Ranking 5 tiers of the NBA Western Conference: Where do the new-look Mavs land?

Dreamers

The teams in this category are still roster-building but have a chance of making the Play-In Tournament.

Utah Jazz

Notable players lost: Rudy Gay

Notable players added: John Collins

The Jazz started off the season strong last year. However, as things progressed, their lack of depth and top-tier talent slowed them down. Trading for John Collins could be a massive upgrade, or it could have little impact. It is just too early to tell what kind of player Collins will be in a Jazz uniform.

Their core of Collin Sexton, Lauri Markkanen, Walker Kessler, and Collins looks nice on paper, but they are still lacking roster depth everywhere except the center position. Without one of those guys elevating their game to another level, it will be hard for them to secure a playoff spot in the loaded western conference.

Oklahoma City Thunder

Notable players lost: None

Notable players added: Cason Wallace, Chet Holmgren (injured rookie season), Victor Oladipo

The Thunder surprised everyone by making it into the NBA Play-In Tournament last season, winning their first game against the Pelicans before falling to the Timberwolves. Oklahoma City arguably has the league's largest stock of draft picks and young talent. The issue is that outside of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, they don't have any other proven NBA stars.

Josh Giddey looks like a promising young piece, and Chet Holmgren is finally going to make his NBA debut after missing all of his rookie season, however, they are still a few players away (through development or trade) from being a true playoff contender.