Whose on the brink; who flat out stinks

Stinks: Cavaliers

They have Sexton and that’s about it – but if they draft Barrett, I can’t imagine that duo will work well. Both guys need the ball to be effective. Osman is okay but certainly not a cant-miss prospect. Kevin Love is past his prime. This roster doesn’t bristle with young prospects like Atlanta or Phoenix. 

Brink: Nets

LeVert, Dinwiddie and Russell has quickly become one of the NBA’s best backcourts. Also, when Crabbe returns they’ll have another shooter. Allen is a great rim protector. They need help at the 3 and 4. Carroll, RHJ & Dudley aint it.

Stinks:

Pelicans – I have a feeling the team won’t pull the trigger on an Anthony Davis trade until the next trade deadline next season. The longer that saga hangs over them, the worse they will be. They likely won’t have the chance to add a franchise centerpiece like Zion, RJ or Ja in the draft, and I can’t imagine N.O. is a hot free agency destination. So they’ll be left with a bunch of mismatched young players who don’t play defense, (except Davis, who will eventually be gone).

Brink:

Clippers – Their ability to be as competitive as they are without a heralded all-star is impressive. SGA and Shamet play like seasoned veterans, and SGA in particular looks primed to have a breakout sophomore year. Harrell has been a pleasant surprise too. I think they’d be poised to jump into the Top 5 in the West next year without any major changes, but adding AD or Kawhi could propel them even further. They could be next year’s Nuggets.

stink – memphis grizz – comitted contracts to parsons, miles, conley and jonas hurt potential for any significant improvements in free agency.  1st round pick could potentially go to boston if falls out of the top 8.  trade value for conley diminishes each year with him being 31.

brink – new york knicks – large market team with $90M in cap space to go with cheap contracts of knox, trier, ntikilina, dotson, smith jr and mitchell robinson.  potential for #1 pick to include in bunch.  in the east, this team has the potential to be a playoff team with a moderate free agency period; could be one of the top teams if they can secure 2 superstars.

 Stink: Charlotte. I’ve been on these guys case for a while now, they just have a bunch of middling players, many of whom have been with the franchise for a while, and besides Walker, none of them have shown much, if any, improvement.

The are stuck in perpetual mediocrity and probably need to seriously think about blowing the thing up.

Brink: Mavs. The easy choices here are the Nets and the Clippers. I like both teams young guards. But to me, Dallas will likely continue to make moves and they have two really good young players that I think will play well together.

We’ll see I guess.