The Minnesota Timberwolves and New Orleans Hornets were lottery-level teams in June, though the Wolves had traded their pick away. While both teams missed the playoffs last spring, they began the summer at different junctures in their rebuilding plans. Nevertheless, after a furious few weeks of activity, the teams are primed to become powers in the Western Conference.
Both teams are built to last. When we ranked future big threes earlier this summer, the Hornets (third) and Timberwolves (fifth) looked like franchises that have exciting cores in place. But what about this season?
Minnesota general manager David Kahn told reporters that he expects a healthy Timberwolves squad to contend for the playoffs this season. His New Orleans counterpart, Dell Demps, has been a little more cautious, saying the Hornets will be competitive this season but that they are built for the future. Both GMs were telling the truth.
Joining the Timberwolves before long will be the Hornets. Demps has done a remarkable job restocking a roster that was looking stale even before Chris Paul was traded. Demps has made sure that Paul's departure was not the death knell for his franchise. Instead, it has proved to be the catalyst for a bright future. That began with last season's conference-high loss total, the lucky lottery night and the selection of Anthony Davis with the first pick of the 2012 draft.
The Davis selection was the residue of luck and design, but the pick itself was a no-brainer. The moves Demps has made over the rest of the summer have marked him as one of the rising front-office stars in the league. He is following in the footsteps of fellow Spurs alum Sam Presti, the architect of OKC's rise. It's no wonder that it seems every new general manager hire seems to be a Gregg Popovich protégé.
While Kahn was adding to a foundation already in place, Demps was starting from scratch in New Orleans, which put the Hornets further behind on the rebuilding path. Let's peek at the potential depth chart that coach Monty Williams will have to work with:
PG: Austin Rivers, Greivis Vasquez
SG: Eric Gordon, Roger Mason, Xavier Henry
SF: Ryan Anderson, Al-Farouq Aminu, Darius Miller
PF: Davis, Hakim Warrick, Lance Thomas
C: Robin Lopez, Jason Smith
Just by looking at the names, you can see how many more holes the Hornets' roster has than the one in Minnesota. Vasquez may end up as the starting point guard after what we saw from Rivers at the position in summer league. Even if Rivers improves, we don't know how he'll fit with Gordon. We also don't know if Anderson can really function as a full-time 3. Davis and Lopez will be a formidable defensive duo on the inside, but the frontcourt depth is iffy and the squad is woefully short on wing defenders.
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