The NBA score: The race to be the league's worst team is on

COLUMN   Get in touch with James Benge on Twitter with your NBA questions and predictions, or use the hashtag #theNBAscore 
James Benge19 October 2017

In the era of super teams in the West and LeBron James in the East, many aNBA franchise would be entitled to ask whether there is any point in trying to win this season. Why spend millions chasing glory only to get beaten down by talent that is almost impossible to match.

Whilst Oklahoma City, Houston and Boston have risen to the challenge posed by the Golden State-Cleveland duopoly as many teams have opted to wait out the storm, stocking the cupboards for tomorrow not today.

Tanking is no new concept in the NBA, where the best hope of acquiring a once-in-a-generation talent remains the draft. Whilst the league this summer agreed to reform they hope will deincentivize a race to the bottom there are still a host of teams whose best chance of winning starts with losing.

From venerable franchises to those who just can’t catch a break Standard Sport examines the teams who’ll be battling it out at the bottom of the pile…

Atlanta Hawks

Only two years ago Atlanta were topping the Eastern Conference, winning 17 of 17 in January and sending four players to the All Star Game. That quartet are all long gone with little quality to replace them.

Taurean Prince could be a useful role player in future and Dennis Schroeder is an adequate NBA point guard. But even he admits that another summer of squad overhaul, in which starters Dwight Howard, Paul Milsap and Tim Hardaway Jr. have left, has left the Hawks looking for more from him.

“I spoke to the coach and yeah we traded Dwight, that was the first thing and Paul Milsap and Tim Hardaway,” Schroeder says. “It’s tough you know, I love them, they’re like my brothers but that’s the business.

This week's live NBA Sunday game at 8:30pm will pit the Hawks against the Nets
NBA

“I talked to coach Budenholzer and we want to develop the team and want the young guys to improve and step up and want me to go the right way and try to improve.

“I think now is the perfect timing to do all that, I’ve got a couple of years ahead of me where I can really develop and take my game to the next level and I’m looking forward to it.”

He may as well focus on his own development – because the prospects of Atlanta extending its 10-year streak of reaching the playoffs are slim indeed.

Prediction: 14th in the Eastern Conference

Brooklyn Nets

Brooklyn's marquee off-season addition, D'Angelo Russell
Getty Images

If Atlanta’s rebuild was a deliberate response to the sense they could not win a championship in the era of LeBron James and the Warriors, Brooklyn’s own upheaval came from dreams of building their own NBA dynasty.

In 2013 the Nets traded for Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce as they looked to swiftly establish themselves as title contenders. It has gone down as one of the worst deals in NBA history, fast-tracking the Boston Celtics’ to title contention whilst leaving the Brooklyn cupboard bare.

They still don’t own their first round pick for this season – which went to Cleveland as part of the deal that took Kyrie Irving to Boston – but through intelligent manipulation of the trade market have at least rustled together an energetic young core with a point to prove, led by second pick in the 2015 NBA draft D’Angelo Russell.

Without the lure of a top pick there is nothing pressuring Nets management to engage in any late season chicanery but the limited talent pool may not be enough to put them in playoff contention – especially in light of a season-ending injury to Jeremy Lin.

Prediction: 12th in the Eastern Conference

Chicago Bulls

Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg faces a trying season
Getty Images

After years of scratching around looking to find any way of returning to the three-peats era the Bulls have finally whacked their title hopes into the long grass. Not a team that has traditionally embraced, they have no choice this time.

Star player Jimmy Butler was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves for a paltry return headlined by the inconsistent Zach LaVine. He’s injured, as is forward Nikola Mirotic, who suffered broken facial bones reportedly due to a fight in practice with team-mate Bobby Portis. Meanwhile Dwyane Wade was paid $16million to terminate his contract a year early.

Their summer of upheaval has left them with a roster devoid of building blocks for the future though at least without a string of expensive contracts that can hold back a franchise. Still, Marvin Bagley III cannot come soon enough.

Prediction: 15th in the Eastern Conference

Los Angeles Lakers

All eyes will be on Lonzo Ball this season
Getty Images

Perhaps the most iconic organisation in basketball but a city that adores its superstars has no-one ready to take on the mantle from Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant. At least not just yet.

Assist-king Lonzo Ball has generated more hype than any rookie in a generation, at least partly due to his outspoken father LaVar. He has already earned a Summer League MVP and the admiration of LeBron James.

That might all be part of the Lakers’ plans, though it’s hard to understand how LeBron can really be persuaded to join the West and do battle against the Warriors with a cavalcade of youngsters. Still LA are keeping their options open and stand to be major players in free agency next summer, when deals for Brook Lopez and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope come off the books.

Prediction: 14th in the Western Conference

Phoenix Suns

It’s hard not to feel sorry for the Phoenix Suns, who have learned to their cost over recent years that there is no worse place to find yourself than ninth and 10th in the West. In 2013-14 they went 48-34 yet managed to miss the playoffs as part of a seven year post-season drought.

NBA in London

If rebuilding teams are looking for a template they might consider both the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics. The Process in Philly brought them a host of top talent, including the potentially transcendent Joel Embiid, whilst the Garnett-Pierce trade brought the Cs the best asset collection in the NBA.

Two of this season's most intriguing prospects will be facing off in London on January 11, with tickets on sale on October 20 at 9am. Visit theo2.co.uk/nba2018 to get yours.

That has handed them a few intriguing young pieces, most notably Devin Booker and Josh Jackson, but they continually struggle to convince star free agents to head to Arizona. Indeed the Suns’ best player, point guard Eric Bledsoe, is likely to spend most of the season at the heart of the rumour mill.

Should he depart the Suns will at least have an even clearer route to the bottom of the West, and with it perhaps a top pick.

Prediction: 15th in the Western Conference

New York Knicks

The hopes of a basketball mad city are on Kristaps Porzingis
Getty Images

New York and Madison Square Garden ought to be the Mecca of basketball. But owner James Dolan has created a franchise that top free agents avoid like the plague. Since 2001 the Knicks have won one playoff series, going through 12 head coaches without finding the winning elixir.

In 2011 they gave up a king’s ransom for Carmelo Anthony a few months before they could have signed him as a free agent. Six years later team president Phil Jackson, the man who gave him a no-trade clause, was trying to force him out.

Both Anthony and Jackson are gone, with Latvian forward Kristaps Porzingis now at the reigns of an iconic franchise that hasn’t won a championship since 1973. His relationship with the hierarchy is already so cool that he skipped an exit interview last season. He might be entitled to have further questioned the $71million, four-year deal they gave to Hardaway Jr, which added to expensive deals for flops such Joakim Noah and Courtney Lee has the Knicks capped out for years to come.

Prediction: 13th in the Eastern Conference

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in