Heading into the NBA's 2019 free agency period, there were hundreds of questions regarding where the top superstars like Kawhi Leonard or Kevin Durant will sign. For most of the NBA, those decisions were made in the first 24 to 48 hours, and the league was left waiting on what Leonard was going to decide. Leonard ultimate chose the Los Angeles Clippers, who also traded for Paul George from the OKC Thunder.
Now that everything has shaken out, there's a clearer picture of the top teams on paper. Let's predict the 10 best teams in NBA 2K20 based on what happened during free agency.
10 Milwaukee Bucks
Despite losing Malcolm Brogdon to the Indiana Pacers, the Milwaukee Bucks still sport a very solid roster that managed to add the other Lopez twin. The big thing for them will be whether or not current NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo develops an outside shot.
With Khris Middleton signing a monster contract, and Giannis' coming up, the Bucks are in win-now mode due to salary cap concerns in the coming years in terms of keeping the gang together.
9 Denver Nuggets
If you're a Denver Nuggets fan, you're probably really upset that they're barely at #9 on this list. They have a solid roster that managed to stay the same and the real issue with them is that they didn't necessarily get better. Now, they also didn't get worse, so it's tough to figure out where they should land. They're a very young team that gained a ton of experience during the 2019 playoffs.
This coming year, they'll need to show the regular season dominance once again, then follow it with a playoff run that shows they're more than regular season heroes.
8 Portland Trailblazers
Portland is very proud of their NBA team right now. It's a group of overachievers that manage to do more than what's expected of them. Going into next season though the Trailblazers will have the most expected out of them in a long while due to their playoff effort and recent NBA offseason acquisitions.
The Trailblazers resigned Rodney Hood, signed Maurice Harkless, and pulled off a surprising trade for Hassan Whiteside from the Miami Heat. This now gives them an ultra-competitive starting 5. Let's see what they can do with it.
7 Houston Rockets
James Harden is one of the top 3 players in the NBA, yet he can never really prove his talent and worth in the playoffs. He's still partnered with an aging Chris Paul who is still towards the top of the league, but age is catching up to him fast. With both Clint Capela and PJ Tucker proving to be ineffective and at points non-existent in the postseason, what does that mean for the Rockets roster?
It seems that the isolation type playstyle not only turns off teammates but seems to have likely deterred possible free agent acquisitions this year.
6 Golden State Warriors
It's amazing what a matter of months can do for a dynasty and its roster. With Kevin Durant signing elsewhere, losing Quinn Cook and Demarcus Cousins to free agency, and trading away Andre Iguodala the Golden State Warriors' roster has almost been entirely overhauled outside of their premiere backcourt tandem of Steph Curry and Klay Thompson.
Though the signing of D'Angelo Russell looks good on paper, what does that mean for when Thompson comes back? How will Curry hold up in a season where he's the only real threat on his team?
5 Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz have had arguably the NBA's best offseason in 2019, but due to the market, they're in it's largely getting overshadowed. They replaced veteran point guard Ricky Rubio by trading for the highly underrated Mike Conley from the Memphis Grizzlies. Not only did they give their young shooting guard Donovan Mitchell a savvy veteran to learn from and take away the pressure, but they also filled their need for shooters.
Despite letting Derrick Favors walk, the Utah Jazz are walking into the 2019 NBA season as one of the league's most complete and deep rosters from top to bottom.
4 Philadelphia 76ers
Imagine having a point guard that doesn't like shooting outside of 10 feet and still deciding to get rid of most of the team's shooters. That's exactly what the Philadelphia 76ers have done by letting JJ Reddick walk, and bringing in Al Horford to pair with Joel Embiid in the frontcourt.
Horford not only gives them a stout defensive lineup that resembles the Great Wall of China, but Horford also offers them insurance if and when Embiid goes down for a couple of weeks. If Tobias Harris can prove to be consistent and Ben Simmons develops any type of shot, they'll be dangerous next season.
3 Brooklyn Nets
The Brooklyn Nets come in at #3 simply due to players having the ability to play with Kevin Durant despite his injuries. If this wasn't the case they'd likely be much lower on the list, since a pairing of Kyrie Irving and aging Deandre Jordan isn't necessarily anything to write home about.
The Nets managed to make the playoffs with a young overachieving team last year, and now have two of the league's best players on their roster. Their success next season will depend on Irving's supporting cast, and Duran'ts injury recovery timetable.
2 Los Angeles Clippers
Now, before you get mad that Kawhi Leonard and Paul George's new team isn't #1 there are some things to consider. First, the Los Angeles Clippers had to trade quite a bit to acquire Paul George and though they have 3 great starters, with 2 of them being superstars, the rest of the roster isn't completely solid.
They're not a poorly built team by any means, but the two teams in Los Angeles are splitting hairs in terms of which looks better on paper. Whether they're #1 or #2, the Clippers will most likely be a top 3 defensive unit.
1 Los Angeles Lakers
Both #1 and #2 will be controversial on this list, but they're pretty much 1A and 1B and are dependent on the health and team chemistry. The Los Angeles Lakers get the edge due to what they did in response to Kawhi Leonard choosing the Los Angeles Clippers over both the Lakers and Toronto Raptors.
The Lakers ended up signing shooters Danny Green and Quinn Cook, as well as grabbing All-Star center Demarcus Cousins on a 1-year prove it deal. Though the Clippers have 3 great starters, there's an argument to be had that the Lakers have the superior complete roster.