to be really really tough for another team to breakthrough in a meaningful way. I think the top of the league is pretty darn established for a while.

All this talk about Donovan or Trae Young or whomever going to San Antonio or LAor Miami is great...but A) those teams don't have the assets to get those guys and B) no realistic move is going to make those teams better enough to beat the top 5-6 teams in the league for the next 3-4 years. IMHO the top 5-6 teams in the league are pretty established for the next 3-4 years. If you're the Jazz, Suns, Kings, Heat, etc. etc. there just doesn't seem to be a way to move into the top strata. Often, teams that win championships are fairly old and barely held together given salary cap constraints. This era of NBA history feels different:

- OKC - Incredibly good, incredibly young and still has 17! (that's the real number) first round picks in the next 6 years. Trae going to the Lakers or Donovan going to Miami or whatever isn't pushing them above OKC.

- Denver - The best player in the world (probably top 10 all-time in his prime for the next 4 years). Denver will be right there every year. No amount of maneuvering by Utah is pushing the Jazz past Denver.

- Minnesota - I think they're the second best team in the league right now and their best player is 22...and will be the face of the league for the next decade. He will have multiple supporting casts built around him for the next 10 years. They're going to be a staple in the WCF.

- Dallas - It feels like Luka is always right there. Not sure if he'll ever breakthrough to win it, but it'll be tough for the Jazz, Kings, Lakers, etc. to pass him.

- Boston - Best roster top to bottom with still oddly quite a few draft assets. Their core is approaching their prime. Not going anywhere.

- Indy/Knicks - Both young, tons of talent, probably a tier below, but how will other teams pass them?

Bucks are in salary cap hell with a SUPER OLD team. Philly is the same but with their best player basically walking on one leg half the time. Heat just don't have enough stuff. Utah has a lot of picks but hasn't tanked hard enough. PHX is old and expensive. Kings don't have enough talent. Clippers are old and expensive. Blazers suck.

Anyway, my point is that the teams remaining right now are going to be the teams at the end until about 2030. It'll be tough for teams to pass them.