After the roaring success of “Early Season Champs & Chumps” The Dunkyard returns by popular demand to take a look at each team’s champs and chumps for the entire 2017-2018 NBA season – those who played above expectations as well as those who struggled to make an impact. We begin with the bottom of the NBA barrel, the tankers:

Phoenix (Final Record: 21-61)

Champs: Despite posting a league worst record the Suns still hold potential cornerstones of a bright future. Young shooting guard Devin Booker (24.9-4.5-4.7, 38.3% 3FG, 18.1 PER) seems on the cusp of a maiden All-Star berth, while T.J. Warren (19.6-5.1-1.3, 49.8% FG, 17.6 PER) provides mid-range scoring help. Alex Len (8.5-7.5, 20.2mpg, 56.6% FG, 19.4 PER) continued his improvement this season and provides Phoenix an interesting decision on whether to re-sign him in free agency.

With the exception of Booker Phoenix has whiffed on recent draft picks, however despite a slow start and poor shooting rookie Josh Jackson (13.1-4.6-1.5, 41.7% FG, 26.3% 3FG, 11.8 PER) showed enough promise to hope he may be another young cornerstone.

Chumps: When you rank dead last in both offensive and defensive rating your team contains plenty of chumps, but the two most disappointing are players that Phoenix had high hopes for. Marquese Chriss (7.7-5.5, 21.2mpg, 42.3% FG, 29.5% 3FG, 11.1 PER) found a way to regress from an underwhelming rookie campaign and looked overweight and disinterested all season. At least Dragan Bender (6.5-4.4-1.6, 25.2mpg, 38.6% FG, 36.6% 3FG, 7.1 PER) improved but if all he can contribute is standing in the corner waiting to shoot open 3’s he’s going to find himself plying his trade back in Europe very soon.

2018-19 Outlook: A new coach and the No. 1 pick in the draft gives hope going into next season. It would appear the only decision the Suns front office needs to make is whether to take Arizona star DeAndre Ayton or European wonder-kid Luka Doncic with the top pick. The head coach appointment of Doncic’s Slovenian national team coach Igor Kokoskov may mean the decision has already been made.

Memphis (22-60)

Champs: There were very few shining lights during an abysmal season for the Grizzlies, however the career best play of Tyreke Evans (19.4-5.1-5.2-1.1, 45.2% FG, 39.9% 3FG, 21.1 PER) was certainly it’s brightest. Another journeyman to make an impact, despite only playing the final 7 games, was MarShon Brooks (20.1-3.0-3.6-1.6, 50.0% FG, 59.4% 3FG, 26.1 PER) who returned to the NBA after spending time in the Chinese league. Memphis quickly signed Brooks to a 2-year contract and will be hoping he can continue his production over the course of a full season.

Chumps: When Mike Conley (17.1-2.3-4.1, 38.1% FG, 31.2% 3FG, 15.4 PER) succumbed to injury after only 12 games Memphis needed it’s leader and All-Star centre to put the team on his back if it was to remain competitive. Instead Marc Gasol (17.2-8.1-4.2, 1.4bpg, 42.0% FG, 34.1% 3FG, 17.4 PER) went missing amid a season of pouting and laziness.

The Grizzlies continue to get little return from the always injured Chandler Parsons (7.9-2.5-1.9, 46.2% FG, 42.1% 3FG, 13.6 PER) who appeared in only 36 games. Memphis are due to pay him over $24m next season.

2018-19 Outlook: The ping-pong balls didn’t bounce the way of Memphis who slid down to the No. 4 pick in the draft despite the second-worst record in the league. That disappointment aside, the Grizzlies should still be able to find a someone who can contribute right away. With a healthy Conley and motivated Gasol that may just be enough for a return to the playoffs.

Dallas (24-58)

Champs: It seems somebody invited Dallas to a 90’s themed party this season and they came dressed as the 1992-93 Mavericks. To be fair it wasn’t the 11-71 horror show of that Derek Harper/Terry Davis/Sean Rooks led team but it was a pretty good impression. The fact this team won 24 games is down to the production it received from it’s role players. Veterans J.J. Barea (11.3-2.9-6.3, 43.9% FG, 36.7% 3FG, 17.8 PER) and Dwight Powell 8.5-5.6-1.2, 59.3% FG, 18.8 PER) earned their paycheques while rookie Dennis Smith Jr. (15.2-3.8-5.2, 39.5% FG, 31.3% 3FG, 12.8 PER) provided hope to the fans that their next star isn’t too far away.

After writing off Dirk Nowitzki (12.0-5.7-1.6, 24.7mpg, 45.6% FG, 40.9% 3FG, 16.7 PER) earlier in the season, it was good to see the soon-to-be 40 year old still produce in a reduced role. I don’t think Dallas can completely rebuild or redefine themselves until the German has retired and with Dirk seemingly keen to keep playing the only way to get rid of him may involve purchasing him a one-way ticket to the Dignitas Clinic in Switzerland.

Chumps: I’m not going to besmirch Harrison Barnes’ (18.9-6.1-2.0, 44.5% FG, 35.7% 3FG, 15.8 PER) decision to sign a 4-yr $94.4m contract at age 24, I would have taken Cuban’s money as well. Unfortunately his production doesn’t match his contract. He showed in Golden State that he can be a productive third option on a championship team, but he shouldn’t be earning $23.6m per year.

Post-Achilles-injury Wes Matthews (12.7-3.1-2.7-1.2, 40.6% FG, 38.1% 3FG, 11.4 PER) is a similar story as he quickly signed the player option on his contract for next season and will pocket $18.6m despite his disappointing production Thankfully, it appears Nerlens Noel (4.4-5.6, 30 games, 15.7mpg, 52.4% FG, 16.2 PER) will escape his “DNP – CD” hell by running towards free agency and not looking back.

2018-19 Outlook: The other big loser in the Draft Lottery, slipping 2 spots to the No. 5 pick, Dallas should at least be able to pick up an immediate contributor. As the team continues to plan for a post-Dirk world they need to aim for another poor season, just with better luck with the ping-pong balls.   

Atlanta (24-58)

Champs: After 10 straight seasons in the playoffs Atlanta decided to tear the whole thing down with the exits of Paul Millsap, Dwight Howard, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Kyle Korver. The 60-22 Hawks team of 2014-15 is nothing more than a distant memory. Dennis Schroder (19.4-3.1-6.2-1.1, 43.6% FG, 17.3 PER) is the lone holdover from the past and is developing into a very good point guard.

How quickly Atlanta returns to respectability will depend on how their young talent develops. Taurean Prince (14.1-4.7-2.6-1.0, 42.6% FG, 38.5% 3FG, 12.8) showed the type of  second year improvement that has people hoping for a better version of DeMarre Carroll, while rookie John Collins (10.5-7.3-1.3, 1.1bpg, 57.6% FG, 18.3 PER) exceeded all expectations as the No. 19 pick.

Chumps: The 2016 decision to pay a then 27-yr old Kent Bazemore $70m over 4 years shows no signs of ever being value for money. Bazemore (12.9-3.8-3.5-1.5, 42.0% FG, 39.4% 3FG, 14.5 PER) will be wildly overpaid at $18m next season for the production of a league-average player. Atlanta needs to find production off the bench to become competitive, unfortunately the G-League level players they currently employ like Miles Plumlee (4.3-4.1, 16.7mpg, 58.3% FG, 10.6 PER), Malcolm Delaney (6.3-1.9-3.0, 18.8mpg, 38.2% FG, 10.6 PER) and Isaiah Taylor (6.6-1.4-3.1, 17.4mpg, 41.8% FG, 10.9 PER) don’t make the cut.

2018-19 Outlook: Atlanta got the hang of this tanking thing pretty quickly as they moved up to the No. 3 pick in the draft and have 4 picks in the top 34. The Hawks will likely end up with Marvin Bagley III or Jaren Jackson Jr. in the draft as well as up to $32m in cap space. While they may not attract any premium free agents it gives them great flexibility in improving their roster and acquiring assets.

Orlando (25-57)

Champs: After a brief cock-tease in the first 2 weeks of the season the Magic produced yet another limp season. It seems Orlando has been taken as far as it can go with the current leading trio of Nikola Vucevic (16.5-9.2-3.4, 1.1bpg, 47.5% FG, 19.7 PER), Evan Fournier (17.8-3.2-2.9, 45.9% FG, 37.9% 3FG, 15.5 PER) and Aaron Gordon (17.6-7.9-2.3-1.0, 43.4% FG, 33.6% 3FG, 16.5 PER) and that is nowhere close to the playoffs. All three are good players but the Magic need a star.

After a disappointing start to his NBA career Mario Hezonja (9.6-3.7-1.4-1.1, 44.2% FG, 33.7% 3FG, 13.7 PER) is starting to show he belongs in the league.

Chumps: Terrence Ross (8.7-3.0-1.6-1.1, 39.8% FG, 32.3% 3FG, 9.9 PER) was horrible when on court but considering he only lasted 24 games before succumbing to injury I’ll cut him some slack. The same can’t be said for veteran Arron Afflalo (3.4-1.2, 12.9mpg, 40.1% FG, 38.6% 3FG, 5.8 PER) or Wesley Iwundu (3.7-2.2, 16.5mpg, 42.7% FG, 7.8 PER) who both played far too many unproductive minutes for any team that wants to challenge for the playoffs.

2018-19 Outlook: Gordon is the closest thing Orlando has to a star and re-signing the 22-year old as well as Hezonja should be the priority this off season. The Magic hold the No. 6 pick in the draft and, unless defensive standout Mo Bamba falls to them, should be looking for a point guard after the mid-season trade of Elfrid Payton.

New head coach Steve Clifford (ex-Charlotte) has a big job ahead. He’ll be hoping that job is made easier by a return to health from 2017 No. 6 pick Jonathan Isaac and a willingness by management to offload Fournier and/or Vucevic for the right deal.

Sacramento (27-55)

Champs: The record shouldn’t come as a surprise when you consider Zach Randolph (14.5-6.7-2.2, 47.3% FG, 17.3 PER) led the team in scoring. I spent more time than I’m proud to admit trying to find a lower team-leading PPG average in NBA history. While I couldn’t confirm this statistic, I’m pretty confident that, post 1976 merger, this is the benchmark. Still, not bad for a 36-year old.

Second-year SG Buddy Hield (13.5-3.8-1.9-1.1, 44.6% FG, 43.1% 3FG, 16.1 PER) will be in “Sixth Man of the Year” conversations if keeps up this production, while Willie Cauley-Stein (12.8-7.0-2.4-1.1, 50.2% FG, 17.6 PER) continues to develop into a productive big.

Chumps: Sacramento started 14 different players during the season, 10 of them started 10+ games, and it was common practice for someone to play 30mins one night and record a ‘DNP – Coach’s Decision’ the next. I’m not sure coach Dave Joerger knows what he’s doing.

I really hope Vince Carter is dispensing some invaluable advice in the Kings locker room because his on-court production (5.4-2.6-1.2, 40.3% FG, 34.5% 3FG, 10.8 PER) isn’t helping anyone.

2018-19 Outlook: Sacramento was the big winner in the draft ending up with the No. 2 pick and will likely take whoever is left from Dayton and Doncic. Assuming Vlade & Vivek don’t completely fuck things up (anyone remember Malachi Richardson or Georgios Papagiannis? Of course you don’t.) the Kings will have a major piece of their future to add to their young, improving roster.

Chicago (27-55)

Champs: Did anybody else thoroughly enjoy the frustration of Bulls fans as they went 15-8 over a 6 week stretch thanks to Nikola Mirotic (16.8-6.4-1.6, 47.4% FG, 42.9% 3FG, 22.0 PER, 25 games) and completely ruin their chances of landing the No. 1 pick? Just me?

After trading away Mirotic, Chicago spent the rest of the season working out which young talent they want to keep moving forward. Rookie Lauri Markkanen (15.2-7.5-1.2, 43.4% FG, 36.2% 3FG, 15.6 PER) exceeded expectations while Kris Dunn (13.4-4.3-6.0-2.0, 42.9% FG, 32.1% 3FG, 14.5 PER) and Bobby Portis (13.2-6.8-1.7, 47.1% FG, 35.9% 3FG, 19.7 PER) both showed drastic improvements. Throw in Zach LaVine’s (16.7-3.9-3.0-1.0, 38.3% FG, 34.1% 3FG, 14.6 PER) late season return from an ACL injury and the Bulls will have been happy with what they saw.

Chumps: At age 29 Justin Holiday (12.2-4.0-2.1-1.1, 31.5mpg, 37.1% FG, 10.8 PER) has no business being on this roster, especially at such heavy minutes. One-dimensional Cristiano Felicio (5.6-4.2-1.0, 59.1% FG, 12.5 PER) is no longer the reserve big with potential and Paul Zipser (4.0-2.4, 34.6% FG, 5.2 PER) should be discarded by any means necessary.

2018-19 Outlook: Despite the Mirotic heroics Chicago still have the No. 7 pick in the draft and will be confident of adding to their stable of young talent. There’s one top prospect every year that seems to slip in the draft and I have a feeling the Bulls will be the one to pounce on this years candidate. Re-signing LaVine without overpaying will also be a high priority.