Future Power Rankings: Teams 21-25

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

21. Golden State Warriors | Future Power Rating: 512

The new Warriors continue to look a lot like the old Warriors. Sure, they have a new coach and a few new faces, but they still have the same GM, the same flash with no substance on the court, and the same sort of 30-plus-win team we've seen for a while now. So their ranking stays right at No. 21 -- high enough to offer hope, but low enough to raise serious questions about ever achieving it.

The Warriors do have talent. Monta Ellis, Stephen Curry and David Lee are all solid building blocks. Brandon Rush was a nice pickup over the summer. And the team has high hopes for young players like Ekpe Udoh and Klay Thompson.

Unfortunately, the team remains woefully out of balance, lacking much in the way of a winning culture, a defensive ethic or a long-term strategy. It's hard to see how the Warriors will continue in the long term with Curry and Ellis in the backcourt. While they complement each other offensively, neither player is guarding anyone on defense. The team also still lacks size and shot-blocking in the middle after striking out on both Tyson Chandler and DeAndre Jordan this offseason.

Financially, the team has some flexibility, but not a lot. And they'll likely send their draft pick to the Jazz this year, limiting their ability to capitalize on a strong class. At virtually every level, the Warriors appear stuck, and it's unclear how they're going to break out of their rut.

(Previous rank: 21)

22. Washington Wizards | Future Power Rating: 507

It's easy to talk yourself into Washington's future on paper. They have draft picks, cap space and some talented young players, led by 2010 first overall pick John Wall. Then you watch the team on the court and all that goes out the window. It's not just that the Wizards are bad; it's that at times they seem like a parody of an ABA franchise. Their 2011-12 highlight film will be a looping clip of JaVale McGee sprinting back on defense while his team has the ball.

We rated the Wizards just 25th in players, based on the disappointing progress their young charges have made this season. Wall is as fast end-to-end as any player in the past 20 years, but looks lost in the half court and miles away from stardom. McGee has made some progress but still baffles with his decisions, while Andray Blatche, Jordan Crawford and Nick Young remain unreformed gunners. Meanwhile, first-rounders Jan Vesely, Chris Singleton and Kevin Seraphin have offered little. The only young player making something of his talent is forward Trevor Booker.

We rated Washington's management 27th, based largely on the fact that general manager Ernie Grunfeld made several disastrous moves to get them into this mess (starting with the Gilbert Arenas contract) and doesn't seem any closer to paddling them out of it. Washington will have massive cap space if it grants amnesty to Rashard Lewis and will continue to get high lottery picks, but if its decision-makers can't make better decisions, none of that will matter.

(Previous rank: 17)

23. Milwaukee Bucks | Future Power Rating: 504

The Bucks' rise and fall continues to be well-documented by our rankings over the past two years. In our first FPR, we had them ranked 29th. Less than a year later, the team was ranked 18th after the draft steal of Brandon Jennings and a surprise playoff run. But the struggles over the past year and a half have them settling back down into the mid-20s.

Take a look: Andrew Bogut and Jennings are both talents, but the supporting cast in Milwaukee is both overpaid and underperforming. Whatever magic coach Scott Skiles was able to work in the past seems to be waning. The team lacks substantial financial flexibility going forward. And Milwaukee isn't exactly a free-agent hot spot.

A sudden jump by young players like Tobias Harris or Larry Sanders could help their cause. So could a high pick in the coming NBA draft. But short of that, the Bucks appear to be trapped in a sort of purgatory -- good enough to win some games, but not good enough to make a real push toward contention.

(Previous rank: 24)

24. Sacramento Kings | Future Power Rating: 475

The Kings don't know whether they're coming or going … literally. Sacramento is trying to fund an arena to keep the team there, but they could easily be in Seattle, Anaheim, Kansas City or someplace else next season. The uncertainty that hangs over the team's future in the city is also likely holding it up from pursuing other moves, such as the long-overdue housecleaning in the front office.

We ranked Sacramento's management 29th; while they finally saw fit to remove Paul Westphal as coach, head-scratching moves remain the norm. Sacramento traded down in the draft to acquire John Salmons' deadweight contract, and made Marcus Thornton the latest in a litany of unusually generous contracts for their own players. Moves like these have left the Kings near the bottom of the standings despite a profusion of high lottery picks.

There is some talent here, though. Tyreke Evans is a devastating slasher and would likely be even better if they'd give up on making him a point guard, while bruising DeMarcus Cousins needs to mature but certainly has star talent.

The cap situation is decent, too. While the Kings have a few bad contracts, one of them can be removed via amnesty to put them well under the cap in any offseason they choose. We're just not sure how much ownership can spend given their financial distress, and that will be the case until the arena issue is resolved and/or the team is sold to somebody with deeper pockets.

(Previous rank: 18)

25. Orlando Magic
| Future Power Rating: 437

The Magic were the most difficult team for us to rate, because one question looms over everything: whether Dwight Howard stays or goes. If he stays, obviously our ranking them 23rd in the players category is extremely pessimistic. On the other hand, if he goes, we might have them several spots too high. Of the rest of the roster, Ryan Anderson is the only quality young player.

Around them, Magic GM Otis Smith has assembled several veterans with large contracts and modest contributions; his most recent trophies include Hedo Turkoglu, Jason Richardson, Glen Davis, Chris Duhon and the since-amnestied Gilbert Arenas. We rated Orlando 25th in management largely based on Smith's proclivity for shooting money out the firehouse to put out any ember of a roster hole, leaving the Magic in a position where they might lose Howard and still not have appreciable cap space next summer. The only reason they weren't lower is that they still have one of the league's top bench jockeys in Stan Van Gundy.

Their spendthrift ways are also why we rated Orlando 25th in money; while ownership has shown it's willing to spend, the future cap space isn't great unless the Magic can package one or more of their big contracts in a Howard trade.

The best news is that the Magic are still in Orlando. With a gleaming new arena, a sunny climate and no state taxes, this team should be a strong free-agent draw as long as it can remain even remotely competitive. Of course, that's partly how the Magic ended up in this predicament in the first place.

(Previous rank: 11)

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

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