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2016 New Year's resolutions for all 30 NBA teams
It’s 2016! Happy New Year! Time to load up on a bunch of resolutions you’ll completely forget about until you find that can of steel-cut oatmeal in the back of the cupboard next August.
As such, what should all 30 NBA teams be telling themselves right now?
Atlanta Hawks: Find new ways to spring Kyle Korver
Korver is hitting for just above the league average from long range a year removed from leading the league with a 49 percent mark. Maybe this is just due to age (he’s 34) and injury (Kyle is coming off of an ankle injury that knocked him out of last year’s playoffs), but defenses are doing a far better job of closing out on the shooter in 2015-16, and the Hawk offense has dimmed.
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Boston Celtics: Go easy with the DeMarcus Cousins talk
After two owners, three general managers, five coaches and unending disappointment, perhaps it’s still not Cousins’ fault that he acts like a prat. Still, there’s a very good chance the well will be forever poisoned due to the Sacramento Kings’ ineptitude. Boston has the pieces to swing a deal for Boogie, but they should really think this one through.
Brooklyn Nets: Develop a backup plan
Nothing’s going to change anything now, but owner Mikhail Prokhorov needs to have replacement hires lined up for GM Billy King and coach Lionel Hollins. Hollins will want nothing to do with a rebuilding phase, and King has proven unsuited for the job. This might be a situation where the league itself should step in.
Charlotte Hornets: Say goodbye to Al Jefferson
Al Jefferson is a good dude and he’s been a terrific player for Charlotte, but he’ll be coming off what could be a career-altering meniscus tear in six weeks, he tore his ACL some eight years ago, he’s dealt with calf and ankle injuries, and he’ll turn 31 on Monday. As a free agent this summer, it might be best to part ways.
Chicago Bulls: Brace yourself for even more goodbyes
Pau Gasol will opt out of his contract this summer, Joakim Noah will be a free agent, and hometown star Derrick Rose could be sent to another overeager team via trade or even waived via the stretch provision – he’s played some of the worst basketball of any NBA starter this year, and he’s owed $21.3 million in 2016-17. This is likely the end.
Cleveland Cavaliers: Fix LeBron’s stroke
James has had a miserable shooting year, he’s not even approach hitting a third of his uncontested three-pointers and his shot has been off on every part of the court save for the paint. The Cavs can win a title with James slashing or banging in the low post, but his cold touch will make things incredibly tough for them.
Dallas Mavericks: Enjoy this
The Mavericks have surprised this year, and the state of the West should put them back in the playoffs. Since J.J. Barea recently entered the starting lineup and the team has really taken off. Still, this is no championship contender, which means once again it’s time to remind ourselves to behold the beauty of Dirk Nowitzki’s game.
Denver Nuggets: Don’t lose the kid
The Nuggets have played well for stretches under Michael Malone, but this is a lost season and everyone knows it. They have to find a way to keep the confidence of rookie Emmanuel Mudiay up, though. The point guard, currently battling a right ankle injury, is shooting just 31 percent this year.
Detroit Pistons: Go easy
The Pistons are just a half game out of the playoffs and everyone appears to be on the same page, but the team’s roster still needs heavy help to fill out a rotation. Free agency seems like the likely remedy, and coach Stan Van Gundy and GM Jeff Bower are looking to finally make this team their own, but they can’t spend for the sake of spending. It cost Bower’s predecessor his job. It’s OK to sit a summer out.
Golden State Warriors: Keep the fire
This is a special team, and you hope the Warriors understand this. A few years ago nobody thought Stephen Curry could reach his full potential due to ankle injuries, while wondering if Andrew Bogut’s career was over. Two years ago this was even a middling offensive team. Now they’re playing a dominating brand of ball, and while we don’t exactly want everyone on the team plane taking notes for the memoir, we hope they’re enjoying this as much as we enjoy them.
Houston Rockets: Learn to, I don’t know, take your job seriously?
This is a championship-level roster that has ruined its season. Both the team’s owner and head coach are questioning the team’s interest in playing hard, and even when gifted with a sitting Stephen Curry in the middle of an impossibly tough schedule, the Rockets loped through things and lost. The sad part is that they probably won’t have a chance to make things right until October of 2016.
Indiana Pacers: Find that second star
Despite going small and despite major rebounding concerns, the Pacers have carved out a top-five defense. Despite Paul George’s return to prominence, though, the team runs in the middle of the pack offensively, and Monta Ellis is probably best served as a third or fourth guy. The Pacers will have cap space this summer, but then again, who won’t?
Los Angeles Clippers: Stay healthy
We can’t about then raving at the refs, but the reality is Los Angeles can compete for a title even with all the moaning. The team has won five straight, with four of those coming against quality opponents with Blake Griffin out. The team’s stars have to be at full strength in May. Have to be, and quadriceps injuries (which Blake has) tend to linger.
Los Angeles Lakers: Send Kobe Bryant out the right way
The Lakers were never going to do anything this year, by design, and while it’s unfortunate that the team will miss the playoffs in Bryant’s final year, this is how this league works sometimes. The farewell tour, however, cannot be muddled with headlines about team coach Byron Scott yo-yo’ing his younger players or rants about his team’s toughness. Make this about the guy you mentored 20 years ago, Byron.
Memphis Grizzlies: Win now
That was the resolution for 2015, as well, but with oodles of cap space this summer the Grizzlies have a chance to shore up its roster via free agency alongside the returning Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph. This will be the first chance for the new administration to build big, and once they figure out free agent Mike Conley’s future (he has a relatively paltry $14 million cap hold), Memphis could be back in the game.
Miami Heat: Show patience with Hassan Whiteside
By now, we know the numbers. Whiteside leads the NBA in block percentage and blocks per game with a whopping four a contest, but the Heat on the whole are a better defensive unit by the numbers, and Whiteside rarely finishes games with the starting unit. He can’t help but improve, after a career spent gleefully chasing down numbers in minor leagues, and there’s not much the Heat can do in the trade market given his sub-seven figure salary.
Milwaukee Bucks: Play the kids as much as possible
The kids, they ain’t alright. These are some of the worst defensive players in the NBA right now, and at six games out of the playoff picture with 48 to, postseason hopes are dwindling. Still, the Bucks need to give Jabari Parker on-court experience as he learns how to play not-awful defense, they have to learn how to defend together, and a full-on tank job should be in order.
Minnesota Timberwolves: Remember that you’re rebuilding
Thursday’s 25-point loss to Detroit was a rough one, but the Wolves did the smart thing to rest Kevin Garnett and Kevin Martin in the second game of a back to back. Tayshaun Prince (23 minutes, zero points) remained, however, as the Wolves went big and Zach LaVine came off the bench. Minnesota is just three games out in the West, but the Wolves need to understand that this is a slow burn. That goes double for its free agent turn.
New Orleans Pelicans: Reconsider everything
Right now it appears as if each and every one of GM Dell Demps’ moves, included the celebrated hiring of coach Alvin Gentry, have backfired. Myriad Pelicans were injured to start the season and the squad had a murderous schedule, but in full health this still doesn’t look the type of crew to bang with the best in the West over the next few years. Even Demps’ big winner, obvious No. 1 pick Anthony Davis, looks like a question mark defensively.
New York Knicks: Enjoy this, before it gets nasty
There is a very good chance that rookie Kristaps Porzingis, even at age 20, doesn’t take a major leap forward even with a minutes increase in 2016-17. There’s a good chance 31-year old Carmelo Anthony takes a step backward. There’s a chance New York strikes out in what will be a thin and competitive free agent summer. Dig this fresh start, though, before the tabloids set in.
Oklahoma City Thunder: Keep doing this. Exactly this.
I could whine about the team’s iffy rebounding, or the fact that don’t always play on a string defensively. They don’t cause enough turnovers, and Dion Waiters will just never become a thing. Doesn’t matter. Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant are having MVP-level seasons thus far, and even better for the team’s fandom is the fact that Westbrook and Durant are as entertaining as they are potent.
Orlando Magic: Remember to bask in Scott Skiles’ magnificence (exp: 2018)
The Magic are 13-5 since Skiles sent Victor Oladipo – the front office’s first high draft pick – to the bench. Both starting and bench units have thrived as a result, and Orlando entered the New Year at 19-13 and a borderline-shocking fourth in what has become a stronger Eastern Conference. He has them playing defense and sharing the ball. The guy can coach.
Philadelphia 76ers: Don’t lose sight of The Process
That’s not a joke. The Sixers have embarrassed themselves routinely since Sam Hinkie took over in 2013, and the league had to step in to encourage the hiring of Jerry Colangelo to not let things get out of hand, but Hinkie genuinely culled together a stunning array of assets. All is not lost.
Phoenix Suns: Don’t be afraid to admit defeat
The Suns are a mess, and sometimes it’s best to conclude that you’ve been licked. The team will lose coach Jeff Hornacek – a very good coach who will go on to a better situation – in the process, but that’s fine. Someone has to deal for Tyson Chandler, Markieff Morris can be bought out if you play things right, and it might be time to fear for Eric Bledsoe’s NBA life after a third meniscus surgery.
Portland Trail Blazers: Go easy with Damian Lillard, you’re rebuilding
The star guard turns 26 this summer and it’s going to be a few years before the process will surround him with killer depth – PDX lost its best player last season for no compensation, with no lottery pick in tow as the squad made the playoffs. Plantar fasciitis issues are the real deal, and you don’t want this coming back to haunt you during some playoff game in 2018.
Sacramento Kings: Get it together, boss
This is the second NBA team Vivek Ranadive has been head or part-owner of, and he’s yet to grasp a basic NBA tenet – GMs have their own guys, their own coaches, as do players. This ridiculous swirling, with Ranadive hiring yet another GM after a coaching hire and that coach publicly bashing his best player, is astonishing. In 2016, how do we still have teams like this?
San Antonio Spurs: Keep those bench seats warm
There are still three and a half months left in the NBA’s regular season, followed by a potential two-month postseason. The Spurs need to continue to rest players (even LaMarcus Aldridge, who is the same age as Tim Duncan when his minutes began to be limited) in anticipation of that. As if I need to tell them this.
Toronto Raptors: Watch what you have in Luis Scola
The big forward has enjoyed a rebirth in Toronto, starting and playing fantastic basketball, and he’s helped keep the team’s head above water with Jonas Valanciunas out. Still, Scola will turn 36 in the playoffs, and I wouldn’t mind seeing more minutes for DeMarre Carroll at the four in order to jump start his season.
Utah Jazz: Pamper Derrick Favors
He’s done yeoman’s work this season, but he’s currently out with a back injury. This tends to happen when you carry a team, and it wouldn’t be the worst thing for the Jazz to punt a few games with Favors out in order to play it safe. The squad is still two games up for the final playoff spot, they can afford it.
Washington Wizards: Consider change
It’s true that John Wall was hurt to start the season – still is hurting, really – and Marcin Gortat missed some time. It’s also true that the playoffs are still do-able at three games out. It’s also true that the Ernie Grunfeld/Randy Wittman era might need to be re-assessed.
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is an editor for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at KDonhoops@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KDonhoops
