Which Rebuilding Team Is In The Best Position Right Now?
There are always going to be rebuilding teams in the NBA. There are four teams I would classify as rebuilding. Which one of them is in the best position?
Rebuilding teams in the NBA don’t get much attention. It’s hard to focus on teams that don’t win much, especially teams that aren’t winning much on purpose. There is always going to be rebuilding teams in the NBA. Currently, I would say we have four rebuilding teams.
This got me thinking. Of those four rebuilds, which team is in the best position? Which team has accrued the most talent? Which team is the closest to trying to compete? Today, I’m going to find out which rebuilding team is in the best position.
Criteria
I made four areas that I would be grading each team on. These four areas encompass not only the present but the future. Every team will be graded on each criterion, receiving a 1-10 score at the end. The team with the most points at the end wins.
- Potential of Young Talent Currently on Roster
- Do They Have A Franchise Cornerstone / All-Star Yet?
- Are They Close To Breaking Through Into Competitiveness?
- Is Their Rebuild On The Right Track?
Without further ado, let’s get right into things.
Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets are trying to usher in a new era of basketball. They had a franchise cornerstone in James Harden for nearly a decade but failed to win a championship around him. When Harden was shipped off to Brooklyn last season, it was a changing of the guard.
The Rockets haven’t won a championship since the mid-’90s. They hope that this extensive rebuild they are undertaking can return Clutch City to its former glory.
- Potential of Young Talent Currently on Roster
Despite being early in the rebuilding process, the Rockets have a nice collection of talent. They were aggressive in the draft, collecting four first-round picks, which accelerated their rebuild. The Rockets have some toys to play around with in the coming seasons.
Jalen Green (R)
Alperen Sengun (R)
Usman Garuba (R)
Josh Christopher (R)
Jae’Sean Tate
Kevin Porter Jr.
The Rockets have a nice collection of youth. Other than Garuba, who hasn’t played much, the rookies have looked solid. Green and Christopher need a lot of development to fill out as players, but Turkish center Alperen Sengun has been a gem.
Jae’Sean Tate is a brute-forward who plays at a steady pace. Kevin Porter Jr. is a talented youngster, but the Rockets need to find him a role. He hasn’t found much success being the lead ball-handler this season, but he profiles well as a scorer. As soon as Houston finds him a role, I think he’ll thrive.
This core has a lot of potential to be great. Now we wait and see how well Houston can develop these guys.
Grade: 8/10
- Do They Have A Franchise Cornerstone / All-Star Yet?
No. There’s not a whole lot of explaining needed here. I don’t think that Christian Wood will become an All-NBA player, barring another crazy development change from him.
Jalen Green seems like the most likely answer here, but I’m hesitant on that front. He’s a talented scorer, but he lacks so many important skills needed in the NBA. Once he starts to grow as a defender, playmaker, or off-ball offensive threat, then we’ll talk. For now, Green just needs to continue to grow.
I’m not going to dock crazy points from Houston because they don’t have a cornerstone yet, but I’m not sure they even have a candidate for this title, which is somewhat worrying.
Grade: 4/10
- Are They Close To Breaking Through To Competitiveness?
No. Again, not too complex of a topic. We’re not even one year removed from the James Harden trade, so the Rockets have a long ways to go.
That’s not a bad thing by any means, but don’t expect them to be competitive for a couple more seasons.
Grade: 5/10
- Is Their Rebuild On The Right Track?
The Rockets have done a pretty good job with their rebuild so far. These next few months will be really telling in how successful their rebuild will be. They have collected a solid core of young players, which is the first step of the rebuild. The steps after that are more complicated.
Do the Rockets have their head coach of the future? I think Stephen Silas is a good coach. He’s been thrown into the fire during his first stint as head coach in the NBA. Given the circumstances, I would say he’s doing a good job. He’s a likable coach who can get the most out of this roster. But is he going to coach this team into the playoffs? That remains to be seen.
Do The Rockets Have A Good Construction? Again, it’s hard to say. But, it is concerning that they have no suitable point guard/floor general. Their best options are DJ Augustin and John Wall, who hasn’t played this season.
The Rockets frontcourt is also crowded. Usman Garuba has hardly played this season. Wood, Theis, and Sengun are all vying for minutes, making it hard for Garuba to develop.
The Rockets also have a lot of veterans in their rotations. Nwaba, Gordon, and Theis are the regulars who eat up minutes. It’s good to have some veterans to make your team serviceable, but not at the cost of development.
The Rockets have some things figured out, but they have a lot of things to solve in the coming months.
Grade: 6/10
Overall: 23/40
I am keen to see what the Rockets are going to next. Finding talent is the hardest part of a rebuild. Now, the Rockets have to do everything else that goes into building a winner.
Oklahoma City Thunder
The OKC Thunder have redefined what it means to be rebuilding. After a decade of trying to contend with a multitude of stars, Sam Presti blew things up. But he did it to the max, unlike any other GM before him. Presti traded every player of worth, with OKC currently having;
36 draft picks over the next 5 years / 19 first-round picks
Ted Stepien threw away his first-round picks like softballs from the tops of skyscrapers. Sam Presti is hoarding them like toilet paper. It’s a new, unique approach to an NBA rebuild. Let’s see how Presti and OKC are fairing.
- Potential of Young Talent Currently on Roster
With so much stockpiled in the future, OKC should be pretty weak in the talent department, right? You would be wrong in that assumption. Just two years into the rebuild, the Thunder have a lot of players worth keeping around.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Josh Giddey (R)
Lu Dort
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (R)
Darius Bazley
Tre Mann (R)
Aleksej Pokusevski
Theo Maledon
Isaiah Roby
SGA is the leader of this team. The All-Star caliber guard is one of the best young guards in the NBA, even if most don’t recognize it. Lu Dort, the tenacious bulldog, accompanies him in the backcourt.
OKC’s rookies have been first-rate thus far. Josh Giddey’s weird mannerisms lead the way. The new holder of the Youngest Player With A Triple-Double in NBA History, Giddey is on track to be in the running for ROTY. Tre Mann and JRE get less attention, but both are solid at what they do.
Bazley, Pokusevski, and Roby are forwards with varying degrees of skill. None have broken out yet, but all are incredibly raw in talent. Theo Maldeon has been off in 2022, but the French guard remains in the rotation.
The Thunder have done a great job finding talented, versatile players. They have assembled a very deep roster in such a short amount of time. The best thing about this? They still have 36 more draft picks to find the players they want.
Grade: 10/10
- Do They Have A Franchise Cornerstone / All-Star Yet?
Yes. SGA is an All-Star caliber player. He remains criminally underrated, but he’s one of the best combo guards in the NBA.
He’s slippery and elusive with the ball in his hands. He plays at his own pace, never hurried up by the defense. He’s a solid playmaker, able to make plays for others.
SGA might not be good enough to be the #1 option on a contending team. But, an All-Star is an All-Star. SGA is a luxury OKC houses that most other rebuilding teams don’t have.
Grade: 10/10
- Are They Close To Breaking Through To Competitiveness?
No. This roster is too young to be winning. The only older player on their roster is Derrick Favors, who isn’t going to move the needle for this roster.
Expect a lot more losing, drafting, and tinkering before this team sniffs success.
Grade: 3/10
- Is Their Rebuild On The Right Track?
The Thunder are slightly further than the Rockets in their rebuild. For starters, they already have an All-Star caliber player. They have a younger roster, one more suited for a rebuild.
Mark Daigneault is the youngest active coach in the NBA (36). He’s the right person for the job, someone young and on the rise, emulating this roster well.
Sam Presti is a draft guru who still has draft picks hiding around somewhere. There’s no way he only had 36. I guarantee you there’s more hiding around his office somewhere.
I think that the Thunder, so far, has been everything well in terms of doing a rebuild. They don’t have any glaring problems. Even if they did, Sam Presti has enough draft picks to wash away any level of ineptitude or mistakes.
Grade: 8/10
Overall Grade: 31/40
Sam Presti and the Thunder are currently writing How To Rebuild an NBA Team For Dummies. It’s set to release in 3-5 years when they inevitably dominate the NBA.
Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic are finally entering their rebuild. After years of mediocrity with Vucevic, Fournier, and Aaron Gordon, they blew things up at the trade deadline last March. That changing of the guard period didn’t last long. In a few short months, the Magic are an entirely different team.
Let’s see how their rebuild has started;
- Potential of Young Talent Currently on Roster
Orlando has a surprisingly deep pool of youth at its disposal. Even though their rebuilding project is less than a year old, there’s nothing to scoff at in terms of the talent they have accrued.
Jalen Suggs (R)
GOD (Franz Wagner) (R)
Jonathan Isaac (+)
Markelle Fultz (+)
Cole Anthony
RJ Hampton
The Magic’s two top-10 picks from this past year’s draft, Suggs and Wagner, are pillars for the future. While Suggs has struggled mightily as a rookie, his fundamental play on both sides makes him bound for relevance. I don’t have to say anything about Franz Wagner. He’s an animal.
Two of their best prospects are recovering from ACL injuries. Jonathan Isaac is one of the best defenders in the NBA. Fultz looked to be reviving his career before his knee injury. Both should be back at some point this season.
Cole Anthony has developed into the lead scorer of this team. His shooting and playmaking have improved leaps and bounds, with more improvement on the horizon. RJ Hampton is cool, too.
It’s nothing special, but it’s not bad. There are worse places to be with your young talent.
Grade: 6/10
- Do They Have A Franchise Cornerstone / All-Star Yet?
No. Cole Anthony will never be that good. I put him in the same boat as Collin Sexton. Talented scorers who aren’t in the best roles right now. Anthony is way better than Sexton, but my point still stands. Unless Anthony continues to develop at the pace he’s currently at (unlikely), I don’t think he’s a franchise-altering player.
As much as I love Franz Wagner, I don’t think he’s that guy either. What he is now is what he’ll be for most of his career. I compare him to Mikal Bridges, the ideal starting forward on a contending team.
Finding their leader to a championship is key for Orlando. Since Dwight Howard left for LA, they haven’t found someone nearly as good. That’s going to be their task over the next couple of years.
Grade: 4/10
- Are They Close To Breaking Through Into Competitiveness?
No. The Magic just started their rebuild. There’s a reason they are currently 7-31 on the year. Don’t expect any sort of good noise from this group any time soon.
Grade: 2/10
- Is Their Rebuild On The Right Track?
The Magic haven’t screwed anything up too badly, so I’d say they’re on the right track. Like Stephen Silas in Houston, first-time head coach Jamahl Mosley doesn’t have the best hand of cards. Right now, it’s time to focus on effort and the fundamentals.
Unless Jalen Suggs becomes a bust, I like all the pieces they possess. I haven’t even mentioned their center tandem of Wendell Carter Jr. and Mo Bamba, a weird combo that describes this team perfectly.
It’s hard to screw up a rebuild this early on, but the Magic should give themselves a pat on the back for how things have progressed in a year.
Grade: 4/10
Overall Grade: 16/40
If Fultz and Isaac weren’t injured, this grade would be higher. The reason this grade is “low” is that we don’t know a lot about what Orlando wants to do.
They don’t have their franchise centerpiece. I don’t know if Jamahl Mosley is a good coach. Jalen Suggs has yet to show promise. Cole Anthony is an enigma – I don’t know what he’s going to become with Orlando.
I still have a lot of questions about this rebuild and its future.
Detroit Pistons
The Detroit Pistons are the final team on this list of rebuilding. After a run of dominance in the 2000s, basketball in Detroit has been flat. After ushering out long-time “stars” like Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond, the Pistons finally hit the reset button.
Aided by the number one draft pick in this past year’s draft, things are finally looking up in Detroit.
- Potential of Young Talent Currently on Roster
I’ll be honest, Detroit has some work to do on this front. They don’t have a hoard of picks laying around like OKC to splurge in the draft. They didn’t try and prepare for the rebuild before it started.
I don’t know what we expect. It’s the PIstons for crying out loud. They can’t be ready for anything thrown their way.
Cade Cunningham (R)
Saddiq Bey
Isaiah Stewart
Killian Hayes
At least Cade Cunningham is cool?
Grade: 3/10
- Do They Have A Franchise Cornerstone / All-Star Yet?
Surprisingly, yes. Usually, this step comes later, but the Pistons can thank draft odds for this one. They took Cade Cunningham in the draft and they have not been disappointed.
Cunningham’s intangibles, both on and off the court, have shown themselves ten-fold this season. He’s the ideal floor general for an offense, someone who makes the guys around him better.
He’s a competitor on both ends, someone who can and will change the culture of this team. Now it’s time to get him some help.
Grade: 10/10
- Are They Close To Breaking Through To Competitiveness?
No. The Pistons are bad. There are maybe two or three useful players on their roster. It’s filler after that.
Grade: 0/10
- Is Their Rebuild On The Right Track?
Having Cade Cunningham makes things a lot easier for them. Not only do they not have to get him as much help as other stars, but Cade makes the guys around him better. Similar to Luka and Lebron before him, building around Cade shouldn’t be too hard.
Dewayne Casey isn’t a great coach for the long-term (ask Toronto), but he’s fine for now. A veteran who can teach Detroit’s newcomers around is the ideal way to do things.
Now it’s up to Troy Weaver, the first-time GM, to build this team from the ground up.
Grade: 5/10
Overall Grade: 18/40
Detroit has a ways to go before they can dream of becoming a powerhouse like they were in the 2000s. They have their cornerstone in place. Now, unlike division rival Cleveland, it’s time to do something with him. Let’s see if they can do that.
Overview
All four of these teams are in the early stages of their rebuilds. This is a good thing for many reasons. For one, we can see how each decides to navigate to the other side of winning. For another, I do want to see at least one of these teams fail miserably. I’m just too cynical to want them all to succeed.
As of right now, I think OKC is in the best position with their rebuild. Not only with by arbitrary grading system, but with logic. Not only do they have the talent and the direction, but they also have the most future assets to continue to build for the future. Now that’s what I call a rebuild.
Come back to this article in 2-3 years to see me either be right or wrong about these teams.
What Are Your Thoughts On These Rebuilding Teams? Leave A Comment Down Below!
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