Future Power Rankings: Teams 16-20

Consider this a convenient way to see the direction in which your favorite team is headed.

Each of the NBA's 30 teams received an overall Future Power Rating of 0 to 1,200, based on how well we expect each team to perform in the three seasons after this season.

To determine the Future Power Rating, we rated each team in five categories (see table at right).

As you can see, we determined that the most important category is a team's current roster and the future potential of those players -- that category accounts for 40 percent of each team's overall Future Power Rating.

At the same time, we looked at many other factors, such as management, ownership, coaching, a team's spending habits, its cap situation, the reputation of the city and the franchise and what kind of draft picks we expected the team to have in the future.

One change for this edition: Now that so many big names have landed in more permanent places, we have increased the value of the Players category. This also rewards teams like Oklahoma City, Memphis and Philadelphia that have successfully built their rosters already with young talent. Of course, we still recognize that teams like Dallas, Houston and New Jersey (future: Brooklyn) have the money and the motivation to spend, and can make a lot of noise in the coming years -- and we still reward teams for strong management, salary cap space and so on.

Here are our latest rankings, from 1 to 30:

Future Power Rankings: 1-5 | 6-10 | 11-15 | 16-20 | 21-25 | 26-30

16. Philadelphia 76ers | Future Power Rating: 607

The Future Power Rankings struggle with a team like the Sixers, who are a well-coached team with a young roster and new, energetic management. They are already playing like a top-four team in the East. But our FPR formula is unimpressed.

First, the good news. We currently have the Sixers ranked eighth on roster -- up five spots from where we rated them last March. The combination of Andre Iguodala, Jrue Holiday, Thaddeus Young, Lou Williams and an emerging Spencer Hawes makes the Sixers very intriguing.

Furthermore, Doug Collins has done a great job getting the most out of this team and new ownership should provide a boost to a Sixers team that appeared a bit comatose from the management side the past few years.

It's all of the other categories that drag them down considerably.

The team is capped out and can't add more players via free agency. It will keep likely be drafting late for the next few years. And, while Philly is a great market, there aren't marquee free agents like Dwight Howard pushing to go there.

So the question is: With no money to spend, middling draft picks and some holes in the roster, have the Sixers hit their ceiling?

(Previous rank: 20)

17. New Jersey Nets | Future Power Rating: 597

The Nets may be going for a permanent "Incomplete" in these rankings. For the past few years there have been rumblings and more rumors about how this roster is going to metamorphose into a contender. While the possibilities may be tantalizing, the actual results have been a major letdown.

The one exception was last February's trade deadline deal that snagged them All-Star point guard Deron Williams. But other than Williams -- and possibly Brook Lopez and rookie MarShon Brooks -- the Nets' roster is a mess. That's no big deal if the team bundles together Lopez, all of its expiring contracts and role players and lands a superstar. But anything less than that (see the Knicks comment) and their future isn't nearly as bright.

On top of that, the Nets traded for Williams without any assurances that he'd sign a contract extension with the team. He can exercise his early-termination option at the end of the season to become an unrestricted free agent. And if he bolts, the Nets made a catastrophic deal and will plummet even further in these rankings.

The rest of the factors -- management, market, money, draft -- all hinge on the unknown. Somewhere between now and the end of July, we'll know more, and when we do, the ranking for the Nets will be much clearer.

(Previous rank: 12)

18. Cleveland Cavaliers | Future Power Rating: 583

It's getting better, Cavs fans. After spending the year in the FPR basement, the future is suddenly looking much brighter in Cleveland.

Much of that has to do with the addition of Kyrie Irving. In March of last year, the Cavs' roster ranked 29th out of 30th. Now they've moved up a whopping 11 spots thanks to their Rookie of the Year contender. Irving has shown enough potential in the first half of the season to make us believe he might be an All-Star caliber player someday (maybe sooner if the East wasn't loaded with great point guards).

The long-term future of Tristan Thompson is also promising and Anderson Varejao still has enough juice to man the middle for the Cavs the next few years. In addition, another lottery pick this summer should help fill one of their big holes at shooting guard or small forward.

Meanwhile, the Cavs' salary cap situation also looks good thanks to the amnesty cut of Baron Davis in the offseason and Antawn Jamison's contract coming off the books this summer. Cleveland isn't the top destination for free agents and there will be plenty of competition, but there's no question the team should be able to continue to add to its roster.

(Previous rank: 29)

19. Atlanta Hawks | Future Power Rating: 567

Despite their success on the court this season, the future of the Hawks is a less certain proposition. Certainly the building blocks are there with Al Horford, Josh Smith, Marvin Williams, a budding Jeff Teague and a still-chugging Joe Johnson. We had Atlanta rated 12th in players, so no problem there.

It's the other stuff that hurts them. The Hawks are capped out and don't have the resources to go deep into the luxury tax for help. Beyond that, virtually everything about this team's future is up in the air. The coach and general manager are both free agents after the season, and the ownership is in flux -- after failing to sell the team this past summer, they're courting offers to unload what has been a consistent money loser.

Financially, about the only reprieve would come from using the amnesty on Johnson at some point, but a team in the Hawks' financial straits would be extremely reluctant to pay a guy $20 million to suit up for another team. With a deep-pocketed owner, we might change our tune, but so far none has emerged. As a result, Atlanta's destiny likely remains in the middle -- good enough to make the playoffs, most likely, but not good enough to do anything of consequence once they get there. For a franchise that has never played in an Eastern Conference finals game, that has a familiar feel.

(Previous rank: 19)

20. Minnesota Timberwolves | Future Power Rating: 552

The Wolves have Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio, and because of that their situation is no longer hopeless. The Wolves have some sidekicks that aren't bad either, such as second overall pick Derrick Williams, and because of that we ranked their personnel 11th.

That's the good news. However, many questions remain. The Wolves wouldn't give Love a five-year extension and instead gave him a deal with a three-year opt-out; history shows that this will start the clock on Love departure rumors about halfway through the Future Power Rankings' three-year cycle.

Additionally, their cap situation is surprisingly not that great thanks to the assorted Darkos and Ridnours making midlevel-ish money. The Wolves aren't going to be under the cap anytime soon, although I'm not sure it would matter if they were given that we rated this market 29th. It's not the city that's the problem, it's the mercury: Players just aren't excited to spend their winters there.

But the other reason for concern is the management. GM David Kahn scored with Rubio but still has had far more whiffs than hits -- he also used top-six picks on Wesley Johnson and Jonny Flynn, for instance, both of whom seem to be horrific busts. The hiring of coach Rick Adelman has clearly helped, however, replacing the disastrous reign of Kurt Rambis.

If Kahn can surround Rubio and Love with some decent role players -- like a real NBA shooting guard, for instance -- and Love's eye doesn't wander toward Southern California or some other destination, there are pieces in place for a renaissance. We just don't know if they have the organizational know-how to pull it off.

(Previous rank: 27)

Future Power Rankings: 1-5 | 6-10 | 11-15 | 16-20 | 21-25 | 26-30

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