NBA Power Rankings: No. 1 Nets get richer, Lakers cling to top-five spot, Blazers sink after free agency moves

NBA offseason deals have affected the pecking order heading into next season

Most of the big names are off the board after an eventful first week of NBA free agency, which means that many teams, particularly the contenders, have pretty much their entire roster set two months before the start of training camp. While no team was vaulted to "title favorite" status based on their offseason dealings, some have certainly helped or hurt themselves heading into the 2021-22 season. Now that we have a clearer picture of what teams will look like, we've updated the NBA Power Rankings we published immediately after the NBA Finals, with some significant changes. The Los Angeles Lakers dropped one spot to fifth after their offseason moves, largely due to questions about defense. Meanwhile, the Miami Heat moved up from 11th to seventh after the additions of Kyle Lowry and PJ Tucker, arguably the most impactful moves of the free agency period so far. On the other side we have the Portland Trail Blazers, who have done little to improve the roster despite highly publicized pleas for help from Damian Lillard. The uncertainty of Lillard's commitment to Portland is part of the reason the Blazers plummeted to 20th in this edition of the rankings. Similarly, the Philadelphia 76ers fell a couple of spots due to the unpredictable situation surrounding Ben Simmons, since we don't know what pieces they'll eventually get in return if they do end up trading the All-Star.