On the rise: Top 10 teams with bright futures

With the 2010 offseason behind us, it's time to look forward to the future. And with the future, it's time to look at what teams are in the best positions to be successful from here on out. 

Many teams on this list made bold moves this summer and put themselves in a position where they can look forward to not just the present but the future as well. Others took a different approach and allow their intact pieces to develop. 

So without further ado, here are the top 10 teams with bright futures. 

No. 10 - Indiana Pacers

The pacers just vaulted themselves into this list from one simple acquisition: trading for Darren Collison. With Collison entrenched as the starting PG for the foreseeable future, the pacers have a solid core of Collison, Granger and Hibbert. With a solid core in place, they can now look to make improvements in other areas such as power forward and shooting guard. As well as getting a solid bench. While they may be far away from contending for a title, they do have the makings of a team geared towards that. 

No. 9 - New York Knicks

The Knicks would be much higher on this list but the one aspect that is hurting them is uncertainty. The reason for the Knicks on this list is solely because they have the best chance of making the biggest jump from playoff team to championship contender if they are able to acquire either Carmelo Anthony or Chris Paul, or both. Carmelo has expressed major interest in signing with the Knicks as the championship window for the nuggets is slowly closing. Chris Paul has also stated about joining forces in the New York to create a new big 3. Getting either of these two superstars would be huge for the Knicks and propel them to near the top of this year. 

However, with their current roster as it stands is not too shabby itself. Amare Stoudemire is the centerpiece of the franchise for now and he provides them with a low post presence that commands a double team. Added to that they have Raymond Felton, an above average PG who may be able to transform himself in Mike D’antoni’s offense. They have solid core pieces from the David lee trade in Anthony Randolph, Kelenna Azuibuike, Ronny Turiaf, as well as their current solid pieces of Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler. All in all, the Knicks are a pretty decent team on paper with a good but not great future. 

No. 8 - Memphis Grizzlies

The grizzlies in my eyes are one of the most underrated teams in terms of future and potential. They locked up Rudy gay this year to a max contract, and while that may not have been the best move financially, it was one that was necessary as Rudy was a big piece of their current core in place, which consists of Rudy gay, OJ mayo, Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph.

Their other solid pieces include Mike Conley, who is a decent PG that still has time to improve. Hasheem Thabeet, who still has loads of potential to be the dominant defensive stopper that people believe he can be, and Tony Allen, the defensive stopper who the grizzlies signed after losing Ronnie brewer to the bulls this summer.

They also have the rookies drafted this year in Xavier Henry and Greivis Vasquez, who should help as solid contributions of the bench. All together, the grizzlies have the makings of a solid playoff team but could elevate themselves to the top by making the right moves and letting their players develop. 

No. 7 - Los Angeles Clippers

The clippers to me will always be known as “the forgotten team.” Just a year ago, the won the lottery and drafted powerhouse Blake Griffin. Unfortunately, Griffin had to sit out the entire year due to an injury and it stopped the clippers from going anywhere last season.

Now a year later, Griffin is healthy and ready to lead the clippers to the promise land. The best thing about the clippers is that they are 2 players deep at every position.

They have veteran PG in Baron Davis who is showing he can still get it done, averaging 15ppg and 8apg last year. Backing him up will be rookie Eric Bledsoe out of Kentucky.

At the two guard, they have the promising Eric Gordon, who has the makings of a 20ppg scorer. Backing him up will be free-agent acquisition Randy Foye.

At the SF position, Clippers have the 8^th pick in the draft in Al-farouq Aminu and Free agent acquisition Ryan Gomes. My guess is Gomes starts at the beginning of the season and Aminu later takes his place in the lineup.

At PF is the oh-so talented Blake griffin, and backing him up is the recently resigned Craig smith.

At center is all-star Chris Kaman and his backup Deandre Jordan. So as you can see, the clips have a team ready to do damage now and in the foreseeable future, so look out for the clippers. 

No. 6 - New Jersey Nets

The nets could have been a lot higher if they hadn’t struck out on every major free agent this offseason. Still they have a solid core with all-star PG Devin Harris, Center brook Lopez, the 3^rd pick derrick favors and Terrence Williams.

The supporting players the nets picked up in free-agency aren’t too bad themselves, including sharpshooter Anthony morrow, versatile swingman Travis Outlaw and steady PG Jordan Farmar. Added to that, they also acquired Troy Murphy in a four team trade. The nets have a good group of players as well as future flexibility with cap space, which are two signs that this team is on the right track. 

No. 5 - Milwaukee Bucks

The bucks made a lot of noise last season, letting everyone know they are for real. This season, everyone now has a reason to “fear the deer” as the bucks revamped their roster and added several key pieces.

First and foremost, they resigned the man that was a big part of their success in John Salmons. The traded for swingman Corey Maggette who gives the bucks another scoring option alongside their solid core of Brandon Jennings and Andrew Bogut.

Other offseason acquisitions via trade and free agency were Drew Gooden, Chris Douglas Roberts and Keyon Dooling added to solid role players in Ersan Illyasova, Luc Richard mbah a moute, Carlos Delfino and sharpshooter Michael Redd, who may still be able to help the team, if not on the court then with his $18 million expiring contract. Looking towards the future, the bucks will be a very strong team for years to come and with a solid PG-C core in place. 

No. 4 - Portland Trailblazers

It took just one year full of injures for people to remove the blazers from the teams with a bright future. But now that the blazers are healthy, the future is looking up once again. It all starts with their leader and franchise player Brandon Roy, who will be the staple for the team in years to come. Alongside Roy is underrated big man Lamarcus Aldridge. Both Roy and Aldridge signed to extensions, meaning the blazers have secured their future for years to come.

They also have the former number 1 overall pick Greg Oden who still has a chance to prove himself after playing in a combined 82 games in 3 seasons. With a core of Roy, Aldridge and Oden, The blazers should be good for years to come.

They also have solid young pieces in Jerryd Bayless, Nicholas Batum, Wesley Matthews and Luke Babbitt. Added to that are solid seasoned veterans in Andre Miller and Marcus Camby. The blazers should be very deadly for years to come and will soon challenge the throne to the Lakers as they make the leap to championship contender in the next few years. 

No.3 - Oklahoma City Thunder

The team that everyone loves, with the player that everyone loves in Kevin Durant. It all starts and ends with Durant who is just 21 years of age. He will have some high expectations this year after surpassing many last year and becoming the youngest scoring champion in NBA history and leading the thunder to a playoff seed.

With Durant expected to make the leap to NBA MVP, the thunder will also count on Russell Westbrook to become an all-star and solidify himself as one of the best young PGs in the game.

The thunder also have solid role players in Jeff Green, Serge Ibaka, James Harden, Thabo Sefolosha and Eric Maynor, each of whom played a major part in the 50 win season for the thunder. Unlike most young teams on the rise, the thunder didn’t make too many additions to their roster outside of minor ones in Cole Aldrich, Daequan Cook and Morris Peterson.

The thunder believe in continuity and allowing their team to grow instead of added new pieces and disrupting their chemistry. The thunder have a very good young team and along with the blazers will challenge the Lakers for the rights to represent the west in the NBA finals in the next few years. 

No. 2 - Chicago Bulls

The team that was already good just got a lot better. With a solid PG-C core intact in Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah, the bulls were already in line to be very good in the near future, but they got even better with the numerous acquisitions they made in free-agency this year. Perhaps no other team was more active than the bulls this offseason.

After striking out on “the big three” in Lebron, Wade and Bosh, the bulls didn’t stand pat and signed Carlos Boozer. Boozer provides the team with the low post presence they have lacked for so many years. Next they locked up sharpshooter Kyle Korver and addressed their two major needs right away in low post scoring and shooting. But the bulls didn’t stop there, they signed defensive stopper Ronnie brewer, traded for PG C.J. Watson, locked up foreign big man Omer Asik, veteran big man Kurt Thomas and defensive two guard Keith Bogans.

All this added with their current players in Luol Deng, Taj Gibson and James Johnson. Now with a whole new revamped roster, the bulls will look to make major noise in the east and make their way into the conversation of championship contenders. They certainly have the makings to do so. The bulls have arguably the best 1-12 roster in the league and will be very very good for years to come. 

No. 1 - Miami Heat

For those of you shaking your heads saying “no,” just face it, the Heat will be very good for a very long time. They cleary won the 2010 free-agency, leaving everyone else choking in dust. Lebron James by himself makes you a championship contender, and now you added Dwyane wade AND Chris bosh, I’m sorry but that is just too much.

They did a better job of filling out their roster than anyone expected. They resigned Udonis Haslem and Joel Anthony, signed sharpshooters Mike Miller and James Jones, Eddie House as well as big men Juwan Howard, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Jamal Magloire and rookie Dexter Pittman.

The Heat already placed themselves in the short list of championship contenders and will be looking to chase the ring from day 1. While the heat do have flaws in lack of decent big man and being one injury away to one of their big three bringing them back to ground level, their positives clearly outweigh their negatives. 

The Heat took the most uncommon approach from the rest of the teams in this list by building a contender through free-agency rather than the draft. The Heat are the NBA’s newest villains and will have a target on their backs from Day 1.