Bottom of the West

[dockingsched]

rank the bottom west teams from best situation to worst. i listed somewhat accurate assessments of their current situations. if there is a mistake please let me know. also, worst contracts doesn't necessarily mean bad contract.

candidates:

LA Clippers

core players: Chris Kaman, Elton Brand
young potential: Al Thornton, Eric Gordon
valuable assets: Corey Maggette, all its future picks, protected future minny 1st
potential lineup: livingston(FA)/gordon/maggette/brand/kaman
key reserves: thornton, mobley, t. thomas
worst contracts: cuttino mobley (2 yrs), tim thomas (2 yrs)

Sacramento Kings

core players: Kevin Martin
young potential: Spencer Hawes, Jason Thompson
valuable assets: John Salmons, Francisco Garcia, Ron Artest, Brad Miller, all its future picks
potential lineup: udrih(FA)/martin/artest/moore/miller
key reserves: salmons, hawes, garcia
worst contracts: k. thomas (2 yrs), SAR (2 yrs), b. miller (2 yrs)

Memphis Grizzlies

core players: Rudy Gay, O.J. Mayo, Mike Conley
young potential: Javaris Crittenton, Kyle Lowry, Marc Gasol
valuable assets: Antoine Walker's expiring, lakers 2010 1st, Hakim Warrick
potential lineup: conley/mayo/gay/milicic/gasol
key reserves: crittenton, warrick, lowry
worst contracts: m. jaric (3 yrs), d. milicic (2 yrs)

Seattle Sonics

core players: Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Jeff Green
young potential: Robert Swift, Serge Ibaka
valuable assets: Chris Wilcox, Luke Ridnour, Nick Collison
potential lineup: westbrook/durant/green/wilcox/collison
key reserves: watson, ridnour
worst contracts: watson (2 yrs), collison (3 yrs)

Minnesota Timberwolves

core players: Al Jefferson, Kevin Love, Randy Foye
young potential: Corey Brewer, Rashad McCants
valuable assets: Mike Miller, Craig Smith, Ryan Gomes, Jason Collins expiring
potential lineup: foye/miller/brewer/jefferson/love
key reserves: mccants, smith, gomes
worst contracts: cardinal (2 yrs), madsen (2 yrs)

[theGreatRC]

Wolves hopefully

[dockingsched]

my ranking:
1. clippers - arguably best pair of big men in the league (brand/kaman), some solid veterans (magz/mobley/thomas), and some stud youngsters (thornton/gordon)

2. wolves - cornerstone big man already in place (jefferson), complimentary big man in love, and a bunch of young assets to build with.

3. grizzlies - incredible money flexibility, a young star studded 1-3 (conley, mayo, gay) and a highly successful european big man coming over (m. gasol)

4. sonics - two all rookie team youngsters including ROY Kevin Durant, number 4 pick Westbrook. lack of quality big man depth

5. kings - high salaries, mixed direction between youth and veterans, lost money (thomas, SAR).

[Storm Surge]

all those teams would be thinking they have a great shot at the playoffs if they were in the east.

[Don Draper]

all those teams would be thinking they have a great shot at the playoffs if they were in the east.

+1

[dockingsched]

eh, doubtful. the bottom of the east is going to be a lot better with the bucks acquiring jefferson, the heat getting beasley along with a healthy wade, chicago getting rose. i don't think the grizzlies, sonics, or wolves are in the win now position to challenge them.

[KF10]

Eh, the Kings managed to get 38 wins in the West. While we were brutally injured throughout the year. If we were healthy all year, we should in the Warriors-level.

[dockingsched]

no doubt that the kings are better right now than probably all of those teams except the clippers, but that just means they're stuck in mediocrity with their starting center already 32 and their starting pf already 32 going on 33 by the start of the season.

[KF10]

no doubt that the kings are better right now than probably all of those teams except the clippers, but that just means they're stuck in mediocrity with their starting center already 32 and their starting pf already 32 going on 33 by the start of the season.

Yeahh, you got a point that our PF/C are old. Miller is still a good center in his right. Moore is solid role player. But those are the glaring concerns though for us. Hopefully, Petrie knows what he is doing. Which we are confident as fans. A Thompson/Hawes/Williams (A lighter Williams) would be good.

[GswStorm3]

Eh, the Kings managed to get 38 wins in the West. While we were brutally injured throughout the year. If we were healthy all year, we should in the Warriors-level.

lol try getting a PG first.

[amb1ent]

what, like udrih?

[Tim Lehrbach]

Minnesota, Memphis, and Seattle are still going to get kicked around next year. What players they do have deserve attention, and this comment shouldn't be taken as insulting to their truly impressive talents. It's just a statement to the weakness of their rosters beyond the promising young talents they possess. I guess the Wolves, with two imposing big men, represent the best chance at immediate success among these squads, but I highly doubt they crack 30 wins.

My best early, beerly guess at the West next year:

1. Lakers
2. Spurs
3. Blazers
4. Rockets
5. Hornets
6. Jazz
7. Suns
8. Warriors
9. Mavs
10. Nuggets
11. Clippers
12. Kings
13. Wolves
14. Sonics
15. Grizzlies

[rpa]

Hard to rank them but I will say this:

1) Two of those teams have GMs that can be considered on the short list of the worst GMs in history. Of course I'm talking about McHale & Wallace; 1 has a so-so GM (Baylor) who it's hard to knock due to his owner's cheapness (but he has made some big blunders); 1 up and coming GM that's done very well (Prestie); and one of the NBA's best GMs (Petrie). GMs make a HUGE difference to me.

2) The Clips are the only team who's #1 player (and he's #1 on that team by a mile) is over 25 years old (he's 29--a large difference). Every other team's #1 (Durant, Jefferson, Gay, Martin) are all 25 or younger. This makes a big difference (obviously).

In terms of situation at this exact moment (disregarding future moves) I'd say Grizz, Sonics, Wolves, Kings, Clips. However, once you add in the fact that both Wallace & McHale are going to **** things up in some way or another I'd rank them Sonics, Grizz, Kings, Wolves, Clips.

[fivas14]

Minnesota, Memphis, and Seattle are still going to get kicked around next year. What players they do have deserve attention, and this comment shouldn't be taken as insulting to their truly impressive talents. It's just a statement to the weakness of their rosters beyond the promising young talents they possess. I guess the Wolves, with two imposing big men, represent the best chance at immediate success among these squads, but I highly doubt they crack 30 wins.

My best early, beerly guess at the West next year:

1. Lakers
2. Spurs
3. Blazers
4. Rockets
5. Hornets
6. Jazz
7. Suns
8. Warriors
9. Mavs
10. Nuggets
11. Clippers
12. Kings
13. Wolves
14. Sonics
15. Grizzlies

LOL. The Blazers aren't winning the divison.

[GG2108]

hahaha lazers No. 3 you smokin somethin? they are fringe playoffs my friend...

[Nonstop]

We were fringe playoff without oden, fernandez, and bayless.. Even if they don't live up to potential, I'm sure they can't be worse then who we have already (przybilla, blake) so I don't see any reason why we won't be 6 or higher...

[GG2108]

The west is stacked and hornets, lakers, spurs, pheonix, jazz and rockets will all finish above the blazers Oden Fernandez and Bayless will all be good in time but cant expect them to come in and be the missing parts the blazers needed right away...give em time they will shine season or two after.

P.S. I like the lblazers but i dont see em goin on the same run of wins again next season highest they will go is 7 unfortunateyl to much talent out west.

[CB4MiamiHeat]

I think the Clippers will be average..but i look at their roster and they look pretty damn good on paper.

[the southern dandy]

1) Memphis - they have a good amount of young talent and a low pay roll to boot. Their main drawback for further development is that they play in the Southwest division.

2) Minny - They have quality young depth at the wings and some very verstalile scorers upfront to compliment. For such a bad team they are surprisingly deep and their bad contract situation has improved.

3)Seattle - They have a plethora of young talent in the pipeline. They have a go to scorer in KD, and a solid foundation of defensive role players. They dont go above Minny or Memphis because their talent is far less 'proven' and I use the term loosely.

4) LAC - They're in major turmoil right now with questions concerning their core players. Luckily their bad contracts aren't crippling and they maintain flexibility. They should be able to build well and develop over the next few years.

5) Sacramento - They have some good young players and solid older guys. I've put them here because I feel that they are on their way to being stuck in mediocrity. They aren't bad enough to score a franchise changer in the draft, but they wont be making the playoffs either. It's a tough situation to be a part of. They have to rid themselves of Ron Artest as he wont take them anywhere.

[KF10]

Eh, the Kings managed to get 38 wins in the West. While we were brutally injured throughout the year. If we were healthy all year, we should in the Warriors-level.

lol try getting a PG first.

Most people agreed that if the Kings were healthy significantly this year, we should have netted in the range of 45-47ish wins. There's no doubt in my mind that we should have been at least at the Warriors level if we were healthy but we were not.