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Post by Zach Lowe on Oct 12, 2023 22:08:18 GMT -5
Today we introduce the ultimate young core rankings.
Some general things to keep in mind.
1. Young player must be 25 years of age or younger.
2. We tallied upto 4 players for these rankings.
3. These are opinionated and don't take them too seriously.
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Post by Zach Lowe on Oct 12, 2023 22:15:49 GMT -5
30. Oklahoma City Thunder
Wow. I did not anticipate any team being this bad from a young core perspective, when the goal is to compete long term you need to keep some young blood injected into the team at all times. The Thunder organization has completely forgotten about that and said nah we are championship or dust.
Young Core Evaluated:
Face of the Franchise: 2025 OKC 1st Round Pick
Amari Bailey
Julian Phillips
Dominick Barlow
Where to even start. Amari Bailey has some upside I guess. Julian Phillips and Barlow are crapshoots at best. OKC's best chance at injecting youth might come in next years draft and they would be lucky to hit on a 18-22 range prospect. Pathetic showing.
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Post by Zach Lowe on Oct 12, 2023 22:20:29 GMT -5
29. Toronto Raptors
This team has some fun names, and guys who have shown some fun flashes but there is just too much unknown and not enough meat on the bones.
Face of the Franchise: Aaron Nesmith
Julian Strawther
Sandro Mamukelashvili
Bol Bol
Aaron Nesmith has shown some flashes and should be a bigger part of what Indy is trying to build onto. Julian Strawther has flashes at times in his young career dating back to his college days but will he be able to crack rotation minutes anytime soon? Denver also drafts well and should be seen as a positive. The tossup between Sandro and BolBol is wild because they're both known commodities with unknown roles on their teams.
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Post by Zach Lowe on Oct 12, 2023 22:25:59 GMT -5
28. Portland Trailblazers
When doing these rankings, I think this was the surprise of the whole show. When you dig deeper, it shows why they are ranked as low as they are.
Face of the Franchise: Shaedon Sharpe
Isaiah Hartenstein
Troy Brown
Kendall Brown
Now there is no denying the talent possessed by Sharpe and with Dame gone this should be a huge year for him to showcase that talent. Outside of that, there is a barebones young core with not much excitement. For a team coming off a championship run, this area might not be of importance.
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Post by Zach Lowe on Oct 12, 2023 22:29:37 GMT -5
27. Sacramento Kings
There was some debate weather the Kings and Blazers should be switched, eventually the depth of "What could be possible" type pieces won over the one stud piece of the Blazers
Face of the Franchise: Obi Toppin
Kevin Huerter
Rui Hachimora
Cam Thomas
Obi Won is finally free of the New York Knicks Empire stranglehold and gets to unleash all that talent as a starter, will all those flashes hes shown in the past live up to the hype of years ago? Kevin Huerter is what he is, and had a breakout season of sorts last year. Rui Hachimora almost had a second coming in the playoffs, if he is able to produce like that in the regular season he might not be a bust afterall. Cam Thomas is a microwave shooter, will the Nets actually use him this year?
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Post by Zach Lowe on Oct 12, 2023 22:38:57 GMT -5
26. Washington Wizards
There could be a case to be made for Wizards to be lower, the ceiling here def isnt quite the same as some other teams but 2 proven players help them in this case.
Face of the Franchise: Tre Jones
Garry Trent Jr.
Orlando Robinson
Ochai Agbaji
Tre Jones has proven to be a reliable point guard that can run the offense, for our scoring he does extremely well in here. Garry Trent being 24 still blows my mind, but he is reliable. Orlando Robinson has a chance to gain some valuable rotation minutes for a heat team that lost a lot of them. Ochai still has a high draft pedigree, weather that turns into anything remains to be seen.
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Post by Zach Lowe on Oct 16, 2023 21:35:12 GMT -5
25. Charlotte Hornets
Just a lot of early question marks in terms of what the makeup of this roster even is to this point. Long road ahead of Teej to fix this thing into a working product.
Young Core Evaluated:
Face of the Franchise: Daniel Gafford
Gradey Dick
Leonard Miller
James Weisman
Daniel Gafford has shown a lot of potential flashes throughout the years, and finally has a role that he can thrive in all season. Gradey Dick was recently added to the roster in a big trade that could define the long term future for this team. James Weisman was the #1 overall pick just a few years ago, but appears to be fighting for a backup spot at best currently and can he really recoup some of that magic?
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Post by Zach Lowe on Oct 16, 2023 21:40:27 GMT -5
24. New Orleans Pelicans
Young Core Evaluated:
Face of the Franchise: Tyreese Maxi
Malakhi Branham
2025 Utah 1st
2025 NO 1st
Man Ty has been one of those guys that is just waiting to breakout and the only thing stopping it has been James Harden. With Harden ready to get out of Philly this could finally be the year we get to see it all happen. Malakhi is loved by the front office we know as much, what will his role really be on the Spurs is still a wait and see approach.
Utah 1st could be juicy, No 1st most likely isnt.
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Post by Zach Lowe on Oct 16, 2023 21:44:47 GMT -5
23. Los Angeles Lakers
Young Core Evaluated:
Face of the Franchise: Dyson Daniels
Anthony Black
Christian Braun
PJ Washington
For a team with such a bad roster, you would hope the young core would show more potential. The true lack of a real face hurts the Lakers in these rankings. Dyson Daniels has shown early flashes but is looking to garner more minutes from the Pelicans. Anthony Black looks to be lost in the plethora of guys that the Magic have drafted over the last couple of years but if the team trades one of Suggs/Cole early, that could open up some minutes for Blacks development. Christian Braun has done a good job of finding a role on a championship team and should continue to grow as a role player. PJ Washington was a huge trade target just a couple years ago but some off field distractions seem to have hurt the come up, will this be the year?
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Post by Zach Lowe on Oct 16, 2023 21:52:23 GMT -5
22. Denver Nuggets
Young Core Evaluated:
Face of the Franchise: Keegan Murray
Jalen Johnson
Quinton Grimes
Herb Jones
Another team with a solid group of guys just nothing that stands out too much. Murray came on towards the end of the year and the hope is he continues. Jalen Johnson and Q Grimes have some meat on their bones but long term fantasy I just dont see where they can leave a mark. Herb Jones is what he is, a solid contributor on a cheap contract anyone would love to have.
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Post by Zach Lowe on Oct 16, 2023 22:03:11 GMT -5
21. Minnesota Timberwolves
Young Core Evaluated:
Face of the Franchise: Tyrese Haliburton
Kobe Brown
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, OKC
2024 Min 1st
When you are competing its hard to have a young core that really lights up the stat sheets, but one thing the Wolves have is a young face to build around were they ever to need a retooling. Haliburton is a stud and theres nothing else to add besides that. The rest I am not going to waste my breathe talking about.
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