AS of today what teams do you think have done a tremendous job improving their rosters...I think the winner is the Nuggets, get Kmart for only 3 draft picks...cant get much better than that gives them one of the best frontcourts in basketball, possible title contenders if you ask me...As for worst it is def. the nets they lost their future in Kmart, possibly will be losing Kidd which would leave them with Jefferson, if Kmart and Kidd leave I think he would want to leave too... Other team that improved: Heat Took a hit: Clippers...they didnt get who they wanted and rumor is Q doesnt want to come back now that the suns have signed nash and have a nice future I thnk L.A. has made out ok so far, lost Fish that hurts, but in teh Shaq trade tehy got 2 young players with a crap load of potential and a banger... your thoughts?
I really think Phoenix did a good job this off-season by signing Nash. Look, they got Nash dishing to Amare, Marion, Joe Johnson - pretty good if you ask me. I think the Suns may be back in the playoff picture this year. Maybe.
I think the Heat are the most improved. The Heat got the most dominant player in the game today, however they did lose 2 future stars, they did unload that terrible Brian Grant contract though. But, with the acquisition of Shaq, the Heat instantly have to become a contender. No one in the East has a player big enough to guard him, so, I can see the Heat winning over 50 games possibly next year. The team that took the biggest hit has to be the Clippers. They had their hopes high on getting Kobe and that just shot their morale down when he signed that massive deal with the Lakers and decided to become a "Laker for life". They also currently have no QRich, as he has signed that offer sheet with Phoenix. I do believe they'll match that, but, losing the chance to get Kobe just has to hurt.
The Suns have been doing a great job,even though they dont really have a lot of vets on their team,but they have a lot of young stars and I think if they keep that team together they will be possible title contenders in a few years.
The Spurs may improve by signing Malone...the Heat improved, because Shaq in the East means an Eastern Conference championship down the road. The Bulls could improve with their draft choices (Deng, Gordon and Duhon) as well as the Magic for picking up Francis/Mobley, all while drafting Howard and trading for Nelson. Lakers have improved in my opinion...Shaq will keep them from winning a title in the long run. The West is tough, and he's getting older and slower. Denver was smart to sign Kenyon...alot of teams have done well so far. The bad ones? Toronto, for picking up an undersized Araujo and for not trading Carter (his wish, but they still may trade him eventually). The Sixers, for not throwing away Iverson for a couple of talented guys (he also would love to go...he just won't admit it). These two teams shouldn't keep a guy who doesn't want to play ball for them...that just means that they won't be so enthusiastic to walk on the court of a team they wish they could play against for once. As of today, there haven't been many decisions...so it's hard to say.
Utah also did a great job of signing players. Aside from the Boozer reputation debacle and a slightly large offer to Okur, they've placed themselves in a great position for another 4-6 years, locking up their starters without losing much. Their next move has to be to lock up Kirilenko when he's a FA for the long term.
IMO the most improved team is the rockets, they went form a no.8 playoff spot team to a pretty much guarunteed top 5 playoff spot. Props also to Miami, Phoenix and Utah.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting jdub:</div><div class="quote_post">IMO the most improved team is the rockets, they went form a no.8 playoff spot team to a pretty much guarunteed top 5 playoff spot. Props also to Miami, Phoenix and Utah.</div> The Rockets were actually the 7 seed and the Nuggets were the 8 seed. But, yes, they did improve. Getting TMac will definitely give them one heck of a 1-2 punch, as long as he doesn't be a ball hog. But, the future is very bright for the Rockets. They possibly have the next Kobe/Shaq duo in TMac/Yao, and we all know what Kobe and Shaq did together. Yes, the future is indeed for Van Gundy's Rockets.
Yeah but I'll tell you what, I bet any amount of $ that the Nuggets improved more by getting Kenyon Martin than getting TMac. You probably think I'm crazy but KMart is going to lead this team into the top 3 playoffs spots. Denver is such a hard place to win away games. You gotta think and look at Houston's roster, they really only have Tracy and Yowser with no role, bench players, or point. They really missed out on Derek Fisher and there is no way there getting Snow. Anyone agree?
Top Improved teams Utah Jazz Phoenix Suns Denver Nuggets Teams that got Worse Cavs LA Lakers LA Clippers(if they dont match Q's offer)
^ yeh.....they only have jim jackson pretty much and maurice traylor but they are weak in the pg spot....if their role players get it togetehr and play really well and Yao (who could very well be the most dominant center in the west next season) and Tmac gel otgether, I'm expecting no less then a #3 seed I think the lakers and miami both improved, Lakers in term of agility and speed and youth and miami in terms of sheer power and dominance... but i am skeptical about how far shaq will lead miami....DET beat up a team with Shaq Kobe and 2 other HOFers (even tho they were banged up) and i doubt a not-even-close-to-his-prime Dwayne Wade, Eddie Jones and a couple of scrubby players can beat that exact same Det team that even managed to add Antonio Mcdyess (A pretty dominant PF when healthy) I think spurs improved....if they can get malone it'll be even better for them, pending hes "100 karl malone percent" lol....signing Barry will help them and its even more veteran exp.....Wolves vs. Spurs for the West finals next year hopefully
I think the biggest gainer was Orlando by far. For one thing, they couldn't have gotten any worse then they were last year. By trading away Mcgrady and getting Dwight Howard with the number one draft pick, they are now a young and upcoming team that can wait a couple of years to develop. Trying to rebuild around Mcgrady would have been impossible with the horrid roster they could trade with, and he would not have stuck around for another losing season.
Improved Teams Utah Jazz: They added Boozer, and Okur. They also resigned Carlos Arroyo and Gordan Giricek while getting Kris Humphries and Kirk Snyder out of the draft. Phoenix Suns: Adding Nash was huge and plus there probably going to add Quentin Richardson has well, possibly a playoff success story next year. Houston Rockets/Miami Heat: Both got amazingly talented superstars and got the better deal. Toronto Raptors: Added Rafer Alston, now a proven point gaurd. Denver Nuggets: Got Kenyon Martin Worse Teams Cleveland Cavaliers: They lost Boozer to the free agency him and LeBron made a great duo and he was really vital to the cavs. LA Lakers: Lost Shaq LA Clippers: Couldnt get Kobe and possibly wont get Q. NJ Nets: Lost KMart and will lose kidd most probably.
Most Improved: Heat - Got the most dominant player and a top 3 player in Shaq Least Improved: Nets - They lost the backbone of their team, Kenyon Martin.
i think utah, denver and orlando improved the most, even though i don't like the length of camby's contract or the size of boozer's contract (his numbers will be much different playing against the top pf's like garnett/duncan/randolph/brand/webber, etc. every night)...but the teams were able to add quality to their teams, and both could challenge for the fourth spot in the playoffs. the rockets improved, but given their lack of depth at certain positions and the work that still needs to be done by van gundy to get the team to play his style of basketball (more effectively) and i think it may take another year, and the addition of more talent, before they really move up into the top tier of the western conference...but getting a player the caliber of mcgrady and changing the direction of the team (through personnel changes, because steve francis just wasn't going to fit in van gundy's system) is very important. a subtle move that could really look good as the season goes on is the spurs signing brent barry...the spurs' were plagued all year by poor free throw/three point shooting and barry gives them a big upgrade in both. he's a very smart veteran, that gives the spurs some versatility in their line-up. as far as miami, i'm not sure they really improved that much unless they are able to add more pieces to the team, which they may well do given the attrativeness of playing in miami, with shaq...but as of right now, i don't think that they have the personnel to beat either detroit or indiana, two very good, deep teams that play defense, and led by two very good coaches. if miami isn't better than those two teams then i can't say they've improved that much. mavs...they lose the player that made everything go on that team, offensively, and even though it was smart for them not to match nash's contract (especially given the lenght) it will hurt the team immensly...if they don't make some moves (which they probably will, however) i'm not sure they make the playoffs, and certainly don't look like a team that can make it past the first round. the lakers are losers, unless they can somehow manage a trade to bring in a center like dampier, because they have very little cap room and a small line-up that will consistently be punished in a conference loaded at the power-forward position. nj, cleveland are also clearly losers.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Chungster:</div><div class="quote_post">Most Improved: Heat - Got the most dominant player and a top 3 player in Shaq Least Improved: Nets - They lost the backbone of their team, Kenyon Martin.</div> The Nets didn't lose the backbone of that team. JKidd is the backbone. As he went last year, so did the Nets. Their win/loss record without him was worse than when they were lacking KMart.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Moo2K4:</div><div class="quote_post">The Nets didn't lose the backbone of that team. JKidd is the backbone. As he went last year, so did the Nets. Their win/loss record without him was worse than when they were lacking KMart.</div> Actually Jason Kidd is the core, according to my books. The Nets would of probably had success even if Martin wasn't on the team, but the Nets would have more success with him, and that's clearly evident after the success the Nets had the last 3 years. Again, the Nets wouldn't of had as much success if they didn't have a inside presence on the offensive and defensive end in Martin. Kidd was generating, and Martin was maintaining. As you have learned, your bones maintain your body and make you do things that keep you alive in a sense, and Martin kept the Nets alive.
There are a few teams in here that I just don't understand at all. I'll just go through and give my explanation on each. First Utah. You say they improved, and, in fact, a lot of you people in the playoffs thread had them around the 6th seed. I truthfully, don't think they really improved at all. First off, they did sign Boozer. But, you people have to realize that Boozer is a power forward who is only 6'7". He's way to small to play power forward in the West. People like KG, Duncan, KMart, are all going to burn him. He's way too small and you people are really high on his signing. The other guy they got is Okur. You people think he could make a diff, ha. The guy got one of the worst contracts this offseason, he deserves maybe half of what he's making, but, since the lack of big men in the league, even underachievers like him, Foyal, and Dampier get overpaid. But, he won't make any difference to me. He's not a dominant big man at all. He's way to finnesse to be dominant. The guy shoots a lot of jump shots and isn't super-aggressive inside. So, after looking at those two signings, I don't see how Utah got better from them. They got an undersized power forward who's going to be burned and they overpaid a center. Wow, good for them Now onto the Suns. Do you people seriously think Steve Nash is going to make that big of a difference? They still have no legit big man to complement Amare down low. They have a ton of guards and small forwards though. But, Nash will not ultimately make the difference, and nor would QRich if they get him, but, I expect that offer to be matched by the Clipps by some pont next week, but, whole different subject right there. Like I was saying, Nash isn't going to make that big of a difference. The guy is only going to able to give you around 32 min a night due to the fact he is 30 and he ran like hell in Dallas, and, after so many years in that offense, it takes a toll on your body. So, just because they got a good point guard doesn't automatically make them really good and playoff bound like you people think. That team is still far too young and they're not very good defensively. Lastly, the Magic. Now, I realize that their lineup looks pretty good on paper, but, I don't see them being that much better. Might win 30 games. That lineup, as far as we know, has absolutely no chemistry right now. They have at least 3 starters who have to learn the offense still. The only guy in the starting lineup from last year is going to be Gooden. But, Francis, Mobley, Cato, aren't going to make a huge diff. What Francis and Mobely will do however is take a lot of touches away from Dwight Howard due to the fact that they enjoy shooting far more than passing. That's why Francis/Yao didn't work. Stevie doesn't like giving up the ball, and, in order for Orlando to be successful, he's going to have to do that occasionally. And like I said, that is pretty much an entirely different starting 5 next year. They have a new coach and currently have no chemistry. Also, outside of Cato, they have no real defensive players. They are not likely to be good defensively and are going to have a lot of chemistry problems on offense cause they have never played a game together. I don't see them being all that great. Now, these are my opinions on the 3 teams you guys, for some reason, think are going to be so much better next year. If you want to argue my points, go right ahead. But, if you really think about it, I do make very valid points concerning each team. But, again, these are just opinions. Everyone is open their own.
