Chicago looks to cement their place amongst the elites and New York looks to build off last season. Charlotte’s youth movement powers them into the top 10.
The Chicago Bulls are really trying to get back into the playoffs. A busy free agency has seen them bring in Lonzo Ball, Demar DeRozan, and Alex Caruso. The Bulls add these three to a core led by Zach Lavine and Nikola Vucevic. Chicago has gotten a little star-studded and the roster is filled with young role players who might be able to make a difference. Coby White, Patrick Williams, and Lauri Markkanen (if he stays) will be big-time contributors. The expectations are high in Chicago however they may not have done enough to crack the top of the Eastern Conference.
You cannot discredit what the New York Knicks did last season. Julius Randle emerged as a star who was unstoppable at times. He will be wishing his playoff performance went better than it did but he was still deserving of the extension the Knicks handed him this offseason. The Knicks were able to add Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier to be able to move the needle. With their young core getting much-needed playoff experience and the return of Mitchell Robinson the Knicks should find themselves competing for a playoff spot again.
Whether the Hornets improve or not lies solely in the hands of player development. If everything goes as planned in Charlotte, the Hornets should be finding themselves in a similar position as last season where they were competing for a playoff spot. Charlotte let Devonte’ Graham and Malik Monk walk in free agency but they return the rest of their core which is led by the Rookie of the Year LaMelo Ball, Miles Bridges, Gordon Hayward, Terry Rozier, and PJ Washington. Charlotte banked high on the upside in this year’s draft with the additions of James Bouknight and Kai Jones who Charlotte hopes can be big-time contributors in the future. In free agency, the Hornets were able to land Kelly Oubre Jr. and Ish Smith who should provide big-time minutes for the Hornets off the bench. Charlotte may still be a few years away from that top six range in the East but Charlotte will be a fun and competitive team.