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Throughout the month of October, theScore will examine the offseason moves and biggest fantasy storylines of each NBA team. This edition focuses on the Northwest Division.
Division Outlook
Atlantic | Central | Southeast
Pacific | Southwest | Northwest
Denver Nuggets
Big Picture: The Nuggets made few roster moves over the offseason. This could be a problem. The team finished with a 33-49 record and promptly sank PG Emmanuel Mudiay's rookie season. The bright spot is that none of the team's projected starters are above 30.
Youth will continue to be a factor, but it's less apparent how the team will perform. Mudiay could make great strides and PF Kenneth Faried and C Jusuf Nurkic could be a veritable force in the frontcourt. It's cloudy because of the injuries and inconsistencies that muddled the Nuggets a year ago. For now, it's best to keep expectations low.
X-Factor: For better or worse, it looks like it's Mudiay's team. He and Faried could develop excellent pick and roll chemistry, which would potentially mask their limitations elsewhere but also enhance their fantasy ceilings. The struggles from a year ago will push down their draft status leading to them being potential steals.
But it all falls on Mudiay's development. He was wildly inconsistent in his rookie season, shooting poorly and turning the ball over - something he did 217 times. If he scored like James Harden this would be more excusable. He didn't, but he was a rookie. The range of outcomes is wide for Mudiay, but this team likely won't be much better than a season ago.
Minnesota Timberwolves
Big Picture: The system was installed around the tandem of PF/C Karl-Anthony Towns and SG/SF Andrew Wiggins and this year represents growth, or at least the perception of it. Beyond the big two, the Timberwolves feature a glut of fantasy producers. As inconsistent as PG Ricky Rubio has been as a scorer, he's a solid backup point guard in standard leagues.
C Gorgui Dieng was often a DFS all star in 2015-16 as his salary was low and his minutes increased. As a full-fledged starter, at least to begin, he should see his price rise. Don't expect him to be taken very early in season-long, however. SG Kris Dunn could push the Timberwolves to trade Rubio, but it's also likely he serves as a backup.
X-Factor: The steps taken by Towns and Wiggins. Towns is already expected to be a first-round fantasy pick, which is dicey with only one season under his belt. But it was both a phenomenal performance and a durable one. Maybe Towns' ceiling isn't as high as the likes of PF Anthony Davis, but he's shown that he's capable of playing more than 70 games in a season.
Wiggins is more of the wild card. He has played all but one game in his first two seasons, and averaged 35.7 minutes per game doing it. He's still a mostly one-dimensional player doing very little in non-scoring categories. If he can add depth to his game, it will help the Timberwolves and fantasy owners who took a flier on him in the mid rounds of their drafts.
Oklahoma City Thunder
Big Picture: No Kevin Durant, no problem. In 2014-15, when Durant was sidelined, PG Russell Westbrook averaged 28.1 points per game. His rebounds have steadily increased over the seasons and he has improved as a passer as well.
While coach Billy Donovan expressed that it won't be all Westbrook all the time on The Vertical podcast with Adrian Wojnarowski, he's still a viable selection as first overall in drafts. The new supporting cast from Victor Oladipo to Ersan Ilyasova will help, but any step back will be minor for Westbrook.
X-Factor: What do the non-Westbrook players do? If Donovan is committed to spreading it around and he can generate a dynamic style of play from all sides through the likes of those new acquisitions and holdovers like Steven Adams and Enes Kanter, Westbrook could perform below expectations.
The rest of the team's value will help determine Westbrook's, though he already proved he could co-exist with Durant and still provide elite fantasy numbers. He tallied 18 triple-doubles. There were doubts surrounding him last season and we all saw how that turned out. Doubt him at your own peril.
Portland Trail Blazers
Big Picture: A team expected to go nowhere went to the second round of the NBA playoffs led by an outstanding - and underappreciated - backcourt tandem of PG Damian Lillard and SG C.J. McCollum. Little will change with SF Evan Turner entering the rotation, moving Al-Farouq Aminu to the bench.
The frontcourt should stay relatively similar to last season, and if Meyers Leonard stays healthy it will just add to the team's overall depth. Few Trail Blazers will be fantasy superstars, but there will certainly be value in the late rounds, but their contributions will be more readily felt in DFS.
X-Factor: Have Lillard and McCollum reached their ceilings? If not, then the sky is the limit for what they can offer in fantasy. McCollum was possibly the top breakout player in the NBA and came as a major bargain in drafts. He won't be had at a discount again, so it's possibly he'll be slightly overrated.
The added depth doesn't change things too much on paper, but Turner's presence does provide some wrinkles. Still, he's only averaged 10.7 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game, despite playing 28.6 minutes, for his whole career. Once again, it's all about the backcourt.
Utah Jazz
Big Picture: The Jazz were on the cusp of a playoff berth in 2015-16, which would not have yielded much as the Golden State Warriors would likely have swept them. The new look Jazz will be a slightly different animal, but more of an evolution of the current system than an overhaul. Expect defense and fundamentals to be the name of the game.
Adding veterans like PG George Hill, PF Boris Diaw and SG Joe Johnson provide the otherwise very young team with added depth and experience, which should take the pressure off SF Gordon Hayward and C Rudy Gobert. With PG Dante Exum healthy, the Jazz won't likely disappear once the first unit is off the floor.
X-Factor: It's Exum. Depending on his health, he could be one of the sneakiest late round PG picks in drafts. While Hill may get starts early, Exum is the one being groomed for the role and should be half of a dynamic backcourt with SG Rodney Hood.
The Jazz didn't offer much in the way of fantasy a season ago with injuries to PF Derrick Favors, Gobert and Exum, which took a toll on Hayward. Adding Exum to the mix, provided he's ready following his ACL tear, can make every piece better.
