It’s been a big All Star break and the end of our trade season, but we must push on finish up our look at all the teams through midseason. This time out we look at a division that sports three powerhouse teams, and the team with the highest number of future draft picks moving forward. [ Midseason Division Rankings | Preseason Northwest Preview ]
UTA, Viz (99-52-2)
It’s a neck and neck race, but for now UTA sits atop the Western Conference, narrowly edging out MIN. They are just the fifth best team overall however, and might be just outside of true contender status. However, this team has only lost three games all season — WK1 to OKC, and then to MIN and GSW in WK6 and WK8. Yes, that means they’ve been undefeated for nine straight weeks, and they avenged their loss to MIN in WK16, giving them a leg up in the standings.
Viz has been mostly quiet all season, riding a roster that has hardly changed since the auction draft. They started off with the one-two punch of Rudy Gobert and Kyle Lowry, and then added pieces like Aaron Gordon, Al Horford, TJ Warren, and rookie Coby White. They’ve spent very little FAAB and only picked up five free agents over the course of the season. Of course, one of those — Trey Burke — eventually became the piece that helped UTA make their lone trade this season: a move for JJ Redick that cost Burke and a future RD1 and RD2. Other than that, UTA’s roster has stayed steady all season!
On the year their ODE split is 3/3/25 and they’ve been even better on defense of late, rising up to second overall (although their offense slipped to seventh) over the past month while leading the league in Games Played. UTA has been top five in REB, AST, STL, BLK while putting up top ten PTS and 3PT. Their only weakness is some issues at the free throw line — and middling field goal percentage.
Having not paid much attention what UTA has been doing, it’s surprising to see them atop the conference but the results don’t lie and Gobert and Co. are one of the most balanced teams in RDA, and should be competing for a Finals spot!
MIN, Jesse (99-54)
Having held the Western crown for most of the season, MIN now find themselves a few percentage points behind UTA and fending off some trade deadline loaded challengers behind them in GSW and LAL. ("MIN is leading all teams in the West behind a 69-30 record and while they have quite a lead above UTA, the gap isn’t insurmountable." True!) Knowing that they’ve got a battle ahead for the rest of the season, GM Jesse made recent trades to bring in Bojan Bogdanovic, Marcus Morris, Paul Millsap, and the “perfect German basketball machine, aka Maxi Kleber.
MIN started the season off on a nine game win streak before falling to NOP in WK10, and then subsequently lost to HOU in WK12 and UTA in WK16. That’s just three losses on the season though, and they’ve relied on the super duo of Anthony Davis and Bradley Beal to power them to contention. Getting Kendrick Nunn at one dollar in the auction was a coup and while the rest of their draft hasn’t worked out quite as well, they’ve managed to spin assets into many useful pieces — albeit leaving them with just one future RD1 to spare. They’ve made seven trades in total.
On the season, MIN is the third best ODE rated team, with 8/9/11 splits, and while that’s fallen off over the past month, they are still one of the better balanced teams out there. Their offense remains elite, as they about top five in 3PT, FT%, and PTS — plus a top five ranking in BLK. They are only league average in REB, AST, STL, but have a decent TO rate, with only a true weakness in FG%. Any team with Anthony Davis is a threat and with all the work Jesse has put in to bolster the roster, MIN is looking to finish with the West crown and a high seed heading into the playoffs.
POR, JT (84-67-2)
Our third playoff team from the Northwest should be POR, who is currently sixth in the West with a bit of a buffer. Earlier in the season we thought POR was the most balanced team according to ODE ratings but that has proven not to be quite true. However, after starting off with a 0.500 record through eight weeks — with losses to UTA, MIN, GSW, LAL — they’ve been quite strong, with only two losses (PHI, BKN) and a tie (HOU) over the past two months.
JT has been very busy on the trade market, with nine trades total, highlighted by a Halloween trade that gave them Brandon Ingram for the low low price of a future RD1 and Zach Collins — who is now back with the team. That gave them another All Star to pair with Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic. Suffice to say, POR has a bright future ahead. Perhaps the brightest in the league? (They might have had another huge winning trade with OKC too, with Malik Beasley now ripping it up in Minnesota.)
While injuries have befallen POR -- mainly to Luka -- they have managed to be pretty good on offense still, a tick above average. They’ve also got league average defensive and efficiency ratings as well. However, over the past month, that offense and defense has equalized to fifteenth rated each, while they’ve leaned heavily on a bulked up sixth rated efficiency — highlighted by their fourth ranked FG% — to stay competitive. Aside from a lack of rim protection, POR is still quite balanced, if not elite anywhere except shooting from the field. Overall, JT's team has a pretty secure slot into the postseason and with Doncic, Jokic, and Ingram leading the way, JT has to be excited about this team’s future title chances.
DEN, Chuck (64-87-2)
Another well-coached and efficient team, DEN is actually the top rated efficiency team in the league on the season and they are right on the playoff bubble at tenth in the West. After starting the season off only one win and one tie in nine weeks, they managed to go 5-1 from WK 10-15 — with wins over PHX, SAS, MEM, NOP, DAL — and have played their last two opponents pretty tough.
While they are still currently a bottom ten team, most fans understand that this was a semi-lost season anyway, as Kevin Durant is waiting in the wings. Waiting on Durant hasn’t precluded from making moves though, as Chuck has been busy moving pieces for future draft picks, selling off shooters like James Ennis III, Landry Shamet, and Dion Waiters. (Also, Chuck paid the “Son price” of two RD2 for a RD1 from LAL.)
Growth has come internally as well, with Domantas Sabonis emerging as an All Star, and the promise of Michael Porter Jr., Tyler Herro, Harry Giles, and Derrick White. Durant will return to a team that has a nice mix of youth and veterans too, namely Gordon Hayward alongside him and Sabonis.
On the season, DEN has pulled up their ODE ratings across the board and are now about league average in every category at least, save STL and BLK. However, that efficient FG% and nice REB will get even better with Durant back. While this team may not quite make the playoffs, DEN has to be happy that they’ve managed to stay afloat while waiting for their franchise player to return.
OKC, Zeya (59-92-2)
The face of building for the future, Zeya is the new Hinkie and has managed to spin nineteen trades into eighteen future RD1s (eighteen!). All those moves have left just three original players on their roster: Goga Bitadze, Kevin Porter Jr., and Grant Williams. Fun stuff!
While fighting for the rights of owners and tankers everywhere — while adding much to our league discussions — GM Zeya has managed to acquire an interesting core as well, led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Wendell Carter Jr. (The original top three here was Jamal Murray, Jarrett Allen, and Josh Richardson.) The tank job has been mostly successful as OKC is currently twenty-fourth in the league, but with recent wins against NOP, SAS, and BOS — giving OKC five wins total — there may be even more teardown to come. Oh wait, trade season is over!
We’ll take a deep dive into all of OKC’s moves later, but suffice to say, eighteen future RD1s — including a shot at the first overall pick next year, acquired in a trade with MIL — has everyone wondering how this grand experiment will turn out.
Somehow OKC is slightly above average in 3PT, but they’ve done a fine job drifting to the bottom of the rankings in just about every other category. A few injuries would put a dent into their Games Played — eighteenth over the past month — but it might be hard to out-tank the bottom feeders at this point. For now, OKC is happily sitting at the bottom of the Northwest, biding their time to assemble a championship roster.
UTA, Viz (99-52-2)It’s a neck and neck race, but for now UTA sits atop the Western Conference, narrowly edging out MIN. They are just the fifth best team overall however, and might be just outside of true contender status. However, this team has only lost three games all season — WK1 to OKC, and then to MIN and GSW in WK6 and WK8. Yes, that means they’ve been undefeated for nine straight weeks, and they avenged their loss to MIN in WK16, giving them a leg up in the standings.
Viz has been mostly quiet all season, riding a roster that has hardly changed since the auction draft. They started off with the one-two punch of Rudy Gobert and Kyle Lowry, and then added pieces like Aaron Gordon, Al Horford, TJ Warren, and rookie Coby White. They’ve spent very little FAAB and only picked up five free agents over the course of the season. Of course, one of those — Trey Burke — eventually became the piece that helped UTA make their lone trade this season: a move for JJ Redick that cost Burke and a future RD1 and RD2. Other than that, UTA’s roster has stayed steady all season!
On the year their ODE split is 3/3/25 and they’ve been even better on defense of late, rising up to second overall (although their offense slipped to seventh) over the past month while leading the league in Games Played. UTA has been top five in REB, AST, STL, BLK while putting up top ten PTS and 3PT. Their only weakness is some issues at the free throw line — and middling field goal percentage.
Having not paid much attention what UTA has been doing, it’s surprising to see them atop the conference but the results don’t lie and Gobert and Co. are one of the most balanced teams in RDA, and should be competing for a Finals spot!
MIN, Jesse (99-54)
Having held the Western crown for most of the season, MIN now find themselves a few percentage points behind UTA and fending off some trade deadline loaded challengers behind them in GSW and LAL. ("MIN is leading all teams in the West behind a 69-30 record and while they have quite a lead above UTA, the gap isn’t insurmountable." True!) Knowing that they’ve got a battle ahead for the rest of the season, GM Jesse made recent trades to bring in Bojan Bogdanovic, Marcus Morris, Paul Millsap, and the “perfect German basketball machine, aka Maxi Kleber.
MIN started the season off on a nine game win streak before falling to NOP in WK10, and then subsequently lost to HOU in WK12 and UTA in WK16. That’s just three losses on the season though, and they’ve relied on the super duo of Anthony Davis and Bradley Beal to power them to contention. Getting Kendrick Nunn at one dollar in the auction was a coup and while the rest of their draft hasn’t worked out quite as well, they’ve managed to spin assets into many useful pieces — albeit leaving them with just one future RD1 to spare. They’ve made seven trades in total.
On the season, MIN is the third best ODE rated team, with 8/9/11 splits, and while that’s fallen off over the past month, they are still one of the better balanced teams out there. Their offense remains elite, as they about top five in 3PT, FT%, and PTS — plus a top five ranking in BLK. They are only league average in REB, AST, STL, but have a decent TO rate, with only a true weakness in FG%. Any team with Anthony Davis is a threat and with all the work Jesse has put in to bolster the roster, MIN is looking to finish with the West crown and a high seed heading into the playoffs.
POR, JT (84-67-2)Our third playoff team from the Northwest should be POR, who is currently sixth in the West with a bit of a buffer. Earlier in the season we thought POR was the most balanced team according to ODE ratings but that has proven not to be quite true. However, after starting off with a 0.500 record through eight weeks — with losses to UTA, MIN, GSW, LAL — they’ve been quite strong, with only two losses (PHI, BKN) and a tie (HOU) over the past two months.
JT has been very busy on the trade market, with nine trades total, highlighted by a Halloween trade that gave them Brandon Ingram for the low low price of a future RD1 and Zach Collins — who is now back with the team. That gave them another All Star to pair with Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic. Suffice to say, POR has a bright future ahead. Perhaps the brightest in the league? (They might have had another huge winning trade with OKC too, with Malik Beasley now ripping it up in Minnesota.)
While injuries have befallen POR -- mainly to Luka -- they have managed to be pretty good on offense still, a tick above average. They’ve also got league average defensive and efficiency ratings as well. However, over the past month, that offense and defense has equalized to fifteenth rated each, while they’ve leaned heavily on a bulked up sixth rated efficiency — highlighted by their fourth ranked FG% — to stay competitive. Aside from a lack of rim protection, POR is still quite balanced, if not elite anywhere except shooting from the field. Overall, JT's team has a pretty secure slot into the postseason and with Doncic, Jokic, and Ingram leading the way, JT has to be excited about this team’s future title chances.
DEN, Chuck (64-87-2)
Another well-coached and efficient team, DEN is actually the top rated efficiency team in the league on the season and they are right on the playoff bubble at tenth in the West. After starting the season off only one win and one tie in nine weeks, they managed to go 5-1 from WK 10-15 — with wins over PHX, SAS, MEM, NOP, DAL — and have played their last two opponents pretty tough.
While they are still currently a bottom ten team, most fans understand that this was a semi-lost season anyway, as Kevin Durant is waiting in the wings. Waiting on Durant hasn’t precluded from making moves though, as Chuck has been busy moving pieces for future draft picks, selling off shooters like James Ennis III, Landry Shamet, and Dion Waiters. (Also, Chuck paid the “Son price” of two RD2 for a RD1 from LAL.)
Growth has come internally as well, with Domantas Sabonis emerging as an All Star, and the promise of Michael Porter Jr., Tyler Herro, Harry Giles, and Derrick White. Durant will return to a team that has a nice mix of youth and veterans too, namely Gordon Hayward alongside him and Sabonis.
On the season, DEN has pulled up their ODE ratings across the board and are now about league average in every category at least, save STL and BLK. However, that efficient FG% and nice REB will get even better with Durant back. While this team may not quite make the playoffs, DEN has to be happy that they’ve managed to stay afloat while waiting for their franchise player to return.
OKC, Zeya (59-92-2)The face of building for the future, Zeya is the new Hinkie and has managed to spin nineteen trades into eighteen future RD1s (eighteen!). All those moves have left just three original players on their roster: Goga Bitadze, Kevin Porter Jr., and Grant Williams. Fun stuff!
While fighting for the rights of owners and tankers everywhere — while adding much to our league discussions — GM Zeya has managed to acquire an interesting core as well, led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Wendell Carter Jr. (The original top three here was Jamal Murray, Jarrett Allen, and Josh Richardson.) The tank job has been mostly successful as OKC is currently twenty-fourth in the league, but with recent wins against NOP, SAS, and BOS — giving OKC five wins total — there may be even more teardown to come. Oh wait, trade season is over!
We’ll take a deep dive into all of OKC’s moves later, but suffice to say, eighteen future RD1s — including a shot at the first overall pick next year, acquired in a trade with MIL — has everyone wondering how this grand experiment will turn out.
Somehow OKC is slightly above average in 3PT, but they’ve done a fine job drifting to the bottom of the rankings in just about every other category. A few injuries would put a dent into their Games Played — eighteenth over the past month — but it might be hard to out-tank the bottom feeders at this point. For now, OKC is happily sitting at the bottom of the Northwest, biding their time to assemble a championship roster.