The NBA Off Season is almost a month old. While there are still plenty of free agents out there, most signings and trades have been finalized and we can start to see what rosters will look like for next season. This is a good time to give my thoughts on each roster, going division by division, with projected order of finish.
First up, the Northwest division.
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1. Oklahoma City Thunder
Projected Starting Rotation
C - Kendrick Perkins
PF - Serge Ibaka
SF - Kevin Durant
SG - Thabo Sefolosha
PG - Russell Westbrook
Projected Bench
PF/C Nick Collison
PG Reggie Jackson
SG Jeremy Lamb
C Hasheem Thabeet
SF DeAndre Liggins
C Steven Adams
SF/PF Perry Jones
The Thunder will bring back the same starting lineup that they won 60 games with in 2012-2013. It all starts and ends with the big three of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka. The Thunder should be among the league leaders in wins once again, but all is not good in OKC. The team lost Kevin Martin, who was a very good veteran presence and shooter off the bench. It is time for Jeremy Lamb, the key piece of the James Harden deal, to step up and provide some offense for the second unit. Several other former first round picks like Steven Adams, Perry Jones and Andre Roberson could be counted on for minutes. Nick Collison will continue to serve as a bruising big man and Reggie Jackson has earned more minutes following a nice playoff showing, but the Thunder just do not have the bench to withstand an injury to one of their stars, like we saw in the playoffs when Russell Westbrook went down.
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2. Portland Trail Blazers
Projected Starting Lineup
C - Robin Lopez
PF - LaMarcus Aldridge
SF - Nicolas Batum
SG - Wesley Matthews
PG - Damian Lillard
Projected Bench
PG/SG CJ McCollum
SG/SF Dorell Wright
C Meyers Leonard
PG Earl Watson
SG Will Barton
PF Thomas Robinson
PF/C Joel Freeland
The Blazers were in the playoff hunt before a bizarre 13 game losing streak to end the season. There is a lot of talent on this roster to work with, and Portland did a good job of adding to a very shallow bench. Damian Lillard, Wesley Matthews, Nicolas Batum and LaMarcus Aldridge would be solid starters on almost any team. All are in their 20's and should continue to gel together. I think Robin Lopez was one of the most underrated sneaky acquisitions of the summer. He is not a superstar, but I think he could hold down the middle for 25 minutes per game so the Blazers do not have to rely on project Meyers Leonard so much. CJ McCollum was a great draft pick, who should be able to provide scoring at both backup guard positions. Dorell Wright's 2010-2011 season was a fluke but he is another good shooter with experience. Thomas Robinson is shockingly with his third team in 82 games, but has the talent to be the first big man off the bench. Gone are all the terrible Portland draft picks of years past like Nolan Smith, Luke Babbitt and Elliot Williams.
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3. Minnesota Timberwolves
Projected Starting Lineup
C - Nikola Pekovic
PF - Kevin Love
SF - Chase Budinger
SG - Kevin Martin
PG - Ricky Rubio
Projected Bench
SF/PF Derrick Williams
SG/SF Corey Brewer
PG/SG Alexey Shved
PG JJ Barea
PF Dante Cunningham
PF Chris Johnson
SG/SF Shabazz Muhammad
The David Kahn era is thankfully over for Timberwolves fans, and the aftermath is already being felt. This roster has a better flow to it, with the additions of athletic wing players Kevin Martin, Corey Brewer and Shabazz Muhammad. Martin, especially, should be a nice addition. The Wolves have struggled to shoot the ball for years. Nikola Pekovic is currently a restricted free agent but he will be back with Minnesota, and if Kevin Love can stay healthy, the Wolves should have one of the better big man duos in the league. With full seasons from Love and Ricky Rubio, and the continued development of youngsters Derrick Williams and Alexey Shved, the Wolves should fight for a .500 record with a much improved roster.
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4. Denver Nuggets
Projected Starting Lineup
C - JaVale McGee
PF - Kenneth Faried
SF - Wilson Chandler
SG - Randy Foye
PG - Ty Lawson
Projected Bench
PG Andre Miller
PF/C JJ Hickson
SG Evan Fournier
PF/C Darrell Arthur
PF Anthony Randolph
SG/SF Jordan Hamilton
SF/PF Quincy Miller
Coming off a team record 57 win season, the Nuggets lost their general manager, head coach and best player. Not to mention one of their best scorers, Danilo Gallinari, will miss some of the upcoming season due to injury. The Nuggets still have quite a bit of talent. Ty Lawson and Kenneth Faried are young, energetic, up and coming All Star caliber players. But in the ultra competitive West, I think they have taken a pretty big step back. The additions of role players JJ Hickson, Darrell Arthur and Randy Foye do not make up for the losses of Corey Brewer and Andre Iguodala, who were the teams two best perimeter defenders. The Nuggets are still very deep and have the talent to make the playoffs, but I can't see them sniffing anywhere near 57 wins in 2013-2014.
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5. Utah Jazz
Projected Starting Lineup
C - Enes Kanter
PF - Derrick Favors
SF - Gordon Hayward
SG - Alec Burks
PG - Trey Burke
Projected Bench
SG/SF Brandon Rush
PG John Lucas
SF/PF Jeremy Evans
SF Richard Jefferson
PF/C Andris Biedrins
PF/C Rudy Gobert
The Jazz have finally made the right move and are fully committing to their young players. Gone are both Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap, which means talented big men Enes Kanter and Derrick Favors will get every opportunity to succeed. Gordon Hayward is developing nicely and could push 20 points per game as he enters his fourth year. I worry about the rest of the roster, though. Alec Burks and Trey Burke both could struggle to score at the NBA level and there really is no depth to speak of. The Jazz will have to rely on the three players acquired from Golden State. But Utah will have two more draft picks in this upcoming draft to go along with all the youth on their roster, and should be a force in a few years. Playoffs this year are pretty much out of the question, though.
First up, the Northwest division.
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1. Oklahoma City Thunder
Projected Starting Rotation
C - Kendrick Perkins
PF - Serge Ibaka
SF - Kevin Durant
SG - Thabo Sefolosha
PG - Russell Westbrook
Projected Bench
PF/C Nick Collison
PG Reggie Jackson
SG Jeremy Lamb
C Hasheem Thabeet
SF DeAndre Liggins
C Steven Adams
SF/PF Perry Jones
The Thunder will bring back the same starting lineup that they won 60 games with in 2012-2013. It all starts and ends with the big three of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka. The Thunder should be among the league leaders in wins once again, but all is not good in OKC. The team lost Kevin Martin, who was a very good veteran presence and shooter off the bench. It is time for Jeremy Lamb, the key piece of the James Harden deal, to step up and provide some offense for the second unit. Several other former first round picks like Steven Adams, Perry Jones and Andre Roberson could be counted on for minutes. Nick Collison will continue to serve as a bruising big man and Reggie Jackson has earned more minutes following a nice playoff showing, but the Thunder just do not have the bench to withstand an injury to one of their stars, like we saw in the playoffs when Russell Westbrook went down.
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2. Portland Trail Blazers
Projected Starting Lineup
C - Robin Lopez
PF - LaMarcus Aldridge
SF - Nicolas Batum
SG - Wesley Matthews
PG - Damian Lillard
Projected Bench
PG/SG CJ McCollum
SG/SF Dorell Wright
C Meyers Leonard
PG Earl Watson
SG Will Barton
PF Thomas Robinson
PF/C Joel Freeland
The Blazers were in the playoff hunt before a bizarre 13 game losing streak to end the season. There is a lot of talent on this roster to work with, and Portland did a good job of adding to a very shallow bench. Damian Lillard, Wesley Matthews, Nicolas Batum and LaMarcus Aldridge would be solid starters on almost any team. All are in their 20's and should continue to gel together. I think Robin Lopez was one of the most underrated sneaky acquisitions of the summer. He is not a superstar, but I think he could hold down the middle for 25 minutes per game so the Blazers do not have to rely on project Meyers Leonard so much. CJ McCollum was a great draft pick, who should be able to provide scoring at both backup guard positions. Dorell Wright's 2010-2011 season was a fluke but he is another good shooter with experience. Thomas Robinson is shockingly with his third team in 82 games, but has the talent to be the first big man off the bench. Gone are all the terrible Portland draft picks of years past like Nolan Smith, Luke Babbitt and Elliot Williams.
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3. Minnesota Timberwolves
Projected Starting Lineup
C - Nikola Pekovic
PF - Kevin Love
SF - Chase Budinger
SG - Kevin Martin
PG - Ricky Rubio
Projected Bench
SF/PF Derrick Williams
SG/SF Corey Brewer
PG/SG Alexey Shved
PG JJ Barea
PF Dante Cunningham
PF Chris Johnson
SG/SF Shabazz Muhammad
The David Kahn era is thankfully over for Timberwolves fans, and the aftermath is already being felt. This roster has a better flow to it, with the additions of athletic wing players Kevin Martin, Corey Brewer and Shabazz Muhammad. Martin, especially, should be a nice addition. The Wolves have struggled to shoot the ball for years. Nikola Pekovic is currently a restricted free agent but he will be back with Minnesota, and if Kevin Love can stay healthy, the Wolves should have one of the better big man duos in the league. With full seasons from Love and Ricky Rubio, and the continued development of youngsters Derrick Williams and Alexey Shved, the Wolves should fight for a .500 record with a much improved roster.
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4. Denver Nuggets
Projected Starting Lineup
C - JaVale McGee
PF - Kenneth Faried
SF - Wilson Chandler
SG - Randy Foye
PG - Ty Lawson
Projected Bench
PG Andre Miller
PF/C JJ Hickson
SG Evan Fournier
PF/C Darrell Arthur
PF Anthony Randolph
SG/SF Jordan Hamilton
SF/PF Quincy Miller
Coming off a team record 57 win season, the Nuggets lost their general manager, head coach and best player. Not to mention one of their best scorers, Danilo Gallinari, will miss some of the upcoming season due to injury. The Nuggets still have quite a bit of talent. Ty Lawson and Kenneth Faried are young, energetic, up and coming All Star caliber players. But in the ultra competitive West, I think they have taken a pretty big step back. The additions of role players JJ Hickson, Darrell Arthur and Randy Foye do not make up for the losses of Corey Brewer and Andre Iguodala, who were the teams two best perimeter defenders. The Nuggets are still very deep and have the talent to make the playoffs, but I can't see them sniffing anywhere near 57 wins in 2013-2014.
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5. Utah Jazz
Projected Starting Lineup
C - Enes Kanter
PF - Derrick Favors
SF - Gordon Hayward
SG - Alec Burks
PG - Trey Burke
Projected Bench
SG/SF Brandon Rush
PG John Lucas
SF/PF Jeremy Evans
SF Richard Jefferson
PF/C Andris Biedrins
PF/C Rudy Gobert
The Jazz have finally made the right move and are fully committing to their young players. Gone are both Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap, which means talented big men Enes Kanter and Derrick Favors will get every opportunity to succeed. Gordon Hayward is developing nicely and could push 20 points per game as he enters his fourth year. I worry about the rest of the roster, though. Alec Burks and Trey Burke both could struggle to score at the NBA level and there really is no depth to speak of. The Jazz will have to rely on the three players acquired from Golden State. But Utah will have two more draft picks in this upcoming draft to go along with all the youth on their roster, and should be a force in a few years. Playoffs this year are pretty much out of the question, though.
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