Minnesota Sports Forum

It seems like every year we lament how teams we are competing with have improved in the off season. i realize the off season isn't over yet with some moves awaiting The Decision part deux, but as things stand now, what west teams look to be much better next season. Dane and Jace discussed this topic and could only come up with one team that should be much better...the Jazz. I agree they will be greatly improved with some good players coming back from "injuries" and the addition of Peterson. But they have so far to go still to become a playoff team...Danny Ainge should be tarred and feathered in SLC for the horrible results of his trades. The Jazz won 10 more games in Rudy's last season with them than they have the past two seasons combined!

The only other team I think should be much improved next season should be the Mavs with Irving coming back and an emerging star in Flagg. But the Wolves also have to enter into the conversation if they somehow land James.

Boy, even if the LeDrama doesn’t come here, I think the Wolves are much improved. Subtraction of moody Julius is a plus (both for his moodiness and for increased opportunities for Jaden and Shannon), addition of Ball is a historic plus, Green helps mitigate the loss of Dante. Top 3 offense, top 12 defense.

Sundog wrote: ↑Wed Jul 08, 2026 3:48 pm Boy, even if the LeDrama doesn’t come here, I think the Wolves are much improved. Subtraction of moody Julius is a plus (both for his moodiness and for increased opportunities for Jaden and Shannon), addition of Ball is a historic plus, Green helps mitigate the loss of Dante. Top 3 offense, top 12 defense.

A lot of me wants to believe what you're saying, sundog, and let's hope we're better...even without LeBron. But then I look at what we've lost from the end of last season compared to what we've gained, and I'm not so sure. Gone are our starting PF who led the team in assists, was second in PPG, and second in rebounds; our starting PG/SG who led the team in on/off during the regular season by a wide margin (and also in the playoffs in limited minutes); and our perennial SMOY candidate. Together they produced 47 PPG, 17RPG and 12 APG! And we've replaced them with Ball and Lyles. I get the addition by subtraction argument...I think we saw it in Atlanta last year with Young and Memphis with Ja. But that's a lot of lost production we're hoping to replace. All that said, I love the Ball trade, and am betting that the way he unlocks Ant, Jaden and Rudy indeed might make us better than last year. And if we land LeBron, there's no question in my mind that we will be better!

How about the rest of the West though. Who else might be improved?

FNG wrote: ↑Wed Jul 08, 2026 5:51 pm

Sundog wrote: ↑Wed Jul 08, 2026 3:48 pm Boy, even if the LeDrama doesn’t come here, I think the Wolves are much improved. Subtraction of moody Julius is a plus (both for his moodiness and for increased opportunities for Jaden and Shannon), addition of Ball is a historic plus, Green helps mitigate the loss of Dante. Top 3 offense, top 12 defense.

A lot of me wants to believe what you're saying, sundog, and let's hope we're better...even without LeBron. But then I look at what we've lost from the end of last season compared to what we've gained, and I'm not so sure. Gone are our starting PF who led the team in assists, was second in PPG, and second in rebounds; our starting PG/SG who led the team in on/off during the regular season by a wide margin (and also in the playoffs in limited minutes); and our perennial SMOY candidate. Together they produced 47 PPG, 17RPG and 12 APG! And we've replaced them with Ball and Lyles. I get the addition by subtraction argument...I think we saw it in Atlanta last year with Young and Memphis with Ja. But that's a lot of lost production we're hoping to replace. All that said, I love the Ball trade, and am betting that the way he unlocks Ant, Jaden and Rudy indeed might make us better than last year. And if we land LeBron, there's no question in my mind that we will be better!

How about the rest of the West though. Who else might be improved?

It seems to me you have left out Ayo as a whole year contributor in your calculations as well as Josh Green who had his own incredible advanced stats last year.

There is also the consideration of guys like Conley and Dillingham being replaced by a more functional basketball player. At least one player will underachieve but the trio of Conley Dillingham and TSJ the first half of the season was tough. TSJ if healthy is kind of an addition compared to what he contributed last season.

Loosing Naz as a unique bench guy is the tough one for me but I think TSJ could be that guy plus Ayo and Hyland.

I think numerous teams in the West got better! The question is, "how much better?"

I'm not ready to check out all the new and improved rosters just yet, but the addition of LaMelo to the Wolves is arguably the best improvement leap of any team in the West. Besides bringing his own scoring ability, his ability to create easy shots for teammates cannot be overstated. The Wolves offense has often struggled over the years, with defense being their calling card. As he did in Charlotte, LaMelo's creativity will help the offense tick up quite a bit.

Now, we did lose two pieces of our 3-man frontcourt. But neither of them were big contributors to our defense. Time will tell whether their replacements will nudge our defense one way or the other. And I believe their offensive contributions will be more than made up for by the improvement brought by LaMelo.

I think this is a great thread FNG, and I thought it was an interesting episode from Dane and Jace.

For what it's worth, I agree that the Jazz and Mavs are going to better but they're also still a stones throw from being that kind of good.

Dane mentioned that with Van Fleer coming back from injury should be huge for Houston, I hadn't thought of that but I very much agree. That team still lacks championship basketball character imo, but that doesn't mean they don't have the pieces to be a problem.

I think Denver remains a problem in the regular season simply because of Jokic and Murray but they're in trouble from a team building standpoint. I'd hate to another franchise squander such a great players prime like the Bucks did, but it really looks like that's the direction they're heading. Regardless, like Houston there is still enough there to be a problem.

I don't think the Lakers did anything that makes them meaningfully better, and it's possible they're actually worse. They simple have none, literally zero perimeter defenders and are completely dependent on Kessler being a floor raisers defensively. That prospect is based entirely on projection because it's not something he's done yet in his career. It's reasonable bet honestly, but i don't think in the aggregate they're better.

The Spurs have internal development on their side and I don't see any reason that doesn't work in their favor. If I were a betting man, I'd pick them to finish 1st in the West which isn't all that bold a bet.

There's something about OKC the last few years that feels overly charmed. It's not to take anything away from what they've accomplished or to suggest they're paper tigers--- they're obviously not --- but I wonder if they've peaked. All that said, they've had a productive off-season, paying the pied piper to keep all their guys around at least for one more season, they're contenders and for good reason.

I'm really not too concerned about the West, well I'm not more concerned, cause it's still the West, but I think the Wolves have done much more to get better than anyone else. It's a fair bit of projection on my part too, but I think by December the Wolves will have put themselves firmly in the Spurs or Thunders tier. I'm really bullish on where this team is right now

I’ll rephrase the question a bit to say: Which teams will be better next season than last and how much better relative to one another. I’m framing it that way because improvement doesn’t just come from off-season personnel changes; it also can come from internal player improvements. A team compromised primarily of 30+ year old vets likely won’t improve internally while a team comprised mainly of players in the 19-26 range should be expected to improve without adding to or subtracting from the roster in the summer. I’ll rank the teams that I think will be better form the most improved to least improved and I’ll leave out the teams that are not likely to improve significantly if at all:

1. San Antonio Spurs:

The best in the West last season will likely be show the most improvement next season. First of all, their three most important core players are all very young - Wemby 22, Castle 21, and Harper 20. They have all just scratched the surface of their abilities. Other core guys, Fox, Johnson, Vassell are all in their mid to late 20s so they won’t decline and Johnson at age 25 will likely get better. Second, they’ve supplemented their improving young core with a very good veteran PF in Tobias Harris with Champagnie returning under a new contract. So the strong just get stronger.

2. Los Angeles Lakers:

The Lakers are losing LeBron, but the 41 year old LeBron is not the guy who led them to their championship in the bubble year. They lost Rui, which will take away offensive production but likely improve their defense. Most importantly they kept their two key guys, Doncic and Reaves. Reaves missed 31 games while Doncic missed 18. The Lakers will be substantially better if those two only miss 10 games a piece next season. They’ve improved their overall talent and depth with the additions of Walker, Sexton, Grimes and Sandro Mamukelashvili. Walker is an elite defensive center with better hands than Rudy and shooting range that Rudy doesn’t have.

3. Wolves:

Internal improvement: Should be expected from Ant, Jaden and Beringer. Ayo will be with us all season and will only get better as his role expands and he enters the prime of his career.

Off-season moves: A mixed bag. Losing the production of Randle, Naz and Donte is a big deal. But LaMelo is elite and at age 24 will only get better. Last season we played at a level less than the sum of our parts. LaMelo and Ayo should have this team playing at a level at least equal to its parts. It’s just a much better mix and LaMelo is a special talent. We saw what Ayo could do in the playoffs. I think he’s just scratched the surface of his abilities. Ant should be super motivated after not making first team all NBA and watching his friend KAT win a trophy. We know he’s super pumped at the prospect of playing with LaMelo.

4. Dallas Mavs:

Cooper will be much better. They’ve added Aldama and Kyrie should be back. They could be very competitive next season

5. Rockets:

VanVleet will be back and they’ve added Bogdanovic. They’ll be significantly better.

6. Phoenix;

Adding Miles Bridges makes them significantly better.

I'd say Phoenix lost that trade and got worse but that's just my opinion