Best of the Worst: Young Cores
How can you be good at being bad? Simple. Mismanage your assets, draft poorly, constant front office turnover, to name a few. But here, we’re going to figure out who’s been on the right track recently. Who’s been the best at being the worst?
No. 5
Charlotte Hornets
To preface, there are really only five teams in the NBA that are bad on purpose. Everyone else is at least trying to compete. In the West, 13 teams are legitimately vying for playoff spots, and in the East, it’s wide open enough for anyone to make a jump. Anyone but Charlotte, that is. So, being the fifth best at being bad isn’t exactly something to brag about.
The Hornets have had three head coaches in the last five years — James Borrego, Steve Clifford, and now Charles Lee. Since drafting LaMelo Ball in 2020, Charlotte has managed just two play-in appearances, both coming during Ball’s first two seasons. Since then, the postseason has been completely out of reach, and often by a wide margin.
On paper, the Hornets have put together a promising young core with Ball, Mark Williams, and Brandon Miller. But for the last two to three seasons, fans have been left waiting to see if that potential can actually translate into wins. Injuries have consistently derailed the team’s chances, and the awkward failure that was the Mark Williams’ trade. What remains is Ball, Miller, and a roster filled with middling role players. Unless something changes dramatically, Charlotte looks headed toward another two to three years of wasted seasons.
No. 4
Brooklyn Nets
The Nets just had one of the most eventful drafts in recent memory. While they drafted five players in the first round, there is mixed reactions amongst the general public on whether it was a successful draft or not. With five first-round picks in the draft, the Nets selected four guards and Danny Wolf. The most surprising pick was by far Egor Demin with the 8th pick, especially since the general consensus had him projected as a mid-first.
Regardless of how the 2025 draft went for Brooklyn, they have five new rookies, and they already had a roster full of young players to begin with. No player on their roster is over 30 (but will be turning 30 this upcoming season), they resigned Cam Thomas to the qualifying offer, and just traded for Kobe Bufkin, who wasn’t given much of an opportunity in Atlanta. Brooklyn may not have enough to make a huge splash via trade, but they will have the cap space to make a run at multiple stars during 2027 free agency.
No. 3
Utah Jazz
It feels like the Jazz have been tanking forever, but it’s easy to forget that just four years ago they had Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert leading the No. 1 team in the West. Fast forward to now: Utah drafted Ace Bailey, who openly didn’t want to be there, yet the front office pulled the trigger anyway. The roster is a mix of promising young talent and veterans on bloated, expiring contracts, signaling another season (or two) at the bottom of the standings.
The Jazz did offload Clarkson and Sexton in what felt like rushed deals, but Lauri Markkanen’s massive $200M contract keeps them from having the same future cap flexibility as Brooklyn. Their next big swing is likely in free agency, where the Jazz will have to compete with teams sitting on better financial positioning and stronger appeal to stars.
The real question, though: what do they do with Walker Kessler? Once viewed as a defensive anchor of the future, he’s been involved in trade talks for years now.
No. 2
Washington Wizards
Washington’s young core is already in place, and now the biggest ingredient they need is time. This isn’t the moment to step back or remain idle, but it’s also not the time to panic and rush into short-sighted moves now that they have the assets. The most beneficial path forward is patience — allowing this group to develop chemistry and grow into their roles.
As long as the Wizards avoid frequent coaching and front-office turnover, and continue to invest in player development, the blueprint is clear. With proper guidance and stability, this core has the talent to blossom into a legitimate contender within the next 3–5 years. The key will be resisting the urge to overcorrect and instead letting the foundation they’ve built play itself out.
No. 1
San Antonio Spurs
The rich got richer this offseason. San Antonio, already boasting one of the most exciting young rosters in the league, landed the No. 2 pick in the 2025 draft and added De’Aaron Fox at last season’s trade deadline. With Wembanyama, Sochan, Castle, and Harper now flanking Fox in his prime, the Spurs have quickly transitioned from rebuilding to competing.
Fox may be a little older than the rest of the core, but his timeline still matches perfectly with a Spurs team built to win now. Theoretically, Fox’s playmaking and downhill scoring balance out Wembanyama’s ability to score inside-out, which will create quite the exciting duo this upcoming season.
The only real question is what the rotation looks like. With Castle, Fox, Harper, and Vassell all needing touches and minutes, there’s a logjam at the guard position. Mitch Johnson has a lot to figure out before the season starts in about a month. But as problems go, having too much young talent is a good one to have. Hopefully, Harper can be one of those plug-and-play players and he doesn’t need much time to adjust to NBA play.
