We’ve told you about the Eastern Conference lottery bound, but what about out West?
Sidebar: Each NBA preview column will feature contributions from myself, and fellow HHSR contributors Kenneth Hicks and Anthony Hueston.
Minnesota Timberwolves
Last Season: Let’s bottom line this: The Timberwolves have basically sucked as a franchise for their entire existence, other than the years Kevin Garnett was on their roster. Eight months ago, they attempted to rectify this by…requiring Kevin Garnett. The conception of time unfortunately derailed this strategy, as KG turned 39 years old last spring. For perspective, O.J. Simpson was on trial for a double-homicide when Minnesota drafted The Big Ticket. At this point, Garnett is a mentor to young players and an ambassador for the franchise, who will occasionally suit up and play for 10 minutes.
The mentorship piece is vital though, as this team has an abundance of malleable young talent that needs guidance on how to be a professional.
Sidebar: This is the problem with the 76ers approach. They don’t have anyone like this on their team.
It’s not often a team deals away a franchise player and gets a franchise player in return. That’s exactly what Minnesota did after shipping away franchise player Kevin Love to Cleveland; the TWolves officially embarked on the Andrew Wiggins era. Wiggins was the runaway Rookie of the Year in 2015 with averages of 16.9 ppg and 4.6 rpg. Zach LaVine joined Wiggins on the wing to form arguably the most athletic young backcourt in the league (can we get a better nickname than The Bounce Bros. though?) This infusion of young talent was not enough to prevent a 16-66 record though.
So what’s the remedy? More young talent.
Off-Season: Enter Karl-Anthony Towns, the #1 overall pick of the 2015 NBA Draft. Towns follows the likes of DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis— high lottery pick big men coming out of the University of Kentucky that will be the focal point of a floundering franchise. Towns isn’t exceptional at anything, but does everything well (post scoring, rebounding, defense, running the floor, even decent range on his jumper). Minnesota also acquired NCAA Tournament hero Tyus Jones on draft night.
#Trending: Up, But… playing in the Western Conference is not for kids, and the impact players on this Timberwolves team, aside from KG, Tayshaun Prince and the recently signed Andre Miller, is basically just a traveling daycare center. However, the TWolves are building the right way. They have a solid mix of young players with star potential, a few proven veterans (Kevin Martin, Nikola Pekovic) and accomplished elder statesmen.
Of note, Pekovic is still out due to an Achilles injury and Minny must decide if they’re finally going to move on from the Ricky Rubio experiment. Also, Minnesota’s coach and GM Flip Saunders was forced to take a leave of absence due to a cancer diagnosis, which could set the team back a bit (Sam Mitchell will serve as interim coach). This unfortunate news could cause this team to play inspired ball, but in the West, Minnesota will get kicked around for a few more years before that young talent can make the transformation from potential to prolific.
Update: The entire basketball community was saddened by the news of Flip Saunders’ passing on October 25, as we were. Flip was a basketball lifer and a Cleveland native. Rest easy, Flip.
— JH
Denver Nuggets
Last Season: To call the 2014-15 Denver Nuggets season tumultuous would be an understatement the size of the Rockies— the mountains, not the baseball franchise that I’m assuming still exists. They finished the season 30-52 and dealt with a multitude of injuries, as they tend to do. For the second straight season they finished fourth in the Northwest Division and missed the playoffs after earning a postseason berth for 10 straight seasons. There were reports of a bit of a mutiny against head coach Brian Shaw, who was subsequently canned in March with an overall record of 56-85 (.397) in just under two full seasons of horrendous decision-making which began with Shaw wanting to slow down the style of play that has been a staple of the franchise for as long as most of us can remember.
Shaw had a contentious relationship with his players, especially point guard Ty Lawson, whom Denver made a mid-summer trade with the Rockets to acquire the UNC product for a first round pick. Reportedly, players openly counted down to the end of the season when breaking team huddles. Before getting the hook, Shaw made a not so veiled assertions that the players were actually tanking the season and partied too much before shootarounds.
The players may not have been tanking, but the front office definitely punted on the season when the ball dropped on 2015. The Nuggets traded C Timofey Mozgov —who was acquired in the franchise alerting Carmelo Anthony trade of 2011 — to the Cavs and received two first round picks for solidifying the eventual Eastern Conference Champions. A month later, the Nuggets traded Aaron Afflalo and Alonzo Gee for spare parts and a first round draft pick from Portland. The turmoil with the roster, coaching staff and front office was personified with the trade of local oaf JaVale McGee and a first round pick (top 18 protected) to the 76ers, who have embraced the tank more than No Limit Records ever did.
Interim coach Melvin Hunt finished out the string “leading” the team to a 10-13 record. The season ended but the offseason had long since begun.
Off-Season: The Nuggets announced Mike Malone as the next Nuggets Head Coach on June 15. Malone had most recently led the Sacto Kings to a decent start last season, but when DeMarcus “Boogie” Cousins fell ill and the losses piled up, he was ungraciously shown the door. Malone comes to Denver with an understanding that the best way for these Nuggets to play is at a George Karl/Don Nelson breakneck pace, using the altitude (the ultimate talent equalizer) to run teams out of the gym.
Mudiay has ROY potential, but what team doesn’t have a top flight PG these days? (Steve Nurenberg/Star-Telegram)
The summer of 2015 represented a sizeable and literal changing of the guard for Denver as they drafted Emmanuel Mudiay with the seventh pick overall, and later dealt Lawson, who had been battling alcohol abuse and at the time was in rehab following a DUI. Mudiay at 6’5″ 200lbs has shown in a small sample size (12 games in China and NBA preseason) to have unique size, skill and athleticism that could make him a ROY candidate, provided he can limit his turnovers and show an improved jumpshot.
#Trending: Neutral. The Denver Nuggets weren’t good last year and they won’t be good this year either. Not only do they have a treacherous opening schedule, they simply have a glut of supporting players and a total lack of “the guy”. With no pecking order a team has to be an exceptionally well oiled machine with great coaching…they essentially have to be the Atlanta Hawks. Denver’s three best and highest paid players are Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler and Kenneth Faried, which is a nice trio to have but it simply won’t get you far in the murderers row that is the Western Conference.
This team has gone to the bottom at the pace they’d like to get back to playing. They won’t be leaving their anytime soon unless Mudiay is some kind of bigger version of Russell Westbrook, which by all accounts he is not, but he may not need to be to win the Rookie of the Year.
— AH
Sacramento Kings
Last Season: In February we made the case that Kings center Boogie Cousins was the NBA’s best big man. The Kings started the season strong before Boogie got sick and missed a couple of weeks— the team never recovered. Coach Mike Malone was fired, eventually landing in Denver. Tyrone Corbin coached the team through a nondescript losing effort wherein the Kings went 7-21 before settling on naming George Karl to the position on a full-time basis. The Kings finished the season ranked 14th in offensive rating (105.3) and a woeful 27th in defensive rating (106.5).
George Karl has famously had cantankerous relationships with nearly every star talent he’s ever coached in the NBA. The list reads like a who’s who of decades of NBA talents: Gary Payton, Sam Cassell, Ray Allen, Kendall Gill (remember when he cameo’d on My Brother and Me?), JR Smith, Ty Lawson, Andre Igoudala and probably most notoriously with Carmelo Anthony. Despite this and health issues, Karl proved he was ready to take another crack at it after inking a 4-year $15 million dollar contract ($11 Ms guaranteed).
Boogie claims they’re good now, but this thing has Dwight/Stan Van part deux written all over it.
Karl came in the door with that money in the back and decided to start a coup against his current star player, Cousins. Karl reportedly was trying to gain votes of support from players, front office people and parking lot attendants (probably) to persuade the Kings to trade Cousins. Luckily team owner Vivek Ranadive and VP of Basketball Operations Vlade Divac (yes, Vlade Divac) had no intentions of seeing the first-time All -tar center playing in another uniform. George Karl not only alienated himself from his best player, but he undermined his new front office and risked creating fissures within the roster, all within about a three-month period.
Off-Season: While the Kings are generally a comedy of errors they made a great selection in the draft taking Kentucky’s Willie Cauley-Stein sixth overall in hopes he will become a defensive stalwart next to Cousins, a fellow Wildcat alum. WCS blocks shots, gets boards and can muck up a pick and roll with the best of ’em, which are all huge needs for this squad. Cauley-Stein could be in line for a starting spot on opening night along side Cousins, Rudy Gay, the 2013 7th overall pick Ben McLemore and new starting point guard Rajon Rondo, who has admitted to “butting heads” with Karl since being signed in July.
In part to create space for Rondo, who life has come at fast since leaving the Ubuntu era, the Kings inexplicably traded a 2018 first round pick and the rights to swap picks in 2016 and 2017 to the 76ers to take on the contracts of Carl Landry, Jason Thompson and shooting guard Nik Stauskas. Sacramento just drafted Stauskas eighth overall in 2014 (the year after selecting McLemore, another shooting guard). This is one of many examples of this not being a soundly run operation— trading away basically 3 years of draft picks for outside their prime players like Rondo, Marco Bellini and Caron Butler, who aren’t going to move the needle of this franchise is beyond shortsighted.
#Trending: Down and fast. Call me a cynic, but I fully expect the Rondo/Karl dynamic to go from poor to caustic in short order. With trust ruined so deeply, it’ll be difficult for this team to weather the coming storm that is an 82 game season. The team will most certainly miss the playoffs and will not even get the benefit of its lottery pick. The Kings took on a sick patient and basically assigned them Dr. Nick Riviera.
— AH
Portland Trail Blazers
Last Season: After making the second round of the playoffs with possibly the best top to bottom starting five in basketball in 2013-14, the Blazers had high hopes for the 2014-15 season. The team was blessed with remarkable health two years ago, which contributed to their on-court synergy as a highly-productive starting unit. Sadly, this clean bill of health would ultimately come back to bite them a bit the following season.
When Wes Matthews tore his Achilles last year, Portland’s long term playoff aspirations were all but dashed, which was especially troubling since their star power forward LaMarcus Aldridge was in a contract year. Couple that with Damian Lillard falling off a bit from his torrid play the year before, and the Blazers were cooked before their first round rematch with the Grizzlies ever began. Not surprisingly, they were bounced in five games.
Perhaps it was the commercials that siphoned away his focus, or maybe he was burdened by expectations, or perhaps LA’s free agency sword hung above him and robbed him of the ability to play freely. Regardless, Lillard was not the same player he had been in 2014 (nevermind the numbers, which appear mostly on par with his first two seasons).
Off-Season: If Portland had the health of 2014 in 2015, maybe things would’ve ended differently. As it is, LaMarcus said his goodbyes, packed his bags and departed the Rose City for greener pastures in San Antonio, TX. With their three-time All-NBA forward gone, Portland was forced to try to fill the 23.4 point & 10.2 rebound void left with Noah Vonleh, acquired in a deal with Charlotte, that saw them send away small forward Nicholas Batum. With the writing on the wall, center Robin Lopez left for New York City via free agency, leaving Lillard the lone wolf returning from the once promising starting lineup.
Portland did also add Mason Plumlee, Ed Davis and Gerald Henderson, but the damage had already been done.
#Trending: Down. In an era where every team seems to have a top flight point guard, we’re about to see just how good Damien Lillard really is. We know he’s got the talent and the stones to take the big shots, but everybody around him is gone. What’s worse is Lilliard inked a five-year $120 million extension with Portland on July 9th. While the money is incredible (and good for him), he’s now locked into this franchise that has nothing else going for it at the moment. General Manager Neil Olshey may be their most valuable commodity besides Lillard, which means it’ll be a few years before Portland gets back, especially out West.
A quick aside: Nobody talks about how Paul Allen owns both the Seattle Seahawks and Portland Trail Blazers. Is it possible to own two franchises and guide them both to the championship level? One would have to imagine the Seahawks garner the majority of Allen’s attention, for a variety of reasons, which could influence the performance of his Blazers franchise. For what it’s worth, since purchasing the Seahawks in 1996, Seattle has made three Super Bowls, while the Blazers have yet to make the NBA Finals. Although, Portland did make two NBA Finals with Allen as owner in the early ‘90s.
Does this mean anything? Not necessarily. But it could mean Portland is cemented in the side chick role of this relationship. And does the side chick ever really win it all?
Just saying.
— JH
Los Angeles Lakers
Last Season: According to Dupontregistry.com you can buy a 1996 Lamborghini Diablo (with the Lamborghini doors and 13,000 miles) for about $127,000. It may not be the newest car on the road, but it is still a high quality, high performance, sleek Italian sports car. Despite the allure, the maintenance on an older Lambo would be costly, not to mention the insurance. At some point, an owner of said Lambo would have to wonder if at the end of the day it is more trouble than it’s worth. Such is the precarious position of Mitch Kupchak, owner of the Los Angeles Lakers.
That “Lamborghini” is none other than Kobe Bryant. The living legend is scheduled to make $25M this season, but has only managed to suit up for his team 54% of the time in the past four seasons. The million dollar question (literally) on Laker Nation’s mind is when is enough “enough”? Is Kobe the floor general who can lead the Lakeshow back into playoff contention or is his lack of durability and massive salary too cumbersome for LA to move forward with him at the helm? Putting the Kobe beef aside (pun intended), the Lakers ended last season with a myriad of unanswered questions that will in-part dictate the course of this franchise.
Swaggy.
Things started off on the wrong foot for the Lakers as their seventh overall draft pick from the 2014, Julius Randle (yet another Kentucky big) broke his right tibia just 14 minutes into his NBA career, subsequently missing the entire season. As a helpless Bryant sat at home exercising his bummed shoulder and his twitter fingers last season, the Los Angeles Lakers young nucleus played and behaved like a class with a substitute teacher. This was punctuated by a jubilant post game celebration by the then 14-41 Lakers team who defeated the Celtics in overtime at home (snapping their seven-game losing streak).
The team limped through the 2014-2015 season with a record of 21-61 (.256, worst in team history), and missed the playoffs for the second year in a row for the first time since the 1975-76 season. Nobody understands that Laker fanaticism quite like current head coach and former Lakers champion Byron Scott. His team finished the year giving up the second highest field goal percentage (.466) AND second most points per game. If Scott wants to survive the 2015-2016 season, the Lakers will need to make defense a team priority.
Off-Season: Determined to right their ship, purple and gold brass went to great strides to give their team an overhaul for this upcoming season. Byron Scott started off by advocating for the Lakers to draft The Ohio State University’s phenom PG D’Angelo Russell (Scott did the same for Dion Waiters with the Cavs but…water under the bridge). Landing Russell with the #2 overall pick was the silver lining of an otherwise abysmal season. The Lakers also drafted Larry Nance Jr. who should add some much needed defensive toughness to the Lakers frontcourt.
Kobe did his best to use his weight to help recruit top free agent talent to Los Angeles. But after reaching out personally to Rondo, Aldrige and DeAndre Jordan among others, it seemed that few stars were willing to drink the Kobe Kool-Aid and jump on board with the Lakers. Perhaps his legendary abrasive nature has been off-putting, or maybe free agents are not trusting of the front office. Whatever the reasoning, the Lakers organization has been treated like Chernobyl by superstars since the toxic Dwight Howard exit of 2012-2013 season. Despite the lack of “star power” headed to L.A., they still managed to make some solid pickups that should greatly strengthen their depth. Lou Williams came over from Toronto as a player who can create his own shots and take some of the scoring burden off of the Mamba’s shoulders. Brandon Bass and Roy Hibbert will look to improve upon the departing interior tandem of Chris Kaman and Jordan Hill.
#Trending: Up. Byron Scott is a better coach than his most recent seasons in Los Angeles and Cleveland would leave you to believe. His rosters have been incomplete and riddled with injuries. This team should have a great balance of rookie talent, experienced players and veteran leadership. By closely monitoring Kobe’s minutes, letting the offense run through D’Angelo Russell, trusting the shot selection of LOU-Will and continuing to invest in the development of Jordan Clarkson, the Lakers should be able to find the offensive rhythm they failed to maintain last year.
The two biggest concerns for the Lakers heading into this season will be the team’s health and tempo. After losing Kobe, Randle and Swaggy P to significant time in 2014-15, the Lakers will need all hands on deck this season if they want to avoid being lottery contestants for the third straight year. Finding their identity may be problematic when you look at the number of up tempo players versus the players that excel in half court play. Can Hibbert, Bass and Kobe run the floor with the likes of Randle, Russell and Williams? Or will Scott sacrifice tempo for much needed defense? And Kupchak brought back Metta World Peace!
A lot of uncertainty looms over the immediate future for the league’s most recognizable franchise. This team will not be able to fully move forward though until they figure out what to do with their $25M 1996 Lamborghini.
— KH