ESPN this week released its “way-too-early” Power Rankings for the 2020-21 NBA season, headlined by the defending NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers. But there’s one team that Paul Pierce believes everyone is sleeping on.
The Golden State Warriors.
Appearing on The Jump on Tuesday, The Truth said he expects the former champs to make a big move with their draft assets this offseason to reload their roster and bounce back into title contention. ESPN has the Warriors sixth in their early rankings.
“I’ll tell you one team that’s too low and that’s going to be the Warriors. They’re going to make a trade with that pick and they’re going to bump up. I guarantee that. I don’t want to put any rumors out there, it’s too early for that,” Paul said, hinting that he might have some inside information about who Golden State may target. “They can get an All-Star caliber player with the assets that they have.”
Coming in at No. 10 on the list are the Brooklyn Nets, who are expected to be at full strength with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant both back in action whenever the 2020-21 season begins.
But Paul believes the ceiling of the Nets remains to be set because their roster as currently constructed features a lot of guys who play best with the ball in their hands.
“Look at their roster. Look how many guys actually need the ball. You can’t tell these guys to space and be spot up guys,” The Truth said. “The key to all of this is going to be Kyrie Irving, how well can he play on and off the ball. Because they’ve got some talented guys on this team that need the ball. So we have yet to see [what they can be].”
Watch Paul, Jackie MacMullan and Jorge Sedano debate the early rankings below, and watch The Jump weekdays at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN.
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