Ty's 2024-2025 NBA Preview: A Few Pieces Shy of Being a Champion Division

Welcome to day four of my 24-25 NBA countdown.

At number 15 I have the New Orleans Pelicans. I do this every year and it bites me in the butt every year. But, this team looks really good coming into this season. They seem to have everything you could want from a possible contender. It all depends on health, which is always an issue, but on paper this team is legit. Zion Williamson, when he plays, is unstoppable on offense. He can get to the rim anytime he pleases. He gets position and he just goes. He needs a better shot, and to turn it up on defense. But, when he is on the court he is a joy to watch. CJ McCollum has been the steady veteran this team hoped he would be when they traded for him. It's nice that he can come off the bench and be a reliable scorer too. I love the Dejounte Murray trade for them. The Pelicans haven't had a true point guard for years now, and now they do. Murray should fit in nicely and if he can return to his defensive days while in San Antonio, this trade will be a real win. Herb Jones and Trey Murphy are excellent defenders and solid three point shooters. Jose Alvarado may be the best pest in the NBA. The steals he gets are wild. Brandon Ingram's situation is odd here. He may be traded, he has complained about his role and no one offered him a big contract this offseason. But, he can come play this season with the Pelicans and possibly make some money back off a good season. Jordan Hawkins could be a good bench scorer for this team. And Antonio Reeves was a decent draft pick in my opinion. I'm all in on the Pelicans depending on health, and that is always the issue.

At 14 I have the Sacramento Kings. The Kings are in a bit of a limbo, but being a perennial play-in/playoff threat has to feel way better than what they had for over a decade before. De'Aaron Fox is legit. He is so fast, so smart and so malleable on offense. I also respect him turning down money to come out and try and get an even bigger payday. Domantas Sabonis is a very good offensive big man. He is also a solid rebounder. Getting DeMar DeRozan is a nice addition. DeRozan is going to be loved so much more after he retires. But, for right now he adds a steady 15-18 points per game for this squad. Kevin Huerter had a moment, but that seems to have passed. He needs a good season. Alex Len is a fine backup center. Trey Lyles is a solid role player. Keegan Murray needs to be a full time starter. And Malik Monk is such a good sixth man. The Kings issue is defense. They are not very good on that end and that is what's holding them back. But, they should be much improved from last season.

At 13 I have the Miami Heat. I mean, at some point the Heat "magic" is going to wear off. It seemed like it was happening last season, and they didn't do much to improve their roster. That being said, they have a pretty good roster. Jimmy Butler is one of my favorite players. He is the gritty, tough superstar. He would fit into any generation. Jimmy Butler is legit. Bam Adebayo is one of the better centers in the NBA. He is tough to move, can score around the paint and is one of the best defenders in the league. After these two, this roster is okay, but old too. Terry Rozier is a good offensive player, but he is coming off injury and his best days may be behind him. Kevin Love is ancient and his best days are for sure behind him. Tyler Herro is overrated. Duncan Robinson is a good shooter, but he is a defensive liability. Josh Christopher and Haywood Highsmith intrigue me for some reason. And Nikol Jovic and Jaime Jacquez Jr are solid young guys. Erik Spoelstra is also one of the best coaches in the NBA. The Heat are annoyingly solid. But, if they hit an injury bug or Jimmy Butler gets frustrated, things could go sideways.

At 12 I have the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers are coming off a run to the East Finals and everyone is back and one year better. Tyrese Haliburton is a wonderful point guard and runs their system to perfection. He is no good on defense, and that is a running theme here. Andrew Nembhard is a good shooter and a surprisingly decent NBA player. Myles Turner has become a good overall offensive player, but his defense has regressed. Ben Mathurin blew up in his rookie season, but he took a step back last year. TJ McConnell is this eras Matthew Dellavedova. Aaron Nesmith has made himself a starter and a solid player. And I love Pascal Siakim's game. He is underrated in my opinion. The Pacers are a good team. This year will be the telling sign if last year was a fluke or not.

The final team for the day, at 11 I have the Orlando Magic. For all of the good offensive players and teams in the league, the Magic are the opposite. They're the best defensive team in the league, and some of the younger guys are starting to come into their own on offense. Paolo Banchero is awesome. He is on his way to being a perennial all star and he is going to become a face of the NBA sooner rather than later. Franz Wagner has fit it quite nicely next to Banchero. They are a nice 1-2 punch. He needs to improve his shooting though. Cole Anthony is a great hype guy who happens to bring a ton of energy to the floor. He is also a solid shooter. Wendall Carter Jr has found a home and a nice role with the Magic. Moe Wagner is a humongous pest and annoyance. He also happens to be a nice backup five. Signing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was a wonderful move. He fits in so nicely with this team. Johnathan Isaac is a goddamn weirdo who is a great defender, if he is healthy. Jalen Suggs is the perfect point guard for this team. The Magic are going to be around for awhile if they keep up this kind of defensive intensity.

That does it for today. Come back tomorrow for the next five teams. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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Ty Ranks the 2023 - 2024 NBA Teams - Hanging Out at a Great Music Festival Division

Day five of my preseason NBA countdown brings us the start of the top ten. These are the top teams. These are the teams with real title aspirations.

At 10 I have the Memphis Grizzlies. This is my team. This is who I root for. I want nothing but the best for them. The hard part is they have floundered in the playoffs and Ja Morant, due to his own fault, is suspended for the first 25 games. They are going to miss him a lot. He is a very important guy to this team and their playoff hopes. They did get Marcus Smart in a trade. I like the defense, grit and willingness from him to shoot. Desmond Bane is getting better every year, he is their best shooter and he is a solid enough defender. Steven Adams should be back from injury. He brings toughness and much needed rebounding. Brandon Clarke should, hopefully, return at some point this season, and he is a great glue guy and bench player. Jaren Jackson Jr is the reigning defensive player of the year. He is also a good stretch four. He just needs to stop making dumb fouls. I like the addition of Derrick Rose. He is a solid vet and he is returning to the place that he dominated basketball. Kenny Lofton Jr should get spot minutes. Luke Kennard is a decent shooter, but he is inconsistent. Ziaire Williams has looked better this preseason. Santi Aldama is an okay backup big. The Grizzlies have a ton of talent. Now that talent needs to translate to the playoffs. They also need to play big while Morant is suspended.

At 9 I have the Sacramento Kings. The Kings are fun and good again. I feel like it is the late 90's, early 2000's all over again. De'Aaron Fox is awesome. He is fast, he is clutch and he is the perfect point guard to run this offense. Domantas Sabonis is a bruising big man who is one of the better low post passers in the league. Keegan Murray played well above his years last season and was dominant in summer league. Davion Mitchell is a superior perimeter defender. Malik Monk is a microwave shooter. Harrison Barnes is still around and still productive. Kevin Huerter is better than people give him credit. Chris Duarte has got range. This team has gotten better over the years and hiring Mike Brown was a wonderful decision by the front office. They are tried and true and will be for a good long time now.

At 8 I have the LA Clippers. The Clippers have so much talent on their roster. They have stars almost everywhere. Will that talent be healthy all year though? That is the million dollar question. Kawhi Leonard is an amazing basketball player. He is one of the best defenders in the league. His offense has gotten so much better. He is a terror for opponents. He can single win games single handed. But he has to play more than 20 games. Paul George is a bit more durable, but not by much. But when he is out there, boy oh boy is he awesome. He can shoot from anywhere. He is one of the best shot creators in the league. He is an awesome defender. There is not much he cannot do, except stay healthy for long stretches. Russell Westbrook rebuilt himself going to the Clippers. It seemed like an odd fit, but he slid right into that sixth man spot and was a great addition last season. I see that getting even better. Norman Powell is awesome when he isn't the first option. The dude can score in bunches, and when the Clippers have their stars on the floor he is always open. Ivica Zubac is a very good rebounder and a solid defensive presence. He just gets kind of dazed on offense from time to time. Terance Mann is amazing. I enjoy watching him play basketball. I also loved how he was messing with Chris Paul in the playoffs last season. Mason Plumlee and Nic Batum add veteran leadership. And Kobe Brown looks like a nice draft pick. The Clippers should be very good this year, but it all depends on health.

At 7 I have the Golden State Warriors. The names are all the same and they should win a lot of games. But man are they getting old. Steph Curry is the greatest shooter in the history of basketball. He is amazing to watch play and I am so happy that I am around to witness his greatness. Klay Thompson is still recovering from two horrendous knee injuries, but the guy puts up buckets. He has also started trash talking a lot, which I appreciate. Draymond Green is still a pest and the best system player this league may ever see. He is also still a top tier defender in the league and he is the only guy that I truly believe can guard all five positions with no drop off. Kevon Looney is the best rebounder in the NBA and he is the perfect center for this team. He just isn't much of a scoring threat. Johnathan Kuminga is seemingly getting better. Moses Moody may have a make or break year for this team. Andrew Wiggins should be fully back all season and he should be engaged. I love them bringing over Rudy Gay on a small deal. Gary Payton II should be full go and he had his best years within the Warriors system. And they brought over Chris Paul. I don't know how or if that will work, but I do know that he is maniacally trying to win a title. The Warriors will win a ton, but the old legs may be their downfall in the playoffs. I wouldn't bet against them though.

The final team for the day, another old team, at 6 I have the LA Lakers. The Lakers got so much better this offseason, and last year they made the conference finals. LeBron James is back and looks as good as he always has. He is the second greatest player of all time. He does amazing things with the ball in his hands. He is the best modern leader this game has ever seen. James rules. Anthony Davis looked awesome in the playoffs last season and I think that will translate to this season. He is such a good player when he is engaged and focused. He just needs to stay on the floor. I do not like, nor do I get the cult of Austin Reaves. But, the dude can shoot and playing alongside James is in his best interest. Rui Hachimura really found himself as a bench player with the Lakers. He looks like a trade steal. D'Angelo Russell is not as good as advertised. He can shoot, but he is often a minus on defense and can be a turnover machine. Getting Gabe Vincent is going to be big for their bench units. He can shoot and defend. Cam Reddish may actually be an okay bench player for this team. Jaxson Hayes is going to love grabbing lobs from LeBron. Jarred Vanderbilt is a long, switchy defender. The Lakers went out and found guys that fit around LeBron and AD. That is what they have needed to do for quite some time now. They did it and I think it will work in their favor.

That is it for today and for the week. Come back Monday for my top five teams. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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The League was Wrong to Suspend Draymond Green

The Warriors had a must win game last night and they did just that. They won the game. They won by a lot. And they made this series with the Kings look a whole lot different.

Things could've been much worse for the kings. Draymond Green was suspended for this game. I'm sure you all have seen or heard why he was suspended. He "stomped" on Domantas Sabonis, the league decided they needed to set an example and Green was the perfect person to do this with. He has a past. He has been suspended for big playoff games before. He is a noted agitator. Go ask Steven Adams or LeBron James. They will tell you exactly what you want to know about him. Green is a dirty player who makes no excuses for his dirty play. I am not a fan of his at all. One, he is a Michigan State grad. Two, he is a dickhead. Three, he has been uplifted by the perfect situation for his style of play and been surrounded by great players. But he has earned the right to be talked about as a hall of fame player. I think he belongs. I think he is a very important part of this Warriors dynasty. He is the modern unicorn and one of the best defensive players to ever play the game. He is also one of the smartest players to play the game. So the Warriors got lucky, they got the win with him out and they kept this series interesting. But I don't think he should have been suspended.

I think this was the wrong move by the NBA. I think they reacted too swiftly and didn't really think about all that went into the suspension. I think they saw the "stomp", they saw it was Draymond and they went from there. Hell, they said as much in their press release. But go back and watch the play. At first glance I thought Draymond was in the wrong and I believed he should have been ejected from that game. That would have been the best punishment the league could have given him and we all could have moved on from there. But when you go back and watch the play, Sabonis is clearly grabbing his leg. Draymond is trying to get back on defense, the Kings have been running the whole time so far, but his forward momentum was being impeded upon. Sabonis grabbed him and wouldn't let go. The "stomp" was a bit much, but put yourself in that situation. Sit back and think back to a rec game that you may have played in your lifetime. What would you do if someone was grabbing you? You'd find a way to get out of that hold I assume. I know I would wiggle my leg until I got free, and if that didn't work, I might resort to a "stomp". Again, what Draymond did to get free was dirty, and he was ejected, but how can you see this and not think that Sabonis had something to do with it? Sabonis is a dirty player himself. He throws elbows all the time. He whips the ball in people's faces and, as the Warriors stated, uses it as a weapon. He is always grabbing a kicking and trying to bait other guys into technical fouls. And it worked with Draymond the other night, but the suspension was uncalled for. Sabonis wasn't hurt. I know the team said he had "sternum contusions", but I don't buy that for a second. Draymond didn't "stomp" him that hard. And if they suspended Draymond why didn't they do anything to Sabonis? Why wasn't he suspended? Where is his fine? He didn't get a flagrant called on him. It is unfair.

The Warriors had every right to be upset. Draymond, again, a guy I personally do not enjoy, did not deserve this. Why make an example of him now? What good does that do? This was a bogus suspension and the NBA should be grateful it didn't mess up this fun series so far. Had the Warriors gone down 3-0 this would have a different tone today.

All in all the league needs to chill on this. The fact that Draymond got suspended for his "stomp", but neither Embiid nor Harden got suspended for what they did last night is a joke. This league, while great in most aspects, and is the best professional sports league by a wide margin, messed up here. They need to own up to this mistake and be better the next time. This was an unwarranted and unfair decision they ended up with. Luckily for them the Warriors won last night. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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The Sacramento Kings are No Longer Trash

The Sacramento Kings are back in the NBA playoffs. They have had the longest drought in professional sports, at 16 years, but now they are back.

I love this. I have always had a soft spot for the Kings. I rooted for them back in the late 90's, early 2000's because of Chris Webber. He was a Michigan guy, he was my favorite member of the Fab Five, I always liked him in the pros and I've always despised the Lakers. It helped that I enjoyed players like Jason Williams, Peja Stojakavic and Bobby Jackson. They had dudes they were fun to watch and easy to root for. It was simple to stick up for them, especially against the Lakers. The only Laker I liked back then was Shaq, but even when he went after the Kings, called them the Queens, look it up it is an amazing clip, I rooted hard against him.

Then they fell into a true era of mediocrity. They almost always missed on the draft. For every Boogie Cousins there's a Nik Stauskas. Some players the Kings have taken in the first round include Bysmack Biyombo, Spencer Dawes, Jason Thompson, Thomas Robinson, Ben McLemore, Willie Cauley-Stein, Marquese Chriss and Marvin Bagley. They have hit on a few. I mentioned Cousins. They also took De'Aaron Fox, Davion Mitchell and Keegan Murray in the lottery. Tyrese Haliburton was a lottery pick as well, but they traded him last season in a much maligned trade. That trade ended up working out for them, but at the time, I crushed it along with a ton of other people.

Now it seems like the Kings finally have a quality team built around its best players. Fox is lightning quick, has improved his shot and is, by far, the most clutch player in the league. Keegan Murray has been as consistent as he was in college. He just broke the 3 point record for a rookie last night. He has been taking control on fast breaks here and there. He has been solid as a rock. Damontas Sabonis has been everything they hoped he would be when paired with Fox. They run a tremendous pick and roll game. They play extremely well off one another and they are incredibly tough to guard. Davion Mitchell is proving to be an excellent backup point guard and is their best defender, by a wide margin. Harrison Barnes is the vet that leads the locker room. He also has a winning past, has rings and can tell the younger guys what it feels like to play in the playoffs. Trading for Kevin Huerter and Malik Monk has been tremendous for this team. Both guys add shooting. Both can stretch the defense. Both are willing passers. And Monk has familiarity playing with Fox. That adds a ton. Trey Lyes and Alex Len add depth. And Richaun Holmes is still around and still hitting floaters. The team is constructed properly and they all know what they do best. Hiring Mike Brown was the first right decision this front office has ever made. They also let him hire his own staff and that was, again, a correct choice. This team is an offensive juggernaut. They are number 1 in the league. They can score and score and score some more. They are the team the Mavs thought they would be. Their defense leaves a ton to be desired, they have a lot of work there, but so far they have been able to outscore enough opponents to secure a playoff spot. They are also going to have home court in rounds one and two. They will most likely be the 2 or 3 seed. There is a world where I could see the Kings ending up in a game 7 in round two to go to the West Finals.

I love that the Kings are relevant again. I think the NBA is more fun when the Kings are not a joke. Also, imagine a first round matchup of Kings-Lakers. That would be awesome. It would take me back to my early years of being a NBA fan. Congrats on the playoffs Kings. Now make it last and become the perennial playoff team you are constructed to be. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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Ty's 2022-2023 NBA Season Preview: Hornets, Pistons, Kings

Welcome to day three of my 22-23 NBA countdown. We are getting seriously close to teams with play in potential. We just are not there yet.

At number 24 I have the Charlotte Hornets. This team was already on the wrong side of the coin, then the awfulness happened with Miles Bridges. What he did was atrocious, he should miss a ton of time on the court and I would not be shocked if he winds up in court. He has much bigger issues than basketball right now. That being said, he may have been their number two guy. That is a big hit for this team. LaMelo Ball is a very good player. He has all the tools you want in a modern point guard and his shot is getting better. But he is hurt and is going to miss time at the start of the season. Gordon Hayward is washed and then some. Kelly Oubre is a fine player, but everywhere he goes and starts, they do not win much. Terry Rozier got paid, and is an offensive threat, but he has become more of a liability now. PJ Washington is good, but should be better. James Bouknight is not nearly as good as I thought he was going to be. Mason Plumlee is washed as well. Bryce McGowens has potential. Nick Richards is an okay big off the bench. Dennis Smith Jr is getting another shot. And JT Thor is a rad name. But the Hornets are not very good. They barely made the play in last season and they will be lucky to win 30 games this year. They are trending way, way down.

At number 23 I have the Detroit Pistons. I really, really like the direction they are trending in. They are like the opposite Charlotte Hornets. They are building something solid, but they are still a year or two away. I understand they have playoff hopes, but they are not there just yet. Cade Cunnigham is a star in the making. I have adored watching him since he was at Oklahoma State. I am buying all the stock that I can in Cunningham. He is great. I love the Jaden Ivey pick. Pairing him with Cunningham in the backcourt is a wonderful idea. When he slows down and learns the way of the NBA, he could be awesome. He is a great running partner for Cunningham. I also love the Jalen Duren pick. He is a very skilled big already and will only get better. He could be a solid starter on a very good playoff team. Marvin Bagley finally got a shot to play a lot and did some nice things. He did get hurt, but he avoided a serious injury and should be back soon. Saadiq Bey could be a Swiss army knife guy for this team. Isaiah Stewart is big and nasty and I love watching him play offense and defense in the post. I like that they got Nerlens Noel and Alec Burks. When they are healthy they can contribute. Isaiah Livers is healthy again and can provide bench scoring. I love that they went out and traded for Bojan Bogdanovic. He is another bench scorer. The problem is that they are just not ready yet. Give it a year or 2 and this team will be good, like playoffs good. They are not there yet though.

The final team for the day, at number 22 I have the Sacramento Kings. I fully understand that they have high hopes of being in the playoffs, that they think they are ready, that they had a great Summer League and that everyone is ready to go. But we are talking about a team that has not been in the playoffs for 16 years. That is the longest drought in professional sports. They do have a good team, and I love hiring Mike Brown as the new head coach. But again, this is the Kings. I still do very much like De'Aaron Fox. He is showing signs of improvement every year. When he is on the court he can play. He just needs to stay healthy. Domantas Sabonis is an awesome offensive player. He is such a good low post guy to run the offense through from time to time. He's just very poor on the defensive end. Keegan Murray was great in Summer League. Now it is time for that to translate to the real guys. Davion Mitchell is a very good on ball defender. He can guard every guard in the league. Kevin Huerter is kind of blah, but can shoot. Malik Monk has flashes but has never fully put it all together. Harrison Barnes is solid, but it is clear he cannot be the best guy on a playoff team. Richaun Holmes is somehow still underrated, but he is still doing his thing. Alex Len is washed. Josh Jackson is a bust. They signed Matthew Dellavedova and Quinn Cook for some reason. And Trey Lyles is still there. This is a weird roster and they are not as good as the front office and their fans may think. I like some pieces, but some others make no sense at all. The Kings may be the most confusing team in all of the NBA. That is it for today. See you all tomorrow for the next three teams.

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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Ty's 2021-2022 NBA Preview: Cavs, Kings, Timberwolves, Hornets

Welcome to day two of my NBA countdown.

Coming in at 26 I have the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs do have a feeling of a team trying to win, but it’s just not working out. I’m a big Colin Sexton fan. The kid can play ball. He’s a good scorer, good at getting to the rim and has improved both of his years in the NBA. All the trade talk and everything else surrounding him is nonsense. Darius Garland is proving me wrong. I thought he’d need more time, but he’s shown he belongs. He’s a good guard and I feel like he’s going to take a leap. I love love love Evan Mobley. I fear he’ll get buried on the bench but this kid needs to play. He’s got all the gifts and tools to be a great modern big in the NBA. Isaac Okoro had a solid rookie year. I’m a big Jarrett Allen fan. I love his Afro but I love his rim protecting even more. Then it gets iffy. Denzel Valentine is not great. They need to trade Kevin Love. I don’t like the Lauri Markannen signing because he’s taking minutes from Mobley. I don’t get why they signed Ricky Rubio. They already have better, younger guards. Tacko Fall will barely see the floor. And Dylan Windler is just Jimmer Fredette 2.0. This is a weird roster. They need to go fully young and build around those guys. The off-season suggests they may go in a different direction though. Either way they’re a lottery team.

At 25 I have the Sacramento Kings. This team is in purgatory. They’re stuck. De’Aron Fox deserves so much better. He is so good but he’s going to go nowhere with the Kings. He’s an all star stuck on a very poorly run team. Buddy Hield clearly wants out. He almost got his way, but now he’s back to shoot threes and do little else. Richaun Holmes should be a glue guy on a playoff team. In Sacramento he’s a starter playing far too many minutes. Marvin Bagley cannot stay healthy and it seems like he wants out. Davion Mitchell was a good pick, if this team didn’t have Fox. He’s barely going to play. Tyrese Haliburton had a great rookie year, and I see him blossoming if he gets to leave this team. Harrison Barnes’ talent is being wasted. And then it’s a bunch of G League guys. The Kings need to make a ton of changes to get this team back to relevance. Maybe a trade for Ben Simmons could wake this franchise up.

At number 24 I have the Minnesota Timberwolves. I think they could be in the play in with their talent. Their talent just cannot stay on the floor together. Karl Anthony Towns is amazing. He went through hell this past year too. He’s so skilled offensively. He knows how to score. He’s a great rebounder too. He’s just not very good on defense. He needs to be better. D’Angelo Russell can score and run an offense, but he’s been injured more than not, and he’s a zero on defense. I am a big time Anthony Edwards fan. That kid is awesome. He’s got the right attitude for the NBA. He dunks the hell out of the ball. His shot got better. He went toe to toe with Steph in a game last year. I have nothing bad to say about him. Patrick Beverly was a nice addition who will play a ton of defense. He’s no good on offense. Taurean Prince had one solid season but he hasn’t played that well in awhile. Malik Beasley is a good bench scorer but he thinks he should start. Josh Okogie played so much better with Team Nigeria in the Olympics than he ever had with Minnesota. Naz Reid is a good big man, he just needs more time. Like I said, this team can make the play in if they stay healthy. That’s a big if.

The final team for today, at number 23 I have the Charlotte Hornets. LaMelo Ball is legit. That kid can play. He is the player to build around. On the other hand I despise Gordon Hayward for so many reasons. The main one is that he’s not that good anymore. He’s oft injured and seems to have a bad attitude. I love that they took James Bouknight in the draft. He’s instant offense off the bench for them. He’s going to light it up. Miles Bridges is a good pick and roll guy who works great next to Ball. Terry Rozier made bank after one good season. He hasn’t lived up to that season, but he’s still getting paid she he can still score. I like that they’re taking a chance on Kelly Oubre Jr. He’s got some good skills, he just needs to okay more. He’ll get that opportunity in Charlotte. PJ Washington is a solid reserve. He usually starts in Charlotte. Mason Plummer was a wasted signing. Kai Jones will bounce between the G League and the NBA, but he has a ton of upside. Other than that it’s all question marks. The Hornets were in the play in last year, and they were crushed by the Pacers. If Ball takes a leap I could see them back in the thick of the play in again. That’s it for today. Come back tomorrow for the next 4 teams.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

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Ty's 2020-2021 NBA Preview: Not This Year

Day 2 of my NBA countdown features five better teams than yesterday, and again, I think the Thunder are going to be a force in a few years, but not that much better. The NBA really is down to about five or six teams, honestly maybe just three teams, that are true title threats. But at least it isn't like when the Warriors had KD and it was already a done deal that they would win when healthy. Let's get to it.

At number 25, and I cannot believe I have a team coached by Greg Poppovich this low, and I hope he proves me wrong, is the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs have been one of the most reliable franchises in my entire two decades of fervently watching the NBA. They were always a playoff team, usually a threat to win a round or two, and would win titles from time to time. First it was teaming up Duncan with David Robinson, then drafting and developing Kawhi and then surrounding Kawhi and Duncan with some of the greatest role players ever. Then Duncan retired. Then Kawhi asked out. And here they are now. They were invited to the bubble, but they did not make the playoffs for the first time in forever. And while the Spurs have big names, DeMar DeRozan and Lamarcus Aldirdge, they are older, DeRozan wants out and they cannot keep up with the modern NBA. I am a DeRozan and Aldridge fan, I like both guys, but there is no way around the fact that they have aged, and not very well. I also like Rudy Gay, but I think he is as old as me, and he doesn’t have the juice he used to. I love the younger guys they have, like Lonnie Walker, Dejounte Murray and Derrick White, but they can't all be on the floor at the same time. I think Keldon Johnson has talent, he just has to be groomed, and it may take a few more seasons. Jakob Poeltl, Trey Lyles and Patty Mills are solid vets, but at this point they seem more like trade bait now. The Spurs have the greatest basketball coach of all time, and they will be competitive. The simple fact is, they don't have the talent needed, especially in the West, to make the playoffs.

At number 24 I have the Minnesota Timberwolves. I know they have playoff aspirations, and they took Anthony Edwards number one overall, which will help scoring, and they paired KAT with D'Angelo Russell, but I just don't see this team getting over the hump quite yet. They do have all that young talent, throw Jarrett Culver in there too, but they play in the West, and they don't play much defense. If the Timberwolves were in the East, maybe they have enough offense to overcome their defensive deficiencies. But they don't, and the top teams in the West will eat them up. For all the great things KAT and Russell do on offense, they are flat out bad defensively. Edwards is a brick house, and a walking bucket, but he didn't play much D his one year in college. Culver was supposed to be the defensive guru, but he didn't have the greatest rookie year on that end. I think he can be better, but it will take time. The rest of the roster is ho hum to me. Josh Okogie is fine, but no better than a bench player. They have Ricky Rubio again, but he is only older and slower. Malik Beasley can score, I just don't know how much time he will be on the floor. Naz Reid dominated the G League, but now he is going to have to play against the best of the best. And Jake Layman is so blasé. The Timberwolves are moving in the right direction, and I love that Flip Saunders son is the head coach, but they are still a few years away, and they need to keep this core together to reach any vision of what they expect their future to hold.

At number 23 I have the Charlotte Hornets. The Hornets did a few things right this offseason. They took Lamelo Ball, which was a smart pick, and were finally able to get off Nic Batum's contract. They found out Devontae Graham is a solid player, and were able to get rid of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. They also finally shed Tyler Zeller and Frank Kaminsky. But then they took these moves, and the money left over, and went out and gave Gordon Hayward way, way too much money. They also gave Terry Rozier far too much money. For as great a player Jordan was, the GOAT, he is not a very good GM. They seemed to be doing correct stuff, then they did that deal for Hayward, and it just took me right back to the Batum deal. Hayward is a shell of the player he was in Utah, and only got worse, and bypassed by better players in Boston. Rozier is a solid offensive guy, but he is so much better in a Lou Williams role, than as a starter. Ball is going to be okay, and I think playing in Charlotte is big time for him, but he is a rookie, and a young rookie. Malik Monk is not the scorer I thought he would be coming out of college. PJ Washington is good, and he should get the bulk of minutes at the 4. Miles Bridges is hyper athletic, but I still don't know if he can shoot. Outside these guys it is a really mishmash of players. I thought they could compete for the playoffs this year, but it just doesn't look likely. I will watch them on League Pass because they should be fun, but fun doesn't equal wins.

At number 22 I have the Sacramento Kings. The Kings are still just an absolute mess. They cannot get out of their own way. They missed, at least so far, on the Luke Walton hiring. When he doesn't have guys like Steph and Klay at his disposal, it is a lot harder to coach. DeAaron Fox is awesome, and I am stoked that he got a max deal, but I do not see much else that is desirable about that team. Buddy Hield wants out, and his shot was off last year. Marvin Bagley cannot stay healthy. Harrison Barnes is going down the Rudy Gay path. Hassan Whiteside is a head case. Jabari Parker has been a bust, and he got COVID a few months ago. Richaun Holmes plays hard, but he just doesn't have that "it" quality. I like Tyrese Haliburton, but I feel like the Kings are going to screw him up. The Kings need to play fast and space the floor. The only problem, the only guy they have that can do that is Fox. No one else plays like that, or if they do, they cannot stay healthy. The Kings are in NBA purgatory.

My final team of the day, at number 21, I have the New Orleans Pelicans. Some may say this is too low for them, that they should be a playoff team, but I am not ready to put them there yet. I love the Stan Van Gundy hire. I think he will do very good things with that team. I also love how many picks they have in the near future. The Pelicans and the Thunder will own the draft for the next decade. And I like their young, talented core. But, they have issues with health and defense and depth. Zion Willamson is an other worldly talent. He is a once in a lifetime player. He is amazing. But, he has had issues at Duke and during his rookie year with injuries. I want him to stay healthy because I love watching him play. Lonzo Ball is a solid defender and very good passer, but he is a bad shooter. Brandon Ingram is an awesome offensive player, and I personally think he is their best overall player. He deserved his max deal. Jaxson Hayes is as raw as they get, but I bet Stan Van Gundy can mold him into a defensive force. I like the addition of Steven Adams, and I think Zion will too. But Adams doesn't add much space. And Eric Bledsoe and Josh Hart are okay enough to get some minutes. The big problem with this team for me is health. If they can stay healthy, and that is a humongous if, they could fight for the playoffs. I don't think they will, and I think they are still a bit young. They also have the West to deal with. New Orleans will be good, a perennial playoff team, just not yet.

That is it for today. Come back tomorrow for 5 more teams. We are starting to get to the better, possibly playoff bound teams.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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Ty's 2019-2020 NBA Preview: Timberwolves, Kings, Spurs, Magic

Day 4 of my NBA countdown gives us, in my opinion, the best 18 teams. We will get into my top 16, or playoff teams if you will, but that doesn't mean that I have 8 teams from the West and East. I simply put who I thought wee the best 16 teams in that order. I am all for the playoff being conference less, and that is how I looked at my countdown when I took all my notes. So, with that being said, lets get into it.

At number 18 I have the Minnesota Timberwolves. The T'Wolves are kind of in a no man's land. If they were in the East, they would be a playoff team easily. But, the West is a whole different animal, and Minnesota just doesn't have quite enough to break through. What they do have is a bona fide star on their team. Karl Anthony Towns is legit. He is so good on the offensive side of the ball. He is a great scorer, and now that he has extended his range, he is a matchup nightmare. He is also an excellent rebounder and a solid passer. But, he needs to get better defensively. When he is engaged on that end he is good, he just needs to be engaged always. Then he will become a top 10 player in the league. But, outside od Towns, the T'Wolves are a mystery. I think I was the last person on the Andrew Wiggins hype train, and even I have jumped off. He just isn't consistent, disappears far too much and isn't the defender I thought he could be coming out of college. Jeff Teague is old, and ready to be replaced. Josh Okogie looks like he will be the guy, but he needs to become more consistent in every phase. I like Jarret Culver, and think he could be a good player for a decade, but he still has a ways to go on offense. Robert Covington is a solid veteran, and a good role player, but he is a starter in Minnesota. He is so much better off the bench. They took some flyers on free agents like Jake Layman and Jordan Bell, and I just don't know with those guys. Layman barely saw the floor in Portland, and Bell regressed last year in Golden State. Minnesota will win close to 40 games, but I fear that Towns is getting into Kevin Love territory, and that is not where you want to be if you want to win titles.

At number 17, and I really, really wanted to put this team in the top 16, but they play in the West, and they're too young, I have the Sacramento Kings. The Kings have totally remade themselves, and they are no longer the laughingstock that they have been for the past decade plus. The Kings have a cohesive, and fun team. I love DeAron Fox. He is so fast, good with the ball, finds the open guy, plays hard, plays tough and has only gotten better since he has been in the league. He is one of my favorite young guys in the league. Marvin Bagley played far better than I thought he would last year. He looked to be stronger, played smarter and got better in his rookie year. That is a great sign. Buddy Hield, as you all know I love, has found a proper NBA home. The Kings allow him the freedom to shoot and be a playmaker, and that is what he needed coming out of college. He is quietly one of the better three point shooters in the NBA. I think Bogdan Bogdanovic is going to be this version of the Kings Peja Stojakivic. He is a solid outside shooter, and he is fun to watch. Harrison Barnes, who I think gets unfairly criticized, is a solid veteran that this team needs. He knows what it takes to win in the NBA, and he does the little things fairly well. Harry Giles, who has been hurt seemingly forever, looked good in limited minutes last year. He looked athletic and rebounded and ran the floor well. The Trevor Ariza signing here could be what I expected it to be in Phoenix. Ariza is also one of the better defenders in the league. Dwayne Dedmon is a solid center, and a rim protector they need. I find the Kings to be very fun, and I think they will be at, or above ,500 this year, which is huge for them. They just need one more year before they are a playoff team.

At number 16, my first "playoff" team, I have the San Antonio Spurs. I know, this team plays old style dinosaur basketball, they have no real super stars and they may seem boring. But, they still have Greg Poppovich as their head coach, and as long as he is there, the Spurs will always be a playoff team in my eyes. And, without having stars, they do have LaMarcus Aldridge and DeMar DeRozan. Sure, those guys may not pop, but they are really good, really solid NBA players. Aldridge had a very good year last year, and he is finally finding his groove as a Spur. And DeRozan is a proven scorer and shooter, even if he doesn't take a million threes. He is still a really good player. Outside those 2, this team is relatively young. Yes, Patty Mills is still there, and he is their best shooter. But, after that, this team is young. Derrick White had a great playoff run last season. He really showed out, and I think that is a sign of things to come. Lonnie Walker had to do some time in the G League last year, but I think it helped him. He looked unstoppable in summer league, and he has been solid in the preseason. Dejounte Murray, who is going to be awesome, is back after missing last year with a knee injury. Murray was on his way to being "the guy" there, and I think that will come true this season. Jakob Poeltl is a big lumbering center, but he is what this team needs under and around the hoop. Rudy Gay is still there, and he was super efficient and really good last season. He is the epitome of a consummate pro. I also like the addition of Trey Lyles, I think he helps them. And even if he isn't the defender he was in Toronto, DeMarre Carroll still offers value on that end of the floor. The Spurs dynasty of the past is over, but they still have a solid roster and the best coach in the history of the NBA. They are still a playoff team to me.

My final team for the day, at number 15, I have the Orlando Magic. The Magic are back. Well, not back to being a title contender, but they will be a perennial playoff team in the East. This roster is stacked with talent, but it is raw and it is young. Aaron Gordon has really turned himself into so much more than a dunker. He is a great defender, he has a shot that you have to respect and he is becoming the team leader, and he is only 24 years old. Mo Bamba has been really good in the preseason, and if he can put on some weight, and continue to improve around the rim, he will be worth way more than the sixth overall pick that he was two years ago. Johnathan Issac had a solid year last year, and has the look of an improved jumper. He, like Bamba, is rail thin, but he can be a problem for opponents on defense. He is also super long, and plays hard defense. Nikola Vucecvic got his big deal after an All Star season, and now I think he will play with freedom. He is also the prototypical modern big. He heled me make the finals in my fantasy league last year because he stuffs the stat sheet. I see more of that. Markelle Fultz, knock on wood, has looked okay. His jumper looks better, not fixed, but better and he is attacking the rim so far in the preseason. If he can give them a tenth of what was expected from him coming out of college, that would be great. Evan Fournier was awesome in FIBA this summer, and the dude knows how to get bucket. Terrance Ross is s solid all around guy. They signed Al Faroq Aminu, and that guy has been a playoff player forever. And DJ Augustin is back, and even though he has been around forever, he won their only playoff game for them last season. The Magic have a glut of players at power forward, and no real point guard, but they play defense and they spread the ball around. I see them easily making the playoffs again, and maybe this time they will win a series. Also, they could pull a big trade with all the assets they have, and that would be big time.

That is it for today. Come back for the next 4 teams tomorrow.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. 

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Ty's 2018-2019 NBA Preview: Hawks, Kings, Magic

I was flipping through channels the other night and I came across a preseason NBA game. I watched for a bit, then I realized, holy cow, the NBA regular season is going to start soon. I was kind of shocked to be honest with you. I am fully in on football right now, the MLB playoffs are going on right now, and then pow, NBA season is getting ready to start, and college basketball practice has begun. So, as I have done since the invention of the website, I'm going to do my preseason NBA countdown. I'll go from worst to best, giving three teams a day. I'll do a short few sentences on why I have them ranked where I do, and if they have any shot at all at winning the title. After the countdown, I will do a postseason and awards predictions, and the following day, I will do my NCAA men's basketball preview. So buckle up, the next 12 days will be, with the occasional NFL quick hits or a movie or music review sprinkled in here and there, will be all basketball. Enough preamble, lets get to the rankings.

Coming in at number 30, dead last, I have the Atlanta Hawks. This team won 60 plus games a few seasons back. This team was a playoff team 2 years ago. Then, they traded Kyle Korver, Pau Milsap, Jeff Teague, pretty much everyone that was important to them. Then this offseason, they offloaded more talent. This team is in full on rebuild mode. They even, much to his delight I'm sure, let Mike Budenholzer go. When I look at their roster now, it has a bunch of retreads and rookies. What I do like about this team though, they have Taurean Prince, who is wildly underrated, and John Collins, who has the looks to be a very good modern big man. After that though, it gets rough. Vince Carter is there, and he is looking ever bit the 40 year old he is. Good on him though that he is still out there. Jeremy Lin is on this team now. I wanted Lin to be great after what he did as a Knick, but he cannot stay healthy and he is wildly inconsistent. Kent Bazemore is no more than a trade chip for a younger player or a pick. He will most certainly be a salary dump at some point. Alex Len was traded there, and he has been a total bust. Thomas Robinson, a former fourth overall pick in the draft, is back from the G League, and he will probably get big minutes on this team. Dewayne Dedmon left the Spurs for this team, and he has not been the same player. They drafted Kevin Huerter, who is a big time project, that will take a few years to develop, and Trae Young. They traded Luka Doncic for Young in fact. I think they will regret that. Young has a ton of pressure to score in bunches, and if summer league and the preseason are any indication, he is going to struggle. The Hawks are going to be real, real bad. I do not expect them to win 20 games. They will most certainly get a lottery pick next year. They have zero chance of making the playoffs, let alone the Finals.

At number 29, and this was a real tough choice to put them ahead of the Hawks, I have the Sacramento Kings. The Kings are the most moribund NBA franchise. This team is so, so , so bad. And they have been for a long time now. The days of Chris Webber and Vlade Divac and Jason Williams and Mike Bibby seem like forever ago. And when I look at their roster, I just do not see them being any better this year. They took Marvin Bagley number 2 overall this past draft, and he has bust written all over him. He is long and lanky and athletic, but he is way too skinny, doesn't like contact and his jumper is not a threat. All that can change, but he has not looked great in preseason and summer league. He should have dominated both, and he just hasn't. I hope he gets better, because he is so athletic, but I just don't see it, especially in the Kings culture. I love DeAron Fox. He is the only player on this team that I think is a real, legit future NBA star. He is fast, can score, can find the open man and play defense. He is too good a player to be on the Kings. He deserves so much better. I feel for him. Willy Cauley Stein has never developed into the rim runner and rim protector that some thought he could be coming out of Kentucky. His best highlight since he has been in the NBA is a missed dunk attempt. While it looked cool, that shouldn't be your career highlight. Imam Shumpert is there, but he was washed about 3 years ago. Harry Giles is still a work in progress, and who knows when, or if, he will get hurt again. He did show flashes in summer league. Ben McLemore is back, but I am done defending him as a player. He is not a very good NBA basketball player. Yogi Ferrell is here, but so what. Skal Labissiere is on the team, but that kid wasn't great in his one year at Kentucky, and that was just a sign of what was to come. I loved Buddy Hield in college, and I have stomped and yelled about how he was going to be great, but he hasn't been. He has gotten lost in the shuffle, and his scoring has not made it to the NBA level. Zach Randolph is the Vince Carter of the Kings. Frank Mason is a fine backup, but the Kings play him far too much. The rest of the roster is just blah. The Kings are a bad team with a bad culture. They have gotten used to losing, and that should not be the case. As I stated before, I fell for DeAron Fox. He should be the starting point guard on a team that has a winning record and in playoff contention. The rest of the Kings roster, I just don't care about enough.

My final team for today, at number 28, I have the Orlando Magic. This team reminds me a lot of the Kings, in the same sense that they are forever rebuilding. They haven't been relevant since Dwight Howard was their center. They seem to pop up from time to time as a supposed "sleeper" team, and then they shit the bed. The Magic are not good. They just gave Aaron Gordon an inordinate amount of money, and while I love his freakishly athletic dunking, that is all he does. He isn't a great shooter, rebounder or defender. Yet the Magic seem to think he is the guy to build around. That doesn't make much sense to me. Nikola Vucevic is clearly a good stats bad team guy. Evan Fournier is known much more for his hair than his game. He is the French version of Jeremy Lin. Johnathan Issac didn't look great last year, but early reports about him from this season say he has bulked up and his game has improved. We just haven't seen it yet because he didn't play in summer league and I have not seen him in any preseason action. DJ Augustin is somehow still in the league, and he is on the Magic. So what. Johnathom Simmons is exactly like Dewayne Dedmon. He left the Spurs and he is not as productive on a different team. They signed Timofey Mozgov. Why? Why is he still in the league? Terrance Ross is hyper athletic, and can dunk the shit out of the ball, but they already have Aaton Gordon to do that. And they drafted Mo Bamba. I love Bamba, but he is going to take some time to develop. This team needs a ton of help. I do think Bamba can be their center of the future, but they will have to be patient. Gordon is a fine power forward, but he isn't an All Star caliber player. They don't have a real point guard. They don't have a real 2 guard. They don't have a real small forward. I mean, who on this team can guard LeBron or KD or Steph or Klay or Kyrie Irving or Ben Simmons or Jeol Embiid or James Harden or Kawhi Leonard or, even a player like DeAron Fox. The Magic need a lot more help. Until then, they will be stuck in 20 win land and picking in the lottery again. That has now been the case for about a decade now.

That's it for today. Come back tomorrow for my next three teams.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. 

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Ty's 2017-2018 NBA Preview: Pacers, Magic, Kings

Day 2 of my NBA countdown starts with another East team that was in the playoffs last year. In fact, I was so high on this team last year, I thought they could have pushed all the way to a 2 seed. But, they couldn't play defense and they couldn't really score. They made the playoffs, but got swept out of the first round. They also traded their best player for a bag of beans this off season.

The team I am talking about is the Indiana Pacers. They got rid of Paul George before he left them in free agency after this year. That's the good. The bad, they got Victor Oladipo and Damontas Sabonis for him. Oh, they also got a second round pick. Oof did they get screwed. So, now that George is gone, they are really left with next to nothing. I think Oladipo is decent, but he is not a number one option on a playoff team. His game comes and goes, and he just hasn't been the great defensive player that many thought he'd be when he was drafted 4 years ago. It is also telling that OKC was ready to give him up after signing him to a decent contract. Sabonis really faltered and hit a big time rookie wall near the end of last season. He was basically unplayable in the playoffs. The Pacers also lost Jeff Teague, and replaced him with guys like Lance Stephenson, who is toast and Darren Collinson, who is also toast. They have no real point guard. They get Thad Young back, but so what? Is he really going to push them to the playoffs? He's a decent role player, but no more. They drafted TJ Leaf, but I feel like he is just slightly better than Lauri Markenan, and I think Markenan is going to be horrendous. Al Jefferson cannot stay on the floor for any kind of long stretches anymore. Glenn Robinson III might be good, but he has been wildly inconsistent his whole NBA career, and now he will be pushed into a starting role. Corey Joseph was their "big" offseason acquisition. That is quite telling. The only thing the Pacers have going for them is Myles Turner. Turner is going to be very good very soon in the NBA. He needs to get a few more moves, but this dude can play. He is who they should build around for the future. But, the Pacers are going to be pretty awful this year.

At number 26 I have the Orlando Magic. What is this team? Who plays what position? I know the modern NBA is "position-less", but the Magic have too much of the same type of player. They have a glut of point forwards on this team. Aaron Gordon, Evan Fournier, Mario Hezjona and Nikola Vujavic all play the same spot. Gordon can dunk, but that is about it. He cannot shoot, isn't much of a rebounder and doesn't really play defense. Fournier plays no defense, can't rebound, but can score. Hezjona is a bust. I'm calling it now. He has not even come close to the potential that people thought he had when he was the fifth overall pick. He is toast. Vujavic is a tremendous fantasy player, but he is a good stats, bad team guy. I'd be curious to see if he could do this on a good team. The Magic have no real point guard. Elfrid Payton showed flashes near the end of last season, but he needs to put it together for a full season. He cannot shoot the ball either. DJ Augustin is still on an NBA roster, which is baffling to me. I like Johnathan Issac, their first round pick, but he is rail skinny and I am curious to see if he can hold up for 82 games. I do really like his game though. Hell, he might be the best shooter right now on this team. They signed Marresse Speights, but his days of instant offense off the bench are done. In fact, he was best suited staying in Golden State,, but they found him expendable, and let him go. Bismack Biyombo got paid last year, but he was non existent for this team all last year. This dude had a 20 rebound playoff game while in Toronto, but since then, its been all downhill. The one thing I do like about this team is the addition of Johnathan Simmons. He was great for the Spurs, and I think he might flourish with the extra responsibility and extra playing time with the Magic. Simmons has the makings of an All Star, especially in the East.

My final team for today, coming in at number 25, my first Western Conference team, is the Sacramento Kings. Now, before I get into it, I do really like this Kings team, they just play in the West, and the West is loaded. I love the pick of De'Aron Fox. He is an amazing defender, passer and can get to the rack. He needs to work on his jumper, but he is a professional now, and he can work on it as much as he wants. Fox is going to be so much fun to watch. The even better news for Fox, the Kings signed George Hill, who is not great by any stretch, but he can be a tremendous mentor on NBA life for Fox. Hill has been there and done that, and he should be able to work wonders with Fox. Even though he cannot do anything but dunk and kind of protect the rim, I love to watch Willie Cauley-Stein. He can jump out of the gym, and he has gotten a little bit better each of his first two years in the league. I'm a big time Buddy Hield fan. I have written a ton about him since SeedSing became a real thing. I think he will be a decent scorer for this team, and he will get free rein to fire at will. Now, the bad news. Outside of the guys I mentioned, I'm very luke warm on the rest of this team. Kosta Koufas is a waste of a contract. Malachi Richardson was horrendous last year. I am not a fan of the Harry Giles pick. I know it was late first round, but he was coming off a torn ACL his senior year of high school, barely played at Duke, and when he played, he was a non factor. Frank Mason was a great, great college player, but so was Trey Burke, Jimmer Fredette and Doug McDermott. I see a lot of those three in Frank Mason. I'm not too pumped about the Justin Jackson pick. He can play some pretty good defense, but he is an irrational confidence guy on the offensive end and he needs to let Buddy Hield and De'Aron Fox run the show on that end. The Kings also signed Zach Randolph and Vince Carter. While this seems like a decent fit, I think both guys are done. Zach Randolph could never really jump, but he was aided by having a great point guard in Mike Conley and an excellent front court companion in Marc Gasol. He now has Cauley-Stein and some also rans next to him. I do not like his fit with this team at all. Vince Carter, the ageless wonder, is back for another year, but I look at him more as a hanger on than a guy that will be a real contributor. More power to him for still cashing checks, but I hope this is his last season in the NBA. The Kings need to embrace the youth movement, and if they do that, they could be a decent, possible playoff team, in a few years.

That is it for today, come back tomorrow for the next three teams.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. 

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

The Biggest Trade in the NBA Just Happened Because the Sacramento Kings are a Joke

It is tiring trying to figure out the King's plan

I have many ideas for pieces this week, but something real big happened in the NBA last night. That means my NBA All Star weekend wrap up will have to wait, and my reviews of the season premiere of "Bar Rescue" and "John Wick: Chapter 2" will have to wait a few days.

As I'm sure most, if not all, NBA fans know that Boogie Cousins got traded to the Pelicans last night for next to nothing. I know that I said the biggest name was already dealt, with Serge Ibaka heading to Toronto, but this trade is, by far, the biggest trade that will happen no matter what else, if anything, happens before Thursday's deadline. Even if someone like Jimmy Butler, Paul Milsap, Blake Griffin or Gordon Hayward gets dealt, doesn't matter. Boogie is the biggest name. I did not think that Boogie would get traded this year. I figured, there is only about 25 games left in the regular season, and the Kings are somehow still in the playoff race, so I just assumed that they'd ride it out through the rest of this year.

I guess I was wrong.

The timing of the deal is incredibly weird as well. I mean, this happened literally about an hour after the All Star game ended. The All Star game was in New Orleans, so Boogie technically does not have to leave, but still, very weird timing. I did think that something was a bit off because Boogie barely played, but I assumed that he had a minor injury and that he was just resting. But, after watching the All Star game, then looking at Twitter and Bleacher Report and other sports websites, all of the sudden, I see this breaking trade. I did not believe it at first. I thought it would fall through and neither team would be able to come up with an equal deal. I mean, what do the Pelicans have that the Kings covet? Nothing besides Anthony Davis, but he is pretty much untouchable. But, much to mine and everyone else's surprise, the deal went through, and the Kings got absolutely fleeced.

More on that in a minute, I want to talk about the pairing of Boogie and Davis. On paper, this looks great. This is one of the best front court's in the history of the NBA. Two young stars, in their prime, averaging a double double each and playing exceptional on both ends of the floor. It should be an absolute slam dunk. But, the pessimist in me does not think that they will be able to coexist, and they are fighting to get the 8th spot in the West, which means they will face the Warriors in the first round, and probably get swept. If that happens, I do not see anyway that the Pelicans will be able to resign Boogie this offseason. He will want to move to a team in title contention. Davis is a great, great, great player, but he is who New Orleans needs to build around. He and Boogie essentially play the same position and the Pelicans have already tried something akin to this when they signed Omer Asik. Now, Asik is not 1/1,000th the player that Boogie is, but it is the same idea. Two big guys, one scorer and one all around guy, but it just did not work out. There was not enough space in the post. Davis can float out to the perimeter, but I think he is a much better slasher and rebounder going to the basket. Unfortunately for him, Boogie is a low post player, an absolute excellent one, and he will be clogging up that lane. So, while it looks great on paper, and I really want it to work out, I just do not think it will work. There is not enough time for them to get any continuity and they will be an easy out for a higher seeded West team, that is, if they make the playoffs. Looks great on paper, I just don't see it working on the court.

Now, the Kings. My oh my did they get absolutely robbed. This deal makes the Kings front office, and mainly Vlade Divac, look so under qualified to run a NBA team. Boogie is easily a top 10, top 5 in my personal opinion, NBA player. He is a throwback center, but he has expanded his game and he plays more defense now, and can sometimes hit a mid range jumper. The trade rumors have always been around. He is a headache, a coach killer, a ball stopper, a malcontent, everything nasty that can be said about a player has been said abut him, but it always ended with the caveat that he is an elite player. So, if you are going to trade him, you need an elite level trade package, no matter what baggage Boogie may bring with him. When the rumors started a few years back, it was always Boogie for another star, or a plethora of very high, unprotected picks. It was always looked at as a blockbuster. It needed to be big time.

What did the Kings get in return you ask? They got 2 picks, a 2017 first and second rounder, probably in the high teens in the first round and mid forties in the second round, and Buddy Hield and Tyreke Evans. The picks are fine, but not Boogie Cousins fine. As I said, if you are going to trade Boogie for picks, you need unprotected lottery picks, not some mid first rounder and mid second rounder. That is insane and stupid. Then, you get an unproven rookie, Buddy Hield. I really like Buddy Hield, and I think he can be a very good pro, but he is a rookie that has struggled so far. His shot is not falling and his defense is not up to task yet. Now, he is going to one of the most dysfunctional franchise in the NBA. That will only hurt his game. He will not figure it out for awhile, if ever, playing for the Kings. They have not had a prospect grow into a decent NBA player, Boogie being the lone exception, in over a decade. Look at the list. Guys like Jimmer Fredette, Ben McLemore, Nik Stauskas, Ray McCallum Jr, Thomas Robinson, Orlando Johnson and Tyler Honeycutt. By my count, only one of those guys is still on the team, McLemore, only 2 are still in the NBA, Stauskas and Robinson, and who knows about the rest. Apparently Jimmer scored 73 points in a game in China, but he was recently cut from a D League team, so I take very little stock in his high point totals. Basically, with rookies, the Kings don't have a good track record. I feel bad for Buddy Hield.

They also got Tyreke Evans, in a return to his first team, but he is wildly inconsistent and has never really put it together in the NBA. He has moments, but more so than not, he has been a very mediocre NBA player. His addition to the trade adds nothing at all. It was basically a throw on at the last moment in some kind of saving face, but it still makes this trade look really bad.

Funny side note. People have even tried to make this trade on the video game "NBA 2K17", and the game says that the trade is too unfair for the Kings. So, that means artificial intelligence is smarter than the Kings front office.

This is an absolute disaster for the Kings. This puts their franchise even further away from rebuilding. They are going to be very, very bad for what seems to be another decade now. If they couldn't win and make the playoffs with Boogie, how on Earth are they going to win with a bunch of castoffs that haven't proven themselves in the NBA in their short careers? I mean, a starting five of Darren Collison, Ben McLemore, Buddy Hield, Kosta Koufos and Willie Cauley-Stein is worse than anything the 76ers or the Lakers or even the Nets will put out on a NBA floor. This trade is real bad and real shocking. I hope, but don't think, it will work out for the Pelicans, and I know that this trade just set the Kings back for at least another decade.

The Kings got fleeced and they don't seem to care, or even realize it. At least Boogie got out of there and he may end up loving New Orleans and playing with Davis. But if he doesn't, he is a free agent and will have his pick of teams to sign with this summer. The biggest winner, by a country mile in this very bad trade, is Boogie.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is putting his name into the conversation to be the GM of the Kings. How could he do any worse. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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Ty Tells You How each NBA Team Can Win the Title: Knicks, Kings, Bucks

Welcome back to my NBA countdown. Today, we will get teams 24, 23 and 22. We are still in the bad teams, and I think some of my teams today will surprise some readers. Anyway, on with the countdown.

At number 24 I have the New York Knicks. Some people, some respected people (ed note: Like me), actually seem to think that this team could be a threat in the East. I do not see that at all. I do not think this team will be any better than last year, and they stunk last year. I don't understand why respected journalists (ed note: Like me) think that signing Joakim Noah and Derrick Rose and Courtney Lee make them a threat. Noah hasn't been healthy for 2 plus years, and his shot is garbage. He is only good for defense and rebounding, and he is still not fully healthy. He will not return to his form from 3 years ago when he was a legit MVP candidate. Noah's attitude may be a great fit for New York, but his game is gone. Courtney Lee is not as good as others think he is. I saw him play live last year, and I did not come away impressed. He's an average shooter and defender. He is by no means a world beater. Then we have Derrick Rose. He hasn't been healthy in about 3 years as well. He doesn't go at the rim with the reckless abandon that he used to. His jump shot is trash and he is a terrible defender. He is also currently on trial for rape, which he all but admitted, by saying that every time he was intimate with his ex, he considered it consent, to doing. Then we have Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis. Porzingis will prove this season if he is good, or just a one year wonder. I think he will be good, but not great. Carmelo is a ball stopper, and he proved during the Olympics that he is slower and still not a good defender. He looked pretty bad, save for one game, during the Olympics, when he was the unofficial team leader. The rest of the roster is very blah to me. Guys like Kyle O'Quinn, Guillermo Hernangomez, Brandon Jennings and Lance Thomas, among others just don't; strike me as legit threats off the bench. Derrick Rose was out of his mind when he called them a "super team". The Knicks are not good, and they will be lucky to win 35 games this year. I have no faith in this team at all. I may be the only one, but I think they are going to be pretty bad.

So Ty, how will the Knicks win the title? The only way they win the title is if Noah becomes a MVP, Rose's knees don't betray him and he gets off this case, Porzingis takes a major leap and Anthony plays like he is 20 again. That is not happening. Sorry Knicks fans, this team is not good.

At number 23 I have the Sacramento Kings. The Kings have a semi talented roster, with the best true center in the NBA right now, but they just can't figure it out. They have good players, but they are all individual players, not team players. Boogie Cousins is great, but he has become uncoachable. He just hasn't figured it out. He is incredibly talented, but until he takes some real coaching, he will continue to lose games, and his cool. I'm a huge fan of his, but he is just a big stats on a bad team guy. Rudy Gay wants out of there so bad, I wouldn't be shocked if he got traded any day now. He is also past his prime. Aaron Afflalo's time in the sun is over. He's not as good a defender or shooter as he was 3 years ago. Darren Collison is an abuser. The fact that he only got an 8 game suspension for domestic violence is a travesty. Matt Barnes is more concerned with fighting former players than working on his game. He is still a decent defender, but he is also a huge malcontent and whiner. Willie Cauley Stein has no offensive game. Good defender, but terrible offensive player. Ben Mclemore still hasn't figured out the speed of the game, and he has no jumper. Ty Lawson is on this team, and last year proved he was done in the NBA. And in the draft, they took another big. This guy is from Greece, and he got owned in summer league. The other picks, Skal Labiessere and Malachi Richardson are too skinny, young and will not be ready to contribute any time soon in the NBA. The Kings are a mess, and have been for about a decade now. They will find their way to 30 wins, they do have talent, but that is about it.

So Ty, how will the Kings win the title? The Kings can win the title if these guys on the roster completely change the way they have played their whole careers, buy into being team and leave their egos at the door. No way that happens with this roster. Hopefully Boogie gets traded. That would be best for him and the Kings.

At number 22, I have the Milwaukee Bucks. This team should be so much better. They were in the playoffs two years ago, and they completely imploded last season. They have some great talent, but I just don't see them putting it all together. I love Giannis Antetokounmpo, and he just got paid, but does he have any real help. Michael Carter Williams cannot score and his defense hasn't gotten better. Greg Monroe was an absolute bust last season, and I bet he gets traded this year. Jabari Parker cannot stay healthy and cannot play defense or rebound. Khris Middleton should be so much better than he plays. He's good for a game winner here and there, but he misses way more big shots than he makes. John Henson just doesn't have it anymore. Their two big offseason moves were bringing in Matthew Dellavedova and Michael Beasley. Matthew Dellavedova stinks. He is a worthless, way below average guard. The Bucks should have buyers remorse immediately. Michael Beasley was so good in college and in China. You know where he hasn't been that good? The NBA. I don't understand why teams still give him a chance. The bucks also drafted Thon Maker at number 10. That was crazy. No one knows how old he is, and these comparisons to KD need to stop now. He hasn't played a single second in the NBA, and he is rail thin. This team's offseason additions make absolutely no sense at all. The Bucks should be better, but they will continue to hover around 33-36 wins.

So Ty, how will the Bucks win the title? The Bucks can win the title if Antetokoumpo becomes the league's MVP, Jabari Parker starts to go for 25 PPG, MCW finds a jump shot and starts to play defense, Khris Middleton becomes a real threat and Greg Monroe starts to play with a vengeance. I just don't see that happening. Sorry Milwaukee, but stop making stupid offseason pick ups that make no sense. until they figure that out, they will continue to be average.

Come back tomorrow for the next 3 teams.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. The Head Editor is confused why the Knicks, a super team, are so low in his rankings. Who is the basketball expert here? Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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The Rockets and Kings are Coachless and Uncoachable

If this was on fire, it would represent the Rockets and Kings

As it happens every NBA season around this time, coaches are being fired and hired. It always goes on during the playoffs and, more often than not, it's usually smaller named coaches taking jobs. Guys like Kenny Atkinson taking the Nets job or Earl Watson taking the Suns job. See, not that big of names. Sure, Thibodeau took the Timberwolves job and, to a much lesser extent, Scott Brooks took the Wizards job, but that's about as splashy as it gets this time of year. And yeah, Luke Walton took the Lakers job, which is a potential disaster worse than taking the Knicks job, but most teams wait until after the playoffs, or during the finals to really get into their head coaching search.

Two such teams currently searching for a coach that I want to talk about today are the Rockets and the Kings. Let's tackle the Rockets first. This team is an absolute dumpster fire. This team has absolutely no chemistry. James Harden is becoming a world class prima donna. Dwight Howard needs to leave that team as fast as possible, and, he's not really that good anymore. The other starters, guys like Terrence Ross, Corey Brewer, Patrick Beverly and Donatas Montejunas need to try their best and get out of there because Harden is no fun to play basketball with. Also, Daryl Morey needs to be let go. He put this team together through analytics nonsense and they are a complete mess because of him. Morey was the one that figured pairing Howard and Harden was a good idea. This was the guy, and I totally agreed with him at the time, that thought bringing in Ty Lawson was a good idea. This is the guy who trades away picks and young players with the "win now" attitude and it has not worked out. Sure, they miraculously made the Western Finals last year, after the Clippers epic collapse, but they got outworked, outplayed and outclassed by the Warriors. And the true James Harden showed up. The guy that shrinks the bigger the moment gets. The Rockets are a total mess. Even their interim coach, JB Bickerstaff said he'd rather be an assistant than the head coach of this team. Bickerstaff has been with this team for a long time, got his chance to be the head coach after they fired Kevin McHale 11 games into the season, and he looked and acted like he hated every single second of it. I would too if I were him. The coach of the Rockets is basically just a figure head that has to deal with players that aren't as good as they may think. Nowhere is it truer than the NBA where the coach, for all intents and purposes, doesn't matter. The only coaches that demand the respect and attention of their players are Gregg Poppovich and Steve Kerr, other than that, none of you guys really matter. If I were a coach at any level, be it high school, college or the pros, I would not touch that Rockets job with a ten foot pole. They are going to lose a lot of players, mainly Dwight Howard, and the new coach will have to deal with all the nonsense that comes with James Harden. Harden is uncoachable and that team is going to get blown up. The Rockets will be a rebuilding project, and an established coach will not touch that job. The Rockets may have to dip into the college ranks and we all saw how well that worked out for Fred Hoiberg and Billy Donovan. Sure, Donovan won 55 games, but he has Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant at his disposal and his "coaching" didn't really play any part in their success. And Hoiberg, the Bulls, with all the talent in the world, didn't even make the playoffs in the East. So, good luck to whichever low end NBA assistant or college coach that takes that Rockets job, it's going to be tough.

Then, there is the Kings vacant head coaching job. They have reached out to some big name guys. Guys like Kevin McHale, Mark Jackson and Stan Van Gundy, but they all seem to be turning the job down, and they all seem to turn it down for one reason. That one reason is Boogie Cousins. First of all, I love Boogie Cousins the player. I think he is a wonderfully skilled big man. He can play in the low post and run the floor with equal success. He is definitely a once in a lifetime good to great low post player, but he clearly has a very bad attitude problem and he is un coachable. Not one single coach that he has had in the NBA seems to last longer than one and a half season. Hell, if he had stayed at Kentucky more than one year, I bet he and Calipari would have ended up having problems. Calipari may be the one guy that can coach him, but he isn't leaving Kentucky for a NBA rebuilding job, so those rumors need to stop. I love love love Boogie Cousins, but I totally understand why all these coaches are turning down the job. I mean, George Karl, who made it work with strong personalities like Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton, couldn't reach Cousins. From the start, Cousins did not like Karl. Before they even met, he was down on Karl for some past accusations. It was a broken marriage from the jump. There have been other head coaches, but the only one that seemed to work, Mike Malone, was inexplicably fired after one season and 11 games into his second season. Malone was making it work, but Cousins went down with an injury and the Kings lost a couple of games in a row. That was enough, according to the front office, to fire him. It was a joke that Malone got fired so quickly when it seemed he was turning that team around. But, that's another problem with this franchise. The front office thinks that the team is better than it actually is. Vivek, the new owner, is an idiot. He is the one pulling the trigger so quick on coaches. He is the one that keeps drafting players that play the same position over and over again. One year he takes Ben McLemore, the next year he takes Nick Stauskas. One year he drafts Boogie Cousins. A couple of years later, he takes Willie Cauley-Stein. Vivek also said, on live national television, he wanted his team to play five on four so they could get quick fast break points because that's what his fifth grade daughters team did, and they were good. He compared an NBA team to a fifth grade basketball team. That's insane. No coach worth their mustard should touch this job with a ten foot pole as well. The Kings are a mess akin with the Rockets. The only selling point in the Kings favor is the fact that they will get a decent draft pick, but who really cares, that's just more rebuilding.

These two jobs are not good jobs. I don't think anyone with any sense is wiling to take either one of these jobs because these jobs are a stomping ground. There is no success to be had at either spot. Yes, the Rockets have James Harden, but he plays no defense, he is a ball hog, he holds the ball for 20 of the 24 second shot clock and he is a prima donna. The Rockets won't have much else going into next season. And yeah, the Kings have Boogie and Rondo, but what coach in their right mind really wants to deal with those two headaches. As I said, I love Cousins, but I would not want to deal with Rondo at all. He is past his prime and he may be a crazy person and he is too big a headache.

While other teams will fill their vacancies with relative ease, I think the Rockets and the Kings will have a long, tiring and troubling time trying to fill their head coaching jobs. Both teams are dumpster fires and no coach with a good head on their shoulders will give those jobs a second chance. Those jobs will be filled by lower level assistants, college coaches, or more likely, a crazy person.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He coaches pre K basketball and is ready to be called up by the Kings or Rockets. He fully expects to be fired in less than a year, like any other big time NBA coach would be. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Ty tells you how each NBA team can win the title: Timberwolves, Suns, & Kings

I love basketball.

Continuing my NBA countdown, today I will be giving you my number 24,23, and 22 teams. We are getting to teams that are just on the outside of a playoff push. These teams are either too young, or have veterans that are too old. They may have been in the playoffs recently, but haven't been in awhile. They are still in the lottery, but in the later half of the lottery. Hell, the Heat picked in the late lottery last season. These teams are one or two players away from becoming competitive.

My number 24 team is the Minnesota Timberwolves. Yes, they had the worst record in the NBA last season, but they were fun to watch at times. They have young players throughout their entire roster. First, they traded Kevin Love last season to the Cavs in exchange for Anthony Bennett, who they just bought out, and Andrew Wiggins. Wiggins was excellent as a rookie. He showed his lock down defensive ability last season, and he found a jump shot midway through the season and he can jump out of the gym. He's probably my favorite young player to watch. Zach Lavine is a mystery to me. He has incredible hops, but can he shoot the ball? Can he play strong defense? Is he ready to take the next step? I don't know, but he's in year three, so he's either going to take a step forward, or slide back. Ricky Rubio cannot shoot the ball, doesn't want to either, but he's a wizard passing the ball. He plays out of control sometimes, and he seems to be on the trading block every year. Nikola Pecovic is not living up to his big contract. I think he's the only player on the Timberwolves that misses Kevin Love. He's been a disappointment. I think their first pick, and overall number one in the 2015 draft, Karl Anthony-Towns can slide into Pecovic's place. It's going to take time for him to develop because he's so young, but he has the look of a perennial All Star. The bench is okay, but nothing to write home about. Shabazz Muhammed has surprised me with how well he's adjusted to the pro game. He looked like a head case in college and part of his rookie year, but something must have clicked for him, and he looks like a decent bench player in the NBA. Unfortunately, for himself and the Timberwolves, they start him out of necessity. They also have Gorgui Dieng and Kevin Garnett come off the bench. Dieng was expected to make a leap last year, but it never really came together for him. He seemed nervous being the focal point of the second unit. I love Kevin Garnett, and him being back with the Timberwolves is strictly nostalgic, but he should've retired three years ago. He's going to be an excellent coach. Other than that, it's slim picking for the Timberwolves. This team is way too young to fight for any playoff spot, but give them three more years, they could be a powerhouse.

How the Timberwolves will win it all.

The Timberwolves will win the title if Wiggins becomes the elite player he will be in three years this season, Lavine becomes more than just a dunker, Pecovic regains his form from two seasons ago, and plays ten times better than that and Karl Anthony-Towns is an immediate All Star. That's not happening. The Timberwolves will be improved, but they will only get somewhere in the 20 win column. They'll be fun to watch, but give them time, about three years, they'll be legitimate playoff contenders.

My number 23 team is the Phoenix Suns. This is another team that seems to be falling apart at the seams, a la the Denver Nuggets. They were legit playoff contenders the last year and a half, but quit midway through last season. They had way too many point guards and traded Goran Dragic and Isiah Thomas for little to nothing. They did get Brandon Knight out of these trades, but I feel like they overpaid him this offseason. Who knows if he'll live up to that contract. They did sign Tyson Chandler, but that was in hopes of luring LaMarcus Aldridge, and that obviously didn't happen. Chandler is good, but who will throw him the alley oops he needs? Not Eric Bledsoe or Archie Goodwin. Bledsoe needs the ball in his hands at all times to be effective. He's really good, but not franchise player good. Archie Goodwin is young and inexperienced. He's a one and done kid, from Kentucky, so who knows what his future in the NBA holds. They did draft Devin Booker, another one and done from Kentucky, who looks to be a lock down perimeter shooter, but what else can he do? And he's not going to take shooting guard minutes away from Brandon Knight. Alex Len hasn't panned out like they hoped. He was the big man of the future, but he's been a disappointment so far. He can't guard any fives, and gets beat up by most when they're guarding him. They completely botched the Marcus Morris trade to the Pistons, pissing off his twin, Markieff in the process. I don't believe his talk of being happy now, after claiming he'd never suit up for the Suns again this summer. Other than these guys, the bench is another group of question marks. I don't understand what management is trying to do with this team. Are they going to try and make the playoffs, or are they going to tank? Who knows, but management hasn't made many good decisions the last half of this year.

How the Suns will win it all.

The Suns will win the title if Bledsoe gets the whole team involved, Knight becomes the star that they hope he will be, Tyson Chandler gets a time machine and goes back to his form during his first go around with the Mavericks, Alex Len suddenly becomes good at basketball and Booker hits 70% of his threes. They also need to trade Marcus Morris to achieve any success. The Suns are a 32 or 33 win team at best. Management needs to get their act together before this team is highly competitive again.

My number 22 team is the Sacramento Kings. Talk about a problem at the top. First of all, the coach, George Karl, doesn't like the star player, and one of the best centers in all of the NBA, DeMarcus Cousins. Their owner is out of his mind, going so far as to suggest playing 4 on 5 defense so they'll always be running fast breaks because it worked for his child's little league basketball team. And players can't wait to get out of there. They did sign Rajon Rondo, but he's not elite anymore, and he's a tough teammate. He's an extremely smart player and expects everyone on the court to be as smart as him. That's not happening, a lot of his new teammates are really athletic, and that's how they play the game, they use their athleticism. They drafted Wille Cauley-Stein number seven overall. That's way too high for a guy that only plays defense. He has no offensive ability. Ben McLemore and Rudy Gay are fine players, but not thriving within this offense. They also have Darren Collison, but what are they doing with two starting point guards. You can't play them at the same time, that won't work. They also signed Seth Curry, Steph's little brother, but he may have just been a summer league star. Who knows. The rest of the roster is not good, but not terrible. All this being said, they do have Boogie Cousins. He's a legitimate MVP candidate, and if he get his head on straight, who knows what this team's ceiling is. Unfortunately, I don't think that's happening with this team, especially after all the offseason drama. The Kings are going to win in the mid thirties once again.

How the Kings will win it all.

The Kings will win the title if Cousins becomes the newer, younger , better version of Shaq. It's possible people. They also need McLemore to continue to get better and for Rudy Gay to become a veteran leader. Cauley-Stein would have to become a double digit scorer, not happening, he's so bad at offense and Rajon Rondo somehow, some way returns to his Celtic days. That's a tall, tall order. Cousins is so good, but this team isn't ready to make the leap, especially in the West. It's just too tough. But, things can get better in Sacramento, Boogie Cousins just has to be the dominant force that he's capable of being.

There you have it, teams 24, 23 and 22. Come back tomorrow for 21, 20, 19. We are starting to get to the better teams in the NBA.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He doubled up his dependents today and all wish him the best. I said he could take a break, but NBA rankings keep him sane. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.