Top 5 teams for Next 5 Years?

1. thunder- westbrook/durantula are just entering their primes, will be a force year in and year out

2. bulls- derrick rose is becoming the best pg in the game…with a solid core of boozer, noah, deng all still young

3. heat- bron n dwyane…nuff said

4. knicks- with a solid core of amare and melo, i believe they will continue to add pieces to build a perenial contender

5. harder decision here than i expected…ima go out on a limb and say dallas…dirk seems to still be in his prime and cubes always finds ways to keep the roster full of firepower (honorable mention- sixers, blazers, nuggets)

Memphis

– Really young and making a playoff run. Imagine what they could do with Rudy Gay.

Washington

– John Wall, Jordan Crawford, Nick Young, Andray Blatche, Javale McGee

Sacramento

– New rejuvenated fan base, can tyreke get healthy? can thorton be a 20 ppg scorer? how good can Demarcus Cousins get? Dont forget about Garcia, Udrih, Greene, Casspi, Thompsen, and Whiteside.

Minnisota

– If Rubio comes and they land a high draft pick this year the team is already stacked with potential (K-Love, Beasley, Randolph) could be exciting.

Clippers (Of course)

– Just easily the most exciting young core group of players out there right now. Soooo much potential. But all I really needed to say was Blake Griffin.

Knicks

– Never know what theyre going to do in the free agency/have money to sign a third superstar (Chris Paul?)

Nets

– Kind of a wild card with the move to Brooklyn and with Prokorov and Jay-Z at the helm. D-Will makes a strong case for any team.

 I thought we were talking about what teams were looking forward to seeing in the next 5 years lol. 

The clippers should become a great team pretty soon. Eric Gordon made a huge jump this year going from 16 ppg to about 24 ppg. They also have potentially one of the best interior defenders in the league in Deandre Jordan, paired with Blake Griffin. Not to Mention these 3 are all 22 years old. I expect big things from the Clips in the near future.

 Thunder

• Young team, they have a top three player and Presti is a great GM
• One thing though, Westbrook needs to learn how to defer to Durant 

Heat

• Say what you will about Lebron, he’s the best player in the league and dwyane wade is arguably the second best. They will only get better as they play more

Chicago

• Young team that is built around one of the best players in the league, they play defense, and they’ve got a great coach

Knicks

• They are going to have Carmelo in his prime for the next five years plus who knows maybe they go after cp3.
• Although Amare’s knees worry me for the next five years plus he came straight from high school so he has more mileage on them.
• One more thing, in my opinion they should get rid of D’Antoni. Melo doesn’t seem like the kind of player that fits into his system   

Memphis

• These guys have been the real deal these playoffs, plus they have pieces for the future.
• The inside combo of Gasol and Randolph is great, and they should play effectively for another five years
• Although Randolph is 29, he has the kind of game that will let him age well

1.   Heat: LeBron is figuring it out.  Wade is peaking.  Bosh is finding his role.  Their defense is very good.  James Jones looks like a good weapon off the bench.  Joel Anthony is a decent enforcer for the future.

2.    Bulls: Rose is great, great defense, good team play.  I like Deng as an underrated scorer.  Noah brings a lot of energy.  Gibson is good, Boozer could be better but it looks like they will be battling the Heat for the next 5 years in the East.  They might be able to move Boozer to get some better pieces, but when you have the MVP of the league (and the MJ of point guards) and a great, young defensive center to build around I like your chances.

3.  Oklahoma City Thunder:  Durant is a beast.  I had him as the 6th best player in the league in a year when there were a lot of great players and a lot of those guys who are either in their prime (Dirk, Wade, Amare, Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, Chris Paul), or still getting better (Rose, Howard, LeBron, Durant, Westbrook, Rondo, Aldridge, Griffin, Love), or just past their peak but still very effective (Kobe, Manu).  The Thunder have a great 1-2 punch in Durant and Westbrook.  Ibaka and Harden are great young building blocks.

4.  Memphis:  Will be very deep with Rudy Gay next year if they all come back.  Gay, Gasol, and Z Bo will be a great front line for the next five years.

5.  Sacramento:  Tyreke and Cousins are very young and very talented.  If they figure it out, watch out.  Thornton is promising.  They should get a good player in the draft.  They arguably got two of the most talented players in the last 2 years (along with Blake and Wall).  Could turn into the West’s sleeper team for the next 5 years. 

Golden State has two great guards in Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry who can score with anybody.  David Lee battled injuries all year but he is very talented and a great rebounder.  If they get a good player in the draft then this team can contend soon.  Udoh, Amundson, and Dorrell Wright look like good role players.  They probably need one more guy and some toughness and they can be a team of the future.

Heat, Bulls, Thunder, Grizzlies, Blazers, Clips, Knicks, Nuggets.

Clips need to spend money to be a top team, if they go cheap I bet Blake Griffin leaves in 4 years.

The Blazers need Oden to be healthy and upgrade the PG position, outside of that the team is stacked.

Knicks will need a PG and Center, Billups is getting old.  Upgrading the bench is key too.

Heat are already there and I’m sure they’ll add some better bench players and a Center.

Thunder seem to be there already too need more experience.

Grizzlies need to keep Gasol and they should be fine esp. with Rudy Gay..

Denver if they add a star player and if Mozgov turns into a legit Center.

Bulls too though I to be a truely elite contender every year they’ll need to upgrade the SG position, but

Rose being unstoppable and the tough defense are a great start.

Wow, this is really tough to pick just 5. If you say who will be the best over the next five years then Thunder, Heat, Knicks, Bulls and Memphis are all good choices.

But if you think about who will have the best team 5 years down the track, well that’s a very tough question to answer, look at all the young teams with ridiculous potential;

Sacramento, Minnesota, Toronto (DeRozan is a beast), Clippers, Wizards, Pacers and probably the Cavaliers with the number of high draft picks they are going to have in the next couple of years. And that isn’t even counting the Thunder or Bulls, who will be hitting their primes in 5 years.

I should add that Lebron might just win 6 titles in 6 years, but those last couple are going to be sorely contested, and there’s no way he gets 7 or 8, with a 35 and 36 year old Wade when there are all these great young teams who will be hitting their stride.

If Miami gets 3 titles then I think they will be doing well.  Wade will be 30 next year, and it looks like there will be a lot of parity in the league soon.  Wade is gonna be 30 next year, and LeBron has a lot of mileage.  He may be young but he has been playing a lot of years.  But 3 titles would be pretty good.  Even an incredible Shaq and Kobe (with a better supporting cast of Fisher, Horry, Fox along with Horace Grant, Ron Harper, Devean George on many of those teams) could only win 3 titles. 

In the next 5 or 6 years, I can see the Heat winning a couple, Chicago winning one, OKC winning one, and Memphis winning one. 

If Miami wins 3 titles and goes to 4 or 5 finals then that would be a huge success.  Also remember that when Jordan started winning rings he was 27 and Pip was younger, as was Horace Grant.  So MJ and Pip had an earlier start than LeBron/Wade.  I think that Wade is peaking this year, and I wouldn’t be shocked if LeBron peaks in the next two years.  Not sure if they will age as well as Jordan and Pippen. 

LA Lakers will still be a pest, especially if they figure out that Andrew Bynum should be their go to guy and that Lamar Odom is their most important player.  Pau should bounce back, and Kobe is still better than most NBA players.  That’s a really good Big Four.  They could still wing a ring or two in the next few years.

Look, if the heat can stop being pretty boys and trying to be in the media all the time and control their egos, they CAN win 65 games. They need Haslem to be the leader they have been missing all season. 

Look, if the heat can stop being pretty boys and trying to be in the media all the time and control their egos, they CAN win 65 games. They need Haslem to be the leader they have been missing all season. 

If the Heat dont win a title that prettyboy, mediaman swag sh!t will get real old real fast. NBA will find a next hot topic, something more interesting.

 hahahaha why all the negative points i thought my 5 was solid….where is the love

1. Miami Heat- Cmon now. They have 6 years of Wade, James, and Bosh. They should get 2 rings minimum, maybe 3. They will be up there every year.

2. Oklahoma City Thunder- Durant is locked up, they will resign Westbrook, and that is a crazy 1-2 punch. Ibaka, Perkins, and Harden are nice building blocks as well, and they still have some cap wiggle room, young guys who can develop, and draft picks IIRC. They can easily become a title contender if they aren’t one already.

3. Chicago- Might win it all this year. Rose isn’t going anywhere, Boozer is locked up, and will see if they find the money to keep Deng and Noah. They are cutting it a little close on the cap once they resign Rose for max money. This is one team that might be very affected by the new CBA because unlike Miami, they haven’t got all their pieces locked up long term before the new cap is set.

4. Lakers- They are getting old, but have unbelievable assets and If anybody knows how to pull the plug and get value for a guy its Mitch Kupchak. They need some young talent, I think Pau is on the trading block, and probably Bynum too if they can get Dwight. So they have assets, Kobe will still be a very good player for at least 3 more years, probably more, and they always have first dibs on elite free agents. Only question is how long it takes to rebuild, but I would think that they can do it on the fly with the pieces they have.

5. NY Knicks- They need to round out the supporting cast and get a new coach, but the pieces are in place and locked up for a good while. Chauncey Billups will be a coveted trade chip next year as an Expiring, and they should have a good shot at some elite players in coming free agencies. Fields and Douglas are very good, cheap, young role players, and Amare and Melo are two of the top 10 scorers in the league.

Memphis should be good, but I think that Gasol is playing himself into a contract the Grizzlies won’t be able to match and I dont feel like Memphis is the kind of place a guy would take less money to stay at. I dont see how with Rudy gettin his, Conley getting astronomical money, Randolph just re-upping, the Grizzlies could match a 5 year 80 million type deal I think somebody is going to give Gasol. Atlanta should be good as well.

I agree this is tougher than it looks but I’m going:

Heat- Lebron best player in the NBA, Wade 2nd best in the NBA, Bosh hopefully will pick it up

Thunder- Durant and Westbrook have improved every year, and so has their record, they will be a force, Ibaka, Harden are coming along, and Kendrick Perkins just makes things even better.

Grizz- Team full of young talent, showing they are a good team without Rudy Gay, hopefully they can keep Mayo around, because he is a young talent to and will only help them in the future.

Chicago- Kind of a risky pick, YES Derrick Rose is the truth no denying that, but they need a shooting guard, Boozer not getting any younger, Deng isn’t getting any younger, and there bench players are Kyle Korver and CJ Watson, they are going to need new players soon. BUT with Rose anything is possible, long as he gets help I think they will be straight.

Wildcard. Clippers- They have always had alot of young talent and it never seems to work out, but I think this group is different, Griffin is a beast, Gordon is a beast, Deandre Jordan has alot of upside and had some good moments this year, and Eric Bledsoe proved alot of doubters wrong saying he wasn’t ready for the NBA. If they can keep all these guys around they will be a very good team.

Heat- Lebron best player in the NBA, Wade 2nd best in the NBA, Bosh hopefully will pick it up

"Thunder- Durant and Westbrook have improved every year, and so has their record, they will be a force, Ibaka, Harden are coming along, and Kendrick Perkins just makes things even better."

Kendrick Perkins has stunk this playoffs and really has regressed the past few seasons. Quit listening to the Boston-based media who are still celebrating the 2008 championship.

"Grizz- Team full of young talent, showing they are a good team without Rudy Gay, hopefully they can keep Mayo around, because he is a young talent to and will only help them in the future."

If they keep Marc Gasol to go with Randolph and Conley, then economic reality means they are going to need to sell off either Rudy or Mayo.

"Chicago- Kind of a risky pick, YES Derrick Rose is the truth no denying that, but they need a shooting guard, Boozer not getting any younger, Deng isn’t getting any younger, and there bench players are Kyle Korver and CJ Watson, they are going to need new players soon. BUT with Rose anything is possible, long as he gets help I think they will be straight."

Boozer is 29 and Deng is 26. The bench also possesses Ronnie Brewer and Taj Gibson for a few years and will be able to bring back Kurt Thomas to protect them from needing Omer Asik to matter. The Bulls also have two first rounds (their own and Miami’s) this summer and next (their own and Charlotte’s lottery protected first).

"Wildcard. Clippers- They have always had alot of young talent and it never seems to work out, but I think this group is different, Griffin is a beast, Gordon is a beast, Deandre Jordan has alot of upside and had some good moments this year, and Eric Bledsoe proved alot of doubters wrong saying he wasn’t ready for the NBA. If they can keep all these guys around they will be a very good team."

Gordon is not a beast. He is a shooter on a team that allows him to take a lot of shots. If that team had two studs, they wouldn’t have lost 50 games. Jordan is a big body that blocks a few shots and throws down a few dunks, but does nothing to help the team win games. Bledsoe was a turnover machine at the point, if anything he proved doubters to be right about his readiness.

First of NOTE the thread said 5 YEARS

So your telling me Perkins joining the Thunder hasn’t helped? Ibaka and Perkins has shut DOWN the paint every playoff game besides what One? them two are monsters in the paint.

And if your gonna bash Perkins lol you better Bash Boozer cause he sucks right now, and be foreal Kurt Thomas is another Juwan Howard, just looking for a team that can probably give him a ring, he wont be around much longer and Boozer and Deng will both be in their 30’s

Gordon is a good SG and will only get better..NOTE the thread said 5 years buddy, make sure you read the caption before you talk.

DeAndre Jordan? Who knows how he will turn out he is athletic as hell and him and Blake compliment each other well, 5 years he could be a beast, or he could be the same player who knows?

And Bledsoe yes he did turn the ball over but do you not remember he went on a stretch so good that he was tied for third in rookie rankings at one point?

5 YEARS buddy, 5 years, over a span of 5 years, meaning they might suck again next year but who knows what will happen in 2013? or 2014?

Those two haven’t shut down the paint. Ibaka blocks a few shots, but that was largely because Denver had a parade to the hoop in the first round. Those two aren’t altering behavior because more often than not it still works to attack it. The reason the Thunder advanced was that there was no answer for Durant. The Grizzlies have been pounding the post so far. 

Boozer is hurt, am I supposed to believe he is going to be hurt for all the next five years? Kendrick Perkins has regressed for three years now. That is more than a single injury.

I know it read five years, and I know it when I write it that Eric Gordon is nothing special. Shooters who get shots on bad teams are a dime-a-dozen. I also know that DeAndre Jordan has been in the league for three years and the only difference in his game is that now he is three years older and the power forward next to him is better. Bledsoe had a good stretch, which really means nothing. There are about 350 of the 450 NBA players in the league who have had at least a good stretch of games. For the good players, any stretch is not anything worth noting.

Are you serious lol so Zach Randolp went 2-13 and Gasol was 3-9, and this was after both of them had terrific games in game 1……. Ibaka and Perkins didn’t affect them right? you sound crazy if you don’t think they control the paint.

Boozer ain’t on nothing right now, maybe he will prove me wrong.

And Gordon is young, Jordan is young and Bledsoe is young. Who knows what they will be like in 5 years, I think they will be good for the clippers and thats why I said they were a wildcard, if they pan out they will be a good team.

 1. Chicago: Well coached, have a dominant pg and their defense is elite despite not having great individual defenders.  They may be the best defensive team in the league for the next 5 years, and Rose will ensure that their offense is at least average. 

2. Miami: Too many playmakers, and they play great defense as well.

3. Oklahoma City: Two great scorers, an elite post defender, a great rim protector.  They are a young team with an enormous amount of growing room.  

4. Clippers: Risky pick due to their mismanagement, but the Gordon-Griffin combo will be the best 2-4 combo for the next 5 years.  They have a probable high lottery pick in 2012, a big athletic center with good potential, and a promising young pg.  They have a chance to make jumps in wins in each of the next 2 years. 

5. New Jersey: They have an elite pg and a top scoring center for the next 5 years.  I know everybody kills Lopez for his rebounding, but one of the Nets biggest "strengths" is rebounding.  Lopez also rebounded better in the past and dealt with some adversity this year so he could improve, but I digress.  The Nets have deep pockets, cap space and some good building blocks.  They could make noise in the not to distant future.  Both the Nets and the Clippers could take a few years to reach a high level, however.

"Are you serious lol so Zach Randolp went 2-13 and Gasol was 3-9, and this was after both of them had terrific games in game 1……. Ibaka and Perkins didn’t affect them right? you sound crazy if you don’t think they control the paint."

Those 11 free throws Randolph and 7 free throws Gasol put in count as points too. They don’t count with the 34 points the Grizzlies had in the paint in Game 2, but they do count in the overall scorebook.

Overtime for Memphis- Layup, layup, free throws, put back, free throws, free throws… more of that great controlling of the paint on the part of OKC?