2020-2021 NBA Preview:

 

The Bucks need to finally make the finals or win it all for F Giannis Antetokounmpo as they keep coming up short every year especially when he is winning back to back MVPS the last two years. He is about to enter his final season under contract and they are trying to keep him happy by trading for help in PG Jrue Holiday(out goes PGs Eric Bledsoe & George Hill) who can facilitate for others/hit clutch shots late and he is a All-NBA defender.

This move makes SF Khris Middleton the third option and makes it easier for him and they still have shooters to space the floor in C Brook Lopez,  guards, Donte DiVincnezo, Pat Connaughton and added Nik Stausksas, PF Bobby Portis and PG DJ Augustin. The Pacers have had two years where their best player has missed the start or the end of their season so they hope G Victor Oladipo can be healthy to pair with G Malcolm Brogdon to form a good starting lineup that still has C Myles Turner, PF Domantas Sabonis and SF TJ Warren.

If those five stay healthy they have a chance to compete for a top five seed again the only issue was why fire a successful-former player in head coach Nate McMillian for an unknown? Will this new coach know how to make those five gel together and work in this deep bench that has two Holiday brothers(Justin & Aaron), guards Jeremy Lamb, TJ McConnell and Doug McDermott? The Pistons still have PF Blake Griffin and PG Derrick Rose but the question will always be health for those two and if they are healthy they can always elevate a team.

They lost F Christian Wood and G Luke Kennard but were aggressive in free agency in getting F Jerami Grant who can guard multiple positions/shoot the three, centers Mason Plumlee and Jahlil Okafor. They also drafted G Killian Hayes who some think might be the steal of the draft for his playmaking ability and signed veteran guards Wayne Ellington and Delon Wright. If the two main players stay healthy plus with these additions they can compete for a bottom spot in the eastern conference playoffs.  The Bulls finally cleaned house by firing GM/President Gar Forman/John Paxon and HC Jim Boylen and they replaced them with Artūras Karnišovas/Marc Eversley and former NBA/NCCA HC Billy Donovan. They also finally had a top 5 draft pick for the first time in years outside of the Rose/Aldridge years, but even with a new regime and everything falling in place for them to draft an impact player they reached for a backup in college who no one had on their draft boards for top 10 let alone top 20 in F Patrick Williams.

They now have seven power forwards which made the draft selection odd when they needed a SF, C or PG. G Zach Levine has reached his ceiling so he would best to be traded to a contender who wants guys who can help right away and give the Bulls draft picks/young players in return, so G Coby White can play SG. It will be a year to evaluate the talent to see who should stay or who should be traded, but the issue is whether the frontcourt can stay healthy in F Lauri Markkanen, Wendell Carter (who isn’t a real center) and SF Otto Porter Jr to get a clear evaluation. The Cavaliers have been a mess both times Lebron James left as they drafted small PGs in back to back drafts in Darius Garland and Collin Sexton plus last season their HC John Belin resigned midseason in his first season. They are still paying lots of money for PF Kevin Love who would be best on a contender and they did lose Tristian Thompson in free agency but they knew that might happen so they traded for C Andre Drummond mid season who opted in this season so they are set up front.

This year’s draft they actually drafted well in SF Isaac Okoro who has the ability to become a 3&D player if he improves his shot. Their bench is deep with G Matthew Dellavedova, F Cedi Osman, big men JaVale McGee, Thon Maker and Larry Nance Jr but with a full season of a new coach plus more big men it’s going to be a long season and rebuild. 

Atlantic Division: The Celtics made the ECF which they can do again but got worse this year by trading away C Enes Kanter and not retaining F Gordon Hayward with the only major moves were bringing F Tristian Thompson and G Jeff Teague.

They still have a great core of F Jason Tatum, PG Kemba Walker, guards Jaylin Brown and Marcus Smart with one of the best coaches in basketball in Brad Stevens that they will still be a top four seed this season. They also drafted two guards who will fill in as depth for this team if any of their core players miss time as Walker as missed time last year, plus they still have Daniel Theis and Tacko Fall in the front court. The 76ers hired Darryl Morrey as their president and hired Doc Rivers to replace Brett Brown. First thing they did was trade away C Al Hordford’s huge contract/non shooter G Josh Richardson and got shooters in this move/others in Seth Curry, Danny Green, Terrance Ferguson and 1^st round pick Tyrese Maxey to space the floor.

That will help the two All-Stars in C Joel Embiid and PG Ben Simmons who last had success in the playoffs when they had shooters around them and brought in C Dwight Howard to backup Embiid if he misses time. It will be up to Rivers/Morrey to see if the two stars can co-exist with a new system/shooters and if not which one will they trade if they don’t have any playoff success. The Nets will get a full season of health from SF Kevin Durant and PG Kyrie Irving as the world will see how they co-exist on the court and how far this team can go with them as the two leads as their potential is ECF.

They also kept their core intact by resigning shooter Joe Harris, they still have guards Caris LeVert, Spencer Dinwiddie and C Jarrett Allen, plus they brought in G Landry Shamet and F Jeff Green. The other interesting thing besides from the All-Star duo will be HC Steve Nash in his first ever attempt at coaching and having his former HC Mike D’Antoni on his staff to help him through this experience. They have a huge bust potential of Irving not getting along with Nash/he might quit before his contract is up or the duo not staying healthy, and if they struggle early do they trade some of their core for another All-Star which would help in the immediate but might hurt down the road. The Raptors surprised many with a second place finish and getting to the second round of the players when Kawi Leonard/Danny Green left but its credit to the culture/system HC Nick Nurse has established. They lost two former All-Stars in Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol and replaced them with centers Aron Baynes and Alex Lenn who are downgrades to pair with PF Pascal Siakam.

Siakam can lead his team to in the East to the playoffs with the core of PG Fred VanFleet who they resigned, G OG Anunoby and PG Kyle Lowry who is his last season with the team. I wouldn’t be surprised if they traded Lowry before he becomes a free agent to recoup the lost assets they haven’t got for the players who have left as they build around the three young ones and the upcoming free agency class. The Knicks didn’t actually have a bad offseason but will still be a lottery team but F Obi Toppin was available to them with the 8^th pick and they cut the glut of PFs they had last year plus signed good role players to one year deals so they have cap space for the 2021 offseason.

They still don’t know who their PG is as they have Dennis Smith Jr, Frank Ntilikina and Elfrid Payton or who their starting PF will be in either Julius Randle or Toppin. Their young core of C Mitchell Robinson, SF Kevin Knox and SG RJ Barrett will be better another year into their careers plus have a good head coach in Tom Thibodeau who they just hired to push them to their limits. The veterans will help this young core as well in development as their good complimentary players in guards Austin Rivers, Alec Burks, Michael Kidd Gilchrist and center Nerlens Noel if not they will be trade pieces. 

Southeast: The Heat surprised everyone by upsetting the Bucks and eventually going on to the NBA finals and they still have the same core intact that has Jimmy Butler, C Bam Adebayo and their stable of young shooters( Kendrick Nunn, Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson).

They also retained PG Goran Dragic and added another good veteran guard in Avery Bradley to add to their good veteran bench of SF Andre Iguodala, big men Meyers Leonard and Kelly Olynyk. With another year of growth for the young shooters and Adebayo they can definitely get back to the NBA finals plus Butler showed he is a superstar even if some don’t think. They also added to their depth with their first round pick in PF Precious Achiuwa who was a conference player of the year who averaged a double-double and if there is any team that can get the most out of late 1^st/2^nd round/undrafted players it’s the HC Erik Spoelstra. The Magic are always that team that makes the bottom of the east playoffs because they are just good enough (hovering around .500) because they do have two All-Star caliber players in big men Aaron Gordon and Nikola Vucevic.

They still have the same issue they’ve had for years too many big men that cause Gordon to play some SF when he’s not a good shooter with them having Mo Bamba and Jonathan Isaac to name some. They did do one good thing which was trading for G Markelle Fultz last year to solve the black hole they had at PG he is steadily showing how good he can be and they drafted G Cole Anthony who was considered a top prospect before the NCAA season who also can help that black hole. Veterans Al-Farouq Aminu, Michael Carter Williams, Terrence Ross, James Ennis, Gary Clark and Evan Fournier all would help out other contenders if the Magic look to unload them if they are out of contention. The Wizards were the only bad team to be invited to the bubble mainly to see SG Bradley Beal play because he is a top SG and now he has another star to play alongside him in PG Russell Westbrook with them trading John Wall for him.

That combo along with them resigning F Davis Bertans makes them a good trio of scorers as the more shooters the better around Westbrook to drive to the basket since he is statistically the worst 3-pt receiver in NBA history. By signing C Robin Lopez it gives them a starting center and they got the steal of the draft in point-forward Deni Avdija 9^th overall from Israel which also pushes F Rui Hachimura to the bench too making them deeper where that might help them make the playoffs this year. The Hawks still have one of best young players in PG Trae Young with a nice young core of forwards John Collins, De’Andre Hunter, Kevin Huerter and Cam Reddish, plus get a full season of C Clint Capela who is one of those centers who can guard inside and out.

What they did this offseason was getting help to make the push to being a  playoff contender with their signings in PG Rajon Rondo to help mentor Young, shooters Danilo Gallinari, Bogdan Bogdanovic and young defenders in guards Tony Snell and Kris Dunn. They also drafted Onyeka Okongwu a young big man with the 6^th pick which again just makes them such a deep team with him playing behind Capela to start his career. The Hornets were a team that would hover around the playoffs or be an 8^th seed solely because of PG Kemba Walker’s will but this is year two without him and they started over again with a new starting PG this time drafting LaMelo Ball 3^rd overall. They have a horrible history of over paying players in free agency who aren’t that good and then being saddled with their contracts like PG Terry Rozier(from last year), cutting F Nicolas Batum in his last year(spread over three years of dead cap space) or signing too many big men(resigned Bismack Biyombo again) instead of letting C Cody Zeller get a chance to develop properly over the years.

This time they overpaid for SF Gordon Hayward who is clearly injury prone at this point in his career/good for playoff teams for four years and $20 Mil. They still have two nice young players in G Devonte Graham and SF Miles Bridges who will benefit from Ball’s elite playmaking and they drafted three other players this year signaling this rebuild will take awhile. 

Pacific: The reigning NBA champion Lakers got even better this offseason by adding PG Dennis Schroder, reigning 6^th man of the year Montrezl Harrell, C Marc Gasol, G Wesley Matthews, retained F Markieff Morris, guards Jared Dudley,  Kentavious Caldwell Pope and shipped out centers Dwight Howard and Javelle McGee.

C Anthony Davis resigned with them it was just a matter of how much/how long and F Lebron James signed a two year extension. All of the moves this team make this the deepest team James has ever had making them likely to repeat again. The Clippers imploded in the semifinals which led to them firing HC Doc Rivers, Harrell leaving them for the champion Lakers and they perplexedly traded G Landry Shamet for injured Luke Kennard. They did retain PG Reggie Jackson, F Marcus Morris which helps the depth and brought in F/C Serge Ibaka and G/F Nicolas Batum but it doesn’t make up for loss of Harrell/Shamet.

They will turn over the coaching reins to Tyron Lue who did win a championship with James but he really hasn’t been a head coach long enough, but the players got what they wanted with him taking over the role but will it work out? It all centers on the relationship with their big two in SFs Kawhi Leonard/Paul George and the rest of the team all fitting together. So can Lue make it gel if not look for another early exit/maybe Leonard leaving them next year. The Warriors were hoping to be fully healthy this season where they get a full season of guards Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and G Draymond Green where they can be a top 5 seed in the West with a full season of G Andrew Wiggins, but then Thompson tore his Achilles tendon ending his season before it started.

They traded for G Kelly Oubre Jr, brought back Kent Bazemore and signed Brad Wannamaker which they hope can fill the void it leaves but also add to their depth. With the 2^nd overall pick they drafted the best player in the draft/at a position of need which was center in James Wiseman who is 7’1/can also be a big men in today’s game with his versatility, plus he gets to be around/play with the trio that won multiple championships which will help his development going forward. With Thompson’s injury and a deep West it will be hard for them to make the playoffs as top seed but they have a good chance for a lower seed now that this team is back to having some sort of depth with their offseason moves. F Eric Paschall,  Big men Marquese Chriss and Kevin Looney potentially will be on the bench. The Suns were the team of the bubble with how well they played and now they added future Hall of Famer PG Chris Paul who helped another young team to the playoffs in OKC last year, so imagine him with this young core.

They have superstar SG Devin Booker, young big man Deandre Ayton, forwards Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson and sharpshooter Dario Saric who they resigned, who all get better with Paul in town. They also brought in F Jae Crowder in for toughness/defense/three point shooting, guards E’Twaun Moore, Langston Galloway for scoring off the bench and a young rotation piece in F Abdel Nader. They did lose C Aron Baynes a low post defender/rebounder but they used their 1^st round pick on a big man who has a chance to succeed as Ayton’s backup. Paul reunites with his former HC Monty Williams where they can guide this team’s depth and young talent to a lower seed in the West. The Kings almost made the playoffs two seasons ago, last year they took a step back but this year their division just got better(healthy Warriors-LA teams good and CP3 in Phoenix) so it will be another long season for them plus they got worse.

They lost Bogdan Bogdanovic for nothing in free agency, Kent Bazemore and Alex Lin but all they did was just play musical chairs with their moves in bring C Hassan Whiteside, Frank Kaminsky and Glenn Robinson II. This team will only go as far their two best players take them in PG De'Aaron Fox and C Marvin Bagley III(whom health is an issue)but they did get a steal in G Tyrese Haliburton who some thought was top 5 pick where he could develop into a 3 & D wing player. They still are stuck with SF Harrison Barnes huge contract look for them to unload him and other veterans this year. 

Northwest: The Nuggets went to the WCF  last year where they weren’t as good the champion Lakers but showed they are getting closer every year by beating the Clippers, but also with the breakout of PG Jamal Murray and how good C Nikola Jokic continues to be. SF Michael Porter Jr also had a breakout in the bubble so their big 3 will keep getting better which keeps them as top 5 seed, plus they drafted RJ Hampton who is a big guard that scores/faculties which helps Murray and drafted a big men in Zeke Nnaji to help Jokic.

They did lose Jerami Grant, Miles Plumlee and Torrey Craig but with those two draft picks, signing JaMychal Green and retaining PF Paul Millsap will help overcome those losses. Their depth is one of their strengths since they still have guards Will Barton, Gary Harris and the potential of C Bol Bol too. The Jazz still have SG Donovan Mitchell who signed a max contract, C Rudy Gobert, PG Mike Conley, F Joe Ingles, G Bojan Bogdanovic and they resigned G Jordan Clarkson as their core which makes them a contender for a top seed in the West.

They essentially swapped out backup big men for each other in letting Ed Davis go and brought back their former starting PF Derrick Favors to backup Gobert but for too much money. They also drafted a big man who has a similar offensive game to Gobert which the NBA is getting away from but with a late 1^st round pick you can gamble there, but the main issue will be their depth as they really don’t have a bench outside Clarkson. The Trailblazers had a bad season until the bubble where they beat out the Grizzlies for the final playoff spot to lose to the champion Lakers but were a team better than their record they just weren’t healthy. There were missing all three of their big men for big stretches, their second best player SG CJ McCollum also missed time plus they had a hole at SF until they brought in Carmelo Anthony.

What they did in the offseason to help out PG Damian Lillard so he doesn’t have to will his team by itself by bringing back Enes Kanter, signing Harry Giles in case big men Zach Collins and Jusuf Nurkic miss time, signed forwards Derrick Jones, Robert Covington, resigned Rodney Hood, Anthony to provide depth at the wing/PF position as well. They also now have more flexibility besides depth because Anthony/Covington can play PF and Kanter can as well so look for a better record this year. The Timberwolves now have a good solid core of three players with C Karl Anthony Towns, DeAngelo Russell for a full season and their 1^st overall pick in SF Anthony Edwards who fits their hole at SG as a potential 3 & D guy on the wing to complement them.

They did bring back PG Ricky Rubio to be a nice compliment as a backup to Russell and acquired big men Ed Davis to backup Towns but they would be best suited for a playoff team. They somehow decided to overpay for G Malik Beasley (who they traded for 1^st round pick last year) with 60 million where he is an undersized SG and some guy name Juancho Hernangomez for 21 million as well. They might have two All-Stars, the 1^st overall pick but they are still not going to make the playoffs with this team and might still be in a rebuild. They as also drafted two more guys in the 1^st round with one being an overseas player who probably will not come here for years. The Thunder were a surprise team last year not because they made the playoffs but were tied for the 4^th best record in the West due to PG Chris Paul and HC Billy Donovan mentoring and getting the most of out of all their young talent. Both of them are gone along with C Steven Adams, PF Danilo Gallinari, PG Dennis Schroder, C Nerlens Noel, F Abdel Nader and G Terrance Ferguson.

It looks like a full-scale rebuild as they have at least 18 1^st round picks the next six years and could trade even more of their veterans in SF Trevor Ariza, G George Hill and big man Al Horford who could help playoff teams but will still keep them competitive in games. They are handing the keys to the franchise to G Shai Gilgeous Alexander to lead this team that still has young players guards Hamidou Diallo, Lou Dort, acquired youngsters Ty Jerome and Justin Jackson but it’s going to be a long season/rebuild.

Southwest: The Mavericks finished as 6^th seed in the west with G Luka Doncic in his 2^nd season and he hasn’t even scratched the surface on how good he can be imagine what he will look in season three and how this team will look with its improvements.

They can’t rely on F Kristaps Porzingis but as long as he is healthy for the playoffs to be the second option it will turn out well plus they drafted two guards who will help fill their holes in G Josh Green as a 3 & D guy and G Tyrell Terry. They did lose guards Seth Curry, Delon Wright in trades but it was to clear cap space for upcoming free agency, but got G Josh Richardson to just be a complement player not a key player which didn’t work out for him in Philly. They also resigned G Trey Burke to the core of G Tim Hardaway Jr, big men Dwight Powell, Boban Marjanovic, Maxi Kleber and getting F James Johnson to be an enforcer/protect Doncic was smart too. The Rockets again got superstar G James Harden a running mate in PG John Wall who hasn’t played in two years due to knee, heel, and an Achilles surgery.

It will help Harden more than Westbrook since Wall can shoot the three which Westbrook didn’t as they will make the playoffs just not as a top seed but they also have a new GM promoted from within and a new HC in Stephen Silas a career assistant. They are now back into investing in big men by signing DeMarcus Cousins and getting a steal in Christian Wood which helps out PJ Tucker who got the short end of the stick in small ball lineups. They still have the stable of shooters around Harden in guards Eric Gordon, Daniel House Jr and forwards Gerald Green plus they drafted Kenyon Martin Jr. The Spurs streak of making the playoffs for 22 straight years ended last year where it will continue this year as they are not bad enough to be a bottom feeder and not good enough to make the playoffs since they have G DeMar DeRozan(who opted in), SF Rudy Gay and PF LaMarcus Aldridge.

They did lose guards Marco Belinelli and Bryan Forbes but they only spent money on retaining big men Jakob Poeltl and Drew Eubanks despite having three big men already plus drafted two players with one being a 3 & D guy in Devin Vassell where he lands with a good system. They again have too many guards in Patty Mills, Dejounte Murray, Lonnie Walker, Keldon Johnson and Derrick White look for them to trade one or two of them. The Pelicans were added to the bubble for one person only which was F Zion Williamson who we all hope he can stay healthy over the course of a season/career as it will be his 2^nd season where players continue to take steps in their career.

They signed F Brandon Ingram to a max contract to keep him next to Zion and traded away G Jrue Holiday for picks as they are team of the future, plus get PG Eric Bledsoe to backup Lonzo Ball but also he can be swapped for picks too. The head scratcher was to trade some of those picks from Milwaukee to OKC for C Steven Adams then signed him to an extension as he doesn’t fit well with Zion/Ingram’s game but at least they know what you get from defense/rebounding/toughness, but I see Jaxson Hayes getting more playing time. They have a nice core of guards in Josh Hart, JJ Redick, and Nickeil Alexander Walker but they drafted another PG potentially when they have Ball and Bledsoe is a head scratcher too. Losing Holiday and some of their depth will push them a step back even with new HC Stan Van Gundy running things no playoffs yet for Zion. The Grizzlies had the 8^th seed most of the season until the bubble-play in game that they lost but the West is too stacked this year for them to be in that position again even with the reigning rookie of the year in PG Ja Morant and big men Jaren Jackson Jr.

Their biggest moves were made last season at the deadline in acquiring F Justise Winslow from Miami and backup C Gorgui Dieng and drafted a 3 & D guy in Desmond Bane plus he can handle the ball. They have a nice core of forwards Kyle Anderson, Brandon Clarke, Dillon Brooks, guards De'Anthony Melton whom they resigned, Grayson Allen, Tyus Jones and big men Jonas Valanciunas but nice isn’t good enough in the West but they will be fun to watch.