At this point, Team USA is defined mostly by its ancillary uses: namely, team plane karaoke Instagram videos and operating as a safe space for DeMarcus Cousins. Read more »

The NBA is a 365 day a year job, especially for their scouts, who are asked to evaluate players abilities, athleticism, medical history and more while constantly cultivating relationships at all levels. Read more »

With Frank Vogel at the helm, a renewed sense of confidence and accountability, and a pecking order that doesn't have every player trying to get theirs, the future doesn't seem so bad for Orlando. Read more »

This once entertaining, energetic and unpredictable Houston team did quite a bit to pull itself out of last season's hell - enough that a return to 14-15 form is perhaps more likely than not. Read more »

In the midst of a disappointing second season under Jason Kidd, the Bucks did at least seem to find a direction for their future. With budding superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo set to be the team's offensive engine, Milwaukee needed to build a rotation to complement his unique combination of size and skill. Read more »

One thing was demonstrably evident throughout Summer League, Ben Simmons' passing is a transcendent skill. To maximize this otherworldly ability, it is essential that he be the primary initiator on offense. Read more »

At the cost of well-crafted continuity and an undeniably positive culture, would moving, say, two or three rotation players and both Brooklyn picks for Superstar X vault them ahead of the Cavaliers and Warriors? It would not. Read more »

The questions abound for the Rockets, with the most looming one being whether James Harden is capable of balancing out his game in order to make the team better as a whole. Houston should be better than they were last season, but by how much will depend on injury luck and a commitment from their star guard. Read more »

Zaza Pachulia and Anderson Varejao are incompetent offensive players who make it much easier to use double teams. They won't be respected on offense and will be deliberately singled out on defense. Read more »

What the Lakers seem have to done is start a layered approach -- finding low maintenance vets to complement burgeoning youth -- and given a young coach an opportunity to build a new culture from scratch. A lot of their success will hinge on how Luke Walton fares, but things are certainly looking more promising. Read more »

Al Horford is already the best big on the roster by far and his fit on both ends of the floor should vastly upgrade the Boston interior while also complementing their existing bigs on the roster. Read more »

The Dallas front office has always counted on Rick Carlisle to bail them out after they swing and miss on big free agents. When viewing this haul through a Carlisle-colored lens, there's excitement in thinking about the quirky solutions he'll find to make this all work. Read more »

Perhaps the player with the most to prove, Thom Maker's five appearances at the Las Vegas Summer League helped establish the fact he does belong out there alongside NBA-caliber talent, though doubts over what level of prospect he truly is remain. Read more »

Russell Westbrook playing as the unequivocal alpha and omega with a finely crafted set of elite role players is perhaps the ultimate fulfillment of his basketball destiny. Perhaps it is also the ultimate fulfillment of this asset-rich Celtics' era. Read more »

Prioritizing Chandler Parsons over Zach Randolph makes sense if the Grizzlies consider themselves contenders. Parsons is a modern NBA combo forward who can spread the floor and doesn't play well with power forwards. Read more »

Sacramento has (for the most part) avoided any self-inflicting wounds this offseason. Instead, they've tapped the brakes and signed modest free agents on fliers that won't hurt their long-term cap sheet. Read more »

There's nothing the Blazers, Jazz or Pelicans can do that would effectively counter Golden State nearly running out an All-NBA team as a starting lineup. It is heartening, though, that a handful of relatively young teams from the NBA's middle class have decided they might as well go about the business of improvement anyway. Read more »

Tim Duncan isn't the greatest player in NBA history and certainly not the most entertaining or culturally relevant, but no team has extracted more value from a player and for longer than the Spurs did with him since Bill Russell and the Celtics. Read more »

The Nuggets' roster is filled with trade chips. And considering the youth already on their hands, they'd likely be willing to part ways with an attractive combination of young players and picks for the right star to launch them into contention. Read more »

Festus Ezeli is one of the best rebounders in the game and also keeps getting better as a rim protector, which was quite clearly one of Portland's biggest needs entering the offseason. Read more »