'Future Power Rankings'

Bored and thinking of new topics that do not revolve around trades for melo and cp3...I just wanted to know what you guys think are the teams with the best overall situations for winning now and in the future (next 6-8years) taking into account players...thier salaries...etc...basically its the same as the espn post about a month ago, but im not an insider and wanted to offer my opinion

Here is my list

Btw who else cant wait for the f*ckin season to start....im so hyped

1. Thunder- They have a young team, and they are a capable pivot player away from being solid contenders.  I guess it also helps that they have the 2nd best player in the game who is hungry and who bleeds basketball.

2. Trail Blazers- They keep amassing young talent and even with thier recent injuries keep on winning.  They have a solid no nonsense coach who will probably be there for the foreseeable future.  They have Brandon Roy a top talent, and LaMarcus Aldridge a good second bananna.  If oden ever gets healthy watch out.

3. LA Lakers- They have only missed the playoffs once in the past 19 years or something like that.  It doesn't happen by mistake.  Even when kobe gets old and retires their front office will find a way to win games again.  They have Hollywood and a storied NBA history, meaning they will ALWAYS attract free agents if they have the cap space.

4. Heat- Yes they have the 3 Kings of South Beach.  Thier talent alone will win them at least 1-3 chips in the next decade.  But who will they surround them with.  And lets not forget that Lebron and Wade are carbon copies of each other.

5. Bulls- D Rose, Noah, Boozer.  Rose will be the best pg in 2 years, I think his speed and strength will give him that dinstinction.  Especially with a coach like Thibideau who preaches defense and would marry basketball if it was a person, this franchise has nowhere to go but up

6. Knicks- No need to go into any further detail.  We all know we have a newly built roster with the ability to add Melo and Paul in the upcoming years. But we don't have them yet, and who knows what happens in the future.  But the team as it stands is oozing with young potential with a coach that will look to utilize thier strengths and potentials, in a world class city that calls MSG home

7. Nets- When they move to Brooklyn, with Prokorov and the young talent they have, they will surprise alot of people in a few years.

8. Rockets- Daryl Morey has an uncanny ability to put players on the court that complement each other and play the right way.  This almost always leads to wins on the court.  Expect this trend to continue

9. Wizards- They have the next D Rose in John Wall.  They have Gilbert who if he can return to his pre-surgery form is the best scoring PG/SG in the league.  They also have Andray Blatche who has proven he can play in stretches, and that kid from france.  I think his name is Seraphin.  With a franchise PG teams always end up being successful.

10. Jazz- I'm sure Jerry Sloan won't be coaching forever, but his replacement will probably be Sloan 2.0  With this ability look for the Jazz to continue winning.  Especially as long as No. 8 continues to suit up for them. Furthermore the FO has shown ability to rebound and stay competitive under any circumstances.

11. Pacers- Have Darren Collison who may not be awesome but he will be on the bench for a few all star games.  Larry Bird has a ton of cap space to play with, and he has made some good decisions.  They have Granger as well as Roy Hibbert and Brandon Rush.  They will return to basketball relevance pretty soon.

12. Kings- They have Tyreke Evans and Demarcus Cousins.  Look for this to become the Kobe and Shaq of the 2010's.  They just need some role players and internal growth.

13. Mavs- Thier window is closing with their core players aging.  But they are still pretty good and will continue to be for the near future especially with Cuban treating them like his personal fantasy team.

14. Magic- Are pretty much in salary cap hell and are at their peak.  However they will continue to have Dwight Howard on their team.  When you have the most athletic big man in the league, you are always capable of winning.

15. Hawks- I actually believe that they are on the decline.  And thanks to Johnsons 20 billion dollar contract they wont have the flexibility to add new young peices.  So they will still be pretty good, they just wont get better.  (Actually they remind me of the knicks when we handed allan houston that contract)

16. Grizzlies- They have talent at every position.  Not many teams can say that.  However Heisley thier owner will probably mess it up because he has no basketball knowledge once so ever.  That is their only negative.  I also believe that Rudy will be worth that contract in 2 years. 

17. Warriors- They have Stephen Curry (who is apparently the 7th best fantasy player according to yahoo sports).  They are also shoring up their ownership and FO problems.  Once your at rock bottom there's nowhere to go but up.

18. Clippers- They are another team that has talent at every position, but an incompetent owner.  Sterling didn't even hear of Gomes and Foye before they signed with the team.  Thats pathetic.  However if things go well, they may very well be able to compete with the Lake show for the best team in LA down the road.

19. T'Wolves- Don't murder me for putting them this high, but I think the sky is the limit for this team.  They have a bunch of young talent who can still develop into good players that put numbers up on the 'W' column.  They just need to fire Rambis and/or abandon the triangle offense.

20. Spurs- They are too old to continue to be threats and they don't have any young talent.  Maybe they'll get another Duncan in the draft down the road or pull in a miraculous trade, but until then they are on the decline.

21. Celtics- The east coast version of the Spurs, except their decline will be slower, and they have Rajon Rondo in two years after the Big 3 retire, who is an awesome point guard with a high IQ and defensive skills, but he's stubborn and puts up Shaq like numbers at the FT line.  And for a player who likes to finish at the rim, that is a recipe for disaster.  This year HAS to be the year for them if they want to win another title but other than that look for this team to be in the lottery.

22. Bucks- I realize I should have probably put them higher, but I seriously dont think Bogut will return to form (His arm was completely mangled, I don't care how much money or doctor's you have, you cant reconstruct a body part)  Maggette has never played for a winning team in his life.  Salmons was probably overpaid.  Scott Skiles will get run out of Milwaukee eventually like he has everywhere else.  And Brandon Jennings can't do everything by himself.

23. Suns- Remember this is a forecast for the near future that'ts why the Suns are so low.  How long will the 37ish year old Nash continue to work his magic.  Unless he is a freak of nature, the little amazing point guard will start to decline and realize he want's a championship to cement his legacy.  Since he is the engine that makes the Suns go once this occurs the Suns will be irrelevant again.

24. 76ers- They have Evan Turner who dissapointed in Summer League but may in fact turn out to be a great player.  But besides Jrue Holiday and maybe Speights they don't have a plethora of young talent.  They will probably trade Iguodala since he's a carbon copy of Turner.  Rod Thorn has a history of working the FO magic, but until he does something the forecast looks dim for Philly.  And how could I forget that awful Brand contract?

25. Hornets- Well they have Chris Paul who still wants out because he recognizes their can't compete for a championship especially with thier penny pinching owner. (Ariza is not the answer to their championship quest) Once he leaves the team will be in shambles and may actually fold since they traded his replacement. 

26. Nuggets- Read everything I said about the Hornets.  Replace Paul with Carmelo and omit the part about the owner.  They are looking to blow thier roster up one way or another, and so far the trades for Carmelo don't appear to be yielding another franchise player.  Their only young talent is Lawson and he is not a franchise cornerstone.  Thier only hope lies in another 15-whatever season and landing a top draft pick.

27. Bobcats- Their owner is not nearly as rich as other owners who have the resources to put together a championship squad.  They took on Stephen Jackson and his albatross contract for one playoff appearance, and do not look poised for another one even with Larry Brown at the helm (Lets remember he's not Jesus, and Knick fans know this). 

28. Pistons- They have some pieces such as Ben Gordon, Villanueva, Rip Hamilton's contract will expire soon enough, and Prince's contract is currently expiring.  However there is no talk about trades on their front, and with the current NBA climate I don't see any coming to fruition.  Furthermore, the city is hurting economically, and the owner wants to sell.  There is too many distractions to put forth a positive situation from the 'Detroit' Pistons. 

29. Toronto- Every franchise player that has played for Toronto has wanted out.  They are not attractive to anybody unless they overpay for them (Turkoglu).  Maybe Ed Davis is the next Bosh.  Derozan and Weems are a few years from being ultra productive.  Who knows, but they look to be competing for the worst team in the league with the.....

30. Cavaliers- No Lebron.  Their record has been so good they have only gotten low draft picks.  No one wants to go to Cleveland to play.  Thier owner is bipolar.  Maybe they can flip Mo Williams, Jamison, Parker, Varejao, & Moon for enough draft picks that one turns into a star.  But that's entirely speculation, as of right now they are only important when the Heat come to the Q twice a year (& even that will get old after 2-3 years). 

There we go.  That's my projected future rankings for the next 6-8 years.  It may not be perfect, and there are too many spurious variables, but the way things are looking now i think its pretty accurate.