If there’s any idea reinforced by the outcome of the 2024 Paris Olympics, it’s the NBA’s continued reign as the most dominant basketball league on the planet.
The skeptics seeking more proof need to look no further than the stacked basketball rosters set to compete when the 2024-25 NBA season begins in October.
The talent level has never been higher, and the degrees separating pretenders from contenders are becoming thinner by the year.
The league wouldn’t have it any other way. Parity is alive and well in 2024.
This is Part 1 of the Daily News’ NBA Power Rankings, starting from the bottom, where the city that never sleeps is home to a franchise expected to be dormant at least until the 2025 NBA Draft.
Check back Wednesday morning for Part 2.
30 – Brooklyn Nets
NOTABLE TRANSACTIONS
- Traded F Mikal Bridges, F Keita Bates-Diop, 2026 second-round pick (least favorable between Detroit, Orlando and Milwaukee) to New York for five first-round picks, a first-round pick swap, Brooklyn’s own 2025 second-round pick, Bojan Bogdanovic, Shake Milton and Mamadi Diakite
- Traded Mamadi Diakite and Nemanja Dangubic to Memphis for F Ziaire Williams and a 2030 second-round pick
Will the Nets win 12 games? It’s the franchise record for fewest wins in a season, and after a full demolition of a previous title contender, the record is in play.
So is Cooper Flagg, the promising prospect headlining the class of 2025. The Nets rank high in future power rankings, but they are immediately on the bottom of the basketball totem pole, and there is no way out, at least not this season.
Three years ago, the Nets were coming off of a playoff run that fell an inch short of a potential trip to the NBA Finals.
Entering this season, only three players remain from the roster formed around the short-lived Big Three of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden: Nic Claxton, Cam Thomas, and Day’Ron Sharpe.
The Ben Simmons experiment failed miserably — and yes, Simmons has one more year worth $40M left on his contract — which doesn’t matter, because it’s Thomas o’clock at Barclays Center, where Simmons, even if healthy, doesn’t look to score, and the proven scoring options (Bogdanovic aside) have all been shuttled elsewhere, leaving just one bold man to save the day.
Thomas might average twice as many points per game as the Nets record wins this season.
And the Nets will continue to stockpile draft assets. They are currently sitting on 15 first-round picks with the ability to secure more by trading playoff-ready veterans Dorian Finney-Smith, Cam Johnson and Bogdanovic.
Better or worse? (No. 22, 32-50)
Worse than you think.
29 – Utah Jazz
NOTABLE TRANSACTIONS
- Drafted Cody Williams (#10), Isaiah Collier (#29) and Kyle Filipowski (#32)
- Signed Drew Eubanks and Svi Mykhailiuk
- Renegotiated and extended Lauri Markkanen’s contract: five years, $238M
The Jazz have access to 16 first-round picks over the next seven draft classes. Of those 16 picks, Utah can trade 12 without violating the collective bargaining agreement’s Ted Stepien Rule.
Which means in theory, the Jazz can overpay with draft compensation in two separate deals for star players — the same way the Knicks did for Bridges — and still have assets left to make future deals.
Trading for a star is the only way this Utah team sniffs anywhere north of the West’s bottom-three. The Jazz understood the assignment — a franchise rarely in position to land a star secured Markkanen’s spot in Utah for the foreseeable future — but they are failing the class, unless the class is tanking for Flagg along with the Nets.
Each of the three Western Conference teams finishing with worse records than the Jazz last season made more significant roster upgrades during the offseason.
Better or worse? (No. 23, 31-51)
Worse, barring a significant trade.
28 – Washington Wizards
NOTABLE TRANSACTIONS
- Drafted F Alex Sarr (#2) and F Kyshawn George (#24)
- Traded F Deni Avdija to Portland for G Malcolm Brogdon, G Carlton Carrington (#14), 2029 first-round pick, 2028 & 2030 second-round picks
- Traded 2027 second-round pick to New Orleans for C Jonas Valanciunas (three-year, $30M sign-and-trade)
- Signed F Saddiq Bey (three years, $19M)
- Lost G Tyus Jones in free agency (PHX)
There’s a 99.99999999% chance the Wizards revert to last season’s mean: a dumpster fire.
Jordan Poole was in over his head as a main offensive option, Kyle Kuzma became more notable for his outfits than his output, and a team expected to make a splash finished with the second-worst record in the NBA.
But that 0.00000001 percent?
There’s a case to be made for the Wizards being better than expected this season:
- The projected No. 1 overall pick (Sarr) refused to workout for the Atlanta Hawks and landed in D.C. at pick No. 2.
- The Wizards made a head-coaching change, relieving Wes Unseld Jr. of his duties and promoting Brian Keefe, who retained the job full-time
- Washington addressed a huge need at center by acquiring Valanciunas from the Pelicans
- The Wizards also added a quality rotation player signing Bey away from the Hawks
And then there’s the elephant in the room: The player who signed a four-year, $128M deal may actually begin to play up to his contract value.
Poole averaged 17.4 points per game on 41.3% shooting from the field, plummeting from his production in each of his last two seasons in Golden State.
It’s only a fraction of a percent worth of hope, but after last season, things can’t get much worse at Capital One Arena.
Or can they?
Better or worse? (No. 29, 15-67)
Cautiously better.
27 – Detroit Pistons
NOTABLE TRANSACTIONS
- Signed Tobias Harris (two years, $52M), Malik Beasley, Paul Reed
- Drafted Ron Holland II (#5)
- Traded Quentin Grimes to Dallas for Tim Hardaway Jr. and three second-round picks
- Cade Cunningham contract extension: five years, $224M
- Fired head coach Monty Williams, hired J.B. Bickerstaff
The Pistons are grown-up!
Yay!
Will it translate to the win-loss column?
Nay!
At least not much, not this fast in a stiff Eastern Conference, but, hey, Detroit will take any progress whatsoever.
And yes, adding Harris signals a step forward for an organization without a playoff appearance since 2019 and without a playoff series victory since Chauncey Billups led them to the Conference Finals in 2008.
So does the coaching change after a depressed Monty Williams was relieved of his duties at the end of the season in favor of J.B. Bickerstaff, who helped build a playoff contender in Cleveland.
The Pistons have been bottom-five in the East each of the past five (5!) seasons and flat-out dead-last in three of those five.
That projects to change, at least being league-worst, though Detroit has work to do before thinking about the playoffs.
Locking in Cunningham long-term was a no-brainer good step in the right direction.
Better or worse? (No. 30, 14-68)
Noticeably better on the court, but not in the win-loss column.
26 – Portland Trail Blazers
NOTABLE TRANSACTIONS
- Traded G Brogdon, G Carlton Carrington, 2029 first-round pick, 2028 & 2030 second-round picks to WAS for F Avdija
- Drafted C Donovan Clingan (#7)
What do Deandre Ayton, Robert Williams III, Clingan and Duop Reath have in common?
They each play center for the Trail Blazers, and all of them will be looking for minutes.
It will be a season-defining issue in Portland, where a franchise rebuilding after the Damian Lillard trade seeks a pathway back to relevance in the sports world.
Scoot Henderson and Anfernee Simons are a good, young back court, and Avdija is a solid addition alongside Jerami Grant at the forward spots, but the Western Conference is loaded, and the Trail Blazers need more firepower, which they may be able to find on the trade market once they clear their logjam at the five — and maybe move on from other players elsewhere on the roster.
Better or worse? (No. 28, 21-61)
Noticeably better, but logjam at center is an issue.
