These Teams Should Improve — But Not By A Whole Lot
There is no doubt the Thunder are a rising power. They could and should be improved starting this fall after trading Josh Giddey for Alex Caruso, the former Lakers cult hero. Caruso will give the Thunder an All-Defensive team performer in their backcourt, as well as yet another dependable 3-point shooter (they were already first in 3-point accuracy this past season).
Center Chet Holmgren should improve, as will forward Jalen Williams. However, they aren’t scary. While they have plenty of length, they aren’t a very speedy or big team, and while they averaged 120.1 points a game in the regular season, that number fell to 106.0 in the second round of the playoffs, where they lost to Dallas.
Furthermore, the Lakers defeated them in the season series three games to one. Despite all their defensive problems and then-head coach Darvin Ham’s deficiencies, they showed the ability to hold Oklahoma City down defensively and contain MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Having a full season of frontcourt players P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford, as well as newcomer Klay Thompson, should help Dallas do well. But Thompson isn’t the Thompson of old before he tore his ACL and Achilles, and for every vintage game he has, he has one or two lackluster or outright bad shooting games.
The Mavs still lack something defensively, and they don’t play with pace. Luka Doncic is an outstanding player, but he consistently walks the ball upcourt and leaves something to be desired defensively.
The Pelicans traded for combo guard Dejounte Murray, who was a big target of the Lakers in recent months. He will give them something they have lacked — a ball-handling, facilitating guard — but there are the nagging issues of injuries and maturity that will prevent them from becoming true contenders.
The Sacramento Kings snagged another man whom the Lakers had their sights set on this offseason — DeMar DeRozan. After missing the playoffs this spring, they should improve with DeRozan on board, and they will likely be a handful in crunch time. However, they were mediocre defensively over the last two seasons, and DeRozan is unlikely to help in that department.
The Memphis Grizzlies went through a lost 2023-24 season due to Ja Morant’s suspension and many key injuries. It’s easy to forget they were second in the West the year prior, and they will certainly be heard from again.
Do they have talent? Absolutely. Morant is one of the better and more exciting players in basketball, and men such as Desmond Bane, Jaren Jackson Jr., Marcus Smart and GG Jackson II should provide plenty of support.
But Memphis still lacks maturity, and while it played excellent defense during the 2022-23 season, its offensive efficiency was lacking. It will probably be more of a pretender than a true contender.
The Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs will likely improve due to how young their rosters are, but does anyone seriously expect either team to make the playoffs?