Indiana and Washington take steps back while Toronto keeps its place but sees improvement after a bad season.
The Indiana Pacers didn’t do much to build around Damontas Sabonis and Malcolm Brogdon this season. Most of the roster is returning but the Pacers are losing Doug McDermott who was a massive role player for them. Indiana has added Torrey Craig, an effort spark plug for the Phoenix Suns during the playoffs last season. Indiana also drafted Chris Duarte who could be ready to contribute right away and Isaiah Jackson who is seen as more of a long-term project. Sabonis and Brogdon are still good enough to have this team at least reaching the play-in and they’ll have Caris LeVert, T.J. Warren, Jeremy Lamb, and Myles Turner (if he isn’t traded) all healthy to start the season.
The Washington Wizards traded away Russell Westbrook this offseason and because of that, the Wizards should see a slight decline in their play. While he received a lot of hate, Westbrook carried Washington for the bulk of the season and Washington will be missing that if their newcomers can’t carry live up to the expectations. In the Westbrook trade, Washington received Kyle Kuzma, Montrezl Harrell, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Washington also added Aaron Holiday via trade and signed Spencer Dinwiddie, who is coming off of a severe injury. Of course, you can’t forget Bradley Beal who is sure to put on a show no matter who’s around him. This Wizards team has a lot of known names but the concern is if Washington will be able to mesh together and play winning basketball.
The Toronto Raptors haven’t done enough to move up from the 12th spot they placed in last season but the Raptors should be a lot better than they were. Even though the Raptors lost Kyle Lowry, Toronto was able to get back Goran Dragic who if healthy should be a very capable point guard. Not to mention they still have Fred VanVleet and Malachi Flynn who showed promising flashes. Pascal Siakam will be returning from injury and hoping to get back on track to help Toronto compete again. Toronto elected to select Scottie Barnes with the 4th overall pick which came as a shock to many but Barnes will be a great player, just how good he can be is up for debate.