Starting Five v11

Daniel Waddleton

Jul 28, 2025

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IT'S BEEN A really fun offseason, and by now you’ve probably read plenty about teams like the Rockets, Magic, and Bucks, who made title waves across the league with their transactions.

With Summer League wrapped up, and the dog days of the NBA calendar officially underway, I figured now’s the perfect time to shine a light on some of the teams that haven’t gotten as much attention.

I’ve identified five teams that, despite flying under the radar, have intriguing rosters heading into next season. These aren’t the teams that broke the internet with blockbuster moves, but they still had offseasons worth talking about -- making decisions that could shape both the short and long-term trajectory of their franchises.

Let’s start in the Pacific Northwest, with a team that just welcomed home a franchise icon in a special homecoming.

Portland Trail Blazers

Toronto Raptors

Philadelphia 76ers

Washington Wizards

Memphis Grizzlies

Portland Trail Blazers

The Blazers win the Fast Break Forum’s “Most Underrated Offseason” award.

They kicked off the summer by buying out Deandre Ayton, a move that in turn should clear the runway for last year’s No. 8 pick, Donovan Clingan, to step into the starting center spot. Portland is hopeful the second year big man can be the teams long term defensive anchor.

The early defensive returns on Clingan give reason to be bulish on the 21-year-old. Portland was 4.4 points better defensively per 100 possessions with him on the floor, and opponents shot 13.3% worse than expected at the rim when he was the closest defender (99th percentile league-wide).

Then came the Anfernee Simons-for-Jrue Holiday swap, a move that did two things. First, it clears the way to more on-ball reps for Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe, two young guards Portland needs to learn what they have in offensively.

Second, it adds a high-level defender and veteran tone-setter in Holiday, a force multiplier for the defensive identity this team is building, and someone who brings the kind of championship pedigree that can help give young players direction in their NBA journey.

And finally, the heart warmer of the offseason: the return of Damian Lillard. While he’ll spend the year rehabbing from Achilles surgery, Lillard will have the chance to be a mentor for this young group, with a chance to return on the floor in 2026-27 -- just as this team could be ready to make some real noise.

If the upward trajectory Portland showed from February on last season continues, it’s not wild to think this group could be a legitimate playoff threat by the spring of 2027. They absolutely stole Deni Avdija (24) and Toumani Camara (25) via trades over the past two years, and together they look like the long-term answer on the wing -- something the Blazers consistently failed to find during Lillard’s prime.

They’ve got a young and talented core, with all their trade powder still dry -- whether that’s draft capital, sizable contracts like Jerami Grant’s, or younger players who could be moved in pursuit of a more win-now piece.

This upcoming season will be one to monitor closely. If Portland finds itself flirting with the postseason, I do believe their focus will shift toward winning now as they head into 2026-27, especially if they believe Lillard still has something left in the tank.

Bonus Blazers: 16th pick Yang Hansen may have been labeled a reach on draft night, but he got everyone’s attention during Summer League. He’s a long-term project and probably won’t see NBA minutes for at least a year, but there’s something about him -- that Jokic-like connective energy -- where it feels like everyone on the floor cuts a little harder, screens a little better, runs the floor with more purpose, knowing Hansen will reward them with his playmaking. He certainly has a chance to pop down the line.

. . .

Toronto Raptors

The Toronto Raptors didn’t make the postseason last year, and they’ll likely miss it again this season. Yet somehow, they’re heading into 2024-25 with the fifth-most expensive roster in the NBA.

And no, it’s not because they took on bloated expiring contracts in exchange for future assets. This is the core they’ve chosen to build around, the team they’ve fully committed to, both financially and strategically, for the long haul.

Their presumed starting five -- Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, Brandon Ingram, Scottie Barnes, and Jakob Poeltl -- will cost over $156 million next season, which is more than the league’s salary cap. All five are under contract through at least 2027-28, when the team will face decisions on Barrett and Poeltl. That’s a massive long-term investment in a group that's never even played together.

If you remove Ingram, who’s never played in a Raptors uniform, the rest of that core doesn’t inspire much confidence. The Quickley-Barrett-Barnes-Poeltl quartet logged 292 possessions last season and posted a net rating of -8.4 per 100 possessions.

It’s not hard to see why: there’s a ton of redundancy -- overlapping skills and similar weaknesses. You’ve got multiple on-ball shot creators who like to operate in similar spaces, lots of downhill driving, but limited outside shooting and shaky defensive motor.

Is Quickley a good enough facilitator to tie it all together? How do Barrett, Barnes, and Ingram coexist when they all prefer to attack in similar areas? Is Poeltl enough of a defensive anchor to cover for weaknesses elsewhere? The Raptors will likely try to stagger these guys to get other skills on the floor with them, but that’s not exactly what you want to hear when you’re paying this much money to your “core five.”

Some around the league have pointed to Toronto’s late-season defensive surge last year as a sign of progress. I actually wrote about that last March when they briefly led the league in defensive rating -- but I stand by what I said then: it's not sustainable heading into 2025-26. That stretch was fueled by lineups that likely won’t see the floor this season, a soft schedule, and some favorable shooting variance. Some of the main pieces they’re counting on now, like Ingram or wing Grady Dick, weren’t part of that success.

Despite some big names on the roster with real NBA resumes, I’d proceed with caution before putting this team in playoff conversations.

. . .

Philadelphia 76ers

Coming from somebody who's been “anti-Sixers” the past few years -- whether it was consistently picking Jokic over Embiid for MVP, calling the Paul George signing a bad move last offseason, or taking the under on their 2024-25 win total -- I think the Sixers pessimism pendulum has swung too far.

If you focus purely on the roster, there’s no denying this team is immensely talented. Say Joel Embiid is even 80% next season, that's a top-eight player. Tyrese Maxey and Paul George are both hypothetically excellent co-stars -- Maxey with his jitterbug quickness and smooth jumper, tailor-made for two-man actions with Embiid; George as a do-it-all, two-way wing who can score efficiently even when he's not dominating the ball.

Combine that with a supporting cast that projects to be solid. Kelly Oubre Jr. has reshaped his game over the past two seasons to better complement high-usage stars, while Quentin Grimes quietly broke out late last season, averaging 26.3 points on 60.6% true shooting in March. Projected sixth man Jared McCain had a strong rookie campaign, putting up 15.3 points and shooting 38.3% from three in 23 games before a knee injury cut his season short.

They’ve also got some intriguing young pieces who could strengthen the back end of the rotation. Top-three pick VJ Edgecombe should bring immediate defensive impact, with real offensive upside.

Meanwhile, Justin Edwards and Adem Bona showed flashes late last season -- albeit during a forgettable stretch of games -- but enough to warrant a closer look heading into next year. If even one of them takes another step forward, it gives the Sixers an immediate strong eight.

Personally, I won't be the one picking them to win the East. However, if someone were willing to look past the injury risk and bet on two healthy months this spring, I wouldn’t call them crazy. The talent is there. The pieces fit on paper. As always with this team, it'll come down to health.

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Washington Wizards

When GM Will Dawkins was hired during the 2023 offseason, he made it clear he was here to change the direction of what had become a rather lifeless franchise.

“I will say this -- we’re not into quick. We’re into taking our time, being patient. We won’t skip steps. We’re going to do whatever it takes to get it right and get out of mediocrity.”

From day one, it was obvious Dawkins was ready to tear things down to the studs -- something the old regime always seemed reluctant to do -- and build it back the right way. Since his arrival in Washington, all but two players from the pre-Dawkins era are gone, and nearly the entire coaching staff and front office has turned over as well.

For the first time in a long time, the Wizards feel like they have a direction.

Over the past two years, they’ve added a wave of intriguing young talent through the draft -- Bilal Coulibaly, Alexandre Sarr, Bub Carrington, Kyshawn George, and Tre Johnson -- and paired them with savvy veterans like CJ McCollum and Khris Middleton. Those vets can offer leadership to the young core while also serving as potential trade chips if a deal makes sense down the line.

I’ve also liked the decision to move off Jordan Poole and Kyle Kuzma in recent months, two of the more talented players on the roster, but ones who often felt "unserious" on a rebuilding team, with shaky shot selection and inconsistent defensive effort.

You look at the roster, glance at the East landscape, then back at the roster again and think: is this a fringe play-in team? I think that’s a realistic goal for this group. And even if they fall short, one more year in the lottery wouldn’t be the worst outcome -- as long as they’re continuing to build the right habits.

I say this because it does still feel like they’re missing that centerpiece. The star who ties everything together, the sun of the solar system that the rest of these planets orbit around. If they can land that guy -- whether through lottery luck or a trade once the roster is ready to compete -- they feel like the next team that could follow Houston's path from a couple years ago: draft high, build a culture with the right vets, then get aggressive when it’s time to make the leap.

. . .

Memphis Grizzlies

Memphis essentially kicked off the offseason when they traded Desmond Bane to the Orlando Magic during the NBA Finals. In return, the Grizzlies received Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony, four unprotected first-round picks, and a first-round pick swap. Most of the conversation following the deal focused on Orlando and how the deal could catapult them into the upper tier of Eastern Conference contenders.

But what about Memphis?

This move clearly signaled the Grizzlies' intention to create some financial flexibility and shuffle the deck around an expensive and underachieving core, especially after handing Jaren Jackson Jr. a five-year, $240 million supermax extension. While the short-term money in the deal is comparable, Caldwell-Pope is under contract for two fewer years than Bane, and the added draft capital gives them a chance to re-tool the roster.

Also, for what it's worth regarding this season, I’m honestly bullish on a Caldwell-Pope bounce-back season in Memphis. Playing alongside creators like Ja Morant and Jackson Jr. should help him find those clean three-point looks he thrived on in Denver and Los Angeles. His lone year in Orlando came with a tougher shot diet, often without elite creators consistently generating advantages in the half court.

The Grizzlies also quietly added Ty Jerome, which I loved. Last season, Jerome thrived as Cleveland’s sixth man, averaging 22.5 points per 75 possessions on +5.6 relative true shooting. He kept their offense afloat when Garland or Mitchell sat, with the Cavs posting a 124.2 offensive rating when Jerome was on the floor.

A player in this role should feel familiar in Memphis. From 2020-2023, Tyus Jones filled a similar position as somebody who raised the ceiling of the bench unit and stabilizing the starters when Morant missed time. The Grizzlies went 38–22 in games Jones started for Morant during his tenure. Jerome could fill that void, something the team has lacked since Jones’ departure.

Also worth noting: Santi Aldama re-signed on a very reasonable three-year, $52 million deal. He’s a big versatile wing I consistently had in my top 100 throughout the year, and locking him in at that number could end up looking like a steal as the cap continues to rise.

With their added flexibility and a full cupboard of picks, Memphis has options. If young players like Jaylen Wells Jr. and Zach Edey take a leap and Morant stays healthy, they’re in a position to get aggressive at the deadline and try to compete in the West.

And if things go south -- if Ja misses large chunks of time again or the young core doesn’t develop as hoped -- they’ve also set themselves up to pivot into a full rebuild. I think Memphis is in a better spot then they were a little over a month ago.