Spurs have same high-scoring nucleus in NBA West
The NBA's power shift hasn't happened yet. The Western Conference remains loaded and competition for playoff seeds should be intense.
1. Golden State Warriors
Coach: Steve Kerr (2nd season)
Last year: 67-15 (won NBA title)
Outlook: Can Kerr's magic touch continue for another season? The Warriors let David Lee go, but otherwise will have the same high-scoring nucleus ready to defend their title.
2. Houston Rockets
Coach: Kevin McHale (5th season)
Last year: 56-26
Outlook: One of the underrated moves of the offseason was Houston picking up point guard Ty Lawson from Denver. That might have been a weak spot when the Rockets made it to the West finals last season.
3. Oklahoma City Thunder
Coach: Billy Donovan (1st season)
Last year: 45-37
Outlook: Safe to say Russell Westbrook wasn't happy about posting insane triple-doubles, denting his face and then missing the playoffs last season. Westbrook and Kevin Durant's revenge is on the way.
4. San Antonio Spurs
Coach: Gregg Popovich (20th season)
Last year: 55-27
Outlook: Just when you think the Spurs' long run of success will end, they get a couple of big additions in LaMarcus Aldridge and David West, who took a $10 million pay cut to leave Indiana. Will this be the final season for Tim Duncan and Manu Ginóbili?
5. Los Angeles Clippers
Coach: Doc Rivers (3rd season)
Last year: 56-26
Outlook: The Clippers stopped C DeAndre Jordan from joining Dallas as a free agent, then made some interesting additions - Paul Pierce, Lance Stephenson and Josh Smith - to help fill a void at the wing positions.
6. Memphis Grizzlies
Coach: Dave Joerger (3rd season)
Last year: 55-27
Outlook: The Grizzlies are bucking the trend in the West by sticking with the two-man power offense with C Marc Gasol and PF Zach Randolph. Some better 3-point shooting would make a big difference in the playoffs.
7. New Orleans Pelicans
Coach: Alvin Gentry (1st season)
Last year: 45-37
Outlook: Everyone agrees Anthony Davis is the NBA's next superstar. The question is how far can he lead this group, when guards Jrue Holiday, Tyreke Evans and Eric Gordon don't fit together well and are often injured.
8. Utah Jazz
Coach: Quin Snyder (2nd season)
Last year: 38-44
Outlook: The Jazz showed signs of being on the rise last season. They'll need a more consistent effort from PF Derrick Favors and more improvement from SF Gordon Hayward, but shot-blocking C Rudy Gobert is tough to avoid inside.
9. Dallas Mavericks
Coach: Rick Carlisle (8th season)
Last year: 50-32
Outlook: The Mavs keep trying to make Dirk Nowitzki's final years pleasant. They didn't have a bad offseason, adding SF Wes Matthews and PG Deron Williams, even after missing out on Clippers C DeAndre Jordan.
10. Minnesota Timberwolves
Coach: Sam Mitchell (1st season)
Last year: 16-66
Outlook: This should be a fun team to watch, with the last two No. 1 overall picks - SF Andrew Wiggins and C Karl Anthony Towns - plus PG Ricky Rubio. Whether they can play enough defense to rise in the standings remains to be seen.
11. Sacramento Kings
Coach: George Karl (2nd season)
Last year: 29-53
Outlook: If nothing else, the Kings would make a good reality show. Old-school coach Karl will take DeMarcus Cousins, Rudy Gay, Rajon Rondo and rookie Willie Cauley-Stein, and try to make it work.
10. Phoenix Suns
Coach: Jeff Hornacek (3rd season)
Last year: 39-43
Outlook: The Suns have been through so many guards, finally settling on Brandon Knight and Eric Bledsoe as the two keepers. Phoenix is hoping Tyson Chandler can add a little more punch to the inside game.
13. Portland Trail Blazers
Coach: Terry Stotts (4th season)
Last year: 51-31
Outlook: LaMarcus Aldridge walked off to San Antonio, but the Blazers still have a young star in PG Damien Lillard. With some cap room to spend next summer, this wouldn't be a bad time to aim for a high draft pick.
14. Los Angeles Lakers
Coach: Byron Scott (2nd season)
Last year: 21-61
Outlook: This will likely be Kobe Bryant's last season with the Lakers. The rebuild is on with high draft picks D'Angelo Russell and Julius Randle, but the Lakers tried to appease Bryant by adding vets Roy Hibbert, Lou Williams and bringing back Metta World Peace from retirement.
15. Denver Nuggets
Coach: Mike Malone (1st season)
Last year: 30-52
Outlook: Knowing it's time to drop out of the middle class and land a high draft pick, look for the Nuggets to turn the team over to rookie PG Emmanuel Mudiay and hope something good is in store.