Ranking NBA teams by tiers for the 2017-18 season

The Fun-But-Not-To-Be-Taken-Seriouslys: Minnesota Timberwolves, Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Clippers

You could probably throw the Sixers in this category if their injury history wasn’t so worrisome, but suffice it to say the Minnesota Timberwolves, Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Clippers are three of the NBA’s more intriguing teams heading into 2017-18 — even if they’re not legitimate threats just yet.

The T-Wolves are a popular pick for that fourth or fifth seed in the West, but don’t forget we were high on Tom Thibodeau’s squad last year too. Jimmy Butler, Jeff Teague, Taj Gibson and Jamal Crawford obviously make them a safe bet to make the playoffs, but it’ll take another year or two before we can start buying into them as legitimate contenders.

The same goes for the Bucks, who are basically a more proven version of the Wolves out East. Giannis Antetokounmpo might own the league within the next year or two, but for now, we need to see Khris Middleton and Jabari Parker stay healthy before we start putting them in the same tier as Toronto or Washington.

Finally, there’s the Clippers, who could very well fall out of playoff contention if Blake Griffin gets hurt. But even with Patrick Beverley and Milos Teodosic on board, the prospect of Griffin playing point forward, plus new arrivals like Danilo Gallinari and Lou Williams, makes for an intriguing squad. They’ll shoot a ton of free throws, but they might be better than people think.