Franchises in worst and best positions

[princeofpalace]

They have a young franchise C... who's immature, liable to create a huge distraction at any time, and injury-prone. Bynum is talented, but I don't see him as a guy who can lead his team to the Finals.

They have great management/ownership... that has slowly been dismantled over the past year or so. Mass firings of long-time front office executives during the lockout have left the Lakers with a three-person scouting staff and a GM who has threatened to quit.

They have a history of winning... but that doesn't guarantee you will always win. See: the Celtics after Bird retired, up until the formation of the Big Three.

Another problem for the Lakers is the new, more restrictive CBA. They'll have to cut costs and start worrying a lot more about the salary cap. And considering how much they're STILL going to be paying Kobe in a couple years, if I were a Lakers fan, I'd be worried about whether they're going to spend wisely from here on out or recklessly continue to splurge like the "good old days".

As for the desirability factor - NBA players want to go where they can win. For a while, the Lakers were one of those teams, hence their status as a popular FA destination. Now that they're on the decline, though, players have started to look elsewhere. Dwight wouldn't touch the Lakers with a ten foot pole, JR Smith picked the Knicks over them, etc.

1) A 24 year old being immature. What else is know. Im not worried about Bynum. He's a great building block, and as long as he is there to anchor LAL, their future is bright.

2)Lakers main FO players are still there, so I dont see any problems with their management.

3)Lakers dont mind paying the tax as long as they are winning and Kobe is not showing signs that he is gonna be mediocre any time soon.

Also, Dwight is a moron who overestimates his ability. He didn't want to be 2nd to Kobe, alhtough he's clearly not #1. Furthermore, Smith choose NY for PT, he would be behind Kobe on the Lakers, whereas he has no real competition on the Knicks. You would have to be a fool to think that NYK have a better shot at winning than LAL.

[coldfish]

Oh, Cleveland deserves a shout out here. Maybe not top 5, but Kyrie Irving is a stud. TT can play. They will have two more first rounders this year and then about $30M in capspace this summer. They also have an owner who will pay the tax (even if he is crazy).

They are rebuilding the right way and already have one core piece.

[Shamrock]

I have to laugh at people who say the Wizards are "driving John Wall away." He's under team control for what, five more years? The situation in 2012 will be the distant past by the time he becomes an unrestricted free agent.

And, not only do they have a potential franchise player in Wall, they could very easily get another in this year's draft. They are VERY far from the bottom of the list.

Completely agree, they've done a decent job at removing unwanted players from their team. If they snag the number one pick they'd be in great great position.

[NYK_89]

how on earth do you rate a team with wall lower then a team with literally nobody (bobcats)

[Baren Davids]

how on earth do you rate a team with wall lower then a team with literally nobody (bobcats)

Because of that 25% they get Anthony Davis.

[Mikez1919]

how on earth do you rate a team with wall lower then a team with literally nobody (bobcats)

Because of that 25% they get Anthony Davis.

The Wiz have a 20% chance at Anthony Davis, AND have John Wall.

[BIGGIEsmalls 23]

The Chicago Bulls are in a great position.

1) Youngest ever & reigning MVP on max contract. (D-Rose)
2) Young top 5 center with a long lucrative contract. (Noah)
3) Young top 5 SF with a lucrative contract. (Deng)
4) Veteran top 10 PF with a lucrative contract. (Boozer)
5) Veteran championship winning SG on discount contract. (Rip Hamilton)
6) Deep bench on rookie or short discount contracts. (Brewer, Korver, Gibson, Watson, Asik)
7) Top 3 Head Coach. (Thibs)
8) Future talent (Miriotic) & assets (Charlotte draft pick).
9) #1 attendance ranking.
10) Top 3 most valuable franchise.
11) Reigning Co-Executive Of The Year. (Gar Forman & John Paxson)
12) Amnesty still in back pocket.

[Scalabrine]

Has there ever been a team with as many consecutive playoff appearances without improving on home court advantage then the Hawks?

I dont think you can blame management on the Marvin Williams pick though. He was slotted as the consensus Top 2 pick with Andrew Bogut. Its too bad though, because they really needed a PG and Chris Paul or Deron Williams would have put that team in contention. It would have been a considered a major reach though...

[RIPskaterdude]

The Chicago Bulls are in a great position.

1) Youngest ever & reigning MVP on max contract. (D-Rose)
2) Young top 5 center with a long lucrative contract. (Noah)
3) Young top 5 SF with a lucrative contract. (Deng)
4) Veteran top 10 PF with a lucrative contract. (Boozer)
5) Veteran championship winning SG on discount contract. (Rip Hamilton)
6) Deep bench on rookie or short discount contracts. (Brewer, Korver, Gibson, Watson, Asik)
7) Top 3 Head Coach. (Thibs)
8) Future talent (Miriotic) & assets (Charlotte draft pick).
9) #1 attendance ranking.
10) Top 3 most valuable franchise.
11) Reigning Co-Executive Of The Year. (Gar Forman & John Paxson)
12) Amnesty still in back pocket.

Top 5 center?! Since when?!

[BIGGIEsmalls 23]

The Chicago Bulls are in a great position.

1) Youngest ever & reigning MVP on max contract. (D-Rose)
2) Young top 5 center with a long lucrative contract. (Noah)
3) Young top 5 SF with a lucrative contract. (Deng)
4) Veteran top 10 PF with a lucrative contract. (Boozer)
5) Veteran championship winning SG on discount contract. (Rip Hamilton)
6) Deep bench on rookie or short discount contracts. (Brewer, Korver, Gibson, Watson, Asik)
7) Top 3 Head Coach. (Thibs)
8) Future talent (Miriotic) & assets (Charlotte draft pick).
9) #1 attendance ranking.
10) Top 3 most valuable franchise.
11) Reigning Co-Executive Of The Year. (Gar Forman & John Paxson)
12) Amnesty still in back pocket.

Top 5 center?! Since when?!

Off the top of my head, I can only think of a few that are arguably better than Noah.

-Dwight Howard
-Andrew Bynum
-Roy Hibbert
-????????

[Darain]

The Chicago Bulls are in a great position.

1) Youngest ever & reigning MVP on max contract. (D-Rose)
2) Young top 5 center with a long lucrative contract. (Noah)
3) Young top 5 SF with a lucrative contract. (Deng)
4) Veteran top 10 PF with a lucrative contract. (Boozer)
5) Veteran championship winning SG on discount contract. (Rip Hamilton)
6) Deep bench on rookie or short discount contracts. (Brewer, Korver, Gibson, Watson, Asik)
7) Top 3 Head Coach. (Thibs)
8) Future talent (Miriotic) & assets (Charlotte draft pick).
9) #1 attendance ranking.
10) Top 3 most valuable franchise.
11) Reigning Co-Executive Of The Year. (Gar Forman & John Paxson)
12) Amnesty still in back pocket.

Top 5 center?! Since when?!

Off the top of my head, I can only think of a few that are arguably better than Noah.

-Dwight Howard
-Andrew Bynum
-Roy Hibbert
-????????

Marc Gasol
Tyson Chandler
Cousins
Tim Duncan

[RIPskaterdude]

Healthy Bogut and Cousins > Noah.

Marc Gasol > Noah.

[High0ctane21]

Oh, Cleveland deserves a shout out here. Maybe not top 5, but Kyrie Irving is a stud. TT can play. They will have two more first rounders this year and then about $30M in capspace this summer. They also have an owner who will pay the tax (even if he is crazy).

They are rebuilding the right way and already have one core piece.

Agree 100%

They can pick up a nice SG or maybe Drummond in the draft to pair up with Irving. Use the cap space to get a young up & coming stud, even if you gotta over pay a tiny bit. I can see them being a 6th seed by as early as next season.

[BIGGIEsmalls 23]

Bogut hasn't been healthy for a while, Duncan has been listed as a PF for years, Cousins is talented but he's a headcase.

Marc Gasol & Tyson Chandler are good arguments, but Noah stacks up well to both. I personally would take Noah's D & rebounding over Gasol. I would take Noah's passing & offense over Tyson.

Either way you slice it, Noah is in the discussion for top 5 at his position. I believe that most GMs would agree with me.

[RIPskaterdude]

Bogut hasn't been healthy for a while, Duncan has been listed as a PF for years, Cousins is talented but he's a headcase.

Marc Gasol & Tyson Chandler are good arguments, but Noah stacks up well to both. I personally would take Noah's D & rebounding over Gasol. I would take Noah's passing & offense over Tyson.

Either way you slice it, Noah is in the discussion for top 5 at his position. I believe that most GMs would agree with me.

Bynum has been more of a headcase than Cousins recently, and yet Cousins numbers are just thrown out of consideration?