1 Reason to Get Excited About Every NBA Non-Playoff Team's Future
Do the NBA playoffs make you sad? Are you bummed that your favorite team is headed (back) to the draft lottery? Do you plan to spend the next couple of months pretending basketball is already over for the season?
Well, cheer up! For one, the better weather should boost your mood. If sunshine and warm temperatures aren't your thing, there's always the following season to get you feeling frisky again.
No matter how far in the tank your squad fell in 2015-16, there's plenty of cause for optimism going forward. Whether it's a top-flight draft pick, a new head coach or the prospect of incumbent players working on their games during the offseason, hope will spring eternal in every corner of the Association.
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So, rather than being sullen about another early summer, check out the one reason we picked for every non-playoff team to get a warm and fuzzy feeling when thinking about the future.
Brooklyn Nets: A Pivot Toward Player Development
The Brooklyn Nets will put many (if not most) of their eggs in the free-agent basket this summer, if only out of necessity. They're out of picks entirely in 2016 and 2018 and will have to cede first-round swap rights to the Boston Celtics in 2017.
Even if the Nets strike out in free agency, they could find other ways to improve on the fringes. Sean Marks, their new general manager, is well-versed in the NBA Development League, the international scene and player development from his days with the San Antonio Spurs. He'll lead the charge to find diamonds in the rough and bring them to Brooklyn.
From there, it'll be up to new Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson, a development guru on Mike Budenholzer's staff in Atlanta, to polish them.
For all the veteran talent that's drained out of the organization in recent years, Brooklyn has some intriguing prospects on its roster.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson has the makings of a defensive ace and could be a threat on the other end once he hones his jump shot. Chris McCullough, at 6'11", hit 38.2 percent of his threes upon returning from an ACL injury late in the season. Sean Kilpatrick, an undrafted free agent, averaged 13.8 points on 46.2 percent shooting (36.1 percent from three) during a 23-game stint to end the 2015-16 season.
Throw in Bojan Bogdanovic's post-Joe Johnson breakout (16.1 points, 40.7 percent from three), and the Nets, with a refreshing focus on coaching up their own players, could fashion a respectable supporting cast around a foundation of Brook Lopez and Thaddeus Young.
Chicago Bulls: A Fresh(er) Start
The winds of change are whipping through the Windy City, and not a moment too soon. Come October, the Chicago Bulls roster could be short on recognizable faces from the team's recent core.
Joakim Noah and Pau Gasol, two staples of a crowded frontcourt, could both be gone via free agency. Derrick Rose has one year left on his contract. Even Jimmy Butler, a two-time All-Star, could be on the outs.
"We’ve got to take a look at everything," Bulls general manager Gar Forman said, per Bleacher Report's Sean Highkin. "We’ve got to explore all options, and I don’t think there’s anything that’s off the table when you have a disappointing year like this. With that said, obviously Jimmy has had a fantastic year. From where he was to where he’s gotten to, he’s become a very, very valuable player for us."
How the Bulls wield that value will be worth watching this summer. If Chicago decides to keep its star, the team could retool around him with Taj Gibson, Nikola Mirotic, Doug McDermott and Bobby Portis. If the Bulls deem it best to part ways with Butler, they should be able to extract a blue-chip asset or two, be it a juicy draft pick or a star-caliber player, for the 30th pick in the 2011 draft.
Either way, the front office will have every opportunity this offseason to balance out a roster that skewed too heavily toward the middle in recent seasons. That should help head coach Fred Hoiberg implement the more wide-open style of play that helped him land the Bulls gig in the first place.
Denver Nuggets: Youth and Young Manhood
There's one thing standing between the Denver Nuggets and a return to respectability: time.
Time for their young guys (Emmanuel Mudiay, Nikola Jokic, Jusuf Nurkic, Joffrey Lauvergne and Gary Harris) to work on their games and mature into reliable rotation players. Time for their three first-round picks—including a swap with the New York Knicks and those from the Portland Trail Blazers and Houston Rockets—to settle in as rookies. Time for their wounded wings, Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler, to heal.
And time for all of those pieces, Kenneth Faried included, to jell into a cohesive whole.
The good news is all the parts are there. Mudiay, Jokic and Gallinari are all playmakers in their own ways. Nurkic supplies toughness, Harris and Will Barton the slashing and shooting from the perimeter and Jameer Nelson the veteran know-how. Whatever holes there may be, general manager Tim Connelly will have the cap space (upward of $30 million, per Spotrac) to fill them.
For Michael Malone's club, the key is maintaining the positive momentum from this season into 2016-17. As he told the Denver Post's Christopher Dempsey:
"We would love to have won more games, but if you take out Wilson (Chandler), fourth in the NBA in games missed, starting the second-youngest lineup in the NBA, you're in the Western Conference — OK. Everybody had us going into the season — when we were healthy — maybe winning 26 games. It was a success. Next year, we have to continue to build on that and improve, and that's the goal.
"
Los Angeles Lakers: The 55.8 Percent Question
Chances are the Los Angeles Lakers will land meetings with the league's top free agents despite coming off a franchise-worst 17-65 season. They had all-time Lakers lows the last two summers and still managed to hold court with Carmelo Anthony in 2014 and LaMarcus Aldridge in 2015, among others.
But none of those pitches proved successful in the end. They may not be much better this summer, even without the specter of Kobe Bryant hanging over the entire operation.
What could help the Purple and Gold, both in July and for years to come, is a top prospect out of the draft lottery. By virtue of finishing with the league's second-worst record, the Lakers have a 55.8 percent chance of landing in the top three: 19.9 percent for No. 1, 18.8 percent for No. 2 and 17.1 percent for No. 3.
If the pick falls outside of the top three, it will convey to the Philadelphia 76ers, who acquired it from the Phoenix Suns (who originally nabbed it in the 2012 Steve Nash trade) ahead of the 2015 trade deadline. That would leave the Lakers without another first-round talent to help Julius Randle, D'Angelo Russell and Jordan Clarkson fill the Black Mamba's shoes next season.
But if L.A.'s odds hold, the team could welcome in an elite prospect—with Ben Simmons, Brandon Ingram and Dragan Bender among the top choices—to bolster both the Purple and Gold's stock of young talent and the organization's case to potential free agents.
Milwaukee Bucks: Point Giannis
The future has arrived for the Milwaukee Bucks. Giannis Antetokounmpo, all 6'11" of him, will be manning the point in Wisconsin next season.
If his performance in that capacity this year is any indication, the Bucks could be in for a treat.
Head coach Jason Kidd moved Antetokounmpo to the 1 in late February after Michael Carter-Williams went down for the season. From that point forward, the Greek Freak averaged 19.1 points, 8.1 rebounds, 7.3 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.9 blocks in 36.3 minutes.
"I was used to playing the 4 spot and the 3 spot and now I was playing the point guard spot, which is something new for me," he said, per the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Gary D'Amato. "But I think I handled it really well. I know I've got a lot of things I can do better in that spot."
That includes shooting. He hit 30.8 percent of his threes after taking over as the team's floor general—not a terrible rate, but not one that'll have opposing defenses dancing on their toes.
Those numbers should sharpen in the coming seasons. Antetokounmpo said he'll "just shoot all day and try to make as many as you can" this summer to hone his jumper, per D'Amato.
In truth, there's no rush for Antetokounmpo to turn himself into Ray Allen. He doesn't turn 22 until December, and he has already come a long way from the frenetic teenager he was when he first set foot in the Association in 2013.
If Antetokounmpo can continue his own upward trajectory, he should have the Bucks back in playoff contention in short order.
Minnesota Timberwolves: Thibs and the Timberpups
It's official: Tom Thibodeau is the Minnesota Timberwolves' new head coach and president of basketball operations.
"Tom’s resume speaks for itself," team owner Glen Taylor said in a statement released by the T-Wolves. "He is a proven winner, leader and one of the most well-respected NBA head coaches over the last decade. His teams have annually been among the league leaders in defense, and we are excited about the approach and mentality he will bring to that side of the ball."
That's where Minnesota will need Thibs' expertise the most. According to NBA.com, the Wolves were 27th in defensive efficiency under Sam Mitchell last season after finishing dead-last in that capacity in 2014-15.
Thibodeau's Bulls, on the other hand, ranked among the top five in defensive efficiency four times in five seasons.
In Minneapolis, Thibs won't have to worry about fighting the higher-ups at every turn like he did in Chicago. He'll be the one lording over that branch of the franchise, with Scott Layden, a 30-plus-year veteran of NBA front offices, taking over as general manager.
What's more important is what Thibs can do for the players already on hand in the Twin Cities. He'll bring his credibility as a defensive guru and tough-minded winner to bear on the development of young studs like Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins, Ricky Rubio and Zach LaVine.
There could be some concern about an old-school coach like Thibodeau grinding his young players into a fine powder, as he seemingly did with the likes of Rose, Butler, Noah and Luol Deng in Chicago.
Then again, given Minnesota's 12-year postseason drought, perhaps the team's core could use a taskmaster like Thibodeau to teach them about what it takes to win in the NBA.
New Orleans Pelicans: The Brow
No matter how bad things get for the New Orleans Pelicans, they can always take comfort in knowing that Anthony Davis is on their roster.
If Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson split via free agency this summer, the Brow will still be there, putting up 20 points or more in nearly two-thirds of his games. If the Pelicans strike out in search of replacements this summer, they'll at least have Davis around to rack up double-doubles, which he did 36 times in 2015-16.
If Tyreke Evans and Jrue Holiday succumb to injuries again, Davis will (probably) be there to pick up the slack.
That is, if Davis' own bodily woes don't hold him back. Banged-up as he was, the All-Star forward did all he could to keep New Orleans within shouting distance of a playoff spot until March, when the team was out of it for good and Davis got the signal to shut down.
Davis said, per Pelicans reporter Jim Eichenhofer:
"My knee was definitely killing me, but I knew what we were playing for. I just wanted to play the game of basketball. When you have so much love for the game, there is not a lot that can stop you from (playing). (But) it was one of those things where it just kept lingering and getting worse as I played. So I had to make a smart decision for not just myself, but the team, and our (future) that we want to build here. I did not want this to become something drastic, when it can be fixed early. I was just trying to think about our future, not just from an individual standpoint, but also the team.
"
The Pelicans should thank Davis for his cooperation on that front. Health is always key in the NBA, but for New Orleans, Davis' ability to play will dictate how competitive Alvin Gentry's squad is from night to night.
No matter with whom the Brow has to share the floor.
New York Knicks: Porzingod
After a rough draft-day introduction, Kristaps Porzingis quickly turned his many doubters among the New York Knicks faithful into true believers—so much so that two of them, Tyler and Conor Byrne, will immortalize the rookie sensation on the silver screen at the Tribeca Film Festival.
The lanky Latvian slowed down some from a high-flying start, but he still finished third among rookies in scoring (14.3 points), first in blocks (1.9 per game) and second in rebounding (7.3 per game) and double-doubles (21).
Keep in mind, too, that Porzingis didn't show fully what was expected to be his strongest suit, as NBA.com's David Aldridge noted: "He wasn't quite the shooter his supporters predicted he'd be coming over from Sevilla in Spain's ACB League, but with time and added strength, you can expect him to improve his shooting numbers across the board."
Porzingis' enormous upside, at 20 years old, is reason enough for Knicks fans to stay strong. The question for the team is: What will Porzingis' role be going forward?
Will he continue to play second fiddle to Carmelo Anthony while Phil Jackson attempts to lure in other pieces via free agency? Or will the Zen Master convince his resident All-Star to waive his no-trade clause, thereby opening up the possibility of proceeding with Porzingis as the focal point?
Both approaches could lead the Knicks back to playoff contention after three years on the outs. How the team moves forward will depend, in part, on Anthony's willingness to move, but also on Porzingis' readiness for a starring role at Madison Square Garden.
However things shake out in the Big Apple, there figures to be plenty of palace intrigue behind it.
Orlando Magic: Air Gordon
The Orlando Magic could be major players in free agency, with Al Horford and Chandler Parsons among the team's top potential targets, per Sean Deveney of the Sporting News and Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com, respectively.
Even if the Magic don't make a splash this summer, they should feel good about their ability to take another leap forward next season—and not just because all of Scott Skiles' previous squads have made the playoffs in Year 2 on his watch.
Aaron Gordon, for one, could finally seal Orlando's identity as an athletic, hustling squad full of multipositional threats. From the time he took over as a starter in late January, the Arizona product averaged 11.1 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 28.6 minutes, with four 20-point performances and 11 double-doubles to boot.
There's no denying Gordon's desire to help his team. He could've ended his season after being diagnosed with a concussion following the Magic's loss to the Detroit Pistons on April 6. Instead, he not only returned for the season finale, but put up 22 points in fewer than 25 minutes against the Charlotte Hornets.
At 20 years old, with two NBA seasons under his belt, Air Gordon has a long way to go before he maxes out on his prodigious potential. With the proper time and tutelage, he could become a next-level star in front of quality contributors like Nikola Vucevic, Victor Oladipo, Elfrid Payton Jr. and Evan Fournier.
Philadelphia 76ers: The Colangelo Clan
Sam Hinkie's out. The Colangelos are in. Call it a Process...of elimination, one about which the Philadelphia 76ers can feel good.
"This was about giving us the best possible chance to win a championship," co-owner Josh Harris said, per Calkins Media's Tom Moore. "We need to build a basketball culture."
Roster construction is the Colangelos' family business. Father Jerry, now serving as a special adviser, was Executive of the Year four times over with the Suns and turned USA Basketball back into an international powerhouse after a swoon in the 2000s. Son Bryan has two of those awards in his own collection: 2005 with the Suns and 2007 with the Toronto Raptors.
If he turns around the current mess in Philly, he'll have every right to a third trophy.
The Sixers are fresh off a 10-win campaign—their third straight with fewer than 20 victories. Their frontcourt could be a crowded mess, with Joel Embiid and Dario Saric joining Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel, even if the team spends all of its draft picks on guards and wings.
As much as the Colangelos will try to create a basketball culture in Philly, they must first purge the locker room of the losing culture that seeps into any franchise whose straits are as dire as the Sixers' have been.
The team's cupboard may still be quite barren, but at least the 76ers can trust the people in charge of restocking it.
Phoenix Suns: Guards on Guards on Guards
The Phoenix Suns can't help but stock up on guards.
Two years ago, they added Isaiah Thomas to what was already a two-headed monster between Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe. They've since dealt away Thomas and Dragic but have added Brandon Knight and rookie Devin Booker. Come 2016-17, European sensation Bogdan Bogdanovic could throw his hat in the ring.
There are certainly worse problems to have in today's guard-oriented NBA than a surplus of perimeter players with above-average ball skills. But for the Suns, it could be a problem nonetheless.
One potential solution: move Booker to small forward.
General manager Ryan McDonough said, per AZCentral's Paul Coro:
"I can see how [Bledsoe, Booker and Knight's] games would mesh well. But everybody needs to be willing to make some sacrifices and accept the role because they’re three talented players. Ideally, your top players play about 32 minutes a game. You take the 96 minutes at the guard spots and divide it by three. Keeping in mind, Booker is the most likely to slide to the three spot as he gets stronger.
"
He's also the most likely of those three to get torched on defense. According to ESPN.com, Booker finished second-to-last among shooting guards in defensive real plus-minus this season.
Still, from an offensive standpoint, the Suns won't have to spend the summer searching desperately for a new foundation under now-full-time head coach Earl Watson. Their returning trio of guards should lend the team all the identity it needs to succeed in the seasons to come.
Sacramento Kings: Order of Operations
DeMarcus Cousins has been the Sacramento Kings' brightest light since the team drafted him fifth overall in 2010. Boogie, though, has done little to drag the Kings out of their decade-long playoff drought.
Unless you consider Sacramento winning 33 games in 2015-16—the first time Cousins has tasted more than 30 victories—to be a significant step forward.
The Kings won't truly turn things around until they organize their efforts properly from the top down. The team finally has the opportunity to get that part of the equation right now that the general manager (Vlade Divac), not the owner (Vivek Ranadive), will pick the next head coach.
That wasn't the case previously. When Ranadive bought the team in 2013, he hired former Golden State Warriors assistant and current Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone to mind the bench before bringing on Pete D'Alessandro to lead the front office. The Kings cut ties with Malone just 106 games into his tenure and subsequently parted ways with D'Alessandro.
The cycle repeated itself shortly thereafter, when Ranadive brought on George Karl and then sought out Divac to be the GM. Now that Karl is gone, the Kings are prepared to empower their top basketball mind, rather than their eager owner, to find the right fit at head coach.
There's no guarantee that Divac, who came into his job last year with limited NBA front-office experience, will nail his choice. The need to placate Cousins will always plague Sacramento's searches so long as Boogie is around.
But with all the quality candidates making the rounds through California's capital—from Mark Jackson, Vinny Del Negro and Kevin McHale (per ESPN.com's Marc Stein) to Luke Walton, David Blatt and Monty Williams (per the Sacramento Bee's Ailene Voisin)—the Kings should find someone with the chops to help lead them out of their quagmire.
Utah Jazz: The Missing Link
The Utah Jazz fell one game (and a tiebreaker) shy of crashing the playoff party out West, and they might've walked their way in with steadier play at the point. According to Hoops Stats, Utah's point guards ranked 25th in differential efficiency this season.
The problems began last summer when Dante Exum, the team's presumptive starter at that position, tore his ACL while playing for Australia.
The Jazz dragged their way through the first few months of the season with rookie Raul Neto and Trey Burke serving as floor generals. Shelvin Mack, acquired from the Atlanta Hawks ahead of the trade deadline, did an admirable job at that spot (12.7 points, 5.3 assists, 35.7 percent from three).
Those four could all be vying for playing time during training camp in October. Or general manager Dennis Lindsey could cull that herd, as the Deseret News' Kincade Upstill suggested.
"The Jazz won’t carry all these players on the roster next season, and the most likely one to be traded away is Burke," Upstill wrote. "Burke fell out of the rotation after the trade for Mack, and it was also rumored that he privately requested a trade shortly before trade deadline."
The Jazz, then, could use their surplus, Burke or otherwise, to strengthen other spots on their roster. The fact that they'll have extras at all should put them on a much stronger foot from the get-go in 2016-17.
With all the talent elsewhere on the roster—from Gordon Hayward and Rodney Hood on the wings to Derrick Favors, Rudy Gobert and Trey Lyles up front—even marginal improvement at point guard may be all the Jazz need to make some serious noise next season.
Washington Wizards: The Budding Backcourt
It's official: new Washington Wizards coach Scott Brooks just got one of the most coveted jobs in basketball, thanks in large part to John Wall and Bradley Beal.
The former finished third in the league in assists (10.2 per game) while adding career highs in points (19.9), three-point percentage (35.1 percent) and steals (1.9). The latter posted personal bests in scoring (17.4 points) and field-goal percentage (44.9 percent).
Between the two, Beal will bring far more anxiety to the Wizards this summer. They'll have to decide how much they're willing to pay their young shooting guard to retain him as a restricted free agent.
Talent-wise, paying Beal his max is a no-brainer. He's hit nearly 40 percent of his career threes and has beefed up his ball skills year after year.
Health-wise? Not so much. He played a career-low 55 games this season while coping with a recurring stress reaction in his leg.
"I’m very unique," Beal told the Washington Times' Todd Dybas. "Nobody else has this injury except for me, so it’s kind of hard to reach out or research anybody else who has it and what they’ve done for it. So, it’s kind of like a guinea pig, so to speak, and I’m just testing out things to see if they work or not."
If Washington can figure out how to keep Beal healthy, the team will have a dynamic backcourt to hand over to Brooks. In today's NBA, where guards reign supreme, that's enough reason for hope in D.C. after a disappointing, injury-riddled campaign.
Stats per NBA.com and Basketball-Reference.com unless otherwise cited.
Josh Martin covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter (@JoshMartinNBA), Instagram and Facebook.
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