What every NBA team needs this off-season - Part 2
Continuing with our series where we discuss post-season plans for all 30 teams in the NBA, we move on the second part where we cover five more teams. In the first one, we covered the Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, Charlotte Hornets and Chicago Bulls:
Also Read: What every NBA team needs this off-season
As we have mentioned before, the GMs of NBA franchises will have lesser time than ever before owing to the jam-packed 2020-21 NBA season schedule. It will truly be a race against time as some GMs whose teams will go deep into the 2020 NBA Playoffs will have less than 60 days to pull some strings and prepare the rosters for the next season.
Without further ado, let's proceed to the next batch of NBA teams.
#6 Cleveland Cavaliers - Convert today's NBA stars into pieces for tomorrow
When the Cleveland Cavaliers traded for Andre Drummond from the Detroit Pistons before the on-going season's trade deadline, it was seen as a surprise move by most NBA fans. Drummond was always going to leave the Pistons, who seem to be in perpetual rebuild mode. However, nobody saw Cleveland being his new destination. At the end of the day, it was a shrewd pick-up from the Cavs who paid very little for the 6'11" center.
Although the trade made very little sense back then, it is much easier to scrutinize today. The Cavs get a two-time All Star who is still only 26, and they can choose to develop around him or perhaps ship him away for better pieces than they traded him for. Having said that, Drummond is the only seasoned NBA professional who should remain on the current roster. The Cavs have to find new homes for all other veterans - including Kevin Love.
Excluding Drummond, three Cavs players earn over $10 million, namely Kevin Love ($28.94 m), Tristan Thompson ($18.53 m), and Larry Nance Jr. ($12.72 m). As it is, the Cavaliers won't be contending for a championship any time soon, and need to give their undivided attention to developing their young pieces, especially back-court duo of Collin Sexton and Darius Garland. On top of that, all four of their heavy contracts are big men - another sign of roster mismanagement by Koby Altman.
Among the aforementioned players, Love has by-far the most value on the trade market, having averaged a solid 17.6/9.8/3.2 this season on good shooting. However, Altman's valuation of Love is significantly higher than the NBA teams who are supposedly interested in trading for him. Now that the market has been affected negatively due to the coronavirus, Altman may finally give in and accept an offer that gives them long-term pieces to invest in, if not immediate bang for the buck.
#7 Dallas Mavericks - A quality center
It isn't exactly ground-breaking analysis to claim that the Mavs need a big-name at the 5, but it is what it is. With the young duo of Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis at the forefront, the Mavericks already have enough firepower to expect them to become legitimate title contenders in the near future.
Doncic is a generational talent who is already one of the smartest players on the planet at such a young age. Porzingis, on the other hand, is a 7'3" big man who can chuck threes from long-range, a killer combination in today's NBA.
They have very likeable pieces to surround their duo with, too. Seth Curry is one of the best shooters in the NBA and in Tim Hardaway Jr., they have a guard with the potential to be a genuine 'third star'. When you look at the center rotation too, there is certainly no lack of numbers there either. It is the quality which can be improved upon.
They have as many as four out and out 5s in their squad, namely Maxi Kleber, Dwight Powell, Willie Cauley-Stein and Boban Marjanovic. All four of them are decent NBA players in their own right, and have had a fairly respectable 2019-20 season. Yet, you can tell there is untapped potential in this team which may be discovered upon bringing a big-time center to Dallas.
Many players have been linked with a move to the Mavs in that regard, including Rudy Gobert, Al Horford, and the relatively cheaper options like Enes Kanter and Aron Baynes. They may even attempt a sign-and-trade with the Portland Trail Blazers to bring defensive monster Hassan Whiteside to the team. What one of these players will essentially do is free up Porzingis from having to defend centers. Offensively too, it'll help the Latvian space the floor much better.
It isn't a move that absolutely has to be made, but one that clearly makes them better.
Read More: Top 5 contenders of the 2019-20 NBA DPOY award
#8 Denver Nuggets - Upgrade Gary Harris
The Nuggets have progressed excellently under coach Mike Malone and have built what is probably the deepest roster in the NBA right now. They have two genuine stars in Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, who have forged a solid 1-5 partnership over the last couple of seasons.
Alongside them, they have the likes of Will Barton, Michael Porter Jr., Jerami Grant and Torrey Craig. They all play effective team basketball together (4th in the league in assists per game) and are a well-drilled defensive unit as well.
However, there are a few minor things here and there that are holding the Nuggets back from being as good as the Lakers or the Clippers. Perhaps the biggest among all such concerns is the unending slump that Gary Harris is facing. Harris was comfortably the 3rd scoring option on the Nuggets, and played diligent defense and knocked down his shots admirably well. That role has been snatched away in opportunistic fashion by Will Barton.
Harris showed tremendous promise in the 2017-18 season, attempting nearly 6 threes a game and making 40% of them. He was scoring a healthy 17.5 points per game. Understandably, the Nuggets gave him a huge 4 year, $84 million contract.
Harris just hasn't been the same since, as his production has taken a tragic hit. He is barely scoring 11 points a game these days and is shooting around 33% from three. There are two more years on his contract that gradually become costlier, and he needs to be traded to a team that has the time to develop him, as the Nuggets don't.
One such team could be the Sacramento Kings, who could be willing to part with sharpshooter Buddy Hield.
#9 Detroit Pistons - Move on from Griffin
When the Pistons managed to bring Blake Griffin to Motor City to pair up with Andre Drummond, they instantly had one of the best front-court pairings in the NBA. Griffin's critics urged him to develop his game to the requirements of the modern NBA, adding a three-point shot to his arsenal. To be fair to him, he did that, shooting around 35% in his first two seasons at Detroit.
However, he could never really get a break from the constant injuries he had to deal with. Now, with Drummond gone as well, the Pistons have officially entered the rebuild phase. That means the injury-prone Griffin and his massive contract need to go too. Young players with high upside and valuable future picks would be welcome.
#10 Golden State Warriors - Solid bench center
GSW are arguably the best-placed team when the next season begins. That is saying quite something about statistically the worst team in the league this season.
The injuries to Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson have been a blessing in disguise. Both of their superstars will have had a full season's rest and will be raring to go once the next season resumes. They also managed to pick up D'Angelo Russell in free agency, which has since turned into Andrew Wiggins.
On top of all that, they have also managed to develop exciting young talents like Jordan Poole, and particularly Eric Paschall. Whilst they were doing so, they placed themselves in the best possible position to win the draft lottery and potentially pick up a generational talent in James Wiseman, who has been putting up obscene numbers at college level.
If all goes well for the Warriors, they are looking at a starting 5 of Curry, Thompson, Wiggins, Green and Wiseman, with Paschall and Poole in the rotation as well.
One thing they do lack is depth at the center position. Even if they manage to pick up Wiseman from the draft, they will need someone to be his deputy. It doesn't even need to be a big-time trade. An experienced center like Aron Baynes and Ed Davis could do the trick.
Of course, the entire equation would change if the Warriors were to trade their 2020 NBA draft pick away for yet another established star.
Read More: 5 young NBA stars who are destined to dominate the league over the next decade