Slowly but surely, the NBA offseason is coming to an end.
Kevin Durant will remain with the Brooklyn Nets. Donovan Mitchell may stay with the Utah Jazz. Is Patrick Beverly… the Lakers?
Now that the summer drama is over (for now), it’s time to list the different tiers of the Western Conference, from underground to guaranteed contenders.
Even if 10 of the 15 teams make it to at least a play-in tournament, there’s little room for error in the West.
Tier 7: Basement
Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs
If this is Gregg Popovich’s swan song on the bench, it’s not going to increase his odds of winning the eventual Hall of Fame plaque. The Spurs are in full rebuild mode after trading Dejounte Murray to the Atlanta Hawks for three first-round picks.
Like most bottom-place teams, Houston’s highlight of the offseason was the draft, selecting Jabari Smith Jr. with the third pick. The Rockets can spend most of the season hoping that the Durant-Nets reconciliation won’t last long.
Oklahoma City received devastating news Thursday morning. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that No. 2 overall pick Chet Holmgren will miss the entire 2022-23 season.
We’ll have to wait a full year to see Holmgren and Aleksej Pokusevski’s “Slim Towers” in action.
Tier 6: What’s going on…
utah jazz
Insert Brian Windhorst meme here. Utah is in an odd position heading into the season.
The Jazz parted ways with 1-2 punch halves from Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, sending the 7-foot-1 big man to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the biggest trade of the offseason.
New York Knicks fans believe he’ll get just about any star that hints at his availability (remember Kevin Durant?).And for a while, Mitchell seemed destined to go to the Empire State. Tony Jones of The Athletic reported Thursday that the Knicks and the Jazz are nowhere near an agreement.
See if it lasts past the trading deadline.
Tier 5: Playoff hungry
Sacramento Kings, Portland Trail Blazers
The Kings famously missed the playoffs for 16 years. The Trail Blazers, led by Damian Lillard, underperformed the 2021-22 postseason for the first time in eight years.
Both teams are desperate to make the bracket.
Lillard is healthy again. The Trail Blazers have reacquired Anfanie Simmons and Jusuf Nurkic in a trade for Jerami Grant. Sign Gary Payton II — The bulk of the Warriors’ defensive efforts in recent championships.
Sacramento now doubles and triples its mission to win, surrounding DeAaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis with a young core that includes current Las Vegas Summer League MVP and No. 4 overall pick Keegan Murray.
The Kings have talent. So is Portland. The biggest problem for both of them is playing in a West that happens to be heavily loaded.
Tier 4: unknown
Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Pelicans, Los Angeles Lakers
Former Nuggets basketball president Tim Connery has stepped down from two-time MVP Nikola Jokic to lead the Wolves’ front office. Soon after, Connery paid a large amount of picks and rolls for his players to acquire Gobert.
What will that frontcourt look like with Gobert playing alongside center Karl-Anthony Towns? It may be the biggest mystery heading into the regular season.
Whatever unfolds there, Anthony Edwards announced that he’s joined the playoff series with the Memphis Grizzlies (and starred as Kermit Wilts in Adam Sandler’s “Hustle” movie). he will come
In New Orleans, a healthy Zion Williamson may be teaming up with CJ McCallum and Brandon Ingram for a TV show. But the Pelicans’ success remains with his 22-year-old, who missed all of last year and has only 85 games left on his NBA resume.
And what about the Lakers?
It’s strange to call a team with veteran superstars Anthony Davis and LeBron James unknown, but their performance last season at Crypto.com Arena wasn’t too bad. On Wednesday night, the Lakers traded Russell Westbrook’s longtime nemesis Patrick Beverly.
It’s fascinating to see Beverly and Westbrook share the court – Beverly Apparently they called him ‘scum’ last season – Alternatively, the Lakers would trade “Brody” away.
Fasten your seat belt.
Tier 3: Stars with a lot to prove
Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks
Jokic and Luka Doncic deserve their respective ranks.
Both are superstars. Jokic is the league’s back-to-back MVP and Doncic is one of his top scorers in basketball.
However, the Mavericks took a step back this offseason, losing Jalen Brunson to the New York Knicks. Doncic has already proven that he can easily beat a team on his own, but unless owner Mark Cuban suggests a quick defensive fix in next season’s “Shark Tank,” the Mavs’ Western A surprise run to the conference finals feels like their peak.
The Nuggets will pair Jamal Murray with Jokic. It’s fun. But is it good enough for a deep playoff run?
Tier 2: Motivated
Phoenix Suns, Memphis Grizzlies
The self-proclaimed Memphis Dynasty spent much of last year’s playoffs and offseason announcing their next playoff. Ja Morant and company are probably right. It may be another year or two before they take the throne.
Phoenix, led by Chris Paul and Devin Booker, is running out of time. In 2021, a year after he lost a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals, he was one win away from the Conference Finals before the Suns ran out of gas.
Paul, 37, embarks on a quest to win another championship and rewrites the biggest story yet to stain his Hall of Fame resume.
Tier 1: Favorites
Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers
The Warriors have lost some key pieces this offseason in Gary Payton II and Otto Porter Jr., but have acquired players like Donte DiVincenzo and Jamaican Green to give Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Filled in the blanks around the Draymond Green core.
Golden State will be chasing its fifth championship in the past nine years. who can stop them?
The Clippers — yes, the other team playing in the Crypto.com arena — might be the Warriors’ biggest challengers. Kawhi Leonard returns to a Clippers squad loaded with veteran talent around him and Paul George.
Gone are the days when the NBA had at most two or three contenders. Parity is the name of the game for 2022-23.
