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The Los Angeles Clippers have spent the last several years trying to build a championship team around Kawhi Leonard. That strategy produced the most successful period in franchise history, including the Clippers' first Western Conference Finals appearance in 2021. It also left the organization with a complicated future, and the NBA's punishment for its handling of the Kawhi situation has made that future considerably more difficult. The Clippers were fined $30 million, Steve Ballmer was suspended for one year, Lawrence Frank and Gillian Zucker received suspensions, and Kawhi Leonard was fined $700,000. The most significant part of the punishment for the basketball operation came through the draft, with the NBA eliminating five first-round picks from 2029 through 2033 and placing the organization under a five-year compliance and monitoring program. That changes the conversation around the Clippers. The organization still has players, some draft assets and financial flexibility...

The Cleveland Cavaliers are entering the 2026-27 season with a roster that already proved it can win at a high level. Cleveland won 52 games last season, averaged 119.5 points per game and posted a +4.1 Net Rating before reaching the Eastern Conference Finals. The problem emerged when the playoffs demanded something different from the team, as Cleveland's offense dropped to 107.9 points per game and its Net Rating fell to -3.6. That playoff run exposed the importance of roster versatility. Cleveland had plenty of offensive talent and elite frontcourt players, but the team struggled when opponents could take away its preferred actions, increase the physicality and force the offense into more difficult possessions. The Knicks ultimately swept Cleveland, and the series raised questions about whether the roster had enough size and defensive versatility on the perimeter. That is where Peyton Watson enters the picture. Cleveland added the 23-year-old wing on a four-year, $88 million co...

Cleveland enters the 2026-27 season with one of the more interesting questions in the Eastern Conference. The Cavaliers won 52 games last season, averaged 119.5 points per game and posted a +4.1 Net Rating before reaching the Eastern Conference Finals. They were already a legitimately good team, which makes the way their season ended even more important. New York swept Cleveland in the conference finals, exposing problems that were difficult to see during the regular season. Cleveland's scoring dropped from 119.5 points per game to 107.9 during the playoffs, while its Offensive Rating fell from 118.3 to 110.5 and assists dropped from 28.3 to 21.7 per game. James Harden is now returning on a three-year, $97 million extension, and Cleveland is hoping his ability to organize an offense can help solve some of those playoff problems. The question is whether Harden can actually make Cleveland's offense more resilient when the easy opportunities disappear. Cleveland's Offense F...

The Portland Trail Blazers enter the 2026-27 season with a roster that looks considerably different from the one that reached the playoffs last year. Portland finished 42-40 and improved significantly after the All-Star break, going 15-11 while posting a +3.0 Net Rating compared with -2.0 before the break. The biggest change came on the defensive end, with the team's Defensive Rating improving from 115.5 before the All-Star break to 109.3 afterward. That improvement gave Portland a foundation to build upon. The offseason then added another layer of complexity. Ja Morant arrived as a former All-Star, Damian Lillard is returning from an Achilles injury, and Portland still has Jrue Holiday, Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe competing for opportunities in the backcourt. Deni Avdija is also coming off a breakout season in which he averaged 24.2 points, 6.9 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game. Portland has accumulated a considerable amount of talent. The bigger question entering the sea...

The Portland Trail Blazers enter the 2026-27 season with a very different offensive outlook from the team that finished last season. Portland went 42-40 and reached the playoffs, but the postseason exposed a problem that became difficult to ignore. The Trail Blazers could generate plenty of offense during the regular season, yet their production fell sharply when San Antonio took away their preferred options. Portland averaged 115.5 points per game during the regular season while posting a 113.1 Offensive Rating, a 53.4% effective field goal percentage and a 57.0% true shooting percentage. Against San Antonio, those numbers fell to 100.0 points per game, a 102.2 Offensive Rating, a 46.8% effective field goal percentage and a 50.8% true shooting percentage. The interesting part was what did not happen. Portland's turnovers actually declined from 17.3 per game during the regular season to 12.8 in the playoffs. The issue was not simply that the offense became careless. Portland stru...