15. Portland Trail Blazers
The success of this entire season for the Blazers depends on three factors. Portland recently hired Micah Nori as their new head coach. He has a lot of talent to work with on this roster. How he puts the team together and utilizes that talent will define how the Blazers develop in 2026-2027.
Then, there's Damien Lillard. He missed all last season due to injury, and no one knows how well he'll be playing when he returns. Complicating that is the Blazers' new point guard, Ja Morant. Portland is hoping a change in scenery will settle him and that he and Lillard will be able to work together.
Yes, everything could go really wrong for the Blazers this season. But if everything goes right, the Western Conference could be looking at a very dangerous team. Give them a season to figure things out, and this iteration of the Portland Trail Blazers will light everyone else up.
14. Charlotte Hornets
Did you get the feeling that the Hornets were looking for any opportunity to get rid of LaMelo Ball? It was barely confirmed he was on the market before they shipped him off to Minneapolis. Still, it was probably the right call, despite the great back half of the 2025-2026 season Charlotte had.
Ball's injury issues have long held the Hornets back from making any real progress in the East. Just because he was finally healthy for a few consecutive weeks doesn't mean the franchise needs him. They've been building a rockstar team while he was on the bench that can succeed without LaMelo.
The new Hornets will be built around Kon Knueppel, Brandon Miller, and Coby White. They also have several other young guns, including a pair of rookies, who can be developed into a dangerous crew. Losing Ball isn't so much a setback as it is an opportunity to move forward unencumbered.
13. Minnesota Timberwolves
Being a Wolves fan cannot be easy. Minnesota always seems on the verge of breaking through in the Western Conference, then they shoot themselves in the foot. A prime example of that was trading Karl-Anthony Towns for Julius Randle a couple of years ago. It didn't work out well for the Wolves.
This offseason, the Timberwolves addressed their point guard issues by bringing in LaMelo Ball. He is a talented basketball player and great at the one. That's only true when he's healthy, and Ball is injured a lot. If he stays healthy for an extended period of time, he could be a game-changer.
The Wolves also finally moved on from Randle, which is good. They also traded Naz Reid, which is bad. Really bad. Reid is a key big man and a former Sixth Man of the Year. Plus, he's a fan favorite in Minneapolis. Anthony Edwards will get this team into the playoffs, but even he is getting frustrated.
Add us as a preferred source on Google