Six NBA teams are facing more pressure than most to win the 2023 NBA Championship.
There is always pressure on last year’s champs to repeat. Critics always ask, “Can they do it again?” Their title run is often looked at as a fluke if they don’t repeat. The distinction of defending champs among NBA teams going into the 2023-24 season goes to the Denver Nuggets.
Teams knocking on the door of winning a championship feel the pressure of getting over the hump. We saw it with the Nuggets last season before they won. The Miami Heat have been to the NBA Finals twice and the conference finals three times in four seasons without winning a title.
Then, there are teams who have superstars either in their prime or approaching their prime. They feel the pressure of routinely fielding contending teams to keep their stars happy. This is due to fear that they will leave in free agency or request a trade. Milwaukee (Giannis Antetokounmpo), Dallas (Luka Doncic), Atlanta (Trae Young), and Cleveland (Donovan Mitchell) immediately come to mind.
Other teams feel pressure to win now for other reasons. Some are self-inflicted. Which teams have the most pressure to win it all in 2023-24? Here we go.
Memphis Grizzlies
The Memphis Grizzlies were expected to compete for the Western Conference crown last season. Their confidence was oozing early on. Star point guard Ja Morant raised some eyebrows during a January interview conducted by ESPN’s Malika Andrews.
Andrews asked Morant if he was concerned with competing against any teams in the West. He responded with, “I’m fine in the West.” That comment rubbed some the wrong way. Some may argue that the 2023-24 Memphis Grizzles rubbed people the wrong way.
Instead, the Los Angeles Lakers sent Memphis home after the first round of last year’s playoffs. Gone are Dillon Brooks and Tyus Jones. Guards Marcus Smart and Derrick Rose join the Grizzlies for the 2023-24 season in hopes of providing some much-needed veteran leadership.
The Grizzlies possess one of the deepest rosters in the league. That could change after next season. According to Spotrac, Memphis is currently projected to pay luxury tax of $45.9 million next season. Desmond Bane’s big-money extension kicks in. Will Grizzlies owner Robert Pera be willing to pay the tax for an underachieving team in a smaller market? Probably not.
It may be “win or bust” in Memphis. Changes could soon be coming.
Philadelphia 76ers
Philly fans were asked to “trust the process” by former Sixers GM Sam Hinkie during the early stages of their rebuild. Ten years later, reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid is the last draft pick from Hinkie’s rebuild on the roster. The “process” may be coming to an end in Philadelphia.
James Harden opted into his $35.6 million player option for 2023-24 and then requested a trade. He’s still a Sixer a month later. Who knows how motivated he will be if he isn’t traded to his preferred team – the LA Clippers. Either way, Harden’s days in Philly appear to be numbered.
Tobias Harris is also a free agent after the 2023-24 season. In fact, Philadelphia has 10 players on its roster that could potentially be free agents after this season. Tyrese Maxey is up for a contract extension, but his future is also uncertain.
This Philadelphia 76ers will get one more shot at a title run. If President Darryl Morey doesn’t reload the roster Embiid could be the next NBA superstar to demand a trade. Sixers fans could be looking at another long rebuild in Philadelphia.
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics surprised everyone by essentially trading longtime guard and former NBA Defensive Player of the Year, Marcus Smart, for Kristaps Porzingis in a bold move. Smart was a leader in the Celtics locker room. Porzingis has missed 167 games in the past four seasons due to injury. That and Smart’s potential replacement, Malcolm Brogdon, may have a more serious wrist injury than initially expected.
Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens has seen his team make nine straight playoff appearances. Four saw Boston get eliminated in the Eastern Conference finals. One, 2022, saw the Celtics reach the NBA Finals where they lost to Golden State in six games.
Boston’s ownership has given Stevens the green light to go into the tax to retain its young core and remain a contender. He recently signed Jaylen Brown to a 5-year $304 million extension. The Celtics core, which now includes Porzingis, is all now under contract through next season.
Al Horford is 37. Jayson Tatum will soon need an extension. He will cost more than Brown. The Celtics bench, once a strength, is now a question mark. Boston is projected to be deep in the luxury tax for the next two seasons. How long will ownership allow Stevens to keep paying luxury tax if they don’t win?
LA Clippers
Kawhi Leonard and Paul George shocked the NBA when they decided to join forces with the LA Clippers in 2019. Two of the most talented wings in the league were not only entering their primes but would play together. Expectations were that the Clippers would immediately contend for the NBA title.
Four years have passed, and the Clippers have made it to the Western Conference only once. Neither Leonard nor George has played more than 57 games in a single season since joining the Clippers. They have only played together in 118 of 308 possible regular season games since the start of the 2019-20 season. The Clippers have a record of 83-35 in those games.
The 2023-24 season could be the last chance for Leonard and George to pursue a championship together. Both have player options for the 2024-25 season. It’s not yet certain if they will opt in. Russell Westbrook, Marcus Morris, Nicolas Batum, and Robert Covington are also free agents after this upcoming season.
Clippers owner Steve Ballmer is preparing for his team to move into the new Intuit Dome for the 2024-25 season. Considering the investment he made, Ballmer too is under pressure to field a championship contender to fill those seats. This season is a make-or-break year for the Clippers in more ways than one.
Los Angeles Lakers
When are the Los Angeles Lakers NOT under pressure to compete for a championship? The 2023-24 season is no different. Lakers GM Rob Pelinka had a successful offseason. He managed to re-sign Austin Reaves, D’Angelo Russell, and Rui Hachimura – all of who were key to the Lakers’ second-half resurgence.
Pelinka also signed Gabe Vincent, Taurean Prince, Jaxson Hayes, and Cam Reddish to team-friendly deals. He did all of this without going into the luxury tax. That’s good news because Anthony Davis can exercise the early opt-out clause in his contract and become a free agent after this season. He won’t be cheap to re-sign, even at 30 years old.
LeBron James could also become a free agent after this season, assuming he does not opt in to his player option for 2024-25. James has maintained that he wants to play with his son, Bronny, and be the first father-son tandem in NBA history. Bronny is eligible to enter the 2024 NBA Draft, should he choose to.
The Lakers went 18-9 after last season’s trade deadline and made it all the way to the Western Conference finals. Expectations are high once again in Tinseltown. This could be the best chance for the Lakers to compete for a championship with the futures of LeBron and A.D. up in the air.
Phoenix Suns
Saying that Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia is all-in right now would be an understatement. He gave the green light to trade for Kevin Durant and fire head coach Monty Williams. Ishbia also signed off on trading for Bradley Beal to pair with Durant, Devin Booker, and Deandre Ayton.
That makes FOUR max contracts on the books in Phoenix. Durant and Beal are still two of the best shooters and scorers in the NBA but are on the wrong side of 30. On paper, the Suns have as talented a foursome as any team in the NBA.
Frank Vogel has been tasked with leading this win-now Suns roster to a championship. However, the only current true point guard on Phoenix’s roster is Jordan Goodwin. Beal or Booker may need to run the point for the Suns. The bench is also a question mark and full of guys on minimum contracts.
As it stands right now, the Suns are projected to pay a luxury tax of $47.7 million in 2023-24, $118.5 million in 2024-25, and $38.5 million in 2025-26. Booker’s supermax extension kicks in next season. Durant and Beal are under contract through 2025-26 at an average of over $50 million per season.
Given the financial ramifications at stake, there is no team in my opinion with more pressure to win a title next season than the Phoenix Suns.