Way-too-early NBA Power Rankings: Where every team stands as preseason approaches

The last time we updated our NBA Power Rankings, LeBron James had just announced he was joining the Philadelphia 76ers, injecting a massive and unexpected dose of chaos into the Eastern Conference. Not a ton has changed in the month since — Klay Thompson joining the Heat, the Nuggets sending Peyton Watson to the Cavs and replacing him with DeMar DeRozan, the Cavs finally re-signing James Harden after the Watson trade was locked in.

None of those on their own acquisitions really move the needle but, collectively, they matter. And with some more time to reflect on the preseason moves that came before and with the opening of training camps just a few weeks away, we're reshuffling our subjective rankings of all 30 teams.

Way-too-early NBA Power Rankings

Biggest risers and fallers:

Charlotte Hornets (down 6 spots): Trading LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges may have been the right moves for a more stable future but it's increasingly hard to see how it's not a huge step back in the present. Their shocking leap last year was powered by the lineup of Ball, Kon Knueppel, Bridges, Brandon Miller and Moussa Diabaté, a group that played over 500 minutes together, roughly five times as much as any other Charlotte lineup, and outscored opponents by an average of 26.4 points per 100 possessions. Ball and Bridge will be replaced in that group by Coby White and Naz Reid — both solid players but very different. The offense will be nowhere near as dynamic without Ball and that was often the secret sauce.

Boston Celtics (down 4 spots): The Celtics will be fine in the long-term, but there is going to be a much bigger load on Jayson Tatum this year, and they'll need Paul George and Mitchell Robinson to be healthy. They're still probably a playoff team but with the Heat adding Thompson, the Cavs getting Watson and the Raptors looking increasingly like they'll have Kawhi, we have three Eastern Conference teams probably leapfrogging them.

Detroit Pistons (down 4 spots): John Collins and Isaiah Joe were great pick-ups for the Pistons but it might not matter if they can't work things out with Jalen Duren. He's the centerpiece of their defense and even though they might get a decent return in a sign-and-trade, if it comes to that, it will mean a hard reset on the formula that carried them to the best record in the East last season.

Cleveland Cavaliers (up 5 spots): Given recent history and the playoff track records of Donovan Mitchell and James Harden, I do not think this team is a real threat to come out of the East. But Peyton Watson is a fun addition, Harden was great before the playoffs started and Meleek Thomas and Mario Hezonja give them some added pop off the bench. They didn't really solve their underlying problems but they should be a great team in the regular season.

Miami Heat (up 5 spots): Somehow, over the past few weeks, I seem to have talked myself into the Miami Heat. They'll still be asking A LOT of 31-year-old Giannis but the rest of this roster has rounded out. They have a ton of complementary shooters at different positions — Thompson, Davion Mitchell, Andrew Wiggins, Simone Fontecchio, Bobby Portis. They have a co-anchor on defense in Bam Adebayo and a ton of aggression and athleticism on the wings and point of attack with Wiggins and Mitchell. They have some youthful upside in Pelle Larsson and Nikola Jović. They're certainly not the most talented team in the East but their combination of fit and talent is increasingly compelling.

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