NBA only produces one championship team each year, and the other 29 teams have their own concerns. "CBS Sports" reporter Jasmyn Wimbish wrote an article that counted the five teams with bleak prospects in the next five years.
1. Honorable mention: Fortunately, the following three teams have not been included in the TOP5 list. But if progress is not smooth, their respective prospects will not be much better.
1, Rockets: Harden and Westbrook occupy a lot of salary space, resulting in the Rockets not much to improve the existing lineup. In addition, it will be difficult for the Rockets to rebuild. The team has sent out 5 first-round picks and 3 second-round picks for the next six years. In exchange for picks, Harden and Westbrook have to be sent away.
2, Bulls: If it weren't for high-level personnel changes, and hiring Billy Donovan as the coach to replace Boylan, this Bull is also a proper TOP5 on this list. Donovan may be able to unleash the core potential of LaVine, Markanen, Wendell Carter Jr. and Kobe White, but they are not out of danger.
3, Spurs: DeRozan and Ade make it difficult for the Spurs to rebuild in an all-round way, but the Spurs also have young players like Dejoute Murray, Derek White and Lonnie Walker. However, the Spurs have always proved that people underestimate them, so don't be surprised if they get something in this offseason.
Second, the most bleak prospects for the 5 teams
5, Wizards
. The ideal situation is that after Wall returns to regain the All-Star skills, Bertans renews his contract, and Bill can go further. If so, the Wizards will be among the playoffs, but that's nothing more.
Another possibility is more realistic: Wall's comeback limits Bill, and the Wizards may not have the last trace of success. Bill recently said frankly that the reason for signing a short contract with the Wizards in 2019 is to not delay contact with other teams when the Wizards' record has not improved. This is not what the team's ace should say.
sent Bill away to get back a considerable amount of chips. If they keep refusing to trade Bill, the Wizards will also face the embarrassing situation of sitting and watching Bill leave without gaining anything. This prospect is terrible. Z2z
Wall's big contract has also become a burden for the Wizards. His annual salary in the 2022-23 season will be close to 47 million, and he will be 32 years old after this contract expires. The Wizards had better pray that the combination of Wall and Bill would work normally, otherwise they would have a long winter.
4, Knicks
The Knicks is like a new iPhone. It has a lot of updates, but it's still the same phone, and laughs at you who spent $1,000 on it. For this year's Knicks, the so-called update is to hire Leon Rose as the president and Thibodeau as the coach.
Today's Knicks are at a crossroads. According to reports, the Knicks are willing to take over some big contracts in exchange for some assets, which is wise. They have plenty of salary space and will not be among the ranks of the playoffs anytime soon. They should reserve for future trades and drafts.
The Knicks should focus on cultivating young talents such as Barrett and Mitchell Robinson in the next five years, while choosing outstanding young players, hoarding assets and waiting for trades. If this continues, the Knicks may be good in the Eastern Conference. But the Knicks are the Knicks and may never get rid of old habits. There are recent reports that the Knicks are paying attention to Westbrook, Paul, Anthony and Oladipo, etc. This shows that they are impatient to rebuild and are more willing to give away future assets for a big name.
draws lessons from history, those veterans who will occupy most of the salary space tend to put the shackles on young players. The future of the Knicks is still confusing, and maybe another soap opera is being staged.
3, Hornets
Even if Graham and PJ-Washington performed exciting last season, it is hard to say that the Hornets have a reliable five-year plan. After Kemba Walker left, the Hornets offered Rozier a three-year contract of 56.7 million. They didn't deliberately cultivate Graham at first, the latter was able to take the position only because he stood out among the Hornets.
The Hornets will get rid of Batum's bad contract in 2021. The salary space is very sufficient, but Charlotte is not an ideal place to attract free agents. If Walker hadn't been able to tell other stars to vote, then how can the Hornets executives believe that relying on such a mediocre lineup of role players under 25 can attract a big fish?
unless Graham, Washington, or Miles BridgeGrowing up to an All-Star, the Hornets will still struggle in the next few years. To make matters worse, Jordan's draft vision has always been inversely proportional to his skills.
2, knights
knights' prospects are not optimistic at all. First of all, Drummond, who has agreed to renew his contract, has recently reported that he has not reached a renewal agreement with the Cavaliers. Whether he will implement the 28.8 million player option next season is doubtful. In fact, he has no reason to break out of the contract unless another team promises to sign a long-term contract with him. It is shocking that the
Knight has not given away Love. At the age of 32, he has to withdraw 91.5 million in the next three years. In addition, the Cavaliers have to deal with Tristan Thompson's contract, which is an unrestricted free agent. The Cavaliers may eventually send him away in a sign-and-swap deal, but the return will be disappointing.
In addition, the Cavaliers’ young backcourt combination Sexton and Garland are two young players who don’t even know if they can cooperate with each other for a long time. They are unlikely to become All-Stars in the future. . The salary space that the Cavaliers finally vacated may be swallowed by these two in the future. The only good thing is that the Cavaliers hold all the future first-round picks, and they may draw another No. 1 pick. Troy Weaver, the new general manager of
1, Pistons
, faces daunting challenges. Griffin is suffering from injuries and is too old, as is Rose, and they should not continue to appear in the Pistons' reconstruction plan. However, if the Pistons want to get a high-quality rookie in 2021, and thus enter the reconstruction, it will be tangled. They hold all the future first-round picks, but this team does not have a huge reserve of young players. Wood is the team with the most potential, but he will become an unrestricted free agent. If the asking price is too high, the Pistons can only reluctantly give up.
The Pistons, like the Knicks, are willing to take over big contracts in order to hoard draft picks or young players. But unlike New York, Detroit is declining, and it is difficult for the Pistons to persuade a star (such as Van Fleet) to settle here, even if their salary space is abundant.
Therefore, if the Pistons want to rebuild, they can only hope in the draft and trade. But what is irritating is that the Pistons' vision of evaluating talents is also very problematic, and I hope the newly appointed general manager can change this situation. In short, the Pistons have the most bleak outlook.
