenever you have Lebron James on your team, you should write your own ticket to the Conference Finals; but this is LBJ in year 17 and this is not the Eastern Conference. Lebron’s 1st year in the West proved that it was a going to be a task that his injuries and young core could not take on. So the Lakers decided to take another route and stack the roster with more veterans. While they were able to nab Anthony Davis, they obviously could not close on acquiring Leonard, despite creating the cap space for an extra max contract. Instead, they went out and got some veterans to fill some much-needed holes. Guard Danny Green was brought in to improve the Lakers’ 3-point shooting while guard Avery Bradley was brought in to help their defensive woes. Getting center Demarcus Cousins on a veteran’s minimum might not be a steal, but they rightfully took advantage of his price while he embarks on a comeback tour to be the player he once was. Also, they were able to keep Kyle Kuzma, who is young and still coming into his own as a future star in this league. This is roster is stacked to the point
3. Rockets
A lot of people have been wondering why the Houston Rockets have not made any moves despite the constant rumors of trades this offseason. However, it seems their best move is just for them to stay still. The Rockets have been infamously vocal about being built to challenge the Golden State Warriors, but that team is getting a whole new look after they lost their own star players to free agency and injury. Despite the suspense of who was on the trading block, this Rockets team has still managed to win 50 games or more in the last 3 seasons. Guard James Harden has still played at a MVP level and continues to chop defenses up with his scoring. Guard Chris Paul is still a veteran point guard who can make smart plays. The Rockets have their 2nd coming of Patrick Beverly, with P.J. Tucker, who can play menacing defense and knock down a corner 3 or two. It’s hard to give Houston some light as serious title contenders, but it’s even harder to count them out when they have a team that has been together for a while and knows how to work off each other’s strengths.
4. Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets shocked the world last season when they shot up to the 2 seed in the Western Conference. It was a relatively young group of guys that were a game away from the Western Conference Finals. Now that group is coming back with a little bit more experience and a taste of what it takes to go far in the playoffs. Center Nikola Jokic had a career year in the regular season in points and rebounds, while averaging 25 ppg and 13 rpg in the postseason. Jamal Murray and Malik Beasely are quietly becoming a solid duo in the backcourt for years to come. Head coach Mike Malone has this team going in the right direction, but the West is going to be a little too stacked at the top for this team to really take that next level for where they want to go. That does not mean they will be taking a huge drop in the standings, but the West will be a lot more stacked than last season, so it’s going to be tougher for them to match their success for this season.
5. Blazers
Speaking of competitive backcourts, the Portland Trailblazers are still going to be a force to reckon with as long as they have guards Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum. However, their shaking up of the roster this past offseason refueled what they lost. They traded Meyers Leonard and Moe Harkless to the Miami Heat, in exchange for center Hassan Whiteside. This was in the wake of losing Al-Farouq Aminu and Enes Kanter in free agency. Despite that loss, the Blazers still await the return of Josef Nurkic and have brought back Rodney Hood, who had some shining moments in the playoffs this past year.
6. Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs have been trying to carve out their future the only way they know how: Draft good, find quality role players and let head coach Greg Poppovich put it all together. In recent seasons, things have not looked as shiny for the Spurs. They lost their last championship core of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker and Kawhi Leonard, and have been bounced out of the first round in the last 2 seasons. Still, in the midst of that, they were able to rebound with signing former Trailblazer Lamarcus Aldridge and acquiring Demar Derozan in the Leonard/Green trade. Last year, they drafted Kevin White, who had some great moments in their first-round matchup against the Nuggets. This year, they picked up forwards Demarre Carroll and Marcus Morris. Morris, comes from Boston and is able to give San Antonio some quality defense (if he isn’t signed by the Knicks when this is published). The same can be said for the Rudy Gay, who they just re-signed and can provide some scoring off the bench.
7. Jazz
The Utah Jazz is a young team that’s only a couple pieces away from competing near the top of the league but they might still go through some growing pains this year. Guard Donovan Mitchell is steady becoming a star and will be a big part of this team’s success for this year obviously. However, they took a step back when they traded for former Memphis Grizzlies guard Mike Conley. It wasn’t so much the team acquiring Conley, it’s what they gave up to get him. One of the pieces they let go in that deal was Jae Crowder; but they also let Ricky Rubio go to the Phoenix Suns. However, all is not lost for this team. Joe Ingles can provide some extra shooting when needed, to take the pressure off Mitchell. Conley will provide a little more scoring help for Mitchell, which could make this a surprisingly competitive backcourt this season.
8. Pelicans
The New Orleans Pelicans are going to be a surprise team this season, believe it or not. Sure, they gave away Anthony Davis but they were able to bring in a young core of Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram to play alongside Jrue Holiday. They drafted Zion Williamson number one overall, who could make an immediate impact with his size and explosiveness around the rim. Also, bringing in a veteran such as J.J. Redick gives them some good outside shooting. The Pelicans aren’t going to take over the NBA in one season, but they have a foundation right now, to get some of these player’s feet wet in terms of he postseason.
Honorable Mention
There’s a few teams that might make some noise this year and keep things suspenseful. The Phoenix Suns getting Rubio, allows for guard Devin Booker to have a veteran point guard that can make the right plays for his teammates, and get him the ball to do his own damage. The Dallas Mavericks should expect a healthy Kristaps Porzingis when the season starts, and that can spell trouble when he is paired with Rookie of the Year Luka Doncic. The Golden State Warriors still might make a playoff run, on the strength that they have Steph Curry, but they lost too many key pieces, including Kevin Durant and Andre Iguodola. But they might be able to overcome that if they do not trade D’Angelo Russell, whom they acquired in a sign-and-trade deal with the Brooklyn Nets to move Durant.