The Athletics Summer Power Rankings

[flyerhawk]

The Athletic's NBA Power Rankings: After the free agency...

It's a paid sit so I'll post their rankings here..

30 Charlotte Hornets (Previously 26th)
29 Memphis Grizzlies (Previously 25th)
28 Washington Wizards (Previously 24th)
27 Cleveland Cavaliers (previously 29th)
26 New York Knicks (Previously 30th)
25 Phoenix Suns (Previously 28th)
24 Oklahoma City Thunder (Previously 14th)
23 Chicago Bulls (Previously 27th)
22 Atlanta Hawks (Previously 23rd)
21 Minnesota Timberwolves (Previously 19th)
20 Dallas Mavericks (Previously 22nd)
19 Detroit Pistons (Previously 16th)
18 New Orleans Pelicans (Previously 21st)
17 San Antonio Spurs (Previously 11th)
16 Sacramento Kings (Previously 17th)
15 Orlando Magic (Previously 16th)
14 Miami Heat (Previously 18th)
13 Toronto Raptors (Previously 1st)
12 Boston Celtics (Previously 13th)
11 Brooklyn Nets (Previously 15th)
10 Indiana Pacers (Previously 12th)
09 Golden State Warriors (Previously 4th)
08 Los Angeles Lakers (Previously 9th)
07 Portland Trail Blazers (Previously 5th)
06 Houston Rockets (Previously 3rd)
05 Philadelphia 76ers (Previously 6th)
04 Denver Nuggets (Previously 7th)
03 Utah Jazz (Previously 10th)
02 Milwaukee Bucks (Previously 2nd)
01 LA Clippers (Previously 8th)

Surprised to see the Lakers are 8. Thought they would be higher. Jazz are surprisingly high.

 

[bksballer89]

I agree where they have my Heat

 

[Shaqdaddy11]

The Athletic's NBA Power Rankings: After the free agency...

It's a paid sit so I'll post their rankings here..

30 Charlotte Hornets (Previously 26th)
29 Memphis Grizzlies (Previously 25th)
28 Washington Wizards (Previously 24th)
27 Cleveland Cavaliers (previously 29th)
26 New York Knicks (Previously 30th)
25 Phoenix Suns (Previously 28th)
24 Oklahoma City Thunder (Previously 14th)
23 Chicago Bulls (Previously 27th)
22 Atlanta Hawks (Previously 23rd)
21 Minnesota Timberwolves (Previously 19th)
20 Dallas Mavericks (Previously 22nd)
19 Detroit Pistons (Previously 16th)
18 New Orleans Pelicans (Previously 21st)
17 San Antonio Spurs (Previously 11th)
16 Sacramento Kings (Previously 17th)
15 Orlando Magic (Previously 16th)
14 Miami Heat (Previously 18th)
13 Toronto Raptors (Previously 1st)
12 Boston Celtics (Previously 13th)
11 Brooklyn Nets (Previously 15th)
10 Indiana Pacers (Previously 12th)
09 Golden State Warriors (Previously 4th)
08 Los Angeles Lakers (Previously 9th)
07 Portland Trail Blazers (Previously 5th)
06 Houston Rockets (Previously 3rd)
05 Philadelphia 76ers (Previously 6th)
04 Denver Nuggets (Previously 7th)
03 Utah Jazz (Previously 10th)
02 Milwaukee Bucks (Previously 2nd)
01 LA Clippers (Previously 8th)

Surprised to see the Lakers are 8. Thought they would be higher. Jazz are surprisingly high.

Jazz are way too high. I have the Nuggets, Sixers and Lakers above them. I'll take the Lakers over the Rockets and Blazers too.

 

[bksballer89]

Jazz are way too high. I have the Nuggets, Sixers and Lakers above them. I'll take the Lakers over the Rockets and Blazers too.

Pacers are too high

 

[flyerhawk]

Their Utah writeup --
We’re about to see an entirely different Jazz team. I’ve struggled on trying to figure out just exactly where they sit in the West and the entire league. Am I certain they’ll be a better team in the regular season than Denver or the Lakers or Portland or Houston? Not necessarily. All of these teams will be thrown into a Western Conference stew. Put your ladle into the stew and I’m not sure which teams gets pulled out from the rest. However, I’m pretty confident the Jazz have what it takes to go deep into the West playoffs. This group is fairly battle tested over the last couple years. They just couldn’t do anything with Houston’s firepower. So what did they do?

They went out and traded for Mike Conley, who is a perfect complement to Donovan Mitchell. They grabbed Bojan Bogdanovic to space the floor. They’re going to truly start out with Rudy Gobert protecting the defense and four perimeter players looking to make life H-E-Double hockey sticks for their opponents. Quin Snyder will get to flex that comprehensive playbook more than ever. Ed Davis is a great replacement for Derrick Favors. Emmanuel Mudiay is a solid backup point guard. If they can get Dante Exum back relatively healthy, they have a ton of depth. They probably need one more perimeter wing or guard for depth, but the Jazz look ready to push through the first and second rounds.

 

[bksballer89]

The only write up I would like to see is on the Miami Heat.

 

[Gman]

I could quibble about the Celtics position... but it's not a travesty or anything.

Overall, it's not bad. I might make a slight change here or there... but no biggie.

 

[Shanemansj13]

I love to see the Cleveland Cavaliers write-up...who wouldn't

 

[bksballer89]

I could quibble about the Celtics position... but it's not a travesty or anything.

Overall, it's not bad. I might make a slight change here or there... but no biggie.

I would swap them and Indy

 

[flyerhawk]

The only write up I would like to see is on the Miami Heat.

1. Miami Heat (Previously 18th)

I can’t tell if this feels too low for Miami or if this feels just right. Upgrading to Jimmy Butler when they didn’t have the cap space to acquire him is pretty remarkable. They might still have another move in them to acquire Chris Paul from OKC. While acquiring CP3’s contract looks like a bad gamble and allocation of money, they’d still be acquiring a very good point guard for next season. That’s pretty important. Miami feels like health kept them from being a playoff team. They also feel like the subtraction of Hassan Whiteside will be a huge boost for them on and off the court.

They just need to figure out what they can get from the complementary parts to Butler. Dion Waiters is in shape. If he remains on the team, will he have the right attitude to be a Sixth Man type of weapon the Heat can rely on? Was Justise Winslow’s progression as a playmaker a glimpse into the future? Can Bam Adebayo handle full-time starting center duties? Do the Heat have enough shooting on this roster? They’re definitely in a better, more focused place than they were a year ago. Their cap situation is looking better, unless they acquire CP3. Erik Spoelstra is an excellent coach and he has a real weapon to gameplan around this season. It’s possible they challenge for a top 4 seed in the East.

 

[Shanemansj13]

The Jazz are 5 spots higher than the Lakers? lol We will see when it is playoff time. The Jazz lose to the Rockets every year and Mitchell falls apart in the playoffs. Conley should help so we shall see

 

[flyerhawk]

I could quibble about the Celtics position... but it's not a travesty or anything.

Overall, it's not bad. I might make a slight change here or there... but no biggie.

I would probably say it is a touch too low. They really don't like your bigs which is what hurt the ranking.

 

[flyerhawk]

I love to see the Cleveland Cavaliers write-up...who wouldn't

1. Cleveland Cavaliers (previously 29th)

One more expensive season for Cleveland and then the Cavaliers get to really enjoy some flexibility. Kevin Love is locked in for four more years at a big price tag. They can start shopping him aggressively at some point, but it might make more sense to move him next summer when the free agent class is kind of weak. You can create a better demand for him then. After that, they’ve got a significant number of good sized contracts coming off the books in 2020. Tristan Thompson ($18.5M), JR Smith ($4.4M), Brandon Knight ($15.6M), Jordan Clarks0n ($13.4M), John Henson ($9.7M), and Matthew Dellavedova ($9.6M) all have expiring contracts this coming season. That’s $71.5 million in expiring deals for a bunch of veterans who could help a contender and Jordan Clarkson that Koby Altman can deal this season.

The Cavs were already the most trade happy, active team last season. I’d expect much of the same as they try to get more and more draft picks on their side. The young core looks really solid too. Darius Garland, Collin Sexton, Cedi Osman, Dylan Windler, and Kevin Porter Jr can all have some time to develop under John Beilein. Altman has done a really good job in a pretty bad situation (when he took over) to give Cavs fans hope. That’s something they haven’t had in a really long time when LeBron James isn’t involved.

 

[DJ]

1. Cleveland Cavaliers (previously 29th)

One more expensive season for Cleveland and then the Cavaliers get to really enjoy some flexibility. Kevin Love is locked in for four more years at a big price tag. They can start shopping him aggressively at some point, but it might make more sense to move him next summer when the free agent class is kind of weak. You can create a better demand for him then. After that, they’ve got a significant number of good sized contracts coming off the books in 2020. Tristan Thompson ($18.5M), JR Smith ($4.4M), Brandon Knight ($15.6M), Jordan Clarks0n ($13.4M), John Henson ($9.7M), and Matthew Dellavedova ($9.6M) all have expiring contracts this coming season. That’s $71.5 million in expiring deals for a bunch of veterans who could help a contender and Jordan Clarkson that Koby Altman can deal this season.

The Cavs were already the most trade happy, active team last season. I’d expect much of the same as they try to get more and more draft picks on their side. The young core looks really solid too. Darius Garland, Collin Sexton, Cedi Osman, Dylan Windler, and Kevin Porter Jr can all have some time to develop under John Beilein. Altman has done a really good job in a pretty bad situation (when he took over) to give Cavs fans hope. That’s something they haven’t had in a really long time when LeBron James isn’t involved.

WAIT FOR IT......

 

[tducey]

Clippers at 1 is a bit high for me. League's such a crap shoot this year that up to 10-12 teams have a decent chance to win it all.

 

[trojanfan12]

Clippers at 1 is a bit high for me. League's such a crap shoot this year that up to 10-12 teams have a decent chance to win it all.

Depends, imo.

If they are ranking teams in terms of where they will finish the regular season, then yes, the Clippers are ranked too high. They'll likely have Kawhi sitting out for at least 20 games for "load management" and they'll probably sit PG some too.

But if they're ranking according to who's likely to win the title, there's a strong argument for the Clips to be #1.

 

[flyerhawk]

Clippers at 1 is a bit high for me. League's such a crap shoot this year that up to 10-12 teams have a decent chance to win it all.

Well someone has to be No. 1. The Clippers are just as good a choice for that spot as any other team in the league.

 

[trojanfan12]

Well someone has to be No. 1. The Clippers are just as good a choice for that spot as any other team in the league.

Yeah, there are at least 5 and probably 8 teams that you can make a good case for being #1.

Probably a couple of others where it wouldn't be completely crazy to put them in the convo as well.

 

[Gman]

There are more questions and intrigue going into next season than we've had in the recent past, but it simply isn't true that there are upwards of 12 teams that have "decent" chances...

I see 4-5 teams in the mix, with the Clippers as the leader of the group.

Teams like Houston and Denver... they are gonna win games during the regular season, but come playoff time I just don't see them as being able to beat a team like the Clippers in a 7 game series.

1.) Clippers
...
2a.) Philly
2b.) Milwaukee
2c.) Lakers
2d.) Utah

 

[msgkings322]

There are more questions and intrigue going into next season than we've had in the recent past, but it simply isn't true that there are upwards of 12 teams that have "decent" chances...

I see 4-5 teams in the mix, with the Clippers as the leader of the group.

Teams like Houston and Denver... they are gonna win games during the regular season, but come playoff time I just don't see them as being able to beat a team like the Clippers in a 7 game series.

1.) Clippers
...
2a.) Philly
2b.) Milwaukee
2c.) Lakers
2d.) Utah

I would add Denver and maaayybe Portland to the mix but you're right there's not 12 teams with a shot

Still as you said, very intriguing for a change