RealGM

Tier 1: Golden State Warriors
Warriors have to try their hardest

• Boston Celtics
• Houston Rockets

Searching for the proper paperwork to move up one tier

• Toronto Raptors

Rock solid playoff teams, tier 1

• Utah Jazz
• Milwaukee Bucks
• Oklahoma City Thunder
• Philadelphia 76ers
• Denver Nuggets
• Minnesota Timberwolves in an alternate reality where everything isn't always ruined there

Rock solid playoff teams, tier II

• Los Angeles Lakers
• Indiana Pacers
• Washington Wizards
• Miami Heat with Jimmy Butler (Team does not currently exist)

Right on the borderline

• San Antonio Spurs
• New Orleans Pelicans
• Portland Trail Blazers
• Miami Heat without Jimmy Butler
• Detroit Pistons
• Charlotte Hornets
• Brooklyn Nets

Door is cracking open, but West is still too good

• Dallas Mavericks
• Memphis Grizzlies
• LA Clippers
• Minnesota without Jimmy Butler

Bad

• Cleveland Cavaliers
• Phoenix Suns
• Sacramento Kings
• New York Knicks
• Chicago Bulls
• Orlando Magic
• Atlanta Hawks

PHOENIX SUNS
The Suns made some win-now moves with Trevor Ariza, Ryan Anderson and Tyson Chandler, but it’s no guarantee they won’t wind up tanking again. I can absolutely see them trading the guys they just signed. I think the vets have value at the trade deadline. You don’t want to have an older team where there are no young guys to push the veterans.  . . . The hole is the point guard position. I know they love Elie Okobo, so I guess they’re going to try to make it work with him unless they swing a trade. They might try to use Devin Booker like James Harden as a point guard because they couldn’t find a bona fide point guard over the summer. Ariza and Anderson both played with Harden and maybe they envision Booker being able to mimic that. . . . Asking Booker to make pinpoint passes is asking a lot. He can score with the best of them, but taking that jump into being a playmaker versus a shot-maker is totally different. They could use a Patrick Beverley type alongside Booker. A defensive-type who won’t take Booker’s shots, but can bring the ball up and guard the best player on the other team . . . They drafted the wrong guy at No. 1. I would have gone with Luka Dončić. I think there will be a lot of second-guessing on that decision all year. As much as people talk about the modern NBA, some teams are still drafting big guys. It’s really weird. . . . Teams will try to confuse DeAndre Ayton and force him into turnovers. It all comes down to space. He will roll to the rim and be a lob threat. He’s going to get smaller guys on switches and try to prove he can punish them. The next step will be whether he can make moves and score in the post on big guys. I think he’s the type of guy who will command double teams not because he’s scoring but because he’s turnover-prone. . . . Their track record in drafting over the last five or six years has been rough. Alex Len. Dragan Bender. Marquese Chriss. Could Josh Jackson be headed towards that? He’s still young, still raw enough, you can see flashes. But now he’s coming off the bench. What does he bring to the table? He’s not an offensive guy. . . . I don’t see it with Bender at all. It looks like he’s headed on the path to being a bust. Does he do anything? What’s he good at? . . . Ariza has slipped a little bit but you can still trust him in big moments. Houston was counting on him for certain roles and match-ups. Phoenix won’t have that luxury. They’ll need him for more. That could be a challenge, because you can’t ask him to bump up as a scorer and still be the same defensive player. He’s not a guy who will create for others, but he will run the floor, space the court and defend at an elite level. . . . Mikal Bridges has a lot of fans around the league. They gave up a future one for him so you know they will give him an opportunity to play. He might not have the high ceiling but the consensus is that he’s going to be a plug-and-play solid wing. . . .