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Please and Thank You.
NBA Future Rankings Insider Request
- Thread in 'Sports & Training' Thread starter Started by two one supreme,
- Start date
- 196
- 10
- Joined
- Nov 28, 2001
Please and Thank You.
A link would be very helpful...
The Future Power Rankings are ESPN Insider's projection of each team's on-the-court success during the 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons.
[h4]HOW FUTURE POWER RATING IS DETERMINED[/h4][table][tr][td]PLAYERS (0 to 400 points): Current players and their potential for the future, factoring in expected departures[/td][/tr][tr][td]MANAGEMENT (0 to 200 points): Quality and stability of front office, ownership, coaching[/td][/tr][tr][td]MONEY (0 to 200 points): Projected salary-cap situation; ability and willingness to exceed cap and pay luxury tax[/td][/tr][tr][td]MARKET (0 to 100 points): Appeal to future acquisitions based on team quality, franchise reputation, city's desirability as a destination, market size, taxes, business and entertainment opportunities, arena quality, fans[/td][/tr][tr][td]DRAFT (0 to 100 points): Future draft picks; draft positioning[/td][/tr][/table]
Consider this a convenient way to see in what direction your favorite team is headed.
Each of the NBA's 30 teams received an overall Future Power Rating of 0 to 1,000 based on how well we expected each team to perform in the three seasons after the coming season. To determine the Future Power Rating, we rated each team in five categories. (See table at right.)
As you can see, we determined that the most important category was a team's current players and the future potential of those players. That category accounted for 40 percent of each team's overall Future Power Rating.
At the same time, we looked at many other factors such as management, ownership, coaching, a team's spending habits, its cap situation, the reputation of the city and the franchise, and what kind of draft picks we expected the team to have in the future.
With all the big moves around the league this summer, it's time for a new edition of the Future Power Rankings. Two important notes: 1. Now that the NBA calendar has flipped, we are evaluating the 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons. And 2. We are not considering the changes that might be made to the collective bargaining agreement, because there is no way to know how those changes will reshape the league.
We'll roll out our rankings for three days this week.
Here are our current rankings from 21 to 30:
[h3]Future Power Rankings: 21-25 | 26-30 [/h3]
[h3]26. Toronto Raptors | Future Power Rating: 402[/h3]
[table][tr][th=""]PLAYERS[/th][th=""]MANAGEMENT[/th][th=""]MONEY[/th][th=""]MARKET[/th][th=""]DRAFT[/th][/tr][tr][td]94 (28th)[/td][td]81 (17th)[/td][td]110 (12th)[/td][td]47 (16th)[/td][td]70 (9th)[/td][/tr][/table]
These are pretty depressing times to be a Raptors fan. Team president Bryan Colangelo miscalculated with the team he put around Chris Bosh, failed to move the power forward when he had the chance last year and then lost him for relatively nothing this offseason. Now Toronto is in worse shape than when Colangelo arrived on the scene in 2006.
Losing Bosh didn't have the same devastating effect that losing LeBron James had on the Cavs, but the Raptors still fell a whopping nine spots in our Future Power Rankings, a drop-off topped only by Cleveland's.
A bolting Bosh wasn't the only factor contributing to Toronto's slide. 2009 free-agent signing Hedo Turkoglu was a major disappointment and was jettisoned to Phoenix after only one season. Meanwhile, the Raptors continue to shop starting point guard Jose Calderon, whom at this point they would be happy to get rid of for salary-cap relief.
Furthermore, the Raptors ate up all their potential cap space by overpaying role players -- in a moment of apparent panic after Bosh's departure, Colangelo inexplicably gave Amir Johnson $34 million. Although the other summer additions, Leandro Barbosa and Linas Kleiza, will contribute, they won't save this sinking ship.
The only good news comes from a couple of young players who appear to have bright futures based on their talent and performances in the 2010 Las Vegas summer league. DeMar DeRozan had a breakout summer and has star ability if he puts it together. Toronto also lucked out when Ed Davis slipped to it at No. 13 in the draft, as he eventually could help fill Bosh's shoes.
(Previous rank: 17)
[h3]27. Phoenix Suns | Future Power Rating: 399[/h3]
[table][tr][th=""]PLAYERS[/th][th=""]MANAGEMENT[/th][th=""]MONEY[/th][th=""]MARKET[/th][th=""]DRAFT[/th][/tr][tr][td]136 (24th)[/td][td]55 (23rd)[/td][td]95 (17th)[/td][td]63 (9th)[/td][td]50 (15th)[/td][/tr][/table]
The enthusiasm over the Suns' terrific run to the Western Conference finals was seriously dampened by a pretty crappy June and July.
When team president and GM Steve Kerr resigned, owner Robert Sarver took over front-office operations and managed to do a great deal of damage in just a few weeks.
First he lost Amare Stoudemire in free agency, and then he took on Hedo Turkoglu's huge contract while also overpaying Josh Childress (who plays the same position as Turkoglu), Channing Frye and Hakim Warrick. Sarver eventually brought on respected player agent Lon Babby as the team's new president, but at that point, most of the damage had been done.
Sarver's moves will help keep the Suns respectable for the moment, but for the future, the picture is bleak. As Steve Nash ages, it's hard to imagine how the role players Phoenix has put around him will be able to prevent a Suns slide into irrelevance.
(Previous rank: 25)
[h3]28. Cleveland Cavaliers | Future Power Rating: 331[/h3]
[table][tr][th=""]PLAYERS[/th][th=""]MANAGEMENT[/th][th=""]MONEY[/th][th=""]MARKET[/th][th=""]DRAFT[/th][/tr][tr][td]45 (29th)[/td][td]45 (26th)[/td][td]133 (7th)[/td][td]22 (27th)[/td][td]86 (2nd)[/td][/tr][/table]
We hate to pour salt on the wound, but LeBron's "Decision" destroyed his hometown franchise now and for the foreseeable future. Cavaliers fans continue to insist that it's the way LeBron ditched them that has caused so much anger, but over time, the real pain will be watching this Cavs team without him.
In his open letter condemning LeBron, owner Dan Gilbert guaranteed the Cavs would win a championship without their former star, but that's easier said than done. Cleveland traditionally has not been a top free-agent destination. Now, the team has another problem: Gilbert's heat-of-the-moment diatribe against LeBron was read by players around the league, and a number of player agents have told us their clients don't want to play there after seeing how Gilbert treated a guy who made him hundreds of millions during the past several years. In any case, as we've seen this summer, players just won't flock to Cleveland without the lure of LeBron.
The roster itself is another weak point. Mo Williams, Ramon Sessions, Anderson Varejao and J.J. Hickson are good pieces but not the kind of young talent that could carry the franchise forward in future seasons. The Cavs lack trade assets as well.
Cleveland did get a bounty of draft picks from Miami in the LeBron sign-and-trade. But given how stacked the Heat are right now, those picks likely will be the worst in the first round -- and the Cavs aren't going to replace LeBron with a series of No. 30 draft picks.
(Previous rank:
[h3]29. Minnesota Timberwolves | Future Power Rating: 326[/h3]
[table][tr][th=""]PLAYERS[/th][th=""]MANAGEMENT[/th][th=""]MONEY[/th][th=""]MARKET[/th][th=""]DRAFT[/th][/tr][tr][td]101 (27th)[/td][td]6 (30th)[/td][td]140 (5th)[/td][td]13 (29th)[/td][td]66 (10th)[/td][/tr][/table]
The baffling tenure of general manager David Kahn and the long-running incompetence of owner Glen Taylor combine to give the Timberwolves the lowest score for management in our ratings. A $20 million deal to Darko Milicic, a bizarre infatuation with Milwaukee point guards and a sweetheart of a trade that sent out Al Jefferson are the major points of contention, but there are plenty of others. In short, nobody is quite sure whether he's coming or going.
Minnesota has two other negatives. The first is a built-in one called winter, which helps make it one of the least favorable markets. But the second was inflicted by the previous and equally disastrous regime of Kevin McHale: There's a good chance the Timberwolves will owe the Clippers a completely unprotected first-round draft pick in 2012.
The Wolves aren't devoid of talent; Kevin Love, Michael Beasley and, if he ever arrives, Ricky Rubio, are three nice pieces. Additionally, they'll have as much cap room as anyone, and Taylor has shown he's willing to spend. But the structure isn't in place for success.
(Previous rank: 27)
[h3]30. Charlotte Bobcats | Future Power Rating: 176[/h3]
[table][tr][th=""]PLAYERS[/th][th=""]MANAGEMENT[/th][th=""]MONEY[/th][th=""]MARKET[/th][th=""]DRAFT[/th][/tr][tr][td]40 (30th)[/td][td]25 (29th)[/td][td]40 (30th)[/td][td]26 (26th)[/td][td]45 (19th)[/td][/tr][/table]
Despite the Bobcats' first playoff appearance last season, we remain more bearish on their future than on any other team's. In fact, Charlotte not only came in last in our ratings, it also achieved barely half the score of the No. 29 Timberwolves. (How's that for a slogan: "Our future is twice as bleak as Minnesota's!")
The Bobcats continue to accumulate veteran players with bad contracts and lack the financial resources to get out of the hole that awaits them. They have one decent young player (Tyrus Thomas) but still owe a future first-round pick to the Bulls for him, and they already have started stripping the roster, losing point guard Raymond Felton without a fight and swapping Tyson Chandler in a deal that hardly saved any money and dashed any hope of having significant cap space in 2011.
Unfortunately, the short-term mindset of both new majority owner Michael Jordan and coach Larry Brown is likely to make matters worse. Brown's draft input has been particularly disastrous -- instead of grabbing Ty Lawson, Brook Lopez and Nicolas Batum, the Bobcats' past three first-rounders were Alexis Ajinca, .J. Augustin and Gerald Henderson. In that sense, perhaps it's a good thing they already traded away next year's pick.
(Previous rank: 30)
[h3]21. Golden State Warriors | Future Power Rating: 450[/h3]
[table][tr][th=""]PLAYERS[/th][th=""]MANAGEMENT[/th][th=""]MONEY[/th][th=""]MARKET[/th][th=""]DRAFT[/th][/tr][tr][td]190 (18th)[/td][td]40 (27th)[/td][td]127 (8th)[/td][td]42 (19th)[/td][td]51 (14th)[/td][/tr][/table]
Rejoice, Warriors fans. After spending a year near the very bottom of our Future Power Rankings, thanks to a terrible management rating, Golden State is moving up. Chris Cohan is selling the team, and while we don't know what the new owners will do, we're confident they can't make as big a mess as Cohan, GM Larry Riley and coach Don Nelson have made.
Still, the Warriors aren't ready to join the NBA's elite. Stephen Curry is a terrific talent, and he'll have a solid new pick-and-roll partner in David Lee. But the Warriors gave up promising youngster Anthony Randolph to get Lee, whose new $80 million contract is also a big one for the team to carry. And lottery pick Ekpe Udoh, out for five months with a wrist injury, will be an unproven 23-year-old rookie when he finally suits up with the Warriors.
In part, Golden State's future depends on how things go with Monta Ellis and Andris Biedrins, who appear to be available. Whether they are Warriors building blocks or can be traded for players that help the team fill its many holes, they are important young assets. That will be a big test for the new management team, when that team is in place.
(Previous rank: 2
[h3]22. Detroit Pistons | Future Power Rating: 444[/h3]
[table][tr][th=""]PLAYERS[/th][th=""]MANAGEMENT[/th][th=""]MONEY[/th][th=""]MARKET[/th][th=""]DRAFT[/th][/tr][tr][td]103 (26th)[/td][td]113 (13th)[/td][td]111 (11th)[/td][td]38 (20th)[/td][td]79 (5th)[/td][/tr][/table]
Add the Pistons to the ever-growing list of problems in Detroit. After an amazing run last decade, Detroit fans can no longer be confident in the franchise's future.
Owner Bill Davidson has passed away and the team is up for sale. The Pistons lack a legitimate star, are stuck with a couple of bad contracts on their books, have no long-term solutions in the middle and have been plagued by injuries and apathy. And fans are no longer flocking to the Palace like they used to.
One problem is that they don't have much to rally around, and team president Joe Dumars didn't shake things up this summer, either. Greg Monroe is a rookie with potential, but Pistons fans will need to be patient after his up-and-down performance in summer league. Among the youngsters, Austin Daye has shown promise and Jonas Jerebko should be a good role player. Veterans Rodney Stuckey and Ben Gordon are solid building blocks. But none of them is enough to get fans excited.
For the Pistons to progress further than we've projected here, they'll need to get Richard Hamilton off the books, trade Tayshaun Prince for something of value before his contract expires after the 2010-11 season and get strong development from their young players. That adds up to a lot of ifs for a franchise that once seemed the steadiest in the NBA.
(Previous rank: 20)
[h3]23. New Orleans Hornets | Future Power Rating: 434[/h3]
[table][tr][th=""]PLAYERS[/th][th=""]MANAGEMENT[/th][th=""]MONEY[/th][th=""]MARKET[/th][th=""]DRAFT[/th][/tr][tr][td]198 (16th)[/td][td]52 (25th)[/td][td]93 (18th)[/td][td]26 (25th)[/td][td]65 (11th)[/td][/tr][/table]
It's a good-news, bad-news situation in New Orleans. The good news is that the Hornets' disastrous cap situation will ease after this season, especially if they can pay somebody to take James Posey off their hands. Alas, New Orleans could be facing an even worse problem. Point guard Chris Paul appears to be trying to force his way out of town, taking with him the Hornets' lone source of star power.
Even with the superstar guard, it's hard to get excited about the team's future. They have two good young guards in Darren Collison and Marcus Thornton and a minor star in power forward David West. The ownership is in flux while George Shinn negotiates a sale to Gary Chouest; the threadbare front office is now under the control of Dell Demps, who was fourth on the totem pole in San Antonio until his recent hiring; and the market is one of the least appealing for free agents. And while it's possible the Hornets could be well under the cap next summer, it's also possible West could leave as a free agent.
(Previous rank: 24)
[h3]24. Memphis Grizzlies | Future Power Rating: 428[/h3]
[table][tr][th=""]PLAYERS[/th][th=""]MANAGEMENT[/th][th=""]MONEY[/th][th=""]MARKET[/th][th=""]DRAFT[/th][/tr][tr][td]204 (14th)[/td][td]39 (28th)[/td][td]113 (10th)[/td][td]13 (30th)[/td][td]59 (13th)[/td][/tr][/table]
Memphis has some pretty decent players, even if Zach Randolph doesn't stick around, and the fact the Grizzlies actually paid one of them to stay (Rudy Gay) is a positive sign going forward -- even if the deal wasn't terribly sensible. Memphis is in a good position cap-wise going forward, too, so its rating in the "money" category improved significantly from last time.
Unfortunately, the negatives still strongly outweigh the positives. Owner Michael Heisley has largely usurped the GM role from Chris Wallace, with disastrous consequences -- most recently the selection of center Hasheem Thabeet -- and that's why the Grizzlies' management ranks 28th. And it's hard to get too giddy about the money when they're locked in a salary tussle with first-round pick Xavier Henry. Regardless of Randolph's future, the Gay-O.J. Mayo-Marc Gasol nucleus will prevent the Grizzlies from being terrible, but it's also hard to see them taking many steps forward.
(Previous rank: 23)
[h3]25. Philadelphia 76ers | Future Power Rating: 404[/h3]
[table][tr][th=""]PLAYERS[/th][th=""]MANAGEMENT[/th][th=""]MONEY[/th][th=""]MARKET[/th][th=""]DRAFT[/th][/tr][tr][td]164 (21st)[/td][td]77 (18th)[/td][td]62 (27th)[/td][td]36 (23rd)[/td][td]65 (12th)[/td][/tr][/table]
The Sixers, coming off a 27-win season, will probably continue to struggle for a while. But the addition of college player of the year Evan Turner and the potential of second-year point guard Jrue Holiday provide hope. With Andre Iguodala, Thaddeus Young and Lou Williams returning as well, Philly fans can be somewhat optimistic.
The problem, as Sixers fans are well aware, is that GM Ed Stefanski's plan for the team is still a mystery. In recent years Philadelphia has signed Elton Brand to a huge contract, let Andre Miller walk to save money, brought in another expensive veteran in Andres Nocioni, traded away center Samuel Dalembert, hired and fired coach Eddie Jordan, hired a new coach in Doug Collins and made other moves that demonstrate no particular direction. So while the Sixers have an interesting young core, the team is also bogged down by players with bad contracts, is overloaded with overlapping talents and lacks shooting and an inside defensive presence.
Philly also has no real ability to spend until the summer of 2013 and will be just good enough to pick in the late lottery (or lower) each year, significantly hindering its chances of becoming any better in the short term.
(Previous rank: 22)
A link would be very helpful...
The Future Power Rankings are ESPN Insider's projection of each team's on-the-court success during the 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons.
[h4]HOW FUTURE POWER RATING IS DETERMINED[/h4][table][tr][td]PLAYERS (0 to 400 points): Current players and their potential for the future, factoring in expected departures[/td][/tr][tr][td]MANAGEMENT (0 to 200 points): Quality and stability of front office, ownership, coaching[/td][/tr][tr][td]MONEY (0 to 200 points): Projected salary-cap situation; ability and willingness to exceed cap and pay luxury tax[/td][/tr][tr][td]MARKET (0 to 100 points): Appeal to future acquisitions based on team quality, franchise reputation, city's desirability as a destination, market size, taxes, business and entertainment opportunities, arena quality, fans[/td][/tr][tr][td]DRAFT (0 to 100 points): Future draft picks; draft positioning[/td][/tr][/table]
Consider this a convenient way to see in what direction your favorite team is headed.
Each of the NBA's 30 teams received an overall Future Power Rating of 0 to 1,000 based on how well we expected each team to perform in the three seasons after the coming season. To determine the Future Power Rating, we rated each team in five categories. (See table at right.)
As you can see, we determined that the most important category was a team's current players and the future potential of those players. That category accounted for 40 percent of each team's overall Future Power Rating.
At the same time, we looked at many other factors such as management, ownership, coaching, a team's spending habits, its cap situation, the reputation of the city and the franchise, and what kind of draft picks we expected the team to have in the future.
With all the big moves around the league this summer, it's time for a new edition of the Future Power Rankings. Two important notes: 1. Now that the NBA calendar has flipped, we are evaluating the 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons. And 2. We are not considering the changes that might be made to the collective bargaining agreement, because there is no way to know how those changes will reshape the league.
We'll roll out our rankings for three days this week.
Here are our current rankings from 21 to 30:
[h3]Future Power Rankings: 21-25 | 26-30 [/h3]
[h3]26. Toronto Raptors | Future Power Rating: 402[/h3]
[table][tr][th=""]PLAYERS[/th][th=""]MANAGEMENT[/th][th=""]MONEY[/th][th=""]MARKET[/th][th=""]DRAFT[/th][/tr][tr][td]94 (28th)[/td][td]81 (17th)[/td][td]110 (12th)[/td][td]47 (16th)[/td][td]70 (9th)[/td][/tr][/table]
These are pretty depressing times to be a Raptors fan. Team president Bryan Colangelo miscalculated with the team he put around Chris Bosh, failed to move the power forward when he had the chance last year and then lost him for relatively nothing this offseason. Now Toronto is in worse shape than when Colangelo arrived on the scene in 2006.
Losing Bosh didn't have the same devastating effect that losing LeBron James had on the Cavs, but the Raptors still fell a whopping nine spots in our Future Power Rankings, a drop-off topped only by Cleveland's.
A bolting Bosh wasn't the only factor contributing to Toronto's slide. 2009 free-agent signing Hedo Turkoglu was a major disappointment and was jettisoned to Phoenix after only one season. Meanwhile, the Raptors continue to shop starting point guard Jose Calderon, whom at this point they would be happy to get rid of for salary-cap relief.
Furthermore, the Raptors ate up all their potential cap space by overpaying role players -- in a moment of apparent panic after Bosh's departure, Colangelo inexplicably gave Amir Johnson $34 million. Although the other summer additions, Leandro Barbosa and Linas Kleiza, will contribute, they won't save this sinking ship.
The only good news comes from a couple of young players who appear to have bright futures based on their talent and performances in the 2010 Las Vegas summer league. DeMar DeRozan had a breakout summer and has star ability if he puts it together. Toronto also lucked out when Ed Davis slipped to it at No. 13 in the draft, as he eventually could help fill Bosh's shoes.
(Previous rank: 17)
[h3]27. Phoenix Suns | Future Power Rating: 399[/h3]
[table][tr][th=""]PLAYERS[/th][th=""]MANAGEMENT[/th][th=""]MONEY[/th][th=""]MARKET[/th][th=""]DRAFT[/th][/tr][tr][td]136 (24th)[/td][td]55 (23rd)[/td][td]95 (17th)[/td][td]63 (9th)[/td][td]50 (15th)[/td][/tr][/table]
The enthusiasm over the Suns' terrific run to the Western Conference finals was seriously dampened by a pretty crappy June and July.
When team president and GM Steve Kerr resigned, owner Robert Sarver took over front-office operations and managed to do a great deal of damage in just a few weeks.
First he lost Amare Stoudemire in free agency, and then he took on Hedo Turkoglu's huge contract while also overpaying Josh Childress (who plays the same position as Turkoglu), Channing Frye and Hakim Warrick. Sarver eventually brought on respected player agent Lon Babby as the team's new president, but at that point, most of the damage had been done.
Sarver's moves will help keep the Suns respectable for the moment, but for the future, the picture is bleak. As Steve Nash ages, it's hard to imagine how the role players Phoenix has put around him will be able to prevent a Suns slide into irrelevance.
(Previous rank: 25)
[h3]28. Cleveland Cavaliers | Future Power Rating: 331[/h3]
[table][tr][th=""]PLAYERS[/th][th=""]MANAGEMENT[/th][th=""]MONEY[/th][th=""]MARKET[/th][th=""]DRAFT[/th][/tr][tr][td]45 (29th)[/td][td]45 (26th)[/td][td]133 (7th)[/td][td]22 (27th)[/td][td]86 (2nd)[/td][/tr][/table]
We hate to pour salt on the wound, but LeBron's "Decision" destroyed his hometown franchise now and for the foreseeable future. Cavaliers fans continue to insist that it's the way LeBron ditched them that has caused so much anger, but over time, the real pain will be watching this Cavs team without him.
In his open letter condemning LeBron, owner Dan Gilbert guaranteed the Cavs would win a championship without their former star, but that's easier said than done. Cleveland traditionally has not been a top free-agent destination. Now, the team has another problem: Gilbert's heat-of-the-moment diatribe against LeBron was read by players around the league, and a number of player agents have told us their clients don't want to play there after seeing how Gilbert treated a guy who made him hundreds of millions during the past several years. In any case, as we've seen this summer, players just won't flock to Cleveland without the lure of LeBron.
The roster itself is another weak point. Mo Williams, Ramon Sessions, Anderson Varejao and J.J. Hickson are good pieces but not the kind of young talent that could carry the franchise forward in future seasons. The Cavs lack trade assets as well.
Cleveland did get a bounty of draft picks from Miami in the LeBron sign-and-trade. But given how stacked the Heat are right now, those picks likely will be the worst in the first round -- and the Cavs aren't going to replace LeBron with a series of No. 30 draft picks.
(Previous rank:
[h3]29. Minnesota Timberwolves | Future Power Rating: 326[/h3]
[table][tr][th=""]PLAYERS[/th][th=""]MANAGEMENT[/th][th=""]MONEY[/th][th=""]MARKET[/th][th=""]DRAFT[/th][/tr][tr][td]101 (27th)[/td][td]6 (30th)[/td][td]140 (5th)[/td][td]13 (29th)[/td][td]66 (10th)[/td][/tr][/table]
The baffling tenure of general manager David Kahn and the long-running incompetence of owner Glen Taylor combine to give the Timberwolves the lowest score for management in our ratings. A $20 million deal to Darko Milicic, a bizarre infatuation with Milwaukee point guards and a sweetheart of a trade that sent out Al Jefferson are the major points of contention, but there are plenty of others. In short, nobody is quite sure whether he's coming or going.
Minnesota has two other negatives. The first is a built-in one called winter, which helps make it one of the least favorable markets. But the second was inflicted by the previous and equally disastrous regime of Kevin McHale: There's a good chance the Timberwolves will owe the Clippers a completely unprotected first-round draft pick in 2012.
The Wolves aren't devoid of talent; Kevin Love, Michael Beasley and, if he ever arrives, Ricky Rubio, are three nice pieces. Additionally, they'll have as much cap room as anyone, and Taylor has shown he's willing to spend. But the structure isn't in place for success.
(Previous rank: 27)
[h3]30. Charlotte Bobcats | Future Power Rating: 176[/h3]
[table][tr][th=""]PLAYERS[/th][th=""]MANAGEMENT[/th][th=""]MONEY[/th][th=""]MARKET[/th][th=""]DRAFT[/th][/tr][tr][td]40 (30th)[/td][td]25 (29th)[/td][td]40 (30th)[/td][td]26 (26th)[/td][td]45 (19th)[/td][/tr][/table]
Despite the Bobcats' first playoff appearance last season, we remain more bearish on their future than on any other team's. In fact, Charlotte not only came in last in our ratings, it also achieved barely half the score of the No. 29 Timberwolves. (How's that for a slogan: "Our future is twice as bleak as Minnesota's!")
The Bobcats continue to accumulate veteran players with bad contracts and lack the financial resources to get out of the hole that awaits them. They have one decent young player (Tyrus Thomas) but still owe a future first-round pick to the Bulls for him, and they already have started stripping the roster, losing point guard Raymond Felton without a fight and swapping Tyson Chandler in a deal that hardly saved any money and dashed any hope of having significant cap space in 2011.
Unfortunately, the short-term mindset of both new majority owner Michael Jordan and coach Larry Brown is likely to make matters worse. Brown's draft input has been particularly disastrous -- instead of grabbing Ty Lawson, Brook Lopez and Nicolas Batum, the Bobcats' past three first-rounders were Alexis Ajinca, .J. Augustin and Gerald Henderson. In that sense, perhaps it's a good thing they already traded away next year's pick.
(Previous rank: 30)
[h3]21. Golden State Warriors | Future Power Rating: 450[/h3]
[table][tr][th=""]PLAYERS[/th][th=""]MANAGEMENT[/th][th=""]MONEY[/th][th=""]MARKET[/th][th=""]DRAFT[/th][/tr][tr][td]190 (18th)[/td][td]40 (27th)[/td][td]127 (8th)[/td][td]42 (19th)[/td][td]51 (14th)[/td][/tr][/table]
Rejoice, Warriors fans. After spending a year near the very bottom of our Future Power Rankings, thanks to a terrible management rating, Golden State is moving up. Chris Cohan is selling the team, and while we don't know what the new owners will do, we're confident they can't make as big a mess as Cohan, GM Larry Riley and coach Don Nelson have made.
Still, the Warriors aren't ready to join the NBA's elite. Stephen Curry is a terrific talent, and he'll have a solid new pick-and-roll partner in David Lee. But the Warriors gave up promising youngster Anthony Randolph to get Lee, whose new $80 million contract is also a big one for the team to carry. And lottery pick Ekpe Udoh, out for five months with a wrist injury, will be an unproven 23-year-old rookie when he finally suits up with the Warriors.
In part, Golden State's future depends on how things go with Monta Ellis and Andris Biedrins, who appear to be available. Whether they are Warriors building blocks or can be traded for players that help the team fill its many holes, they are important young assets. That will be a big test for the new management team, when that team is in place.
(Previous rank: 2
[h3]22. Detroit Pistons | Future Power Rating: 444[/h3]
[table][tr][th=""]PLAYERS[/th][th=""]MANAGEMENT[/th][th=""]MONEY[/th][th=""]MARKET[/th][th=""]DRAFT[/th][/tr][tr][td]103 (26th)[/td][td]113 (13th)[/td][td]111 (11th)[/td][td]38 (20th)[/td][td]79 (5th)[/td][/tr][/table]
Add the Pistons to the ever-growing list of problems in Detroit. After an amazing run last decade, Detroit fans can no longer be confident in the franchise's future.
Owner Bill Davidson has passed away and the team is up for sale. The Pistons lack a legitimate star, are stuck with a couple of bad contracts on their books, have no long-term solutions in the middle and have been plagued by injuries and apathy. And fans are no longer flocking to the Palace like they used to.
One problem is that they don't have much to rally around, and team president Joe Dumars didn't shake things up this summer, either. Greg Monroe is a rookie with potential, but Pistons fans will need to be patient after his up-and-down performance in summer league. Among the youngsters, Austin Daye has shown promise and Jonas Jerebko should be a good role player. Veterans Rodney Stuckey and Ben Gordon are solid building blocks. But none of them is enough to get fans excited.
For the Pistons to progress further than we've projected here, they'll need to get Richard Hamilton off the books, trade Tayshaun Prince for something of value before his contract expires after the 2010-11 season and get strong development from their young players. That adds up to a lot of ifs for a franchise that once seemed the steadiest in the NBA.
(Previous rank: 20)
[h3]23. New Orleans Hornets | Future Power Rating: 434[/h3]
[table][tr][th=""]PLAYERS[/th][th=""]MANAGEMENT[/th][th=""]MONEY[/th][th=""]MARKET[/th][th=""]DRAFT[/th][/tr][tr][td]198 (16th)[/td][td]52 (25th)[/td][td]93 (18th)[/td][td]26 (25th)[/td][td]65 (11th)[/td][/tr][/table]
It's a good-news, bad-news situation in New Orleans. The good news is that the Hornets' disastrous cap situation will ease after this season, especially if they can pay somebody to take James Posey off their hands. Alas, New Orleans could be facing an even worse problem. Point guard Chris Paul appears to be trying to force his way out of town, taking with him the Hornets' lone source of star power.
Even with the superstar guard, it's hard to get excited about the team's future. They have two good young guards in Darren Collison and Marcus Thornton and a minor star in power forward David West. The ownership is in flux while George Shinn negotiates a sale to Gary Chouest; the threadbare front office is now under the control of Dell Demps, who was fourth on the totem pole in San Antonio until his recent hiring; and the market is one of the least appealing for free agents. And while it's possible the Hornets could be well under the cap next summer, it's also possible West could leave as a free agent.
(Previous rank: 24)
[h3]24. Memphis Grizzlies | Future Power Rating: 428[/h3]
[table][tr][th=""]PLAYERS[/th][th=""]MANAGEMENT[/th][th=""]MONEY[/th][th=""]MARKET[/th][th=""]DRAFT[/th][/tr][tr][td]204 (14th)[/td][td]39 (28th)[/td][td]113 (10th)[/td][td]13 (30th)[/td][td]59 (13th)[/td][/tr][/table]
Memphis has some pretty decent players, even if Zach Randolph doesn't stick around, and the fact the Grizzlies actually paid one of them to stay (Rudy Gay) is a positive sign going forward -- even if the deal wasn't terribly sensible. Memphis is in a good position cap-wise going forward, too, so its rating in the "money" category improved significantly from last time.
Unfortunately, the negatives still strongly outweigh the positives. Owner Michael Heisley has largely usurped the GM role from Chris Wallace, with disastrous consequences -- most recently the selection of center Hasheem Thabeet -- and that's why the Grizzlies' management ranks 28th. And it's hard to get too giddy about the money when they're locked in a salary tussle with first-round pick Xavier Henry. Regardless of Randolph's future, the Gay-O.J. Mayo-Marc Gasol nucleus will prevent the Grizzlies from being terrible, but it's also hard to see them taking many steps forward.
(Previous rank: 23)
[h3]25. Philadelphia 76ers | Future Power Rating: 404[/h3]
[table][tr][th=""]PLAYERS[/th][th=""]MANAGEMENT[/th][th=""]MONEY[/th][th=""]MARKET[/th][th=""]DRAFT[/th][/tr][tr][td]164 (21st)[/td][td]77 (18th)[/td][td]62 (27th)[/td][td]36 (23rd)[/td][td]65 (12th)[/td][/tr][/table]
The Sixers, coming off a 27-win season, will probably continue to struggle for a while. But the addition of college player of the year Evan Turner and the potential of second-year point guard Jrue Holiday provide hope. With Andre Iguodala, Thaddeus Young and Lou Williams returning as well, Philly fans can be somewhat optimistic.
The problem, as Sixers fans are well aware, is that GM Ed Stefanski's plan for the team is still a mystery. In recent years Philadelphia has signed Elton Brand to a huge contract, let Andre Miller walk to save money, brought in another expensive veteran in Andres Nocioni, traded away center Samuel Dalembert, hired and fired coach Eddie Jordan, hired a new coach in Doug Collins and made other moves that demonstrate no particular direction. So while the Sixers have an interesting young core, the team is also bogged down by players with bad contracts, is overloaded with overlapping talents and lacks shooting and an inside defensive presence.
Philly also has no real ability to spend until the summer of 2013 and will be just good enough to pick in the late lottery (or lower) each year, significantly hindering its chances of becoming any better in the short term.
(Previous rank: 22)
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Edit: Nevermind
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Edit: Nevermind
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Is that the whole article?
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Is that the whole article?
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can someone please post the rest of the article now that it is up?
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can someone please post the rest of the article now that it is up?
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we would appreciate the rest of the article
thanks.
thanks.
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we would appreciate the rest of the article
thanks.
thanks.
bottom74bottom
Banned
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Who are we kidding, can we see where the Lakers are projected over the course of the rest of Kobe's career against MIA? What? We were all thinking it.
bottom74bottom
Banned
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Who are we kidding, can we see where the Lakers are projected over the course of the rest of Kobe's career against MIA? What? We were all thinking it.
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This was already posted in the NBA offseason thread, just keep looking back.
And you guys can at least ask nicely instead of giving an attitude to proshares, or whoever is posting.
And you guys can at least ask nicely instead of giving an attitude to proshares, or whoever is posting.
- 7,084
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This was already posted in the NBA offseason thread, just keep looking back.
And you guys can at least ask nicely instead of giving an attitude to proshares, or whoever is posting.
And you guys can at least ask nicely instead of giving an attitude to proshares, or whoever is posting.
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If you wanna see the whole thing that was posted in the nba offseason thread ALREADY, click the link
http://niketalk.yuku.com/...on-Br.html#reply-9342651
http://niketalk.yuku.com/...on-Br.html#reply-9342651
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If you wanna see the whole thing that was posted in the nba offseason thread ALREADY, click the link
http://niketalk.yuku.com/...on-Br.html#reply-9342651
http://niketalk.yuku.com/...on-Br.html#reply-9342651
