Which NBA Team Has Best Young Talent?
There's no more valuable commodity in the NBA than young talent.
From a front-office perspective, young players (especially draftees) are cheaper, easy to mold and even easier to flip for other assets. And as far as fans are concerned, it's tough to top the excitement of a prospect with still-untapped potential.
Speaking at the Bloomberg Sports Business Summit, Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry raised a few eyebrows with a confident claim about his team's collection of youth, reports Frank Madden of Brew Hoop:
"...I think right now we have the best team in the NBA that's under 23. So if you sort of look at it, we have a great group of young guys and the question is how well are they going to develop. We think they're going to develop really well, so I think within three years we'll end up being a pretty formidable team.
"
Bold, huh?
But is Lasry right? Do the Bucks really boast the best young talent in the NBA?
They've got rookie Jabari Parker and Greek phenom Giannis Antetokounmpo, both of whom have extremely bright futures. Maybe that's enough to make Lasry's claim true.
Teams such as the Utah Jazz and Orlando Magic may have something to add to the discussion. So might the championship-contending Cleveland Cavaliers.
To find out, we'll tweak Lasry's parameters just a tad; players qualify if they're 23 or younger (not "under 23") when the 2014-15 season begins.
On each slide, we'll occasionally reference individual and cumulative stats, along with win shares from the 2013-14 season. Those figures won't be the sole determinants in our rankings, but they're good, concrete reference points to use in an otherwise speculative exercise.
What'll matter most is the potential of each team's assembled youth.
Quantity is a factor, as we're searching for depth of talent as well as a singular skill.
Let's figure this out.
Honorable Mention
1 of 7
Oklahoma City Thunder
If it wasn't the case already, Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Scott Brooks will soon find it impossible to justify playing Kendrick Perkins over Steven Adams, OKC's 21-year-old stud center.
Adams logged just 14.8 minutes per contest last season, but during his limited time on the floor, he showed the potential to be a terrific defender, sound interior scorer and better-than-expected passer. He also led the league in baiting opponents into elbowing him, even if he never once reacted violently to said elbows.
Toss in Jeremy Lamb (22) and Perry Jones (23 when the season starts), and the Thunder have some promising young players with which to surround Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka.
Minnesota Timberwolves
More than any other team, evaluating the Minnesota Timberwolves' 23-and-under talent is an exercise in guesswork. Anthony Bennett is a major question mark, even if he showed flashes of being something other than a colossal bust at the end of last season.
Andrew Wiggins was the top pick in a deep draft, but nobody seems to agree on his ceiling. Right now, it sits somewhere between defensive role player and superstar. That's not exactly helpful in predicting how good the young Wolves might someday be.
Zach LaVine is a promising athlete at age 19, but he's a long way from becoming an NBA basketball player. And Shabazz Muhammad, who will only be 21 when the 2014-15 season begins, needs to do something besides score at a low-percentage rate.
Those question marks surrounding an otherwise exciting young core are the reason Minny doesn't crack the top five.
Toronto Raptors
Can you believe Jonas Valanciunas will be just 22 when the upcoming season kicks off?
Few teams are better equipped for the long haul at center than the Toronto Raptors, who got a very impressive 6.7 win shares from Valanciunas last season, per Basketball-Reference.com. Just for context, that was more than Nikola Pekovic, Marc Gasol, Roy Hibbert, Tyson Chandler or Andrew Bogut totaled.
Terrence Ross, 23, is a nice piece on the wing, and the mysterious 18-year-old Bruno Caboclo could be a star in the distant future.
That's not bad—not bad at all.
Now, on to the top five.
5. Orlando Magic
2 of 7
Depth is the strength of the Orlando Magic's young roster, as no fewer than six 23-and-under talents warrant mention here.
The list has to start with Victor Oladipo, who struggled through growing pains as the Magic tried to mold him into a point guard last season. But he still managed to display the energy and defensive potential that made him the second overall pick in 2013.
If all goes to plan, Elfrid Payton, 20, will take over some of the ball-handling, freeing up Oladipo to be more of an attacker on offense.
Maurice Harkless and Tobias Harris both profile as rotation players in the near future, and no member of that trio will be older than 22 when the Magic's season begins.
Evan Fournier is only 22 himself, and he could be a major contributor immediately.
"Fans will be pleasantly surprised at Fournier’s skill set, shaped by his time playing overseas as a teenager and then with the Nuggets. Video study reveals a young player who has promising versatility on offense.
He’s an adept passer, can aggressively drive to the basket and gets his feet under him as a shooter, especially from three-point range (40.7 percent and 37.6 percent last two seasons).
"
Finally, the Magic have rookie Aaron Gordon, whose potential might be greater than any of his teammates'—including Oladipo.
A high-wire athlete whose reputation as a raw offensive player overshadows startlingly good ball-handling and a nice passing eye, Gordon profiles as a more polished version of Shawn Marion—if he develops as expected. The free-throw shooting is a disaster, but Gordon, 19, looks like an otherwise awesome prospect.
There's no guarantee every member of Orlando's young core will ripen fully, but no team will get more bites at the apple. And for those wondering, Nikola Vucevic doesn't qualify for our exercise since he'll be 24 when the season kicks off.
4. Philadelphia 76ers
3 of 7
The Philadelphia 76ers' talent pool isn't quite as deep as Orlando's, but general manager Sam Hinkie's ever-growing youth assembly has players with much higher ceilings.
Nerlens Noel is still only 20 years old, and he looked like a transformative defensive presence during summer league play. And if you're finished screaming about how summer league doesn't matter (and you're mostly right), I'll continue.
Noel may well have been the No. 1 pick in the 2013 draft if he'd been healthy, and it's now easy to understand why. He has phenomenally quick hands, good help instincts and all kinds of length. Almost immediately, he should be a terrifying defender. If he can do anything more than catch and dunk the ball on offense, he could wind up in a handful of All-Star Games.
Like Noel, Joel Embiid could have gone first in his own draft class were it not for a foot injury. Also just 20, Embiid has all of Noel's defensive potential. The key difference between the two, though, is that Hakeem Olajuwon comparisons were thrown around pretty liberally when discussing Embiid's offensive game.
Whether they'll eventually be able to play together or not, Noel and Embiid easily give the Sixers two of the best young interior assets in the league.
The fact that Michael Carter-Williams, last season's Rookie of the Year award winner, is something of an afterthought when discussing Philly's talented youth says a lot.
Though the method by which it was accumulated may rub critics the wrong way, Philadelphia's young talent is ridiculously good.
3. Cleveland Cavaliers
4 of 7
Know what's better than young players who might develop into All-Stars someday?
Young players who already have.
Kyrie Irving, MVP of both the 2014 NBA All-Star Game and the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, is already a maxed-out star. No, he doesn't defend. And yes, he could probably stand to hone his point guard instincts a bit; he missed far too many open teammates in Spain.
But this guy is only 22, and he piled up 6.7 win shares, per Basketball-Reference.com, on a horrible team last year.
Motivated by the presence of LeBron James and Kevin Love, expect Irving to excel in his fourth season.
Dion Waiters is also just 22, and he has the potential to become a deadly scorer off the bench. You might argue that he already is, but there's room for him to improve his efficiency and shot selection. As was the case with Irving, we should expect the presence of superstars on this year's roster to fast-track Waiters' development.
Finally, Tristan Thompson, the Cleveland Cavaliers' forgotten forward, rounds out the list of head coach David Blatt's terrific young trio. Thompson is a somewhat limited player, in that he doesn't defend the rim well and can't space the floor as a shooter.
But he's a good rebounder, scores effectively with either hand inside and works extremely hard. Though he's currently an afterthought for a Cavs team that has its forward positions pretty well set, we shouldn't forget that Thompson, 23, averaged at least 11 points and nine rebounds in each of the last two seasons without missing a single game.
There are plenty of teams who'd love for him to be their starting 4.
Three awesome young talents (one of whom is a borderline superstar) and the best odds to win the championship this season?
Being a Cavs fan does not suck.
2. Utah Jazz
5 of 7
The Utah Jazz could have topped this list. They really could have.
Enes Kanter is ox-strong and has developed a tantalizing mid-range jumper. He's not quick enough to defend rangier power forwards, but his evolving offensive game makes him an increasingly viable complement to Derrick Favors who, if we're honest, is Utah's best 23-and-under player.
Favors isn't there yet, but the possibility exists that he'll become a dominant interior defender. He's long, quick for his size, and he has all the innate instincts to one day anchor an elite defense. Last season, he put up 13.3 points and 8.7 rebounds in just 30 minutes per game. Just 22 for most of the 2013-14 campaign, he also posted a player efficiency rating of 19.0, per Basketball-Reference.com.
Best of all, Favors is on an upward trajectory—one we should have anticipated, per Bleacher Report's Zach Buckley:
"His numbers read like those of a young player who needed some seasoning on this stage. Go back through his old scouting reports, and you'll find some variation of that description. Favors has always been a long-term investment, and the Jazz are just starting to see the type of return he can offer.
"
And if Favors' potential weren't enough, 22-year-old Frenchman Rudy Gobert is behind him on the depth chart.
Gobert is incomprehensibly long, and he set the NBA draft combine record with a 7'9" wingspan. Raw as they come, Gobert has miles to go before he's a reliable contributor. But we saw him change shots for France in the FIBA World Cup, and his rookie year with the Jazz in 2013-14 featured sporadic glimpses of what he might one day become.
In the backcourt, Utah has Trey Burke, Alec Burks and 19-year-old Dante Exum.
The first two players don't have star ceilings, but both figure to be average-to-good rotation pieces for a long time to come. Burks, in particular, should have a role as a bench scorer for a decade or so.
Exum is a complete unknown, heralded as a potential superstar in the run-up to the 2014 draft and utterly disappointing ever since. At his age, with so little experience against elite competition, there's just no way to know what he'll turn into down the road.
The potential is there, though.
So, why didn't the Jazz, loaded with up-and-coming studs, top the list?
Star power. It has everything to do with star power.
1. Milwaukee Bucks
6 of 7
The Milwaukee Bucks don't have Utah's depth of young talent, though guys such as John Henson (23) and Brandon Knight (22) are nice players.
What they do have, however, are a couple of pieces with legitimate superstar ceilings—even if you have to squint a little to see them.
Jabari Parker is a sure thing, which is really saying something for a 19-year-old rookie.
Already a polished scorer, Parker has the body and game to immediately fit in as a next-generation power forward. He's ready to be an offensive focal point right this second, and he hasn't even played a regular-season game yet.
Guys with his early refined game and instincts rarely fail, and if he can get himself into better shape as a pro, Parker should see plenty of All-Star Games in his career.
What's incredible is that Parker isn't even the Buck with the brightest future. That distinction goes to Giannis Antetokounmpo, whose potential is nearly impossible to calculate.
If I told you there was a player who could one day become a longer version of Scottie Pippen (complete with fearsome defense, slick passing and, above all, unparalleled smoothness) who also had just a sprinkling of Kevin Durant's offensive dynamism, you'd be interested, right?
That's the Greek Freak, a player who is already splitting defenders as a pick-and-roll ball-handler and traveling the length of the court in two dribbles—at 19.
Per B/R's Adam Fromal:
"A 19-year-old isn't supposed to have a game that could develop into one with no true weaknesses, but that's what we're looking at. He's already comfortable spotting up or handling the ball for himself, and it's not inconceivable that he could develop a back-to-the-basket game as he continues adding strength and filling out his frame.
"
The Jazz don't have a player like that. Nobody does.
And hey, Nate Wolters and Khris Middleton are also pretty good. But really, Milwaukee tops this list because of Antetokounmpo and Parker.
I guess Lasry was right. The Bucks do have the best young talent in the NBA.
Or do they?
The Real No. 1: New Orleans Pelicans
7 of 7
Depth of young talent is supposed to matter, and the New Orleans Pelicans don't have that.
What they have, though, is better than depth. What they have is the one thing any team would trade all of its young talent to get.
They have Anthony Davis, who is 21 years old.
This seems like cheating, right? If the Jazz and Bucks each have a half-dozen young studs and the Pelicans have one, how can New Orleans occupy this ace-in-the-hole position on our list?
Simple. Ask yourself this: If you were building a team and could have either the Bucks' potential-laden roster of possible superstars and decent role players or Davis, which would you choose?
Davis, right?
And it's not even close.
The Brow is already a superstar, arguably the third-best player in the league and still only scratching the surface of his immense potential. He's going to win an MVP or two before his career is over, and we don't have to guess like we do with Parker or Antetokounmpo.
Davis is already at a level those guys (and all young players) hope they someday reach, and his growth has only just begun.
Lasry was right to be excited about the Bucks' talent. It's impressive.
But it doesn't include Davis, which means it can only ever be second best.
