The Celtics have shown a willingness to trade away future picks, including an unprotected first-rounder headed to the San Antonio Spurs in 2028 from the Derrick White deal, and they’ve done so in pursuit of players who can support an extended run built around mid-20s stars Jaylen Brown (26 in October) and Jayson Tatum (24). Although Golden State has one of the league’s oldest cores, led by the four-time champion trio of Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson, the Warriors owe one future first-round pick (in 2024) and are developing the foundation of their next team with recent lottery picks Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody and James Wiseman while still winning now. The title-winning Warriors’ approach perhaps best epitomizes this group. How can last season’s NBA finalists land outside the group of current championship contenders? By contrast to the first tier’s teams, which have depleted their resources in pursuit of instant success, the Celtics and Warriors managed to get to the Finals while keeping an eye on the long-term plan. Teams (4): Boston Celtics, Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors, Memphis Grizzlies The Celtics and Warriors just competed for the NBA title, and they are considered teams with the players to win now and in the future. Bontemps All-in on … a championship over the next five seasons But they are still part of the roster, which means there’s little doubt of what the expectations will be if that remains the case in mid-October. Meanwhile, the uncertainty surrounding the futures of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving clouds Brooklyn’s future. The Clippers might have an argument to be in our next group below, but they’ve given away their first-round draft picks for the next four years - and did so last year, as well, which turned out to be a lottery pick with intriguing upside ( Jalen Williams) - and are built around a pair of stars in Kawhi Leonard and Paul George who are entering their mid-30s and have extensive injury histories. But given the Bucks have traded several future picks and have two co-stars ( Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday) in their early 30s, while the 76ers and Heat are relying on a pair of mid-30s stars in James Harden and Jimmy Butler, respectively, there could be a time limit on their status as true contenders. Milwaukee, Philadelphia and Miami have stars who should allow them to be competitive for a long time ( Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid and Bam Adebayo, respectively). All but the Suns have mortgaged multiple future draft picks in order to win a title in 2023, while one of Phoenix’s most important players next season ( Chris Paul) will turn 38 during the 2023 playoffs. In addition, they all have something else in common: a shelf life. These six teams can realistically dream of an NBA championship in 2022-23. The Phoenix Suns and Milwaukee Bucks are two teams that have put all their chips in the middle of the table to win now.
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