2019-20 NBA Season: Western Conference Standings Prediction

Whilst the dominant Golden State Warriors may have become weaker with the departures of Kevin Durant, Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston along with the injury of Klay Thompson, the Western Conference has become even more competitive with two more potential super teams being created in the form of the two LA franchises.

Furthermore, the Rockets, Blazers, Nuggets, and Jazz will all be looking to be main contenders as well. The worse teams out West have also improved with the addition of superb young talent and decent free agents. So overall, this prediction is going to be a very debatable and difficult one, but anyway, here it is.

#15 Phoenix Suns

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The above image is probably the only positive thing one can say about the Phoenix Suns. They have 2 fantastic young players in Devin Booker and DeAndre Ayton as well as a very solid forward in Kelly Oubre Jr.

Other than that, they have average or below-average players on the team who are either too inexperienced or too experienced in which case they aren't able to play at a high level on the court. One wonders why they would trade away TJ Warren and Josh Jackson for basically nothing. In total, it'll be a surprise if the Suns don't finish as the 15th seed once again.

#14 Memphis Grizzlies

After trading away Marc Gasol and Mike Conley, the Grizzlies can finally begin a rebuild with some very talented young players with star potential when you look at the likes of PF Jaren Jackson Jr. and PG Ja Morant. They also have a very versatile PF in Brandon Clarke and an extremely skilled center in Jonas Valanciunas.

So unlike the Suns, the fans in Memphis actually have some success to look forward to in the long run with this team. New coach Taylor Jenkins who has been Mike Budenholzer's assistant for the last 6 years could be a great find for the team.

#13 Minnesota Timberwolves

Like Phoenix, Minnesota only have a couple of great players and then a poor supporting cast. The T-Wolves have one of the best big men in the league in Karl-Anthony Towns along with good role players in Wiggins, Okogie, Teague, Covington and perhaps young talent Jarrett Culver. However, one superstar and a few solid role players are not nearly enough to make the Playoffs in the Western Conference.

Therefore, the way the franchise is going, Towns and/or Wiggins will be requesting a trade to a contender sooner or later. In fact, the Dominican big man could do the same thing as fellow former Kentucky player Anthony Davis by forcing his way to a team of his choice.

#12 Oklahoma City Thunder

After trading superstars Russell Westbrook and Paul George, you may think the Thunder are in full rebuild mode. However, they still haven't traded away Chris Paul, Danilo Gallinari or Steven Adams and may wait till January or February to do so.

Therefore, they're stuck in a dilemma as they really want to tank but have to keep some players who can do their best to get the team to a playoff place. Not only do they have CP3, Gallo and Adams, but OKC have talented guards Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Terrance Ferguson as well as a solid second unit in Schroder, Roberson and Noel.

#11 Dallas Mavericks

With Latvian center Kristaps Porzingis returning from injury, NBA fans are eagerly anticipating the former New York Knicks superstar to form a formidable duo with reigning Rookie of the Year Luka Doncic. Apart from these two All-Star caliber players with MVP-caliber potential, the Mavs have a solid group of role players in Delon Wright, Jalen Brunson, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Boban Marjanovic.

However, making the playoffs seems like a stretch for this Dallas Mavericks group as we don't know what a fully healthy Kristaps Porzingis is capable of yet and as good as their role players are, none of them stand out as someone who can step up to take over the game. Hence, they could compete for the 8th seed but would fall short eventually.

#10 Sacramento Kings

The Kings have a very young and athletic team across the board. At the guard positions, they have an explosive two-way player in De'Aaron Fox and a sharpshooter in Buddy Hield. Forward Harrison Barnes is a scorer who can average 20+ points per game and Ariza is an experienced 3-and-D player.

Big men Marvin Bagley III and Harry Giles have a lot of talent meanwhile free agency signing Dewayne Dedmon is a veteran stretch 5 who can block shots and rebound. So overall, these are very promising signs for Sacramento moving forward- they may actually break their playoff drought in the next few years.

#9 San Antonio Spurs

Unfortunately, next season could be the end of the historic Spurs streak of making the playoffs for 22 consecutive seasons. As usual, San Antonio are a strong defensive team with long guards on the perimeter (such as Dejounte Murray whose return from injury will certainly provide a boost on both ends of the floor for San Antonio) and then Aldridge and Poeltl inside.

However, Aldridge is getting older and DeRozan's role could become unclear as the younger players will get more playing time at SG whilst Rudy Gay will take up quite a lot of time at SF. In fact, there is a chance that DeRozan gets traded once again for more young pieces that fit in better.

#8 New Orleans Pelicans

Through this year's NBA Draft and the acquisitions they received in return for Anthony Davis and free agency signings, the Pelicans have assembled one of the best young teams in league history. A starting lineup of Ball, Holiday, Ingram, Williamson, and Favors with Alexander-Walker, Redick, Moore, Miller, and Hayes as part of the second unit as well as the options of Hart, Melli, Louzada-Silva and Okafor truly is an incredible all-round roster with unlimited potential.

They're expected to be a good playoff team for the next couple of seasons but after that, they'll be amongst championship favorites with the proper development of the talented rookies, sophomores and third-year players.

#7 Portland Trail Blazers

Lillard and McCollum will be tipped to lead the team to a playoff place once again but it is very doubtful that they'll be able to gain homecourt advantage because of the injury to Jusuf Nurkic as well as the free agency departures of Al-Farooq Aminu, Mo Harkless, Seth Curry, and Jake Layman.

On the other hand, they managed to acquire Kent Bazemore in exchange for Evan Turner whilst acquiring Hassan Whiteside as part of the 3-team Jimmy Butler trade. They also signed Mario Hezonja and Pau Gasol after drafting Nassir Little, so overall they should remain a playoff team but aren't seen as legitimate contenders.

#6 Golden State Warriors

Golden State lost its superteam status this summer as a result of Kevin Durant, DeMarcus Cousins, Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston and Quinn Cook leaving the franchise. Furthermore, Klay Thompson will be injured for around half of the regular season. However, they managed to land All-Star guard D'Angelo Russell who will start alongside Curry in the backcourt.

In contrast, Russell will likely be an acquisition that lasts only until the beginning of February 2020 as Warriors will probably trade him away for a forward and young assets. This is because once Thompson returns, it's very difficult to see the 3 guards fit in with each other.

#5 Utah Jazz

The Jazz traded for star point guard Mike Conley and signed Bojan Bogdanovic, Jeff Green, and Ed Davis. Donovan Mitchell finally has a great two-way point guard alongside him in the backcourt in addition to Indiana Pacers’ leading scorer in the playoffs.

Jeff Green is a versatile forward who can come off the bench and score, and at the same time, Rudy Gobert gets a great rebounding backup in Ed Davis. In total, it’s fair to say that the Utah Jazz are legitimate contenders in the West. Their defense will be the same meanwhile their offense improves significantly.

#4 Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers managed to finally trade for the best big man in the league in Anthony Davis but were unable to sign Kawhi Leonard. However, they used the remaining cap space quite well with the signings of four-time All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins, guards Danny Green, Avery Bradley, Quinn Cook, and Troy Daniels as well as veteran forward Jared Dudley.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, JaVale McGee, Alex Caruso, and Rajon Rondo all re-signed with the team. So the end result is that 'Bron and AD have a very strong supporting cast around them. The Lakers have many new additions so it'll take time and experience for them to settle in in order to create a new team identity; hence the 4th seed prediction.

#3 Los Angeles Clippers

Adding two MVP-caliber players in Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, re-signing Patrick Beverley and Ivica Zubac, while losing only Danilo Gallinari, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and draft picks means that the Clippers have made huge strides towards being a championship contender. The Clippers also signed versatile forwards JaMychal Green and Mo Harkless.

Doc Rivers was already coaching a team that fights hard on defense and works together to score on offense in a variety of ways through Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell's leadership. But now he has 2 superstars leading the charge on both ends of the floor which could make all the difference in the world.

#2 Houston Rockets

With the only roster difference from last season being the replacement of aging Chris Paul with a younger plus more athletic Russell Westbrook, the Rockets look set to be amongst title contenders once again. With "The Beard" and Russ running the show in H-Town along with the same role players as last year except for the addition of veteran big man Tyson Chandler, the team may finally make the NBA Finals.

However, it could require them to work harder than ever to achieve this feat due to the Clippers, Lakers, Nuggets, and Jazz looking very dangerous ahead of the 19-20 season as a result of significant trade acquisitions and free agency signings.

#1 Denver Nuggets

The Nuggets aren't seen as powerful as the previous three teams but certainly have the deepest roster in the conference. Defense doesn't matter as much in the regular season which is why I have them as the number 1 seed in this prediction.

With the additions of Michael Porter Jr., Jerami Grant, and Bol Bol, Denver can only get stronger on both ends of the floor. By retaining Nikola Jokic and extending Jamal Murray's contract, it seems that the team will be amongst contenders for many years to come.

A key aim should be utilizing Paul Millsap's contributions as he will be 35 years old by the time the 2020 postseason commences.