The Oklahoma City Thunder led the NBA in efficiency differential during the preseason with a mark of +12.5.

During the 14-15 preseason, the Golden State Warriors had the league's best mark with +11.0, which became a first indicator of their jump as title contenders.

Here's the full rankings from the 15-16 preseason:

1. Thunder: 12.5
2. Celtics: 11.6
3. Grizzlies: 11.5
4. Wizards: 10.4
5. Hornets: 10.0
6. Pistons: 7.1
7. Raptors: 5.6
8. Pacers: 4.7
9. Knicks: 4.0
10. Suns: 3.9
11. Nuggets: 3.5
12. Kings: 3.3
13. Magic: 2.8
14. Blazers: 1.8
15. Jazz: 0.4
16. Heat: 0.0
17. Hawks: -0.7
18. Rockets: -0.7
19. Nets: -1.0
20. Warriors: -1.3
21. Spurs: -1.9
22. Lakers: -2.1
23. Bucks: -3.4
24. Bulls: -3.6
25. Pelicans: -3.6
26. Clippers: -4.2
27. Cavaliers: -6.5
28. 76ers: -8.6
29. Mavericks: -10.7
30. Wolves: -11.0

The Utah Jazz have claimed Phil Pressey off waivers.

Pressey was waived before the start of the regular season by the Portland Trail Blazers.

Pressey spent the past two seasons with the Boston Celtics.

The Portland Trail Blazers have waived guard Phil Pressey and forward Omari Johnson.

Pressey appeared in four preseason games for Portland, averaging 4.8 points and 2.0 assists. 

Johnson also appeared in four preseason games averaging 2.3 points and 1.0 rebounds per game for the Trail Blazers. 

Portland's roster now stands at 15.

LaMarcus Aldridge didn't expect to leave the Portland Trail Blazers when he decided to play through a broken thumb and wait until after the season for surgery.

Aldridge said in 2014 that he planned on re-signing with the Blazers.

"You know I think just weighing my options and just going through the process really kind of helped me see what I valued," said Aldridge. "It wasn’t easy leaving. I love Portland and I have so much history there and I knew it like the back of my hand, so the decision to leave was never easy. When I put off [thumb surgery] I definitely didn’t think I was leaving. I wanted to maximize that moment. I didn’t want to waste that. I wanted to be in the moment, I wanted to help finish the season out well and to play in the playoffs. So in that moment I was in the mind-set that I was coming back.

"But I think as I went through the process more I just value being closer to home, I value seeing my kids more. I feel like, of course, Portland didn’t want me to leave, but I feel like at the end of the day it’s good to have a fresh start. You know we had first round [exits] for so many years, and then we finally got to the second round, but I think for both sides it’s actually really good. It’s better to get a fresh start and now they have no battle with who’s the face of the team. Damian [Lillard] is a very high talent so he’s going to be good for years to come. So I think in a way it actually made it easier on them too."

Aldridge was asked if the Blazers could have done anything differently to keep him.

"No, I think they did everything that they could," said Aldridge. "I thought they were trying to see what I wanted, what I needed. They were trying to keep me involved every step of the process. I thought that they definitely made me feel like they wanted me back. They were very interested in having me back, they wanted me to still be the focal point of the offense, so I don’t think there was much they could have done. I think it was just that time, where we had tried and tried and tried and I feel like San Antonio, and being home, it was just a lot of positives. Like I said being home was one of my goals and to be there and to just see my family was key."

Erik Gundersen (@BlazerBanter) of the Vancouver Columbian's Blazer Banter blog joins Nate Duncan (@NateDuncanNBA) to preview the Portland Trail Blazers 2015-16 season.  

Topics include: His reporting on the LaMarcus Aldridge departure, a potentially underrated offense this year, who will emerge among the youngs in the wing and big rotations, and his grade for GM Neil Olshey.

Subscribe to the Dunc'd On Basketball Podcast on iTunes or via the XML feed.

Click here for other team previews from the Dunc'd On Basketball Podcast.

Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Aldridge downplayed any issues between them and that their relationship was part of the reason Aldridge decided to leave the Portland Trail Blazers for the San Antonio Spurs.

"Our relationship was fine," Lillard said. "Me and LA never had an argument. People are searching for something that’s not there. When you have two All-Stars on the same team and one of them decides to leave, it’s automatically, ‘They didn’t get along.’ We had back-to-back 50-win seasons. We both made the All-Star team. We played through him and after that it was me and that was that. We played well together. We never had an issue."

Neil Olshey also decided to rebuild the Blazers with a number of younger players to support Lillard, which he ran by Lillard beforehand.

"This was not done without Dame’s participation," Olshey said. "If he was at all reticent, if he said it would be great if you could get me another vet to help out, we would have gone out and found a couple of other guys to take the pressure off of him. He’s not that kind of kid. He embraces it. He thrives on it."

CJ McCollum will be the Portland Trail Blazers' backup point guard behind Damian Lillard.

"Essentially, the plan is, when Dame (Lillard) is out, CJ will be the point guard,'' Terry Stotts said.

McCollum played point guard for the first time in the NBA on Thursday in the Blazers' preseason game.

McCollum played some point guard in college and often had the ball in his hands pushing a fast break when playing shooting guard.

"I guess it's preseason so you have to find something to write about,  but I don't think its really a big deal,'' McCollum said. "It's still a basketball game.''

Stotts estimated that Lillard would average around 36 minutes a game this season, leaving 12 minutes a game for McCollum at point guard.