I RANK THE 10 TEAMS WITH THE MOST TALENTED YOUNG CORES

Even though the Golden State Warriors have a strong grasp on the rest of the NBA right now, and will likely for the foreseeable future, there are certainly a few teams that are a couple years away from jumping into the championship conversation.

These are the teams that have already begun to show small glimpses, in spurts, of the talent that they have on their roster. They might be young, and perhaps a piece or two away. All in all, it’s hard for anyone to envision these teams not being in the NBA title hunt over the course of the next five, or so, years.

A few ground rules in compiling this list are as follows:

1. Each player eligible for being part of a “young core” needed to be under the age of 26.
2. Each team eligible for this list needed to have at least three talented young players to create a “core.”
3. It’s OK to disagree.

With that settled, let’s get to the list.

10. SACRAMENTO KINGS

CORE: Marvin Bagley III, De’Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield, Harry Giles

If you are surprised to see the Sacramento Kings on this list, you clearly haven’t been paying attention. The Kings, quietly, have begun to compile a solid core of young talent over the last few years.

In the last two and a half years alone, they’ve added Marvin Bagley, De’Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield and Harry Giles. Many of these players still haven’t hit their ceilings and are on this list because of the potential that they carry, but if the Kings can continue to develop they should be in a great position 2-3 years down the line.

The Kings haven’t been good in nearly two decades, but they could find their way back to the playoffs sooner than you think.

9. ORLANDO MAGIC

CORE: Aaron Gordon, Mo Bamba, Jonathan Isaac

Sure the Orlando Magic have made a couple questionable moves over the last two summers, but they still have some decent young talent on their roster. Even though they missed on trading Victor Oladipo and on Elfrid Payton completely, over the last two drafts they’ve added a couple of really interesting prospects.

Mo Bamba’s potential is through the roof and Jonathan Isaac still hasn’t even scratched the surface on the player he can be; Aaron Gordon, the leader of their young core, is coming off his career best season and is the ideal wing for today’s NBA game.

If the Magic can push the right buttons – and based on their last few offseasons, that is a big “if” – the Magic could be another team that is contending for a top 4 seed in the Eastern Conference soon.

8. CHICAGO BULLS

CORE: Jabari Parker, Zach LaVine, Lauri Markkanen, Wendell Carter Jr., Kris Dunn

The Chicago Bulls has an awkward young core, but you can’t deny that they’re certainly talented. When he’s healthy, Jabari Parker is one of the most talented forwards in the game; the same can be said about Zach LaVine, who has shown flashes in the first few years of his career.

As we saw this past season, Lauri Markkanen has been a good deal better than most expected him to be when he came out of Arizona. Kris Dunn has been up and down, but the talent is still there.

Wendell Carter Jr. has all the looks of an ideal big man in today’s game, and he’s still growing into his own as a 19-year-old rookie. I’m not sure if Fred Hoiberg can make it all work, but he definitely has some talented pieces to work with.

7. NEW YORK KNICKS

CORE: Kristaps Porzingis, Kevin Knox, Frank Ntilikina, Emmanuel Mudiay

The New York Knicks are an interesting bunch. Much like the few other teams that we’ve already seen on this list, the Knicks have quietly rebuilt their talent pool – through the draft and by taking low risk, high reward chances.

When talking about the Knicks’ young core you have to start with Kristaps Porzingis, who is coming off a torn ACL. But we know that he’s the real deal. That’s a big reason why they’re so high on this list. After that, it gets a bit iffy but Kevin Knox and Frank Ntilikina is not a bad second option duo.

Emmanuel Mudiay is still on this list, because he is still so young.

6. MILWAUKEE BUCKS

CORE: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Malcolm Brogdon, Thon Maker

The Milwaukee Bucks, for a while now, have had one of the best young cores in all the NBA. Despite taking a bit of a hit after losing Jabari Parker this summer, the Bucks are still one of the most talented young teams in the league.

And even though it seems like Giannis Antetokounmpo has been in the league for a long time now, he’s still only 23 years old and hasn’t hit his ceiling – which, depending on whether you’re a Bucks fan or not, is either scary or exciting.

Moving on from Jason Kidd was a necessary move that had to be made, and I don’t think there could’ve been a better hire than Mike Budenholzer. This was a great move all-around. And the hope is that he can take this young core to the next level.

5. LOS ANGELES LAKERS

CORE: Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart

Now with LeBron James on the roster, not many will consider this Laker steam a young squad. However, other than LeBron and a handful of other veteran supporting players the core of this team is still relatively young.

If this team is going to be successful this season, their young core is going to have to step up, and that means Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma and Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart a bit more. And if they fail to do so, there’s a very real chance that this team misses the playoffs completely.

LeBron will get all the credit, but the Lakers’ fate in 2018-19 will largely depend on their young guns.

4. DENVER NUGGETS

CORE: Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., Gary Harris

The Denver Nuggets don’t have the flashiest of young cores, but they’re awfully good. Nikola Jokic is one of the most underrated stars in the league, and just got paid like one. Jamal Murray is coming off an impressive sophomore season and took a huge step in year two.

Gary Harris continues to get better every season and also had a career year this past season. Then, they have the wildcard of all rookie wildcards – Michael Porter Jr. If he was healthy during his freshman season at Missouri, there’s no question that he probably would’ve been a top 5 pick in this year’s draft.

The Nuggets are definitely on the right track, and could be real players in the Western Conference in a couple of seasons.

3. PHOENIX SUNS

CORE: Deandre Ayton, Devin Booker, Josh Jackson, Mikal Bridges, Marquese Chriss

The Phoenix Suns are often overlooked, but they have one of the deepest young cores in all the NBA. And it all begins with Devin Booker, who is also the fearless leader of the team at the moment.

Deandre Ayton was the No. 1 overall pick in this past year’s NBA Draft and will likely be one of the favorites to come away with the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award. Josh Jackson was last year’s prized prospect, who is also only beginning to scratch the surface on his potential.

Mikal Bridges and Marquese Chriss are two other players on this roster that could develop into really good players too.

2. BOSTON CELTICS

CORE: Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Terry Rozier, Marcus Smart

The Boston Celtics might have the two most talented young players on this list not named Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, as they showed this past season, are on the cusp of being one of the NBA’s best duos – and they’re still developing.

They played nothing like young players this past season, especially in the playoffs. The Celtics, after all the injuries that they suffered last year had no business falling one game short of the NBA Finals.

Yet, they nearly knocked off LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Celtics will be the favorites to win the East this season, and a big reason why is their young core

1. PHILADELPHIA 76ERS

CORE: Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, Markelle Fultz, Dario Saric 

Surprise.

The Philadelphia 76ers come in at No. 1 on this list, led by the dynamic duo of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, who began to really show out this past season as they led the Sixers to the second round of the NBA Playoffs.

Dario Saric is the third member of their young core, who is getting better by the day and was a key component to their dismantling of the Miami Heat defense in the first round of the playoffs. Markelle Fultz didn’t even see the floor much this year, and his presence will give this team another jolt next season.

The Sixers are in good hands, and will be big players in the Eastern Conference this season.