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NBA teams are just a few days away from opening their respective training camps, with some of them starting their preparation this Wednesday, September 27 and the rest of them a week later, on Tuesday, October 3. The vast majority of the 30 teams have finalized their rosters, even though there are a few open spots left to cover during training camp.
Taking a look at the rosters, one can see that most teams have a lot of depth in almost every position. Teams like the LA Lakers, Brooklyn Nets and LA Clippers have at least two good players in every position.
Some of them, though, lack that depth and may be in search of another addition to complete their roster. With that in mind, we take a look at three NBA teams with title aspirations that need more depth in the power forward position.
3 NBA teams in need of a power forward
#3 - Chicago Bulls
The problem here is that none of the team's power forwards is elite. Patrick Williams will start for the Bulls, but behind him there is no sufficient backup. Torrey Graig, who is a small forward, could play the 4 as well, and the same goes for center Nikola Vucevic, who can share the big man positions with Andre Drummond with his ability to stretch the floor and shoot from the perimeter.
Lack of depth at the 4 can hurt the Bulls, as they will have to play Williams for the entire season (he played in all 82 games last year), risking the possibility of an injury. The alternative would be for Chicago to go small ball, with Vucevic at the 5 and Graig and DeMar DeRozan sharing the forward positions.
#2 - Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns are all-in for the NBA championship this season. They have created a Big Four with Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, DeAndre Ayton and Devin Booker. Eric Gordon and Terrence Ross are also part of the roster and Phoenix aims at nothing but the title.
The only position they seem to lack quality is the power forward position, unless Kevin Durant plays only the 4 this season. If he plays the 3, then they will need one or more of Drew Eubanks, Keita Bates-Diop, Ish Wainright and Chimezie Metu to step up. Phoenix has a lot of depth at the 4, but all of them are role players and it is questonable if they could make the difference.
At the same time, if Durant plays only as a power forward, things will become easier for the Suns, yet again they will need backup, as it is unlikely Durant will play the whole season. He has become injury prone over the past few years and the team is expected to protect him minutes-wise.
#1 - Denver Nuggets
The reigning NBA champions are preparing for a title-defense year and didn't make many changes to their roster. However, they missed two key players of their championship run in Bruce Brown and Jeff Green and it looks like Green's gap has not been covered yet.
Aaron Gordon will be the starting power forward, but there is no backup behind him, with Green playing for the Houston Rockets now and Vlatko Cancar out with a season-ending injury.
The most likely scenario here is that coach Michael Malone could use Michael Porter Jr. as power forward or Nikola Jokic play the 4 for some minutes and share the floor with backup center DeAndre Jordan.
Guess the Lakers players!
