More than any other professional sports league, the success of your NBA franchise is predicated on star power. The stars drive the sport, and more times than not a team needs two or three stars all in their prime or close to it to really compete for an NBA championship. Never has that been more evident than the past three years where the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors have met in the NBA Finals each year, with each team boasting three or more all stars of their own. The Cavaliers have been able to overcome various levels of adversity or questions about their effort due to having one of the greatest players of all time with Lebron James paired with young and in their prime stars Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving, who has now been swapped for All star point guard Isaiah Thomas. The Warriors have been a model of consistency the past three seasons, winning 67 or more games each season, on the backs of perennial MVP candidates Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, and All Star running mates Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. The rest of the NBA is currently chasing behind these two titans but there are a few teams who have the foundation in place to either compete or overthrow both of these franchises in the near future.
Boston Celtics
Players Under 30 Years Old: 12
Cornerstone Pieces: Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum
Reason for Optimism: The Celtics struck gold this past offseason with the acquisition of Kyrie Irving through via trade, Gordon Hayward through free agency, and Jayson Tatum with the third pick in the NBA draft. With Irving, the Celtics have a potential MVP caliber player who is just entering his prime to pair with proven All Stars Hayward and Al Horford, and young, budding, versatile wings Tatum and Brown. The biggest reason to like the Celtics going forward is that they are one of the youngest teams in the NBA and have already proven themselves to be legitimate Eastern Conference contenders with Hayward only playing three minutes in a Celtics uniform. Add in the fact that the Celtics get the Lakers first round pick if it falls between the second and seventh overall pick and this is a team that will be perennial championship contenders for the foreseeable future.
Milwaukee Bucks
Players Under 30 Years Old: Damn near everybody except Jason Terry
Cornerstone Pieces: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jabari Parker, Khris Middleton, Eric Bledsoe, Malcolm Brogdon
Reason for Optimism: The reason to be optimistic about the Bucks future simply begins and ends with The Greek Freak. Giannis has gotten better each of his five seasons in the NBA and looks to have even more room to grow which is scary for the rest of the league considering he is already a top 10 player and is only 23 years old. complimented well by a healthy Jabari Parker, Khris Middleton, Malcolm Brogdon, and the steadiness of Eric Bledsoe at point guard and you have one of the most versatile young teams in the NBA.
Philadelphia 76ers
Players Under 30 Years Old: 13
Cornerstone Pieces: Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, Markelle Fultz, Dario Saric
Reason for Optimism: No fan base endured more than the 76ers from 2013 through 2016. Through rampant tanking, injuries to lottery picks, and bad basketball they were constantly told to “trust the process.” Well now the process is starting to show promise with young stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons breathing life into the franchise. If Markelle Fultz can return to form as the consensus top prospect in one of the most talented drafts in recent memory then the Sixers have three legitimate star pieces under the age of 25 years old.
Minnesota Timberwolves
Players Under 30 Years Old: 12
Cornerstone Pieces: Karl-Anthony Towns, Jimmy Butler, Andrew Wiggins
Reason for Optimism: The timberwolves the past two seasons had been a team based on potential. They had the number one overall picks from the 2014 and 2015 drafts with Andrew Wiggins and Karl Towns, and while both won Rookie of the Year honors and put up impressive individual statistics, it wasn’t translating to wins. This offseason the Minnesota front office traded budding shooting guard Zach Lavine for Jimmy Butler, a proven All Star who is in his prime. The results have led to the Timberwolves currently occupying the third seed in the Western Conference standings and on pace for 51 wins which would be the most in a single season for the franchise since 2003-2004’s 58 win campaign which saw Kevin Garnett win MVP. Things are looking up in Minnesota.
Denver Nuggets
Players Under 30 Years Old: 14
Cornerstone Pieces: Paul Millsap, Nikola Jokic, Gary Harris, Jamal Murray
Reason for Optimism: The Nuggets were a team that had high expectations coming into this season with visions of making the playoffs for the first time since 2013. Injuries to their two best players, Paul Millsap and Nikola Jokic, have caused struggles so far this season but the Nuggets only sit a half game back of the Clippers currently for the eight seed. The biggest reason to be bullish on the Nuggets future is Jokic, who is a double double big man who also happens to be one of the best passers in the NBA regardless of position. Add in young guards Gary Harris and Jamal Murray and the Nuggets have three young core pieces to build around for the future.
Los Angeles Lakers
Players Under 30 Years Old: 15
Cornerstone Pieces: Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma
Reason for Optimism: For the first time since 2013, the Lakers appear to have a sense of direction of where they want to go as a franchise and have young pieces in place to bring excitement back to the Los Angeles. Lonzo Ball’s shooting struggles have been harped on to no end but the rookie point guard still is averaging 10 points to go along with seven rebounds and seven assists every night. Ingram has taken a huge leap forward this season, showing signs of being a legitimate go to scorer at the NBA level after a disappointing rookie year for the 2016 second overall pick. And then there is Kuzma who has been the steal of the draft and arguably the Lakers best player this season. The Lakers are also armed with cap space this offseason and are eyeing to bring in one or two marquee free agents in a loaded free agent class. The Lakers are on the right path back to being relevant for their on court product and not off the court mishaps.
Chicago Bulls
Players Under 30 Years Old: Literally the entire roster.
Cornerstone Pieces: Lauri Markkanen, Zach Lavine, Kris Dunn
Reason for Optimism: After trading away Jimmy Butler this offseason for Zach Lavine and Kris Dunn there were a lot of question marks surrounding the Bulls and the direction the franchise was heading in. Lavine was a promising and explosive shooting guard but was coming off of a torn ACL, and Kris Dunn suffered through one of the most disappointing rookie seasons in recent memory for a lottery pick. Well seven months later and the Bulls have to like the way they came out in the deal, Dunn has looked like the player most expected when he was drafted fifth overall by the Timberwolves in 2016 and Lavine is finally back on the court playing and showing the signs of explosiveness that made him such a promising player. But the gem here is seven footer Lauri Markkanen, who recently reached 100 made three pointers quicker than any player in NBA history and is squarely in the mix for Rookie of the Year honors. The Bulls also will likely have a top 10 pick in the upcoming 2018 NBA Draft.
Kameron Hay 