ESPN's NBA Future Power Rankings: Teams 26 to 30

Chad Ford and John Hollinger

Mar 2, 2010, 03:00 AM ET

Note: This is a new, updated version of ESPN's Future Power Rankings of NBA teams. The previous edition ran on Dec. 15, 2009, and the first edition launched on Nov. 10, 2009.

Consider this a convenient way to see in what 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 expected 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 was a team's current players and the future potential of those players. That category accounted 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.

To reach our ratings in each category, we talked to teams to get a handle on their future strategies, we looked at their contractual commitments and we carefully broke down each roster to figure out which players would improve, which would decline and which likely would depart.

These rankings will evolve as the season moves along, transactions are made, injuries occur, strategies shift and so on. Return from time to time as we update the rankings.

Here are our current rankings from 1 to 30:

Future Power Rankings: "http://insider.espn.com/nba/news/story?page=FuturePowerRankings-1-100302">1-5 | "http://insider.espn.com/nba/news/story?page=FuturePowerRankings-2-100302">6-10 | "http://insider.espn.com/nba/news/story?page=FuturePowerRankings-3-100302">11-15 | "http://insider.espn.com/nba/news/story?page=FuturePowerRankings-4-100302">16-20 | "http://insider.espn.com/nba/news/story?page=FuturePowerRankings-5-100302">21-25 | "http://insider.espn.com/nba/news/story?page=FuturePowerRankings-6-100302">26-30

26. Indiana Pacers | Future Power Rating: 399

The Pacers are having a terrible season and have slid significantly in our rankings from No. 20 in November to No. 26 now. That's because the team has Danny Granger and then lots of question marks, and even Granger hasn't lived up to his previous All-Star status.

Second-year center Roy Hibbert and rookie Tyler Hansbrough have shown promise, although Hansbrough has been sidelined for six weeks with an inner ear infection and may miss the rest of the season. The team thought Troy Murphy or Jeff Foster would prove to be assets on the trade market but was unable to make a deal after Foster had season-ending surgery and Cleveland decided to acquire Antawn Jamison instead of Murphy.

In our rankings, the bright notes for Pacers fans are that Indiana should have high draft picks this summer and beyond as well as plenty of cap space in 2011.

(Previous rank: 24)

27. Minnesota Timberwolves | Future Power Rating: 395

Well, at least there's the draft. Minnesota will have the second-best chance at winning the lottery in June and also should own picks from Utah and Charlotte. Although the Timberwolves eventually owe a pick to the Clippers from the disastrous Marko Jaric trade, they may not have to pay up for several more years. Only New Jersey's position is stronger on that front.

As for everything else ... ugh. Not much has changed for the Timberwolves since our last update. Although wingman Corey Brewer has showed he'll be a solid player going forward, the frontcourt combination of Al Jefferson and Kevin Love looks unworkable, and guards Jonny Flynn and Wayne Ellington have taken their lumps. With the uncertainty over Ricky Rubio's future and the head-scratching deadline deal for Darko Milicic, we're still not sure Minnesota's headed in the right direction.

(Previous rank: 28)

28. Golden State Warriors | Future Power Rating: 364

Golden State has plenty of young assets, but it continues to languish near the bottom of the Western Conference standings and the bottom of our rankings because of a management team -- from ownership to the front office to the bench -- that has made the Warriors the league's laughingstocks.

There is talk that the team could have new ownership in the foreseeable future. If so, and if the new ownership cleans out the current management, the Warriors should move up the rankings quickly. Plenty of teams would like to have young players as talented as Monta Ellis, Anthony Randolph, Andris Biedrins, Anthony Morrow, Brandan Wright and rookie of the year candidate Stephen Curry.

(Previous rank: 29)

29. Washington Wizards | Future Power Rating: 322

The Wizards traded out of one bad situation and into another at the trade deadline. They jettisoned Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and Antawn Jamison to prepare for the future, but the result is the league's worst roster. Gilbert Arenas is the only marquee player left, but he has a questionable knee, a massive contract and a frayed relationship with the team and public after his gun incident.

The transition to new ownership, likely Capitals owner Ted Leonsis, is another question mark. It's unclear whether he'll keep bumbling GM Ernie Grunfeld, who at this point must be wondering what he has to do to get himself fired, but pending some positive signs on that front, the Wizards are ranked just 28th in management. And although Washington will have cap space to pursue a maximum-salaried free agent, it's not a top-tier basketball market, and the team has so many questions that it's unlikely to lure a star anyway.

All told, we're at the start of a long rebuilding process for Washington, which is why only Charlotte has a gloomier outlook in our rankings.

(Previous rank: 27)

30. Charlotte Bobcats | Future Power Rating: 212

Will the Bobcats under Michael Jordan be any different than they have been under Robert Johnson? We have our doubts. Jordan is already an absentee part-owner and the head of basketball operations, and it's unclear how much financial strength his new ownership group will bring to the table.

So, despite the excitement over MJ's acquisition and a potential first-ever playoff berth, the Bobcats still rank at the bottom in our Future Power Rankings. Although the team on the court has been decent this season, there's little reason for optimism going forward. Tyrus Thomas is the only young player of note, and he's already in his fourth season. The other top players, especially Stephen Jackson, are at the point where they should begin declining steadily.

Good luck bringing in more help. The Bobcats have traded two future first-round picks, and if they re-sign Thomas, they'll have no cap space in either of the next two summers. Plus, they have serious-enough luxury-tax issues that they're likely to lose guard Raymond Felton as an unrestricted free agent and be unable to use their midlevel exception in the summer. Management is a huge question mark, too -- it appears impulsive coach Larry Brown is calling many of the shots, and his track record says that's seriously dangerous.

(Previous rank: 30)

Future Power Rankings: "http://insider.espn.com/nba/news/story?page=FuturePowerRankings-1-100302">1-5 | "http://insider.espn.com/nba/news/story?page=FuturePowerRankings-2-100302">6-10 | "http://insider.espn.com/nba/news/story?page=FuturePowerRankings-3-100302">11-15 | "http://insider.espn.com/nba/news/story?page=FuturePowerRankings-4-100302">16-20 | "http://insider.espn.com/nba/news/story?page=FuturePowerRankings-5-100302">21-25 | "http://insider.espn.com/nba/news/story?page=FuturePowerRankings-6-100302">26-30