NBA Off-Season Power Rankings I

Off Season Power Rankings
Assuming we get a full NBA season. I'm an optimist.
Here are the likely lottery teams, with their 2010-2011 records.

30. TORONTO (22-60) - They lost Chris Bosh and got nothing for him. They had the third worst record last year. They overpaid for the services of Amir Johnson. Their first-round draft pick probably won't come over for a year or two, so for now their hopes rest in hoping Ed Davis shows significant improvement his sophomore year. I don't see any reason why they can expect to win more games next year than last year. If Jose Calderon and Andrea Bargnani are your two best players, you are a lottery team.

29. MINNESOTA (17-65) - They finally got rid of Kurt Rambis, but really, could any coach succeed under Kahn? We'll see. Ricky Rubio hasn't been impressive in Europe, so I doubt he's going to be the savior they hope he can be. But they do have a decent young core. Now if they can swing a decent trade involving Michael Beasley, they'll have Rubio, Wes Johnson, Derrick Williams and Kevin Love who can grow together.

28. CLEVELAND (19-63) - They still have some bloated veteran contracts (Antawn Jamison, Baron Davis) but there's reason to hope again in LeBron's old town. Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson should be a solid one-two injection of life and excitement. That'll fade by January when they're .333, but at least they'll feel like they're only a year away from the playoffs.

27. NEW JERSEY (24-58) - They have Deron Williams, one of the best point guards in the league. Then what? They might not get Kris Humphries back, they have Travis Outlaw stealing for them through 2014, they don't have a lot of tradeable assets, and unless they can land a big free agent this summer, D-Will will walk next year. Brook Lopez hasn't hit his ceiling, but one would hope he becomes a better rebounder.

26. DETROIT (30-52) - There is reason to hope now that Lawrence Frank is there. He should have more credibility with this squad, which openly revolted against their coach last year. Still, they're not going anywhere, and Rip Hamilton knows it. Between him, Ben Gordon and Charlie Villenueva, they're not getting their money's worth. But they do have Greg Monroe, they now have Brandan Knight to learn from and likely replace Rodney Stuckey, and if they can reboot with a big trade this season, more power to them. They need it.

25. WASHINGTON (23-59) - Jan Vesely's supposed to be a great dunker, but I'm not fully sold on this Euro. I still see John Wall trying to be the next Derrick Rose and trying to do too much. Hopefully they can keep Nick Young, and Andray Blatche and JaVale McGee continue to improve. They'll get what they can out of Rashard Lewis, and I do see them improving slightly over last year, but playoffs? No.

24. GOLDEN STATE (36-46) - I see them being a little worse this year. Why? Their new head coach has no coaching experience. Mark Jackson's a smart guy, but he's too big a question mark. Steph Curry, Monta Ellis and David Lee sounds like a solid enough group, and maybe Klay Thompson will live up to his hyped shooting ability, but where's the defense going to come from?

23. SACRAMENTO (24-58) - The Kings should be on national TV the first week. Maybe they are, I haven't looked, but the Jimmer has injected life into a great basketball city that hasn't had much reason to cheer lately. I hope they do well, and I hope they start selling out games again. I see the West as too tough for them to get back to the playoffs this year. I think they're going to regret taking back John Salmons. But just watching Jimmer, Tyreke and DeMarcus on the floor at the same time will be worth tuning in for whenever we get to see them.

22. CHARLOTTE (34-48) - By trading away Stephen Jackson, they went into reboot mode, and by drafting Kemba Walker, they're sending a signal to DJ Augustin. They overpaid for Tyrus Thomas and they still have some other undesirable contracts (why did Boris Diaw making so much again?), and this is a franchise that has a history of underperforming.

21. L.A. CLIPPERS (32-50) - Yes, Blake Griffin is awesome, but they're the Clippers. Maybe a full year of having Mo Williams and Eric Gordon on the perimeter will give Blake more space. Maybe they'll make a valuable trade for Chris Kaman. Has to hurt they lost out on Kyrie Irving just to get rid of Baron Davis.

20. MILWAUKEE (35-47) - I think they got the better deal in the Sacramento trade, but it's up in the air if a full season of Brandon Jennings, Stephen Jackson and Andrew Bogut will get you back in the playoffs.

19. PHOENIX (40-42) - Jason Richardson, Grant Hill and Vince Carter are gone, and Steve Nash has one more year, but really this team is going nowhere. Josh Childress was a disappointment. Aaron Brooks, Marcin Gortat and Robin Lopez are good pieces, but this franchise needs a good free agent signing to have a prayer at the playoffs. And even then they'd be an easy first-round exit. They traded several draft picks over the years so saving money and now they're paying for not growing their own stars. It's also curious they went with Markieff Morris when Marcus Morris and Kawhi Leonard were still available.

18. NEW ORLEANS (46-36) - I put them here because the Sword of Damocles is going to hang over them all season. They probably won't get David West back and if he doesn't get injured, they'll probably trade Chris Paul. I therefore see this team imploding.

17. UTAH (39-43) - Sure they would have made the playoffs if they were in the East, but 1.) they're not, and 2.) they had a winning record before Jerry Sloan retired and Deron Williams was traded. The team fell apart a bit there in the end. Now this season they hope Devin Harris stays healthy, and their lottery-pick rookies (Enes Kanter, Alec Burks) and sophomores (Derrick Favors, Gordon Hayward) pan out. Free agents Andrei Kirilenko, Kyrylo Fesenko and Francisco Elson won't be back, but they still have a logjam of big men with Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap and Mehmet Okur there. They might do a medical buyout of Okur, or more likely, use him as trade bait. Power forwards Millsap and Jeremy Evans will try some time at the 3 spot, but this will CJ Miles make-or-break year to prove he's a starter. With Miles and Raja Bell playing erratically on offense, they could really use another shooter. Plenty of questions surround this team. Do they trade Jefferson or Millsap as well to get Favors and Kanter more minutes? Can Corbin coach with an offseason under this belt? How will team chemistry be? My bet is they end up around 44-38 and miss the playoffs.