DISCLAIMER: This power rankings may miss some of the key additions / subtractions as that was done prior to Day 4/5 in FA. This is of course only my opinion and not the opinion of the commissioner or any other higher powers in DASL. Last year's ranking was based off draft, which I assume is by record. Projected starting lineups are merely from a quick glance at your roster, and should not be considered depth chart advice. I am not liable for any poor team performance as a result of this article.
1. Portland Trailblazers
Last Year’s Standing: 4
Key Additions: Pervis Ellison, Otis Birdsong, Chris Mullin
Key Subtractions: Bill Laimbeer, Ken Barlow
Projected Starting Lineup: Herb Williams / Pervis Ellison / Chris Mullin / Michael Jordan / Jon Sundvold
Trailblazers stole away potential #1 pick Pervis Ellison and paired him up with Chris Mullin to provide a solid big 3 with Michael Jordan. Jordan should have much more offensive help this upcoming season, but the team took a step backwards in terms of rebounding and defense this year with the loss of Laimbeer. Jordan struggled in the playoffs without much assistance from his teammates, but the Trailblazers look poised to be the favorites this year with a much more improved and balanced lineup.
2. Vancouver Grizzlies
Last Year’s Standing: 3
Key Additions: Stacey King, Manute Bol
Key Subtractions: Mark Eaton
Projected Starting Lineup: Stacey King / Cliff Robinson / Drazen Petrovic / Freddie Banks / Magic Johnson
Last year’s championship team swapped out Mark Eaton for rookie Stacey King and signed enigmatic big man Manute Bol over the off-season to boost their frontcourt’s blocking. The team was somewhat of a surprise victor over the more favored Nets last season, but look to defend their ring with mostly the same team coming back together.
3. New Jersey Nets
Last Year’s Standing: 1
Key Additions: None
Key Subtractions: Steve Stipanovich
Projected Starting Lineup: Mark Bryant / Ralph Sampson / Tom Chambers / Ricky Pierce / Mitchell Jordan
Last year’s regular season winners and runner-up in the finals still have most of their core together despite losing starting center Steve Stipanovich. From the depth chart it seems like either Mark Bryant or Roy Hinson will be taking the mantle of starting big next to Ralph Sampson, but look for them to hold onto their spot at the top of the power rankings after keeping the majority of their core together.
4. Toronto Raptors
Last Year’s Standing: 6
Key Additions: Moses Malone, Jim Spanarkel
Key Subtractions: Roy Tarpley, Larry Drew, Micheal Ray Richardson
Projected Starting Lineup: Moses Malone / Vladimir Tkachenko / Jerome Kersey / Broderick Reeves / Kelvin Ransey
Projecting this team’s standing once they get their trade backs after Day 30. Considering Moses was able to carry a team of Robert Reid, Maurice Cheeks, Jim Spanarkel to the 2nd best record in the league last year, it’s only fitting that the Raptors have a place atop of the power rankings. It remains to be seen whether this fit is necessarily better than defense-oriented players that the 76ers usually place around Moses. Losing star player MRR in free agency may have limited the upside of this team this year, but never doubt the king of DASL, Moses Malone.
5. Seattle Supersonics
Last Year’s Standing: 28
Key Additions: Darrell Griffith, Larry Nance, Mark Eaton, Ennis Whatley, Kevin Willis
Key Subtractions: Keith Edmonson, Rex Chapman
Projected Starting Lineup: Mark Eaton / Kevin Willis / Larry Nance / Darrell Griffith / Ennis Whatley
The Sonics made the most moves out of any team during the off-season, trading away their entire chestload of 1sts to get an entirely new starting lineup to start the 1990 DASL season. While their window of being contenders may be pretty limited, this starting 5 is a great mix of rebounding and defense that should fit together and be on par with the Lakers teams of the past. Look for them to make a massive jump this season from their previous ranking and be in the top echelons of the league.
6. Utah Jazz
Last Year’s Standing: 8
Key Additions: Cliff Robinson, Arvydas Sabonis
Key Subtractions: Mark Price, Mario Gress, Jon Koncak
Projected Starting Lineup: Arvydas Sabonis / Michael Cage / Randolph Keys / Roberto Brunamonti / Leon Wood
Despite the Jazz GM seemingly always being down on his team, the Jazz have consistently been one of the top tier teams at least in the regular season. The Jazz made a few moves over the offseason by replacing big man Jon Koncak with Arvydas Sabonis and shipping out Mark Price for promising young big man Cliff Robinson. Expect this team to remain close to the top of the standings in the West still behind Brunamonti and Wood.
7. Chicago Bulls
Last Year’s Standing: 5
Key Additions: Micheal Ray Richardson
Key Subtractions: Larry Nance
Projected Starting Lineup: John Salley / Greg Cadillac Anderson / Micheal Ray Richardson / Quintin Dailey / Isaiah Thomas
Last year’s top 5 team should make a return to the top of the power rankings powered by their high offense duo of Greg Cadillac Anderson and Isiah Thomas. Swapping out Larry Nance for old running mate Micheal Ray Richardson will serve this team well as one of the best playmaking teams in the entire league. I almost wanted to drop the Bulls out of the playoffs contention for their very questionable move of signing Detlef Schrempf for approximately 1000x more money than he deserves, but the rest of the roster speaks for itself and I can only assume that the Bulls GM will move Schrempf and some of his other expirings for an upgrade and become a better team.
8. Cleveland Cavaliers
Last Year’s Standing: 7
Key Additions: Ed Pinckney
Key Subtractions: None
Projected Starting Lineup: Hakeem Olajuwon / Steve Johnson / Bernard King / Dudley Bradley / Derek Harper
This team has basically remained constant for the last 5 seasons. It works basically every season too although they have never been quite able to make it over the hump especially with the Eastern conference becoming extremely strong compared to seasons past. They will basically run it back with the same team with the addition of young big man Ed Pinckney who can hopefully inject some more offense into this elite defensive squad.
9. Philadelphia 76ers
Last Year’s Standing: 2
Key Additions: Roy Tarpley, Larry Drew, Reggie Theus
Key Subtractions: Moses Malone, Robert Reid, Jim Spanarkel
Projected Starting Lineup: LaSalle Thompson / Roy Tarpley / Harvey Grant / Reggie Theus / Larry Drew
The 76ers probably won’t stay here since it seems like the team is ready to rebuild, but honestly from my perspective this team could be even better than last year’s team assuming all of the pieces work together. Once known as a one-man team, star big man Roy Tarpley will have a strong supporting cast around him and should theoretically be able to stay at the top of the East assuming the 76ers want to keep the band together.
10. Sacramento Kings
Last Year’s Standing: 10
Key Additions: Haywoode Workman
Key Subtractions: Michael Adams
Projected Starting Lineup: Christian Welp / Buck Williams / Oscar Schmidt / Jim Paxson / Haywoode Workman
Basically the same squad with their rookie Haywoode Workman taking the spot of their starting PG Michael Adams. Schmidt and Buck Williams continue to provide a strong presence for this team. If this team made a few more moves to improve their depth and defense, this team could really make some noise in this upcoming season. I expect this team to mostly stay the same as last season, and continue to stay at the 10th spot in the power rankings.
11. Miami Heat
Last Year’s Standing: 11
Key Additions: John Drew, David Wingate
Key Subtractions: Calvin Duncan
Projected Starting Lineup: Joe Barry Carroll / Kent Benson / Dennis Johnson / John Drew / Terry Porter
This team has so much potential behind their core of Joe Barry Carroll, Dennis Johnson, and Terry Porter. They just swapped out their starting SG for John Drew and David Wingate, so expect this team to basically stay the same. If this team made a few more moves to improve their depth they could be serious contenders in the East, but for now it seems like they were only able to replace their starting guard that decided to leave. We’ll see how long Joe Barry Carroll can continue to carry this team.
12. Dallas Mavericks
Last Year’s Standing: 12
Key Additions: Jon Koncak, Joe Dumars, Darryl Dawkins
Key Subtractions: Reggie Theus, Kevin Willis
Projected Starting Lineup: Patrick Ewing / Jon Koncak / Hot Rod Williams / Joe Dumars / Lafayette Lever
If this team had retained Reggie Theus I would’ve felt more confident raising the ceiling of the team. Nevertheless, they acquired Jon Koncak and Joe Dumars to take the place of previous starters Reggie Theus and Kevin Willis, along with getting yet another big man in Darryl Dawkins to bolster their already beefy front court even more. I expect them to be around the same standing that they were in the previous season, but we will see how much they miss Reggie Theus’ offense. A team that previously focused on inside offense will try to fit in outside oriented Joe Dumars as their supposed starting SG.
13. Minnesota Timberwolves
Last Year’s Standing: 24
Key Additions: Steve Stipanovich, Johnny Davis
Key Subtractions: George Gervin
Projected Starting Lineup: Steve Stipanovich / Mark McNamara / Clyde Drexler / Sarunas Marciulionis / Johnny Davis
Another team that made a big splash in free agency with the acquisition of Steve Sipanovich and solid guard Johnny Davis. This team was on the way to a 6th-8th seed in the West before losing Gervin and Nixon for basically the rest of the regular season, but may now have a solid balance of rebounding, defense, and perimeter offense to rally back and rise the power rankings. More improvements from youngsters Marciulionis, Drexler, and Charles Smith, along with a real point guard that they were missing the entirety of last season, and this team should jump up the standings quickly.
14. San Antonio Spurs
Last Year’s Standing: 16
Key Additions: None
Key Subtractions: Ed Pinckney
Projected Starting Lineup: Alton Lister / Melvin Turpin / James Worthy / Hersey Hawkins / Kevin Johnson
One of my favorite up and coming teams in the league right now, with an entirely intact starting 5 and only room to go upwards with their young backcourt who already took them to the playoffs last season. They couldn’t quite figure out how to incorporate Lister into their lineups, but with a full season to tinker with depth chart changes, expect this team to make a few more jumps in the standings, if not more depending on the development of their younger players.
15. Boston Celtics
Last Year’s Standing: 9
Key Additions: J.R. Reid, Jim Lampley, Rickey Green
Key Subtractions: Kevin McHale, Johnny Davis
Projected Starting Lineup: Benoit Benjamin / Otis Thorpe / Sam Perkins / Byron Scott / Rickey Green
I think the loss of Johnny Davis is going to affect this team significantly more than the loss of Kevin McHale. Nevertheless, I thought that this team was super underrated last season (and prior seasons, always my surprise pick before they get ruined by injuries), getting the 9th best record despite losing Byron Scott for a huge chunk of the season. However, this team has taken a few steps back this off-season, thus leading to their ranking to be slightly lower than before. The key here is how well they can either find a replacement point guard or how well Rickey Green can handle the starting guard position at age 35.
16. Phoenix Suns
Last Year’s Standing: 23
Key Additions: Vlade Divac, Sean Elliott, Tim Kempton, Mario Gress, Freeman Williams
Key Subtractions: None
Projected Starting Lineup: William Bedford / Tim Kempton / Chris Morris / Freeman Williams / Kenny Smith
This may be a bit high for a team that struggled last season, but if this team decides to contend this season and not sell their assets I expect a huge boon in their performance. They got another scoring guard Freeman Williams, and potentially have the most upside in their players in the entire league. This starting lineup is very fluid depending on the upcoming training camp results, but is a nice mix of outside offense mixed with shot blocking.
17. Denver Nuggets
Last Year’s Standing: 15
Key Additions: Nick Anderson, Deion St John, Sly Williams
Key Subtractions: Freeman Williams, Arvydas Sabonis
Projected Starting Lineup: Keith Lee / Charles Barkley / Larry Bird / Nick Anderson / John Stockton
This is a team that I wanted to rank higher but as it stands right now has some big holes after Freeman Williams left the team during the off-season. They also shipped out starting center Arvydas Sabonis for promising guard Nick Anderson but has yet to be able to fill that spot convincingly during the off-season. An upgrade in their starting center position will help them jump this spot quickly throughout the season.
18. Golden State Warriors
Last Year’s Standing: 19
Key Additions: Kevin McHale, Tim McCormick, Mark Price
Key Subtractions: Jim Lampley
Projected Starting Lineup: Bill Wingate / Danny Manning / Kevin McHale / Willie Anderson / Mark Price
Before their GM decided to quit on them last season, this team was making a run for the 8th seed in the West. They dumped their long term contracts for Kevin McHale and also brought in Mark Price to be a legitimate starting point guard for them. Although they currently don’t have a GM, I think this team made a ton of moves in the offseason to improve themselves, and I would not be surprised if I saw them competing for a playoff spot in the West, especially with some teams taking some steps back.
19. Atlanta Hawks
Last Year’s Standing: 14
Key Additions: Kenny Payne
Key Subtractions: Chris Mullin, Manute Bol
Projected Starting Lineup: Sam Bowie / Wayman Tisdale / Chuck Person / Trent Tucker / Winston Garland
This team was a surprise playoff team last season after making some big improvements behind their core of Sam Bowie & Trent Tucker. They acquired Wayman Tisdale at the trade deadline and were able to slip into the playoffs and get a game off finalist Nets, but they lost Chris Mullin in the off-season. Luckily, they have a ton of wings that can replace Mullin’s production, but it is yet to be seen how much they will miss his defense. I expect a small dip in standings but more of the same after a promising jump last season.
20. New York Knicks
Last Year’s Standing: 17
Key Additions: None
Key Subtractions: None
Projected Starting Lineup: Jack Sikma / Kevin Duckworth / Clark Kellogg / World B. Free / Danny Young
Another team that has mostly remained the same. They have an aging squad and especially with the sharp decrease in performance by Jack Sikam I expect this team to basically remain close to the same but with maybe a small decrease. I could see them still competing for the last spot in the playoffs in the East, but I expect a rebuild to be coming shortly after they begin to have their own 1st in 1991.
21. Indiana Pacers
Last Year’s Standing: 18
Key Additions: Dana Barros
Key Subtractions: None
Projected Starting Lineup: David Robinson / Mike Gminski / Kenny Carr / Eddie Johnson / Mark Jackson
This is another team with basically the same squad as last year, but with the addition of gunner Dana Barros which may help them produce a bit more offense. The sharp decline in Kenny Carr’s performance after his acquisition may limit the ceiling of this team, but more improvements from David Robinson where he ascends into the best big man in the league conversation (if he’s not already in it) will help them make strides. Next year with a ton of cap they may be able to make a splash and enter true contender-hood.
22. Detroit Pistons
Last Year’s Standing: 20
Key Additions: Bill Laimbeer, Orlando Woolridge
Key Subtractions: Bill Cartwright
Projected Starting Lineup: Bill Laimbeer / Karl Malone / Orlando Woolridge / Ron Harper / Tim Hardaway
If this team was able to retain Bill Cartwright, they may have been able to make some noise as one of the quickest rebuilds post Magic Johnson-esque players ever. However, depending on Tim Hardaway’s growth, this team may still pose a threat in the East after picking up improvements in Woolridge and an equivalent center in Laimbeer. A bit more development from Malone and they may still end up just as good as they were before.
23. Charlotte Hornets
Last Year’s Standing: 21
Key Additions: Danny Ferry, Michael Adams, George McCloud
Key Subtractions: None
Projected Starting Lineup: Rik Smits / David Greenwood / George McCloud / Dennis Hopson / Michael Adams
Pretty much a similar level of squad, with a lot more promising prospects. The training camp results will dictate how well this team will do, but since this is pre-TC, I expect more of the same, with two more lottery picks coming their way and a team that will look scary in a few years if some of their prospects pan out. David Greenwood is always on the block, but carries this team to wins they may not necessarily want
.24. Washington Bullets
Last Year’s Standing: 27
Key Additions: Ken Barlow, Maurice Cheeks, Calvin Duncan
Key Subtractions: Otis Birdsong
Projected Starting Lineup: Brad Daughtery / Ken Barlow / Mitch Richmond / Calvin Duncan / Maurice Cheeks
They actually made quite an improvement this season, but it remains to be season whether they will begin to sell off their veterans again this year. They made an interesting trade to send away potentially Pervis Ellison who would have paired nicely with Brad Daughtery for future 1sts, but picked up some guards who will make this team a bit better than last season. It remains to be season which direction this team will go after a few sims, but they are loaded with future 1sts.
25. Los Angeles Clippers
Last Year’s Standing: 26
Key Additions: Shawn Kemp
Key Subtractions: None
Projected Starting Lineup: Rony Seikaly / Shawn Kemp / Michael Brooks / Reggie Miller / Jim Brogan
A few more increases in their frontcourt and Reggie Miller may boost this team way up the standings. As this is prior to TC, they are currently poised to retain their lower spot in the West. They may decide to try and compete this year which is why they have retained Jim Brogan, but this may be another developmental year for them where they enter next year with a lot of cap space and room to improve.
26. Los Angeles Lakers
Last Year’s Standing: 13
Key Additions: Rex Chapman, Phil Ford, Keith Edmonson
Key Subtractions: Darrell Griffith, Joe Dumars, Darryl Dawkins
Projected Starting Lineup: Larry Smith / Jack Haley / Dominique Wilkins / Rex Chapman / Johnny Dawkins
This team could honestly probably be higher in the standings if they wanted to, but all signs point to this team blowing it up, sending out star Dominique Wilkins for future picks, and trying their very best to retain their top 4 protected lottery picks this year. They are full blown out rebuilding after shipping out their star Darrell Griffith, so expect this team to be in the bottom tier of teams.
27. Houston Rockets
Last Year’s Standing: 22
Key Additions: Bill Cartwright
Key Subtractions: Robert Parish, Ennis Whatley
Projected Starting Lineup: Bill Cartwright / Horace Grant / Kenny Walker / Adrian Dantley / Scott Skiles
Another team like the Lakers that could probably be better if they wanted to, but I fully expect Cartwright to be on the move and for this team to start rebuilding around Skiles and whatever lottery pick they get this year. Losing Parish but getting Cartwright was about equivalent, but another year of regression from Dantley and this team looks to potentially be worse, which is probably what they want at this point.
28. Milwaukee Bucks
Last Year’s Standing: 25
Key Additions: Mookie Blaylock
Key Subtractions:
Projected Starting Lineup: Gary Leonard / Dennis Rodman / Scottie Pippen / Dell Curry / Mookie Blaylock
A ton of prospects, but not one that has convincingly pushed through quite yet. One great TC from either Pippen or Blaylock may put this team a bit higher in the standings, but after not making a splash in FA they look to have another year of development and another lottery pick. This year will be an important year of development to measure how far Pippen and Rodman may be able to take this team even into the future.
29. Orlando Magic
Last Year’s Standing: 29
Key Additions: Glen Rice
Key Subtractions: None
Projected Starting Lineup: Torgeir Bryn / Glen Rice / Derrick McKey / Vinny Del Negro / Pooh Richardson
GM came out and said they didn’t want to overpay in free agency, and given some of the contracts that were given out, this may have been a good move. It would’ve been nice to see them give large one year deals to some players to get more assets since they have a lot of room before they are close to second worst in the league, but one more year of development and hoping that Pooh Richardson and Glen Rice turn out to be stars.
could shake this up a bit too
