The Next Great Team? My Dad used to always tell me: You root with your heart, and bet with your head. In that frame of mind, then, let's take an objective look at the teams with great long term potential in the NBA, some of them obvious, some of them less so, and ( with our heads, mind you) see where we fit. First of all, there are the already great teams...San Antonio doesn't look like it's going to get much worse over the next few years, and if they add an O'Neal or a Kidd, well, this list is useless. Sacramento, Dallas, and Detroit are all pretty young, and Detroit is adding the 2nd pick in the draft. But Detroit has been doing it mostly with mirrors, and Darko will be their only real star 5 years from now, unless Big Ben is still doing his thing. Sacramento and Dallas all have the potential and relative youth to stay where they are, but I don't see either of them getting all that much better, unless Dirk steps up and becomes the best player in the game. Then there are the Big Ifs...If Gooden develops into a stud, T-Mac might be able to carry that team...if Toronto gets a Melo, Pavel, or Bosh, and IF that guy becomes a 2nd star, they could be a great team...IF the Clipps suddenly commit to keeping players instead of farming them out, they have tons of potential...IF G-State can keep it's player, same goes, but less so...Who knows what the hell's going on in Portland, and Memphis doesn't really seem to be knocking on the door quite yet. Indiana's got talent, but lack focus. So here is a look at the young teams on the cusp of greatness...Which one does your head ( not the pumper) say will be the one to take the next big step forward? Chicago Building Blocks: Tyson Chandler, F-C, 7-1, 235, born: 10/02/82...Eddie Curry, C, 6-11, 285, born:12/05/82...Jay Williams, PG, 6-2, 195, born:9/10/81, Jamal Crawford, G, 6-5, 190, born:3/20/80. On The Way: 7th pick in the draft. Questions: Will Williams overcome fairly common 1st year point guard bugs and be the player many thought he could be? Will Curry ever develop consistency to go with the flashes of dominance? Outlook: Probably the biggest collection of near the top of the draft talent in the NBA with the Clipp Show breaking up, but also haven't shown maturity yet, and many of the major hurdles haven't even been sighted yet, let alone overcome...That said, this team is absolutely loaded with star potential, and if they can parley the 7th pick into a young blue collar player, they have as many of the right pieces as anyone. Cleveland Building Blocks: Dejuan Wagner, G, 6-2, 200, born: 2/04/83 ...Ricky Davis, G/F, 6-7, 195, born: 9/23/79...Darius Miles, F, 6-9, 210, born: 10/9/81. On The Way: Lebron James Questions: Will Davis and/or Miles unlock the potential they have, or continue as great one night, terrible the next two kind of guys? Can Wagner excel when he's not the go to guy? IS King James all that's advertised? Outlook: It all comes down to James. Without him, the Cavs have some good young talent, but not much. If he's everything people say he is, he could mix with these guys to create an almost unheard of group of fast, athletic scorers, lead by a 6-8 ( and growing) playmaker extraordinaire. Denver: Building Blocks: Nene Hilario, F/C, 6-11, 260, born:9/13/82...Nikoloz Tskitishvili F 7-0 225, born:4/14/83 ...Rodney White, F, 6-9, 230,born: 6/28/80 On The Way: 3rd pick in the draft ( Carmelo Anthony or possibly Pavel.) Questions: Will Tsiki develop as the Nuggs say they are confident he will? Recent draft rumblings have the Nugz falling in love with the 7-5 Siberian, and trading Anthony's pick to Toronto, or drafting Pavel outright. If so, that's a HUGE question,but with HUGE upside. If not, how will Nene, Tsiki, and Anthony mesh with only one ball? Will White ever develop? Outlook: A lot of it depends on this draft decision...do they play it 'safe' and go for Melo, who is a star in the waiting, but like Nene and Tsiki, primarily a scorer,or do they roll the dice, and get possibly the next Shaq, or possibly just a bigger Ziggy. IF Anthony comes, they will need to get some guys who don't need the ball, but if Nikoloz rewards Denver's faith, these guys will fill it up. Houston: Building Blocks: Steve Francis, G, 6-3, 195, born: 195 2/21/77...Yao Ming, C ,7-5, 296,born: 9/12/80...Eddie Griffin F, 6-10, 230, born:5/30/82 . On The Way: No new players of note. Questions: Is Francis a shooting point guard, or a smaller shooting guard? Will Eddie Griffin live up to the original hopes the Rockets vested in him? Is a defensive minded coach the answer for this team? Outlook: Point guard and center are the two most important positions in the game, and nobody has 2 youngsters with the potential of Ming and Francis at these key spots. Shaq Daddy predicted that Yao will be " The Man' when he's gone, and where The Man goes, rings usually follow. Phoenix: Building Blocks: Stephon Marbury ,G 6-2, 205,born: 2/20/77... Amare Stoudemire, F, 6-10 ,245,born: 11/16/82 ...Shawn Marion, F, 6-7, 215,born: 5/07/78 . On The Way: 17th pick...ie not that much. Questions: How much better are the Suns gonna get? The three young guys are all great, but they were great last year, and no joy... Outlook: It's all about Amare. He is the only one with much more room to improve, but that might be enough. If Stephon and the Matrix maintain their stellar play, and Stoudamire becomes the next great power forward, these guys can go very far.
Its also a team in Golden State that has a good upside and is getting better. The thing is, tommorrow is not promised in sports. How many rings did we think we'll have with Dream and Ralph? Thats why I can't say how many this team will have in the 2,3 or even 5 yrs. When you look at the West, how many old teams are there or teams that have their core players over 30 yrs old? Shaq is 31,Webber is too, Dirk is 24,steph and company are 26 and younger, Garnett is 26,Duncan 27. Its conceivable that those teams will be tough for at least 3-5 yrs especially Sa,Dallas,Sac, and even La until Shaq leaves. Its just too many what if involved and Houston does have a bright future, but just like other teams, they need players with potential to live up to it. Francis needs to play like a all star and not just a guy voted in. Ming needs to continue to get better at his current pace and what would really make this team special is if Griffin just turns into the Hoarace Grant of the 90's bulls teams. Nothting spectacular , just 14-15pts,10-12 rebs and 2 blks with a high fg%. Evereyone else, including Mobley and Taylor become the other role players to fill out the team. They have a long ways to go, its just a matter of getting there.
San Antonio The reason is simple, they have Tim Duncan, and everyone else don't. Assuming they are going to sign another young big name free agent in the summer, probably another big guy, they have to be the favorite to be a Great team. Tim Duncan is not even to his prime yet. And then they have tony parker, who is only going to get better.. ginobili is going to be a stud.. and stephen jackson and bowen would be adequate at the 3. They have a strong bench.. malik rose, speedy claxton.. and MENKE BATEER will play next year, and he'll be good. But the thing that makes san antonio great is STeve Kerr!! They have steve kerr, and everyone else doesn't.
As you know I have no confidence in Francis; his body is impressive but his head is near missing. Ming has serious potential, but likely won't dominate the league like a Shaq or Wilt. Frankly, the current Rockets need more talent to be a league leader. Making more baskets than your opponent is still the key to the game, and the Rockets can't hit the side of a red barn. I am utterly amazed that people on this board think our line up is set. JVG can't be and won't be the answer without MORE TALENT!
I don't know why, but it seems the majority of the people voting on this poll may be a little biased...
I hope Houston can be the one! JVG will have to work and the players must respond.If required the Club must be willing to improve their weak spots by Trades, Draft and Free Agents. The question is will the Big Man ever develop into a great Center and if he does, do we have the right players that are willing to play arround him.
Of the teams mentioned in the poll, I would have to agree, Houston has the best outlook for the next 4 years. Yes the voting is bias but there is only one other team besides the Rockets, the Sun's, who are not basing their future solely on potential but already know they have the talent but it's more about making the talent jell together and execute the plays. Having said that, the Rockets spanked the Sun's during the regular season and Yao had the best of Amare. So you have to give the edge to the Rockets in regards of having the best outlook in the future.
MacBeth, good post as always. Chicago Crawford will probably be dealt in the coming year(s). I think the key to this team growing is Tyson Chandler. They guy is good, but doesn't have his head on straight. Could this be the year he gets it together?? Cleveland I don't see these guys being much better than they were last year. 25-30 wins tops. They still don't have a go to guy, even with James joining the Cavs. He is a playmaker, for himself(see Miles). They will be energetic, but lack control. Personally, I think they may try to deal Miles. Denver They should go with Carmelo and try to make a deal for a shooter like Allan Houston. I think we'll see improvement with their defense next year. Houston/Phoenix Both squads have lots of talent, but Houston has the means to take it to the next level(competing for a ring). Houston needs to get Yao involved more. The defense is decent, but could use some improvement. Signing Posey will aid in that area. Phoenix needs a center. If they get someone, anyone with size and defense to fill 20 minutes at that position, they will be there again next season.
No Indiana on that list? They're deep, talented, and aren't afraid to mix it up. Replace Isiah Thomas with a competent coach and give them a quality point guard (Gary Payton perhaps?) and they'd be in the Finals next year.
Yup, but the East still sucks. I don't see a lot of change in the top 4 teams in the West. I suspect they will all be there again. Lakers too. Houston hopefully can at least challenge for the 5 or 6 spot. Utah is done. Seattle doesn't impress me. I think the Suns and Rockets will battle again next year, but this time for a higher seed. The East? Who cares?
I voted Chicago. My worse fear is that, in 2 years, we'll make it to the Finals and run into Chicago. They are very well equipped to rip apart West teams, especially in the near future. Can you imagine? Their trio work so well together (Curry/Chandler/Crawford). They also have Jalen Rose and Donyell Marshall to be their veterans, and will probably add a veteran SF in the near future. I truly believe this team is one trade away from being a top 4 seed, especially with Curry, Chandler, and Crawford ALL breaking out at the same point last season. This summer could mean the difference for them. However, I think out of the West, we're tied with Phoenix. Only diffrence is, Phoenix has its 3 stars in place, but money will be a problem. Penny and Marion are already maxed out, so can they afford a maxed out Stoudamire too? The difference is, we have the talent to ACQUIRE talent. We don't have our 3rd piece in place yet. I firmly believe that the 3rd piece is Elton Brand, and I believe that we can work a 3-way to get him next season, if not miraculously this season. Let's hope MoT, Griffin, and Mobley all have great seasons so that when the time comes, their value will be high in a trade, andw e can get our final piece. Once we have a much better adjusted Yao Ming, a more discplined Steve Francis, and the ultimate Blue Collar guy in Elton Brand, we OOZE contender status. That's when the veterans start wanting to come here for low money but big rewards. We'll see what happens.
The problem with the East is that just about any team in the East is one trade away from being a top 4 seed. Yep, just a tad.
San Antonio...hands down choice for the best chance to be YOUNG and dominant for the next few years. Winning this year in the "geezers's " last go arounds is just a bonus to them. They also have the hardest two positions well covered. PG and big man. Parker and Duncan. Plenty of capable role players in Rose, Ginobili, Jackson, Bowen, and Claxton with Ginobili having an excellent chance to be more than just a role player. These guys are all young, well schooled and DISCIPLINED in a system that works, under a really good no nonsense coach, and they have tons of playoff experience to give them confidence. Oh yeah, there's also that teensy weensy matter of having planned to have all that cap space this summer to help lure a second franchise player to go with Duncan! To summarize: A young team coming off an NBA championship with the two time MVP, a great set of role players including very promising PG and SG, a proven system under a solid coach, a new arena, and cap room. All of that to help lure another franchise player. Hmmmmmm...who's the most promising young team...let me see...who would be the safest and surest bet out there???
San Antonio is pretty young as is Detroit. Hell if you think about it so is New Jersey. The Rockets have a tough hill to climb, do not be surprised if they have to trade one of the top 2 players on the team before they truly can compete for a championship (let alone be called a "great team").
