Ty's 2026 - 2027 NBA Preview: Clippers, Hornets, Warriors
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Welcome to day three of my NBA preseason countdown. We are inching closer to the play-in teams, and who knows, maybe these teams today will surprise and make a push to the play-in. We shall see.
Coming in at number 24 I have the Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers future is very much in doubt. They are going to have to scrape the bottom of the barrell to fill out their roster, and with no draft picks, that will make it all that much harder on them. But right now they have some dudes that can play, and they will be a frustrating team to play on a night to night basis. This is now Darius Garland's team. He is the engine that runs this offense and he will be asked to do whatever he can to lead this team. Garland is a solid player, but he does not stay on the floor enough to be a franchise leader. He just gets hurt far too often. He is great offensively, but he is also a non factor on defense. Garland will get every opportunity to prove he can lead this team this season. Keaton Wagler was a nice draft pick, but he has a long, long way to go. He has a lot of stuff he needs to figure out before he becomes a viable NBA player. But the dude can shoot the rock. He will score this season. But he will not bring much else to this team during his rookie season. And he is going to get abused on the defensive end of the floor. Then we have the rest of this roster. It is filled with guys that are past their prime, never met their prime or are just a steady presence. Rui Hachimura revived his career with the Lakers, but now he is going to be asked to do that again in a starting role with a roster not near what he had with the Lakers. But the guy can shoot the three. Bradley Beal is way past his prime and he has never been the same since leaving Washington. Derrick Jone Jr was always an explosive player who could kind of shoot the three, but both of those have decreased over the past couple years. Brook Lopez used to be a defensive stopper and clutch three point shooter. Now he misses tons of games and is only getting older and older. Gradey Dick has never figured it out, Brandon Ingram is hurt, so is Max Strus and Cam Christie was just waived. This team has some dudes that can do some things, but the days of being at or above .500 look to be over for a bit with the Clippers. They screwed themselves with the whole Kawhi Leonard situation, and they are a long way off from being formidable again. But Wagler and Garland will be fun to watch, and I have always rooted for Rui Hachimura. The Clippers may not be very good, and that may last for about five or six seasons now.
At number 23 I have the Charlotte Hornets. This team came on like a wave during the second half of last season. They surprised a ton of people last year, but this team has changed a ton since all of that popped off. LaMelo Ball is gone. He was not long for this team anyway, but they kind of traded him out of nowhere. This is a big bet on a few of their young guys. Kon Kneuppel made me look foolish when I named him as a prospect I wasn't high on last year. He can really shoot the three and he plays hard every night. But I feel like he got exposed in the play-in game last year, and with more responsibility I don't see how he replicates what he did during his rookie season. This season will be interesting for Kneuppel. Brandon Miller has all the tools to be an all star. The kid is big and strong, can shoot and has become a solid rebounder. He can also run the break and looks good in transition. His problem, he gets hurt a ton. He is going to be taking on a bigger role now, and they need him on the floor if they want to be successful in the near future. Coby White is a fun player to watch, but he is now the lead guard on this team and he will be running the show. He has never really had to do this in his career, so it will be something to watch as the season goes on. Grayson Allen has come over to this team, but I feel like he is an overrated shooter. He doesn't do anything else to help a team, and his antics on the court are tiresome. Naz Reid is finally going to start, and I think he is going to be great. I do like that he has a shot to start and I think he is going to have a very, very good season. I fully believe that he is the best overall player on this current roster. Liam McNeely spent more time in the G League than in the pros last season. Tidjane Salaun is still very raw. Moussa Diabate has a motor that never stops and is a great rebounder, but he is undersized. Ryan Kalkbrenner barely saw the court when they went on their run last year. Dennis Schroeder is here because I feel like he is going to play for every NBA team at some point. I'm not very high on Hanes Steinbach. I feel like the Hornet struck lightning in a bottle last year, was exposed in the play-in and then decided to go in a totally different direction. They have a ton to figure out before they become a real playoff threat.
The final team for the day, coming in at 22 I have the Golden State Warriors. This is just not the same team that it was four years ago when they last won a title. Steph Curry is still there, he is still the greatest shooter of all time and he will play his heart out anytime he is on the floor. But he is not on the floor as much as you would like if you were a fan of the team. He is only getting older as well. Draymond Green is still on the team and he is still a menace defensively. But people are used to his antics and he doesn't affect the game like he used to. He is also far more concerned with his podcast it seems. Al Horford is 40. Age always wins out in the end. That's a fact. Kristaps Porzingis has not been at camp. Steve Kerr doesn't even know what is going on with him. Jimmy Butler tore his ACL last season. So did Moses Moody. I love Yaxel Lendeborg, but he is going to be asked to do way, way too much during his rookie year. Gary Payton II is a great defender, but he is too often injured. They gave an unproven Brandin Podziemski 110 million dollars, which is wild to me. The Warriors are not the dynasty they used to be. I kind of thought they were going to blow it all up after last season. But it looks like they are going to try for one final run with some of their original guys that started all their recent winning. I don't think it is going to go as well as they hope, but maybe they will prove me wrong, and make a run to the playoffs. We shall see.
That's it for today. Come back tomorrow for the next three teams.
Ty
Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.
