NBA Team Tiers 2013-2014: Tier VI

In a previous post, I outlined six NBA regular season Team Tiers ranging from title contenders to outright disasters. In this series, I will predict which teams fit into each tier for the 2013-2014 season, starting from the bottom up.

Tier VI (fewer than 20 wins): Definitely tanking

Philadelphia 76ers

All the Sixers have done this offseason is watch Andrew Bynum walk (hobble?) away for nothing and trade their most promising young player Jrue Holiday for an injured draft pick. Clearly, this team is hitting the reset button and intends to have a bottom-three record this season. Trading Holiday for Nerlens Noel and a potential late lottery 2014 pick was the right move for the team's future considering the epic strength of the 2014 draft. Plus they've got a valuable veteran in Thad Young as a trade chip. Philly is playing the long game about as well as possible, but I do have a couple nagging problems. First, they really need Evan Turner to be at least an above average starter, something he's not shown he can do for long stretches. Second, they will be starting a rookie point guard who can't shoot in Michael Carter-Williams. I'm worried about these two co-existing and not detracting from each others' development.

Orlando Magic

After pulling a surprisingly good haul out of the Dwightmare fiasco, the Magic are ready to stink again in a very competitive Eastern conference. Similar to the Sixers, this appears to be part of a larger plan to build through young players and the draft. If they can move the contracts of serviceable veterans Jameer Nelson and Aron Afflalo for more young players, draft picks, and cap room, their rebuilding future looks quite bright. Oladipo, Vucevic, Tobias Harris and a top 5 pick in next year's draft is an exciting young core with plenty of room to grow.

Phoenix Suns

I'm not sure the Suns have their future mapped out as well as the teams above. In theory they have a young point guard and center combo to build around, but it's unclear if Bledsoe is good enough at either end in the half court or if Alex Len can play at the NBA level at all (the stress fracture in his foot is a gigantic red flag, mythical training staff be damned). Whereas any top 5 pick in the draft will serve the above teams quite well, the Suns really need a top 2 pick next year to turn things around. Though they'll certainly do their best, no amount of losing can guarantee a top 2 pick.