2021 into 2022 OFFSEASON News and Notes

[marco102]

1 hour ago, Spud2nique said:

Would anyone have access to this article and could post it by chance? Thanks in advance. 
 

Future power ranking of our Hawks! Wanted to see if we would be 1st in 2023,2024,25 etc. 

https://www.espn.com/nba/

https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/32361014/nba-future-power-rankings-predicting-best-worst-franchises

Prepare for disappointment. 

 

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NBA Future Power Rankings: Predicting best, worst franchises

 

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How will your team perform over the next three NBA seasons?

The Future Power Rankings are ESPN's projection of the on-court success expected for each team over the next three seasons: 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24.

Consider this a convenient way to see the direction in which your favorite team is headed. To determine the Future Power Rankings, we asked ESPN analysts Kevin Pelton, Bobby Marks, Andre' Snellings and Tim Bontemps to rate teams in five categories and rank them relative to the rest of the league.

Since the last version of Future Power Rankings dropped in May, we've gone through an entire postseason with the Milwaukee Bucks emerging as champions. We've also had dramatic turnover on the sidelines with seven teams hiring new head coaches, affecting their management scores.

For an explanation of each category and a full view of how each team did in each category, click here. Each team also received an overall Future Power Rating of 0 to 100, based on how well we expect it to perform over the next three seasons. Here are our latest rankings.

 

Note: The last version of these rankings dropped in May 2021.

---

 1. Brooklyn Nets

	RANK	SCORE
Players	1	94
Management	T7	71
Money	29	15
Market	3	89
Draft	28	16
		Overall: 76.8

 

 

It should come as little surprise that the Brooklyn Nets remain atop these rankings. They feature the Big Three of Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving and enter the season as the clear title favorites. The Nets were predictably strong in the player category, having the top rank there, while finishing third in market and eighth in management. Predictably, they were also at the bottom of the league in money (29th) and draft (28th), having positioned themselves to be deep in the tax with few draft picks left under their control. Although the uncertainty over Irving's availability hangs over the franchise, the Nets are still positioned to be the favorite, or one of them, to win the title each of the next three seasons. -- Tim Bontemps

(Previous rank: No. 1)

---

 2. Milwaukee Bucks

	RANK	SCORE
Players	2	89
Management	3	77
Money	28	16
Market	16	46
Draft	29	15
		Overall: 71.3

 

 

Coming off its first NBA championship in 50 years, Milwaukee is still short of the top spot, but it has improved from the No. 6 ranking in May. The Bucks have three core players -- Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday -- all under contract through at least the 2023-24 season. Because of that, Milwaukee continues to rank No. 2 in the all-important player category. The recent contract extension of coach Mike Budenholzer, shrewd trades by GM Jon Horst and ownership making a commitment to spend deep into the luxury tax has its management group at No. 3. -- Bobby Marks

(Previous rank: No. 6)

---

 3. Los Angeles Lakers

	RANK	SCORE
Players	3	81
Management	6	73
Money	26	24
Market	1	95
Draft	27	22
		Overall: 71.1

 

 

Although the Lakers find themselves in the same spot as May, the long-term outlook is a bit shakier after they dealt much of their younger talent for Russell Westbrook on draft night. The Lakers' big three now includes LeBron James (37 in December) and Westbrook (33 in November), suggesting it's here for a good time rather than a long time. For now, however, the strength of the Lakers' roster, a strong rating for management and the top score in market -- useful for attracting quality veterans to play for the minimum -- keep them in third. -- Kevin Pelton

(Previous rank: No. 3)

---

 4. Denver Nuggets

	RANK	SCORE
Players	4	80
Management	4	75
Money	25	26
Market	15	50
Draft	25	25
		Overall: 67.7

 

 

The Nuggets hold steady in the 4 spot of the rankings as one of the healthiest franchises in the league, based largely upon their outstanding core of young-prime players. Reigning MVP Nikola Jokic is only 26 years old, and his main supporting cast is all players in their low-mid 20s and under contract for multiple seasons. While the new extensions for Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon absorbed much of Denver's financial flexibility and Jokic is next in line for a supermax extension, the team's strong leadership has put together a roster that should allow the Nuggets to contend for the foreseeable future. -- Andre' Snellings

(Previous rank: No. 4)

---

 5. Miami Heat

	RANK	SCORE
Players	7	69
Management	1	87
Money	21	37
Market	4	83
Draft	24	31
		Overall: 67.6

 

 

The Heat jumped up from a tie for 10th to fifth after a busy offseason that saw them land the marquee free agent to change teams this offseason, point guard Kyle Lowry. Adding rugged defender P.J. Tucker will likely make Miami even more of a pain to try to score against. With Lowry, Tucker and Jimmy Butler all in their mid-to-late 30s, this is a team that's going for it right now, with high rankings in management (first) and market (fourth) giving Miami a boost. -- Bontemps

(Previous rank: T-No. 10)

---

 6. Phoenix Suns

	RANK	SCORE
Players	6	72
Management	13	61
Money	19	44
Market	9	64
Draft	T20	36
		Overall: 64.3

 

 

All-Star Chris Paul and backup guard Cameron Payne are under contract through the next three seasons, but Phoenix faces an important decision on rookie extensions for Mikal Bridges, Landry Shamet and 2018 No. 1 pick Deandre Ayton, who is seeking the max. All three players will become restricted free agents if an agreement is not reached by next Monday. James Jones was named executive of the year and Monty Williams finished second in coach of the year, but Phoenix still fell two spots in management. The drop is a result of the stalled negotiations with Ayton (and Bridges) and the concern that owner Robert Sarver will not pay the luxury tax in the future. The last time Phoenix paid the tax was in 2009-10. -- Marks

(Previous rank: No. 9)

---

 7. Golden State Warriors

	RANK	SCORE
Players	8	69
Management	9	69
Money	30	14
Market	T5	82
Draft	17	45
		Overall: 63.5

 

 

The impending return of Klay Thompson from ACL and Achilles injuries that sidelined him the past two full seasons has our panel feeling much more optimistic about the Warriors' prospects than back in May. Golden State is in the top 10 in players, market and management, helping offset the league's worst score in terms of financial flexibility. The Warriors have shown a willingness to pay a sky-high luxury-tax bill, though the team did not use its taxpayer midlevel exception this offseason, opting instead to replace Kelly Oubre Jr. with minimum pickups Nemanja Bjelica, Andre Iguodala and Otto Porter Jr. -- Pelton

(Previous rank: No. 15)

---

 8. Utah Jazz

	RANK	SCORE
Players	5	77
Management	10	68
Money	24	27
Market	T22	30
Draft	26	23
		Overall: 63.0

 

 

The Jazz have consistently ranked in the bottom half of the top 10 in these rankings, with a stable group of players talented enough to get them well into the playoffs each year but as yet unable to break through to a championship. The Jazz play in a small market, have the sixth-highest team salary in the NBA, and owe two first-round picks over the next four drafts, so their championship aspirations will likely require growth from within. The Jazz were the top seed last season, and Donovan Mitchell's playoff heroics the past two seasons suggest they may already have the players necessary to vault over the hump to true contention. -- Snellings

(Previous rank: No.

---

 9. LA Clippers

	RANK	SCORE
Players	9	69
Management	T7	71
Money	27	20
Market	T5	82
Draft	30	14
		Overall: 61.6

 

 

Having Kawhi Leonard and Paul George under contract through the 2024-25 season was not enough to keep the Clippers at the No. 2 spot. Leonard underwent surgery in July to repair a partially torn right ACL, and because of his uncertain return this season and what the future holds, the Clippers moved back seven spots to No. 9. The Clippers' front office has done a strong job building out the depth of the roster (Reggie Jackson, Justise Winslow and Nicolas Batum) with limited resources. Despite being void of draft picks, the Clippers have a strong core of young players in Terance Mann, Luke Kennard and recent draft picks Keon Johnson, Jason Preston and Brandon Boston Jr. -- Marks

(Previous rank: No. 2)

---

 10. Philadelphia 76ers

	RANK	SCORE
Players	11	65
Management	11	65
Money	22	36
Market	11	58
Draft	19	39
		Overall: 59.7

 

 

It has been a rough few months for the 76ers. They finished the 2020-21 season with the best record in the East but flamed out in the Eastern Conference semifinals by losing Game 7 at home to the Atlanta Hawks. Then All-Star Ben Simmons demanded a trade out of town, and refused to show up for the start of training camp. The tumult around the team saw Philadelphia's rankings drop across the board, including players and management, which both dropped to 11th from seventh and first, respectively. -- Bontemps

(Previous rank: No. 5)

---

 11. Atlanta Hawks

	RANK	SCORE
Players	12	64
Management	15	54
Money	20	42
Market	14	52
Draft	16	48
		Overall: 58.3

 

 

An unexpected playoff run has the Hawks up four spots to (remarkably) their highest placement ever in the 12 years of Future Power Rankings. There's a case to be made Atlanta belongs even higher with a core of young talent in their 20s. The duo of Trae Young and John Collins will stay together long term after both signed new contracts this summer, while our appraisal of Hawks management has improved with interim coach Nate McMillan agreeing to a new deal removing that tag. Expect Atlanta to be in the top 10 the next time we update our FPR. -- Pelton

(Previous rank: No. 16)

 

[JayBirdHawk]

Let's show 'em what we got boyz.

[marco102]

Things are getting spicy with the Nets.  I wonder if this means they will dock his pay? 

[JayBirdHawk]

2 minutes ago, marco102 said:

Things are getting spicy with the Nets.  I wonder if this means they will dock his pay? 

[marco102]

 

[kg01]

6 minutes ago, marco102 said:

 

All I read was, "Blah, blah, blah .. KD and Harden are alright with me doin' this .. blah, blah, blah .."

[marco102]

12 minutes ago, kg01 said:

All I read was, "Blah, blah, blah .. KD and Harden are alright with me doin' this .. blah, blah, blah .."

Yup!

[Final_quest]

I don’t like Kyrie and I believe in vaccines, but I do like individuals standing up for their freedom.  When our government law makers have millions personally invested in Pfizer and then they create mandates for a product to get used that will result in huge financial personal gains it takes disrupters like Kyrie to hold the line.  If 100% of the population complies immediately with every demand it makes authoritarianism easier to dish out.  
Next is mandatory annual flu shots and the mandates won’t end.  Only lack of compliance will slow it down or stop it.  

[Dnice]

"Brooklyn Zoo, zoo"

 

[marco102]

 

[marco102]

37 minutes ago, Final_quest said:

I don’t like Kyrie and I believe in vaccines, but I do like individuals standing up for their freedom.  When our government law makers have millions personally invested in Pfizer and then they create mandates for a product to get used that will result in huge financial personal gains it takes disrupters like Kyrie to hold the line.  If 100% of the population complies immediately with every demand it makes authoritarianism easier to dish out.  
Next is mandatory annual flu shots and the mandates won’t end.  Only lack of compliance will slow it down or stop it.  

It is not a mandate that you get vaccinated. It's a mandate that employers offer a choice, either get tested every two days  OR require vaccination.  

There's still an option not to get vaccinated, but it seems in a pandemic where the government has ALREADY paid for all these vaccines, the mandate is more for public health than big pharma.  Also, the other treatments out there cost more than the vaccine. Why aren't they pushing that to help big pharma?  

The healthcare cost of super sick covid patients is much  more than the vaccine.  It seems like the vaccine saving the country billions of dollars in medical bills that medicaid and medicare would have to cover, since Covid affects older people more than younger people, would out weight big pharma profits. 

Edit: I also respect Kyrie's choice. However, choices have consequences.

 

Edited October 12, 2021 by marco102

[RandomFan]

11 minutes ago, marco102 said:

 

[marco102]

1 hour ago, marco102 said:

Things are getting spicy with the Nets.  I wonder if this means they will dock his pay? 

Yup. Well at least for the New York and CA games. 

 

[aali34]

13 minutes ago, marco102 said:

 

[JeffS17]

35 minutes ago, Final_quest said:

I don’t like Kyrie and I believe in vaccines, but I do like individuals standing up for their freedom.  When our government law makers have millions personally invested in Pfizer and then they create mandates for a product to get used that will result in huge financial personal gains it takes disrupters like Kyrie to hold the line.  If 100% of the population complies immediately with every demand it makes authoritarianism easier to dish out.  
Next is mandatory annual flu shots and the mandates won’t end.  Only lack of compliance will slow it down or stop it.  

I sometimes agree with this line of thinking but I don't know that it's applicable in this case.  It's just good public health policy to mandate vaccinations (even though we're not formally mandating, just effectively mandating).  We have a capitalist framework in place so someone is always going to make money off the decision. 

Imagine if hospital systems were lobbying against the mandatory vaccination so they could see more people in their emergency rooms and make more money -- now the financial incentive is framed in a way that is reversed -- does that make you more or less likely to get vaccinated?  The reality is you should just make decisions based on what you believe is the right thing to do for yourself and/or for others, and not make decisions based off of who will be making money off your choice -- someone is always benefitting financially from any policy or lack of policy so it's a tough rabbit hole to go down.

[marco102]

Uh, no it shouldn't....

 

Edited October 12, 2021 by marco102

[JayBirdHawk]

31 minutes ago, marco102 said:

 

you know it's coming....

He's heading to the GLeague - E10 deal

[aali34]

54 minutes ago, Final_quest said:

I don’t like Kyrie and I believe in vaccines, but I do like individuals standing up for their freedom.  When our government law makers have millions personally invested in Pfizer and then they create mandates for a product to get used that will result in huge financial personal gains it takes disrupters like Kyrie to hold the line.  If 100% of the population complies immediately with every demand it makes authoritarianism easier to dish out.  
Next is mandatory annual flu shots and the mandates won’t end.  Only lack of compliance will slow it down or stop it.  

I didn't like the government enforcing corporations to institute mandates if they weren't going to themselves, that seems like a breach. but I could be wrong. 

At the same time, this is a public health crisis and thousands are dying.

[JayBirdHawk]

12 minutes ago, marco102 said:

Uh, no it shouldn't....

 

and just for good measure....

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

Daddy say's it's ok!  

what is/was his college recruiting looking like...not good enough?