NBA Western Conference # 11-16
Suns
Good: The Big 3 of Booker, Durant, and Beal is still intact with no big free agency losses upcoming. They still have a star in Devin Booker locked into contract and happy for now. The Suns can still trade Durant to change things up or add to the unit. Rookie F Ryan Dunn proved that he could play while getting better as the season went on.
Bad: The Big 3 hasn’t worked out and the Tyus Jones Point Guard experiment didn’t turn out as planned. Trading Durant will not be easy. The Rockets own the Suns 1st round pick. They are stuck with the big contracts of Bradley Beal and Grayson Allen who both haven’t played well or with consistency. It might be better to rebuild at this point.
Blazers
Good: The team has grown from the bottom of the West to competitive. Picking up Deni Avdija proved to be a solid move as he showed growth. Young SF Toumani Camara showed improvement throughout the year and has glue guy potential as he doesn’t mind doing the dirty work. Rookie Donovan Clingan proved that he can play in the league while starting due to injury. Shaedon Sharpe is showing improvement and may be the long-term SG. Ayton could be a valuable trade piece.
Bad: Injuries to Deandre Ayton, Anfernee Simons, and Jerami Grant stopped the team from seeing what their true unit could do along with other injuries throughout the year. Scoot Henderson didn’t take the next step as the starting PG. Grant’s trade value has declined since last year when they could have got a 1st round pick.
Spurs
Good: Victor Wembanyama was still getting better in his 2nd year and was on his way to Defensive Player of the Year before the injury. The team was able to add De’Aaron Fox to the mix just in time for Chris Paul’s upcoming retirement. Forward Keldon Johnson seems to have regained his form. Rookie Stephon Castle has proven to be a legit two-way starter.
Bad: The injuries to Wembanyama and Fox along with the health of Coach Gregg Popovich slowed what could have been a better season. The team is still young and may be a veteran or two away from playoff contention, so they may have to decide to package young players or continue the slow growth.
Pelicans
Good: The Pelicans have the same starters intact in Dejounte Murray, C.J. McCollum, Herbert Jones, Trey Murphy III, and Zion Williamson that people were excited about to start the season, minus Brandon Ingram who most people knew would be traded. Murphy has shown solid growth with increased playing time. Rookie C Yves Missi proved that he is a starting caliber Center already with the potential to grow. Another top 5 pick is coming to help via the draft.
Bad: Zion continues to struggle with injuries and while he gets the main blame, the whole team did this season, leading to concerns of the medical staff now. The team still lacks chemistry as a unit due to the injuries along with the late start of season by Zion. The team is too talented to finish this low.
Jazz
Good: The Jazz have a very realistic chance at #1 player Cooper Flagg who could help change their culture. Center Walker Kessler regained his form after a sophomore slump, making him the Center of the future again or a solid trade piece. John Collins, Collin Sexton, and Jordan Clarkson are all good trade pieces going into their last year. Rookies F/C Kyle Filipowski and PG Isaiah Collier both proved that they could play in this league with legit starter potential, especially Collier as a distributor.
Bad: Injuries mostly to their franchise player Lauri Markkanen slowed the growth of the team. Young PF Taylor Hendricks and rookie G/F Cody Williams were in the early plans before they loss Hendricks to injury and Williams proved he wasn’t as ready as expected. Injuries to Clarkson led to them missing a reliable 6th man. Collins and Sexton fit Markkanen’s timeline while they have a core of 20/21 year old players leading to some decisions that need to be made.
