We still have a couple of disgruntled superstars and a handful of decent free agents out there. For the most part, however, the off-season dust has settled. I am going to rank and talk quickly about how each team’s off-season went.
1. Phoenix Suns
C – Deandre Ayton, Drew Eubanks
PF – Kevin Durant, Keita Bates-Diop
SF – Bradley Beal, Yuta Watanabe
SG – Devin Booker, Eric Gordon
PG – Cameron Payne, Josh Okogie
Who else can I put first? Not only did the Suns acquire Bradley Beal for virtually nothing, but they added enough veterans to hold the fort during some regular season rest days. Beal is the big addition, and gives the Suns a simply unfair trio of scorers. Eric Gordon, Drew Eubanks and Yuta Watanabe will provide additional scoring off of the bench. Deandre Ayton is the biggest question mark, but perhaps the coaching change will reinvigorate him. If he cannot get up for a chance to win a championship, there may be no hope for him.
C – Nikola Jokic, Zeke Nnaji
PF – Aaron Gordon, Vlatko Cancar
SF – Michael Porter Jr., Peyton Watson
SG – Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Christian Braun
PG – Jamal Murray, Reggie Jackson
The World Champion Nuggets (sure is nice to type that!) knew they were going to lose Bruce Brown, but that does not make it any less painful. The bench is going to suffer as a result. Denver also lost Jeff Green, and was only able to add shooter Justin Holiday via free agency. The Nuggets took a trio of upperclassmen to round out the bench, but this team will have to rely heavily on an elite starting five. Hopefully they can sign a couple of veterans on the cheap once free agency dries up.
C – Kevon Looney, Dario Saric
PF – Draymond Green, Jonathan Kuminga
SF – Andrew Wiggins, Moses Moody
SG – Klay Thompson, Gary Payton II
PG – Stephen Curry, Chris Paul
Well, this is certainly interesting. The Warriors roster now has, questionably, the two best point guards this century on its roster. Obviously, Golden State chose Draymond Green over Jordan Poole, moving Poole for Paul. It will be interesting to see how that works, but new GM Mike Dunleavy Jr. seems to think this core still has a lot of mileage left. Let us not forget they were champions 13 short months ago.
C – Anthony Davis, Jaxson Hayes
PF – Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt
SF – LeBron James, Taurean Prince
SG – Austin Reaves, Jalen Hood-Schifino
PG – D’Angelo Russell, Gabe Vincent
Yes, the Lakers are better now than they were at this time last year. No, they did not crush the post-season like the All-Lakers-All The Time Twitterverse has claimed. They resigned Rui Hachimura, D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves, cycled some old bench veterans out for new ones (Gabe Vincent, Jaxson Hayes, Taurean Prince) and added a nice draft pick in Jalen Hood-Schifino. The added depth could be offset by LeBron James being one year older. He really broke down during the playoff run and should not be counted on as being All World as he approaches 40 years old. Unfortunately, he and Anthony Davis are the only two difference makers on the team. The Lakers should not hang under .500 for most of the season like they did in 2022-2023, but the Pacific division will be a blood bath.
C – Steven Adams, Xavier Tillman Sr.
PF – Jaren Jackson Jr., Santi Aldama
SF – John Konchar, Ziaire Williams
SG – Desmond Bane, Luke Kennard
PG – Marcus Smart, Derrick Rose
If Ja Morant was not suspended, this team would look extremely solid. Luckily for the Grizzlies, the number of games missed could have been a lot more. Once he comes back, and if he can keep his head on straight, this remains a veteran, strong team. Marcus Smart seems like he was born to be a Grizzly. He should give fans that Tony Allen vibe as a tenacious defender. Derrick Rose was signed to provide a few minutes per game until Morant returns. Josh Christopher was jettisoned from the Rockets, and GG Jackson II is a talented prospect they scooped up in the second round. Those guys will all be bench fodder. This team just needs to keep its head above water until their MVP returns.
C – Chet Holmgren, Jaylin Williams
PF – Jalen Williams, Aleksej Pokusevski
SF – Luguentz Dort, Victor Oladipo
SG – Josh Giddey, Cason Wallace
PG – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Vasilije Micic
As of writing, the Thunder have 23 players under contract. The GM has gone overboard with wheeling and dealing, and now has too many players and middling draft picks. At some point, this team will need to consolidate. If they can add a couple solid veterans they could have a Sacramento-like jump next year. Few teams have the type of guard depth they have. The Thunder added rookies Cason Wallace and Vasilije Micic to the bunch, and accepted Victor Oladipo in a salary dump. The big addition is Chet Holmgren, who looks like he is ready to go after missing the entire 2022-2023 season.
C – Dereck Lively II, Dwight Powell
PF – Maxi Kleber, Grant Williams
SF – Tim Hardaway Jr., Josh Green
SG – Luka Doncic, Seth Curry
PG – Kyrie Irving, Dante Exum
The expectation all along is that Kyrie Irving would resign with the Mavericks, and that is exactly what happened. A full season of Irving and Luka Doncic should get Dallas back into playoff contention. The team also added quite a few role players, including veterans Grant Williams, Seth Curry and Dante Exum. Williams could start. So could rookie Dereck Lively II, which says more about the Mavericks non-existent front court depth as it does about Lively, who averaged 5 points per game at Duke. The continuity should help, but I do not see this team as a real threat as currently constructed, even with Doncic entering his prime.
C – Domantas Sabonis, Alex Len
PF – Keegan Murray, Trey Lyles
SF – Harrison Barnes, Aleksandar Vezenkov
SG – Kevin Huerter, Malik Monk
PG – De’Aaron Fox, Davion Mitchell
The Kings do not think 2022-2023 was a fluke, as they resigned Harrison Barnes, Trey Lyles and Alex Len. The biggest addition was Aleksandar Vezenkov, a 27 year old from Bulgaria who is fresh off winning the EuroLeague MVP. He is a real threat from deep and could contend for Sixth Man awards right away. They also traded for Chris Duarte, who really fell out of favor for Indiana as a sophomore. Other than that, expect more of the same from a Sacramento team who had its best season in two decades.
C – Ivica Zubac, Mason Plumlee
PF – Marcus Morris, Nicolas Batum
SF – Kawhi Leonard, K.J. Martin
SG – Paul George, Norman Powell
PG – Russell Westbrook, Terance Mann
What do we make of the Clippers? Once again, the All-Star duo of Paul George and Kawhi Leonard could not stay healthy. There is not much the Clippers can do, other than hope for a James Harden trade. Neither star is tradable, and there are little in the way of assets to offer for stars. The Clippers resigned Mason Plumlee, Russell Westbrook and added K.J. Martin to help with depth, and actually has a first round pick on the roster with Kobe Brown. I have no idea where to rank this team and what to expect. It is just impossible to rely on this roster at this point.
C – Rudy Gobert, Naz Reid
PF – Karl-Anthony Towns, Kyle Anderson
SF – Jaden McDaniels, Troy Brown Jr.
SG – Anthony Edwards, Nickiel Alexander-Walker
PG – Mike Conley Jr., Shake MIlton
Despite another disappointing year, Minnesota will run the same roster back. I still think a Karl-Anthony Towns trade will balance this roster out, but there is no reason to rush something like that with so much time before the season starts. Naz Reid was their top priority, and he resigned very quickly. He is a great first big to have coming off the bench. The rest of the reserves leave quite a bit to be desired. I expect Anthony Edwards to continue to emerge as one of the best young players in the league, but this roster just does not have enough to seriously contend. Unfortunately, the Rudy Gobert trade has limited ways this team could improve.
C – Jonas Valanciunas, Cody Zeller
PF – Zion Williamson, Larry Nance Jr.
SF – Herbert Jones, Naji Marshall
SG – Brandon Ingram, Trey Murphy III
PG – CJ McCollum, Jose Alvarado
Maybe I am being too hard on the Pelicans, but they seem to be in a tough spot. It looked like the team had turned a corner, but Zion Williamson went down once again and they fell apart. At least Williamson is finally taking some accountability for himself, but we shall wait and see. The Pelicans will return a similar roster. Resigning Herbert Jones was a huge move. The bench took a hit with the losses of Jaxson Hayes, Wily Hernangomez and Josh Richardson. Brandon Ingram is a fringe All-Star talent, CJ McCollum and Jonas Valanciunas are solid veterans, but the season will once again hinge on the health/dedication of Zion Williamson.
12. Houston Rockets
C – Alperen Sengun, Jock Landale
PF – Jabari Smith Jr., Tari Eason
SF – Dillon Brooks, Amen Thompson
SG – Jalen Green, Kevin Porter Jr.
PG – Fred VanVleet, Aaron Holiday
Well, now. We cannot say the Rockets are satisfied with another 60 loss season. They opened the checkbooks and backed up the Brinks Trucks for Dillon Brooks, Fred VanVleet and Jock Landale. Brooks will bring a veteran, defensive presence and VanVleet a solid 20 point per game scorer, but both players had serious question marks that caused their previous teams to let them walk, The Rockets have been a mess, and you have to overpay your way back to relevance sometimes. I love the pick of Amen Thompson and think he will take over at point guard in two or three years. Other than that, Houston drafted Cam Whitmore and cleared out five recent drafted players. Houston will be better by default, but I still think this team tops out at 30 wins. Continuing to develop the trio of big men and Jalen Green will be important. At least Houston has a real coach now.
C – Victor Wembanyama, Zach Collins
PF – Jeremy Sochan, Doug McDermott
SF – Keldon Johnson, Cedi Osman
SG – Devin Vassell, Malaki Branham
PG – Tre Jones, Devonte’ Graham
I think Victor Wembanyama will be a superstar one day, but I do not think he will have an immediate LeBron James-like impact in the win/loss column. San Antonio will be fine with that, as this roster needs one or two more lottery talents on it. San Antonio helped some teams move money around, and got draft capital as a result. Expect that trend to continue whilue they develop Wembanyama, Jeremy Sochan and others. They may not win 30 games in 2023-2024, but the future is extremely bright.
14. Utah Jazz
C – Walker Kessler, Kelly Olynyk
PF – John Collins, Taylor Hendricks
SF – Lauri Markkanen, Talen Horton-Tucker
SG – Jordan Clarkson, Ochai Agbaji
PG – Collin Sexton, Keyonte George
Danny Ainge and the Jazz want to tank, but the roster is not quite that poor. Instead, they opted to sign Jordan Clarkson to an extension and picked up John Collins for next to nothing. They also added three talented freshmen in the draft in Taylor Hendricks, Keyonte George and Brice Sensabaugh. Walker Kessler and Lauri Markkanen are also long term keepers. The roster construction is a bit of a mess, which is why I have them ranked this low, but there is a lot to like, and Utah has a ton of upcoming draft picks.
C – Jusuf Nurkic, Jabari Walker
PF – Jerami Grant, Kris Murray
SF – Matisse Thybulle, Nassir Little
SG – Anfernee Simons, Shaedon Sharpe
PG – Damian Lillard, Scoot Henderson
I am including Damian Lillard here because there is a very real chance he begins the season on Portland. That would surely torpedo the season, so either way, I have them as a bottom feeder in the West. Portland is in a tough spot. They resigned Jerami Grant in an effort to appease Lillard, but it was too little too late. They smartly did not give up the chance to draft Scoot Henderson without an All-Star coming back, there was just no realistic trade to be had. Portland has a nice trio of guards to build around, and Grant should be easy to move if they choose to, but this is a team that will be held hostage until the Lillard situation is resolved.
Sports Gaming Rosters 
Leave a comment