I must admit this trade shocked the hell out of me when I first heard about it. Didn't know what to feel. I hated it, but then again I liked it. I would say love, but that's a strong word. Took me a couple of days to digest it, but now I know...
Simply put, the Thunder won. Harden clearly cares more about himself than winning, so instead of losing him in free agency he got shipped out before he and his beard caused friction in the organization. The Thunder also weren't going to offer Harden the max contract he wanted. Why lose him for nothing when you can get something, even if it's not much.
Forget Harden though. In the long run I think this trade will benefit OKC. The upcoming season? Not so much. Let's go back to my West Coast Power Rankings for a second. I had OKC picked to finish 2nd, only because I didn't want to seem biased. Now? Now, they are the legit THIRD best team in the West. There's still a chance they could end up the top seed, but I doubt it. Along with Jeremy Lamb and Kevin Martin OKC acquired some really good draft picks. You may think, oh that's nothing, but look what the GM has done in the draft in recent years. There is nothing to worry about in Oklahoma.
Western Conference
The Western Conference is hard. I don’t feel like doing this shit. You get the rankings. I’ll talk about the top 5.
15. Sacramento Kings
14. Golden State Warriors
13. New Orleans Hornets
12. Phoenix Suns
11. Portland Trailblazers
10. Minnesota Timberwolves
9. Utah Jazz
8. Houston Rockets
7. Dallas Mavericks
6. Denver Nuggets
5. San Antonio Spurs
Final run for the Spurs for sure. I'm not even sure they should be in the top 5, but the West seems a little weak this year. That or the middle of the pack is just so evenly matched. I really can't explain this team and looking at the roster doesn't help. Why do they have Eddy Curry? No major moves by them in the off-season, but they need to find some youth. If all of those old bodies can hold up the entire season they will make some noise. Remember they almost beat The Thunder in the playoffs last year.
4. Los Angeles Clippers
LA's other team will definitely challenge for bragging rights of Staples Center this year. Chauncey Billups is back from injury and though he's on the way out he can still hit big shots in crunch time and his vetern leadership will be valuable. How'd they get Matt Barnes? Who cares. The Lakers were glad to get rid of that. They picked up Jamal Crawford which gives them one of the best backcourts in the West. Clippers are good to go for the next couple years. Now they just need to keep Blake out of those wack KIA commercials.
3. Memphis Grizzles
With Z-Bo back healthy the Grizzles should be good to go this year. The Grizzles are just a group of hardworkers. No more OJ Mayo, but they signed Wayne Ellington in the off-season and he's money from distance, so no worries there. Not much more to say about this team.
2. Oklahoma City Thunder
Surprised? Good. Another year under the belts for these young guns. They have NBA Finals experience now which should be extremely helpful. I heard KD has found a way to bulk up. Hopefully that doesn't affect (or is it effect, I never know. Nor do I care) him negatively. If Westbrook can remember that he's 2nd chair to KD then everything will be just fine. The Thunder are I think everyone's favorite out of the West right now. Not mine. I can't get my hopes up.
1. Los Angeles Lakers
After the debacle of the Chris Paul trade last season the Lakers made an even bigger move this post season acquiring Dwight Howard. I was a little skeptical about ranking the Lakers this high when they haven’t proven themselves, but how can you deny arguably the best center and player in the league on the same team. Maybe me ranking them this high will curse them and MY Thunder will cruise to being the top team in the west.
No matter what anyone else thinks this is still Kobe Bean Bryant's team.
15. Charlotte Bobcats:
With the off-season acquisition of Ben Gordon (who doesn't seem too happy to be there) and picking up do everything forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist in the draft the Bobcats are sure to be contenders in the East this season. Yea, you’re right, I couldn't even type that with a straight face. Coming off of a dismal 7-59 season, the Bobcats won’t be competing for a title this year or ever it seems like. You can however, look for them to win more than 7 games with this being a full length season, but I don’t expect much more. THIS JUST IN, The Bobcats have new unis. Not that it'll help.
14. Toronto Raptors:
Unless you count the signing of Landry Fields the Raptors haven’t made any major moves to be a better team. They have plenty of young talent, but it could be a couple years before the Raptors make an appearance in the playoffs. Only thing good in Toronto are OVO, XO, and the women (so I‘ve heard). Now can we get some new music Drake?
13. Washington Wizards:
I’m not sure I know what to say about this team because I’ve never seen them play. Not that I’m complaining or anything. They drafted Bradley Beal, who I expect great things from, but other than that DC has to hope RGIII can come through for them. Besides John Wall, who hasn’t proved he can stay healthy (typed before his recent knee injury) and other than veterans Nene and Emeka Okafor (is he considered a vet?) I don’t know who else is on the team.
12. Orlando Magic:
With the departure of I don’t know what I want Dwight Howard, the Magic are left with a bunch of scrubs. How they managed to work out a trade without getting any quality players or a big man in return is beyond me. No offense to Aaron Afflalo and the ninja turtle himself Al Harrington. I don’t see them making any noise in the East until they take out some of that trash, specifically those two Duke players (YES, I’m a Tar Heel fan!). At least they have a nice, kind of new arena to play in. Oh and one more thing, their name is the MAGIC. No “S” on the end.
11. Detroit Pistons:
Anyone know what happened to Tayshaun Prince? He used to be one hell of a basketball player, granted that was 5, 6, 7, damn I’m old years ago. They picked up UCONN’s Andre Drummond in the draft whom I think will make an immediate impact with his NBA ready body. Not much more to say here, I just hope they become a contender again one day because I do own a Pistons jersey.
10. Milwaukee Bucks:
Coming off their most successful season since Ray Allen left (I made this up. I don’t keep up with this team) the Bucks are looking to improve. Having Monta Ellis for an entire season should do them a world of good. Brandon Jennings is an underrated point guard, who could drop 40 on you if needed. They picked up John Henson (salutes) and Doron Lamb in the draft, both with great upsides. Maybe the Bucks can challenge for a playoff spot.
9. Cleveland Cavaliers:
Hmmm…can I speak about this team without mentioning LeBron? Whelp, I guess not. Seriously, the Cavs may surprise a few people this year. Or maybe I’m just hoping they bounce back from “The Decision.” Loaded with plenty of young talent, including Kyrie “Uncle Drew” Irving they could also challenge for one of the last spots in the mediocre East. Wait, I almost forgot they have Luke Walton (future NBA coach of the year). Anyone who knows me knows my feelings toward him. They WILL challenge for a spot in the playoffs now.
8. Atlanta Hawks:
The Hawks got rid of Joe Johnson and that ridiculous contract. *praise break* Although losing Joe has caused them to drop in the rankings I think it was for the best. Especially since they picked up so much from the deal. If they can get Josh Smith to be the player we all know he can be, they will be just fine.
7. Philadelphia 76ers:
Philly is looking to capitalize on a successful season. With the addition of Andrew “I Don’t Give A *bleep*” Bynum they can do just that. With an average age of 25 the 6ers are one of the youngest teams in the league (it would have been a little lower, but I counted Kwame Brown). They have a huge upside and I expect them to make it a 4 way race for first in the Atlantic Division. If they take on the never quit attitude of Allen Iverson the sky is the limit.
6. Boston Celtics:
The “Big 4,” yes, 4 is no more. Ray Allen jumped ship to the Heat. I pray his ankles betray him as mine did a year ago. Garnett and Pierce are another year older, but then again the entire league is. If their bodies can withstand an entire season the Celtics will finish among the top in the East once again. This is possibly the last stand for the Celtics before some major moves have to be made. I would love to see Garnett win another title.
5. New York Knicks:
Biggest group of underachievers ever. The Knicks are like the Eagles of the NBA. They were better off before Carmelo. I knew the lockout last season would only hurt him. It looked as if Melo just stayed at home eating Little Debbie pies with his son the entire time. Though he looked sharp in the Olympics, so maybe that will translate into something this season. Jeremy Lin is gone, but for some reason they signed Jason Kidd. A waste of $3 Million if you ask me, but you didn’t, so who cares. They also brought back Raymond Felton, let’s hope he and Carmelo don’t hang out too often. Fat asses. The Knicks will be a force East, it’s up to them how strong. I wrote this before the whole Rasheed Wallace signing. In the words of my favorite tweeter…Fahwah?
4. Brooklyn Nets:
The New Jer…oops almost forgot. The BROOKLYN NETS are sure to stir up some trouble in the league this year. They made a push for that guy Dwight Howard, but it fell through. They did manage to pick up Joe Johnson along with that contract and were able to convince Deron Williams to stay in town. Needless to say I can’t wait to see this team in action. Maybe Spike Lee will see the light and go back to his hometown of Crooklyn, because I’m sure they’re going to outshine the Knicks. “Where Brooklyn at?” Oh, did I mention that the black and white they're using is hideous?
3. Indiana Pacers:
The Pacers. Making a return to the playoffs for the second time in a row last year, the Pacers are sure to keep it up for the next couple of years. Being able to keep big Roy Hibbert was key. They didn’t make any moves in the off season, but they’re the one team I didn’t think needed to. They just need more consistent front court play and they’ll be in the hunt for the top spot in the East.
2.Chicago Bulls:
The Bulls won the East last year with a banged up Derrick Rose. Rose went down with an ACL injury in the playoffs, but you can’t deny his work ethic. Just peep his "The Return of D Rose" videos. Kirk Hinrich’s back in town, which should give them more stability at the 2. If Rose can come back and be his old self the Bulls will challenge Miami for the top spot once again.
1. Miami Heat:
Anyone that knows me if there’s one player I hate it’s LeBron Raymone James. He is absolutely the best player walking the planet, but I, Asia Lance hate him. It pained me so much to know the Heat were going to beat my beloved Thunder I couldn’t even watch the finals. If you follow basketball even a little you’ll know there’s not much to say about them. They managed to convince Ray Allen (still praying and no that‘s not an ode to He Got Game) and Rashard Lewis to join them and Dwyane Wade and Bosh should be back from “injury.” Anywho, Miami is poised to repeat unless some greater power takes control.
So I came up with this idea to do an NBA Power Rankings for the upcoming season. Mostly out of boredom, but I enjoyed researching, albeit I didn't do much, but I enjoyed looking at what moves each team was making and trying to figure out where they stacked against the rest of the league.
I'll post them soon leading up to the season. Hope you guys enjoy.
