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Superteam pursuits used to be all the rage in the NBA, with successful formations by the Los Angeles Clippers and since-torn-down Miami Heat acting as primary inspiration. They weren't the first superteams. The 2007-08 Boston Celtics weren't, either. But the more recent powerhouses triggered league-wide copycat attempts.

That period of rampant miming has since subsided. Teams aren't avoiding star-stacked visions, but the number of flagrantly pipe-dreaming franchises has dwindled in number.

Flat-out failures by the Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks serve as cautionary tales. Salary-cap spikes have made it harder to rebuild through free agency. The new collective bargaining agreement hammered out in December makes it harder still.

Plus, when the Golden State Warriors and whatever team LeBron James calls his own are the standard for superpowers, the prospect of building up a worthy peer is daunting. There isn't a rush to rival what, for the past few years, couldn't be rivaled. The Clippers are good, borderline great, but diving into the luxury tax for a top-heavy squad that may never reach or get past the Conference Finals isn't ideal.

Still, some teams might be ready to reinvigorate the superteam trend in the near future—as in next season. Every possibility is a long shot, because that's the nature of multistar models, but a select few squads have a clearer path to completion than most.

Cap space, trade assets and incumbent talent will all determine how this search shakes out. We're looking for teams with the best shot at employing three top-25 talents by next season while maintaining adequate depth.

Top-25 determinations will rest on a player's value outside a Big Three or Big Four. Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love aren't always recognized as such with the Cleveland Cavaliers, but playing beside each other and James dilutes their standing.

Again: Next season is the timeline. Budding juggernauts won't make the cut. The Minnesota Timberwolves have a case down the line, but the odds of their signing an All-NBA talent and then having another one of their own kiddies join Karl-Anthony Towns on Superstar Mountain by 2017-18 are too steep even for this exercise.