The Biggest Hole Every NBA Team Has to Fill After 2016's NBA Free-Agent Frenzy

The din of NBA free agency has mostly died down now, and 30 NBA teams taking stock of their reformed selves are reaching the same conclusion: Nobody's perfect.

Plenty of clubs improved during the first few weeks of July, with the Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors (duh) standing out as big winners. But even the most seemingly complete squads have flaws. In some cases, there's an obviously weak position in the starting lineup. In others, we're dealing with broader organizational holes.

With months separating the end of free agency and the start of training camp, there's still a chance to address some of these weaknesses. And there's always the trade market after that.

Don't take these highlighted shortcomings as mean-spirited criticism (except for the Sacramento Kings). Instead, view them as constructive observations

Point Guard Stability

The Atlanta Hawks are changing it up, which feels strange and necessary in equal measure.

Since head coach Mike Budenholzer took over in 2013, the Hawks have consistently spread the floor, kicked the ball around and relied on a steady, egalitarian system. And jumpers. They became one of five teams (joining the Golden State Warriors, Cleveland Cavaliers, Portland Trail Blazers and Houston Rockets) to hit at least 800 three-point shots in each of the last two seasons.

Back-to-back playoff exits (both sweeps by the Cavs) contributed to tweaks that included replacing free-agent loss Al Horford with Dwight Howard and handing Jeff Teague's starting point guard spot to Dennis Schroder.

Teague, traded to the Indiana Pacers, was a low-cost known quantity. Unspectacular but generally reliable and happy in a system that didn't require him to create much, he symbolized the old Hawks. Schroder is different, and as a result, the Hawks will be, too.

Speedy, impetuous and brimming with confidence (at least some of which is well-founded), Schroder will charge up Atlanta's offense with more pick-and-rolls and a downhill transition attack. He won't shoot the long ball as well as Teague, but he might inject enough chaos to improve the offense on balance.

With an unproven Malcolm Delaney and an aging, ACL tear-toting Jarrett Jack as his only support, Schroder's volatile play will define the Hawks.

For better or worse.

Three-Point Shooting

You can't say the Boston Celtics need a star anymore—not after they landed Horford, one of the league's very best big men. And you really won't be able to break out that refrain if Marcus Smart makes the kind of leap projected by FiveThirtyEight's CARMELO system, which sees All-Star berths in his future.

What the Celtics still need, though, is better accuracy from long range.

Last year, they hit just 33.5 percent of their triples, which ranked 28th in the league. Winning 48 games with that kind of crippling inaccuracy suggests there's major upside here. With the addition of Horford, even a slight improvement on that conversion rate could lead to a win total well over 50 and the East's No. 2 seed.

Horford's passing ability could also help generate better looks, but most of the improvement has to come from Boston's high-volume shooters. Smart made just 25.3 percent of his four attempts per game last year, and R.J. Hunter canned 30.2 percent of his 1.8 tries per contest. That's not going to cut it.

The sky's the limit if the Celtics can find a way to make it rain.

The Yawning, Hopeless Chasm That Is Brooklyn's Near Future

It's tempting to say the worst is over, but the Brooklyn Nets still owe a first-round pick swap to the Celtics in 2017 and an outright first-rounder in 2018. As was the case last year, bottoming out will not save this franchise.

So the return to respectability is going to take awhile.

But hey, Jeremy Lin agreed to sign on this summer (though his increasingly silly hair made "Team Stylist" a close second in the discussion of biggest holes to fill), and he's either genuinely psyched up or has been watching too much Silicon Valley. 

As he told Andy Vasquez of the Bergen County Record:

"The way I was thinking of free agency was like when you invest in a startup company. You don't necessarily look at the product right then and there. That is a big part of it, but you're kind of betting on the founder a lot of times. You're betting on what that person is capable of doing, because sometimes as you go through the process, the final product is going to change a lot."

Long-term talk like that is welcome, especially for a franchise currently scuttled by its past obsession with short-term success.

Now seems like a good time to mention Lin has a player option after just two years. Despite his comments, he's not exactly making the biggest of bets.

Bench Scoring

There are lots of ways for a second unit to tread water while the starters rest, so the total lack of scoring on the Charlotte Hornets' bench may not be fatal. If Roy Hibbert leads a particularly stingy corps of backups, for example, maybe the Hornets reserves survive via defense.

But losing Al Jefferson and Jeremy Lin is a big deal.

Those two were Charlotte's third- and fifth-leading scorers, respectively, last season. Both played the vast majority of their minutes off the bench, and the Hornets haven't replaced them in free agency.

If Michael Kidd-Gilchrist stays healthy, perhaps head coach Steve Clifford can creatively stagger rotation minutes so Nicolas Batum plays more with the backups. His playmaking was always vital, but now his wing scoring means even more without Courtney Lee around.

Jeremy Lamb could take on a bigger role, and early last year, it looked like he was ready to do that. But his efficiency and playing time dipped after the break as Clifford started favoring other options. Second-year big man Frank Kaminsky will also get opportunities to stretch the floor in a pick-and-pop tandem with backup point guard Ramon Sessions.

A year ago at this time, Marco Belinelli would have looked like a source of salvation. But his shooting cratered with the Sacramento Kings last season, which means the Hornets gave up the No. 22 pick in the draft for a question mark.

Coaxing break-even play out of this backup group will be a real challenge.

A Plan

We just pegged the Celtics for a lack of three-point shooting, so we can't go straight back to that well so soon—even if perimeter impotence figures to be an issue for the rebuilt Chicago Bulls.

In lieu of the specific, let's focus on the broader hole here: the troubling lack of direction.

Building a new starting backcourt composed of Rajon Rondo and Dwyane Wade only makes sense if it's 2008. A lack of floor-stretchers wasn't fatal to an offense then, and both of those players were much closer to their primes. Now, Rondo is a net negative and Wade is a star in name only.

Neither, of course, can shoot threes, and both must have the ball to be effective.

This is mostly bad news for Jimmy Butler, who is the best overall player in Chicago's new trio, and who would have been in line for a full alpha role with Derrick Rose gone. Butler is saying the right things about learning from his new veteran teammates, but it's hard to square their presence with a mandate to get younger and more athletic—which is where general manager Gar Forman said the team was going when it traded Rose in June.

There's young promise in the frontcourt with Bobby Portis, Cristiano Felicio, Nikola Mirotic and Doug McDermott. It's just that the new vets will make it hard to unlock.

Backup Point Guard

If J.R. Smith were to somehow get away in free agency, the defending champs would have a hole to fill on the wing. But as Bleacher Report's Howard Beck opines, the chances of Smith playing elsewhere in 2016-17 are next to nil.

That leaves the other backcourt position as a possible trouble spot.

With Matthew Dellavedova bolting to the Milwaukee Bucks, Kyrie Irving's only backups are Mo Williams (ancient) and Kay Felder (rookie). Lacking a reliable second-stringer at the point is much less concerning when LeBron James is on your roster; he'll do most of the facilitating whenever he's on the floor anyway. And even Kevin Love has a history of keeping the ball moving.

At the same time, Irving hasn't had the cleanest health history, and it'd be nice to lean on reserves to keep him, James and Love from tiring out during the regular season.

However, the Cleveland Cavaliers are also short on competition for the No. 1 seed in the East, so don't expect a thin point guard rotation to sink them.

Athleticism

Skill, execution and smarts are generally fine substitutes for raw speed and bounce (just ask any San Antonio Spurs team from the last 20 years), but the Dallas Mavericks' absent athleticism will hurt them on the margins.

The symptoms were there last year, when they ranked bottom third in fast-break points, and only four teams posted lower rebounding rates. Expect a repeat this season.

New addition Harrison Barnes is the only member of the starting lineup with above-average run-and-jump talent, but his raw gifts have yet to translate into production. The rest of first unit—Deron Williams, Wesley Matthews, Dirk Nowitzki and Andrew Bogut—are about as lumbering as they come.

Age and injury render everyone on the roster but Barnes, Justin Anderson and Dwight Powell mostly ground-bound.

If Nowitzki has another year in him, Bogut plays defense like an All-NBA defender and Matthews improves during his second year back from Achilles surgery, the Mavs could sneak into the playoffs.

Just don't expect them to get there via the highlight.

Undefined Roles

Too many bodies vying for a finite supply of minutes isn't technically a hole, but it's one of the biggest concerns for a Denver Nuggets team looking to take its next developmental step.

Moving forward should mean figuring out the difference between cornerstones and supporting pieces. But if you take the backcourt as just one example—where Emmanuel Mudiay, Gary Harris, Will Barton, rookie Jamal Murray and veteran Jameer Nelson will vie for minutes—it's easy to see the difficulty in allocating enough playing time to test each individual.

Per B/R's Zach Buckley: "More than three years removed from their last playoff run, the Nuggets are in no position to complain about having too much talent. But head coach Michael Malone and his staff have a tricky rotation riddle to solve."

Funnily enough, the issue arises in the big man rotation, too.

Nikola Jokic is a potential star, but Jusuf Nurkic, Kenneth Faried and Joffrey Lauvergne also need to play. Darrell Arthur is back, and both Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari are probably best utilized as undersized power forwards.

Where will minutes come from if injuries don't free them up like they did last year?

As problems go, a glut of playable talent is a good one. But it's still a problem.

Lack of a Star

This is going to sound like an insult, but it'd be ideal if everyone in the Detroit Pistons rotation could just move down a peg in the hierarchy.

Reggie Jackson shouldn't be a leading scorer/decision-maker/primary ball-handler (even though that's exactly what he's always wanted to be), and Tobias Harris shouldn't be a second scoring option. Andre Drummond shouldn't be called on to be the only source of interior points—not yet anyway.

If the Pistons had a true star—one of those rare organizing talents that naturally shifts everyone else into their proper roles—they'd really have something.

That's a criticism we could level at more than half of the league, but it feels especially true for Detroit, which has a potentially dominant big man in Drummond, along with depth, youth, defense, passable shooting and a good coach. Jon Leuer will help stretch the floor, Boban Marjanovic deepens the center rotation, and Stanley Johnson should progress in his second year.

Toss a true star in there, and you've got a conference finalist.

Even after solid marginal free-agent additions, everyone in Detroit still feels stretched just a bit beyond their capabilities. 

Center Depth

It would be an exhilarating experiment if the Golden State Warriors used their new-and-improved Death Lineup as a first option instead of a last resort. Trotting out Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala, Kevin Durant and Draymond Green for big minutes might render conventional centers extinct and force an immediate lockout.

Last year, that same group with Barnes in Durant's place annihilated the NBA with a league-best (among units that played at least 100 minutes) net rating of plus-47 points per 100 possessions. How much bigger will that number get with a former MVP replacing the fifth option?

At least half the league would just refuse to compete, right?

Unfortunately, relying on that group too often might also wear Green and Durant down unnecessarily, which is why the Dubs still need actual centers.

Bogut and Festus Ezeli are gone, which hampers rim defense. Marreese Speights is also elsewhere, taking his spacing and occasional scoring outbursts with him to the L.A. Clippers. Holdover James Michael McAdoo doesn't move the needle, and Anderson Varejao inspires 20,000 simultaneous groans when he approaches the scorer's table at Oracle Arena.

Zaza Pachulia, David West and rookie Damian Jones (eventually) figure to see major time at center until Green and his undersized pals slide in to close games. 

Calling this a hole (Pachulia and West are solid professionals) may be a stretch, but production from a thin cast of reliable bigs will be critical to keep the Warriors' absolute best center, Green, as fresh as possible.

Pick-and-Roll Defense

We're zeroing in on one particular area of vulnerability here, though much broader concerns about the Houston Rockets defense remain valid.

Assuming the relevant parties are healthy, the Rockets will field lineups with at least three weak links for huge stretches of every game.

Head coach Mike D'Antoni will get the spaced-out, pick-and-roll-focused, three-point-shooting offense he wants with this roster. But James Harden, Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon will give up as much as they get.

This defense is going to stink.

Here's Sports Illustrated's Rob Mahoney: "Harden's issues on that end are well documented. Anderson's, too, are real and rooted in iffy instincts and lacking lateral mobility. Gordon is more solid in relative terms but by no means a solution."

Every opponent with sense will involve Anderson in the high screen, and if it's Harden or Gordon (or, really, anyone other than Patrick Beverley) joining him as the primary pick-and-roll defender, Houston's defense is going to disintegrate.

Clint Capela's rim protection can only cover for so much.

Head Coach

Nate McMillan has won more games than he's lost as an NBA head coach, so he's not objectively bad at his job.

But it's hard to guess what the Indiana Pacers were thinking when they put him in charge of a remade roster designed to play fast. Teague can push the pace a bit alongside Monta Ellis, and Thaddeus Young will team with Myles Turner in a leaner frontcourt than Indy has seen in years.

Al Jefferson isn't fast, but he'll get shots up quickly. It's what he does.

Great, right?

Except here's the thing: "McMillan has never coached a team with a pace above the league average and in all but two seasons, his team finished with a pace about three possessions slower than the league average," FanSided's Ian Levy explained. "To put that in context, only two teams finished with a pace that far below the league average last season—the Toronto Raptors and the Utah Jazz."

"This roster, with the versatility that we have, allows us to establish the tempo we want to play," McMillan said, per Nate Taylor of the Indianapolis Star. "We definitely should be able to play fast."

Putting aside the concerns over defense and three-point shooting created by Indiana's overhaul, McMillan simply seems ill-suited to run this particular show.

Small Forward

The Los Angeles Clippers' glaring need is both simple and familiar: They don't have a reliable two-way small forward.

Paul Pierce looked cooked last year and might retire. Wesley Johnson hit some corner threes (he shot 33.3 percent from long range overall) but didn't defend consistently. Luc Mbah a Moute was fine as a stopper but provided zero on offense.

In many cases, the shooting guard and small forward spots are interchangeable. (The Hawks, for example, don't really distinguish between them.) But for the Clips, sliding smaller wings up a spot isn't really an option because J.J. Redick, Jamal Crawford and Austin Rivers lack the size to compete defensively against larger matchups.

Since Matt Barnes got away last year, there's been a void at the 3.

It's still there.

Spacing

It's tempting to wreck the Timofey Mozgov signing here, to highlight it as an example of the Los Angeles Lakers' desperation and failure to embrace a youth movement.

But Mozgov (money notwithstanding) is actually a decent complement to developing stud D'Angelo Russell.

Russell is blessed with terrific court sense, creativity and good timing as a pick-and-roll ball-handler. And though Mozgov did nearly everything poorly last season, amassing the second-worst offensive real plus-minus in the league (Roy Hibbert was the worst), per ESPN.com, the one thing L.A.'s new $64 million big man did well was roll to the bucket.

He ranked in the 88th percentile as a roller, according to Jonathan Tjarks of The Ringer.

The problem now is the Lakers' lack of spacing in support of that pick-and-roll. Crashing into the middle to help on Mozgov is a risk-free move when defenses don't have to worry about snipers on the perimeter.

Luol Deng should help if he plays some power forward, but Julius Randle won't scare anyone. Among returning players, only Russell, whose shooting isn't relevant in this narrow context, hit better than 35 percent from deep last year.

Things will be cramped in the paint for L.A.

Transition Plan

It's unfair to use the Spurs as a comparison in almost any context because they do everything right, but San Antonio's smooth evolution offers instructive contrast to the Memphis Grizzlies' jerkier one.

Basically, if you're going to stretch the shelf life of the veterans that made you good in the past—think Mike Conley, Marc Gasol, Tony Allen and Zach Randolph—you need a contingency plan in place for when they expire. For San Antonio, that meant drafting and developing Kawhi Leonard and managing the cap to facilitate the LaMarcus Aldridge signing last summer.

The Grizzlies haven't done that.

Signing Chandler Parsons, who is coming off two knee surgeries, isn't the same as getting Aldridge. There's also no one in the pipeline like Leonard, even if rookie Wade Baldwin shows promise and JaMychal Green might turn into something someday.

Memphis is heavily invested in nine-figure deals for both Gasol and Conley, so flexibility is limited for the next half-decade. As a small-market team, maybe the Grizzlies had to do it this way.

But when this goes bad, it'll go BAD.

Leadership

Beneath the emotional aspects of Dwyane Wade's exit, there's also a worrisome on-court angle—not because Wade was a vital component in the offense or a key cog on defense. He was a high-usage, one-way player for most of last year; the Heat can replace his production.

The problem is a leadership void.

Wade was an institution. Respected by teammates and opponents, he was clearly the man in charge in Miami.

Now, with Chris Bosh's health still uncertain (how do you lead in a suit...or as a possible medical retiree?), there's no clear successor to fill the vacuum.

Goran Dragic? Second-year forward Justise Winslow? Hassan Whiteside?

Let that last possibility sink in for a second. Then shudder.

Sometimes, concepts like locker room hierarchy and team identity can be overblown. If there's enough talent, stuff tends to work out eventually. But don't discount the strange, headless dynamic in Miami.

Interior Defense

We all know spacing and three-point shooting will be worries for the Milwaukee Bucks, and don't just throw out Matthew Dellavedova as a savior in that regard. The guy he's replacing, Jerryd Bayless, shot 43.7 percent from long range last year.

Delly's not going to hit that number.

Adding Mirza Teletovic was huge. He hit more triples off the bench last season than anyone on the Bucks roster. But using him as a scoring focal point at power forward, probably in second units alongside Michael Carter-Williams, means Milwaukee's already unsteady frontcourt D will be even shakier.

The Bucks ranked 22nd in defensive efficiency last year, and only two teams allowed more field-goal attempts inside five feet. Greg Monroe doesn't scare anyone, the Bucks will almost certainly play undersized power forwards like Jabari Parker and Teletovic, and Thon Maker is nowhere near ready to make an impact.

Unless John Henson's consistently high block rate finally leads to actual point prevention, the Bucks don't have anyone to anchor the inside on D despite the team's crazy length.

Experience

Exchanging Sam Mitchell for Tom Thibodeau could transform the Minnesota Timberwolves' dual weaknesses into strengths...or at least neutral properties.

We should expect the defense to progress significantly under Thibs, who should leverage the athleticism and vigor of so much youth far better than Mitchell did. There's no excuse for guys like Zach LaVine and Andrew Wiggins showing up so low on the defensive real plus-minus charts.

After touring the league and absorbing information during his year off, Thibodeau is also a safe bet to increase Minnesota's three-point attempt average from 16.4 per game, which ranked 29th last season.

All that's left is individual development that can only come from playing in games that matter. Hopefully, the Wolves find themselves in a few of those.

Karl-Anthony Towns will be a universally recognized superstar before you know it, Kris Dunn is a stud, Wiggins could make a leap and a handful of other Timberwolves are also on the upswing. This was never a talent question, and with Thibodeau in charge, strategic ineptitude won't be an excuse anymore either.

The Timberwolves just need time.

Perspective

If this offseason's approach is any indication, this hole is already in the process of being filled.

In years past, the New Orleans Pelicans swung big, sacrificed future assets and overspent on veterans—seemingly in an effort to build a ramshackle winner around Anthony Davis. Maybe it's the security of Davis' max contract (signed last year), or maybe the pain of those missteps has been instructive.

Whatever the case, the Pelicans got smarter and focused on the unsexy, longer-term work of making small moves on the margins in free agency.

Solomon Hill, E'Twaun Moore, Langston Galloway and Terrence Jones are all aboard on deals at or below market value. Though none have the shinier reputations of the departed Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon, all have worth on both ends, per Mason Ginsberg of Bourbon St. Shots, who contributed to Fansided's review of New Orleans' offseason:

Their focus this summer, on the other hand, was on smart, hard-working players who can add value on both ends of the court. The team might not have as many flashy names getting big minutes, but they now have a deeper roster of two-way players who will fit Gentry’s system and the Pelicans’ culture.

The Pels are figuring it out. The trick now is maintaining the perspective that led to one of the better offseasons in recent memory.

Physical Reliability

The New York Knicks could see their bold free-agency plans pay off with a postseason berth, but the potential for disaster is there too, casting an anxious pall over a pivotal season.

Everything depends on health.

Derrick Rose's frailty defines his career, and Joakim Noah broke down badly last season. Carmelo Anthony is on the wrong side of 30, battled knee soreness all year and may never reach his previous form. If those guys go down for any stretch of time, Kristaps Porzingis will have to shoulder a heavier load, and he may only have Brandon Jennings (whose repaired Achilles tear is a concern) and Courtney Lee (best as a third or fourth option) to help.

Again, if the Knicks stay healthy, the playoffs are a legitimate possibility.

It's just that the "if" in that proposition is so, um, iffy.

Small Forward

You can't replace a transcendent, franchise-defining, generational talent by committee.

And you definitely can't do it with Kyle Singler or Andre Roberson, or Anthony Morrow, or Josh Huestis.

The Oklahoma City Thunder lost Kevin Durant for nothing, and while the trade that sent away Serge Ibaka for Victor Oladipo, Ersan Ilyasova and Domantas Sabonis actually deepens the roster at three other positions, there's no getting around KD's gut-wrenching absence.

Russell Westbrook will whip himself into a nightly frenzy, probably trying a little too hard for OKC's best interests once or twice a week. Steven Adams could be better, Enes Kanter will dominate bench units, Oladipo adds even more backcourt athleticism...but it doesn't matter.

We all know it: The Thunder can be solid without Durant, but they can't contend.

This is a bummer. Moving on.

Point Guard?

We'll at least do Elfrid Payton the courtesy of including a question mark, as he's still just 22, and the Orlando Magic's decision not to replace him in free agency suggests the organization still believes.

But it's difficult to survive with a backcourt player who defenders ignore on the perimeter, and Payton's marginal progress as a shooter (he's still bad, hitting just 32.6 percent of his threes and 58.9 percent of his free throws last year) came in conjunction with backward steps elsewhere.

Per Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: "[Former head coach Scott Skiles] took him out for stretches when he inexplicably lacked energy or when the team needed scoring, particularly late in games. More troubling than that, Payton took a step back on the defensive end — and that was his calling card at Louisiana-Lafayette."

Orlando has incumbent talent in Aaron Gordon, Nikola Vucevic and Evan Fournier. Trade acquisition Ibaka will help, and signee Bismack Biyombo adds depth. If Payton can't be a reliable part of that group this year, we can remove the question mark.

Shooting

Take your pick with this team. When you win fewer games than anyone over the last three seasons combined, you've obviously got holes everywhere.

Shooting stands out, though, mainly because rookie Ben Simmons' greatest strength—his passing—can't be maximized if nobody turns his brilliant setups into buckets. The 2015-16 Philadelphia 76ers ranked last in offensive efficiency and 25th in effective field-goal percentage.

After a summer that saw them add zero top-flight shooters, they look primed to brick it up again.

If Joel Embiid knocks down jumpers during his long-delayed rookie season, maybe that'll help. Robert Covington swapping out a little volume (he attempted 7.2 treys per game last year) for efficiency (35.3 percent) wouldn't hurt either.

Most likely, Simmons will find cramped driving lanes and nonthreatening recipients for his slick would-be assists. He may not be able to complain much, though.

His shot is more busted (for now) than anyone he'll be passing to.

Backcourt Clarity

Experience and power forward were options here, as the young Phoenix Suns are built around lottery picks (especially at the 4). But a more immediate, potentially damaging issue looms in the backcourt.

Devin Booker is ready, and he should see as much playing time as possible during his second season. Unfortunately, the Suns have what looks like another in a long series of guard gluts—one that might hamper the sophomore's development.

Brandon Knight and Eric Bledsoe are already there, with Tyler Ulis and Archie Goodwin also potentially seeing minutes. Don't forget the return of Leandro Barbosa on a free-agent deal either.

Booker is more important to Phoenix's future than anyone on that list, and he's already at least as good as everyone but Bledsoe.

The smart move might be dumping Knight, who helped produce an untenable 111.9 defensive rating whenever paired with Booker last year. Bledsoe, if healthy, creates a stronger duo. His defense and playmaking work best with the youngster's shooting.

The Suns know the damage an overstuffed backcourt can cause better than anyone. Here's hoping they sort this out.

Backcourt Defense

Evan Turner was a questionable signing, but the Portland Trail Blazers still had a fine offseason overall, thanks to the affordable addition of Festus Ezeli and the retention of Allen Crabbe. This team is going to score plenty, and Ezeli provides a physical presence on the defensive interior that Mason Plumlee couldn't.

The Blazers' new center faces a tough challenge, though, as neither Damian Lillard nor C.J. McCollum do much to keep opposing guards out of the lane. Portland ranked 21st in defensive efficiency last year, allowing 105.6 points per 100 possessions.

When Lillard and McCollum shared the floor, that number climbed to 106.5.

Poor defense has been a knock on Lillard for years, and he's improved a bit. But McCollum is at least as bad as his teammate ever was, dying on screens and contributing little in the way of off-ball help.

Portland will be in the mix for a playoff spot again, but don't be shocked by its failure to get consistent stops.

Sanity

"I really don’t understand it," DeMarcus Cousins said of the Sacramento Kings' decision to select Georgios Papagiannis, per Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee. "But I do my job."

Cousins' perceived volatility and immaturity make him a tricky messenger, but the message is valid: Sacramento's offseason has been, to put it kindly, curious.

In addition to Papagiannis, the Kings drafted Skal Labissiere, adding him to a frontcourt rotation that already featured Cousins, Kosta Koufos, Willie Cauley-Stein and Rudy Gay, who should see most of his time at the 4. With glaring needs in the backcourt—exacerbated by signing Garrett Temple at the expense of letting Seth Curry walk—focusing on big men made no sense.

Matt Barnes and Anthony Tolliver are reasonable additions on the wings, but Sacramento's overall direction has been hard to discern.

This is not new for the Kings.

Antiquated Robotics Division

Tim Duncan didn't actually retire.

The San Antonio Spurs' cyborg maintenance budget must have simply lacked the funds to keep Timmy in proper working order for another year. The cash shortfall may have been the result of last season's big expenditures on LaMarcus Aldridge and Kawhi Leonard, though it's hard to say for sure.

The point is: Duncan's upkeep schedule—gear replacement, lubrication, software updates and the like—became too onerous for San Antonio's 20-year-old robotics program.

That's unfortunate, but getting nearly two decades of world-class production out of the military-grade 7-footer they built in a black site lab in 1997 is a remarkable achievement.

San Antonio will soldier on and likely finish second in the West, but it won't be the same with Duncan powered down.

A LeBron James Stopper

When you play in the Eastern Conference and expect to compete for a championship, the most vexing question is obvious: How the heck do you stop the perfect basketball player?

After the Raptors' Eastern Conference Finals loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Toronto head coach Dwane Casey noted the problem.

"He makes a difference on any team he plays on, and he's proven that," Casey said in his post-series press conference. "This is his sixth (straight) finals, so let's not (start) comparing him to our team. I love our players; I wouldn't trade any of our players. But you put him on any team in this league, and he's going to be a difference-maker. Everybody in that organization, their level has gone up because he's on their team."

But hey, that's virtually every team's problem. On the bright side, the Raps brought everyone back besides Biyombo, whom they replaced with rookie Jakob Poeltl. Delon Wright showed flashes in summer league, DeMarre Carroll has to be healthier, and Norman Powell might be ready to make a leap. Cheap signee Jared Sullinger could also help.

Even if Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan don't repeat their simultaneous career seasons, the Raps should get enough organic growth elsewhere to make up for it.

An Emotional Leader

I get it; you're supposed to earn your teammates' respect, and the Utah Jazz haven't done that with their play yet. But it's difficult to fathom how anyone looking at the Jazz objectively could view them as anything less than a playoff lock—and perhaps much more than that.

By adding Joe Johnson, George Hill and Boris Diaw to a wildly effective (when healthy) core, the Jazz have constructed a roster that should push toward a win total in the 50s and a top-four seed.

If this team winds up being the second best in the West, it wouldn't be a stunner.

Rudy Gobert, Derrick Favors, Gordon Hayward and Rodney Hood are an elite core. With Trey Lyles showing out in summer league, Dante Exum and Alec Burks back, Hill running the show and a bunch of role-playing vets as a support system, you're looking at a potential juggernaut.

Let's all get on the same page, then. The Jazz deserve our respect, but it's unclear who will hold teammates accountable when things go sour. In other words, who will be the Draymond Green of this team, someone ready to call his fellow professionals out when it's warranted? 

All applicants welcome.

Small Forward

There are deeper psychological holes to fill here, like the one created by the disappointment of not even getting a meeting with Durant. But we've reached the end of this thing, and doing a deep dive into the culture of unmet expectations would take far too long.

So let's get practical.

The Washington Wizards need more from the 3. Otto Porter improved last year, developing a more reliable stroke from the corner (he shot 36.7 percent from long range overall) and acclimating better to the NBA game after a tough rookie season. He doesn't look like a difference-maker just yet, though, so we have to single him out with the other four positions looking relatively strong.

John Wall and Bradley Beal are a fine backcourt tandem, and new addition Ian Mahinmi will more than replace Nene in the big-man rotation. Markieff Morris is a solid stretch 4, and it's hard to get too upset about newbies Trey Burke, Andrew Nicholson and Jason Smith.

Sorry, Otto; you're the weak link at the moment. If he has a strong year or summer-league improver Kelly Oubre plays well, we can forget all about this.

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Stats courtesy of NBA.com unless otherwise indicated.