The NBA offseason is all about optimism. New acquisitions are sure to work out, returning players are guaranteed to rebound from down years and whatever problems arose last season will magically disappear. The best part: It'll be months until any of those naively positive beliefs collide with the reality of actual games. The truth is there are only a finite number of wins available in any given season, and some teams are bound to have less success than they did a year ago. Decline can stem from a talent drain, injury, natural regression and just plain bad luck. Some teams even intend to...…The NBA offseason is all about optimism. New acquisitions are sure to work out, returning players are guaranteed to rebound from down years and whatever problems arose last season will magically disappear. The best part: It'll be months until any of those naively positive beliefs collide with the reality of actual games. The truth is there are only a finite number of wins available in any given season, and some teams are bound to have less success than they did a year ago. Decline can stem from a talent drain, injury, natural regression and just plain bad luck. Some teams even intend to...WW…

0 of 10It's funny how old truisms gain new profundity when applied to roster-building. Today's example: If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.A young star, on his own, can pile up numbers and kindle a little hope for his franchise. But there's a reason every team with such a player spends all its energy seeking a second one. When a franchise has two potential pillars, things get interesting. That's when observers start mapping out championship tracks and forecasting title windows.Here, we'll run down the best under-25 pairs in the NBA. These are the duos...…0 of 10It's funny how old truisms gain new profundity when applied to roster-building. Today's example: If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.A young star, on his own, can pile up numbers and kindle a little hope for his franchise. But there's a reason every team with such a player spends all its energy seeking a second one. When a franchise has two potential pillars, things get interesting. That's when observers start mapping out championship tracks and forecasting title windows.Here, we'll run down the best under-25 pairs in the NBA. These are the duos...WW…

0 of 11After covering the 's , it's time to dig a little deeper.Adding a third player makes this exercise more complex. It introduces new layers by making fit and balance larger concerns. The interplay between pairs is simpler than it is with trios. As a result, we'll place a higher value on skill sets that don't leave gaps; the best three-man units have complementary games that add up to more than the sum of their parts.Talent is still key, and it's only gotten trickier to weigh that against the new factors just mentioned. There will be cases where three-man units that don't mesh perfectly...…0 of 11After covering the 's , it's time to dig a little deeper.Adding a third player makes this exercise more complex. It introduces new layers by making fit and balance larger concerns. The interplay between pairs is simpler than it is with trios. As a result, we'll place a higher value on skill sets that don't leave gaps; the best three-man units have complementary games that add up to more than the sum of their parts.Talent is still key, and it's only gotten trickier to weigh that against the new factors just mentioned. There will be cases where three-man units that don't mesh perfectly...WW…

0 of 30It's been a weird year in the NBA. Or, actually, it still is a weird year.See? We don't even know what tense to use in the wake of a four-month pandemic-induced hiatus, a bubble restart and a "not quite the regular season but also not the playoffs" 22-team seeding mini tournament.Maybe a few awards will help provide some closure for the 2019-20 regular season and restore some semblance of normalcy.Categories include MVP, Defensive Player of the Year and Best Newcomer/Biggest Surprise from all 30 teams. Additionally, we'll set aside a separate award to cover any key angles or...…0 of 30It's been a weird year in the NBA. Or, actually, it still is a weird year.See? We don't even know what tense to use in the wake of a four-month pandemic-induced hiatus, a bubble restart and a "not quite the regular season but also not the playoffs" 22-team seeding mini tournament.Maybe a few awards will help provide some closure for the 2019-20 regular season and restore some semblance of normalcy.Categories include MVP, Defensive Player of the Year and Best Newcomer/Biggest Surprise from all 30 teams. Additionally, we'll set aside a separate award to cover any key angles or...WW…

0 of 10The 2021 playoffs are within the grasp of all 30 teams—no matter how far they might seem to be from that threshold. Or, at least that's what we're out to prove with an unusual thought experiment.Basically: What if the teams that ranked in the bottom 10 in pre-hiatus winning percentage scrapped whatever rebuilding plans they had and focused solely on making the 2021 postseason? Could they do it?Don't ask whether they The answer to that is almost always going to be "no" because the deals we're proposing will be inherently shortsighted and geared toward winning in the present at the...…0 of 10The 2021 playoffs are within the grasp of all 30 teams—no matter how far they might seem to be from that threshold. Or, at least that's what we're out to prove with an unusual thought experiment.Basically: What if the teams that ranked in the bottom 10 in pre-hiatus winning percentage scrapped whatever rebuilding plans they had and focused solely on making the 2021 postseason? Could they do it?Don't ask whether they The answer to that is almost always going to be "no" because the deals we're proposing will be inherently shortsighted and geared toward winning in the present at the...WW…

0 of 13The 2009 draft was a point guard extravaganza, yet , the guy who currently leads the class in career assists, was quite clearly a 2 when he came off the board.That's a good indicator of the unpredictability from this class.We've got intrigue at the top, as a pair of MVPs vie for the No. 1 spot, plus a gaggle of role players and starting lead guards who've now captained offenses for over a decade.This particular re-draft demands some difficult apples-to-oranges comparisons, as we'll have to weigh the value of volume scorers against three-and-D specialists. Not only that, but there are...…0 of 13The 2009 draft was a point guard extravaganza, yet , the guy who currently leads the class in career assists, was quite clearly a 2 when he came off the board.That's a good indicator of the unpredictability from this class.We've got intrigue at the top, as a pair of MVPs vie for the No. 1 spot, plus a gaggle of role players and starting lead guards who've now captained offenses for over a decade.This particular re-draft demands some difficult apples-to-oranges comparisons, as we'll have to weigh the value of volume scorers against three-and-D specialists. Not only that, but there are...WW…