NBA Discussion

[Crazy8]

so basically i want loul deng to hog the ball

[Long]

Youth Team? Are we talking collegiate level here? I betting the USA didnt have their top prospects ie Emeka, Howard, Oden, Nelson, Chris Paul, Chris Taft blah blah blah.

In 1997 Australia beat the USA 81 to 63. USA team featured at the time (most of them made the NBA at one time or another):

Chad Austin
Corey Brewer
Brain Cardinal
Cory Carr
Mike Doleac
Evan Eschmeyer
Pat Garrity
Sam Jacobson
Mike Jones
Andre Miller
Andrea Patterson.

Australia recently won the U19's tournament, crushing the USA in the process, the U22s Tournament is soon to begin. USA selected:

Hassan Adams (Arizona / Los Angeles, Calif.)
Justin Gray (Wake Forest / Charlotte, N.C.)
Sean May (North Carolina / Bloomington, Ind.)
Adam Morrison (Gonzaga / Spokane, Wash.)
David Padgett (Louisville / Reno, Nev.)
Chris Paul (Wake Forest / Lewisville, N.C.)
Mustafa Shakur (Arizona / Philadelphia, Pa.)
Curtis Sumpter (Villanova / Brooklyn, N.Y.)
P.J. Tucker (Texas / Raleigh, N.C.)
Charlie Villanueva (Connecticut / Brooklyn, N.Y.)
Curtis Withers (Charlotte / Charlotte, N.C.)
Bracey Wright (Indiana / The Colony, Texas).

[spooks]

so basically i want loul deng to hog the ball

Deng will be much better off as a complimentary player, doesn't strike me as the primary scorer type. Bulls can only be bad for so long Having Hinrich/Gordon/Deng to build around only quickens their rebuilding. Who knows maybe Chandler or Curry will finally have a break out year this year as well.

[Long]

Spooks - Should go to the 'Debate Forum' and click on the 'Member of the Month' thread, I've given you a honourable mention there....

[WuTang_Heroes]

Only 5 people has joined the league so far ?

[bliss]

Sorry for chiming in late on the debate about USA Basketball slipping but I just had to throw my two cents in. The USA team in Athens was definitely a C Team of mostly freshman, sophmores, and Okafor who never even played in the NBA yet. The only relatively experienced guys they had were Duncan, Iverson and Marbury. Given that a team of rookies and second year players could get Bronze playing off raw talent alone with no teamwork and no practice says something about the skill level in the USA. Its obviously MUCH higher than the rest of the world. Again, in the 2002 World Championships, the USA fielded a weak C-level team and when they lose, everyone considers that the USA level of talent is decreasing? You have got to be kidding. In the 2003 qualifiers when the US actually had most of its stars on the team including McGrady, Duncan, O'Neal, Kidd, Iverson, Allen, Carter, they stomped all over everybody including Argentina.

Anyone who thinks a team of:
O'Neal
Garnett
Duncan
McGrady/Bryant
Kidd

wouldn't stop all over any team in the world is in serious denial. Bottom line: USA basketball isn't represented by the rookies and second years that played in Athens.

[spooks]

Only 5 people has joined the league so far ?

Yes that's kind of dissappointing. I'm planning to start a thread dedicated to it to maybe draw more attention. Since the talk of fantasy was buried away a couple pages back.

[Long]

Anyone who thinks a team of:
O'Neal
Garnett
Duncan
McGrady/Bryant
Kidd

wouldn't stop all over any team in the world is in serious denial. Bottom line: USA basketball isn't represented by the rookies and second years that played in Athens.

Excuse me, but I think I'll rain down on your parade here. Anyone who does not think the USA is in decline are kidding themselves.

1. It was not that long ago that college players could beat grown men in the international arena.

2. Wake up and smell the coffee, NBA pros are getting beat up and at times pretty badly these days.

3. Are we forgetting the "near" disaster at Sydney 2000?? I was there at EVERY single game and noticed bad signs.

Or are everyone forgetting the team off:

Shareef Abdul-Rahim
Ray Allen (sharp shooting SG - the best you'll find in the NBA)
Vin Baker (before his acohol problems, one of the best PF at that time)
Vince Carter (next MJ at that time)
Kevin Garnett (what do we have here? He's in your starting 5 isn't he?)
Tim Hardaway (a healthy one at last, and playing well that year)
Allan Houston (another deadly shooter - one of the best in the NBA)
Jason Kidd (Ooopss! Booo! Booo! He too is in your starting 5)
Antionio McDyess (the healthy one)
Alonzo Mourning (the healthy one)
Gary Payton (pre-LA/dodgy mail order shrinkable Glove)
Steve Smith

This team nearly lost to Lithuania in the Semis winning 85 to 83, it would have been different had that last gasped 3 pointer went in... That team generally struggled that year. Missing a couple of players, but you don't call this team a USA C team do you?? It would come close to being the A team, or at least the A- team...

Qualifers are a disgrace, Its a laugh to even mention it. Teams like Spain, Italy, Lithunia, Serbia, and Co aren't even there.

[Long]

Also I am dreaming or something???

But didn't the 2003 Qaulifier team of:

Ray Allen
Mike Bibby
Elton Brand
Vice Carter
Nick Collinson
Tim Duncan
Allen Iverson
Richard Jefferson
Jason Kidd
Kenyon Martin
Tracy McGrady
Jermaine O'Neal

Only managed to beat Argentina 87 to 80??? Is this what you call a trashing???
You don't see the 1992 team let other teams get that close.

True they thumped the Argies 106 to 73, in the Final game... But they were kicking back and chilling by then... If I remember they didn't play that long haired lout and some other guy, and played their 12th, 11th, and 10th men a lot of minutes knowing they had already qaulified and didn't need to waste thier energy...

[Long]

Finally, since you got me started, it's not as if the USA a feilding a team with say Tyrone Lue's and Darrell Armstrong's and calling John Salley and Rick Mahorn out of retirement....

The majority of the guys getting beaten up a team leaders, ie top players in thier individual teams... They had 2 NBA MVPS in that Athens team. And if you listen to all that crap, a man by the name of LeBron James, who turned into an international laughing stock with all his airballs. Do you want me to post you a pic of Shane Heal grinning at him??

Do you not consider it a TOTAL and ABSOLUTE DISGRACE that these guys got beaten so badly??

THe C TEAM as you so called it still consists of ALL-STAR calibre players from the NBA. Something must be seriously wrong if they can't win what once college players could, under the same system...

[spooks]

I dont have much to add, just thought I'd add a couple random thoughts.

I wouldn't worry about Lebron's jumper too much. No player has ever had a reliable jumper coming straight from HS (maybe Rashard Lewis). It should get better the more time he puts into it. His shooting form isn't textbook but there are players that make awkward forms work for them.

They won with college kids all the way back during the 1988 Seoul games. Many European nations did not have good basketball programs back then. The game has grown so much globally. Int'l competition has gotten more competitive simply because basketball is now quite popular worldwide.

Those European teams have been together for a long time, they also get ample time to practice and play together. I wouldn't mind seeing the US team in 2008 get alot more practice and game time together.

[Long]

Yes that's kind of dissappointing. I'm planning to start a thread dedicated to it to maybe draw more attention. Since the talk of fantasy was buried away a couple pages back.

I'll join... THough I hope there's an automatic drafting choice, as I won't be online during the draft... Dam it if I missed drafting Shaq through the rounds... First time I would have played this kinda stuff...

So brings the league to 6...

[bliss]

Finally, since you got me started, it's not as if the USA a feilding a team with say Tyrone Lue's and Darrell Armstrong's and calling John Salley and Rick Mahorn out of retirement....

The majority of the guys getting beaten up a team leaders, ie top players in thier individual teams... They had 2 NBA MVPS in that Athens team. And if you listen to all that crap, a man by the name of LeBron James, who turned into an international laughing stock with all his airballs. Do you want me to post you a pic of Shane Heal grinning at him??

Do you not consider it a TOTAL and ABSOLUTE DISGRACE that these guys got beaten so badly??

THe C TEAM as you so called it still consists of ALL-STAR calibre players from the NBA. Something must be seriously wrong if they can't win what once college players could, under the same system...

Hmm I do agree with a lot of your points. My main point was just that the team in Athens losing shouldn't be an indication that USA basketball is failing, they didn't field their best possible team. For example, if you just subtract Ginobli from Argentina, it would totally change their results.

[spooks]

Another Insider on the 3 teams that made blockbuster moves.

==========================
Blockbuster Moves Look Great...On Paper
By Chad Ford
NBA Insider

With huge offseason moves come great expectations.

The Lakers chose Kobe Bryant over the most dominant player in the league over the past decade, Shaquille O'Neal.

The Heat traded away three starters, including two young, up-and-coming stars who had led them to an improbable playoff berth, in return for Shaq. But can one player, no matter how great he is, really make up for the loss of three?

The Mavericks overhauled their roster in yet another effort to turn a good playoff team into a championship contender. Will perennial losers Erick Dampier and Jason Terry really be the guys that lead Dallas to a title?

The Rockets, just one year into the Jeff Van Gundy experiment, jettisoned their backcourt when superstar Tracy McGrady became available on the trade market. The tandem of Yao Ming and T-Mac looks great on paper, but can the chemistry develop quickly enough to bridge that huge East-West divide?

Marc Stein broke down the pressures the Lakers are going to feel this season. Here's Insider's season preview of three other teams that will be under the gun to make good on their dramatic offseason makeovers.

MIAMI HEAT
Starting Five: Dwyane Wade, Eddie Jones, Rasual Butler, Udonis Haslem, Shaquille O'Neal.
Key Subs: Damon Jones, Michael Doleac, Wesley Person, Christian Laettner.
Outlook: Shaq changes everything. Forget for a second about who the Heat had to give up to get him. Lamar Odom, Caron Butler and Brian Grant are all nice players. Together they have zero All-Star selections, zero NBA titles and just one postseason appearance. Shaq? Three NBA titles and an MVP award.

The Lakers added three starters while subtracting one and immediately dropped from championship contenders to playoff bubble boys.

But here's what's interesting. No one, other than the people who sell season tickets, are calling the Shaq trade a slam dunk in Miami, either. Whenever you subtract three starters and replace him with one, you've got some major holes to fill.

The Heat haven't had the money to do it, putting as much or more weight on Shaq's shoulders as Kobe is carrying in Los Angeles. Shaq appears ready for the challenge. He's in the best shape of his career and looks as sharp in the preseason as we've seen him in quite a while.

Can the rest of his supporting cast do enough to make it work it?

Second-year guard Dwyane Wade comes into the season with enormous expectations. Wade was brilliant in the playoffs, averaging 21 ppg, 5.7 apg and 4 rpg on 49 percent shooting against Indiana. But he did it by relentlessly attacking the basket. With Shaq in the paint, Wade is going to have to work on that jumper. He didn't make one in the Indiana series. That's going to be a major adjustment.

The rest of the Heat's supporting cast is average, at best. Eddie Jones should flourish with Shaq back. Jones recorded the best shooting year of his career in L.A. with Shaq and should get plenty of good looks. The rest of the team is a question mark. Rasual Butler and Udonis Haslem will start at the three and the four, respectively. They've started a combined 23 games in their careers. Both will be asked to play defense and stay out of Shaq and Wade's way.

The bench has a few bright spots. Damon Jones has looked solid as Wade's backup. Head coach Stan Van Gundy is hoping to use a lot of sets that have Jones at the point, Wade at the two and Eddie Jones playing the three this year. Shaq is calling Michael Doleac the first real backup center he's ever played with (no offense, Elden Campbell). Wesley Person and Christian Laettner have enough experience to help, if their bodies hold up.

While team president Pat Riley says this season can be a success even if the Heat don't win the title, let's get real. Shaq is 32 years old. His body seems to break down a little more every year. The Heat's window to get this done is probably three years at the max. After that, Riley will be looking longingly out his office window at American Airlines arena wondering what Odom and Butler are doing these days.

The Heat mortgaged their future for one reason – to bring home a championship now. If it works, no one will remember the sacrifices the team made to make it happen. If Shaq can't deliver the goods, on the other hand, the Heat could be headed for the ice age.

DALLAS MAVERICKS
Starting Five: Jason Terry, Marquis Daniels, Michael Finley,Dirk Nowitzki, Erick Dampier.
Key Subs: Jerry Stackhouse, Josh Howard, Devin Harris, Calvin Booth.
Outlook: Mark Cuban made two bold predictions this summer. First, he claimed his new reality series, The Benefactor, would be a big hit. Second, he claimed the new version of the Mavericks he pieced together is the "best team we've ever had."

The first prediction was completely off the mark. The Benefactor stunk and ended up being canceled prematurely by ABC.

Let's hope his fortune-telling skills are a little better when it comes to basketball. Cuban likes to gamble, and this summer was no different. He let the heart and soul of the Mavericks, Steve Nash, walk away.

He traded away the reigning Sixth Man of the Year, Antawn Jamison, for a guy, Jerry Stackhouse, that has been labeled a cancer on the last two teams he's played for and a rookie point guard (Devin Harris) with big upside, but without the physical strength to contribute right away.

He swapped Antoine Walker for a point guard that most league coaches believe is much closer to a shooting guard than a playmaker. Then Cuban capped his offseason by paying more than $70 million to Erick Dampier – an inconsistent, injury-prone center coming off a stellar 2003-04 campaign.

On paper, Cuban's prediction doesn't seem farfetched. The Mavericks got much better defensively – their Achilles' heel in the playoffs the past two years. Terry is a much better defender than Nash at the point; Stackhouse can be a physical perimeter defender when he wants to be; and Dampier gives the Mavs a legitimate bruiser – a dominant rebounder and shotblocker – in the paint.

The Mavs added all of that without sacrificing offensive firepower. Terry and Stackhouse can score at will. Harris has the potential to be a big-time playmaker and also can fill it up when called upon. Dampier isn't a dominant scorer in the paint, but he's a bigger threat offensively than anyone the Mavs have put in that position the past decade.

Scoring and defense. Athleticism and basketball savvy. Youth and experience. So why are some NBA folks predicting a Benefactor-esque apocalypse for the Mavericks this season?

One rival GM breaks it down:

"The team is talented and deep. They'll be able to score the same clip that they did last year, and they are much better equipped to defend. But two things really bother me about this team. First, I think they are going to miss Nash more than (they) think. He was a perfect fit in Nellie's offense. I don't think Terry pushes it or creates as many opportunities for his teammates as Nash did.

"Second, when you're adding missing pieces to the puzzle, you really want to add veteran guys who know what it takes to win. They added three guys who've been stuck on losing teams for most, if not all, of their careers. Guys like Terry, Dampier and even Stack don't have a clue what it takes to win. Just because all of the guys on your team can fill up a stat sheet doesn't necessarily translate into wins in the NBA."

So far the reviews out of the preseason have been justifiably mixed. It's going to take a team like this a while to jell together. Will Terry pass the ball? Will Damp bog down their uptempo game? Will Jerry blow his stack coming off the bench?

When I talked to Dirk Nowitzki last week on the road in Orlando, he didn't sound like a man confident that this version of the Mavs was the best ever.

"We still have a long way to go to be a good team," Nowitzki told Insider just hours before the winless Magic ran them out of the gym. "We miss him [Nash] a lot. To me he was always our motor. He got us going every night. I thought he was a top-three or four point guard in the league. The two guards we got are solid. They have to get used to Nellie. It takes a while to get used to, I hope."

If Cuban's right, the Mavericks couldn't have picked a better time to make their move. The top of the Western Conference isn't a strong as it used to be. The Spurs, Timberwolves and Kings are still good, but they're all beatable.

If he's wrong and the Mavs actually sink deeper into the Western Conference quicksand, it's probably time to cancel this version of the Mavericks and start from scratch again next season.

HOUSTON ROCKETS
Starting Five: Charlie Ward, Tracy McGrady, Jim Jackson, Juwan Howard, Yao Ming.
Key Subs: Maurice Taylor, Bob Sura, Dikembe Mutombo, Tyronn Lue.
Outlook: With Yao and McGrady, the Rockets now own, on paper, the best one-two punch in the NBA. But before you pencil them into the Finals, Magic GM John Weisbrod suggests you understand why he traded away McGrady in the first place.

"He's arguably the most talented player in the game right now," Weisbrod told Insider last week. "If he ever gets his work ethic and mental game up to his physical skills, the sky is the limit. So you don't just give guys like that away without thinking about it.

"But, I wanted people who respect the organization and the game. You accomplish that when you get guys who care about winning and the team more than themselves or their numbers. We tried to build this team with guys that care about winning,"

Weisbrod wasn't just implying that McGrady cared more about himself than winning. He said a few minutes later: "One of the things we had last year and one of the reasons we lost so often was because people left the building feeling fine with themselves. Tracy would say, you know, 'I had my 35, what else did you want me to do?' The other guys would say, 'Hey, I'm just a role player, this is Tracy's team.' "

Those are harsh words for a player many believe might be the best small forward in the game. They're also strong enough that the folks in Houston might start sweating things a little bit.

McGrady's new head coach, Jeff Van Gundy, is a no-nonsense guy. He cracked down hard on Francis, a three-time all-star, last season, and Francis slipped into a funk, producing the worst stats of his career.

Francis' take on the whole ordeal?

"It was a tough, tough year," Francis said. "It's tough when a coach asks you not to use your strengths to help your team win. … I'm not saying Jeff's offense didn't feature me, but it didn't feature me enough."

Put together Weisbrod's scouting report on McGrady with Francis' take on Van Gundy, and it's not a stretch to wonder how well the two are going to get along this season.

For better or worse, the Rockets are going to be about Yao. T-Mac will be a sidekick.

Van Gundy is still going to want the offense to run through Yao, taking away some of the offensive freedom McGrady enjoyed in Orlando. He's also going to ask McGrady to give the team a consistent defensive effort every night, something neither Doc Rivers nor Johnny Davis seemed able to get out of him.

"What Tracy has to do, and do it more consistently, is play with the intensity of Kobe," said Rivers, who coached McGrady in Orlando for three seasons. "Just the intensity question all the time, defensively and offensively. He has to do it right all the time."

If T-Mac responds to Van Gundy's tough tactics with a career year on both ends of the floor, the Rockets will be the sleeper in the West.

"I think obviously coming off the year that Tracy had last year … I think this is the perfect time to coach Tracy," Rivers said.

If McGrady doesn't respond, he and the Rockets could be in for a high-profile divorce before the honeymoon even ends.

Chad Ford covers the NBA for ESPN Insider.

[spooks]

Posted the one on the Eastern conference a while back, here's the Western conference. Season starts in 2 days, can't wait.

==============

The West fell back to Earth this summer. Will it pick itself up? For the first time this millennium, everyone is penciling in an Eastern Conference team – Pistons or Pacers – to win it all.

Out West, one dynasty has crumbled (Lakers). A couple of more standards are on shaky ground, and a number of young upstarts are looking to end a stranglehold on the top four spots in the conference.

Parity is the name of the game out West. Top to bottom, it's tough to remember a time when the conference has been stronger. Every team in the West – even the Warriors, Clippers and Sonics – would be in the hunt for the playoffs in the East this season were they to switch conferences.

Picking the top eight playoff seeds is still impossible at this early juncture.

The Spurs and Timberwolves clearly have the best shot. But as many as 12 teams probably deserve a playoff seed this year.

NBA training camps opened Monday. Over the course of the next few weeks, some of our assumptions here will have to be changed, but if you want a sneak peak into who, on paper at least, looks good and who doesn't going into camp, Insider provides a primer.

Also see: Eastern Conference pre-season preview

THE CONTENDERS


Key Additions: Brent Barry, Beno Udrih
Key Subtractions: Hedo Turkoglu, Kevin Willis
The Skinny: For much of last season the Spurs looked like the team to beat in the West. But a miracle shot by Derek Fisher in the second round of the playoffs tore out their heart, and the team was left to regroup this summer.

The changes were subtle but important.

With Shaq out of the West picture, the Spurs finally were able to concentrate on their other big need, a reliable combo guard. Gone is Turkoglu, a promising but ultimately frustrating player who lacked the consistency that coach Gregg Popovich cherishes.

In is Barry, a guy tailor made for San Antonio. He can play two positions, has shot the ball about as well as any guard over the past two seasons and plays with a chip on his shoulder. Factor in the continued improvement of the Spurs' young backcourt – Tony Parker and
Manu Ginobili – and the Spurs should ride atop the West this season.


Key Additions: Erick Dampier, Jason Terry, Devin Harris
Key Subtractions: Steve Nash, Antawn Jamison, Antoine Walker
The Skinny: My colleague Marc Stein stunned me Monday when he had Dallas ranked behind six Western Conference teams in his initial power rankings, including the Jazz and the Nuggets.

I agree with him that unnecessarily losing Nash (what's another $20 million to Mark Cuban, guy who throws $3 million in cash into every trade transaction?) was a pretty big blow ... but the additions to the roster might arguably make this version of the Mavs the toughest Cuban has ever bankrolled.

Dampier is the main attraction. He's a tough, physical center who, when healthy and motivated (two legitimate question marks after signing a huge $70 million contract this summer) ranks behind on Shaq and Yao Ming among big men in the league. That's a huge addition to a team that has struggled to put a legit center on the floor for decades.

Second, Nash's replacements, Terry and Harris, aren't chopped liver. Terry isn't nearly the playmaker Nash is, but he's a better defender and provides some of the energy that made Nick Van Exel so important in Dallas two years ago.

Harris, many scouts believe, will be a star once he gets some games under his belt. Factor in the improving games of second-year players Josh Howard and Marquis Daniels, and the Mavs have a little bit of everything.

Scoring and defense. Athleticism and basketball savvy. Youth and experience. If anyone can bring these guys together, Nellie can.

The question marks are there. Will Terry pass the ball? Will Damp lie down? How much juice does Michael Finley have left? When you factor in that Stein is back living in Dallas, maybe he knows something we don't. But until he produces a smoking gun or two, I think this is Dallas' best shot ever to make it to the Finals.


Key Additions: Eddie Griffin
Key Subtractions:None
The Skinny: If it ain't broke ... The Wolves produced the best record in the West last season and challenged the Lakers in the conference finals. With Shaq out of the way, GM Kevin McHale decided the best course of action was to stay the course.

While other teams in the West lost talent or radically shuffled the deck, the Wolves hope they'll come out on top now that they no longer have to guard Shaq. They might be on to something. The longer a team plays together, the more the chemistry will grow.

The only real shuffling McHale attempted this summer was trying to deal Wally Szczerbiak. The Wolves were close to sending him to Portland for Shareef Abdur-Rahim, but the deal fell through when Zach Randolph found himself in legal trouble.

If McHale can get the Blazers back to the table, that deal is no brainer for both teams. Adding 'Reef to the mix will let Flip Saunders do something he's always wanted to do – put Kevin Garnett at center. With Shaq gone, Garnett at the five would be a matchup problem for every team in the West.


Key Additions: Greg Ostertag, Kevin Martin, Courtney Alexander
Key Subtractions: Vlade Divac, Anthony Peeler, Gerald Wallace
The Skinny: Has the window closed? Shaq finally is out of the Pacific Division, but things haven't looked this sketchy in Sacramento in a while.

Divac is gone, Peja Stojakovic requested a trade this summer, and the team's once magnificent chemistry seems shot. Chris Webber says he'll take over as the team leader this year, but no one seems convinced. The Kings tried, unsuccessfully, to move him all summer. Now they have to deal with what they have.

The combo of Webber, Stojakovic, Mike Bibby and Brad Miller is potent. But the Kings' once-heralded depth is gone.

With the exception of Bobby Jackson and possibly Ostertag, who else on the Kings' bench inspires any real confidence?

Still, the Kings have enough juice to contend again. Do they have enough left to get them over the top? My heart says yes; my head says no.

ON THE RISE


Key Additions: Carlos Boozer, Mehmet Okur,
Kirk Snyder, Kris Humphries
Key Subtractions: Greg Ostertag, Tom Gugliotta, Maurice Williams
The Skinny: After being so wrong on the Jazz last season, it's tough to imagine why anyone would listen to what anyone else has to say about the Jazz this season.

What we've learned for the 10th time is that any Jerry Sloan-coached team is going to challenge any team it plays.

The Jazz won roughly half their games last year without a legit center or power forward.

This summer, they added both. Boozer was one of the top rebounders in the league last year and fits Sloan's blue-collar work ethic to a T.

Okur was overshadowed by Rasheed Wallace late in the Pistons' title run, but make no mistake, Pistons president Joe Dumars desperately wanted to keep Okur. His ability to bang in the paint – he's one of the few Euros who is truly tough – and step out and hit the 3 opens up a world of options for the Jazz.

Factor in Carlos Arroyo's coming out party in the Olympics, Andrei Kirilenko's emergence as an All-Star, Matt Harpring's return from injury and a solid rookie duo of Snyder and Humphries, and the Jazz may be readying for a different Cinderella story this season.

Last year we were all stunned they were decent. This year, should we be stunned if they work their way into the Western Conference Finals? With this crew, and Sloan at the helm, anything is possible.


Key Additions: Kenyon Martin, Greg Buckner
Key Subtractions: Michael Doleac, Ryan Bowen
The Skinny: Nuggets GM Kiki Vandeweghe might be the most underrated executive in the NBA.

In the span of three years he has rebuilt the Nuggets from one of the league's dingiest franchises into a team many believe will make some serious noise in the playoffs this season.

Getting a potential star like Carmelo Anthony in the draft always helps the project, but Vandeweghe also has been savvy on who he's picked up.

Two summers ago it was Marcus Camby and Nene. Last year it was point guard Andre Miller. This year, he beefed up his front line even more by adding Martin.

What he has now is arguably one of the most-talented front lines in the league, period. There isn't a coach in the NBA who doesn't want that.

Speaking of the coach, Jeff Bzdelik didn't get that extension he wanted and goes into the season working for a new contract. That could be a positive. The Nuggets are young, hungry and deep.

If Rodney White, whom the team will re-sign today, ever develops, they'll boast one of the best starting fives in the league. Not bad for a three-year total reconstruction. Last year Insider was one of the first to predict playoffs for Kiki's crew. This year, look them to take the next step and get out of the first round.


Key Additions: Tracy McGrady, Juwan Howard, Bob Sura, Dikembe Mutombo
Key Subtractions: Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley, Kelvin Cato, Eric Piatkowski
The Skinny: Speaking of clever GMs, Rockets head man Carroll Dawson might have pulled off the deal of the year this summer. Sometimes it pays to be in the right place at the right time.

In February, the Rockets took their first stab at trying to trade disgruntled point guard Steve Francis and found his value around the league was at an all-time low. By summer, it reached it's all-time high.

With T-Mac threatening to bolt the Magic, new GM John Weisbrod decided to cut bait, and the Rockets greeted him with open arms. Getting T-Mac for Francis (and Howard for Cato) has transformed this team from good to potentially great.

With Yao Ming and T-Mac, the Rockets now own the best one-two punch in the NBA. But before you pencil them into the Finals, you better take a look at the bench. Like all teams that try to bankroll two superstars, it's a little thin.

Point guard and small forward are the biggest issues. A combo of Charlie Ward, Tyronn Lue and Sura (who's injured) will have to run the team by committee.

Small forward will be manned by the aging Jim Jackson and the unproven Bostjan Nachbar and Ryan Bowen. And exactly how much juice does Mutombo have left? He currently is Yao's only backup.

The Rockets will be better this year, no question. But how good will be determined by no-names with less-than-impressive contracts. How ironic.


Key Additions: Steve Nash, Quentin Richardson, Jackson Vroman
Key Subtractions: Antonio McDyess
The Skinny: From 2002-03 to last season, the Suns turned from the hot, upcoming young team in the league into the worst team in the West.

Like its mythical namesake, will this franchise rise from the ashes and challenge for the playoffs?

The Suns believe so, in large part because of the addition of Nash, who has the maturity, work ethic and playmaking ability to elevate everyone's game.

Throw in Richardson, one of the hardest-working players in the league (a rep rarely bestowed on a former Clipper) and what the Suns hope they have done is transformed the culture of the team.

They still have a brilliant young core of Amare Stoudemire (who will be asked to play some center this year), Shawn Marion (who played better than most at the Olympics), Joe Johnson (who still can look like a superstar or a dud, depending on the day) and Leandro Barbosa (who was killing everyone, including Nash, in informal workouts leading up to camp.

If Nash can stay healthy, and he should with Barbosa able to spell him whenever he needs, and if Stoudemire, Marion and Johnson can continue to improve, the Suns could easily average 100-plus points a night.

Now, before we get carried away, there's a caveat – Will they be able to defend anyone?

Nash, Q, Johnson and Marion aren't known for their defensive prowess. Neither are rotation players like Zarko Carbarkapa, Casey Jacobsen and Maciej Lampe.

Expect a lot of 120-118 games this season. The Mavs and Kings have proven that type of basketball is fun. But what do they have to show for it?

SLIPPING?


Key Additions: Lamar Odom, Brian Grant, Caron Butler, Vlade Divac
Key Subtractions: Shaquille O'Neal, Gary Payton, Derek Fisher, Rick Fox
The Skinny: The Lakers might very well make the playoffs this year. They might even win a series or two. But Kobe Bryant's been drinking too much of his own Kool-Aid if he still believes he was the most important cog in the three NBA titles won on his watch.

It might be your team, Kobe, but that buys you nothing in the league. Without Shaq, the Lakers are mortal. Look for every team in the league to go out and try to make them bleed.

Without the aura of invincibility, the Lakers look rather pedestrian.

They still have Kobe, the league's best player not named Shaq. Odom might be the league's most versatile player. If he can stay focused, he'll be a huge asset. Everything and everyone else looks ordinary.

Atkins might have been the only starting point guard in the league last season who was a downgrade from Derek Fisher. Butler is coming off a disastrous sophomore season. Divac is 36 years old and already has gone down with an injury. Grant is a warrior, but his best days are clearly behind him.

Kareem Rush, Devean George, Chris Mihm and Luke Walton are role players, nothing more.

Their second-biggest asset to Kobe may be head coach Rudy Tomjanovich. He'll do his best to mold this squad into a team, if Kobe will let him. But for better or for worse, Kobe's right – it's his team.

If he lets his teammates shine, the Lakers have a chance to be good.

If he spends the year trying to prove he's the greatest, he'll be sitting at home in April watching Shaq Diesel roll into the playoffs.


Key Additions: Brian Cardinal, Antonio Burks, Andre Emmett
Key Subtractions:None
The Skinny: The Grizzlies were the Pistons-lite last year.

This was a team – with a capital 'T' – with an unbelievable coach, a brilliant GM and enough depth and role players to outplay any team in the league on any given night

The Grizzlies return this summer fully stocked with the addition of Cardinal, a player who epitomizes everything that was right about the Grizz last season.

So why are they here? Like President Bush, Jerry West was working hard this summer. He worked evenings, ordered in, came in on Saturdays, all with an eye toward packaging several of his assets to bring in one star, preferably a center, who could put the Grizzlies over the top.

The problem is, the Grizzlies didn't get it done.

While several teams that were behind them last season made major upgrades, the Grizzlies stood still. You can't blame West, who has found his reputation is so stellar that no one will trade with him anymore.

But the cold reality is that the Grizzlies will struggle to repeat what they did last season.

From a depth perspective, there isn't a team in the league that's deeper.

Pau Gasol, their closest thing to a go-to guy, might have been the best player in the world this summer.

Players like James Posey, Mike Miller, Stromile Swift, Bonzi Wells and
Jason Williams are all more than solid.

Together, with Hubie at the helm, they're still capable of making the playoffs and giving anyone a scare. But West was looking to take the next big step this summer. It didn't happen.


Key Additions: Nick Van Exel, Sebastian Telfair, Joel Przybilla
Key Subtractions: Dale Davis, Dan Dickau
The Skinny: John Nash heads into his second year as GM of the Blazers in ongoing effort to change the image of the franchise.

Instead of being chief executive, he's been head firefighter all summer.

Zach Randolph was in legal trouble. Shareef Abdur-Rahim demanded a trade. Darius Miles went through a long, contentious contract negotiation. And Ruben Patterson opened up media day Monday telling anyone who will listen that he wants out of Portland ASAP.

Factor in Nash's only two off-season pickups – the ever-volatile Van Exel and a playground legend, under-sized high school point guard (Telfair) – and you can forgive us if optimism isn't the prevailing mood going into camp.

The Blazers finished last season strong, but will the momentum carry over into the new season? Coach Mo Cheeks has his hands full.

He, too, wanted Blazers management to trade Abdur-Rahim, preferably for
Wally Szczerbiak, a shooter who would fill a gaping hole for them at the two.

The team balked, and now Cheeks must figure out how to put together minutes for Randolph, Abdur-Rahim (who is adamant that he doesn't want to play small forward) and Miles.

He also has to find a way to keep both Van Exel and Damon Stoudamire happy and keep Theo Ratliff healthy, now that his backup, Davis, is playing in Oakland.

If the Blazers can stay healthy, find some chemistry and stay out of jail, they, too, look like they have enough talent to be playoff contenders. But in the Wild, Wild West that's a lot ifs. Probably too many.


Key Additions:Rodney Rogers, Chris Andersen, J.R. Smith
Key Subtractions: Robert Traylor, Stacey Augmon, Steve Smith
The Skinny: Just when you thought things couldn't get worse for the Hornets, someone in New Orleans looked up and realized the team was forcibly relocated to the Western Conference.

The good news is that despite all the setbacks, the Hornets aren't a bad team.

Their top draft pick, J.R. Smith, has the athletic ability to be a star in the league.

Rogers and Anderson provide some much needed depth, and the team got a nice upgrade at coach in Byron Scott.

In the East, the Hornets would have come into the season ranked as the fourth best team. In the West, they're much closer to 12th.

Could this be the death knell that finally forces George Shinn to sell and the NBA to relocate the team to a city that has a shot at supporting it?

Attendance is at the bottom of the league and will only get worse if things go poorly this season.

Their biggest true star, Baron Davis, is demanding a trade. Their other star, Jamal Mashburn, is out for the season and might be forced to retire. Their best young player, Jamaal Magloire, has openly pined for a trade to the Raptors.

It's ugly, folks.

LOTTERY BOUND


Key Additions: Derek Fisher, Dale Davis, Eduardo Najera, Andris Biedrins
Key Subtractions: Erick Dampier, Nick Van Exel, Brian Cardinal,
The Skinny: GM Chris Mullin put his stamp on this team early this summer.

He fired the most successful Warriors coach in the past decade, Eric Musselman, and replaced him with a first-time NBA head coach, Stanford's Mike Montgomery. Then he started to remake the roster.

After criticizing Musselman for playing veterans like Cardinal, Calbert Cheaney and Cliff Robinson at the expense of his young players, Mullin went out and loaded up the team with even more veterans.

Mullin paid through the nose to keep Adonal Foyle and bring in Fisher. He swapped his one star acquisition last summer, Van Exel, for Davis, an aging, albeit hard-working center.

Then he sent Dampier, the third-best center in the league last year, to Dallas for cap relief and Najera.

Clearly, Mullin is trying to bring in hard-working veterans who play the right way in an effort to mentor young players like Jason Richardson, Mike Dunleavy, Speedy Claxton, Troy Murphy, Mickael Pietrus and Biedrins.

Down the road, it might work. All five young players have promise if they can start to learn what it takes to win. This year? It isn't going to be pretty.

Hard work and hustle helped the Pistons win a championship and the Jazz and Grizzlies surprise a lot of teams last year. But those teams also were all guided by Hall of Fame NBA coaches and had some star quality talent on their roster.

The Warriors have neither, which should make for a long season. Playing the right way is great. But it might be several seasons before we see the results.


Key Additions: Kerry Kittles, Shaun Livingston
Key Subtractions: Quentin Richardson, Predrag Drobjnak, Melvin Ely
The Skinny: I feel for the Clippers. They were five minutes away this summer from being a contender.

If Kobe Bryant had said yes to the Clippers' aggressive offer (something I'm told Kobe himself assured the Clips he was going to do, before Jerry West, of all people, intervened at the last second), I would've been hard pressed to find a team in the West that had a better core than the Clips with Kobe, Elton Brand and Corey Maggette.

Alas, like everything else in Clipperworld, it wasn't in the cards. Instead of Kobe, the Clippers landed Kittles. The results should be underwhelming.

While Brand and Maggette continue to improve and the team might have landed the best player in the draft this summer in Livingston, where will it get them?

Livingston, who was last seen at his high school prom, isn't ready yet. Kittles is probably a downgrade from Richardson at the two-guard. Center Chris Kaman is at least one more year away and no longer has much backup. Depth, as always, is a major issue.

You can't fault the Donald this time. Nor can you blame coach Mike Dunleavy who is working hard to turn the Clipper ship around. Maybe they're just cursed ...


Key Additions: Danny Fortson, Ibrahim Kutaly, Robert Swift
Key Subtractions: Brent Barry, Calvin Booth
The Skinny: If the Sonics have a plan for the future, it's time for them to take it out of the vault and clue some of us in.

Last year at training camp I sat down with GM Rick Sund and president Wally Walker and found myself agreeing with what they were proposing.

The team had a lot of young players. They wanted to give them the opportunity to play, see who fit into the system, and them make more informed decisions about trades and free agency moves in the summer of '04, when they had a better handle on the team.

Last season went as planned. The young players played, lost a lot of games and, by the end of the season, it looked like the Sonics were in for some drastic changes.

Then they did something stunning – they did virtually nothing at all.

While the rest of the teams in the conference aggressively tried to upgrade, the Sonics drafted a high school center who is years away from contributing, traded for a disgruntled undersized power forward (Fortson) who will cause more problems than he'll solve if Nick Collison develops, and signed an aging international sharpshooter (Kutaly) who duplicates what several other players on the roster already do.

They also let one of their best players, Barry, leave via free agency and have been unable to work out a contract extension with a disgruntled Ray Allen.

How long can the Sonics remain in limbo? It's causing visible frays throughout the organization.

Rumors that owner Howard Schultz wants out have been shot down, but he appears to be more down on the team than we can ever remember.

Coach Nate McMillan clearly doesn't believe in some of the players he has to coach.

Allen is about three weeks away from demanding a trade. Vladimir Radmanovic and Ronald "Flip" Murray are stuck in pretty serious logjams and struggle when forced to play out of position and want out.

Put all this together and what do you have? The one team in the West with no shot at making the playoffs this year.

[WuTang_Heroes]

Problem for the wolves ?


Sprewell wants trade



Swingman says Wolves are dragging feet on a new deal

Latrell Sprewell thinks he will not receive a contract extension before Wednesday's season opener against the New York Knicks, so the swingman wants a trade.

Sprewell, who is in the last year of his contract, added fuel to the fire Sunday when he said the contract the Wolves have offered him is "insulting."

"I pretty much told them I don't want what they're talking about," he said. "So if we can't work it out, work something out with somebody else."

The Wolves are believed to be offering Sprewell, 34, a three-year, $27 million extension, which likely is substantially more than what he would receive if he becomes a free agent at the end of the season. Some say Sprewell probably would be offered a team's midlevel exception, which is about $5.1 million a season, or slightly more than that if he becomes a free agent.

Sprewell doesn't believe the Wolves are offering enough for his value to the team. He told the Pioneer Press and a reporter from New York on Oct. 21 he wants a deal completed by Wednesday Sprewell never has negotiated during the season, and he won't continue talking once the season starts.

"I'm not trying to stay the year here, I will say that," he said. "If they don't want to sign me, I want to go somewhere else."

Coach Flip Saunders and owner Glen Taylor declined to comment. Vice president of operations Kevin McHale was unavailable for comment Sunday.

The Wolves have the final say in trading Sprewell, but that won't stop him from trying.

"I don't know, whatever I can," he said. "If they don't want to pay me, why would I want to stay here and risk injury and sit there and be with nothing, no contract? If something happens to me, who is going to look out for Spree then? Nobody."

A possible solution for Sprewell would be to play out his contract, help the Wolves in their quest for an NBA title, then leave as a free agent. He said he won't re-sign if he becomes a free agent.

"Why would I want to help them win a title?" he said. "They're not doing anything for me. I've got a lot at risk here. I've got my family to feed. Anything can happen; it's a long season. You never know."

Sprewell's $14.6 million salary this season is tied with eight other players for the ninth highest in the league. To put that into context, Sprewell's salary is more than double that of Indiana's Ron Artest and Detroit's Richard Hamilton, players who are more than five years younger and considered better than Sprewell.

Sprewell seems most upset about the timing. He thought something would be done more than three months ago. Sprewell had the option to walk away from his contact at the end of last season, but he says the Wolves gave him the impression he would have a new deal by the end of July. However, talks quickly ceased, leaving Sprewell wondering how important he is to the team.

"It's not tough; it's disappointing," he said. "You would think after what we were able to accomplish last year, they would be at least offering something decent."

Sprewell, who has an injured right ankle, went through a contact practice Sunday for the first time in a couple of weeks, but he is not sure if he will play Wednesday.

"It's not 100 percent. I'm able to run, but I'm still taking my time," he said. "I can play this way, but I'll see how I feel. I'll decide after Tuesday."

When he does take the court, Sprewell said he will play the way he always does, which is hard and with a lot of passion.

"I coach my guys when they step on the floor. My guys step on the floor, and they give me 100 percent and that's all I ask," Saunders said.

Sunday's was the latest episode in which Sprewell voiced animosity toward the front office. Besides setting a deadline for when he wanted an extension, Sprewell told the Pioneer Press on Friday that he was proving a point on how serious he is about getting a deal done when he skipped the team's luncheon Thursday at Target Center.

Wolves officials can try to disguise things all they want by saying the situation is not going to distract them from what they are trying to accomplish on the court, but with the season two days away, it looks as if the turmoil will carry into the season. Sam Cassell also is seeking an extension.

Nothing has been promised to Cassell, who has two years left on his deal, but all indications pointed to the Wolves taking care of Sprewell and then moving on to Cassell.

"I want what I deserve," Cassell said Friday. "Nothing more, nothing less. Me and Spree aren't valuable enough? Kevin is the man; me and Spree are his sidekicks. You pay this guy and that guy, and we're supposed to be happy about everything? It doesn't work like that."

[spooks]

TMac signed an extension with the Rockets. Article also says they plan to work on Yao's new deal as soon as allowable. Details on NBA.com

Soon as they get a couple more solid role players they'll be real contenders.

[HongKongHero]

games tonite.

Pistons kill the Rockets horrible shooting by Tmac.
Sac over Mavs Brad Miller with a triple double or very close to.
lakers over nuggets Carmelo and Kobe with 35+

[TrieuTuLong]

I don't care what other people say, but I think Yao MIng is overrated after I watched the game yesterday.

[spooks]

I don't care what other people say, but I think Yao MIng is overrated after I watched the game yesterday.

Your not the only one. He's a solid player but if he wasn't asian no body would be talking about him.