I think New Orleans got a fair bit better. It still remains to be seen if their parts meld together into a cohesive whole, but I think they'll play well for Monty. Maybe a better question is which WC playoff team(s) got substantially worse. The Lakers are the most obvious, but as for the rest I'm not sure if they took a huge step forwards or backwards.
Grizzlies and Spurs both age one year. Good choices for drop offs. (Spurs gotta decline sometime right?.....right????)
Gotta wonder how hollins leaving grizz changes the team. Probably not much, but it could have a negative impact.
Denver gets worse. Golden State might get worse (not a fan of Iggy in place of Jack/Landry, plus Lee's questionable health). Utah gets worse. Dallas gets much worse. Lakers get worse. I could see us, Sacto, and New Orleans moving up several spots. Possibly Minnesota too if they're healthy.
I still think we haven't committed to getting good enough to keep LA. We added a good deal of talent, but it was almost all bench focused. What we did was get younger. We could easily trade LA and do a complete rebuild around Lillard. All that being said, if Aldridge wants to stay, we would be foolish to trade him. He has the kind of game that will translate well into his 30s. His attitude at the beginning of the season/camp will define the direction of this team. Frankly, I would offer him a max extension just to get a signal on his intentions. If he declines, then we move him for the first package that meets our requirements; it doesn't matter where it is.
If LaMarcus has indicated his desire to be moved to greener pastures, no way he accepts an extension before he finds out, on the court, if in his mind the Blazers are going to be the kind of competitive team he wants to spend his next contract with. It would be premature to sign an extension now. Of course, it he did sign it, that would be extremely telling. So, go ahead and put on in front of him!
