Ben DiGiacomo

NBA Rookie of the Year Candidates: Matas Buzelis & Zach Edey

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When I look at big trades near the regular season, you must consider the reasoning behind the deals. By trading away <a href="https://www.sportsgrid.com/nba/players/karl-anthony-towns/2969">Karl-Anthony Towns</a> unexpectedly, the Minnesota Timberwolves clearly believed they could insert someone like <a href="https://www.sportsgrid.com/nba/players/julius-randle/2803">Julius Randle</a> into the starting lineup and not see a drop off in production while also opening up more opportunities for <a href="https://www.sportsgrid.com/nba/players/rudy-gobert/2959">Rudy Gobert</a> plus adding <a href="https://www.sportsgrid.com/nba/players/donte-divincenzo/2812">Donte DiVincenzo</a> as an elite sixth-man. I loved the deal for the Wolves, and I’m also pumped to see what rookie <a href="https://www.sportsgrid.com/nba/players/robert-dillingham/67906">Rob Dillingham</a> can add off the bench as a scoring jolt, which the Wolves missed last season. I view Minnesota as an even stronger team than last season, and we can’t rule out yet another leap from <a href="https://www.sportsgrid.com/nba/players/anthony-edwards/2972">Anthony Edwards</a> into the forefront of the MVP conversation. Buy your stock in the Wolves before it’s too late.
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1. Minnesota Timberwolves

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The Oklahoma City Thunder have been the darling of the offseason. Sam Presti did it again by adding <a href="https://www.sportsgrid.com/nba/players/isaiah-hartenstein/2805">Isaiah Hartenstein</a> and <a href="https://www.sportsgrid.com/nba/players/alex-caruso/2793">Alex Caruso</a> onto an elite roster looking to reach the NBA Finals. <a href="https://www.sportsgrid.com/nba/players/shai-gilgeous-alexander/3236">Shai Gilgeous-Alexander</a> is my MVP pick for this season, and around him, I also expect <a href="https://www.sportsgrid.com/nba/players/jalen-williams/3227">Jalen Williams</a> to take a massive leap into All-Star status, where I believe he’ll take home Most Improved Player honors. Beyond those two, we haven’t even factored in what <a href="https://www.sportsgrid.com/nba/players/chet-holmgren/3237">Chet Holmgren</a> will look like in his second season. The Thunder will be elite again, so basketball fans should be excited to see the Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves go back and forth for the West’s top seed all season. I’ll give the Wolves the edge, as the Thunder will be without Hartenstein for at least the first month or two of the season and likely will have too much ground to make up.

2. Oklahoma City Thunder

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The Memphis Grizzlies have been completely forgotten in the discussion of Western Conference contenders, but this team is loaded when fully healthy. Last season was nothing short of a disaster. Still, you get a healthy and motivated <a href="https://www.sportsgrid.com/nba/players/ja-morant/2987">Ja Morant</a>, a healthy <a href="https://www.sportsgrid.com/nba/players/marcus-smart/2990">Marcus Smart</a>, <a href="https://www.sportsgrid.com/nba/players/jaren-jackson/2980">Jaren Jackson Jr.</a>, <a href="https://www.sportsgrid.com/nba/players/desmond-bane/2982">Desmond Bane</a>, and Rookie of the Year frontrunner <a href="https://www.sportsgrid.com/nba/players/zach-edey/67912">Zach Edey</a> to round out the starting five. Taylor Jenkins is an underrated coach who led this team to the West’s second seed two seasons ago. I’m excited about their prospects of getting back there. Sleep on them at your own risk!

3. Memphis Grizzlies

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Many view the Dallas Mavericks run to the NBA Finals last season as a fluke, but if you were following them closely, you’d know that they were playing elite basketball in the final month leading into the postseason to propel that run. They got better this summer by adding <a href="https://www.sportsgrid.com/nba/players/naji-marshall/3058">Naji Marshall</a> and <a href="https://www.sportsgrid.com/nba/players/klay-thompson/2856">Klay Thompson</a>. We know what they’re capable of, led by <a href="https://www.sportsgrid.com/nba/players/luka-doncic/3200">Luka Doncic</a> and <a href="https://www.sportsgrid.com/nba/players/kyrie-irving/3201">Kyrie Irving</a>. Still, we’ll only expect them to claim the fourth seed because I expect Luka and Kyrie to get more rest nights than in recent years to ensure they’re fresh for another postseason run.

4. Dallas Mavericks

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The Sacramento Kings are all in on this team, and they cashed in on signing <a href="https://www.sportsgrid.com/nba/players/demar-derozan/2787">DeMar DeRozan</a> later in the summer to bolster their starting lineup. This team can be dangerous with a big three of DeRozan, <a href="https://www.sportsgrid.com/nba/players/deaaron-fox/3270">De’Aaron Fox</a>, and <a href="https://www.sportsgrid.com/nba/players/domantas-sabonis/3256">Domantas Sabonis</a>, and now imagine they get the leap from <a href="https://www.sportsgrid.com/nba/players/keegan-murray/3265">Keegan Murray</a> that many are expecting. Plus, we can’t forget about Sixth Man of the Year frontrunner <a href="https://www.sportsgrid.com/nba/players/malik-monk/3259">Malik Monk</a> to provide a jolt off the bench. The Kings underachieved last season after finishing with the third seed two years ago, so we expect them to climb the standings again this year with room to go even higher.

5. Sacramento Kings

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After years of competing atop the West standings, we’re looking for the Denver Nuggets to take a step back this season, flirting with the Play-In Tournament before ultimately prevailing down the stretch and claiming the sixth seed. We know what the core of this team is and what they can accomplish, but where is the depth? Where is the replacement for <a href="https://www.sportsgrid.com/nba/players/kentavious-caldwell-pope/3289">Kentavious Caldwell-Pope</a>? As the other West contenders improved this summer, the Nuggets stood pat and got worse, and I see it costing them this season.

6. Denver Nuggets

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I don’t know what to make of the Phoenix Suns yet, but it’s fair to say they won’t be as bad. Could they improve on looks and not improve in the standings? We think so. Come on now, a team of <a href="https://www.sportsgrid.com/nba/players/kevin-durant/3209">Kevin Durant</a>, <a href="https://www.sportsgrid.com/nba/players/bradley-beal/3219">Bradley Beal</a>, and <a href="https://www.sportsgrid.com/nba/players/devin-booker/3208">Devin Booker</a> can’t be worse than last season, right? Well, last season, they finished with the sixth seed, but we’ll knock them down slightly to the Play-In, given how strong the other West contenders are and that they didn’t make any vast improvements to the roster this offseason. I’m excited to see what Mike Budenholzer can do with this group that vastly underachieved last season, but I’m sure all the Suns care about is getting to April healthy anyway.

7. (Play-In) Phoenix Suns

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The Houston Rockets made a run for the Play-In Tournament down the stretch, and now, this young team gets another offseason to develop and learn Ime Udoka’s system even further. This is a solid team that wants to compete atop the Western Conference as soon as possible and is laying the foundation to do that. They’re deep at every position on the floor and are a breakout away from one of their young players from being higher in the standings. If <a href="https://www.sportsgrid.com/nba/players/jalen-green/3022">Jalen Green</a> takes another leap, <a href="https://www.sportsgrid.com/nba/players/jabari-smith/3014">Jabari Smith Jr.</a> figures it out, or <a href="https://www.sportsgrid.com/nba/players/reed-sheppard/67913">Reed Sheppard</a> can be an immediate stud - watch out.

8. (Play-In) Houston Rockets

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You must not watch the games if you’re not all in on <a href="https://www.sportsgrid.com/nba/players/victor-wembanyama/3090">Victor Wembanyama</a>. This dude is nothing short of an alien, so expecting his team to leap into the playoff hunt is reasonable, even though they may be a few years away from true contention. Wemby alone may be enough to make the Play-In. Still, the San Antonio Spurs made some underrated moves this offseason by acquiring veterans <a href="https://www.sportsgrid.com/nba/players/chris-paul/2862">Chris Paul</a> and <a href="https://www.sportsgrid.com/nba/players/harrison-barnes/3269">Harrison Barnes</a> to round out their roster. It wouldn’t shock me if Wemby wills them to a higher seed than this, but we’ll give the rest of the Western Conference contenders in front of them the respect they deserve.

9. (Play-In) San Antonio Spurs

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The Los Angeles Lakers won’t be good this season, and acting like they’ll be a contender is foolish. They underachieved last season and didn’t do anything to improve the roster this offseason, a recipe for disaster! JJ Redick may be a good head coach one day, but I can’t count on a guy who has never coached in his life to step in and turn this ship around. <a href="https://www.sportsgrid.com/nba/players/lebron-james/2994">LeBron James</a> and <a href="https://www.sportsgrid.com/nba/players/austin-reaves/3006">Anthony Davis</a> are enough to will them to the Play-In Tournament, but I can’t expect more than that in a stacked West.
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10. (Play-In) Los Angeles Lakers

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The NBA season has arrived, so here are our predictions for how the Western Conference standings will ultimately pan out by the end of the regular season.

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