http://www.nba.com/features/rank_030724.html 1.L.A Lakers-KEY ADDS: Karl Malone, Gary Payton The Kobe Bryant situation and overall team chemistry will be question marks for this imposing collection of talent, but on paper, this team is in a class of its own. 2.San Antonio Spurs-KEY ADDS: Ron Mercer, Rasho Nesterovic, Hedo Turkoglu The champs have strengthened their core and were able to replace the retiring David Robinson with Nesterovic, but they didn't land any of the big-name free agents they'd hoped for. 3.Sacramento Kings-KEY ADDS: Brad Miller The Kings had been quiet in the belief that last season's squad could contend, but they couldn't pass up the chance to upgrade their front line, acquiring Miller for Scot Pollard. 4.Minnesota Timberwolves-KEY ADDS: Sam Cassell, Michael Olowokandi, Latrell Sprewell The Wolves have surrounded Kevin Garnett with new talent this summer, and as with the Lakers, it will be interesting to see how this team blends, and how it performs in the postseason. 5.Dallas Mavericks-KEY ADDS: Josh Howard The Mavs' only offseason addition thus far, first-round draft pick Howard, has been a pleasant surprise in summer leagues and could bolster the conference finalists up front. 6.New Jersey Nets-KEY ADDS: Alonzo Mourning More important than their acquisition of Mourning was the Nets' re-signing of Jason Kidd, ensuring that the two-time NBA Finals team will be together again for the coming season. 7.Detroit Pistons-KEY ADDS: Larry Brown, Darko Milicic They won 50 games, made the conference finals, fired their coach and landed the No. 2 draft pick all in one year. Not the likeliest of scenarios, but the Pistons are shaping up to contend once again 8. Philadelphia sixers-KEY ADDS: Marc Jackson, Glenn Robinson Robinson is an upgrade over Keith Van Horn and Jackson could be a solid inside player in the East, but the Sixers need to re-sign Derrick Coleman to maintain their frontcourt depth. 9.Portland Trail-Blazers-KEY ADDS: None The Blazers have lost Scottie Pippen, their primary leader, and Antonio Daniels via free agency, but they're hoping for addition by subtraction as youngsters like Zach Randolph step up. 10.Indiana Pacers-KEY ADDS: Scot Pollard Indiana met its most urgent goal this summer in re-signing Jermaine O'Neal, but with the loss of Brad Miller, it will be time for Al Harrington and Jonathan Bender to make bigger contributions 11.Orlando Magic-KEY ADDS: Keith Bogans, Juwan Howard, Tyronn Lue The Magic got help where they needed it; with Howard joining Drew Gooden up front, the team will be above average in the paint, complementing the all-around skills of Tracy McGrady. 12.New Orleans Hornets-KEY ADDS: None Streaky and injury-plagued in 2002-03, the Hornets re-signed P.J. Brown, but didn't renew the contract of popular coach Paul Silas. How New Orleans responds under Tim Floyd will be key. 13.Phoenix Suns-KEY ADDS: None With talented trio Stephon Marbury, Shawn Marion and Amare Stoudemire entering their second season together, Phoenix is poised to finish better than No. 8 in the West in 2003-04. 14.Houston Rockets-KEY ADDS: Jeff Van Gundy If new head coach Van Gundy can convince Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley to involve Yao Ming more in the Rocket offense, Houston will make the leap from underachiever to playoff team. 15.Washington Wizards-KEY ADDS: Gilbert Arenas, Eddie Jordan The Wiz scored a coup when they snagged Arenas, and Jordan is a perfect fit as head coach. With MJ retired, Jerry Stackhouse becomes the leader on a team loaded with young talent. 16-Boston Celtics-KEY ADDS: Marcus Banks, Kendrick Perkins Rookies Banks and Perkins, acquired from Memphis on draft day, have played well this summer, but the Celtics will still only go as far as Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker can carry them. 17.Seattle Sonics-KEY ADDS: Nick Collison, Antonio Daniels, Luke Ridnour Seattle played well following the acquisition of Ray Allen last season, and the team got some frontcourt help in drafting Collison, but Rashard Lewis will need to play like an All-Star. 18.Golden State Warriors-KEY ADDS: Speedy Claxton, Mickael Pietrus The loss of Arenas hurts Golden State, but Mike Dunleavy and Jiri Welsch appear ready to make big contributions this year even as Jason Richardson and Troy Murphy continue to improve. 19.Utah Jazz-KEY ADDS: None With the Jazz rebuilding for the first time in nearly 20 years, Matt Harpring and Andrei Kirilenko head a core of youngsters whom Jerry Sloan will look to mold into a .500 team. 20.Milwaukee Bucks-KEY ADDS: T.J. Ford, Anthony Peeler, Joe Smith Utterly unrecognizable compared to a year ago, the Bucks completed their dismantling this summer, trading Sam Cassell and Ervin Johnson and firing George Karl. 21.New York Knicks-KEY ADDS: Mike Sweetney, Keith Van Horn Van Horn replaces fan-favorite Sprewell, but the larger question for the Knicks surrounds Antonio McDyess. If the former All-Star plays this season, they could be a playoff team in the East. 22.Chicago Bulls-KEY ADDS: Kirk Hinrich, Scottie Pippen Pippen joins Jalen Rose to provide leadership, and with the way Jamal Crawford, Eddy Curry and Tyson Chandler played at the end of '02-03, this team stands to make big improvements. 23.Cleveland Cavs-KEY ADDS: LeBron James, Paul Silas It's not the talent of James and the coaching of Silas alone -- it's the team's new attitude. Most of the projected starters played in summer leagues just to get a head start on life with LeBron. 24.Memphis Grizzles-KEY ADDS: Troy Bell Hubie Brown had the Grizz playing well before a 4-13 slide to close the season, but this year will again be dedicated to gaining experience and developing team chemistry. 25.L.A. Clippers-KEY ADDS: Mike Dunleavy, Chris Kaman The Clips have a new coach in Dunleavy, they've already locked up free agent Elton Brand and are looking to hang on to Corey Maggette as well. Stability this season? It's possible. 26.Toronto Raptors-KEY ADDS: Chris Bosh, Jerome Moiso, Kevin O'Neill Outside of Vince Carter, who missed 39 games, the Raptors struggled for offense last year. Now they have a first-time head coach in O'Neill and a new rotation that will need time to jell. 27.Atlanta Hawks-KEY ADDS: Terry Stotts The Hawks have a rookie head coach, Stotts, and have lost one of their best players from a year ago, Glenn Robinson, in a trade for the retiring Terrell Brandon. Could be a long year. 28.Miami Heat-KEY ADDS: Dwyane Wade They still have vets Eddie Jones and Brian Grant, but largely young and undersized, the Heat are building for the future around young stars Caron Butler and Wade. 29.Denver Nuggets-KEY ADDS: Carmelo Anthony The Nuggets tied for a league-low 17 wins last year, then lost their top player, Juwan Howard, to free agency. They have plenty of promising young talent, but Denver is still a couple years away.
phoenix shouldn't be #13. just because they havent added anything to their roster doesnt mean they should be that low. Same with Houston. Jazz should be closer to the end of the list. They've lost their two franchise players and haven't added any FA's.
lakers are not #1 they have no bench. so what they have 3 hall of famers on there team, they have no SF and there best reserve is fisher. After fisher they have no really good backups.
Doesn't matter what you have on your bench..when you have kobe,shaq,payton and malone...anyone of us could start at SF..and still compete..
I was going to respond with "don't let Truemaster see this" but oh well. I like how the Sixers are ranked, the thing about Derrick Coleman is true, we really would need him, but if we were to get Clark, that would be even better. Also Detroit should be above New Jersey. Another thing is that it says and I quote, "The Magic got help where they needed it." How is that true, they certenly didn't, sure they got some size but he is an undersized power forward, and one that lacks defense.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Love It Live:</div><div class="quote_post">I was going to respond with "don't let Truemaster see this" but oh well. I like how the Sixers are ranked, the thing about Derrick Coleman is true, we really would need him, but if we were to get Clark, that would be even better. Also Detroit should be above New Jersey. Another thing is that it says and I quote, "The Magic got help where they needed it." How is that true, they certenly didn't, sure they got some size but he is an undersized power forward, and one that lacks defense.</div> the magic are just a good young team on the rise
i think they decided that they'll rank some teams based on their overall ability to compete, and they ranked the others based on who they picked up in the offseason.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">i stopped after i saw wizards ahead of the celtics.</div> It's not that much of a stretch if you look at the teams on paper. It's the summer so you have to go by what you see on paper because of all the teams moves and such. That's what the summer is about, SPECULATION. Right now the Wizards have a more well-rounded roster than the Celts.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Love It Live:</div><div class="quote_post">I was going to respond with "don't let Truemaster see this" but oh well. I like how the Sixers are ranked, the thing about Derrick Coleman is true, we really would need him, but if we were to get Clark, that would be even better. Also Detroit should be above New Jersey. Another thing is that it says and I quote, "The Magic got help where they needed it." How is that true, they certenly didn't, sure they got some size but he is an undersized power forward, and one that lacks defense.</div> Undersized PF? Gooden is 6'10" 230. He heigth isn't undersized. Thats the norm for most PF's. And if you are talking about his weight, remember, last year was his rookie year. He will bulk up a bit in time. But he isn't an undersized PF. And his defense is poor? Most rookies play poor defense. Its part of being a rookie playing at a professional level. Give him time. The Magic did get help where they needed. They needed a PF. They landed one. They had to give up Miller, but Giricek has replaced the lossed scoring that Miller contributed with. What the Magic do need is a legit Center. But they seem to be set for their future, at the 1-4 with Gaines, Giricek, McGrady, and Gooden.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting sunsfan1357:</div><div class="quote_post">It's not that much of a stretch if you look at the teams on paper. It's the summer so you have to go by what you see on paper because of all the teams moves and such. That's what the summer is about, SPECULATION. Right now the Wizards have a more well-rounded roster than the Celts.</div> A more well rounded roster doesn't translate to a better team though. Paul Pierce is the best player of those 2 teams. Walker/Pierce is better than Stackhouse/Arenas. And I know this is speculation, as you said, but a well rounded team doesn't translate into being a better team always(most of the time, Id tend to agree).
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting shapecity:</div><div class="quote_post">i stopped after i saw wizards ahead of the celtics.</div> lol me too. these rankings arent very good.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting slamduncan21:</div><div class="quote_post">phoenix shouldn't be #13. just because they havent added anything to their roster doesnt mean they should be that low. Same with Houston. Jazz should be closer to the end of the list. They've lost their two franchise players and haven't added any FA's.</div> yeah i agree amare is older marion gets better every year marbury is going to prove that last year was no fluke and we have JJ :mrgreen:
i'm surprised kevin ollie isn't mentioned for cleveland - and extremely underrated free agent pick up and will do wonders as a PG mentor to lebron lakers might have added a couple of aging stars, but they are 4 player deep, thats it. kings and spurs have added talent to their already deep rosters and should be 1 and 2, whilst the lakers are gonna be relying on 4 players, 2 over 35 and one with injury troubles, to play 35-40 minutes a game throughout the season and playoffs. they shouldn't be above sactown and SA
