Sneaky-fun teams to watch next season

Welcome back to another edition of Enjoy Basketball!

The doldrums of the NBA offseason are officially upon us. We’re still benefitting from the early-summer rumor mill, but now that Summer League is over, real basketball action won’t be back for another few months. But that doesn’t mean we can’t start thinking about next year.

Although free agency is technically ongoing, the initial buzz has come and gone. Most of the top-notch free agents have already found their landing spot for next year, so rosters around the league are starting to take shape. And with that, people can start to figure out what squads they want to watch the most.

Obviously, teams like the Golden State Warriors, Boston Celtics, Memphis Grizzlies, and Milwaukee Bucks are all going to be great. They are top-notch teams with NBA superstars, making the viewing experience amazing. But what under-the-radar teams should fans be paying attention to?

Here are five teams that you should make sure to watch next year (even though you may not think about watching them at first). Let’s get into it.

But first, we have another poll for you all to answer. And this time, it’s important for all fellow basketball enjoyers to respond!

1. Indiana Pacers

After blowing up their roster last year, the Pacers look fully equipped to fast-track their rebuild. They traded away Domantas Sabonis at the deadline, dealt Malcolm Brogdon earlier this summer, and are now looking into deals involving Buddy Hield and Myles Turner. But with the current core they have on the roster, they are set up beautifully for a quick turnaround.

Tyrese Haliburton is the main draw on this team. With what he flashed last season during his short time in Indiana, don’t be surprised to see him turn into an All-Star this season. His fluid scoring and unbelievable passing skills are enough to keep any fan entertained for a full 48 minutes.

And Haliburton isn’t the only fun player to watch on the roster, either. Rookie Bennedict Mathurin showed a ton of potential during Summer League, so expect him to get some serious run. The same goes for Chris Duarte, who looks primed to be a big-time scoring threat. And then there’s Isaiah Jackson, the high-flying big man poised to earn more minutes if Turner gets traded. Make sure to tune in to Pacers games next year.

2. Portland Trail Blazers

Damian Lillard is going to be back. That’s should be enough for fans to want to tune in.

The King of Clutch missed what felt like an entire year (even though it was only the latter half of last season), so to see him back out on the court competing for the postseason will be an absolute joy. Although, it will definitely be weird to watch him play without CJ McCollum by his side.

Portland has done a great job of putting a quality team around Lillard. More importantly, though, they’ve emphasized improvement on the defensive side of the floor. Gary Payton II and Jerami Grant are the perfect defensive pieces to pair alongside Lillard and Anfernee Simons - an offensive guru and his young prodigy.

But one under-the-radar player who fans should be watching out for next year is Josh Hart. After he was traded to the Blazers at the deadline this past year, he showed signs of becoming a star. And while those numbers will undoubtedly decline with Lillard back in the mix, if he can turn into a 3&D star next to the Blazers point guard, Portland will be must-watch television every night.

3. Washington Wizards

After re-signing Bradley Beal to a massive contract extension, the Wizards should be focused on one thing and one thing only - making the playoffs. And while the Eastern Conference is definitely a bit stacked, they could have a real shot at getting there. They’ve done a sneakily good job of adding talent around Beal.

First and foremost, Beal will get the chance to play with Kristaps Porzingis, who a lot of people probably forgot was even on this Wizards team. Porzingis got a bad reputation in Dallas, but in Washington, he’ll have a fresh start to play his game. If he can get back to scoring efficiently and defending the paint like he once did, the Wizards will have gotten a steal.

On top of that, the Wizards also have Kyle Kuzma, Will Barton, Monte Morris, Delon Wright, Rui Hachimura, Deni Avdija, and Daniel Gafford to round out the rotation. Those are a lot of quality pieces surrounding two star players. If that’s not a recipe for a fun team to watch, then nothing is.

4. Minnesota Timberwolves

Okay, maybe this one is a bit too obvious, but there are only so many options to choose from. With Rudy Gobert in the mix, the T-Wolves should be must-watch TV every night. Even if you’re someone who’s not fully bought in on their experiment, watching two All-Star centers share the court will be extremely entertaining.

Even though Towns thought the Wolves traded for Rudy Gay, not Rudy Gobert...

Gobert is arguably the best defensive player in the NBA, and Karl-Anthony Towns is arguably the best offensive center in the league. Now, they are on the same team. It’s going to be very interesting to watch how Chris Finch uses them both at the same time on both ends of the floor.

And let’s not forget, the Wolves have a ton of other fun players, too. Anthony Edwards is primed to be an All-Star next year, so watching him continue to develop will be awesome. Past that, they have some solid depth, too. D’Angelo Russell, Kyle Anderson, Taurean Prince, Jaden McDaniels, Bryn Forbes, Austin Rivers, and others round out a super fun rotation.

5. New Orleans Pelicans

This team is going to be electric. Even without Zion Williamson on the court, they managed to fight their way into the Play-In Tournament, earn the eighth seed, and give the first-seeded Phoenix Suns a scare in the first round. So now that Williamson is set to return to the lineup, they should be even better.

Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum proved that they are good enough to lead a team to the playoffs, so just imagine what they can do once they have their All-Star big man back. Plus, the Pelicans also quietly have some of the best depth in the league.

Last season, they became known for their young depth players. Guys like Jose Alvarado, Herbert Jones, and Trey Murphy III played massive roles during the playoffs and put the league on notice. Now that they’ve had even more time to develop, just imagine what this New Orleans team can do. Fans everywhere should be paying attention to Williamson and the Pelicans.

Lakers/Pacers trade drama

As has been the case for the majority of the offseason, the Los Angeles Lakers have been involved in trade rumors. This time, they have reportedly been talking to the Pacers about a potential trade that would send Hield and Turner to the Lakers and Westbrook and draft compensation to the Pacers. However, those talks have supposedly stalled.

Long-time NBA insider Marc Stein reported on this news, but then Bob Kravitz of The Athletic revealed that the talks were dead - for now. The reason behind the stalled talks? Indiana wants the Lakers to add a second first-round pick in the deal… but the Lakers only want to give up one. Interesting…

Heat split on trading Adebayo

The Heat always find themselves involved in offseason trade rumors. It just seems like Pat Riley can’t go a day without “reportedly being interested in” a different star around the league. This offseason, those two stars are Kevin Durant and Donovan Mitchell. However, the organization is supposedly split on whether or not to give up Bam Adebayo in a deal for the former of those two players.

Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel reported this news on July 22, writing that “while there has been internal consideration of the team utilizing center Bam Adebayo as a trade component [for Durant], at least one influential member of the organization has shot down the notion.” As of now, it seems like they aren’t willing to give him up, but anything could happen over the course of the summer.

League suspicious of Harden

After being traded to the Philadelphia 76ers at the deadline last season, James Harden and the Sixers were eliminated in Round 2. However, as the team looks to retool their roster this summer, Harden helped them out by taking a pay cut. This helped them sign forward PJ Tucker and gives them the flexibility to make more moves.

However, according to Stein, people around the league are suspicious of Harden’s decision. They are speculating that Harden had an under-the-table agreement with GM Daryl Morey, who he is very close with, that he will decline his player option for next year and sign a massive contract, making him okay with taking a pay cut this year. Obviously, this sort of agreement would be against the NBA’s rules, so it’s definitely something to keep an eye on.

First-time head coach Darvin Ham confident he is ready to lead the Lakers back to the top - Gary Washburn (The Boston Globe)

'Blessed to play for the Spurs' | Blake Wesley working to turn raw potential into star power in San Antonio - Tom Petrini (KENS 5)

Straight Sets: Gaining Gobert - Jake Paynting (Howls and Growls)

Does tanking actually work in the modern NBA? - Calvin Chappell (SLC Dunk)

The 3 Most Interesting Lineups for Clippers Next Season - Josh Mei (Clips Nation)

Can you tell that we can’t wait for NBA basketball to be back? Just thinking about all the new players on new teams is enough to make fans beg for basketball again. And while we’ll all have to wait until October for that, it’s still fun to think about it ahead of time.

Also, a huge thank you to everyone who takes the time to read these newsletters and engage with the polls. Another quick reminder to answer the poll at the top of the letter to let us know where we should go for meet-ups!

That'll be it for us. Thanks for reading. See y'all next time.

- Jack Simone 

Trivia Answer: The answer to Friday’s trivia question is Dale Ellis! After being traded to the Sonics ahead of the 1986-87 season, Ellis went from averaging 7.1 points in one season to 24.9 points in the next. That’s good for a 17.8-point increase - the largest in league history.

Trivia Question: Since we talked about under-the-radar teams in this newsletter, let’s stay on that topic a little bit. Which teams in last season’s playoffs had no 2022 NBA All-Stars on the roster?