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Spurs, Bucks earn top off-season grades
http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/4913790
Mike Kahn / Special to FOXSports.com
Posted: 3 hours ago
Incredibly enough, NBA training camps begin from coast to coast next week. With the regular season scheduled to begin on Nov. 1, it's imperative we take a look at what teams have accomplished this summer.
Using typically subjective form, we decided to grade the architecture of the NBA personnel offices in the redesigning of their respective rosters.
And what we've come up with are a few A's, plenty of B's, mostly C's, and a couple of D's thrown in there for good measure.
Not surprisingly, the perpetually superb San Antonio Spurs — as defending champions — did the best job of adding to their already exceptional roster. Right on their heels would be the Sacramento Kings battling to get back into the heat of the battle in the West.
In the East, the Miami Heat added a slew of name players — perhaps too many — but they are primed to take a run at the two-time Eastern Conference champion Detroit Pistons. And very quietly building a team that looks ready to make a move are the Cleveland Cavaliers.
So without burdening you more rhetoric, let's get down to business here.
Sacramento Kings: President Geoff Petrie went back to the drawing board, and that's always good news for Kings fans and bad news for the Western Conference. They let go of Cuttino Mobley, Darius Songaila, Eddie House and Maurice Evans, and traded Bobby Jackson and Greg Ostertag. In return they acquired Bonzi Wells and Jason Hart, then scooped up Shareef Abdur-Rahim after the Nets passed on him. Top draft choice Francisco Garcia is long, a great shooter and more than compensates for the loss of Evans. All things being equal, it looks like Petrie stepped to the table and put the Kings back into the thick of the Western Conference race. Grade: A-minus
Atlanta Hawks: With the second pick of the draft, the Hawks took North Carolina freshman forward Marvin Williams, and they added hot-shooting Salim Stoudamire in the second round. But the big addition was the acquisition of young super-talent Joe Johnson from Phoenix in exchange for Boris Diaw and two future No. 1 draft choices. They also added Tyronn Lue, Zaza Pachulia and John Edwards. It's a big gamble turning over the leadership of the franchise and giving huge money to such a young player as Johnson, but he is exceptionally gifted. We'll have to see how his previously quiet personality handles it. They're very athletic, but seriously lack interior players. Grade: A-minus.
Boston Celtics: Along with draft choices Gerald Green, Ryan Gomes and Orien Greene, the Celtics signed rookie Will Bynum and veteran Brian Scalabrine. And in the sign-and-trade that sent Antoine Walker to Miami, they received Qyntel Woods, Curtis Borchardt and Albert Morales. They also let go of veteran point guard Gary Payton. These moves certainly make the Celtics younger for Doc Rivers, and contrary to popular belief, they did hang on to All-Star Paul Pierce. In fact, they just keep getting younger, if not better. Grade: C
Charlotte Bobcats: General manager Bernie Bickerstaff hit the jackpot in the draft with a pair of stars from the national champion North Carolina Tar Heels — Sean May and Raymond Felton. They re-signed key players Gerald Wallace, Kareem Rush, Brevin Knight and Matt Carroll, plus added Jake Voskuhl. The losses of Malik Allen and Jason Hart really don't hurt, and they already have a solid front court with Emeka Okafor and Primoz Brezec. Grade: B-plus.
Chicago Bulls: President John Paxson continues to work the roster masterfully, re-signing Tyson Chandler, Chris Duhon, Othella Harrington, while adding free agents Darius Songaila and Malik Allen. The only real question is what will happen to restricted free agent Eddy Curry. The $5.1 million qualifying offer is on the table, as questions surrounding his undetermined heart condition create uncertainty galore. It's a tossup whether he'll be on the Bulls by the time the regular season begins. Grade: B-plus
Cleveland Cavaliers: Everything changed, from Danny Ferry replacing president Jim Paxson, to Mike Brown now the coach instead of Paul Silas. But they're still building around prodigal son LeBron James, beginning with the re-signing of 7-3 All-Star Zydrunas Ilgauskas. The key transition came in the signing of free agents Larry Hughes, Donyell Marshall, Damon Jones and Alan Henderson. This should be the breakthrough season in which James and the Cavs reach the playoffs. Grade: A-minus.
Dallas Mavericks: This is hard to fathom, but the Mavericks have added nobody. That's right, the always active Mavs stood pat. No draft picks. No free agents. They waived Michael Finley with the amnesty opportunity and Alan Henderson bolted for Cleveland. Yes, they were young and head coach Avery Johnson will have his first full season to develop his players. It brings to mind what a wise man told me once: "Don't just do something, sit there." Grade: C-plus.
Denver Nuggets: They added talented draftees Julius Hodge to score and Linas Kleiza to battle inside, plus they signed Earl Watson to be their tough on-the-ball point guard to add pressure to their full-court defense. They're hopeful young DerMarr Johnson, re-signed, will continue to develop as a shooting guard, and rumors persist about a trade. But this is really about just coming back strong with the young guys they already have and a full season from coach George Karl after a 32-8 finish. Grade: B-minus.
Detroit Pistons: Along with tough rebounding first round draft choice Jason Maxiell, the Joe Dumars drafted sweet shooting guard Alex Acker. He also added another power player in Dale Davis and a much-needed athletic guard off the bench Maurice Evans. This helps, but it remains to be seen if new coach Flip Saunders has enough juice to lead these guys to the Finals for the third year in a row. Grade: B-plus.
Golden State Warriors: With Chris Mullin's fingerprints all over the reconstruction of this team, there wasn't much they had to do this summer on the heels of last season's mid-season acquisition of Baron Davis. Top draft choice Ike Diogu fills their need for an interior presence and second-round pick Chris Taft is of a similar style. And prep scoring sensation Monta Ellis will have a chance to develop in the D-League if they are so inclined. They let go of Rodney White and Nikoloz Tskitishvili because they didn't need them. Grade: B
Houston Rockets: After their crushing collapse in the first round last season, the Rockets added help up front with athletic Stromile Swift and versatile guard Derek Anderson. They re-signed Dikembe Mutombo and Jon Barry, let go Scott Padgett and Clarence Weatherspoon. Top draft choice from Illinois Luther Heard is a little undersized as a shooting guard, but mature and an exceptional shooter. The re-make for Jeff Van Gundy continues, but these are minor tweaks that should help. Grade: B
Indiana Pacers: The Pacers got a steal with forward Danny Granger at the 17th pick and Ezarem Lorbeck in the second round is a big tough player from Europe who was an effective player at Michigan State two years ago and should make the team. The big free agent steal was Lithuanian guard Sarunas Jasikevicius, but he's got a tough act to follow in retired Reggie Miller. With James Jones gone to Phoenix and Dale Davis in Detroit, the best bonus for coach Rick Carlisle is having Ron Artest back after being suspended for virtually all of the 2004-05 seaosn for his role in the brawl at the Palace of Auburn Hills. Grade: B
Los Angeles Clippers: It's always a trip trying to figure out what these guys are doing. Drafting guards Yaroslav Korolev and Daniel Ewing were head-scratchers considering their prodigal youngster Shaun Livingston; then they dealt Marko Jaric for aging Sam Cassell. They did sign streak-shooting Cuttino Mobley, but they lost the league's most improved player Bobby Simmons to Milwaukee. Mikki Moore and Rick Brunson left for Seattle, and Kerry Kittles was waived. No way they're as good without Jaric and Simmons. Grade: D-plus.
Los Angeles Lakers: Meet the new boss, Kobe Bryant, same as the old boss — Phil Jackson is back. And along with him have come Kwame Brown and Laron Profit from Washington for Caron Butler and Chucky Atkins. They brought aboard Aaron McKie and Smush Parker to fortify the backcourt. Brian Grant was waived and Luke Walton will be back. Rookie big man Andrew Bynum will have Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as his tutor. Bringing back Jackson is the biggest deal, if for no other reason than the regained stability — plus he'll put the ball in Lamar Odom's hands, forcing Bryant to play with him. Brown was a worthwhile gamble for what they gave up. Grade: B-plus.
http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/4913790
Mike Kahn / Special to FOXSports.com
Posted: 3 hours ago
Incredibly enough, NBA training camps begin from coast to coast next week. With the regular season scheduled to begin on Nov. 1, it's imperative we take a look at what teams have accomplished this summer.
Using typically subjective form, we decided to grade the architecture of the NBA personnel offices in the redesigning of their respective rosters.
And what we've come up with are a few A's, plenty of B's, mostly C's, and a couple of D's thrown in there for good measure.
Not surprisingly, the perpetually superb San Antonio Spurs — as defending champions — did the best job of adding to their already exceptional roster. Right on their heels would be the Sacramento Kings battling to get back into the heat of the battle in the West.
In the East, the Miami Heat added a slew of name players — perhaps too many — but they are primed to take a run at the two-time Eastern Conference champion Detroit Pistons. And very quietly building a team that looks ready to make a move are the Cleveland Cavaliers.
So without burdening you more rhetoric, let's get down to business here.
Sacramento Kings: President Geoff Petrie went back to the drawing board, and that's always good news for Kings fans and bad news for the Western Conference. They let go of Cuttino Mobley, Darius Songaila, Eddie House and Maurice Evans, and traded Bobby Jackson and Greg Ostertag. In return they acquired Bonzi Wells and Jason Hart, then scooped up Shareef Abdur-Rahim after the Nets passed on him. Top draft choice Francisco Garcia is long, a great shooter and more than compensates for the loss of Evans. All things being equal, it looks like Petrie stepped to the table and put the Kings back into the thick of the Western Conference race. Grade: A-minus
Atlanta Hawks: With the second pick of the draft, the Hawks took North Carolina freshman forward Marvin Williams, and they added hot-shooting Salim Stoudamire in the second round. But the big addition was the acquisition of young super-talent Joe Johnson from Phoenix in exchange for Boris Diaw and two future No. 1 draft choices. They also added Tyronn Lue, Zaza Pachulia and John Edwards. It's a big gamble turning over the leadership of the franchise and giving huge money to such a young player as Johnson, but he is exceptionally gifted. We'll have to see how his previously quiet personality handles it. They're very athletic, but seriously lack interior players. Grade: A-minus.
Boston Celtics: Along with draft choices Gerald Green, Ryan Gomes and Orien Greene, the Celtics signed rookie Will Bynum and veteran Brian Scalabrine. And in the sign-and-trade that sent Antoine Walker to Miami, they received Qyntel Woods, Curtis Borchardt and Albert Morales. They also let go of veteran point guard Gary Payton. These moves certainly make the Celtics younger for Doc Rivers, and contrary to popular belief, they did hang on to All-Star Paul Pierce. In fact, they just keep getting younger, if not better. Grade: C
Charlotte Bobcats: General manager Bernie Bickerstaff hit the jackpot in the draft with a pair of stars from the national champion North Carolina Tar Heels — Sean May and Raymond Felton. They re-signed key players Gerald Wallace, Kareem Rush, Brevin Knight and Matt Carroll, plus added Jake Voskuhl. The losses of Malik Allen and Jason Hart really don't hurt, and they already have a solid front court with Emeka Okafor and Primoz Brezec. Grade: B-plus.
Chicago Bulls: President John Paxson continues to work the roster masterfully, re-signing Tyson Chandler, Chris Duhon, Othella Harrington, while adding free agents Darius Songaila and Malik Allen. The only real question is what will happen to restricted free agent Eddy Curry. The $5.1 million qualifying offer is on the table, as questions surrounding his undetermined heart condition create uncertainty galore. It's a tossup whether he'll be on the Bulls by the time the regular season begins. Grade: B-plus
Cleveland Cavaliers: Everything changed, from Danny Ferry replacing president Jim Paxson, to Mike Brown now the coach instead of Paul Silas. But they're still building around prodigal son LeBron James, beginning with the re-signing of 7-3 All-Star Zydrunas Ilgauskas. The key transition came in the signing of free agents Larry Hughes, Donyell Marshall, Damon Jones and Alan Henderson. This should be the breakthrough season in which James and the Cavs reach the playoffs. Grade: A-minus.
Dallas Mavericks: This is hard to fathom, but the Mavericks have added nobody. That's right, the always active Mavs stood pat. No draft picks. No free agents. They waived Michael Finley with the amnesty opportunity and Alan Henderson bolted for Cleveland. Yes, they were young and head coach Avery Johnson will have his first full season to develop his players. It brings to mind what a wise man told me once: "Don't just do something, sit there." Grade: C-plus.
Denver Nuggets: They added talented draftees Julius Hodge to score and Linas Kleiza to battle inside, plus they signed Earl Watson to be their tough on-the-ball point guard to add pressure to their full-court defense. They're hopeful young DerMarr Johnson, re-signed, will continue to develop as a shooting guard, and rumors persist about a trade. But this is really about just coming back strong with the young guys they already have and a full season from coach George Karl after a 32-8 finish. Grade: B-minus.
Detroit Pistons: Along with tough rebounding first round draft choice Jason Maxiell, the Joe Dumars drafted sweet shooting guard Alex Acker. He also added another power player in Dale Davis and a much-needed athletic guard off the bench Maurice Evans. This helps, but it remains to be seen if new coach Flip Saunders has enough juice to lead these guys to the Finals for the third year in a row. Grade: B-plus.
Golden State Warriors: With Chris Mullin's fingerprints all over the reconstruction of this team, there wasn't much they had to do this summer on the heels of last season's mid-season acquisition of Baron Davis. Top draft choice Ike Diogu fills their need for an interior presence and second-round pick Chris Taft is of a similar style. And prep scoring sensation Monta Ellis will have a chance to develop in the D-League if they are so inclined. They let go of Rodney White and Nikoloz Tskitishvili because they didn't need them. Grade: B
Houston Rockets: After their crushing collapse in the first round last season, the Rockets added help up front with athletic Stromile Swift and versatile guard Derek Anderson. They re-signed Dikembe Mutombo and Jon Barry, let go Scott Padgett and Clarence Weatherspoon. Top draft choice from Illinois Luther Heard is a little undersized as a shooting guard, but mature and an exceptional shooter. The re-make for Jeff Van Gundy continues, but these are minor tweaks that should help. Grade: B
Indiana Pacers: The Pacers got a steal with forward Danny Granger at the 17th pick and Ezarem Lorbeck in the second round is a big tough player from Europe who was an effective player at Michigan State two years ago and should make the team. The big free agent steal was Lithuanian guard Sarunas Jasikevicius, but he's got a tough act to follow in retired Reggie Miller. With James Jones gone to Phoenix and Dale Davis in Detroit, the best bonus for coach Rick Carlisle is having Ron Artest back after being suspended for virtually all of the 2004-05 seaosn for his role in the brawl at the Palace of Auburn Hills. Grade: B
Los Angeles Clippers: It's always a trip trying to figure out what these guys are doing. Drafting guards Yaroslav Korolev and Daniel Ewing were head-scratchers considering their prodigal youngster Shaun Livingston; then they dealt Marko Jaric for aging Sam Cassell. They did sign streak-shooting Cuttino Mobley, but they lost the league's most improved player Bobby Simmons to Milwaukee. Mikki Moore and Rick Brunson left for Seattle, and Kerry Kittles was waived. No way they're as good without Jaric and Simmons. Grade: D-plus.
Los Angeles Lakers: Meet the new boss, Kobe Bryant, same as the old boss — Phil Jackson is back. And along with him have come Kwame Brown and Laron Profit from Washington for Caron Butler and Chucky Atkins. They brought aboard Aaron McKie and Smush Parker to fortify the backcourt. Brian Grant was waived and Luke Walton will be back. Rookie big man Andrew Bynum will have Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as his tutor. Bringing back Jackson is the biggest deal, if for no other reason than the regained stability — plus he'll put the ball in Lamar Odom's hands, forcing Bryant to play with him. Brown was a worthwhile gamble for what they gave up. Grade: B-plus.
