No. 2 team in the Pacific Division: The Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns are currently a better basketball team than the LA Clippers, but I’d like to see it for the full season.
When Kawhi Leonard gets back, the Clips will be the better team. Leonard should be back and 100% for the postseason, and I’d rather go with that team than the Suns to win the West.
The Suns, unlike the Lakers, actually made the right moves to improve their roster. That being said, the Clippers did too and had a great draft.
The Clippers are deeper than the Suns, and have a chance to really progress to new levels in Year 2 under Ty Lue. They have championship experience, which the Suns don’t have, and is something that has a chance to really pay off in the postseason.
Chris Paul is only getting older, and I don’t know if he can be a top five MVP candidate again next year. I do, however, know that when Leonard gets back, we may have two MVP-type players on our team by that point. The Suns are a great team, but I don’t know that they’ll be able to keep up with the Clips when Leonard gets back, now that CP3 is getting up there.