No change. Everything is pretty much the same.
Boston are the most talented team in the East as they were last season as well. Milwaukee and Philly are the two teams closest to them chasing up their rear. Both teams are largely the same as last year. Harden may get traded, he may not get traded. Too early. So the same for now.
I am impressed by what Indiana have done. They have built one of the top benches in the league and I believe they will compete with Cleveland & Miami for the next three positions in the East. Miami has held steady despite losing 2 rotation players. Cleveland has added some useful depth but only marginal gains. The Lillard situation with MIA will tell us if they can join the top 3 teams in the East or will be the stuck here or even take a step back if Lowry is waived. Too early to say. For now, they are here.
Then NYK and ATL as the 7th and 8th seeds. Probably Orlando in a play-in 9th slot. Then is wide open for the final slot. TOR took a major step back losing VanVleet. Chicago still have problems. Charlotte may be healthier next year and get Bridges back so they may work their way into the mix.
WAS, and DET being the no-hopers at the bottom.
So really Indiana is the only team that I have seen to make major progress upwards in the East and Toronto the only team to take a major backwards step.
Very little movement in the standings / power rankings so far.
I’m really confused you keep floating the idea of harden not getting traded. From everything I have read on liberty ballers there is little chance of that. Was there a different update on this beyond harden wants to be traded and took the negotiations personally?
Nope. Harden wants out BADLY.
There just isn't much of a market for him. There is only one year on his contract. They can keep him and just let him leave for nothing if they choose to. They'll have to deal with some blowback from Harden but odds are that will be manageable. I am sure he'd rather collect that big paycheck than lose it + play well to keep his value high for next summer's FA rather than dog-it and lose out on tens of millions next summer.
They do not have to trade Harden. They should only trade him if they get a solid offer. Like Lillard for Harden. I'd do that. But if best offer is Norm Powell, Marcus Morris, Covington and picks ... I'm keeping Harden.
I would say the odds of Harden staying or leaving is less about how angry he is and how much he wants out than ...
What level of offers Philly are getting from other teams around the league. At the moment, outside of Lillard, I don't see anyone offering anything anywhere near worth doing.
So the odds of no-trade seem significant to me at this point in time. We will see if that changes. If suitors emerge (or not).