NBA Season Preview 2016-17: Predictions For Every Western Conference Team

So much for parity.

The Golden State Warriors somehow got better after a record-setting 73-win season by adding superstar Kevin Durant, giving them ridiculous 2-3 odds win the 2017 NBA title and avenge last season’s bitter Finals loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

So, why should we even play the 2016-17 regular season? Turns out there are plenty of reasons, as the Western Conference is loaded with intriguing storylines like Russell Westbrook’s Vengeance Tour in Oklahoma City and an assembling of incredible young talent in Minnesota.

How will the West shake out? Let’s break it down by division, with each team’s projected 2016-17 record and overall finish in the West in parentheses.

PACIFIC DIVISION
1. Golden State Warriors (Projected record: 69-13; Projected overall seed: 1st)
Key Additions: Kevin Durant (free agency), Zaza Pachulia (free agency)
Key Departures: Harrison Barnes (free agency), Andrew Bogut (free agency)
Skinny: The only team that can beat the Warriors is the Warriors. Given the unrelenting attention they’ll attract all season, that’s not out of the realm of possibility.

2. Los Angeles Clippers (52-30; 3rd)
Key Additions: Brandon Bass (free agency), Marreese Speights (free agency)
Key Departures: None
Skinny: The Clippers have won 53-plus games in four consecutive seasons yet haven’t advanced past the second round in any of them. There’s a good chance that streak extends to five.

3. Sacramento Kings (34-48, 12th)
Key Additions: Georgios Papagiannis (draft)
Key Departures: Rajon Rondo (free agency)
Skinny: The Kings have a brand new arena and a new head coach in Dave Joerger. Outside that, there’s not much to get excited about in Sacramento outside watching DeMarcus Cousins drop double-doubles every night.

4. Los Angeles Lakers (26-56, 13th)
Key Additions: Brandon Ingram (draft), Timofey Mozgov (free agency)
Key Departures: Kobe Bryant (retirement)
Skinny: Year One of Life Without Kobe should be entertaining, at least: We get to see what D’Angelo Russell can do, if Brandon Ingram can live up to the hype and why the heck the Lakers paid Mozgov $64 million.

5. Phoenix Suns (22-60, 15th)
Key Additions: Dragan Bender (draft), Marquese Chriss (draft)
Key Departures: Jon Leuer (free agency), Mirza Telovic (free agency)
Skinny: The Suns are going to be awful, but the young trio of Bender, Chriss and guard Devin Booker should be somewhat compelling to watch.

SOUTHWEST DIVISION
1. San Antonio Spurs (55-27, 2nd)
Key Additions: Pau Gasol (free agency), David Lee (free agency)
Key Departures: Tim Duncan (retirement), Boris Diaw (trade)
Skinny: It’s hard to imagine a Spurs team without Duncan. But outside him and Diaw, the most important parts of this well-oiled team remain intact. Gregg Popovich’s club once again should be the best team in the West not named Golden State.

2. Memphis Grizzlies (46-36, 4th)
Key Additions: Chandler Parsons (free agency)
Key Departures: Lance Stephenson (free agency)
Skinny: The Grizzlies were absolutely decimated by injuries last season, and Parsons missing the season opener as he recovers from knee surgery is an ominous start to 2016-17. When healthy, though, Memphis is one of the top four teams in the West.

3. Houston Rockets (40-42, 9th)
Key Additions: Ryan Anderson (free agency), Eric Gordon (free agency)
Key Departures: Dwight Howard (free agency)
Skinny: Losing Howard is addition by subtraction. But the bottom of the West playoff picture figures to be crowded, and James Harden doesn’t have enough talent around him to push this team into the playoffs.

4. Dallas Mavericks (39-43, 10th)
Key Additions: Harrison Barnes (free agency), Andrew Bogut (free agency)
Key Departures: Chandler Parsons (free agent)
Skinny: There’s reason for optimism in Dallas after it poached Barnes and Bogut from the Warriors, but the rest of the West is just too good for the Mavs to sneak into the postseason.

5. New Orleans Pelicans (24-58, 14th)
Key Additions: Buddy Hield (draft), Lance Stephenson (free agency)
Key Departures: Ryan Anderson (free agency), Eric Gordon (free agency)
Skinny: Can we just put Anthony Davis in a bubble already? The injury bug keeps biting the über-talented big man, who is essential to any success this team wants to have. At least we’ll get a good look at Hield.

NORTHWEST DIVISION
1. Portland Trail Blazers (46-36, 5th)
Key Additions: Evan Turner (free agency), Festus Ezeli (free agency)
Key Departures: None
Skinny: Almost everyone slept on the Blazers last season, and they got burned. The West would be wise to take Portland seriously this season, as Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum represent one of the best backcourts in the business.

2. Utah Jazz (45-37, 6th)
Key Additions: George Hill (trade), Boris Diaw (trade), Joe Johnson (free agency)
Key Departures: Trey Burke (trade)
Skinny: The Jazz added Hill to an ever-improving core of Gordon Hayward, Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors. The time is now to end their four-season playoff drought.

3. Oklahoma City Thunder (44-37, 7th)
Key Additions: Victor Oladipo (trade), Domantas Sabonis (draft)
Key Departures: Kevin Durant (free agency), Serge Ibaka (trade)
Skinny: The supporting cast is good enough and Russell Westbrook is angry enough for this team to return to the playoffs without KD. Here’s hoping they fall to the 8th seed and play the Warriors in the opening round of the playoffs.

4. Minnesota Timberwolves (43-39, 8th)
Key Additions: Kris Dunn (draft), Cole Aldrich (free agency)
Key Departures: Kevin Garnett (retirement)
Skinny: The future rapidly is becoming the present in Minnesota. The Wolves might be the NBA’s most exciting team to watch this season outside Golden State, and a playoff berth is a very realistic goal.

5. Denver Nuggets (35-47, 11th)
Key Additions: Jamal Murray (draft), Juan Hernangomez (draft)
Key Departures: None
Skinny: The Nuggets could have a nice young nucleus on their hands with Murray, Emmanuel Mudiay and Nikola Jokic. But success still is at least a few seasons away.