15. Sacramento Kings

The Kings are a very weird team. Their marquee players are all extremely young, but they went out in the offseason and signed three older free agents in Vince Carter, Zach Randolph, and George Hill. The big story for this team isn’t going to be about how many games they win. It’s going to be about how the young players, specifically De’aaron Fox, Buddy Hield and Justin Jackson play this year. If they show progress, it could mean the turning of a corner for the Kings.

14. Phoenix Suns

The Suns have a very exciting and tantalizing core of young players. Devin Booker can score extremely well, as witnessed by his 70-point game last year. Marquess Chriss and Dragan Bender haven’t quite lived up to expectations, but still have plenty of time to turn their careers around with their incredible athleticism. Josh Jackson, the rookie hasn’t shown much offensively, but he is a very good defender with his size and tenacity on that side of the ball. The team is young, and they’ll grow together into what hopefully is a good unit in the future.

13. Dallas Mavericks

This is painful to do, because this year could be Dirk’s last in the league, but the Mavericks will not be a good team this year. They’ll most likely have a rookie point guard starting for them, which almost never goes well. Their best player is Harrison Barnes, who’s a good isolation scorer but hasn’t shown the ability to do much more. This season will most likely be about getting Dirk to the last milestones he can achieve in what might be the last season of an incredible career.

12. Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers have a bright future for the first time since Kobe Bryant signed his long-term extension. Lonzo Ball showed why he was the 2nd pick in the draft during Summer League, throwing incredible passes and showing amazing potential in a limited setting. Brook Lopez will be a solid pick and roll partner with Ball and in Luke Walton’s fast paced offense, these Lakers could show flashes of returning to their glory days.

11. New Orleans Pelicans

A team with two big-men as the two best players cannot win in today’s NBA. As good as Demarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis are, they won’t be able to overcome the dismal wing and guard depth around them. The team has no spacing on the court with Rajon Rondo and Tony Allen, two horrendous shooters. The big-men need space to work, and they won’t have any on this team. Expect Cousins to leave for greener pastures after this season, and for the Pelicans to clean house.

10. Los Angeles Clippers

This team could finish with the 6^th best record in the West. However, their health cannot be trusted. Blake Griffin and Danilo Gallinari have never proven that they can stay healthy over an 82-game season. Milos Teodosic is one of the most enjoyable players to watch on offense, as he can pass the ball to any player from any angle, in unorthodox ways not seen since Jason Williams. However, he cannot play defense and that will hurt this team’s guard rotation.

9. Denver Nuggets

Nikola Jokic is a star. He and Gary Harris have an incredible chemistry on Harris’s cuts to the hoop. Unfortunately, Jokic is not good defensively. To counteract that, the Nuggets signed the perfect frontcourt partner for Jokic in Paul Millsap. Millsap is an elite defender, and while he can’t shoot the 3-pointer as well as before, he can still provide great minutes as a second or third option on a good team. The Nuggets biggest weakness is their point guard. Emmanuel Mudiay is not impressing anybody so far, and they have no viable options. Without a good floor-general, the Nuggets will not be able to contend with the better teams in the West.

8. Utah Jazz

The Jazz have done everything right over the last few years. They drafted well, they signed good free agents, and they bred continuity over the last few years. They were dealt a huge blow over the summer, as their superstar, Gordon Hayward left for Boston. The Jazz of 2017 will be a great defensive team. Ricky Rubio will harass opposing point guards. Rudy Gobert is the best defensive big man in the league, and their wings are long and athletic enough to stay in front of the elite talents in the NBA. They might not be able to score either. Hayward and George Hill accounted for a large portion of Utah’s offense last year, and both are now on different teams. Rodney Hood will be counted on to shoulder much of the offensive load this year, and how well he performs could determine the success of Utah’s season.

7. Memphis Grizzlies

The girt-and-grind era is over in Memphis. Tony Allen and Zach Randolph are both gone, ending what was the most successful era in Grizzlies history. Instead, Marc Gasol and Mike Conley lead a new team with less depth and more questions than ever before. Can Chandler Parsons step up? Can the bench function as a sound unit? Will David Fizdale have another epic rant during the playoffs? These questions haven’t been answered, but whenever you have 2 of the top 20 players in the NBA, you have a shot to make the playoffs.

6. Portland Trail Blazers

The Blazers made one of the biggest moves at the trade deadline last year, acquiring Jusuf Nurkic from the Denver Nuggets. Nurkic played incredibly well for the team last year, leading them to the playoffs. However, the focus of this team has and will be the two guards. Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum are spectacular players who can erupt for barrages of points any given night. The Blazers are strapped for cap room now, having handed out bad contracts in the summer of 2016. The team they have now is the team they will have for a while, but the development of Nurkic could propel them into a top-4 seed in the West.

5. Minnesota Timberwolves

Minnesota made a big move in the offseason, trading for Jimmy Butler. Butler is an elite wing player who can score off the dribble, in the pick and roll, and as an isolation threat. His defense is also impressive, as he has incredible size and strength to lock down any opposing wing. Karl Anthony-Towns and Andrew Wiggins must be better on defense, as they were both dismal last year. Their development into star players could make the difference in a very competitive Western Conference.

4. Oklahoma City Thunder

OKC went all in this year. They saw that their superstar player, Russell Westbrook was in his last year of his deal. They saw the threat of a bigger city and a bigger market stealing him away. Even though Golden State is still a better team, the additions of Paul George and Carmelo Anthony give them a chance to compete. While Patrick Patterson might not have the name recognition of George or Anthony, he gives them a great option as a small-ball center when they go against teams like Golden State.

3. San Antonio Spurs

Looking at their recent moves, the Spurs may look like they’ve lost their magic touch. Why did they resign Pau Gasol and Lamarcus Aldridge? Why did they not try and make a huge splash in next year’s free agency? The team doesn’t look great, especially with Kawhi Leonard’s injury concerns. However, at the end of the day, this is the San Antonio Spurs. They’ve seen two dynamic franchise altering options retire in David Robinson and Tim Duncan and still haven’t shown any signs of slowing down. With Rudy Gay in the mix, they can smother opposing teams with length and size, harassing a team like Golden State that wants to play smaller and faster. Gregg Popovich is still the best coach in the NBA, and until he retires, the Spurs will be a top-4 seed in the Western Conference.

2. Houston Rockets

While the marquee move of Houston’s offseason was the trade for Chris Paul, they also made other shrewd moves that could propel them to a championship. The signings of P.J. Tucker and Luc Mbah a Moute give them three-point shooting and defense on the wing. Clint Capela is a good rebounder and finisher who should be motivated in a contract year. Their bench depth is a little bit weaker, but Eric Gordon, the aforementioned Mbah a Moute, and Ryan Anderson should give them the required firepower as a second unit. James Harden or Chris Paul could also have their minutes staggered to bolster that second unit.

1. Golden State Warriors

Golden State was the best team in the league last year. They were the best team by a wide margin, and that margin only got larger. They added Omri Casspi and Nick Young to their bench. Casspi is a long defender who can shoot the three-pointer well. Young will get so many open looks on the offense, he’ll have a career year and be set up for a big deal after this year. The Warriors were incredible last year, and they’ll be even better this year. This team’s talent is unrivaled by any other team and they won’t be stopped by any challenger as they go for their 3^rd championship in 4 years.