30 Teams, 30 Offseason Plans

With the 2006-07 NBA season officially over, it is time for all thirty teams in the league to reflect on what went wrong and what went right last season. Here is a team-by-team breakdown of what every franchise in the NBA needs and how they should get it this summer.

Atlanta Hawks – The last time the Hawks were playing in the postseason was 1999. Since then every other team, aside from the recently-added expansion Bobcats, have made the playoffs at least once.

The main problem for the Hawks is that the management regularly makes the wrong decisions. When the Hawks had the second overall pick in 2005, they chose another project PF over a trio of proven point guards. Two years later, both Chris Paul and Deron Williams look like franchise players while Marvin Williams has yet to develop for Atlanta. And in 2006, when Atlanta had the fifth overall pick, they passed on Brandon Roy, the consensus pick for most NBA ready rookie, for another PF in Sheldon Williams.

What exactly is the plan here? If Atlanta ever wants to improve upon its year to year win-total of 25-35 wins, they need to start trading, drafting, or signing proven players. Unfortunately, it seems like Billy Knight, general manager of the team, will never learn as he prepares to draft yet another very young player.

Boston Celtics – If any team was guilty of tanking last season, it was the Boston Celtics. They have much more talent than their 24-win record implies. Al Jefferson is one of the best young, post players in the league and Paul Pierce is, well…Paul Pierce.

While the Celtics may have fell short in their goal to receive the number one overall pick, they still have a chance to add good talent with their current selection. Boston would be best served by continuing to grow their young players and remaining patient. (And oh yeah, by not playing to lose anymore…)

Charlotte Bobcats – Unlike every other team in the league, the Bobcats can feel good about a 33-win season. The team still features a roster full of players better known for their collegiate careers than their professional exploits and has improved every season since its inception.

Still, it would be nice if the Bobcats were to add a couple of veterans to mentor and teach the youthful talent. Besides the lack of experience, the team is doing just fine. The lottery pick should add yet another talented player to the roster.

The Bobcats are still a couple years away from serious playoff contention, but they are a lot better than most give them credit for.

Chicago Bulls – One thing is for sure after the 2007 playoffs, signing Ben Wallace was a gigantic mistake by the Bulls. Signed to a sixty-million dollar deal in 2006, Wallace did not play up to his potential as he often clashed with Scott Skiles and found himself on the bench during crucial stretches. With his prime long gone, Wallace will only get worse as he continues to make more as a Chicago Bull.

Meanwhile, the Bulls, as a team, are stuck in a quandary. Their current core of young players is not good enough to make the NBA Finals. A superstar, like Kobe or Garnett, may be enough to push them over the top, but at what cost?

Cleveland Cavaliers – The worst thing the Cavaliers could do is to look back on their Finals appearance and consider their team ready for next season. The truth of the matter is that Cleveland still doesn’t have enough talent around LeBron James and still needs to find a way to get him help.

Unfortunately, the team also has many bad contracts and no draft picks to use. While a former All-Star like Mike Bibby may be available to them, expecting a true star to come to Cleveland would be unrealistic. It would be fair to expect the team to take a step backward, not forward, next year.

Dallas Mavericks – What is there to say about a team that won 67 games only to fall to an eight seed in the playoffs? The Mavericks had the best team in the league for eighty-two games, but gave up their momentum early in the playoffs. Part of the blame goes to MVP Dirk Nowitzki, part of it goes to head coach Avery Johnson.

All that aside, however, the Mavericks still have a very good team and would be mistaken in engaging in a major overhaul. Expect Dallas to remain, more or less, the same when the 2007-08 season begins.

Denver Nuggets – On paper, the Nuggets have enough talent to compete with any team in the league. Allen Iverson, Carmelo Anthony, Marcus Camby, Nene, and Kenyon Martin are all big names in the NBA. The problem is that the Nuggets have no room for improvement in the summer with no draft picks and no salary cap space. And they need to improve a lot to beat the likes of the Spurs, Mavericks, Suns, and Jazz.

Look into the stats and Denver is the fifth-worst defensive club in the NBA. With a Defensive Player of the Year in tow, to boot! On top of that, their two best players, Iverson and Melo, are volume shooters who dominate the ball. Unfortunately for Denver, bad defense, selfish offense, and overpaid athletes will never equal a championship.

Detroit Pistons – The Pistons have been, arguably, the biggest disappointment as a team for the past three seasons. They had enough talent and momentum in each of the last two years to reach the NBA Finals but were beaten by Dwayne Wade and LeBron James.

So now what? Keep the same rotation and hope to infuse a couple of mid-teen draft picks into the bench? Trade everyone and start over? The answer really isn’t easy for the Pistons. They have enough talent to be a playoff favorite by the end of the 2007-08 season once again, but they need to change something.

All in all, it is unlikely that the team blows it up this summer. Look for Detroit to resign Chauncey Billups and spend their time adding minutes to the playing time of their young guns.

Golden State Warriors – Another team that should be very happy with the end result of their season, the Warriors ended a very long playoff drought with a stunning upset in the first round of the Dallas Mavericks. Beyond the upset, however, is a very good team that would have won fifty games if it had stayed healthy all season long.

It is unclear what the Warriors future plans are. While they are a terrific offensive club, they rely too heavily on three-point shooting to ever do much better than they did last year. A drastic move, such as a big trade for a post player, may push them over the top but it may also hurt them by ruining their current flow.

The number one priority for the team should be retaining head coach Don Nelson. Once that is settled, the team can look into acquiring a power forward with their excess of swing men talent.

Houston Rockets – It really is hard not to feel bad for Tracy McGrady and the Houston Rockets. The team played as hard as they could to win their first-round series against the Utah Jazz but fell short once again.

All that aside, the team had an excellent regular season and should thrive under new head coach Rick Adelman. Because Adelman prefers wide-open offences, however, he will need a power forward that can shoot and score next to Yao Ming. A player like Troy Murphy, Charlie Villanueva, or Brian Cook may fit right into the starting rotation.

Expect the Rockets to make at least one more trade, for the aforementioned big man, before this summer is over.

Indiana Pacers – It wasn’t too long ago when the Pacers were two games from the NBA Finals and Rick Carlisle was the toast of the town. Now, three years later, Indiana has been stripped of its best talent and is in full rebuilding mode. Danny Granger and Ike Diogu are both nice, young pieces. But for the healing to really begin, Jermaine O’Neal has to go as well.

The main problem the Pacers face is that they have a roster full of bad contracts. Mike Dunleavy and Troy Murphy are both overpaid, while O’Neal’s large contract further hurts the Pacers chances of swinging a big signing.

The best move for Indiana, therefore, is, again, to get rid of their star power forward. He still has high value, and the time to deal him is now.

L.A. Clippers – Unfortunately for the Clippers, their success was very short-lived as they were bounced out of the playoff picture late last season. Now, with a starting five that is aging by the minute, Los Angeles is stuck in a bad place; mediocrity.

The best thing for the Clippers to do would be to try to get younger and healthier. Their forty-win season last year easily could have been a forty-five or more win season, enough for the playoffs, had they remained healthy. Sam Cassell and Cuttino Mobley are good trading pieces.

If the Clippers stand pat and do nothing, they have little chance to make a splash in the NBA as they did one season ago.

L.A. Lakers – All the talk on the other side of town is about Kobe Bryant. Will he get traded? Will he demand a move again? Is he right to want to leave town? Whose to blame?

At some point though, Kobe has to wise up and realize he is as close to untradeable as there is in this league. He is not going anywhere. Meanwhile, Jerry Buss and the Lakers need to surround their star with more talent. Its one thing to keep him on the roster, its quite another to keep him on the roster when he is unhappy. An unhappy Kobe could translate into one who doesn’t play hard. And that is not good for either party involved.

Expect the Lakers to semi-abandon their youth movement to appease Kobe…eventually.

Memphis Grizzlies – Like the Boston Celtics, the Grizzlies were the biggest losers in the draft lottery. They spent all season losing game after game and now don’t have much to show for it.

With the team up for sale and Jerry West gone, it is time to abandon the current team plan and develop a new one. The Grizzlies have plenty of young players, such as Kyle Lowry and Hakim Warrick, who could greatly benefit from more playing time. It would not be surprising at all to see All-Star Pau Gasol shipped off this summer.

Miami Heat – Without a healthy Shaq and Wade combination for most of last season, the Heat struggled into an average record and were swept out of the playoffs by a mediocre Chicago Bulls team. For the Heat to be anywhere near their 2005-06 status again next year, they are going to need Dwayne Wade to deliver a MVP season.

The same contracts that helped them win the 2006 title, Shaq, Antoine Walker, Jason Williams, are now the ones hindering the team from making any moves. No other team in the league wants the Heat’s trash, so Miami is stuck with the roster they have.

The lack of flexibility makes drafting well all the more important. A good point guard or small forward would help the team a ton.

Milwaukee Bucks – Looking at the Bucks starting line-up from bottom to top, there are very few areas of need for the team. They have an exciting scoring duo at the guard positions, a pretty good small forward combo in Bobby Simmons and Charlie Bell, and two young and improving big men. So why is this team so far behind in the Eastern Conference?

As good as the Bucks roster seems, the fact remains that it is full of one semi-superstar, Redd, and four good role players. If Milwaukee ever wants to compete with the heavyweights in the division, Detroit, Chicago, and Cleveland, it needs to make a big move to get a real superstar.

They have the assets to make it happen, but do they have the guts to ship off multiple good, young players for one big name?

Minnesota Timberwolves – Like with the Lakers, all the Timberwolves ever seem to talk about these days is whether or not Garnett is going to be moved. Unlike Los Angeles, however, the team at least seems open to moving their All-Star big man this summer.

Garnett has a clause in his contract which would allow him to opt out and leave Minnesota on his own next summer. Rather then losing him for nothing, the T-Wolves should try to get a package of young players and picks right now for him. Both Boston and Phoenix have shown interest and have the players needed to make this deal happen.

Outside of Garnett, the team has a good young guard in Foye and will be able to add another blue chip rookie this season with the number seven draft pick.

New Jersey Nets – The biggest concern for the New Jersey Nets is the impending free agency of Vince Carter. Carter has been their best scorer since he arrived from Toronto and losing him for nothing would be disastrous for the Nets. Without Carter, the team’s championship hopes go from very slim to none.

If the Nets do end up resigning Carter, they will then need to attend to the gaping holes in their frontline. Without Nenad Kristic last year, the Nets had one of the thinnest and weakest frontcourts of any team in the league. Adding some size and post skill work certainly help the team improve.

New Orleans Hornets – The Hornets fell into some trouble last year when their top three players, Chris Paul, Peja, and David West, were all injured early in the season. Although their roster is still suspect, they have enough talent to make a playoff berth run if they can add another piece or two.

A high pick in the 2007 draft should help. The Hornets should immediately be able to address their gaping hole at shooting guard while leaving money left over to pursue a free agent for their bench.

As long as the team can stay healthy through 2008, look for the New Orleans Hornets to be the surprise of the NBA next year.

New York Knicks – While it is still horrendous that Isiah Thomas has a job after his terrible management of the Knicks, New York has to be somewhat encouraged by their season last year. They finished with 33 wins and showed teamwork and improvement throughout the season.

The biggest factor in the Knick’s small resurgence was Eddy Curry, who finally somewhat justified the deal made for him in 2005, and David Lee, one of the best rebounders in the league.

Look for the Knicks to try, and succeed in, adding another big name to their roster. Rashard Lewis appears to be the most likely candidate as a future Knick.

Orlando Magic – The Magic finished last season with the eight seed in the Eastern Conference and were unable to do much damage at all in the playoffs. Unfortunately for the team, their roster, as it is today, contains one very good big man, Dwight Howard, and one undersized point guard, Jameer Nelson.

The Magic also lost their first round pick in this year’s draft by trading it for Darko Milicic. The good news, however, is that the team has a good amount of salary cap space. If they can work out a big deal, they may be able to lure Vince Carter, Gerald Wallace, or Rashard Lewis into a blue and white uniform by next season.

Philadelphia 76ers – The 76ers were one of the few bad teams last year that actually tried to win down the stretch. Behind the duo of the two Andres, Igoudala and Miller, the team finished with a respectable 35 wins and set a good winning atmosphere in the clubhouse.

The problem with the Sixers is that they have no depth. The quality of players from their starting rotation, which is not bad, to their bench drops very sharply. This problem can be alleviated by the draft and free agency.

But don’t take the 35 wins to mean the team is ready for contention. Philadelphia is still in rebuilding mode and should not be taking on any big contracts. Not yet.

Phoenix Suns – The Suns have been the most exciting team in the NBA for three seasons now but have little to show for it. After being taken out of the playoffs by the San Antonio Spurs this season, it may be time to shake the team up.

Whether or not the league cost the team a series is a moot point. The fact of the matter is that they didn’t get the job done. Trading for more draft picks or giving away salary doesn’t make sense. If the Suns do anything besides drafting a rookie or two this year, it will be trading for a superstar. And that is exactly what they should do.

Portland Trailblazers – There isn’t much to say here. Draft Oden, find a decent small forward and keep the roster intact. Zach Randolph is a team cancer who should eventually be moved, but for now it is fine to keep him while Lamarcus Aldridge learns the pro game off the bench.

Sacramento Kings – What a mess of a team. Remember when they were close to winning a title in the NBA? It just shows how easily a championship window can slam shut. The Kings have an ugly roster full of bad contracts, bad attitudes, and players leaving their prime.

The only bright spot on the team is shooting guard Kevin Martin. Martin should continue to develop. Other than Kevin, however, everyone on the team should be put on the market. Ron Artest definitely has to be moved. Mike Bibby should be dealt while there is still time. And so on.

Sorry Kings fans, but it is only going to get worse before it gets better.

San Antonio Spurs – They’ve won three titles in five years. Change nothing, keep everyone.

Seattle Sonics – The Sonics, like the Trailblazers, lucked out with a top-two pick and now may be bringing the next big superstar back home with them. Kevin Durant is a perfect fit for the Sonics run and gun offense and he will replace Rashard Lewis instantly. The team now should have a nice core with Ridnour, Allen, Durant, Wilcox, and Watson off the bench.

The only reason the Sonics should shake their roster up is if they get offered a young superstar without having to give up Durant. Otherwise, the Sonics seem set for success thanks to the luck of the lottery.

Totonto Raptors – The Raptors have no draft picks and have a roster full of young talent. They should continue to develop Chris Bosh, T.J. Ford, Andrei Bargnani, and all the other players that vaulted them into the fourth seed of the playoffs last year.

There is no reason to make a big change. Stick with the same team and go into 2007-08 feeling good.

Utah Jazz – Just like the Raptors, the Utah Jazz should not make any whole-scale changes. If the right deal is offered for Kirilinko, it would have to be a pretty good shooting guard, then make the trade. Otherwise, keep the roster intact and hope that Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer continue to get better.

Washington Wizards – The Wizards are somewhat of an anomaly of a team. If they can stay healthy, they have one of the better trio of scorers in the league and can beat anybody on any night. But they can’t beat the better teams in a seven game series. It doesn’t look like there is much they can do right now to change that.

Antawn Jamison is the most likely of any Wizard to be moved. His expiring contract and explosive offensive skills make him a wanted player. But even he is probably not going to go anywhere. If Al Thornton can somehow drop to the team in the draft, the team might gain the inside scorer they desperately need.