Three NBA teams primed for a major drop-off in 2026-27

The 2026 NBA offseason has already cemented its place as one of the most chaotic in recent memory, from LeBron James switching conferences to Jaylen Brown moving between rivals to Kawhi Leonard floating in trade purgatory and everything in between.

But with so many teams gearing up for a strong 2026-27 campaign, a few others are staring down the barrel of a serious drop-off, with no obvious roster improvements on the horizon between now and October.

Here are three teams that look like they're headed for a decline in fortunes ahead of the 2026-27 NBA season.

Detroit Pistons

The Detroit Pistons are fresh off a top-seed performance in the Eastern Conference last year, and the entire core of that roster looks set to remain unchanged going forward, barring a Jalen Duren contract catastrophe. Surely that's a strong recipe to compete for home court in the East yet again?

Well, sometimes consistency can be a polite word for stagnancy, and in the context of the new-and-improved Eastern Conference, stagnation sounds like a death sentence. The Sixers might have built the strongest starting five in the league, the Celtics have handed the keys completely over to Jayson Tatum, Giannis Antetokounmpo is playing for a competitor again, and the list goes on from there. Bringing in Isaiah Joe and praying for the rest to go right is hardly a winning strategy, especially for a team that still hasn't solved the shooting issues that have been plaguing it for years.

This doesn't mean that Detroit is going to drop to the play-in, but it may not comfortably clear it, either.

Charlotte Hornets

The Charlotte Hornets were a pleasant surprise last season, fast-forwarding the timeline many expected them to follow and putting up a real challenge to Dallas and Cooper Flagg for Rookie of the Year with Kon Knueppel. Like with Detroit, this would normally sound like a prime opportunity to keep the momentum going and take another step forward this season. Right?

Unfortunately, the Hornets organization instead decided to build on that success by trading away the best player they've had since Kemba Walker, LaMelo Ball. Julius Randle has the potential to bring a veteran presence Charlotte has been sorely lacking, and Knueppel will continue to come into his own now that the franchise's plans seem to be firmly centered around him. But the net result of the Ball trade will be a decline in 2027, with another play-in berth looking unlikely for Charles Lee's men.

Los Angeles Lakers

Now that King James has taken his talents from Bel Air, everything is ready for Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves to show the world just how dangerous they can be together.

The only problem is that Rob Pelinka has neglected to construct a basketball team around them. The Los Angeles Lakers' asset-heavy move for Walker Kessler already has many concerned about the team's future, and now, reports are emerging that they don't even feel satisfied with their center rotation going into this season. Factor in the departures of Rui Hachimura and others, and all of a sudden, questions start to arise about where the Lakers' wins are supposed to come from.

If you can imagine a timeline in which the Minnesota Timberwolves, Portland Trail Blazers and Mavericks all figure a few things out this year given their additions (including, in the latter case, a refreshed and recovered Kyrie Irving), you can imagine a timeline in which the Lakers are sweating their situation in April.