but really, everybody bitches and moans about not winning championships, landing a top 5 pick in this years draft to go along with our 5 studs right now is the best chance the jazz will get in probably a LONG time.
The teams I see at the bottom of the league this year are in no particular order
1. magic
2. suns
3. celtics
4. sixers
5. raps
6. lolcats - al jeff should give em a couple wins
7. wizards - cant really tank if they plan on keeping john wall
8. cavs - ditto irving
9- blazers - hopefully lillard and aldridge keep them afloat
10 -jazz
but yeah, depending on how everybody else does obviously, we could easily be shooting at spots 3-7 in the lottery which puts us in really good position i think
If I had to do tank rankings based on roster right now I'd say:
1) Suns(worst in the West)
2) Sixers(naked roster is naked)
3) Magic(young bloodz still learning and GM still waiting for the big fish)
4) ATL(With Smove gone, Al Horford gonna be alone)
5) Jazz(Only Hayward had legit starter production in the past, to be fair Kanter and Favors have shown gimpses but didn't really get a chance)
6) Bucks(Jennings, Mayo, Ilyasova and Sanders looks only good on paper. Inefficient 1 dimensional player)
7) Bobcats(Yeah they got Big Al, Kemba, Henderson, MKG and Zeller. Add to that Sessions, restricted rights on Mullens , Ben Gordon and Biyombo and you have a lot of 1 dimensional player who won't fit together too good)
8) Celtics(With Rondo expected to miss a part of the season, Green, Gerald Wallace, Sullinger, Bradley, Bass and Lee might win a couple games, but not too many)
9) Kings(Vazquez might be a good addition, but I'm sure Cousins will find a way to cause headache in their frontoffice)
10) Either Detroit, Wiz or Cavs(Josh + Calderon to Pistons = sure playoff, Can Wiz stay healthy? All their core player have missed extended periods of time and they looked horrible in their absence, Can Varejao return to shape early in the last season? Can Waiters make the next step and how will Bennett and Karasev fit in?)
And now it's getting tricky in the West.... Which 4 Teams will lane in the lottery failing to reach the playoffs. I count in OKC, Houston, Memphis, Spurs, Warriors and Clippers at 100%. The Rest depends on Dwight Howard basically.
So I stopping making an order here:
-We have
Denver being a likely 7th playoff team, given that Brian Shaw is known for defensive work. That will probably strengthen their team. But maybe it will fall apart or trades will be done that let the team slip out of the playoffs.
-Next up are the
T-Wolves. While playing a very good and modern offense, their player are neither known for staying healthy nor for playing defense. So I see them dropping out of the playoffs more likely than being in.
-The
Pelicans have shifted their roster. Loaded at guard position with their young three, how will the frontcourt look? Is Aminu back? Ryan Anderson will do what he does best as the most solid part of the front court. How fast will Anthony Davis learn and who's going to be their center with Robin Lopez gone? Unless a miracle happens most likely going to miss playoffs and closer to the 11th highest odds in the lottery.
-Then we have the
Blazers. While their starting lineup of Lillard, Matthews, Batum, Aldridge and Lopez looks blazing, their bench has McCollum and Meyers Leonard on it. Who's going to join them? That's a 50-50 thing IMO that depends heavily on individual improvement of Batum(in terms of consistent performance) and Lillard.
-The last 2 considerations are the
Lakers and the
Mavs...Can either of them secure D12? The team that doesn't is 100% out of the playoffs and into the lottery. How deep they are into it depends on their offseason decisions(Lakers might use amnesty on Pau and/or keep Kobe out of action for an extended period to make sure his achilles heel is good. The Mavs will find an empty market in case they miss on Dwight. So it will be too late to turn the tides) If both miss out and D12 goes to Houston, both teams are lottery teams. The Mavs might even consider deliberate tanking and offer Dirk to find him a new home for a last chance to win a title. If both Dwight and Deron bail Dirk, there's no chance to lure LeBron next year.