Golden State Warriors: Clinging to the Past
The Warriors should have utilized their young players much more than they did. Steve Kerr seemed to realize this a bit too late, as Jonathan Kuminga surpassed Klay Thompson’s playing ability much earlier than when Kerr had Kuminga replace Thompson in the starting lineup. Draymond Green was also a problem this season, as he still doesn’t seem capable of keeping his emotions in check, frequently leading to suspensions. Draymond Green and Klay Thompson were huge in the Warriors dynasty but it’s time for Golden State to move on.
Sacramento Kings: Domantas Sabonis’ Ceiling
Sabonis brought the Kings to their first playoff berth in 14 years and elevated the Kings into a team capable of making the playoffs every season. The problem is that he, and trading Tyrese Haliburton to acquire him, limit the ceiling of the Kings. Sabonis is too undersized to be a dominant center, but also doesn’t have the range to be able to play power forward for long stretches in today’s NBA. Sabonis has been a double-edged sword for Sacramento, helping them make the playoffs but limiting their ability to compete once they get there.
Chicago Bulls: Unwilling to Commit to a Full Rebuild
The Bulls have needed to tear this team down and start a full rebuild for a few years now. Chicago, however, has been content with having a team that is good enough to make the play-in game, but not bad enough to have a high pick. Building around a mediocre and older core cuts themselves off from adding top talent in the draft, which effectively keeps them from ever contending. It’s the reason they have been irrelevant ever since Derrick Rose tore his ACL in 2012. Hopefully they finally give in and start their rebuild this summer.
Atlanta Hawks: No Defense
The Hawks had the 4th worst defensive rating in the NBA. You don’t have a chance to compete in any meaningful way with that bad of a defense. Trae Young did miss 28 games this season with various injuries, and his offense may have been enough to push this team into the playoffs had he been healthy, but their defense still wouldn’t have given them a shot against any playoff team. The Hawks might have to trade Trae Young and draft a good defensive player with the first overall pick if they hope to become anything close to a contender.
Brooklyn Nets: Reeling From Another Failed Big 3
The Nets are once again in a terrible position after trying to build a big 3 with older superstars. In 2012, they did this with Deron Williams, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, and wanted to try again with James Harden, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Durant. It didn’t work either time, and now they’re left with minimal picks, a broken Ben Simmons, and a core of Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, and Cam Thomas. The Nets won’t be competing anytime soon without some incredible luck in free agency. Here’s to hoping that they learned their lesson this time and they don’t try to bring in Paul George, Klay Thompson, and Chris Paul in free agency.
Houston Rockets: Slow Start
The Rockets surprisingly finished the season as one of the hotter teams in the league. They were 17-11 after the all-star break including going on an 11-game winning streak during that time. Their record of 24-30 before the All Star break kept them from making the playoffs. This young team just needs to build off that promising end of the season and the continued development of Alperen Sengun, Jalen Green, and Jabari Smith Jr. The future looks bright in Houston.
Utah Jazz: Lack of Elite Building Blocks
Lauri Markkanen has been impressive since joining the Jazz, and was deserving of his all-star appearance last season, but he shouldn’t be the first option on a good team. Markkanen is not really the problem, though, as he can be a great complementary starter! The problem is that they have to rely on him, Jordan Clarkson, Collin Sexton, and John Collins to lead this team. They need a real star or two before they have a chance to compete.
Memphis Grizzlies: Availability
The Grizzlies were decimated by injuries and ended up having 51 different starting lineups this season. Ja Morant’s 25 game suspension didn’t help, but they really didn’t have any chance with all of the injuries they had to deal with. Jaren Jackson Jr. played in the most games this season (66), and even he dealt with a few injuries. It’s unfair to judge this team too critically after a year with this many injuries.
Toronto Raptors: Finally Rebuilding
The Raptors finally decided to trade Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby to progress to the next step in their rebuild. It was always going to be hard to compete after trading away two of your best players. This season was much more about the development of their young players, so it was promising to see Scottie Barnes and Immanuel Quickley playing well together.
San Antonio Spurs: Wemby isn’t in His Prime
Victor Wembanyama is a superstar. I truly believe he’ll end up as one of the best players to ever play in the NBA if he stays healthy. By the end of the year, we saw him put up some ridiculous numbers, and he already led the league in blocks, averaging 3.6 blocks per game. He should have won DPOY this year and will be a perennial contender for that award and the MVP for his entire prime. By the time he is 22 he will probably be able to take this terrible San Antonio team to the playoffs, but he’s just not ready to do that yet at 19. Hopefully the Spurs improve the team around him, so he doesn’t have to be Cleveland LeBron just for them to make the playoffs.
Portland Trail Blazers: 1st Year Without Dame
Did anyone expect the Blazers to be better without Damian Lillard? If you did, you were terribly mistaken as this team was much too young to have a chance without Dame. The good news is that when healthy, Anfrenee Simons and Scoot Henderson both showed tremendous flashes. Finding out which pieces they’re going to build around is all that matters at this stage of their rebuild.
Charlotte Hornets: LaMelo injury
LaMelo Ball only played in 22 games this season and it completely derailed any chance for Charlotte to make the playoffs or compete at all. Luckily Brandon Miller looked like a real star on the wing during LaMelo’s absence. The future is bright for the Hornets if LaMelo can find a way to stay healthy in 2024-25.
Washington Wizards: No Talent
Turns out a Kyle Kuzma and Jordan Poole led team cannot win much in the NBA! I, for one, am not surprised. Two inefficient scorers being asked to carry the full load isn’t going to cut it. They desperately need more talent, and it’s unfortunate that this draft class doesn’t have the obvious superstars that past years have had. The Wizards are lucky the Pistons are in the same league as them, or they would be scrutinized much more.
Detroit Pistons: Misses in the Draft
The Pistons were the worst team in the NBA and one of the worst teams of all time, highlighted by them breaking the record for longest losing streak at 28 games. Their horrible play can be brought back to their misses in the draft. They’re in year four of a rebuild and Cade Cunningham seems to be the only great pick they’ve had. If you go back to 2015, these are the Pistons first round draft picks, 2015 Stanley Johnson (15), 2016 Henry Ellenson (18), 2017 Luke Kennard (12), 2019 Sekou Doumbouya (15), 2020 Killian Hayes (7), 2021 Cunningham (1), 2022 Jaden Ivey (5), 2023 Ausar Thompson (5). That’s quite a lot of misses, so it’s easy to see why this team lacks talent. Jaden Ivey is quite inefficient and struggles defensively, and Ausar Thompson was a talented rookie but shot a terrible 18.6% from three. They need to draft better players and do a much better job developing their young pieces. It doesn’t help that they keep losing the draft lottery, dropping to the 5th overall pick for three years in a row now (including 2024).
Photo by Darren Yamashita (USA Today Sports)
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