Portland Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers have done a great job reshaping their roster in a quiet way. They have added the springy Derrick Jones Jr., Enes Kanter, and Harry Giles for front court depth, and retained both Rodney Hood and Carmelo Anthony. The Blazers have also made one of the most understated trades of the off-season, sending Trevor Ariza and two first-round picks to the Houston Rockets for Robert Covington, a three-and-D wing who figures to nicely fit.
This version of the team is more than comparable to the one that forged a path to the 2018 Western Conference Finals, and especially, having Jusuf Nurkic back healthy helps them become relatively high on this list.
Denver Nuggets
Since head coach Michael Malone took over in Denver, the Nuggets have improved season after season. Last season culminated in the deepest playoff run of this core yet, finishing in a Western Conference Finals loss to the champion Lakers in five matches.
It makes sense since success has come with the Nuggets – a team that is patient and going on to build around their star duo including Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic that the team feels comfortable entering the season with mostly the same roster as the last year.
JaMychal Green was brought in and Paul Millsap was retained on a one-year deal. Torrey Craig was thrust into free agency following the Nuggets having rescinded his qualifying offer; meanwhile, Bol Bol was converted to a standard contract to shore up the big man rotation after the departure of Mason Plumlee. And perhaps Jerami Grant was the only surprise due to his deal from the Detroit Pistons while he was reportedly looking for a more significant role.
However, these are all fairly minor details, and the team look to be in as a good shape as any other team in the NBA, with a core that has got its best years ahead.