With the NBA regular season coming to an end in the very near future and the playoffs just around the corner, most of the attention for the NBA will be turned to the teams in the playoffs, their respective matchups, and each team’s odds of winning the championship. Rightfully so as this is the grand stage for the NBA and in the playoffs the cream of the crop rises to the top, but who are the teams that are building toward something in the very near future? So instead of looking at the playoff matchups currently projected I decided to delve into which teams are poised to take big steps forward that didn’t make the playoffs this year.
For the purposes of this exercise, I have excluded the Mavericks, Rockets, and Jazz all of whom are battling for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Minnesota Timberwolves (13th in West, 28-53)
Perhaps no team in the NBA has more young high-end talent than the Timberwolves. The Wolves have a very good young wing player in Andrew Wiggins and a superstar center in Karl-Anthony Towns, who already has made his mark on the game with a smooth all-around game and being perhaps the top two-way player in the game. They al,so have a very good distributor and defensive point guard in Ricky Rubio, who is a very good fit for someone who is able to get the players in the right place to run sets. This team should be very high-scoring in the near future with a ton of athleticism, most notably recent combine sensation Zach LaVine and last year’s number one pick, Wiggins, who are both high-flyers. Another positive for the team has been the recent development of Shabazz Muhammed, who has become a scoring threat off the bench and the play of Gorgui Dieng and Towns when on the floor together, giving them a versatile, athletic front who can switch on pick and rolls and defend the rim well. The only question left for this team is who is going to coach them in the future because current coach Sam Mitchell is not the right man for the job. Look for the Timberwolves to challenge for the seventh or eighth seed next year.
Milwaukee Bucks (12th in East, 33-48)
Although it is hard to put the Bucks on this list because they really just underachieved this year rather than are building up, they still have a lot of room for growth. They have a star in Giannis Antetokounmpo, a very skilled offensive big man in Greg Monroe, a very young scoring stretch four in Jabari Parker, and the vastly underrated Khris Middleton. This core could use some help in protecting the paint although John Henson gives them some of that, but they could use a better fit than Monroe who clogs up the paint too often. However, in saying that there are not many cores that are better and under reasonable salaries for the next couple of years than one of Parker, Antetokounmpo, and Middleton. If Parker can take the next step next season and become more efficient and aggressive in looking for his own offense and they can add to their bench then this team could return to the playoffs next season. That being said I think they need another coach who is better in-game than Jason Kidd and another wing to back up the Greek Freak.
Denver Nuggets (11th in West, 33-48)
I am very bullish on the Nuggets chances next season as they have a very strong nucleus of scorers, but a weakness at the shooting guard spot. The good news is the hardest position to fill in most cases is the center position and they have two young centers who are under rookie contracts and have some serious potential. Jusuf Nurkic and Nikola Jokic are both advanced for their ages and have good footwork inside. That being said their depth there gives them a strong position of depth to deal from when looking at shooting guards to target. Gary Harris is a solid player, but is more of a fit off the bench as a 3 and D-type player, although Will Barton could be the guy that fills in there. Another position the Nuggets have real depth at is the small forward position where they have the aforementioned Barton, Danilo Gallinari, JaKarr Sampson, and Wilson Chandler. These players are all below star level, but they all have a spot in an NBA rotation and packaging them with one of their young centers could get them in the mix for a player like Jimmy Butler, should he be made available. Of course, getting someone like Butler would also need more and some possible draft picks, but it is a good start.
Orlando Magic (11th in East, 35-46)
Unlike the other teams on this list the Magic do not have a ton of young talent, but more cap space. However, to say their cupboard is bare is not correct either. The Magic have Nikola Vucevic as a young offensive center, Elfrid Payton, Mario Hezonja, Aaron Gordon, Victor Oladipo, and Evan Fournier. That is a solid young nucleus who have a lot of young skilled players, but the problem is none of them are consistent enough to be counted on as star players going forward. The name you keep hearing connected to Orlando is Al Horford, who is an unrestricted free agent this summer and has given signs that he is ready to leave Atlanta for a max deal. You also hear a lot of a potential Chandler Parsons and Dwight Howard package signing with the Magic in the summer. However, neither of those moves move the needle much in terms of making them a championship contender or even a contender that could win a playoff series. Al Horford is a good start, but they would need more depth and another star, whether that comes from a developing player on their roster, trade, or free agency. The Magic could trade Vucevic and one or two young players, along with a draft pick for another strong wing player, unless they feel Hezonja is destined for stardom.
New York Knicks (13th in East, 32-49)
The last of the teams is the Knicks. I know it is hard to believe that they are in good position, but they are. Believe it or not, a lot of players still deem New York to be an incredibly desirable free agent destination. They also have a superstar already present with Carmelo Anthony, a future star in Kristaps Porzingis, and cap space to attract some free agents. Another strong selling point is the dependability of Robin Lopez in the middle who generates a lot of second chance points and defends the paint well, as well as good young point guard play with Langston Galloway and Jerian Grant. The tough task will be deciding if the Knicks are going for it next year with Anthony because if they are not going for it, they need to trade Anthony and capitalize on his value before he ages and he becomes less valuable. I still think there is a route to getting back to the playoffs with a new coach and by adding one or two more role players and another star. They will not be a finalist in the Kevin Durant sweepstakes considering how many other strong pitches he will hear, but they could always target a player like DeMar DeRozan, or a combo of Pau Gasol and a lesser free agent. Either way, the Knicks have options, but they only get one try to make this work.
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