With the 2022 NBA Draft already passing us by and free agency underway, teams are starting to come into form for the 2022-23 season.
While it's easy to focus on the teams that are trying to make a leap to contending for a title, it's impossible to overlook what's brewing with some of the franchises that are building for the future.
With the amount of young talent emerging in the league, some of the teams at the bottom of the standings may not be there for very long. The lottery teams are beginning to stack pieces for the future, stockpiling draft picks and assets to one day down the line jump into championship contention.
But which young core has the most upside potential among the group?
The Sporting News ranked the best young cores in the NBA today, but there were a couple of prerequisites to qualify: the franchise had to be a Play-In team or miss the playoffs altogether and the age cut-off was 25 years old. It's also worth noting that future first-round draft picks – over the next three years – were taken into consideration for the rankings. (Hello, Thunder!)
With that being outlined, let's get to it.
1. New Orleans Pelicans
Core: Zion Williamson (22), Brandon Ingram (24), Dyson Daniels (19)
Other talent under 25: Herb Jones, Trey Murphy III, Jose Alvarado, Jaxson Hayes, Kira Lewis, Naji Marshall, E.J. Liddell
Future first-round draft picks: Seven – 2023 (own), 2023 (Lakers), 2024 (own), 2024 (Lakers), 2024 (Bucks), 2025 (own), 2025 (Bucks)
Whether you're looking at the present or future, there's something special cooking in New Orleans – and it's not just beignets and gumbo.
The franchise is positioned to compete right away when Williamson returns next season, adding the former No. 1 pick to a group that gave the No. 1 seeded Suns everything they could handle in the 2022 NBA Playoffs. A core of Williamson, Ingram, CJ McCollum and Jonas Valanciunas is very strong, and their young pieces around that foursome pull the whole project together in the now and future.
Jones and Alvarado emerged as pesky defensive specialists and Hayes is an athletic freak. Their first-round pick, Daniels, is the type of do-it-all playmaker and versatile defender that helps elevate this team's floor and ceiling.
They have seven first-round picks over the next three seasons, thanks to the massive hauls the front office received from the Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday trades.
Just three years removed from sending one of their greatest talents in franchise history to the Lakers, the Pelicans find themselves in one of the best positions of any franchise in the NBA.
Now, the question is can Zion stay healthy?
2. Cleveland Cavaliers
Core: Darius Garland (22), Jarrett Allen (24), Evan Mobley (21)
Other talent under 25: Isaac Okoro, Ochai Agbaji, Lamar Stevens
Future first-round draft picks: Two – 2024 (own), 2025 (own)
The Cavaliers may not have the depth of young pieces or draft assets that some of these other teams do, but their young core is already more established than any other group on this list.
Garland is one of the best scoring-playmakers in the entire NBA at 22 years old. During his first All-Star season last year, Garland was one of five players in the league to average over 20 points and eight assists per game, joining an impressive list of names like Luka Doncic, Trae Young, James Harden and Dejounte Murray.
Their frontcourt is a brick wall with two long and athletic defenders in Allen and Mobley, who will anchor one of the NBA's top defenses for as long as they're together. Allen was a first-time All-Star last year and he's one of the best lob-catchers, rebounders and rim protectors in the league. Mobley is the type of mobile, fluid and versatile forward that every team is looking for.
Regardless of who plays around this trio, the Cavaliers will be competitive with this core group together.
3. Oklahoma City Thunder
Core: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (23), Chet Holmgren (20), Josh Giddey (19)
Other talent under 25: Luguentz Dort, Jalen Williams, Ousmane Dieng, Darius Bazley, Jaylin Williams, Tre Mann, Aleksej Pokusevski
Future first-round draft picks: 10 – 2023 (own), 2023 (Clippers), 2024 (own), 2024 (Clippers), 2024 (Rockets), 2024 (Jazz), 2025 (own), 2025 (Clippers or Rockets), 2025 (Heat), 2025 (76ers)
The Thunder are without a doubt the biggest wild card on this list because they have 10 (!!!) first-round draft picks over the next three years and there is no predicting what those could turn into.
With that much draft capital, Oklahoma City's opportunities are endless. It could end up with a core group of the best young prospects the NBA has ever seen. If there's a particular prospect it feels really strongly about (looking at you, Victor Wembanyama), it could package a handful of first-rounders and young players to make an offer that another franchise simply could not refuse to move up in the draft. The Thunder could also very easily throw as many draft picks as it would like at franchises with a disgruntled star who is looking for a new situation (because that seems to be a trend as of late).
And that's all before we even get into the talent that is already on the roster.
The Thunder found some stability in its rebuild last season when Gilgeous-Alexander and Giddey emerged as building blocks in the Thunder's backcourt. It was known that Gilgeous-Alexander was a star in the making and his leap to All-Stardom could be as soon as next season.
Giddey, meanwhile, showed he has what it takes to be an elite playmaker and lead guard in the league. The Australian 19-year-old joined the great Oscar Robertson as the only rookies in NBA history to record three-consecutive triple-doubles. He also joined LeBron James, LaMelo Ball and Luka Doncic as the only players in NBA history to record 500 points, 200 assists and 200 rebounds in their first 45 games.
Now, they add a third franchise cornerstone in a unicorn-like No. 2 pick Chet Holmgren, who has Defensive Player of the Year-caliber potential with immense upside, and you can see the Thunder's future getting brighter by the day.
The plan for success is in place in Oklahoma City, we just have to wait and see how it unfolds.
4. Detroit Pistons
Core: Cade Cunningham (20), Jaden Ivey (20), Saddiq Bey (23), Jalen Duren (18)
Other talent under 25: Killian Hayes, Isaiah Stewart, Marvin Bagley III, Hamidou Diallo
Future first-round draft picks: Three – 2024 (own), 2025 (own), 2025 (Trail Blazers)
I could see there being a few eyebrows raised by the Pistons landing ahead of other teams like the Rockets or Magic on this list. My answer is this: I'm just that high on a Cunningham-Ivey backcourt.
Detroit became the biggest winner of this year's draft the second that Ivey, the best guard in this class, fell to it with the No. 5 pick. When it also made a trade to acquire the most physically imposing big man in this class in the 18-year-old Duren, the Pistons took a leap in shaping one of the most promising young cores in the NBA today.
Starting with Cunningham, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft looked every bit of the part of a franchise-altering talent toward the back end of the season. After the All-Star break, he averaged 21.1 points, 6.5 assists, 5.7 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game, making things look easy as a floor general and No. 1 option on offense.
Add a combo guard with blazing speed and explosive athleticism like Ivey next to him and the Pistons will have one of the most unstoppable backcourts in the league before we know it. Group in a sharpshooter like the 23-year-old Bey – who has made 3-point shooting history a number of times in his first two seasons – and a terrorizing interior presence like Duren and Detroit is headed in the right direction sooner rather than later.
5. Houston Rockets
Core: Jalen Green (20), Jabari Smith Jr. (19)
Other talent under 25: Alperen Sengun, Kevin Porter Jr., Tari Eason, TyTy Washington, Kenyon Martin Jr., Josh Christopher
Future first-round draft picks: Six – 2023 (own), 2023 (Bucks), 2023 (Nets), 2024 (Nets), 2025 (Thunder or Nets), 2025 (Own)
The Rockets are one step closer to forming their core of the future after selecting Smith with the No. 3 pick in this year's draft. The Auburn forward was expected to be the No. 1 pick during the majority of the draft cycle before the Magic switched their decision at the last minute. As a result, Houston got arguably the best shooter in this draft class.
Smith's defensive versatility and interior presence gives the Rockets a frontcourt building block alongside rising star guard Green and a cerebral and skilled big man like Sengun.
Green began to show flashes of his elite scoring ability at the end of his rookie season, going on a historic stretch of five games with 30-plus points, joining a list of Hall of Famers in the process.
And on top of their prospects, the Rockets' future draft picks are only becoming more valuable by the minute with everything going on with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in Brooklyn. If both stars are traded, there's a good chance the Nets enter a bit of a rebuild. That would be incredible news for Houston, who owns the Nets' first-round picks for the next three years as a result of the deal that sent James Harden to Brooklyn.
When you combine their talent on the roster and future draft assets, it's hard not to get excited about the future of the Rockets.
6. Orlando Magic
Core: Paolo Banchero (19), Jalen Suggs (21), Franz Wagner (20), Wendell Carter Jr. (23)
Other talent under 25: Cole Anthony, Markelle Fultz, Jonathan Isaac, Mo Bamba, Chuma Okeke, RJ Hampton, Caleb Houstan
Future first-round draft picks: Five – 2023 (own), 2023 (Bulls), 2024 (own), 2025 (own), 2025 (Nuggets)
It was hard for me to rank the Magic this low for a few different reasons. One, because I really think Banchero is a franchise-altering talent and two because nearly their entire roster is under 25.
Banchero is, in my opinion, the best player in the 2022 NBA Draft class and the Magic got it right by selecting him with the No. 1 pick. He's extremely NBA-ready with the perfect combination of size and athleticism to pair with his scoring and playmaking ability. He already has the tools and self-creation skills to be a No. 1 scoring option and his passing will elevate all of his teammates around him in a way a franchise needs from its cornerstone.
Wagner proved to be one of the most multi-talented players in the loaded 2021 NBA Draft class after his breakout rookie season and we haven't seen Suggs scratch the surface of his potential at the next level. The former Gonzaga standout's rookie season was riddled with injuries and he never really got in a rhythm, but you can book it that he will still end up being a building block and floor general of the future in Orlando.
Carter was another rising star for the Magic last season, looking like a key piece of their future as an interior presence, rim protector and defensive anchor.
The Magic have an endless amount of young talent in players like Anthony, Fultz, Hampton, Isaac, Bamba and Okeke, but I do believe they will have to sort through the prospects they want to build around to maximize their potential. There's a logjam at several positions on their depth chart and ironing out roles by making decisions and trading a few of those youthful players will only be more beneficial in the growth of the team as a whole.
There is a lot of upside potential in Orlando and the future is bright. There is no doubt about it.
7. Indiana Pacers
Core: Tyrese Haliburton (22), Bennedict Mathurin (20)
Other talent under 25: Jalen Smith, Isaiah Jackson, Andrew Nembhard, Kendall Brown, Oshae Brissett, Goga Bitadze, Aaron Nesmith
Future first-round draft picks: Five – 2023 (own), 2023 (Cavaliers), 2023 (Celtics), 2024 (own), 2025 (own)
There's a pretty significant margin between the top six rebuilding franchises and the remaining three on this list.
The Pacers come in next because they are starting to figure things out by officially handing over the keys of the franchise to Haliburton, who has proved to be one of the best young guards in the game today. Once he was traded from the Kings to the Pacers last season, Haliburton averaged 17.5 points, 9.6 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.8 steals on .502/.416/.849 shooting splits over 26 games. That is... very impressive.
Indiana took a step toward forming its backcourt of the future when it selected Mathurin with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. Mathurin gives the Pacers a go-to scoring option as an athletic sharpshooter who can do damage with or without the ball in his hands, making for the perfect running mate alongside Haliburton.
Indiana is also starting to load up on young, versatile wings and forwards to fit the mold of what a successful team looks like in the NBA today, it's just a few talented pieces behind the other franchises listed above.
Even with that being said, Pacers fans have plenty to be excited about in the Haliburton-Mathurin duo.
8. Sacramento Kings
Core: De'Aaron Fox (24), Keegan Murray (21)
Other talent under 25: Davion Mitchell (23), Kevin Huerter (23), Malik Monk (24)
Future first-round draft picks: Three – 2023 (own), 2024 (own), 2025 (own)
The Kings were in a weird spot for this exercise because I had to make an age cut-off somewhere, and 25 years old felt like the right spot. Because of that, Sacramento's All-Star forward, Domantas Sabonis (26), was left off of its "young core," which doesn't feel right.
To clear that up instantly, the Kings are in a very solid spot with a trio of Sabonis, Fox and this year's first-round pick, Murray.
A Sabonis-Murray frontcourt is equal parts skilled and versatile, as the two are a model of what evolving forwards can look like in today's NBA. Sabonis gives the Kings a physical presence but is also a savvy passer with great shooting touch from all over the floor. Murray is an effortless and efficient three-level scorer who doesn't need a ton of touches to do damage. His size, length and fluidity to truly defend 1-through-5 is his best asset as an NBA prospect.
With a lightning-fast playmaker like Fox orchestrating the offense and a deep backcourt of young guards like Mitchell, Huerter and Monk, the Kings are starting to put together the pieces of a competitive NBA roster.
9. San Antonio Spurs
Core: Keldon Johnson (22), Jeremy Sochan (19)
Other talent under 25: Devin Vassell, Joshua Primo, Malaki Branham, Blake Wesley, Zach Collins, Tre Jones, Romeo Langford, Isaiah Roby
Future first-round draft picks: Six – 2023 (own), 2023 (Hornets), 2024 (own), 2025 (own), 2025 (Hawks), 2025 (Bulls)
I have to admit, I was baffled at how diligently the Spurs were looking to move off of All-Star guard Dejounte Murray, even if they were doing so in his best interest. He felt like the perfect piece for this rebuilding franchise because he was good enough to make an impact now but young enough to be the cornerstone for the future. With his ability to elevate everyone around him, Murray was the ideal player to get the most out of this young core, and the Spurs elected to trade him for future draft compensation.
Now, San Antonio's rebuild starts from scratch as it looks to build around a plethora of players under the age of 25. There's some serious potential here in guys like Johnson, Sochan, Vassell, Primo, Branham and Wesley, but the Spurs are still searching for that one franchise-altering talent to build a roster around.
Maybe they will find that piece with one of their six draft picks over the next three years, but until then, this rebuild doesn't have a precise direction.
