Offseason needs for every NBA team

Biggest Need: Veteran Leadership

Guess how many players the Hawks have over the age of 30 on their current roster? Zero. The front office did a great job rebuilding and bringing youth and excitement to the table by drafting the likes of John Collins and Trae Young; now, they need some adults in the locker room to show this group of kids how to be professionals. Youth movements are great, but if there aren't any veterans on a roster, young players tend to develop bad habits both on and off the court — this is essentially what got Sam Hinkie fired in Philadelphia. Look for the Hawks to maybe flip Dennis Schröder and throw some money at veterans like Amir Johnson and Jamal Crawford.

Biggest Need: Continuity

The Celtics are contenders today and should be contenders for the next 10 years. The NBA hasn't had a team with this promising of a future since the 2012 Thunder. Unless the Celtics can land Kawhi Leonard or Anthony Davis, they should focus on keeping this awesome core of Kyrie Irving, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Al Horford and Gordon Hayward together for as long as possible. Team chemistry, after all, is an underrated factor in the NBA. If we're nitpicking, they could use a little 3-point shooting as well.

Biggest Need: A star forward

The Nets have some intriguing young pieces like Jarrett Allen, Spencer Dinwiddie and D'Angelo Russell, but none of them are moving the needle for a franchise. The Nets will finally have their own first round pick in 2019, but they should take a swing at one of the talented, but flawed restricted free agents about to hit the market this summer like Aaron Gordon, Julius Randle and Jabari Parker. Maybe sign Randle to a big offer sheet and see if the Lakers balk while they're trying to sign LeBron James and Paul George. Could Randle take his game to another level if an entire offense were run through him? It's not impossible to imagine.

Biggest Need: Franchise direction

Toiling in mediocrity. That sums up the sad state of Michael Jordan's franchise. Whether it's signing Nic Batum to a max contract or drafting Malik Monk over Donovan Mitchell or not trading Kemba Walker at the height of his value last trade deadline or passing on Michael Porter Jr. in last Thursday's draft, the Hornets appear to be content aimlessly fighting for the No. 9 or 10 seed in the East every season. As good as he is, they need to trade Walker for future assets (or use him as a way to dump Batum's contract) and unapologetically tank this season or else they'll be in the same sad position next season, and the season after that... and the season after that.

Biggest Need: Quality wings

What's a telltale sign that your team is pretty bad? When Justin Holiday is unequivocally your best wing player. The Bulls are another team that should throw some money at a younger restricted free agent — perhaps the homegrown Jabari Parker? Even Rodney Hood might be worth a gamble. Regardless of who they sign, the Bulls have at least another year or two of rebuilding before they'll contend for a playoff spot.

Biggest Need: What do you think?

Obviously, it's LeBron James. If he leaves, the Cavaliers essentially turn into the Hornets. If he stays, they need at least two of the following pieces to compete with the Warriors, Rockets, Celtics and 76ers moving forward: (1) 3-and-D wing depth; (2) a shot creator; and (3) a rim protector. If they could somehow get Kawhi Leonard or Paul George, it would certainly alleviate (1) and (2). If they can't get either of those guys, they'll have to get creative in the next week — could they acquire Kemba Walker and a serviceable wing before LeBron makes Decision 3.0? Cavaliers fans should certainly hope so.

Biggest Need: Center

What a great draft day for the Mavericks! They traded up for a franchise-changing stud in Luka Doncic without having to sacrifice much. Now, they have Doncic and Dennis Smith Jr. for the next 10 years manning their backcourt along with some quality 3-and-D wings (Harrison Barnes and Wes Matthews) and a great coach (Rick Carlisle). All they need is a good center and they could probably contend for a playoff spot this season. Do they take a huge risk and offer Boogie Cousins a max contract coming off a torn Achilles tendon? Does Mark Cuban swallow his pride and offer DeAndre Jordan another deal if he opts out? Or do they sign Clint Capela to a max offer sheet and pray that Houston doesn't match? 

Biggest Need: A true point guard

The Nuggets have an extremely deep and talented roster that is in need of some minor refinement, the most obvious area of refinement being a pass-first third guard behind Jamal Murray and Gary Harris. Fred VanVleet would be ideal. Rajon Rondo could be intriguing as well considering the engaged, leadership role he played with the Pelicans last season. Regardless of how they round out their roster, with Nikola Jokic, Murray and Harris all taking significant strides last season, the Nuggets are poised to potentially make a leap from a borderline playoff team to a pseudo-contender in the West depending on their young core's improvement. Imagine how good this team could be if the tantalizingly talented Michael Porter Jr. pans out. 

Biggest Need: Roster development

The Pistons are another team without any cap space or direction as a franchise (this is why it was a bad idea to give Stan Van Gundy dual power as head coach and team president). Their best bet is to let new coach Dwane Casey implement his system and hope that he can develop the ancillary pieces of the roster like he did in Toronto. Can he turn Stanley Johnson into an above-average 3-and-D wing? Can he turn Henry Ellenson and Luke Kennard into serviceable role players around Blake Griffin, Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson? Another Coach of the Year trophy is waiting for him if he can. 

Biggest Need: Younger role players

Let's be honest - this team doesn't need anything, per se. Hell, they won a title this past season with six centers on their roster ! On the Zach Lowe Podcast, Steve Kerr said he expects the team to fill out its roster with younger players next season. In other words, goodbye Nick Young! Goodbye Zaza Pachulia! After adding Jacob Evans in the draft, look for the Dubs to take a risk on a high-risk, high-reward big man like Nerlens Noel and maybe a bargain wing looking to win a ring like Rudy Gay.

Biggest Need: Continuity (retaining Chris Paul and Clint Capela)

The Rockets were an untimely Chris Paul-injury away from likely winning the NBA Finals last season. With the opportunity to essentially run it back with the same roster, it'd be a huge risk to not do so. Assuming they can't steal LeBron James or Paul George in free agency, the Rockets should do whatever it takes to re-sign Chris Paul and Clint Capela. If they can do that and add another shooter or two, they'll be contenders for the title once again.

Biggest Need: Thad Young and Lance Stephenson upgrades

By declining Lance Stephenson's team option and with Thad Young apparently set to turn down his $13.8M  player option to become an unrestricted free agent (side note: what is he thinking!?!), the Pacers could be a major player in free agency this summer. The first thing they should look to find is a forward who can stretch the floor and give Victor Oladipo more room to operate. They could try to poach Trevor Ariza or Luc Mbah a Moute away from the Rockets. Or they could keep some cap room for other pieces and go after a cheaper option like Ersan Ilyasova. The second thing they should do is make a hard push for a rich man's Lance — Marcus Smart. He'd be perfect in Indiana.

Biggest Need: Youth development

The Clippers low-key made a killing in the Blake Griffin trade last season - adding a number of quality pieces on good, moveable contracts while simultaneously shedding Griffin's long-term cap hold. Unless Kawhi Leonard is made available to a Western Conference team, the Clippers are best off moving forward with their current roster, contending for the playoffs and waiting until next offseason to make a real splash in free agency. If DeAndre Jordan leaves, the team is a Danilo Gallinari trade away from having a blank slate heading into next summer.

Biggest Need: A superstar or two

The Lakers have been searching for a superstar to build a contender around ever since Kobe Bryant's Achilles tendon skipped town in 2013. At long last (at least in Lakers' time), they are favored to land a top free agent, or two — or three (let's not get too greedy). If they can sign LeBron James, Lakers fans will enjoy an acceleration from bottom feeder in the West to a bona fide championship contender overnight. The roster overhaul that ensues will be fascinating as Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka will have to make decisions on whom to keep and trade out of their most promising prospects: Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Julius Randle and Kyle Kuzma.

Biggest Need: Wing production

As their owner recently made overtly clear, the Grizzlies plan to contend for the playoffs this year. The good news for the Grizzlies: They have a very good point guard (Mike Conley) and center ( Marc Gasol), and they drafted two players who, at worst, should be impactful rotation players moving forward (Jaren Jackson and Jevon Carter). The bad news for the Grizzlies: they're paying $94 million to Chandler Parsons to essentially be a male Instagram model. More bad news: the Grizzlies are effectively capped-out the next couple years unless they can dump Parsons' contract or decide to break-up the Conley-Gasol combo. Thus, they're going to have to strike gold on an undrafted rookie or hope that Dillon Brooks or Wayne Selden Jr. develop into a high-end role player.

Biggest Need: A superstar

Anyone who watched the Heat-76ers first round should have come away with two conclusions about the Heat. First, they're fun as hell to watch. Second, they don't have a true go-to guy that will get them tough buckets down the stretch — especially when Dwyane Wade can't summon the Flash from years past. Ever since LeBron left in 2014, the NBA world has been waiting for Pat Riley's swan song mastermind move, but it just hasn't happened yet. With a bunch of good-not-great players on moveable contracts, you get the sense that Riley is lurking, waiting for the right moment to roll the dice. Could they be the surprise team that makes an 11th hour push for Kawhi Leonard? 

Biggest Need: Better guards

Unfortunately for the Bucks, Eric Bledsoe was never able to regain the form that once made him one of the league's top young point guards. Bledsoe is a cautionary tale of what happens to young players that develop losing habits while playing for crummy organizations — sometimes, they never recover. After watching Bledsoe this past season, it's safe to say he's a lost cause. Look for the Bucks to try to trade Bledsoe (Bill Simmons recently floated a Bledsoe for Dennis Schröder deal) to clear some cap space to sign a veteran, pass-first point guard and/or a professional shooter like Wayne Ellington.

Biggest Need: Depth - especially shooters who can play serviceable defense

With the T'Wolves drafting the hard-nosed Josh Okogie and then having projected first-rounder and reigning Big Ten Player of the Year Keita Bates-Diop fall into their laps late in the second round, it would not be surprising at all if the team shopped and traded Andrew Wiggins this summer. Unfortunately for Minnesota, the return won't be anything near the return the Cavaliers once got from the T'Wolves for Wiggins — especially with that 5-year/$154 million deal set to kick-in this year. Ideally, the team can get back some shooting in a Wiggins deal, but, if not, a deal should at least open up some cap room in the future to help address the team's lack of depth (at least in Coach Thibodeau's mind).

Biggest Need: A high-end wing

The Pelicans for years have tried (and failed) to surround Anthony Davis with quality wings (Luke Babbitt, Quincy Pondexter, Solomon Hill, etc.). This past season, they found success foregoing the small forward position in favor of two point guards (Rajon Rondo and Jrue Holiday) and another guard (E'Twaun Moore and/or Ian Clark) alongside Nikola Mirotic and Davis. It'd be a lot easier if they didn't have to play Moore and Clark out of position all the time. The move that has gained some traction in the media is to sign-and-trade DeMarcus Cousins to the Wizards for Otto Porter. A move like that might move the needle and make the Pelicans a contender if Davis has another gear he can get to.

Biggest Need: A good point guard

Let's see... Frank Ntilikina?  Probably better-suited as a Marcus Smart/Tony Allen-type guard. Trey Burke? Probably better-suited as a sixth man. Emmanuel Mudiay? Probably better-suited in the G-League. Unless they can shed the Joakim Noah contract (good luck!) or make a trade, they'll probably have to wait another year to get the point guard they need. Lucky for them, the home-grown Kemba Walker hits the market that year - that's the Knicks' move. You heard it here first.

Biggest Need: Paul George 

Did Russell Westbrook and the Thunder do enough to convince the linchpin of free agency, Paul George, to stay in Oklahoma City? Stay tuned Friday. George is the Thunder's biggest need moving forward because he is the perfect second banana to Westbrook — he's an All-NBA level defender who can cover 1 through 4 and he's seemingly content being the Robin to Russ' Batman on offense. If George leaves, the Thunder should seriously consider calling the Lakers on September 28 to see what they'd offer for Westbrook. 

Biggest Need: Literally everything - especially a point guard

The Magic are a dumpster fire. If they want to give their two most recent draft choices (Mo Bamba and Jonathan Issac) a fighting chance at developing into good players, they'll need to get them a legitimate point guard. Having Shelvin Mack lead your team in assists at 3.9/game in 2017-18 is a basketball travesty. Rajon Rondo and Fred VanVleet are two options in free agency. Dennis Schröder, Milos Teodosic and — if they wanted to make a big splash — Kyle Lowry, are some potential trade market targets.

Biggest Need: 1a) A superstar; or 1b) Markelle Fultz's jump shot to come back

After their savvy draft night trade where they picked-up the Heat's unprotected 2021 first round pick (possibly the first year high schoolers are eligible to be drafted again), the 76ers are in position to either clear cap space for LeBron James or trade for Kawhi Leonard... or both. If any of that happens, they'll need to fill-out the rest of their roster with shooting. 

If they don't land LeBron or Kawhi, they should re-sign JJ Redick and do whatever they can to get Markelle Fultz over his shooting yips. The athleticism and skills that made him the No. 1 pick in the draft all seem to have translated to the NBA. If he could ever regain his shooting form, the 76ers could have one of the most transcendent trios in NBA history.

Biggest Need: Playmaking

In a surprising twist, the Suns renounced their rights to starting point guard Elfrid Payton, making him a free agent and further exposing their lack of playmaking at point guard. With as much as $15 million in cap space, it's hard to believe that the Suns are just going to roll with Brandon Knight and Tyler Ulis as their distributors next season. Many blue checkmarks on Twitter believe that the Suns are looking to be a player this offseason, yet there aren't many pass-first point guards on the market. Are they simply looking to sign a veteran like Rajon Rondo and retain their cap flexibility another year? Or are they positioning themselves for a big trade target like Kemba Walker?

Biggest Need: Frontcourt scoring

We are starting to see the limits of what a team led by two offensive-minded 6-3 guards can be in the NBA in Portland. Both Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum are excellent, but unless they can acquire or develop some consistent scoring from their big men, they're going to top out as a non-threatening No. 3 seed in the West. One idea that's been floated since last year is a CJ McCollum for Kevin Love trade. Certainly an interesting deal, however, does it move the needle enough for either team to ultimately pull the trigger? Whether they deal McCollum or Lillard or not, they're really depending on Zach Collins developing into a high-level center. 

Biggest Need: Developing a star on their current roster

While they passed on a potential franchise savior (Luka Doncic) in the draft, the Kings still came away with an elite prospect in Marvin Bagley III. Now, they need to prioritize Bagley and De'Aaron Fox's development ahead of everything else. Even though the Celtics own the rights to their first round pick next season, the Kings cannot lose sight of the ultimate goal (developing their prospects into stars) and sign a bunch of "win-now" veterans to make a push for the No. 8 seed. They must allow their youngsters to work through mistakes and hopefully accelerate their learning curve in the process.

Biggest Need: A primary scorer

As well as LaMarcus Aldridge played (All-NBA Second Team) and as well as Greg Popovich coached last season, the Spurs' ceiling with Kawhi Leonard sitting out is a No. 7 seed. They can hang their hat on defense to remain competitive, but they desperately need a go-to scorer in order to get back into the contender sphere. Assuming the Kawhi relationship is irreparably damaged, it'll be interesting to see if whether they prioritize potential (Brandon Ingram? Jaylen Brown? Markelle Fultz?) or experience (Gordon Hayward? Kevin Love?) in a deal. With Popovich nearing the end of his career, it wouldn't be all that shocking if it was the latter.

Biggest Need: Wing shooting

Talk about a team that wants to see LeBron James go West this offseason. The Raptors should offer to charter a private jet for LeBron to travel between Los Angeles and Akron if he agrees to leave the Eastern Conference. Regardless of what LeBron does, the Raptors will need more 3-and-D guys (with an emphasis on the 3) to remain relevant in the East with the likes of Jayson Tatum and Ben Simmons on the rise. OG Anunoby is a nice start at wing, but they need more. With no cap space and excellent depth at guard, a Kyle Lowry trade this offseason makes sense. Could they pawn off Lowry to Minnesota for an Andrew Wiggins (a/k/a the Maple Jordan) package? 

Biggest Need: A reliable secondary option

The Jazz are positioned well for the present and the future after capitalizing on two of the biggest draft day steals in the past decade (Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell). They also have one of the best head coaches in the NBA in Quin Snyder and a group of solid veterans like Joe Ingles, Ricky Rubio and Jae Crowder. Thus, maintaining the status quo is an option. When they decide to take a swing at contending, they'll need a secondary scorer behind Mitchell. Could that swing be Jabari Parker (people forget he's a Mormon!)? Keep an eye out on this connection.

Biggest Need: Boogie!!

The Wizards seem to always be on the brink of being a serious contender in the Eastern Conference, but every time they seemed poised to break through, Bradley Beal or John Wall gets injured. They're the type of team that needs to take a big risk if they want to break through that artificial barrier keeping them from contending. That risk is trading Otto Porter for DeMarcus "Boogie" Cousins, with the hope being that Kelly Oubre Jr. continues to develop into a upper echelon 3-and-D wing and Wall and Cousins bring out the best in each other. It's a huge risk to bet on a guy coming off an Achilles injury, but taking risks is better than tapping out in the first or second round every season.