BDL's Ranking Rosters: Measuring depth in the Northwest Division
Stars guide the NBA. Set your watch by LeBron James contending in June. Kevin Durant joined Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green in Golden State, and we all know how that will turn out. (Hint: Pretty good.) Fill out the rest of that roster with 11 Mark Madsens, and they’ll still vie for a title.
But few stars push teams to the playoffs alone. Ask Carmelo Anthony. Or DeMarcus Cousins. After 10 straight playoff appearances to begin his career, the former has seen his season end in April three years running. And the latter has landed in the lottery every season since entering the league in 2010.
Depth and continuity count in the NBA, too, and that’s why we’re here. We ranked every roster, one through 12, mostly because that’s how many players a team activates each game (and partly since 15 is more effort). Then, we broke divisions down by depth, sorting teams into four distinct categories:
• Stars: You know ’em when you see ’em
• Supporting actors: Starting-caliber NBA players
• Role players: Possess a very particular set of skills
• Extras: Putting the RP in VORP
[Follow Dunks Don’t Lie on Tumblr: The best slams from all of basketball]
Likewise, we noted each roster’s additions (“standing in”) and subtractions (“edited out”).
These subjective rankings are based on depth and continuity, or lack thereof, and not a prediction of where teams will finish in the standings, even if they’re often intertwined ideas. Newly formed or existing star-studded squads may fare better than ones with longer-running or stronger supporting casts, although a revolving door or bottom-heavy roster is almost always a target for rotten tomatoes.
Without further ado: The Northwest Division.
1. Minnesota Timberwolves
• Stars: Karl-Anthony Towns
• Supporting actors: Andrew Wiggins, Ricky Rubio, Gorgui Dieng, Zach LaVine
• Role players: Shabazz Muhammad, Cole Aldrich, Jordan Hill, Nemanja Bjelica, Kris Dunn, Tyus Jones, Brandon Rush
Standing in: Aldrich, Dunn, Hill, Rush
Edited out: Damjan Rudez
The Timberwolves are “The Godfather.” Just as that movie had a young Al Pacino and Robert De Niro on the precipice of their primes, so too does Minnesota have Towns and Wiggins — not to mention Dunn, LaVine and a host of other Jimmy Caan and Bobby Duvall types. It’s a murderer’s row of young talent about to light the world on fire. It killed me not to include Kevin Garnett, but he just can’t keep up with these young guns anymore, so he’s the perfect Marlon Brando for this roster. And then there’s Tom Thibodeau directing, a la Francis Ford Coppola, pushing them all to the brink and creating his masterpiece. Just wait until they make the Chicago Bulls an offer they can’t refuse for Jimmy Butler.
2. Utah Jazz
• Supporting actors: Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors, Rudy Gobert, George Hill, Rodney Hood, Joe Johnson
• Role players: Alec Burks, Boris Diaw, Trey Lyles, Shelvin Mack, Dante Exum, Jeff Withey
Standing in: Diaw, Hill, Johnson
Edited out: Trevor Booker, Trey Burke
“The Usual Suspects.” I wouldn’t say there was an A-list star in the cast, at least not when the movie came out. Kevin Spacey and Benicio del Toro weren’t Oscar winners yet. The same could be said of everyone from Hayward to Hood. But there wasn’t a bad performance in the film, either. And the project exceeded all expectations. That’s the Jazz. If there’s a Stephen Baldwin of the group, it’s Joe Ingles, left out of this 12-man rotation, just like you sorta forget the guy from “Bio-Dome” played a pretty hefty role in “Usual Suspects.” You prefer to focus on the surprise ending, which the Jazz could get in the form of a deep Western Conference playoff run, if all goes according to Quin Snyder’s plan. And like that, poof — Hayward, who has a $16.7 million player option at the end of the season, is gone.
3. Portland Trail Blazers
• Stars: Damian Lillard
• Supporting actors: C.J. McCollum, Mason Plumlee
• Role players:, Al-Farouq Aminu, Ed Davis, Allen Crabbe, Festus Ezeli, Meyers Leonard, Evan Turner, Moe Harkless
• Extras: Noah Vonleh, Shabazz Napier
Standing in: Ezeli, Napier, Turner
Edited out: Gerald Henderson, Chris Kaman, Brian Roberts
“Tropic Thunder.” Did you know Ben Stiller and Jack Black are 5-foot-7 and 5-6, respectively? It’s an undersized cast — and a weird one, to boot. There’s Tom Cruise, Robert Downey Jr. and Matthew McConaughey; Danny McBride, Bill Hader and Jason Bateman; Tyra Banks, Maria Menounos and Jennifer Love Hewitt. How in the hell is all that going to fit together? You’ve got stars, bit players and a few folks intentionally cast for comedic purposes, kinda like Evan Turner. Everybody’s gotta know their role — and play it to perfection — or things will go south quickly. Yet, somehow it all works.
4. Denver Nuggets
• Supporting actors: Danilo Gallinari, Nikola Jokic, Will Barton, Kenneth Faried
• Role players: Gary Harris, Emanuel Mudiay, Wilson Chandler, Darrell Arthur, Jusuf Nurkic, Jamal Murray, Jameer Nelson
• Extras: Juancho Hernangomez
Standing in: Hernangomez, Murray
Edited out: D.J. Augustin, Joffrey Lauvergne
If I was making a list of mediocre movies, it’d start with “Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead.” And if I were to make a list of mediocre NBA teams, it’d start with the Nuggets. The movie stars Andy Garcia, who — like Gallinari — is the perfectly mediocre person to star in such a meh production. He’s good, borderline really good at times, but nobody’s expecting big things from an Andy Garcia movie. It’s got Christopher Lloyd, Steve Buscemi and Christopher Walken, too — the Faried, Barton and Jokic in this analogy. Some good names, for sure, and they can all be solid in a better situation, but they can also disappear if others aren’t raising the game around them. Two and a half stars all the way.
5. Oklahoma City Thunder
• Stars: Russell Westbrook
• Supporting actors: Steven Adams, Victor Oladipo, Enes Kanter
• Role players: Andre Roberson, Ersan Ilyasova, Joffrey Lauvergne, Domantas Sabonis, Cameron Payne, Anthony Morrow
• Extras: Nick Collison, Alex Abrines
Standing in: Abrines, Ilyasova, Lauvergne, Oladipo, Sabonis
Edited out: Kevin Durant, Randy Foye, Serge Ibaka, Nazr Mohammed, Dion Waiters
“The Punisher.” It’s the greatest vengeance movie ever made. Not only is Frank Castle’s entire family killed at the beginning of the movie, but he was cohosting a family reunion with his wife’s entire family, and they too are all killed. I’m not saying Kevin Duran’t departure to Golden State is the same thing for Russell Westbrook as the opening of “The Punisher,” but it’s close. Anyway, Castle goes on to kill everyone imaginable in a film so bad it’s amazing. That is your 2016-17 Oklahoma City Thunder.
That seems like as good a place as any to go out. Thanks for following along. It’s a wrap, folks.
Previously, on Ranking Rosters:
Eastern Conference: Atlantic Division • Central Division • Southeast Division
Western Conference: Pacific Division • Southwest Division • Northwest Division
– – – – – – –
is a contributor for Ball Don’t Lie and Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at rohrbach_ben@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @brohrbach
