In August, teams are filling out the remainder of their rosters in anticipation for the 2017-18 NBA season. With numerous All-Star players moving to the Western Conference via trade and free agency, the Eastern Conference is considerably weak as Kyrie Irving's future with the Cleveland Cavaliers remains uncertain.
As the new season is still months away, ESPN released their projected team records. According to Victoria Nguyen of The Score, DeMar DeRozan was not pleased with the 43.4 projected wins for the Toronto Raptors:
As for DeMarcus Cousins, he believes the New Orleans Pelicans will do much better than the 44.2 projected wins:
For the Raptors, they re-signed Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka, traded DeMarre Carroll and Corey Joseph, and acquired CJ Miles. While Toronto kept their core together, it remains to be seen if they can compete against the Cavaliers, Boston Celtics, and Washington Wizards. All three teams are projected to win more games as the Celtics and Wizards have improved via free agency.
For the Pelicans, they re-signed Jrue Holiday and signed Rajon Rondo. In the extremely competitive Western Conference, it may not be enough even with the dynamic duo of Cousins and Anthony Davis. Head coach Alvin Gentry does not have enough shooters to space the floor for them and there are questions if the two big men can dominate in the small ball era.
Regardless of what happens this upcoming season, all teams will be looking to dethrone the defending champion Golden State Warriors, who managed to re-sign their core players in Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Andre Iguodala, and Shaun Livingston.
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