There were no shortage of teams that made big moves in an effort to improve this offseason but the squad that improved its standing the most is Tom Thibodeau‘s Timberwolves, an ESPN report says.
The worldwide leader in sports put the Wolves well ahead of the second-place Sixers who edged out the Nuggets. Also on ESPN’s list were the Bucks, Thunder and Lakers.
It’s hard to disagree with the fact that the Timberwolves took the top honors, the impact that Jimmy Butler will have is almost indisputable.
The Sixers and Nuggets, too, will welcome big names to their lineup, Philly’s of course coming via the past two drafts and Denver’s in the form of free agent Paul Millsap.
There’s more from around the NBA:
- Turmoil in the locker room could cost the Cavaliers big time, an ESPN report states. The Cavs are considered the team most likely to be adversely affected by off-court moves and issues in 2017/18, ahead of the Knicks, Pelicans, Clippers, Bulls and Rockets.
- A number of stars will suit up for new squads this season but the biggest addition of the offseason has been Houston’s landmark acquisition of Chris Paul. An ESPN report breaks down why the Rockets fared so well this offseason.
- An ESPN report suggests that the Hornets‘ decision to acquire Dwight Howard may not bear fruit. Due to concerns about his fit in the modern era, he’s the most likely candidate to be the least effective individual to have changed addresses this summer.
I disagree with ESPN. Charlotte has plenty of guys who can shoot and don’t need Dwight to be their go to option on offense. He’ll primarily be expected to grab boards and protect the rim. I think he’ll likely average a double double of 12-12 and 2 blocks.
I don’t know. Assuming MKG is healthy he will be a starter most likely given his defense, athletiscm, and still having potential. Batum took a big step back last year as a shooter and player overall and Marvin Williams will being a stretch four isn’t “knock down”. So Kemba is your only good consistent shooter In the starting lineup
Cavs will be fine because of LeBron. Whenever he isn’t on the court the organization crumbles. Lets hope he can stay healthy
The fact is kyrie wasn’t able to hold it down last year. Cavs outplayed the warriors when lebron was out there so as great as kyrie is, bringing in other pieces isn’t the worst thing ever. I’m just not seeing the right fit out there yet
They could have tried running plays when James came out, but that did not seem to be Lue’s choice of plans.
Isn’t ESPN just one reporter and a couple of interns right now?
lol it’s literally Woj, Shelburne, and Windhorst. So yeah you are right.
Espn chose to contrast “improved” with “turmoil” instead of ‘declined’, so their panel of experts could be forgiven for placing the Cavs first in turmoil. But so what?– they are still Eastern favorites. Their roster is actually improved (so far).
Meanwhile Utah lost their second and third best players with only Rubio coming in, and while one does not associate the Jazz with turmoil, they may not be happy with events. Utah got one vote from 44 ballots of 3 teams each.
The Clips are well set up to run the blake-griffen-point-forward offense. Which is at least interesting, probably good, but I suspect expectations are lower.
Error. Utah signed Jerebko, Sefolosha, and Udoh from other teams. Gd though not the level of Hayward and Hill.
I’m pretty sure this got posted just to irritate you
Me? Ha… I would vote the same though, given how the question was posed.
Clippers are viable for Irving. A shutdown center and PG are there, and they have gaps in the offense and are still trying to win I think.