Is anyone likely to be worse? Even Sacramento has more talent. We should beat the Lakers at least once, but we also did that last time we were the worst team in the West.
As currently constructed, I think you're right. I don't see any team being worse than us, but I wouldn't say we are the absolute worst. I'd say we are in the lower tier along with the Wolves and Nuggets (and maybe Lakers & Kings). But from now til training camp, so much can happen for any of the bad teams in the West. Luckily we still have cap room and some movable pieces, so we can still get better.
I'm not even upset about it any more - more kind of stunned. The Jazz already had a better record than us in the second half of last season, and didn't lose anybody. Minny not only got Towns, they should have Rubio back and they got the Euroleague MVP, who will be second-team all-rookie at the very least. Plus Wiggins is likely to take a big step forward. Sacto have Boogie, and just got Rondo (who has a lot to prove) and Bellinelli. On the plus side, they still have Gay, so there's that. The Lakers will give us stiff competition in suckage, that's for sure. They might well be worse. But if there are any free agents left they should have a better shot than us at them. The Clips lost DJ, but they still have Chris Paul and Griffin, and if they sign-and-trade for Koufos as suggested, the dropoff will be less than most people think. Houston, Memphis, SA and Dallas have all stayed the same or got better OKC should be a LOT better, GState still elite. The Suns will be better. If they get Aldridge, they're a playoff team at worst. If they don't, they're probably on our level or a bit better. No other team has lost four starters and at least two reserves. Is that a record for any team in free agency?
It doesn't look good but I don't think they will get blown out night after night. Rather, I think they lose a lot of close games until they mature a bit and start to figure things out. Went from all outside shooting to very little but if they run and attack the rim relentlessly, they will be fun to watch.
Disagree about the Wolves - I think they're clearly better than us right now. If they lose Rubio yet again, you may be right, although they drafted the Duke PG. Forgot about the Nuggets - easy to do. They're probably in the same bottom 3 as us and the Lakers, although they still have Gallinari, Faried, Lawson and Chandler. Kings are the wildcard. They do seem primed to implode, but they certainly have more talent on paper. Of course there's also New Orleans, who fired their coach, but we all expect Anthony Davis to be an MVP contender and there's no way they'll be as bad as us (unless he gets injured).
If tanking is trying to lose, then I'm sure the players and coach won't be tanking. We'll come by our 50+ losses quite honestly.
We got a ton of guys that play their asses off and work hard. We have 2, underrated, good nba bigs in Davis and Plumlee. We have a lockdown defender in Aminu. We got 2 players that are poised to take the next step into big time players (CJ and Meyers) and we have a PG, that without LA, could turn into a superstar. Oh, and we're not done filling out the roster. When we do, we should have an above average bench to add to our average starting lineup. I think we'll get somewhere from 35-43 wins.
So, you're aware that trades aren't allowed during the July moratorium, right? Let's give NO a week or two starting the 9th of the month before we start worrying about how bad we are.
Are we the worst team in the West? Only if we do it right. I hope we sit Lillard with various "ailments" for a third to half the season. It's time to figure out what we have. Sometimes the only way to do so is to give the youngsters minutes.
Lillard wants to play 82 games... sitting him for REAL injuries is tough. He's riot if we sat him for Dental Pain.
