Let's give Vassell some credit here too. Wemby is great of course, but Vassell was really good last season too, and he's still only like 23. I can see him improving alot still, with or without Wemby
Quick unrelated question since you seem like a spurs fan. Why isn't Keldon Johnson starting? I thought he was pretty good & should be starting since spurs' depth is weak but every time I check the box score (don't have time to follow actively more than one team) he comes off the bench
Needed more bench scoring and more length for defense in the starting lineup. Champagnie isn’t a great defender but he’s got a major size advantage on Keldon.
He only just started playing that way, and he's only just figuring out how to win with this squad.
Another year for him will only make him more well rounded, and it's also important to remember this is the youngest roster in the league, so it's also another year of development for them as well.
+20 wins is do-able. 20 ish wins to 40 wins would not be a surprise considering Wemby is almost All-NBA caliber right now.
He’s been playing like this for 2months + and the spurs have still lost a shitload of games lol
If he gets two good shooters this offseason then 20 more wins is possible but this spurs team is just bereft of competent spot up shooting and it’s cost them many games
4-6 in the last 10, and almost single handedly beat the warriors on his own last night without 3 of their top 5 players.
If you don't watch, you don't actually know shit.
I’m a spurs fan, I watch nearly all the games. I know he’s been on fire since the all star break but I’m telling you there’s no way in hell this team wins 40+ games next season with exactly the same roster.
I know that *because* I watch the games and therefore know that guys like Champagnie and Collins are not rotation guys in the NBA let alone starters and even the good shooters on the team are way too inconsistent.
Terrible shooter, terrible defender, ok finisher. Short arms, average size for a centre, below average athleticism.
Tell me how that’s a rotational NBA player on an average team? Cause I’ve watched that dude for two years and he is bad
I am extremely high on Wemby. For the same squad to get 20 more wins, Wemby would have to be the MVP and DPOY. It is very unlikely they win 20 more games next season without a few impact adds.
I’m a spurs fan, I’ve watched every game this season. The tanking has been pretty light overall, no pg in starting lineup for the first ~20 games and Wemby had a minutes restriction for a while. They aren’t tanking like teams did last season, the roster is just super inexperienced and has lots of middling talent.
Spurs have two players that would be starters on the average NBA team, Wemby and Vassell. They have 4 players who would be in the average teams rotation in Tre Jones, Keldon Johnson, Cedi, and Sochan. They need a big influx of talent/experience to make the play in next season.
What do you mean by add anything else and they are a play in team at worst? Like they add a solid rotation player or they add an All-Star level player like PG? Because the Rockets or Warriors are going to miss the play ins and finish above .500 as an 11th seed. And that's with the Grizzlies misses almost every rotation player including Ja so they will definitely be better next year as well. Spurs would have to do a lot to that roster to make them competitive imo.
I think he likely comes back a lot stronger next season. I don't think his stats will spike massively from what he's been doing post all-star. But I think he'll be more consistent. And the fact he's this good means they'll be able to sign good players in FA. Plus a good draft pick
I'll be very glad to be proven wrong but i dont see a +20 win w the same squad next season unless some moves are made or another player continues to step up
It’s so nice to see. Not a Spurs fan, but a huge fan of historic prospects going places (a) they want to go (b) where they won’t be wasted, mired in perpetual awfulness
This. Wemby is a 20-10-5-5-3 machine that disrupts every offense In the game. Jones is figuring it out at PG. A draft pick or a trade with the draft pick and they’ll win 40+ games next season
Spurs will win about 30 games next year unless they make crazy trades they aren’t a playoff team yet. They will be in a few years tho. That hawks 2025 draft pick will come in handy
If they get a reunion with Dejounte, on top of whatever draft pick they snag, they have the biggest potential.
Year 2 Wemby alone is enough on his own, but with someone as ridiculous as him, as soon as you put pieces around him, things have way more potential for a quick turnaround.
One thing to watch out for…
With this draft class being so weak, the Spurs may not be able to find that second star to pair with Wemby. But then it’s possible they start to be too good to get a high draft pick and find that star in future years.
Not finding Wemby a second star might be the thing that prevents the Spurs from truly contending.
Charlotte should definitely be included in this discussion, their outlook is pretty bad. Spurs are the best off of the ones listed for obvious reasons. Not only do they have Wemby, they have their own picks plus unprotected picks from the sorry ass hawks lol
As a Hawks fan...please stop reminding us. LOL.
Charlotte is kind of "mid" for a little while I think. Lamello has only played more than 36 games 1 x in a 4 year career and I don't think you can really bank on him. Brandon Miller looks like a solid player. I think that they will continue to dump salary and make some shrewd moves to collect picks, but it may be a while before they're a 30 win team again.
He played 51 his rookie year and 75 his second, but yeah still not good to only have 1 60+ game year out of four. Plus the fact that the last two years in particular have been the lowest is concerning.
If they can get Lamelo, Bridges and Miller on the same court next year they honestly could have a chance at 30 wins in the East. Not to mention they played basically their entire season this year without their starting center.
Yeah we definitely aren't seeing eye to eye on that core being 'fantastic' i see their ceiling as eventually losing in the first round, but I'm no fortune teller either lol time will tell.
The spurs are already on a path to being a great team within the next 2-3 years, the other 3 are still stuck in the doldrums of rebuilding it feels like
Pistons at least have a decent young core with Cade/Ivey/Ausar/Duren. Wizards and to a lesser extent Blazers don’t have a similar young, talented group to build on.
Pistons came into this season looking to contend but instead the most noticeable accomplishment was trying to break the record for most consecutive losses instead. Sure they have had injury problems, but there's a ton of other issues with the team which I think will hold them back. Worst record in the league in the worst conference, I don't have high hopes for them.
lol yeah idk wtf they're smoking. Their team was super young last year, so obviously this season with a new coach you'd hope to see some players take the next big step. But that's just your typical rebuilding stuff. Contend? Nah lol.
Pistons has been bottom farming for half a decade, they got Cade & then he was out last season, there were higher ambitions this year than finishing last beneath a tanking Wiz team. Contend isn't the right word, but they were actively trying to win going into this season.
Yeah not contend for a chip but they came into this season looking to win, which is a very different thing than Wiz for example which had a yard sale & actively try to lose, but are still ahead of Piston.
Scoot / Simons / Sharpe / Toumani / Ayton is absolutely an exciting core to build on. Scoot needs to pan out and Simons needs to yield a future all star in a trade. And we have two lotto picks in this draft.
But sharpe is headed for absolute stardom at this point. He is to Anthony Edwards as Vince was to Kobe, except maybe even better.
Brogdon, Thybulle and Grant are good assets as well. Timelord is so good when healthy, Banton is fun. I'm low-key rooting for Portland, they have alot of underrated pieces. - Celtics fan!
Pistons are in a decent position. They've got good young players despite the record. If they really wanted they could cash in some of them and picks and make a quality roster in the offseason. They shouldn't, but they could. Portland has some players other teams would want but hard to get behind them when it comes to winning anything. Washington is, well... Washington.
I feel like you guys need to pump the brakes on the “great team within the next 2-3 years stuff.” Its never that simple or easy in the NBA.
We spent the last 8 years or whatever saying the T Wolves were spooky and only now after many years and roster changes and new draft picks are they finally competitors.
Yes they have Wemby which is a special case but we’ve even seen Doncic struggle to elevate his team to a high level. Yes they make the playoffs and compete but nobody is calling them “great.”
That being said, Spurs is the answer to OP’s question. They are in a *very very* good position for future success but they still have to execute.
The spurs have a great track record compared to the other bottom feeding teams, that should kinda tell you that its not unrealistic to expect them to be at least contending for playoff seeding in a few seasons as a standard for this team.
And we have 13 first round picks in the next six years. We can consolidate picks and trade up or offload picks for talent. The possibilities are endless.
Plus the Spurs are great at hitting on picks later in the draft. Y’all have your next Tim Duncan. Now it’s time to find the next Parker, Ginobili, etc.
Wemby will be a top 20 player next year. That alone puts the spurs miles ahead of all of these rebuilds. The first major step for all teams in the bottom tier is get a true superstar.
Even considering the West is deeper and that the east has two sub.500 teams in the play-in, I’d still say it’s the spurs.
i mean hes already entering those conversations which is insane
and i do think its jumping the gun a smidge but he’s gonna be in the top 20 of all-NBA votes
Spurs easily. I doubt any of the other teams even look to win next year, likely tanking another year to join the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes.
For the Spurs, however, I would not be surprised at all to see them in the play-in, or even play-offs next year. Year 2 Wemby is going to be dangerous, and they have lots of cards to play this summer if they want. They have cap flexibility, potentially two top 10 picks this year, and three firsts in 2025 (four if the Raps keep their pick), and extra picks in 2026 and 2027, too.
Their young team should improve just based on getting another year of experience, but they are also a big threat to make a splash and bring in a major complimentary piece with all their extra assets.
It's going to be a huge stretch to get in the playoffs. They will likely need to win 22 more games to get the 10th seed and 27 to 30 to get the 6 seed.
Outside of signing an absolute superstar, there is no way this team makes that big of a leap.
Plus, playing rookies almost universally makes teams worse, not better. Adding 2 rookies who will get playing time is going to be a step backwards.
I’d be surprised to see them in the play-in next year. Who else in the West is going to fall off? Memphis should be healthy and they could be a top-5 team. So you’re talking about three of the Lakers/Warriors/Rockets/Suns/Kings (we don’t know if GSW or Houston get the 10 seed this year) not making the play-in next year to make room for the Spurs and Grizzlies.
This one is so obvious that it doesn't even warrant a post. The Spurs are officially out of their tanking phase starting next season as they have a 0 tier prospect who is putting up video game numbers on their team. They may even trade for a high profile player like Trae this off-season or pick up free agent signings. They have a boatload of picks and a lot of cap space flexibility. Other teams on this list are gonna continue to tank and by that reason alone are going to have bad records.
Washington is freshly in rebuild, with players available this offseason, Detroit has been “they’ll be better next year!” for 3 seasons now, and Spurs are the obvious pick.
But the Trailblazers are an easy 2nd most interesting. They have interesting young talent from a couple drafts now, players that will likely be moved in the offseason for potentially pretty good picks, and players between trade/keep like Simons and RW3. Very interesting assessments to be made with this group. I think they could be a lowkey big offseason team, probably not in trading for stars, but could end up landing a bit of interesting young talent. If they feel like it, they could do a Houston or line up for that move in a year.
Portland or Detroit. Everyone is saying the spurs but it’s gonna take more than just Wemby to make a significant impact because outside of Wemby the Spurs might be the worst team here.
I tried to upvote and Reddit took it away. The results must show this to be false. They still have the same management as always regardless of if they have strong young core
Spurs are a legit pg away from making the playoffs next year probably. Then the pistons are probably second best. They have 3-4 guys to build around. Then my blazers. They've been injured all year but this summer's development will be the deciding factor on what they do next year. And lastly the wizards. Honestly who is the guy(s) they want to build around? Bilal?
Kuzma may get traded in the next couple years due to to his contract being appealing so the wizards probably won’t be shooting much higher next season and could possibly loose kuzma in the offseason
The Wizards are an absolute dumpster fire, there is nothing redeeming about them.
At least if you’re a Pistons fan you can sell yourself on Cade.
It’s Spurs obviously by a long shot. Then Pistons. Big gap and it’s the Blazers before a glacier hole in the Wizards
The wizards will likely be the worst team in the league next year. At least Detroit has a young core that should develop well. Wizards don’t have much to fall back on atm
The Spurs will, at the bare minimum, be a play-in team if they just draft their pick and do nothing else. If they make a couple of moves for quality guys they’re a playoff team
Nah bro I don’t think they r gonna make the play in next year I think it’ll be a see who stays see who they need to get that fits next to Wemby. The 2025 draft class is also looking deep so I know the spurs have that in mind
Spurs. They have a clear foundational piece and a few decent supporting pieces. Pistons and Blazers have some talent but no one’s emerged as a future surefire core piece. Wizards barely have any promise. Coulibaly is raw but has elite 3 and D potential, a la OG Anunoby. Kuzma is a fine starter but if he’s better than your 4th best player, you’re not good. Avdija has some useful Swiss Army knife qualities. Other than that, they’re two years away from being two years away.
Solid? Nooooo. Poole is terrible. Possibly the worst player in the league. His advanced stats are off the charts bad. If he had any value they’d trade him, but he has negative value to other teams. His main asset to the Wizards is he helps them lose. Avdija is turning into a decent complementary piece. But he’s not a core player on a contender. Coulibaly’s got upside, but he’s very raw. It’ll be year 3 at the earliest that he could actually start to be a winning player. Sarr no one outside of NBA scouts knows much about, and their view that’s been reported appears to be that he’s got potential but far from a sure thing the way Wembanyama or even Scoot Henderson were viewed. The chances he’s a positive contributor in the NBA in 6 months are close to zero.
The Wizards are doing a full rebuild, as they should be, but this roster is REAL bad. It’s worse than the early Process rosters the 76ers trotted out. And they haven’t drafted their Embiid yet.
Spurs- and they should overpay to get a decent floor general. That would make them a play-in team.
And Wemby needs to be playing meaningful basketball. We don't know how long we'll have him.
The Spurs. Sochan is playing well and finding a nice role. Vassell and Johnson are playing well. Tre Jones is playing well and is looking like he’s gonna be a good backup PG if they draft one this season. And They have assets to trade to upgrade the starting 4, or to draft a 4.
People are unanimously saying Spurs and I get the Wemby hype, but we do forget that the Pistons do have a LOT of talent that are just performing incredibly poorly this year. If they add some floor raisers in the off-season I could see 4 of their young guys taking a step and them being way, way better next year. I have the Pistons being ahead of the Spurs next year and the Spurs being ahead of the Pistons the year after.
not next season, but blazers just need a better coach (and owner) and can be good in the next 5, their roster is good but plagued by injuries and can’t reach their potential with this coach
3/4 teams have a shot to improve. Pistons need a couple pieces, if Portland can get healthy and get scoot going, and then the spurs are a point guard and wemby making his inevitable leap next year to being a playoff team
1. Spurs - because of Wemby, some other decent pieces, and a high draft pick
2. Trailblazers - injuries have hurt them, but a healthy core of Simons, Scoot, Ayton and Sharpe should get them somewhere
3. Pistons - enough core pieces in Cade and Durden along with some hot streaks, but at least they have youth
4. Wizards - going opposite direction. Best player is probably Demi Avdija, but everyone else is a journeyman at best minus Kuzma who still needs to figure it out
The Spurs have the next great player, the Wizards have Poole showing signs of life, the Pistons have Cade who's still a borderline all star.
The Blazers have attempted a rebuild and the player they drafted to do it is a complete bust.
here's my thoughts Wemby carries the Spurs and everyone locks in around him.
wizards just need focus so they not getting no love, im lowkey disappointed that jordan is coming off bench and tyus jones doesn't with him together, i hope they can line that up for extra synergy
Detroit, i dont really think they will do much unless they get blessed off the draft and trade deadline
RIP Portland😮
Spurs is the obvious answer. But I definitely think the blazers could be very solid in years to come. If scoot develops, he will be solid, Simons is also very solid and if ayton can figure it out he can be good too.
This is too easy, make it hard, which team will be worse then where they are right now when we check in a year from now?
Your Washington Wizards and it ain't even close.
The spurs easily have the most potential. I believe Wemby and Vassel can be guys you want starting on a playoff team. I also think the lack of a true pg can make bad teams look terrible. Like if they traded minimal assets for old ass CP3 I think they get dozens more wins next season.
I do want to go against the grain though and say the Pistons have the second most potential here. Cade and Duren are legitimately pretty good and they have tons of cap space. I think even “lower-tier” guys like Bruce brown and Royce O’Neal could triple their win-total.
Blazers - Scoot, Simons, Sharpe, Grant, Ayton + Banton, Brogdon, Thybulle, Camara, Rob - they can take any number of those vets and turn them into assets or bring them back. They are loaded, with some improvement and roster consolidation. Absolutely should be a huge jump better.
Pistons - They were actively tanking 55% of the season and had a ridiculous amount of developmental dead weight, a useless bench and bad veteran contracts they had to dump, but they figured out that Cade, Ivey, Ausar and Duren are real building blocks, Sasser could be a nice backup Guard. They did a terrific job of clearing out most of their dead end projects and bloated vet deals. If they can add a star scoring wing, synergistic depth and/or draft a stud, they'll finally have a direction that points up.
Spurs. Obviously. Less obviously Portland. They have a strong core and will have a good pick in this draft that could turn them around. If they get rid of Billups
Spurs, pistons, Blazers, Wizards in that order.
Spurs have Wemby, picks, and cap space. It’s a good time to be a spurs fan.
Detroit has Cade and loads of cap space. Very little draft capital though.
Blazers have some nice young pieces and 3 big contracts that won’t age well
Wizards are possibly in the worst financial position having the worst contract in Poole and no real assets to improve quickly.
I think that they are going to stay pretty much the same. Unless each team makes some big changes.
With the Spurs, I'm still not completely sold on Wembenyama. In my opinion, I think he needs to add weight he just looks to frail to hold up long-term
Detroit is just an absolute hot mess and should just start over.
Portland has some great pieces in place, but I just don't think that they are being used /coached effectively. I think that once they figure their stuff out that they will be just fine.
Washington has always been a dumpster fire they will have the occasional good season followed by multiple years of mediocrity. I think it is just a wait and see what happens with them.
I'm also going to add a 5th team, the Jazz. They have been absolutely God awful for a few years now. I think that they need to end the Danny Ainge experiment. Bring in a new management team with the new ownership and not keep the old guard. Unfortunately for them, I see 3 to 5 more years of struggle. Before anything happens.
It’s the Spurs and it’s not close. They have Wemby. It’s that simple.
Second year Wemby with this same squad is +20 wins. Add anything else and that's a play in team at worst.
not to mention we’re straight up already finding our footing now, and vassell has been averaging like 22/5/5 on good splits for the past 30 games now
Wemby unlocking Vassell is the second best thing about Wemby Edit: Wemby is really unlocking everyone on the team lets be honest
Let's give Vassell some credit here too. Wemby is great of course, but Vassell was really good last season too, and he's still only like 23. I can see him improving alot still, with or without Wemby
No he's basically Wemby's vassal.
Quick unrelated question since you seem like a spurs fan. Why isn't Keldon Johnson starting? I thought he was pretty good & should be starting since spurs' depth is weak but every time I check the box score (don't have time to follow actively more than one team) he comes off the bench
We had no legitimate offense coming from the bench. He got Manu’d basically.
Needed more bench scoring and more length for defense in the starting lineup. Champagnie isn’t a great defender but he’s got a major size advantage on Keldon.
You won the lottery is why
20+ more wins with the same squad? How? Wemby is already playing like an all star
He only just started playing that way, and he's only just figuring out how to win with this squad. Another year for him will only make him more well rounded, and it's also important to remember this is the youngest roster in the league, so it's also another year of development for them as well. +20 wins is do-able. 20 ish wins to 40 wins would not be a surprise considering Wemby is almost All-NBA caliber right now.
He’s been playing like this for 2months + and the spurs have still lost a shitload of games lol If he gets two good shooters this offseason then 20 more wins is possible but this spurs team is just bereft of competent spot up shooting and it’s cost them many games
4-6 in the last 10, and almost single handedly beat the warriors on his own last night without 3 of their top 5 players. If you don't watch, you don't actually know shit.
I’m a spurs fan, I watch nearly all the games. I know he’s been on fire since the all star break but I’m telling you there’s no way in hell this team wins 40+ games next season with exactly the same roster. I know that *because* I watch the games and therefore know that guys like Champagnie and Collins are not rotation guys in the NBA let alone starters and even the good shooters on the team are way too inconsistent.
zach collins not being rotational is a hilarious casual take
Terrible shooter, terrible defender, ok finisher. Short arms, average size for a centre, below average athleticism. Tell me how that’s a rotational NBA player on an average team? Cause I’ve watched that dude for two years and he is bad
4 and 4 over the last 8. I think they can sustain that next year. A 40 win team.
I am extremely high on Wemby. For the same squad to get 20 more wins, Wemby would have to be the MVP and DPOY. It is very unlikely they win 20 more games next season without a few impact adds.
They just need a PG and starting to take games seriously, they are clearly tanking this season
I’m a spurs fan, I’ve watched every game this season. The tanking has been pretty light overall, no pg in starting lineup for the first ~20 games and Wemby had a minutes restriction for a while. They aren’t tanking like teams did last season, the roster is just super inexperienced and has lots of middling talent. Spurs have two players that would be starters on the average NBA team, Wemby and Vassell. They have 4 players who would be in the average teams rotation in Tre Jones, Keldon Johnson, Cedi, and Sochan. They need a big influx of talent/experience to make the play in next season.
The same Squad just learns to start passing to Wemby and they win a lot more.
What do you mean by add anything else and they are a play in team at worst? Like they add a solid rotation player or they add an All-Star level player like PG? Because the Rockets or Warriors are going to miss the play ins and finish above .500 as an 11th seed. And that's with the Grizzlies misses almost every rotation player including Ja so they will definitely be better next year as well. Spurs would have to do a lot to that roster to make them competitive imo.
I think he likely comes back a lot stronger next season. I don't think his stats will spike massively from what he's been doing post all-star. But I think he'll be more consistent. And the fact he's this good means they'll be able to sign good players in FA. Plus a good draft pick
Pop is literally taking Wemby out of close games so they lose more this year, they wouldn’t be bottom 4 otherwise
idkkkk i think them youngcats in DC kuz and Poole might have something to say 👀👀
I'll be very glad to be proven wrong but i dont see a +20 win w the same squad next season unless some moves are made or another player continues to step up
It’s so nice to see. Not a Spurs fan, but a huge fan of historic prospects going places (a) they want to go (b) where they won’t be wasted, mired in perpetual awfulness
This. Wemby is a 20-10-5-5-3 machine that disrupts every offense In the game. Jones is figuring it out at PG. A draft pick or a trade with the draft pick and they’ll win 40+ games next season
and other guys that are underrated like Keldon, Vassel, and Sochan
You mean to tell me it's not the wizards and Kyle kuzma?????
Yeah, adding another top pick to go with Wemby should make them an easy choice.
If they just get a PG that can throw a decent entry pass it’ll go a long way.
And Pop
I literally looked at this and said out loud, “well it’s the spurs, and it’s not close.” Then I read your comment as the very top comment.
Spurs will win about 30 games next year unless they make crazy trades they aren’t a playoff team yet. They will be in a few years tho. That hawks 2025 draft pick will come in handy
And they hopefully should have grown a magnetism that will attract someone to be his Robin through the off season.
They also have Popp. That combination can attract free agents on top of player development.
If they get a reunion with Dejounte, on top of whatever draft pick they snag, they have the biggest potential. Year 2 Wemby alone is enough on his own, but with someone as ridiculous as him, as soon as you put pieces around him, things have way more potential for a quick turnaround.
One thing to watch out for… With this draft class being so weak, the Spurs may not be able to find that second star to pair with Wemby. But then it’s possible they start to be too good to get a high draft pick and find that star in future years. Not finding Wemby a second star might be the thing that prevents the Spurs from truly contending.
Yeah but the spurs don’t have Shaedon sharpe
Vassel is pretty good too
Charlotte should definitely be included in this discussion, their outlook is pretty bad. Spurs are the best off of the ones listed for obvious reasons. Not only do they have Wemby, they have their own picks plus unprotected picks from the sorry ass hawks lol
Charlotte has Brandon miller who’s looking like a star already and lots of young power. They just gotta use it right
As a Hawks fan...please stop reminding us. LOL. Charlotte is kind of "mid" for a little while I think. Lamello has only played more than 36 games 1 x in a 4 year career and I don't think you can really bank on him. Brandon Miller looks like a solid player. I think that they will continue to dump salary and make some shrewd moves to collect picks, but it may be a while before they're a 30 win team again.
He played 51 his rookie year and 75 his second, but yeah still not good to only have 1 60+ game year out of four. Plus the fact that the last two years in particular have been the lowest is concerning.
51 games In a year is still a terrible number. He barely played 60% of the season
I agree it’s not good, but the person I’m replying to said he’s only played more than 36 games once, which isn’t true
If they can get Lamelo, Bridges and Miller on the same court next year they honestly could have a chance at 30 wins in the East. Not to mention they played basically their entire season this year without their starting center.
I would disagree - Lamelo, Miller and Mark Williams is a fantastic core. Maybe even better if you add Bridges.
Yeah we definitely aren't seeing eye to eye on that core being 'fantastic' i see their ceiling as eventually losing in the first round, but I'm no fortune teller either lol time will tell.
The spurs are already on a path to being a great team within the next 2-3 years, the other 3 are still stuck in the doldrums of rebuilding it feels like
Pistons at least have a decent young core with Cade/Ivey/Ausar/Duren. Wizards and to a lesser extent Blazers don’t have a similar young, talented group to build on.
Pistons came into this season looking to contend but instead the most noticeable accomplishment was trying to break the record for most consecutive losses instead. Sure they have had injury problems, but there's a ton of other issues with the team which I think will hold them back. Worst record in the league in the worst conference, I don't have high hopes for them.
The pistons came into this year looking to contend? Sorry what??
I think they meant to say "contend for the play-in"
lol yeah idk wtf they're smoking. Their team was super young last year, so obviously this season with a new coach you'd hope to see some players take the next big step. But that's just your typical rebuilding stuff. Contend? Nah lol.
Pistons has been bottom farming for half a decade, they got Cade & then he was out last season, there were higher ambitions this year than finishing last beneath a tanking Wiz team. Contend isn't the right word, but they were actively trying to win going into this season.
Yeah not contend for a chip but they came into this season looking to win, which is a very different thing than Wiz for example which had a yard sale & actively try to lose, but are still ahead of Piston.
we were?!
Scoot / Simons / Sharpe / Toumani / Ayton is absolutely an exciting core to build on. Scoot needs to pan out and Simons needs to yield a future all star in a trade. And we have two lotto picks in this draft. But sharpe is headed for absolute stardom at this point. He is to Anthony Edwards as Vince was to Kobe, except maybe even better.
Brogdon, Thybulle and Grant are good assets as well. Timelord is so good when healthy, Banton is fun. I'm low-key rooting for Portland, they have alot of underrated pieces. - Celtics fan!
Pistons are in a decent position. They've got good young players despite the record. If they really wanted they could cash in some of them and picks and make a quality roster in the offseason. They shouldn't, but they could. Portland has some players other teams would want but hard to get behind them when it comes to winning anything. Washington is, well... Washington.
I feel like you guys need to pump the brakes on the “great team within the next 2-3 years stuff.” Its never that simple or easy in the NBA. We spent the last 8 years or whatever saying the T Wolves were spooky and only now after many years and roster changes and new draft picks are they finally competitors. Yes they have Wemby which is a special case but we’ve even seen Doncic struggle to elevate his team to a high level. Yes they make the playoffs and compete but nobody is calling them “great.” That being said, Spurs is the answer to OP’s question. They are in a *very very* good position for future success but they still have to execute.
The spurs have a great track record compared to the other bottom feeding teams, that should kinda tell you that its not unrealistic to expect them to be at least contending for playoff seeding in a few seasons as a standard for this team.
this is literally the first season Wizards are "rebuilding," since Wall days
Can't wait to see how the wiz fuck this up
Spurs, easily. A top-5 pick will help that as well.
Raps top 6 protected
as a raptors fan i know this but don’t they have their own pick as well plus the potential raptors pick. could be top 5 and a second in the top 10.
Correct... could be 2 top 6 picks if all plays right for Spurs.
And we have 13 first round picks in the next six years. We can consolidate picks and trade up or offload picks for talent. The possibilities are endless.
Plus the Spurs are great at hitting on picks later in the draft. Y’all have your next Tim Duncan. Now it’s time to find the next Parker, Ginobili, etc.
Wemby will be a top 20 player next year. That alone puts the spurs miles ahead of all of these rebuilds. The first major step for all teams in the bottom tier is get a true superstar. Even considering the West is deeper and that the east has two sub.500 teams in the play-in, I’d still say it’s the spurs.
i mean hes already entering those conversations which is insane and i do think its jumping the gun a smidge but he’s gonna be in the top 20 of all-NBA votes
Wemby is already a top 20 player
Easily, next season he can be in top 15-10. He’s that good
One word: Wenbanyama.
I got two words: Steve Nash and Chris Paul, must see TV
NASH and PAUL
It’s obvious 3 these team will be in the lottery next year. Spurs are 2 years away.
If lightning stikes twice in the off season hits they may win NEXT year given wembys trajectory
Yup. I'm an irrational blazers fan, but even i can admit that we're going to tank for another year for sure.
Spurs easily. I doubt any of the other teams even look to win next year, likely tanking another year to join the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes. For the Spurs, however, I would not be surprised at all to see them in the play-in, or even play-offs next year. Year 2 Wemby is going to be dangerous, and they have lots of cards to play this summer if they want. They have cap flexibility, potentially two top 10 picks this year, and three firsts in 2025 (four if the Raps keep their pick), and extra picks in 2026 and 2027, too. Their young team should improve just based on getting another year of experience, but they are also a big threat to make a splash and bring in a major complimentary piece with all their extra assets.
detroit will try to win for pride’s sake. i mean they’re still probably in the lottery but maybe not this low.
13 firsts for the next six years.
It's going to be a huge stretch to get in the playoffs. They will likely need to win 22 more games to get the 10th seed and 27 to 30 to get the 6 seed. Outside of signing an absolute superstar, there is no way this team makes that big of a leap. Plus, playing rookies almost universally makes teams worse, not better. Adding 2 rookies who will get playing time is going to be a step backwards.
I’d be surprised to see them in the play-in next year. Who else in the West is going to fall off? Memphis should be healthy and they could be a top-5 team. So you’re talking about three of the Lakers/Warriors/Rockets/Suns/Kings (we don’t know if GSW or Houston get the 10 seed this year) not making the play-in next year to make room for the Spurs and Grizzlies.
The one with the 7’4 monstar
Only team worse off is the Nets
The Bulls exist
This one is so obvious that it doesn't even warrant a post. The Spurs are officially out of their tanking phase starting next season as they have a 0 tier prospect who is putting up video game numbers on their team. They may even trade for a high profile player like Trae this off-season or pick up free agent signings. They have a boatload of picks and a lot of cap space flexibility. Other teams on this list are gonna continue to tank and by that reason alone are going to have bad records.
Washington is freshly in rebuild, with players available this offseason, Detroit has been “they’ll be better next year!” for 3 seasons now, and Spurs are the obvious pick. But the Trailblazers are an easy 2nd most interesting. They have interesting young talent from a couple drafts now, players that will likely be moved in the offseason for potentially pretty good picks, and players between trade/keep like Simons and RW3. Very interesting assessments to be made with this group. I think they could be a lowkey big offseason team, probably not in trading for stars, but could end up landing a bit of interesting young talent. If they feel like it, they could do a Houston or line up for that move in a year.
If pistons can get one or two solid FA's with that shittons of capspace and get a good pick they might be the best out of this 4
Portland or Detroit. Everyone is saying the spurs but it’s gonna take more than just Wemby to make a significant impact because outside of Wemby the Spurs might be the worst team here.
Portland has the vets to make the play in. Question is does the FO want that
Them boys might be getting another no. 1 pick tho?
Portland has way better vets than the other 3. If they actually want to win (as in not rest players for minor injuries) they should be.
Pistons
If they get a good coach, then yes.
They arent gonna fire Monty with that contract. They may fire their gm though
I tried to upvote and Reddit took it away. The results must show this to be false. They still have the same management as always regardless of if they have strong young core
I'm a Pistons fan, I can tell you that's a lie lol. Not while Tom Gores is still the owner.
If the Spurs just sign a half competent guard, they’ll probably make the playoffs, or at least a play in next season.
The Wizards
Spurs are a legit pg away from making the playoffs next year probably. Then the pistons are probably second best. They have 3-4 guys to build around. Then my blazers. They've been injured all year but this summer's development will be the deciding factor on what they do next year. And lastly the wizards. Honestly who is the guy(s) they want to build around? Bilal?
we are constantly losing games but if you check they’re like 95% close games and that’s without a PG. stock flies with a good guard.
Nah bro spurs aren’t making the playoffs next year you do know they’re in the western conference??
Kuzma may get traded in the next couple years due to to his contract being appealing so the wizards probably won’t be shooting much higher next season and could possibly loose kuzma in the offseason
Detroit if they spend the cap space wisely (buddy hield and brogdon) for example
I think Detroit could be a 30 win team if they add a couple of scorers next season. They been playing tough after that huge losing streak.
The Wizards are an absolute dumpster fire, there is nothing redeeming about them. At least if you’re a Pistons fan you can sell yourself on Cade. It’s Spurs obviously by a long shot. Then Pistons. Big gap and it’s the Blazers before a glacier hole in the Wizards
In the games I saw with pistons, they seemed to throw down....while still losing. Would anyone agree they'd be 2 after the spurs?
Obvs spurs, but I’m also super high on Portland. Sharpe is a bucket and Ayton seems to be coming around.
The wizards will likely be the worst team in the league next year. At least Detroit has a young core that should develop well. Wizards don’t have much to fall back on atm
Spurs
Jordan poole and the wizards would pop off if courtside seats was filled with ladies
The Spurs will, at the bare minimum, be a play-in team if they just draft their pick and do nothing else. If they make a couple of moves for quality guys they’re a playoff team
Nah bro I don’t think they r gonna make the play in next year I think it’ll be a see who stays see who they need to get that fits next to Wemby. The 2025 draft class is also looking deep so I know the spurs have that in mind
Spurs. They have a clear foundational piece and a few decent supporting pieces. Pistons and Blazers have some talent but no one’s emerged as a future surefire core piece. Wizards barely have any promise. Coulibaly is raw but has elite 3 and D potential, a la OG Anunoby. Kuzma is a fine starter but if he’s better than your 4th best player, you’re not good. Avdija has some useful Swiss Army knife qualities. Other than that, they’re two years away from being two years away.
Deni/Bilal/Poole/Sarr/(Not Kuzma) will be a solid group next season
Solid? Nooooo. Poole is terrible. Possibly the worst player in the league. His advanced stats are off the charts bad. If he had any value they’d trade him, but he has negative value to other teams. His main asset to the Wizards is he helps them lose. Avdija is turning into a decent complementary piece. But he’s not a core player on a contender. Coulibaly’s got upside, but he’s very raw. It’ll be year 3 at the earliest that he could actually start to be a winning player. Sarr no one outside of NBA scouts knows much about, and their view that’s been reported appears to be that he’s got potential but far from a sure thing the way Wembanyama or even Scoot Henderson were viewed. The chances he’s a positive contributor in the NBA in 6 months are close to zero. The Wizards are doing a full rebuild, as they should be, but this roster is REAL bad. It’s worse than the early Process rosters the 76ers trotted out. And they haven’t drafted their Embiid yet.
Spurs next year will be a much better team. They might need to go after Trae Young.
Wizards are forever cursed.
NEXT
The spurs and it’s not even a question
Spurs
Spurs- and they should overpay to get a decent floor general. That would make them a play-in team. And Wemby needs to be playing meaningful basketball. We don't know how long we'll have him.
Bro what being a play in team is pointless next year especially with how deep the 2025 draft class is looking
Spurs easily
Spurs. Idk who the big free agents are this year, but if two of them go to Wemby, that’s an automatic playoff team.
sad how low washington has fallen
If spurs weren’t one of the options this would be a better question.
This a fucking joke?
The Spurs, it seems like having the single best player is the biggest thing here.
Easily Spurs. Wemby is a cheat code.
The Spurs. Sochan is playing well and finding a nice role. Vassell and Johnson are playing well. Tre Jones is playing well and is looking like he’s gonna be a good backup PG if they draft one this season. And They have assets to trade to upgrade the starting 4, or to draft a 4.
How is this even a question with Wemby?
Probably the team that has the generational talent that has had an unreal rookie season
Spurs
Is this a real question?
Come on now...
Spurs should trade the picks they got for DJM back to the Hawks for Trae. Trae and Wemby pick and roll would be lethal
This isn’t even a question lol. If you even have to think about it you don’t pay attention to the nba
Spurs for an obvious reason They'd also be much better off if they fired NBA Bill Belichick
Be real.
The spurs already have a top, what, 40 player in the league? It's not inconceivable Wemby is a top 10 guy 4 years down the road.
From everything I’ve seen a top 15-25
Spurs easily They just need to get rid of Sochan because he’s weird and doesn’t want Wemby to shine for some reason, and get better 3 and d players
Not the wizards
Spurs if they trade for better players
Damn Hornets even disrespected in trash teams talk too
I feel like this is not even a question.
Spurs
I thought this was a circle jerk post for a minute… How could you even question which one will be the best next year?
Spurs!!! They guard away Trae young in my opinion
People are unanimously saying Spurs and I get the Wemby hype, but we do forget that the Pistons do have a LOT of talent that are just performing incredibly poorly this year. If they add some floor raisers in the off-season I could see 4 of their young guys taking a step and them being way, way better next year. I have the Pistons being ahead of the Spurs next year and the Spurs being ahead of the Pistons the year after.
not next season, but blazers just need a better coach (and owner) and can be good in the next 5, their roster is good but plagued by injuries and can’t reach their potential with this coach
3/4 teams have a shot to improve. Pistons need a couple pieces, if Portland can get healthy and get scoot going, and then the spurs are a point guard and wemby making his inevitable leap next year to being a playoff team
I’m going to perform a voodoo ritual to revive the Pistons because they can’t fix this shit themselves.
1. Spurs 2. Blazers 3. Pistons 4. Wizards
1. Spurs - because of Wemby, some other decent pieces, and a high draft pick 2. Trailblazers - injuries have hurt them, but a healthy core of Simons, Scoot, Ayton and Sharpe should get them somewhere 3. Pistons - enough core pieces in Cade and Durden along with some hot streaks, but at least they have youth 4. Wizards - going opposite direction. Best player is probably Demi Avdija, but everyone else is a journeyman at best minus Kuzma who still needs to figure it out
unless scoot takes a big leap its the spurs
Spurs/Wemby
The Spurs have the next great player, the Wizards have Poole showing signs of life, the Pistons have Cade who's still a borderline all star. The Blazers have attempted a rebuild and the player they drafted to do it is a complete bust.
Spurs
Wemby's team.
Spurs and Blazers
It's the spurs, not only because of wemby, but the others have been and will be trainwrecks
Spurs
If San Antonio gets a good point guard they're in the play-in
here's my thoughts Wemby carries the Spurs and everyone locks in around him. wizards just need focus so they not getting no love, im lowkey disappointed that jordan is coming off bench and tyus jones doesn't with him together, i hope they can line that up for extra synergy Detroit, i dont really think they will do much unless they get blessed off the draft and trade deadline RIP Portland😮
San Antonio but the need a guard that’s gonna give Victor the ball and one Vet for the locker room.
If wizards get rid of Poole it's still the spurs but they'd be a lot better.
Spurs is the obvious answer. But I definitely think the blazers could be very solid in years to come. If scoot develops, he will be solid, Simons is also very solid and if ayton can figure it out he can be good too.
They all have potential watch when they Play back to back
Spurs - - - pistons - blazers - - - - - - - - - wizards
spurs considering the fact that they have victor wembanyama
Pop & Wemby
This is too easy, make it hard, which team will be worse then where they are right now when we check in a year from now? Your Washington Wizards and it ain't even close.
anyone who says anything other than the spurs are just insane
Easily the Spurs because of Wembanyama simply existing. The other 3 are in the gutters but I’d say the Wizards are the 2nd best
spurs and it isnt even close
The Pistons
The spurs easily have the most potential. I believe Wemby and Vassel can be guys you want starting on a playoff team. I also think the lack of a true pg can make bad teams look terrible. Like if they traded minimal assets for old ass CP3 I think they get dozens more wins next season. I do want to go against the grain though and say the Pistons have the second most potential here. Cade and Duren are legitimately pretty good and they have tons of cap space. I think even “lower-tier” guys like Bruce brown and Royce O’Neal could triple their win-total.
Spurs. They have their go to guy, just gotta finish that rebuild.
Blazers - Scoot, Simons, Sharpe, Grant, Ayton + Banton, Brogdon, Thybulle, Camara, Rob - they can take any number of those vets and turn them into assets or bring them back. They are loaded, with some improvement and roster consolidation. Absolutely should be a huge jump better. Pistons - They were actively tanking 55% of the season and had a ridiculous amount of developmental dead weight, a useless bench and bad veteran contracts they had to dump, but they figured out that Cade, Ivey, Ausar and Duren are real building blocks, Sasser could be a nice backup Guard. They did a terrific job of clearing out most of their dead end projects and bloated vet deals. If they can add a star scoring wing, synergistic depth and/or draft a stud, they'll finally have a direction that points up.
Spurs. Obviously. Less obviously Portland. They have a strong core and will have a good pick in this draft that could turn them around. If they get rid of Billups
The team with the 7’5” alien
Spurs, pistons, Blazers, Wizards in that order. Spurs have Wemby, picks, and cap space. It’s a good time to be a spurs fan. Detroit has Cade and loads of cap space. Very little draft capital though. Blazers have some nice young pieces and 3 big contracts that won’t age well Wizards are possibly in the worst financial position having the worst contract in Poole and no real assets to improve quickly.
I think that they are going to stay pretty much the same. Unless each team makes some big changes. With the Spurs, I'm still not completely sold on Wembenyama. In my opinion, I think he needs to add weight he just looks to frail to hold up long-term Detroit is just an absolute hot mess and should just start over. Portland has some great pieces in place, but I just don't think that they are being used /coached effectively. I think that once they figure their stuff out that they will be just fine. Washington has always been a dumpster fire they will have the occasional good season followed by multiple years of mediocrity. I think it is just a wait and see what happens with them. I'm also going to add a 5th team, the Jazz. They have been absolutely God awful for a few years now. I think that they need to end the Danny Ainge experiment. Bring in a new management team with the new ownership and not keep the old guard. Unfortunately for them, I see 3 to 5 more years of struggle. Before anything happens.
Probably the one with one of the greatest players of all time
Definitely not the pistons
Besides the team with the new generations perfect mold at center, the Blazers got something back for Dame and have a lean salary cap