The NBA's Five best young and upcoming teams

Right now the Lakers, Spurs, Celtics, Cavs, and Magic are the class of the league. What all these teams have in commons is a veteran nucleus to go along with a mix of young talent.

The teams I’m looking at are the teams who may be the class of the league in a few years. These teams have the core players, the young talent, however, they lack the veteran leadership. While these teams may not contend now, they will dominate in a few years once their young talent develops.

5. Minnesota Timberwolves

While the Timberwolves have had an intriguing offseason with the hiring of a new coach and the whole Ricky Rubio buyout situation, recently I looked at the Timberwolves roster, and the roster is stacked with young talent.

The backcourt is covered; through the draft the Timberwolves acquired two young guards in Jonny Flynn,point guard from Syracuse, and the much hyped Spanish sensation Ricky Rubio. The T-Wolves get two young guards, and whether you play them at the same time or not, you have two more than capable distributors to feed the ball to Al Jefferson and Kevin Love in the paint.

Speaking of Big Al and Kevin Love, the Timberwolves may have the best front court on this list; in fact they have one of the best front courts in the NBA.

Al Jefferson is probably the best scoring big man in the league.

A force in the post, he posses beautiful post moves, and an automatic hook shot.

Jefferson fell to injuries last season, however, look for Jefferson to come back strong next season. He’s still very young, and look for him to be the go to guy next year because he will be even more dangerous with the two young point guards feeding him the ball down low.

The other guy in the post, Kevin Love is an absolute beast in the paint. Love averaged 16 points and 13 rebounds per 36 minutes. Look for Love to be a top five rebounder in the league. Love and Jefferson both look like they’ll form a great front court for years to come if both stay healthy.

The Timberwolves are also going to have a lot of cap space in 2010, the plan is going to be to give a second tier free agent an offer he can’t refuse, like what the Magic did to Rashard Lewis, think of a T-Wolves team with what they have right now, and one of the 2010 free agents.

While the Timberwolves struggled last season, during the month of January the team was red hot, then Al Jefferson went down, don’t be surprised if this team does some things down the road, as they are one of the best young and upcoming teams.

4. Golden State Warriors

The Warriors were another team who struggled last season, as they failed to reach 30 wins. However the Warriors have a nice core of young players, plus the team has looked great in summer league, as Anthony Morrow set the scoring record in a single summer league game record.

The team has plenty of offensive fire power with Monta Ellis coming back healthy, with the big draft day acquisition of Stephen Curry, young big men Andris Biedrins, and summer league sensation Anthony Randolph, to go along with veterans like Corey Maggette and Stephen Jackson.

As you see the Warriors have the young core, Don Nelson will be supplied with the young talent that he can develop into stars. A front court of Anthony Randolph and Andris Biedrins who quietly averaged a double double can be scary. Anthony Randolph will break out, he’s had great summer league games, plus he’s worked hard in the offseason.

Defensively the team will be among the worst in the league, however they will outscore you.

They will be a good rebounding team if Randolph steps up, and it is certain Randolph is the key man.
As for the backcourt, Stephen Curry, Monta Ellis, and Anthony Morrow is a nice deep backcourt. All three can score, and Stephen Curry has superstar potential. It should be interesting how Ellis and Curry share touches.

This team reminds me of the run and gun Suns, they have the talent and potential, however give them some time, one guarantee is, this team will be fun to watch.

3. Chicago Bulls

The Chicago Bulls ended last season on a great note despite losing to the Boston Celtics in the first round. The Bulls have a nice young core with the star Derrick Rose, and big men Tyrus Thomas, and Joakim Noah.

The team struck gold with Derrick Rose in the 2008 draft, the offense has run through Rose; however the team has also put Rose in a situation with a lot of young talent. Big men Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah both have a lot of potential. Thomas and Noah both really shined in the postseason, hitting clutch shots, and rebounding the ball well.

The Bulls lost designated clutch shooter Ben Gordon which is a huge loss, but Gordon can be replaced if Rose steps up, John Salmons will probably start at shooting guard.

The Bulls squad is good enough to make the playoffs; this is the first team on the list that can make the playoffs. The Bulls have the shot blockers, the big man, the point guard, plus they get Luol Deng healthy. Look out for this team, as I stated in my middle of the road team’s article, and this team is good enough to make the postseason, maybe even the second round.

2. Oklahoma City Thunder

After years of mediocrity, the Thunder will contend for a playoff seed this year. The team finally has its young core, with Kevin Durant who has the potential to be the best player in the NBA, yes the best. Another reliable player, Jeff Green averages about 16 points and seven rebounds. Russell Westbrook has been a great floor general averaging 15 points and five rebounds in a stellar rookie campaign last year, and rookie James Harden is a perfect fit.

Is it possible that his team will go to the postseason with the young talent they have right now? Absolutely, however, they tend to rely on Kevin Durant too much, they aren’t a great defensive team, they lack a reliable big man, and they lack bench depth.

However, here’s the plan for Thunder GM Sam Presti, contend this year, then use the $15 million they are rumored to have under the cap and offer a free agent an offer he can’t refuse.
Think of it, they’re not built to win now; they are going to play decent this year, then use the cap space to either lock up Kevin Durant, or make an offer to a free agent on the illustrious list of 2010 free agents.

The Thunder have something really special with the young core they have; they have the chance to be dominant down the road. The sky is the limit for the Thunder. They have the star, and they have the role players. Now let’s see what they’ll be able to do.

1. Portland Trail Blazers

The Blazers are the best young and upcoming team in the NBA. They have all the pieces. Are they serious contenders for the western conference?

Actually, I think they are.

The team has a major scorer in Brandon Roy; the pieces around him are Lamarcus Aldridge, Greg Oden, and Andre Miller.

The Blazers have had a great offseason, despite finishing second in the Hedo Turkoglu sweepstakes. They added a veteran that can get them over the top in Andre Miller, and they locked up the franchise superstar in Brandon Roy and are working to extend Lamarcus Aldridge.

The key is Greg Oden, if Oden finally develops and becomes who they think he was when the Blazers drafted him first overall. With Oden, the Blazers are as good as anybody.

If Oden even becomes a reliable center, they can contend for the Western Conference Title.

The Blazers plan this year was to add a veteran player which they did with Andre Miller despite missing out on the Hedo Turkoglu sweepstakes, and then to extend their core. they did both.

The Blazers get the title of being the best young and upcoming team in the NBA.Plus they are a year older after a first round exit that is still probably lingering in their mouth. This team will do some damage in the Western Conference.