Grading the NBA Offseason: Pacific Division

Title says it all. I’m grading and predicting the moves that each team made during this NBA off-season, and predicting how they perform. Today we cover the Pacific Division.
Los Angeles Lakers: A
Prediction: 50 wins
He did it. He actually did it. Everyone saw this coming about 4 years ago, but Lebron James is finally a Los Angeles Laker. The Lakers are officially a playoff team, and I personally can’t wait to see what they’re going to do this year. Rondo, McGee, Stephenson and Beasley are all solid pickups and are going to do a great job at supporting Lonzo, Ingram and the rest of this young squad. Rondo in particular is going to challenge Lonzo mentally, in a way that Lonzo hasn’t quite experienced yet. It will be interesting to see whether he flourishes or folds under Rondo’s “mentorship”. The only thing is dislike about this is that the Lakers were forced to give up Randle, who they’re probably going to miss. Randle was a great glue guy that gave the team some great energy, which makes me wonder how well the young blood on this team can perform without him. Whatever the case, this Lakers squad is definitely interesting and will most likely hit the Top 5 in the West simply on the sheer power of Lebron James.
Golden State Warriors: A+
Prediction: 67 wins
I still remember the night that Kevin Durant announced his decision to join the Warriors. I remember screaming, both in excitement and frustration. Excitement at the prospect of one of the best superteams in league history, and frustration at the fact that a 73 win team had just added an MVP scorer. There was no excitement or frustration this year. Just despair. Demarcus Cousins is now a Golden State Warrior. They now have their 3rd MVP level player at their former weakest position, on a single digit contract no less. Not much else has changed for the team, and I will be genuinely astonished to see them not win a championship this year.
Los Angeles Clippers: D
Prediction: 29 wins
This is a team in shambles. The Clippers are a team of half-decent players in a stacked conference that requires at least 2 All-Star level players to make the playoffs. Then again, maybe that’s what they were going for? This years Clippers roster is the remnants of Lob City crashing and burning, and they didn’t even manage to get anything in return for the loss of Deandre Jordan. Mbah a Moute is an okay pickup, but there’s no way he’s going to be their lord an savior. They’re smack in the middle of the NBA’s “red-zone”, where a team isn’t good enough to compete, but too good to start an effective rebuild process. Whatever the case, it’s going to take several seasons of coasting and a few brilliant managerial moves before the Clippers can create a new identity for themselves.
Sacramento Kings: C+
Prediction: 35 wins
There were times when the Sacramento Kings were genuinely exciting to watch last season. Even more so than when they had Rondo and Cousins playing together. The Kings main move this off-season was the selection of Marvin Bagley III with the 2nd pick in the NBA draft. I really love Bagley, and his strong offense and crazy athleticism gives them a much needed spark at the 4 and 5 positions. How they do this year largely depends on him and their other young players. Fox and Bogdanovic had stellar debuts last season, and hopefully they can capitalize on that this year. Even Willie Cauley-Stein has being coming into his own after a rocky first 2 seasons. Overall, the Kings are taking steps in the right direction and I’m excited to see what they’ll do.
Phoenix Suns: B
Prediction: 31 wins
The Suns are a member of a handful of teams that I believe have no chance of winning the championship in the next 10 years. Why? Because history indicates that the Suns management is purely money minded. That being said, they made some interesting moves this year. First off, locking up Devin Booker on a long term deal was a phenomenal move. Now they can truly commit to rebuilding around him. They got rid of a lot of deadweight pieces too, namely Tyler Ulis, Marquese Chriss, and Brandon Knight, while adding De’Anthony Melton and Trevor Ariza. Ariza should hopefully give the Suns some energy on defense that they sorely lacked last season. Lastly, they made the perfect draft pick for them in DeAndre Ayton. Ayton can be their 2nd scoring option after Booker, and also a solid defensive presence in the paint. They’re still on the search for their point guard of the future, but the Suns are markedly better than they were last year. Whether they’re actually good remains to be seen.
And those are my takes on the Pacific Division, I hope you enjoyed it! I’ll do one of the Eastern Conference divisions tomorrow.