Teams that will contend for the title in 5 years?

[dr aj]

Now i don't have a crystal ball or any magic stuff here with me, so i'm just going with predictions from now and how things may turn out in the next 5 years.

Teams from the West that i think will contend for the title in 5 years:

1. New Orleans Hornets - Chris Paul is the main reason and is probably all i need to say.

2. Portland Trail Blazers - With Kevin Pritchard as the GM, and probably one of the smartest ones out there i think the Blazers have a great future. Brandon Roy is a great all-round player and is a born leader. They have a line-up full of youth and talent/potential.

3. Utah Jazz - They don't have an extremely young group, but they have the fundamentals and the expertise on board. If Jerry Sloan is to stay on board, this team could become like the Spurs.

4. Memphis Grizzlies - The young group they have can turn into a nightmare for other teams. Mayo an absolute offensive threat and Darrell Arthur, Rudy Gay, Mike Conley and Hakim Warrick can all do damage. Conley and Warrick can develop into some strong players and i'm sure will.

5. Los Angeles Lakers - Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum. Batman and Robin. If Kobe is still around in 5 years, i'm sure the Lakers will still contend for the title.

Honourable mentions:
Los Angeles Clippers - Many may doubt this team seeing as Brand has gone and also now Maggette. But Al Thornton and Eric Gordon can fill these places. Thornton has trouble on decision making but he will of course get more experience as time goes on. If Baron Davis stays until the end then this team has a solid core.

For the East:

1. Cleveland Cavaliers - If LeBron stays from 2010 onwards and we (the Cavs) will surely pick up a star player in the FA, then the Cavs are set for the top contenders.

2. Miami Heat - Dwyane Wade and Michael Beasley together could turn out to be a Jordan and Pippen duo. Of course Wade isn't nearly as good as Jordan, but what a duo it could be. Mario Chalmers also could turn into a strong scoring/passing PG.

3. Philidelphia 76ers - After seeing their potential in Young and a whole other future star players the 76ers have a bright future. Marreese Speights was an excellent pickup in the draft and will be a big part of their success. With the experience of Andre Miller running the point and Elton Brand up forward, this team is dangerous.

4. Washington Wizards - If their big 3 stay together, this team can be a team not to emss with. JaVale McGee was a need for them and a great choice, along with Nick Young, this team is not just skilled but young.

5. Charlotte Bobcats - I love their line-up, so much talent, but they don't get far, i think in the near future things will turn around for them.

Honourable mention:
Indian Pacers - Larry Bird as the GM has made some great decisions and the Pacers are almost set for the future. Danny Granger is improving his game, TJ Ford will be tremendous for them at the point and the newly aquired players, Brandon Rush and Roy Hibbert will contribute very well.

So that's my predictions for the future. What are yours?

You don't have to write as much as i did, but you can list teams if you want.

[Dead_Real]

Western Conference - LA Lakers (my title winner next year if Bynum stays healthy), New Orleans (CP3 will get them a few titles don't be surprised if they're in the Western Conference Finals next year), Portland (probably the best young team in the NBA love there core players), Utah Jazz (As long as Deron is there point they'll be relevant in the Westcoast), Golden State (Ellis will become even more a beast with Baron gone and I could see Anthony Randolph and Brandon Wright becoming a top 5 frontcourt tandem) and my darkhorse is also Memphis if they can land JSmooth either way Gay and Mayo will be studs.

Eastern Conference - Miami Heat (Wade, B-Easy, Chalmers and Marion will be a thorn in our side for years to come sadly), Brooklyn Nets (My prediction is that Jay-Z will sway Lebron to be a Net in 2010 imagine King James, Devin Harris, CDR, Yi and Brook Lopez miles better than what he played with in Cleveland this would be a scary team), Orlando Magic (Superman is all I need to say point blank), Philly (Iggy, Miller, Thad Young, Lou Williams and Brand will be a top 5 seed next year if the youngsters continue to improve) and our Bobcats (In 5 years I see J-Rich being a force on the East coast becoming All Star status player, Mek could be one of the top big men, Ray or Augustin might emerge as a top 5 point guard and if Wallace finds out how to beast without hitting the floor every other play we'll be a consistent Eastern conference playoff team for years to come). Honorable mention darkhorse pick is the Hawks(Joe Johnson, Smith if he resigns, Marvin Williams can only get better and Horford will make for a solid conference rival fighting for playoff spots each year)

Edit - I forgot about the Chicago Bulls but I hate them so I hope they fail and Rose becomes a bust

[ziggy]

I can summarize it down to 1 team.
The Portland TrailBlazers. In 5 years they will own this league and nobody will be able to touch them. Oden & Aldridge in the frontcourt not to mention Roy will be a combination thats going to put up BIG wins.

[Dead_Real]

^Plus with Dorsey and Frye off the bench they have a lot of depth as far as bigs I hate that

[SWedd523]

^And Bayless, Rudy Fernandez, and Batum!

Pritchard is a genius as far as I'm concerned. They have so much talent they're having to trade it away because they don't have room!

[dvdbumpus]

Add Diogu, Outlaw, Rodriguez, Przybilla, Webster and they have by FAR the deepest team in the league. All I can say is, wow. Just wow. They could trade for any player they wanted.

[mar23]

go bobcats