Legitimate threats:
These are the teams that will be battling with the Los Angeles Lakers for the first seed in the Western Conference. To be completely honest, though, I think that the Lakers are still head and shoulders ahead of these two teams in overall roster construction.
The regular season can be weird (especially with everything else going on) and this will be a closer race than it should be if we are looking at pure talent.
3. Golden State Warriors
Yes, Klay Thompson is going to miss the entire season but I still think the Golden State Warriors are going to be dangerous next season. Stephen Curry is still the same guy and the Warriors actually have a really solid starting five.
Curry, Andrew Wiggins, Kelley Oubre Jr, Draymond Green and James Wiseman is a pretty decent starting five and they have some slept on role players on the bench.
Not having Klay is a big loss for the team but I still think they are the third-best team in the Western Conference. Their experience alone will lead to them winning more games than they probably should.
2. Los Angeles Clippers
Objectively speaking, I do not love what the Clippers have done this offseason. I think they moved laterally in the moves they made, going from Landry Shamet and Montrezl Harrell to Luke Kennard and Serge Ibaka.
They still lack a playmaking point guard who can facilitate. I think they will be better with Tyronn Lue as the head coach and the team will have a chip on its shoulder after blowing a 3-1 lead last offseason.
However, I still think they are a few steps behind the Los Angeles Lakers in terms of overall talent. They are the biggest threat to take the one seed, though.