Kevin Durant’s exit from the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Golden State Warriors has changed the complexion of the NBA’s Northwest Division. The Thunder still has the talent to be the top team in the Northwest but the gap between them and the other four teams should be reduced significantly. Meanwhile, the Utah Jazz, Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves each appear primed to take major steps forward in the Western Conference with strong young cores that have the potential to break out this season. Here is a look at the biggest burning question for each NBA Northwest Division team.
Oklahoma City Thunder – Can The Thunder Thrive Without Durant?
Durant’s unanticipated signing with the Warriors completely changed the complexion of the NBA power structure. Oklahoma City is now clearly Russell Westbrook’s team and he will need to stay healthy in order to give his team a chance. The Thunder managed to land Victor Oladipo, Ersan Ilyasova and Domantas Sabonis in a trade that sent Serge Ibaka to the Orlando Magic and they already had a strong core that featured Westbrook, Steven Adams, Enes Kanter and Andre Roberson. Oklahoma City can still roll in the Northwest Division and be a playoff team without Durant but it’s hard to imagine them contending for a championship even if Westbrook stays healthy this season.
Portland Trail Blazers – Who Starts At Small Forward?
Portland turned a lot of heads a year ago when the All-Star tandem of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum led the Trail Blazers back to the postseason following a mass exodus that saw LaMarcus Aldridge, Wesley Johnson, Robin Lopez and more leave town in the same offseason. Now the Trail Blazers will look to build on last season and they are banking on somebody stepping up at the small forward position. Al-Farouq Aminu is in the mix but Portland signed Evan Turner to a four-year deal in the offseason so he could be in line for a job. The Trail Blazers still need at least a couple of pieces to contend for a championship and they will be banking on Turner or Aminu to step up at the small forward position. They should be better in the Northwest Division this year, though.
Utah Jazz – Are They Ready To Breakout?
There was a lot of talk about the Jazz emerging as a legitimate championship contender in the Western Conference last season. Injuries and a lack of inexperience slowed them down a year ago but Utah added some veteran talent to its core with George Hill, Joe Johnson and Boris Diaw joining the fold and their talented young cast could finally be ready to take that next step. Rudy Gobert, Derrick Favors, Rodney Hood provide plenty of intrigue heading in to this season but are they ready to breakout? All eyes will be on Utah to see if they are ready and they certainly have the talent to contend in the Northwest Division and for a playoff spot this season.
Denver Nuggets – Who Emerges In The Starting Rotation?
The Nuggets are one of the deeper teams in the NBA but the question is who will emerge as part of their rotation on opening night? Emmanuel Mudiay is the starting point guard and Jameer Nelson will serve as his backup, but how will the remainder of the lineup play out? Gary Harris is the favorite to start at the shooting guard position with rookie Jamal Murray, Will Barton and Malik Beasley in the mix. Danilo Gallinai is the frontrunner to start at small forward with Kenneth Faried likely in the mix at power forward. Jusuf Nurkic and Nikola Jokic could be in the mix at center but it depends on if the Nuggets want to go small. There is a lot of talent on the Denver roster but there is a still a lot of question marks about how the starting rotation will play out.
Minnesota Timberwolves – Will There Be An Adjustment Period Under Thibodeau?
Tom Thibodeau did an excellent job with the Chicago Bulls and it will be very interesting to see how he fares with Minnesota. The Timberwolves have back-to-back Rookie of the Year award winners in Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns but they don’t exactly have elite depth, especially when it comes to defensive stoppers. Wiggins, Shabazz Muhammad and Zach LaVine were among the league’s least effective defenders a year ago and this team’s core is still extremely young. It will likely take time for this team to reach its potential under Thibodeau and it will be very interesting to see how quickly things come together in Minnesota.
