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Forecasting the future of the Western Conference

framer said:
Grizzlies aren't really contenders.
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They've got Ja and Desmond Bane in their backcourt, with Smart as a 3rd guard. They've got an interesting mix of bigs with JJJ, Aldama and Edey. Plus, they've got young players with upside in Vince Williams and GG Jackson. I think it's fair to call them a top-5 team in the WC.
 
If the Clips get Bridges that’s good. It solidifies them. We need the Dubs to sign someone now.
 
The Jazz Wonderbra said:
What you're saying is...

We need to trade for Suns, Laker, Clippers, and or Warriors picks. Rrrrrright.
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If the Warriors want to reach for Lauri, then yeah, their picks are probably going to be pretty nice in a couple years, maybe as early as the '26 draft. This past year, they gave the Blazers the 14th pick.
 
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jazznik said:
I would take away from contenders the Grizzles (have not proved anything yet) and the Mavericks. People always tend to overreact to the recent overachievements (case in point is the Hawks f3 years ago) but if you look closely at Dallas you will see that their foundation is weak: Kyrie could not sustain a high-level play for several years without some self-destructing drama and he is also getting old for a small guard, Klay is also pretty old and Luka's lack of conditioning will catch up with him at some point. They are quite likely to become a newer version of the Clippers.

Also, depending on how the Pels finish this offseason they can easily ascend into the contender tier next season, in the "if-everything-clicks-perfectly" variety of it.
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I've been waiting for the Pels to put it together for years. They need Zion to stay healthy, and he just hasn't been able to do it. I like the Dejounte Murray acquisition and moving CJ off the ball, but here isn't enough offensive creation if Zion isn't available and playing at a high level.

Luka is now a perennial MVP candidate. PJ Washington and Derrick Lively are nice complementary pieces. It would be nice if they had more offensive punch than just Kyrie, but the Mavs just went to the Finals and smacked the Wolves in the WCF. That's the definition of a contender.

The Clippers are just old already. Kawhi doesn't stay healthy. Powell and Batum have fallen off. James Harden is still pretty nice, but can't do it for a full season at 35 y.o. Losing Paul George hurts their perimeter on both ends.
 
sip said:
They are most definitely contenders. Also the rockets are firmly in the on their way up category. The same goes for the Pelicans. The Pelicans are pretty damn close to contender status with the addition of Murray. They still need a center but they have the assets to go out and get one.
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I'm not sure about the Rockets. They bottomed out, but haven't gotten consistent performance from Jabari Smith or Jalen Green. They got Amen Thompson, but then they handed the ball to Fred VanVleet. Sengun has defensive limitations and could be used better on offense. Dillon Brooks and Tari Eason and tough, energy guys, but not enough to lift them in the playoffs.

The Rockets have a couple of draft picks from Brooklyn and Phoenix, so keep an eye on that. Overall though, the Spurs and Thunder are much better positioned than the Rockets.
 
Ferguson_Mellochill said:
Looking at the near future of the Western Conference, the Jazz are doing the right thing to try to bottom out. The tide is definitely turning with older teams sliding, but it's going to take a lot to compete with the Thunder, Mavericks and Spurs going forward.

Contenders for the Next Few Years
  • Oklahoma City Thunder
  • Dallas Mavericks
  • Denver Nuggets
  • Minnesota Thunder
  • Memphis Grizzlies
On Their Way Up
  • San Antonio Spurs
A Bit Stuck in the Middle
  • New Orleans Pelicans
  • Sacramento Kings
  • Houston Rockets probably
Aging Teams on the Decline
  • LA Lakers
  • LA Clippers
  • Golden State Warriors
  • Phoenix Suns
Under Construction
  • Utah Jazz
  • Portland Trailblazers
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The Minnesota Thunder certainly are an intriguing team.
 
Ferguson_Mellochill said:
I'm not sure about the Rockets. They bottomed out, but haven't gotten consistent performance from Jabari Smith or Jalen Green. They got Amen Thompson, but then they handed the ball to Fred VanVleet. Sengun has defensive limitations and could be used better on offense. Dillon Brooks and Tari Eason and tough, energy guys, but not enough to lift them in the playoffs.

The Rockets have a couple of draft picks from Brooklyn and Phoenix, so keep an eye on that. Overall though, the Spurs and Thunder are much better positioned than the Rockets.
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That is a strange way of looking at a team that exceeded expectations by a lot last year even with injury issues. It was basically a lost year from Eason. Amen missed significant amount of games early but really started to click late in the season. Whitmore was a total steal and looked great. Jabari Smith improved significantly from year 1 to 2 and barely turned 21. Then they drafted Sheppard who is basically the perfect fit for them as a guard that compliments everyone.
 
sip said:
That is a strange way of looking at a team that exceeded expectations by a lot last year even with injury issues. It was basically a lost year from Eason. Amen missed significant amount of games early but really started to click late in the season. Whitmore was a total steal and looked great. Jabari Smith improved significantly from year 1 to 2 and barely turned 21. Then they drafted Sheppard who is basically the perfect fit for them as a guard that compliments everyone.
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The Rockets had a late-season run last year, but were otherwise a slightly sub .500 team. They aren't looking like a team that will ascend to the upper echelons of the Western Conference. Their foundation of Jabari Smith, Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson isn't good enough. Thompson is the only one with some All Sar potential, but he'd need to play on the ball a lot more. Sheppard is going to need to hit in a big way to change their outlook. I don't think you can compare them to OKC and SAS who already have All NBA-level talent.
 
Are you boys willing to change your tune on the rockets? Their future is as bright as any teams with Sheppard and Whitmore as future stars.
 
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