Future Power Rankings: Teams 16-20

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

Each of the NBA's 30 teams received an overall Future Power Rating of 0 to 1,000, based on how well we expect each team to perform in the three seasons following 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.

With all the big moves around the league this summer, it's time for a new edition of the Future Power Rankings. Two important notes: (1) Now that the NBA calendar has flipped, we are evaluating the 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons; and (2) we are not considering the changes that might be made to the collective bargaining agreement, since there is no way to know how those changes will reshape the league.

We'll roll out our rankings over four days this week.

Here are our current rankings, from 11 to 30:

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

16. Los Angeles Clippers | Future Power Rating: 513

The Clippers squandered a tremendous opportunity this summer to upgrade their roster, going into the summer with enough cap space to sign a max contract and walking away with the underwhelming haul of Randy Foye and Ryan Gomes. Forget the sugar-plum visions of having LeBron line up at small forward; they couldn't even get Rudy Gay. In retrospect, they would have been better off just keeping Marcus Camby and Al Thornton and soldiering on.

Part of the reason that no good free agents signed with the Clips is the disastrous tenure of owner Donald Sterling. They rank No. 24 in management rather than No. 30 largely because new GM Neil Olshey doesn't have a track record -- we can at least consider the possibility he knows what he's doing. Also, L.A. has shown more of a willingness to spend money in recent years.

And in spite of themselves, the Clippers might be pretty good. Blake Griffin has a chance to be a big star if he can stay healthy, Eric Gordon and Al-Farouq Aminu are solid young pieces, and veterans such as Baron Davis and Chris Kaman should still contribute strongly next season and in the near future.

The Clippers also benefit from an asset that's been in their back pocket for a long time and will finally come to fruition soon: a completely unprotected 2012 first-round pick from Minnesota. Between their own picks and that one, the Clips had our top draft rating.

(Previous rank: 14)

17. Indiana Pacers | Future Power Rating: 497

The Pacers are coming off a terrible season, yet rose a whopping nine spots from No. 26 to No. 17 in our rankings. Given that the team is essentially Danny Granger and a lot of question marks, what gives? A couple of factors are fueling our optimism at the moment.

First, center Roy Hibbert continues to show promise, as do three new Pacers: Via the draft, Indiana added swingman Paul George and two sleepers, Lance Stephenson and Magnum Rolle, to the roster. Stephenson, who has a lot of Tyreke Evans in his game, looks like a steal.

Second, the Pacers are also flush with assets. They have a whopping $37 million in players with expiring contracts, including several -- Troy Murphy, Mike Dunleavy, T.J. Ford -- who could contribute to a playoff team, improving the odds that the Pacers could get a significant piece in return on the trade market.

If the Pacers can't make a deal, they can walk into next summer with the most salary-cap space of any team in the league. Given their young stable of talent, they might be able to persuade a good free agent to go to Indy.

The Pacers' struggles since the 2004 brawl are well-documented, but team execs Larry Bird and David Morway now have the franchise set up to make a big leap in 2011. It has been a painful journey in Indiana, but there isn't a team in the league with more flexibility.

(Previous rank: 26)

18. Milwaukee Bucks | Future Power Rating: 494

The Bucks continue their rapid rise. In our first Future Power Rankings, the Bucks were ranked 29th. Less than a year later, the team is ranked 18th. A strong rookie performance from Brandon Jennings, a breakout year for Andrew Bogut, a midseason trade for John Salmons, and some hardnosed play down the stretch turned Milwaukee into a solid playoff team.

This summer, Bucks GM John Hammond did his best to keep the momentum going. He re-signed Salmons, traded away two zero-impact players for Corey Maggette, drafted an intriguing and athletic big man in Larry Sanders, and brought in Drew Gooden to help on the boards.

The moves weren't entirely helpful for the long run. The Bucks overpaid Gooden and perhaps Salmons too, and they gave up future cap space to get Maggette.

But the Bucks look like a team that could be quite competitive in future seasons if things fall into place -- and if Jennings and Bogut continue to improve, they could be downright dangerous.

(Previous rank: 21)

19. Atlanta Hawks | Future Power Rating: 484

Atlanta dropped seven spots since our last Future Power Rankings, largely due to two factors.

First, a depressing playoff performance took some of the shine off their roster -- although they won 53 games and got the third seed in the East, it's hard to credibly call this a contending bunch. A mix of three good young players -- Al Horford, Josh Smith and Marvin Williams -- along with a veteran in Joe Johnson is nice, but this group needs more to get over the hump. New coach Larry Drew will have a tough time coaxing similar results given how injury-free the Hawks were last season.

Second, the enormous free-agent contract given to Joe Johnson is likely to be a significant liability going forward, especially given the franchise's reluctance to go into the luxury tax. As a result, money is likely to be extremely tight. As if to prove that point, the Hawks have barely dipped a toe into the free-agent market, and it may be difficult for them to keep Jamal Crawford as a free agent a year from now.

(Previous rank: 13)

20. Washington Wizards | Future Power Rating: 452

Washington was the biggest mover in our rankings, jumping up nine spots as a result of winning the lottery and grabbing John Wall with the first overall pick. Other, smaller positives also improved the Wizards' score. The change in ownership to Ted Leonsis promises to usher in a more reasoned approach (if his stewardship of the Capitals is any sign) after the team largely flew by the seat of its pants under Abe Pollin.

Washington still has a toxic contract clogging up its salary cap with Gilbert Arenas, but in spite of it the Wizards should be well under the cap next summer. That might allow them to build a roof and some windows around Wall (sorry). In any case, with two decent frontcourt pieces already in place (JaVale McGee and Andray Blatche), the Wizards should be reasonably competitive in our three-year window.

(Previous rank: 29)

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

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