North West – Short/Long Term prospects
6 min read
Denver Nuggets
Original Roster
| PG | 1 | James Bouknight | 1 | PJ Dozier | ||
| SG | 4 | Evan Fournier | 4 | Danny Green | ||
| SF | 3 | Marcus Morris | 3 | Trevor Ariza | ||
| PF | 2 | Lauri Markkanen | 4 | Davis Bertans | ||
| C | 1 | Alperen Sengun | 1 | Sekou Doumbouya |
Current Roster
| PG | 4 | Dejounte Murray | 9 | Russell Westbrook | 1 | Josh Christopher |
| SG | 1 | Desmond Bane | 2 | De’Anthony Melton | 1 | Jaden Hardy |
| SF | 2 | Miles Bridges | 3 | Thaddeus Young | 1 | Chimeze Metu |
| PF | 5 | John Collins | 2 | Mo Bamba | 1 | EJ Liddell |
| C | 1 | Alperen Sengun | 2 | Jakob Poeltl | 1 | Greg Brown |
Draft Picks: Chet Holmgren (1), Benedict Mathurin (8), Kennedy Chandler (32), Wendell Moore Jr (42) and EJ Liddell (43)
Future Picks: Hawks 24
The Nuggets targeted the 2022 draft, in the mini draft and it seems to have worked. As they had managed to trade away most of their selections but managed to put together a roster which contains two key pieces from last seasons champions, along with good young talent.
The team has good depth and I do wonder if it may taken the Nuggets some time to work out what their best rotation is. However they are play off bound and will be for a number of years.
Short Term – B+ Whilst the Nuggets have good depth and starting 5, they are maybe missing that elite star which would push them into the conversation of being Champions.
Long Term – A – Most of the roster is young with a few exceptions who are likely bench players, with this in mind and having the Hawks first in 24, I only see the Nuggets getting better over the next few seasons.
Minnesota Timberwolves
Original Roster
Current Roster
| 3 | Cade Cunningham | 3 | Devonte’ Graham | 1 | Andrew Nembhard |
| 7 | D’Angelo Russell | 1 | Nickeil Alexander-Walker | 1 | Matisse Thybulle |
| 3 | Kelly Oubre | 1 | Deni Avdija | ||
| 1 | Rui Hachimura | 1 | Saddiq Bey | 1 | Christian Koloko |
| 4 | Domantas Sabonis | 2 | Zach Collins | 1 | Kenyon Martin Jr. |
Draft picks: Koloko (25) and Nembhard (29)
Future Picks: Lakers 24, Wolves 24 and 25
Not many changes for the Wolves in the off season, which isn’t surprising considering how well they did last season. Coming 5th in the wild west is quite the achievement.
Sabonis is stand out player, but with the likes of Cade and Russell supporting on the offensive end and Thybulle being a great defender, there is a good balance to the roster. There are also plenty of players on the Roster who have the potential to improve so I think the Wolves are going to be a legit team in the playoffs for the next few seasons.
Short Term C – Whilst I think they will make the play offs, I doubt they will finish as high as last season.
Long Term B – Almost every player on the roster has the potential to improve over the next couple of seasons, so whilst their picks in the next few years might not be great, I see plenty to be happy about in the current roster.
Portland Trailblazers
Original Roster
| PG | 7 | Kemba Walker | 1 | Yuta Watanabe | 1 | Gabe Vincent |
| SG | 6 | Demar Derozan | 4 | Zach Lavine | 1 | Jason Preston |
| SF | 3 | Justise Winslow | 1 | Donte DiVincenzo | 1 | Nik Stauskas |
| PF | 3 | Zion Williamson | 1 | Blake Griffin | 1 | Damion Lee |
| C | 1 | Mitchell Robinson | 2 | Jaren Jackson Jr. | 1 | Moses Brown |
Draft Picks: Ron Harper Jr (52)
Future Picks: Blazers 24 and 25
The Blazers have a great starting 5 with the defensive talents of Smart and Robinson and then the scoring of Zion, Derozan and Lavine. I see the Blazers getting into the play offs as long as they don’t suffer from injuries which was the case last season with a lot of the roster missing time.
I would maybe suggest they could use some additional support from the bench or maybe a more defensive player and dropping one of their scorers to a 6th man role. Outside of Derozan, the starting 5 all still have plenty of years left in them, however will any of them improve, im note sure.
Short Term – B- Playoff bound and have the potential to cause an upset in the playoffs.
Long Term – C – I don’t see any of the core getting better than what they are now, however Zion does have the potential to be elite if he can stay injury.
OKC
Original Roster
| PG | 3 | Marcus Smart | 1 | Josh Giddey | 1 | Jose Alvarado |
| SG | 7 | Jimmy Butler | 1 | Monte Morris | 1 | Keon Johnson |
| SF | 8 | Paul George | 1 | Garrison Mathews | 1 | JT Thor |
| PF | 1 | Daniel Gafford | 1 | Udoka Azubuike | 1 | Alize Johnson |
| C | 6 | Steven Adams | 1 | Omer Yurtseven | 1 | Jeremiah Robinson-Earl |
| 1 | Scottie Lewis |
Current Roster
| PG | 1 | Tre Mann | 1 | Jose Alvarado | 1 | Amir Coffey |
| SG | 8 | Jimmy Butler | 2 | Monte Morris | 1 | Keon Johnson |
| SF | 8 | Paul George | 1 | JT Thor | 1 | Luke Kornet |
| PF | 7 | Pascal Siakam | 1 | Daniel Gafford | 1 | Mamadi Diakite |
| C | 4 | Steven Adams | 1 | Omer Yurtseven^ | 1 | Keita Bates-Diop |
| 1 | Sandro Mamukelashvili | 1 | Orlando Robinson |
Draft Picks: None
Future Picks: OKC 23 (protected) and OKC 25
The OKC were pretty good last season, but Dylan has decided to press the win it now button by moving Josh Giddy and getting Pascal in. A wise move, we will only find out in the next couple of seasons. However it 100% makes the OKC contenders and are in the top 3 sides in the league. The only worries will be the injury records of some of their star players.
Whilst you might think Butler, George and Siakam are the stats, Adams is a monster on the boards especially with the offensive rebounds, Alvarado is a steals machine and take a look at Gafford’s per 36.
Longer term there isn’t a real standout young player on the team, but that’s no the direction which the team is heading.
Short Term: A – Can see them being in the Western Conference finals, however they just need to hope that Butler and George can stay injury free. There is good depth across the roster as well, so they can take the hit during the regular season.
Long Term: C The start players still have a few years in them yet, however there is a lack of anyone on the roster who will develop into a star, however by owning a couple of firsts, it does allow for some flexibility in the future.
Utah Jazz
Original Roster
| PG | 6 | Jrue Holiday | 1 | Aaron Holiday | 1 | Shake Milton |
| SG | 1 | Kevin Huerter | 1 | Tyreke Evans | 1 | Jock Landale |
| SF | 1 | Terance Mann | 2 | Justin Holiday | 1 | Grant Williams |
| PF | 1 | Brandon Clarke | 1 | Torrey Craig | 1 | Isaiah Jackson |
| C | 1 | Kenrich Williams | 2 | Onyeka Okongwu | 1 | Xavier Tillman |
Current Roster
| PG | 5 | Mike Conley | 1 | Aaron Holiday | ||
| SG | 7 | Jrue Holiday | 1 | Terance Mann | 1 | Kevin Huerter |
| SF | 4 | Bojan Bogdanović | 1 | Kenrich Williams | ||
| PF | 9 | Kevin Durant | 1 | Jock Landale | 1 | Torrey Craig |
| C | 5 | Draymond Green | 1 | Goga Bitadze | 1 | Jalen Duren |
Draft Picks: Duren (6)
Future Picks: 23 first rounder Jazz or Pacers and 25 first rounder Jazz or 76ers
What an overhaul of the Roster? It use to be all about the Holiday’s and up coming talent and now the roster is being moulded into a Championship contender.
I do slightly worry about the potential number of games the starters may miss through the season given how many injuries some of these guys have had in the past. However surly they are good enough to get into the playoffs. Then with KD and Jrue surly they can push anytime in a play off Series.
Short Term: B- The Jazz have turned into a top team, are there better teams in the West? Yes. But over a 7 game series the Jazz have the potential to beat anyone
Long Term: D – The Jazz have thrown all their eggs into the basket to be contenders this season and next. But once the aging starting 5 start to drop off, whose ready to step in, Duren will be but Bitadze, Huerter and Mann are never going to get to the levels of the starting 5.
