South West Division – Short/Long Term Prospects
6 min read
Dallas Mavericks
Original Roster
| PG | 7 | Kyrie Irving | 1 | Cameron Payne | 1 | Jalen Brunson |
| SG | 6 | Bradley Beal | 2 | Alec Burks | 1 | Kira Lewis |
| SF | 3 | Dillon Brooks | 1 | BJ Boston | 1 | Moses Moody |
| PF | 4 | Julius Randle | 3 | Paul Millsap | 1 | Isaiah Roby |
| C | 1 | JaMychal Green | 2 | Thomas Bryant | 1 | Taj Gibson |
| 1 | Tyler Bey | 1 | Eugene Omoruyi |
Current Roster
| 7 | Kyrie Irving | 2 | Cameron Payne | ||
| 7 | Bradley Beal | 1 | Jalen Brunson | 1 | Kira Lewis |
| 3 | Dillon Brooks | 1 | BJ Boston | 1 | Moses Moody |
| 4 | Julius Randle | 5 | Jerami Grant | 1 | Isaiah Roby |
| 2 | JaMychal Green | 2 | Thomas Bryant | 1 | Max Christie |
Draft Picks: Max Christie (50)
Future Picks: Mavs 24 & 25
Spot the difference, almost the same roster as last season for the Mavs. With the main exception being the upgrade of an aging Millsap for Jerami Grant, who will add some fire power to the bench, unless him or Randle move to the centre position. The centre position does appear to be a gaping hole on the roster. There is good depth at the PG position and expect Brunson to take a step forward this season. I just wonder if there is enough defence on this team to make them challenge.
This is a team built for the here and now with Kyrie, Beal and Randle. Brunson, Grant and Brynant are going to have better seasons than last year, but there isn’t any prospect that makes me get excited and the team could be in for a long term rebuild in 3-4 years time.
Short Term – C – Came 9th in a tough Western conference last season and were affected by injuries . But with teams like the Warriors and Jazz finishing behind them last time it might be difficult for them to make the playoffs.
Long Term – D – I think most of the roster will be declining by this point, I imagine there firsts are going to be in the 8-18 range so good selections will be vital.
Houston Rockets
Original Roster
| PG | 4 | Terry Rozier | 1 | Josh Christopher | 1 | Edmond Sumner |
| SG | 2 | Darius Garland | 4 | Eric Bledsoe | 1 | Josh Green |
| SF | 2 | Malik Monk | 3 | Will Barton | 1 | Trey Burke |
| PF | 3 | T.J. Warren | 1 | Bruno Fernando | ||
| C | 1 | Isaiah Stewart | 1 | DeMarcus Cousins | 2 | Enes Freedom |
Current Roster
| PG | 2 | Darius Garland | 1 | Caleb Houstan | 1 | Edmond Sumner |
| SG | 2 | Collin Sexton | 1 | Corey Kispert | 1 | Wes Matthews |
| SF | 1 | Malik Monk | 4 | Will Barton | 1 | Ben Mclemore |
| PF | 3 | Kyle Kuzma | 3 | T.J. Warren | 5 | Tim Hardaway Jr. |
| C | 2 | James Wiseman | 1 | Alex Len | 1 | AJ Griffin |
Draft Picks: Banchero (2), AJ Griffin (10)
Future Picks: Rockets 23, Timberwolves 23, Cavs 24, Rockets 25, Nuggets 25, Nets 25 and Magic 25
Abit of turmoil in the summer with the Rockets having two GM’s and having another drafting for them in the Re-draft.
Its clear the direction the Rockets are going with the haul of future firsts (and seconds). So lets talk short term first, they are going to be down towards the bottom of the standings this season but the Rockets wont mind that given they hold their first in 23.
A good lottery pick on 23 to add to Garland, Sexton, AJ and Wiseman means the future could look bright for the Rockets. But there are a couple of question marks over Sexton and Wiseman’s long term prospects for me personally.
Short Term – D+ Not the worst team in the league and Garland has the potential to win a few games by himself.
Long Term – A – The Rockets are going to be in a strong position by the end of the 2025 draft, as I see the current players improving and 7 future firsts!
Memphis Grizzlies
Original Roster
| 1 | Hamidou Diallo | 1 | Gary Trent Jr. | 1 | Jahmi’us Ramsey | ||
| 5 | Buddy Hield | 1 | Chimezie Metu | ||||
| 6 | Otto Porter | 1 | Georges Niang | 1 | Day’ron Sharpe | ||
| 3 | DeAndre Ayton | 2 | Montrezl Harrell | 1 | Jalen McDaniels | ||
| 4 | Clint Capela | 1 | Dewayne Dedmon | 1 | Zeke Nnaji | 1 | Nick Richards |
| 1 | Terry Taylor | 1 | Jay Scrubb |
Current Roster
| 1 | Jordan McLaughlin | 2 | Hamidou Diallo | 1 | RJ Hampton |
| 4 | Gary Trent Jr. | 2 | Chris Boucher | 1 | Miles McBride |
| 2 | Montrezl Harrell | 1 | Terry Taylor | 1 | Isaiah Todd |
| 4 | Clint Capela | 1 | Zeke Nnaji | 1 | Jalen McDaniels |
| 3 | DeAndre Ayton | 1 | Day’ron Sharpe | 1 | Nick Richards |
Draft Picks: Trevor Keels (53)
Future Picks: Grizzlies 23, Mavs 23, Nets 23, Grizzlies 24, Bulls 24, Grizzlies 25 and Knicks 25
I doubt many teams are out rebounding this team, with all the giants they have. This team is all about defence and you know what they say about defence. Offense wins you games, defense wins you championships.
The Grizzlies are serious players and I see them making the conference finals, also with all the future picks they have and Ayton sticking around the future looks like its going to be good as well.
Short Term – A – Plenty of talent and depth, and they could win it all. If I was Memphis I would get those firsts offered out for an elite PG.
Long Term – B 7 future firsts and the current age of the roster, means the Grizzlies will be contenders for years to come.
New Orleans Pelicans
Original Roster
Current Roster
| 2 | LaMelo Ball | 2 | T.J. McConnell | 1 | Jordan Goodwin | ||
| 1 | Tyrese Maxey | 1 | Tre Jones | 1 | Jaylen Nowell | ||
| 2 | Scottie Barnes | 1 | Brandon Clarke | 1 | Davon Reed | ||
| 3 | Christian Wood | 1 | Isaiah Jackson | 1 | Jaden McDaniels | ||
| 2 | Onyeka Okongwu | 1 | Isaiah Hartenstein | 1 | Dwight Howard | 5 | Danilo Gallinari ^ |
Draft Picks: Jalen Williams (17), Karlo Matkovic (1) and Yanick Nzosa (58)
Future Picks: Pelicans 23, Clippers 24 and Pelicans 25
WOW! What a change around in the roster. Gone from being the best team in DTNBA to a team which is borderline playoffs. Which is normally not a great place to be, but its clear that there is some serious potential on the Roster, with at least two future all stats (Ball and Barnes).
Another great thing about the roster is the depth, I think the Pelicans could actually struggle to work out what their best DC for a while. Whilst the Pelcians wont be challenging this season, give it a few years and they will.
Short Term D – The roster could make the playoffs and a D might be a bit harsh, but given how this would have been an A+ with the original roster, I had to give a D
Long Term A – A roster stacked with potential and last seasons rookie of the season, only held back by not entering the sweepstake for a certain 23 draft talent.
San Antonio Spurs
Original Roster
Current Roster
| PG | 2 | Tyus Jones | 1 | Malachi Flynn | 1 | Frank Ntilikina | ||
| SG | 2 | Keegan Murray | 2 | Patty Mills | 1 | Josh Green | ||
| SF | 3 | Robert Covington | 5 | Harrison Barnes | 1 | Jaden Hardy | ||
| PF | 1 | Jalen Smith | 1 | Otto Porter | 1 | Greg Brown | 5 | Danilo Gallinari ^ |
| C | 3 | Jonas Valančiūnas | 1 | Trey Lyles | 3 | Doug McDermott |
Draft Picks: Keegan Murray (5) and Kenneth Lofton Jr(49)
Future Picks: Spurs 23 & 25 first rounder, Hawks 24 first rounder
The Spurs are a solid team, they look good defensively but do they have enough offense to push them into the Play offs? I think they do, just!
Given the age of most of the roster, it’s a team which needs to be making the playoffs, as not many on the Roster outside of the Rookies are going to improve their numbers. However the Spurs do hold 2 of their 1st over the coming seasons, meaning if they do miss out its not totally bad news. Also the Hawks 24 first rounder improves their long term prospects
Short Term: C Border line playoff team, think a trade or two might be needed to add some more offense into the team
Long Term: C Keegan Murray and the upcoming picks will be what the Roster needs to be built around in the next couple of years, some good draft picks are going to need to be made to push the team into the Playoff mix.
