Teams that improved & Teams that didn't

[NovU]

Preseason is underway and I can already start to feel lively vibe looming around hoop fans. So I think it's a perfect time to evaluate some of teams in this league that changed for the better or worse during offseason.

You name a team for each that you think improved and that didn't.

IMPROVED: Los Angeles Clippers
I think this is one team that you won't see much improvement in standings despite enormous depth added to their roster which could play a key role during the playoffs. CP3 isn't getting any younger but now they found a way to keep their core fresh as they now have actual depth that they can go to. Lance Stephenson, Josh Smith, Paul Pierce, and Wes Johnson are there and they somehow still managed to keep Jamaal Crawford and Redick. That means they kept all their cores and added 4 great new players with moderate to great upside. The Clippers have been consistent 55+ wins team for awhile now. I think that will remain same but this team actually is more dangerous than previous 55+ Clippers team.

DIDN'T IMPROVE: San Antonio Spurs
I know. They're a heavy favorite with Aldridge signing. But some of you know that I haven't really been a fan of Aldridge. Well, that didn't change.
Added are David West and Aldridge. Gone are Joseph, Belinelli, and Splitter. On paper, this might look like a significant improvement. But considering the type of player that Aldridge is, I am just not too sure how he will improve a team that relies on balanced contribution. What Aldridge really is a mid range player and one that requires high ball usage. So his numbers come at cost of other players' touches and average efficiency considering mid range isn't really the best basketball play. Also to factor in that Duncan, Manu, Parker core is one year older, there's always great risk that their legs will finally catch up to their age. It's bound to happen like everyone else(Nash, Garnett, Dirk, etc). Also to mention that they're risking against small ball movement as they go big, this is an experiment than guarantee.



Share your thoughts.

[mp3]

Come on dude it's still far to early to judge teams.

You just earned a CoryMach badge of honour lol

Since we are on this Bucks don't look to good right now...

[Andrew]

The pre-season is upon us and rosters are pretty much taking shape. I think the timing is right for some early evaluations and predictions.

I'd have to agree that the Clippers had a good offseason. Putting aside the controversy, they got the job done in retaining one of their key free agents, kept together a roster that imploded, yes, but still had a pretty good year. Throw in some solid additions headed up by Paul Pierce, and they've set themselves up for another good run.

I'd throw the Bulls out there as a team that didn't really get better, though they didn't get worse, either. Portis has promise, but aside from that, any improvement this year is going to have to come from staying healthy and the existing core playing better. Their prospects aren't exactly terrible, but they didn't really move the needle with their offseason. Not that they were in a great position to do so, but it is what it is.

[mp3]

Knicks... 2-0

#Respect

Lol

I think when I look around at the games played so far it's more certain players that got a lot better even if there team hasn't.

[Patr1ck]

With Aldridge seemingly "taking over" after Duncan retires, he may actually be trade bait if he doesn't work out. If he signed to become a champion, then he has the discipline to become another contributor on the Spurs like Michael Finley did.

Clippers improved on paper, but the heart and discipline of how the new guys fit will tell whether it is an improvement or not.

What about the Lakers? Will Roy Hibbert reemerge as a top inside defensive threat? When will Kobe go down or has he tamed his mental drive to match his physical capabilities?

[iamSamke]

Come on dude it's still far to early to judge teams.

You just earned a CoryMach badge of honour lol

Since we are on this Bucks don't look to good right now...

Hhahaha

[Andrew]

Let's not derail the thread by focusing on something that isn't the topic at hand.

What about the Lakers? Will Roy Hibbert reemerge as a top inside defensive threat? When will Kobe go down or has he tamed his mental drive to match his physical capabilities?

It's difficult to imagine Kobe slowing down, and picking and choosing his spots, but perhaps early endings to his season the past couple of years have changed his mind. It's going to be one of those things that I'll believe when I see.

[NovU]

The Lakers underachieved last year mostly because management neglected to play right and rather opted to tank especially since the Kobe injury. So imho I don't consider the Lakers improved roster wise. All you need to do is look at the added players(Dangelo, Hibbert, Lou) versus lost players (Lin, Ed, Hill, Boozer, Wes, etc). I don't know if that's improvement much. But rather it's matter of motivation and more importantly which direction management wants to take.

As for the Bulls and Knicks, I actually consider them improved, Bulls slightly, Knicks quite a bit. Rose and Noah can't be worse from last year unless major injury hits again and you have development of young guys like Mirotic, McDermott, Butler to look forward to. Pau Gasol's resting/aging might somewhat offset the upside, but I still have the Bulls closer to 'improved' than 'didn't'. The Knicks? It's obvious they are better this year. Larkin played the most minutes for the Knicks last year, followed closely by Jason Smith, Hardaway jr, Langston respectively. Melo was only 5th for most logged minutes. Next follow ups respectively are Acy, Jose, Lance, Aldrich, Amare, Amundson, Prigioni, Barganani, Wear, Early. Decent skilled players like Shumpert, JR, and Shved were among least minute loggers. It's not a surprise the Knicks only won handful of games last year.

[Andrew]

I think the Bulls can potentially be better, but in terms of making significant moves to improve...well, they didn't make any. They did all they could do, which was use their Draft pick on someone with potential, and that's fine. It seems like they made a pretty decent pick, for where they were on the board. Any significant improvement is coming from within, rather than additions they've made.

To put it another way: they didn't make themselves any better, but they can be better this year.

[NovU]

I could agree to that. That's a good way to put it for the Bulls.



One team I'm puzzled about is 76ers. I am thinking another lost season aka tanking year but how long has this been going on I lost the count? Sooner or later this gotta stop, and I doubt it's gonna be this year.

[Andrew]

It's definitely a slow, slow build with the 76ers. The MCW trade caught me off-guard last year, but I guess they don't want to waste any time keeping around players they don't think will pan out in the long run, and it would seem they had their doubts about him.

[mp3]

MCW was ROY and they traded him just like that, it's all very well having tons of high draft picks on your team but at some point you have to just stick with what you have and work on chemistry.

Id hate to be a Sixers fan... and that's coming from a knicks fan!

[NovU]

WOW! Lowry scores 40 points.

I may be bit biased but I will say that Raptors this year are primed to be a serious contender in East. Years of playing together and once young players are now in their prime with much playoffs experience under their belt. Lowry and Valanciunas are solid key guys. Derozan is a nice second fiddle to Lowry(kinda like Klay Thompson is to Curry) and addition of DeMarre Carroll put them over the top(like Iggy for GSW). I think they went from mediocre to a solid contender. If you say CLE is East's Spurs, then TOR is East's Warriors.

[shadowgrin]

MCW was ROY and they traded him just like that, it's all very well having tons of high draft picks on your team but at some point you have to just stick with what you have and work on chemistry.

Id hate to be a Sixers fan... and that's coming from a knicks fan!

Nah, Knicks still have it worse.

Despite the Sixers tanking, it still had a better team than the Knicks last season, most likely this season too, and even in the near future.

Knicks fans are stuck with Carmelo and Derek Fisher to enjoy.

[Lamrock]

You know I think Portland might fall off a bit this year.

[mp3]

I know your joking Lamrock but I actually really like the young core you guys have.

Ur Boi Bangs Chol... really? Lol

I know the Sixers have some nice young players.... till they trade them for more draft picks!

[Andrew]

How would everyone rate the Mavericks' offseason? I'm inclined to put them in the "didn't improve" category, despite a couple of solid (and potentially solid) additions. Granted, Monta Ellis isn't the most efficient scorer, nor an elite two way player, but he's still capable of putting points up on the board. They also lost Tyson Chandler, and ended up missing out on DeAndre Jordan. Do the additions of a capable (but seemingly rapidly declining) Deron Williams, a recovering-from-injury Wes Matthews, and JaVale McGee (not untalented, but questionable basketball IQ, and still less of a player than he could be) balance out those departures, or in Jordan's case, make up for what could have been?

[Spree#8]

Third year of neglecting short-term wins and favoring long-term development of their young players. That's pretty quick to lose count and teams have sucked for longer than that. That said, the players and coaching staff do try to win every game - they just don't have a lot of talent. They may not have improved roster-wise except the addition of Okafor, but guys like Noel, Covington, Grant or Sampson should develop some and the team should be slightly better that way.

As for it having to stop sometime... well, they most likely have four 1st round picks (their own with Sacramento swap rights, Lakers top3-protected, Heat top10-protected with GS swap rights, Thunder top15-protected with GS swap rights) and two high 2nd rounders (their own and Denver's) in the upcoming draft, Saric is likely coming over next summer and who knows, perhaps Embiid will finally suit up for them.

Add that to what they already have and what you end up with is a lot of young, high-upside guys to either develop or use as trade ammo for a disgruntled star somewhere. They will also still have a lot of future picks and tons upon tons of cap space to lure FAs with or rent to teams with luxury tax problems for more future assets. Until he figures he has a superstar on the team, Hinkie's focus is on player development and maintaining future flexibility, he's been very transparent about that.

I definitely wouldn't want to switch places with the Knicks. At this point, all they really have is hope that Porzingis will become a superstar and an aging Melo with a huge contract. They also lack some of their picks in upcoming years, if I remember correctly.

[Kevin]

I think you still can't determine how the Lakers did this offseason. Most of the players they got are still very young and then we got some players who took a huge step on their development and will now be starting this season instead of riding the bench. So many factors to consider although that might be the same with all the teams . If I would pick one though, I think they have at least improved by writing off irrelevant players.

[Andrew]

Third year of neglecting short-term wins and favoring long-term development of their young players. That's pretty quick to lose count and teams have sucked for longer than that. That said, the players and coaching staff do try to win every game - they just don't have a lot of talent. They may not have improved roster-wise except the addition of Okafor, but guys like Noel, Covington, Grant or Sampson should develop some and the team should be slightly better that way.

As for it having to stop sometime... well, they most likely have four 1st round picks (their own with Sacramento swap rights, Lakers top3-protected, Heat top10-protected with GS swap rights, Thunder top15-protected with GS swap rights) and two high 2nd rounders (their own and Denver's) in the upcoming draft, Saric is likely coming over next summer and who knows, perhaps Embiid will finally suit up for them.

Add that to what they already have and what you end up with is a lot of young, high-upside guys to either develop or use as trade ammo for a disgruntled star somewhere. They will also still have a lot of future picks and tons upon tons of cap space to lure FAs with or rent to teams with luxury tax problems for more future assets. Until he figures he has a superstar on the team, Hinkie's focus is on player development and maintaining future flexibility, he's been very transparent about that.

I definitely wouldn't want to switch places with the Knicks. At this point, all they really have is hope that Porzingis will become a superstar and an aging Melo with a huge contract. They also lack some of their picks in upcoming years, if I remember correctly.

I think the 76ers are unfairly maligned for their current rebuilding strategy. Sure, it isn't pretty to be fielding a roster that isn't in a position to be very competitive, but the players themselves are competing to the best of their abilities. Until it can be proven that they're intentionally losing games out on the court - actually actively throwing games, rather than simply not being good enough to win a lot of them - then it's all above board.

As tough as it is for them and the fanbase to weather, it's also a lot smarter than overpaying just to be mediocre and mildly competitive, at best. In lieu of being able to make a big trade (easier said than done) or land a key free agent (easier in theory than making a trade, harder in practice to land a big name), the only way to get better is through the Draft. Getting some young players with a lot of potential, and not committing a lengthy tenure or a lot of money to anyone they don't see as being a part of their future, is a sound strategy. It's a slow build, but it's better than wasting money on a roster that's going to have a couple of decent years as a 6th-8th seed and first round exits, only to have to rebuild again when it's clear said roster doesn't have a future.

[shadowgrin]

Ur Boi Bangs Chol... really? Lol

I know the Sixers have some nice young players.... till they trade them for more draft picks!

Yep, draft picks that will produce more nice young players.

Meanwhile the Knicks have the superstar duo of Carmelo and Afflalo along with a core of Calderon, Lopez (good signing tbh), Seraphin, Porzingis, and Vujacic that may not even make the playoffs or get swept in the 1st round at best for years to come.

Sixers future so bright you gotta wear shades.

[mp3]

Draft picks only produce nice young players until they trade them again and start over.

At some point you have to say "this is our team" and start building chemistry.

Sixers players must feel really unsettled not knowing who will be gone next.

In fact the Sixers players must feel just like the game of thrones cast !

[shadowgrin]

Sixers haven't reached that point yet, so might as well stock and flip assets.

Why bother building chemistry in a shit team that you will dismantle after a few years anyway because it's shit. I'm referring to the Knicks btw.

Being unsettled is not an issue, players in any team can always be traded or cut, unless they are superstars or important core of the team. Players changing teams and being traded will always happen in any team.

[mp3]

More so if your the Sixers tho!

Last year it seemed that any player who played well and got them the win was traded or waived soon after lol

[benji]

That was probably the year prior when they flipped busts Evan Turner and Spencer Hawes after letting them pad their stats.

With the team waiting on Embiid, dumping MCW was the right thing to do. I'd argue Tony Wroten isn't any worse (especially on a team like this), and he's three years younger. They seriously can't draft another big though. Unless it's Ben Simmons or the other options stink.

Then you dip into free agency to build up the perimeter. Maybe some guards in the draft or keep rotating the fringe ones they've been doing.

Embiid knocked things off course, now by the time these pieces are put into place, MCW will be 26 and looking for a big contract extension.