SURVEYING THE POST DRAFT LANDSCAPE – SOUTHWEST DIVISION
The eye of the hurricane week for the NBA. The time in between the NBA draft and the start of free agency. A chance to catch our collective breath as NBA fans and take stock of where the teams are.
By my count there were 12 draft night trades scuttling picks both present and future all around the league. That figure doesn’t even count the exchanges that took place prior to the draft, such as the Celtics sending the 1st pick to Philadelphia for the 3rd pick and a future first.
So with the additions of 60 names to the NBA family, as well as contracts expiring, lets take a moment to review where each team currently sits as far as its roster. Below you’ll find how each team’s roster stands. For the purpose of this exercise recently selected 2nd round picks will be listed as they are exclusive property of the team. Many will end up being draft & stash players, or on 2 way contracts with their parent club and G-League affiliate, but for now, lets let them enjoy the feeling of being in the league.
SOUTHWEST DIVISION:
DALLAS MAVERICKS
Projected Starting Line Up:
- Dirk Nowitzki
- Harrison Barnes
- Dorian Finney Smith
- Wesley Matthews
- Dennis Smith Jr.
Bench:
- Dwight Powell
- Devin Harris
- JJ Berea
- Seth Curry
- Yogi Farrell
- Salah Mejri
- AJ Hammons
- Nicolas Brussino
- Jarrod Uthoff
HOUSTON ROCKETS
Projected Starting Line Up:
- Clint Capela
- Ryan Anderson
- Trevor Ariza
- Patrick Beverly
- James Harden
Bench:
- Eric Gordon
- Lou Williams
- Sam Dekker
- Montrezl Harrell
- Kyle Wiltjer
- Chinanu Onauku
- Isaiah Taylor
- Isaiah Hartenstein
- Dillon Brooks
MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES
Projected Starting Line up:
- Marc Gasol
- Jarrell Martin
- Chandler Parsons
- Andrew Harrison
- Mike Conley
Bench:
- Brandan Wright
- James Ennis
- Troy Daniels
- Wade Baldwin IV
- Ivan Rabb
- Deyonta Davis
NEW ORLEANS PELICANS
Projected Starting Line Up:
- Demarcus Cousins
- Anthony Davis
- Solomon Hill
- E’Twuan Moore
- Quinn Cook
Bench:
- Omar Asik
- Alexis Ajinca
- Quincy Pondexter
- Chuck Diallo
- Jordan Crawford
- Alex Toupane
- Frank Jackson
SAN ANTONIO SPURS
Projected Starting Line up:
- LaMarcus Aldridge
- David Bertans
- Kawhi Leonard
- Danny Green
- Dejounte Murray
Bench:
- Kyle Anderson
- Bryn Forbes
- Derrick White
- Jarron Blossomgame
- Tony Parker* (Will he be able to play in 17-18, or ever?)
OVERVIEW:
The Houston Rockets are seemingly the only team entering free agency without huge questions. The Pelicans will see how the Brow-Boogie experiment goes for a full year. The question becomes, how will they decide when there doesn’t seem to be a perimeter player on the roster deserving of being more than an 8th man in an NBA rotation on the roster? The Spurs must decide if they’re going all in on clearing space to unit Chris Paul and Kawhi Leonard. The Grizzlies with their big 3 of Gasol, Parsons, and Conley seem destined to stay in NBA purgatory where they’re not bad enough to nab a lottery gem, but not good enough to actually compete for anything either. While the Mavs look like they just kicked off their rebuild campaign with selection of alpha dog Dennis Smith.
