NBA Season Preview 2019-20: Ranking teams by tiers

Did you forget what happened in the blur of the NBA offseason? Here’s your roundabout guide to every level of the league and each team’s stature within it.

Tier 1: Staring into the abyss

If you do it long enough, the abyss eventually stares back into you.

It’s going to be a rough winter for the NBA’s Mid-Atlantic contingent.

Washington Wizards: John Wall, still recovering from tearing his Achilles, could miss the entire season. Multitudes of Bradley Beal trade rumors will circle the Capital region as soon as the Wizards drop eight of their first 10 games (and will even if they don’t). Also, Rui Hachimura probably isn’t the next Giannis. 

Charlotte Hornets: At least Washington has Beal. Charlotte lost its best player in franchise history this summer and replaced him with Terry Rozier. The Hornets’ past decade of forgettable mediocrity resulted in their current menagerie of late-lottery question marks and left them devoid of any star talent.

Tier 2: Casks of amontillado

They need to age. Also, getting too invested in these narratives will kill you.

Cleveland Cavaliers: The Land finds itself in a weird spot. A smattering of remnants from its championship glory still dot the locker room, but this team is far away from competing. While a Kevin Love trade waits to be made, their top assets are this year’s first-rounder, point guard Darius Garland, and last year’s first-rounder, point guard Collin Sexton, who may or may not be moving to the 2.

Phoenix Suns: After seemingly endless seasons lost in the woods and fumbling through lotteries, the Suns are piecing together the makings of a real roster. They finally have a point guard and some legitimate NBA players. They’ll still be lambs to the slaughter in the Western Conference Thunderdome, but they shouldn’t be a total joke.

New York Knicks: Oh, the Knicks. Have the majority of their moves this offseason made sense? Big nope. But have they done anything as egregious and shortsighted as in year’s past? Also no. I’d call that a net positive. Aside from cornering the market on power forwards, they’ve stuck to the clear plan of being prudent with the cap sheet and amassing young talent. While the ceilings of that young talent remain nebulous — except for this guy’s — they’re at least trying to be smart.

Tier 3: Bob the Builder

In the infancy of their rebuilds, but completely harmless.

Memphis Grizzlies: The dual building blocks of Jaren Jackson Jr. and Ja Morant give the Grizzlies a brighter future than almost anyone. They’ll just need to find the right complements to birth the next generation of Grit-N-Grind.

Atlanta Hawks: Trae Young quickly hushed any and all bust talk, giving the Hawks scoring and playmaking to build around. John Collins provides nice secondary measures and they have a cache of future picks. And who knows? Maybe Cam Reddish will turn into something.

Chicago Bulls: The Windy City showed signs of life last season behind Lauri Markkanen, Wendell Carter Jr. and Zach LaVine. With another year under their belts and some pragmatic veteran signings, Chicago could flirt with the postseason as soon as this year.

Oklahoma City Thunder: The Russell Westbrook era came to a close over the summer. While certainly bittersweet, the trades of him and Paul George brought in a ton of assets, either setting up the Thunder to compete now or swing more deals in short order.

Tier 4: Mario, before picking up a special item

The potential to shoot fireballs, fly or run around invincibly beckons in the distance. At the moment though, these teams aren’t strong enough to do any real damage outside of jumping on the heads of some toadstools and turtles.

Sacramento Kings: The Kings, slowly but surely, gained respect around the league. No longer the clown show of old, De’Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield and Marvin Bagley III will make noise (even if they probably won’t make the playoffs).

Dallas Mavericks: Two words…Luka Doncic. The crown prince of Dallas showed what he could do during Dirk Nowitzki’s goodbye tour, winning Rookie of the Year and flashing enough athleticism to hang with the big boys. With an improved roster and a new running mate in Kristaps Porzingis, it may not be long until the Mavericks climb back into the ring of Western elite.

New Orleans Pelicans: Out with the old generational talent and in with the new. In the essential swap of Anthony Davis for Zion Williamson, New Orleans set itself up better for the future with its L.A. imports and will probably improve on the 33 wins of a year ago.

Orlando Magic: Orlando surprised in 2018-19, finishing two games above .500 and landing the 7-seed. They brought back the entire nucleus in hopes the internal development of their lottery talent, continuity, better health and the wildcard of Markelle Fultz pushes them a level higher.

Tier 5: On the waterfront

Could have been contenders but ultimately have one-way tickets to Palookaville.

Detroit Pistons: The Pistons feel like they face a punishment from Greek mythology, chasing the futility of the 8-seed for eternity. 2019-20 should be no different.

Minnesota Timberwolves: It’s crazy how fast things can turn in the NBA. The Timberwolves looked like the next big thing, making the playoffs for the first time in 15 years with stars in tow and a mastermind head coach. Then, Jimmy Butler tried fighting the whole team, the Thibs regime crumbled and now it’s only a matter of time before the Karl-Anthony Towns rumor mill starts humming.

Miami Heat: South Beach should see a wave of improvement with Butler entering the fold and Dion Waiters back doing…Dion Waiters things. Though the Heat might have the weirdest roster in the league and max out at the 5-seed if EVERYTHING goes right.

Toronto Raptors: Who cares? Keep basking in the afterglow of raising a championship banner because Board Man is gone and the hangover will be real.

Brooklyn Nets: They’re one year away from being one year away. Brooklyn made, perhaps, the splashiest moves of the summer, signing Kyrie Irving and sign-and-trading D’Angelo Russell for Kevin Durant. They’ll be fun, but we won’t get the full picture until 2020.

Indiana Pacers: The new-look Pacers should bring more dynamism to the court this season. In addition to Victor Oladipo’s return from an injury-shortened campaign, Malcolm Brogdon and T.J. Warren join the fold, bringing a mix of defense and offense to the starting lineup.

Tier 6: The San Antonio Spurs

It’s just the San Antonio Spurs.

San Antonio Spurs: Until the universe collapses onto itself, the Spurs, with Gregg Popovich at the helm, will be more than the sum of their parts and make the postseason in perpetuity.

Tier 7: Title hopefuls

The teams with an outside chance at winning the championship.

Boston Celtics: The swap out of Irving for Kemba Walker should be a better fit for the development of their rising stars. Even if it’s a parallel move, the loss of Al Horford will have major ripple effects. To fill his shoes, Boston will send out Enes Kanter Daniel Theis, Robert “Time Lord” Williams and possibly Tacko Fall. The pivot’s gonna be rough. I’m hoping Brad Stevens works in a 6-foot-8-and-under lineup and uses Marcus Smart at the 5.

Utah Jazz: The public loves this Utah team as a darkhorse to make the Finals. The excitement makes sense. The Jazz upgraded their point guard situation to Mike Conley and will be stretchier and spacier overall.

Golden State Warriors: After steamrolling through the league as an inevitability, the Warriors fell back to the pack. Durant left for his Brooklyn partnership, Klay Thompson tore his ACL and DeMarcus Cousins went to southern California.

Their big addition of Russell gives them another high-level talent to lean on during Thompson’s recuperation and a possible trade chip when he returns. Of course, Steph Curry and Draymond Green are still there. It must be mentioned how good the Warriors were while Curry was on the court without Durant and Thompson. Never count out a team that’s done it before.

Portland Trail Blazers: Last year’s Cinderella surprised us by making the Western Conference Finals and finally ended the clamoring to break up its backcourt. CJ McCollum got the bag and Damian Lillard’s still Mr. Fourth Quarter, and they’re running it back.

Houston Rockets: The acquisition of Westbrook raised many flags about on-court fit in the reunion with James Harden. However, with Westbrook joining Harden and P.J. Tucker, the pre-and-postgame fits will be off this spatial plane. When your team has that much sauce, the rest falls into place.

Denver Nuggets: The Mile High City flaunts the deepest team in the league. While going 15-deep is cool, Nikola Jokic is their only legitimate superstar. The rest of their best players max out as third-best starters on a championship team. Who do they go to in crunch time? Who gets the ball when they’re down two points with 30 seconds left? There’s a chance someone makes a leap to become that secondary star or their depth is consolidated once one becomes available.

Tier 8: Title probables

The teams with an actual chance at winning the championship.

Philadelphia 76ers: As the rest of the league went smaller, Philly decided to get huge this summer. By joining hands, the 76ers’ starting five can cover the court from end to end. Bringing in a heady veteran like Horford gives them a calm hand to steer the ship, as well as a center to lean on to lighten Joel Embiid’s load. Losing J.J. Redick will hurt, but all signs point up in Philadelphia.

Los Angeles Lakers: After a disastrous inauguration, LeBron James assembled his kingdom to how he sees fit. Swiping Davis from New Orleans is the headliner, but getting Cousins, Danny Green and Avery Bradley in the fold will help. It’s going to be a matter of chemistry and jelling, but they were already spotted doing some team-building in Las Vegas. 

Milwaukee Bucks: The reigning MVP is another year older and wiser. He’s spent the offseason honing his jumper, the thermal exhaust port of his Death Star-like game. Plus, they reunited the Lopez brothers. What more could you ask for from a team chasing a ring?

Los Angeles Clippers: Kawhi Leonard sprouted wings and ascended to the best player in the world during last season’s playoffs. There’s no reason why he can’t do it again. Now, he gets to play alongside Paul George, the closest thing to a carbon copy of himself there is. The rest of the roster is littered with rabid defenders, cold-blooded scorers and youthful exuberance, all making a perfect mix for hoisting the Larry O’Brien.