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[Insider Request] Future Power Rankings 4.0

Discussion in 'NBA Dish' started by tmoney1101, Aug 2, 2010.

  1. tmoney1101

    tmoney1101 Contributing Member

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    New on ESPN, please post, thanks.
     
  2. G0 R0CKETS

    G0 R0CKETS Member

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  3. Blake

    Blake Contributing Member

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    21. Golden State Warriors | Future Power Rating: 450


    PLAYERS MANAGEMENT MONEY MARKET DRAFT
    190 (18th) 40 (27th) 127 (8th) 42 (19th) 51 (14th)




    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: 28)



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    22. Detroit Pistons | Future Power Rating: 444


    PLAYERS MANAGEMENT MONEY MARKET DRAFT
    103 (26th) 113 (13th) 111 (11th) 38 (20th) 79 (5th)




    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)



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    23. New Orleans Hornets | Future Power Rating: 434


    PLAYERS MANAGEMENT MONEY MARKET DRAFT
    198 (16th) 52 (25th) 93 (18th) 26 (25th) 65 (11th)




    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)



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    24. Memphis Grizzlies | Future Power Rating: 428


    PLAYERS MANAGEMENT MONEY MARKET DRAFT
    204 (14th) 39 (28th) 113 (10th) 13 (30th) 59 (13th)




    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)



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    25. Philadelphia 76ers | Future Power Rating: 404
    PLAYERS MANAGEMENT MONEY MARKET DRAFT
    164 (21st) 77 (18th) 62 (27th) 36 (23rd) 65 (12th)




    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)

    26. Toronto Raptors | Future Power Rating: 402


    PLAYERS MANAGEMENT MONEY MARKET DRAFT
    94 (28th) 81 (17th) 110 (12th) 47 (16th) 70 (9th)




    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)



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    27. Phoenix Suns | Future Power Rating: 399


    PLAYERS MANAGEMENT MONEY MARKET DRAFT
    136 (24th) 55 (23rd) 95 (17th) 63 (9th) 50 (15th)




    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)



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    28. Cleveland Cavaliers | Future Power Rating: 331


    PLAYERS MANAGEMENT MONEY MARKET DRAFT
    45 (29th) 45 (26th) 133 (7th) 22 (27th) 86 (2nd)




    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: 8)



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    29. Minnesota Timberwolves | Future Power Rating: 326


    PLAYERS MANAGEMENT MONEY MARKET DRAFT
    101 (27th) 6 (30th) 140 (5th) 13 (29th) 66 (10th)




    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)



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    30. Charlotte Bobcats | Future Power Rating: 176


    PLAYERS MANAGEMENT MONEY MARKET DRAFT
    40 (30th) 25 (29th) 40 (30th) 26 (26th) 45 (19th)




    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, D.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)
     
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  4. clos4life

    clos4life Member

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    I wonder where the Rockets stand. I would love to read the whole article but at least post the Rockets part and I'll be happy. :)
     
  5. tmoney1101

    tmoney1101 Contributing Member

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    Yea, we should be in the top ten.

    Thanks, Blake, I appreciate your fine work here at Clutchfans.
     
  6. Depressio

    Depressio Contributing Member

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    Let's all try to guess where the Rockets will be!

    I'll say 12 because of no respect.
     
  7. glimmertwins

    glimmertwins Member

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    Hollinger seems to favor Houston. I think he probably puts them at 9 or 10. I imagine we rank relatively high in Management and Money and probably decently high in terms of Market (behind LA/Miami, NY, Chicago, Dallas). Last time we ranked at 13 this past winter(before we dealt Tmac) and we have got younger since then. I think a top ten spot is a fair spot for us now considering we now nothing about Yao's future prospects right now.
     
  8. lionaire

    lionaire Member

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    Will David Lee play the 4 for the Warriors?
     
  9. Landry92

    Landry92 Member

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    Who the writer ??
     
  10. t_mac1

    t_mac1 Contributing Member

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    will the cavs even win 20 games?
     
  11. 3814

    3814 Contributing Member

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    Fine work being... stealing 'paid content' from a members-only page and posting it in a public forum?

    ESPN insider is only a few bucks each month. It just seems wrong to swipe and paste paid content, but maybe that's just my opinion.
     
  12. ShiniKashi

    ShiniKashi Member

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    ESPN insider is a joke that doesn't say anything new or important.
     
  13. tmoney1101

    tmoney1101 Contributing Member

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    I think Espn/ABC/Disney can afford to take the hit, I'm just guessing though.

    Local news papers, not so much.
     
  14. Spacemoth

    Spacemoth Contributing Member

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    My guess for the top:

    1. Miami - you don't need picks or prospects when your top 3 are all youngish superstars signed for the next five years. They could theoretically have a 130M payroll by 2014 and still be profitable just by the tactic of signing star players to the minimum one year just to get their bird rights then upping them to 10M+ contracts longterm afterwards (someone tell me if I'm wrong here please).
    2. Oklahoma City - good GM, the whole team is young, their superstar will eventually be just as good as anyone in the league including Lebron, Kobe, and Paul.
    3. Orlando - their payroll is nuts, but their superstar is still young, and they'll be able to continue adding younger better pieces around him as expensive pieces start expiring in the next couple years (Carter, Lewis). It also seems to be a place where NBA players want to play.
    4. Chicago - Rose and Noah are young, Boozer's locked up longterm, financially they're decent, plus, Deng's got to expire at some point right? And now Chicago finally has good 3pt shooters to lineup around their ballhog PG.
    5. Portland - they don't have their sparkling GM anymore, but honestly how hard is it for Paul Allen to do the same thing Pritchard did and hire an army of spies to figure out what Morey's next move is gonna be?? :p The majority of their pieces are still young (Roy, Aldridge, Batum), and despite the buzz I for the life of me am not ready to give up on Oden. He's got a ton of basketball left in front of him.
    6. Houston - if I were a homer I would put us at #4, but I'm pulling a Hollinger and going in all impartial-like, and from the stance of someone who went to college at UVA and now lives in Portland, this is where the Rockets end up. Morey's done a masterful job or making our roster both young and talented, but our superstar is 30 with an uncertain future due to his extensive injury history. And in the NBA your potential is only as high as that of your best player.
    7. San Antonio - looks like Duncan will eventually accede his spot to Splitter, but hey they could do a lot worse. They still have the best management in the league and make such sound decisions as drafting Blair, Hill, and now James Anderson. I've never felt an animosity for the Spurs, but it kinda sucks knowing that San Antonio will always be competitive until that RC Buford era ends in like twenty years.
    8. LA Lakers - Their post-Kobe future still includes Bynum and Gasol and that's enough to do significant damage for the time being.
    9. Sacramento - All depends on Demarcus Cousins, but that core is young and ready to make a run for the playoffs now.
    10. Atlanta - a future virtually guaranteed in high-to-mid level mediocrity for the next four years.

    Not in the top ten: Dallas, Utah, Boston, Denver, New York. Suck it chumps!
     
  15. rhino17

    rhino17 Member

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    Who would pay to read any of their garbage? If ESPN was not the biggest piece of **** network on TV, I might care, but since it is ESPN, I do not give a ****.
     
  16. Blake

    Blake Contributing Member

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    So then why are you even in the thread?
     
  17. aelliott

    aelliott Contributing Member

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    Ford and Hollinger's last future's ranking came out last March (2010) and the Rockets were #10 (up from #13 in the prior ranking). Here's the one from March:

    Even though the team has struggled on the court, the Rockets moved up from 13th to 10th in our latest rankings largely because of a clever trade that landed both sharpshooting guard Kevin Martin and at least one first-round pick from the Knicks. Adding Martin improved the ranking of the Rockets' players from 26th to 19th, even though the deal also cost them productive forward Carl Landry. Meanwhile, the picks they got in that deal move the Rockets' draft rating all the way up to fifth -- if the Knicks falter in free agency in the summer, Houston could end up with two very high picks in 2011 and 2012 in addition to their own 2012 pick.

    And really, this was to be expected: We already had ranked Houston second in management, and that's where they land once again, as they've checked all the boxes from top to bottom. Owner Les Alexander is willing to spend for a winner, GM Daryl Morey and his stat-savvy team have crafted several smart deals, and coach Rick Adelman remains among the game's best.

    The biggest issues going forward are uncertainty about Yao Ming's potential return and a less advantageous salary-cap position.

    (Previous rank: 13)
     
  18. 3814

    3814 Contributing Member

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    I have ESPN insider and was curious about the Future Power Rankings 4.0. Hadn't seen it on the ESPN page and wanted to see the discussion. Got a problem with that?
     
  19. roslolian

    roslolian Member

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    IMHO it might be different if every "insider" article was original like this, but 80% of ESPN "insider" stuff was just plucked from other sources like our very own Clutchfans. Since ESPN don't really acknowledge the sources of their rumors and make it seem like they were the ones who got the initial "scoop", I honestly don't see anything wrong with copying and pasting their articles here either.
     
  20. SamCassell

    SamCassell Contributing Member

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    I'm surprised that Stroshow of all people is calling out others on their bbs etiquette.
     

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