What a depressing thread. You can look at off-season moves from another angle and see that teams are limited by the cap, luxury tax, player's wanting to get paid and whether a franchise is located in an attractive city. Within these limitations, you do what you can to get better.
I agree that 'moves for the sake of moves' cam be counter productive. Like the Magic - why not just re-sign everyone and see whether a healthy jameer and proving Howard and lee gets you over the line?
As for the spurs, they have taken a punt on duncans last two good seasons by getting RJ, but no one is under the illusion that this somehowfixes Manus ankle. But Duncan deserves to have that risk taken after what he has given the franchise.
Geez quagmire , did anyone have a good off-season?

36ers.

Yeah look, i know i sound depressing, but really, the NBA is a little depressing right now due to the financial crisis influencing teams and the way they are run.

Truth though, spurs got better, mavs got better, i think the magic could be better, celts could be better and i think the LA-Celts rematch could really develop.

Toronto should be better, Blazers are better, Jazz might be better...

I guess my real point was the way that teams try to make their teams sound much better than they are.

Like when did having Al Thornton and Ricky Davis on your wing become impressive?


I understand that people really want to look at the positives for their teams, i get that, but i just wanted to highlight how i think the rose coloured glasses are well and truly on this year.

Bottom line i can't think of any team bar the spurs who have improved enough to challenge LA. Celts can but i really think KG is done.

And no team has improved enough from being fringe to elite.

I think Portland will be up there, I don't know how high probably not high enough to chanllenge the top 3 - 4 teams but they are a young and relatively unchanged team that will continue to improve and I would be surprised if they can't challenge for the championship in a couple of years.

Celts, yes on paper they are a better team. I think Garnett can get at least one more good season from his legs and they will again be up there at the end of the season however they won't make the championship game. How can they? An ageing roster and all the salery cap being pumpped in to those top 5 players they will struggle to find bench material. The problem of not having a quality back up point for Rondo is back in the picture with Marbury being released.

Lakers and Cavs will be right up there again, and Magic will push again but i doubt they will get as far as last season.

Wizards are a 50 win team, they were last year when they had a full roster. I saw the game late in the season where they just about knocked off the cavs (or did they actually do it, can't remember) anyway they were very close at the end and that was with there big 3 just about having no game fitness at all.

Wizards fortunes may just rest on Javal McGee, their rookie center from last season. Haywood is their center for now, but injury prone. Jamison can play the 4 in the NBA but only if he is backed up by a quality 5.

I saw McGee play in Vegas and he seemed to have better touch around the basket than i thought he had.


What about the Thunder? Can the Duarant/Westbrook/Green trio start to get wins?

lol so the NBA is depressing because the Lakers is the top team? lol.

I actually think the Clippers have some real potential to have a breakout year.

U serious about Parker? He's just about the third best guard in the league lol

The only thing the Clippers will break out in this year is a rash.

Not sure about Parker in the top 3, it's highly arguable right now.

But in the very near future (possibly this season) I'm sure he won't be considered in the talk anymore...

CP3, D-Will, Rose, Rondo, Mayo etc. are all looking extremely promosing to squeeze into the top 5 guard contention for the upcoming years.

for the Clips, the way Houston is looking it'll be hard for them making the playoffs. Phoenix may fall out again, so that's 2 strong teams from the past possibly falling out of contention. Who knows about Utah and NO?

If Griffin plays like #1 pick, Clips have the pieces to get back in the playoffs. Out of the 8 spots 4 is likely guarranteed; Lakers, Nuggets, Spurs, and Mavs the rest 4 needs to be fought out.

Wow where's the prozac for the OP? I think the perception of the NBA this upcoming season is that only a small group of teams have a legit shot at contending for the title.

A strong argument could be made that teams who are either loosing a lot of money already, or who aren't willing to spend more money to see if they can compete with the 'elite' teams, or alternatively are 'waiting' for the much hyped Free Agent 2010 class are going take their chances with how their rosters stand now.

As a fan I could easily understand if my team isn't willing to make that big move now if they don't have that much to start with. Why have a team concentrate on getting a relatively average restricted free agent like Glen Davis in the misguided hope that this pushes your team over the line, only for the Celtics too match your offer, or alternatively find yourself vastly overpaying and in a worse position with the salary cap.

Having said that it doesn't mean teams who are on the bubble can't make an impact. I think a healthy Wizards team could push near the 50 win mark, I think that if the Clippers manage to get some kind of chemistry and have some of their young players like Griffin, Gordon, Jordan and Thornton really develop they could make some noise. Unless you're a supporter of the Bucks, there is no harm in being cautiously optimistic.

"Unless you're a supporter of the Bucks, there is no harm in being cautiously optimistic".

LOL TC, its easy to feel good about a team when you don't support them! I'm feeling a bit better about them too, after they cleared out some dead wood, improved their cap sitch and got a couple of young guys (Johnson and Jennings) who showed good potential in the Summer League. But if I'm actually a Bucks fan? I'd still be horribly depressed knowing that realistically I have to suffer through at least another 2 mediocre seasons before my team can assemble enough talent to have a shot in the playoffs!

Geez Quag, not only is your glass half empty, you're stirring in the downers ready to knock back the rest!

I'll bite on a few of your questions:

Kidd will continue to make Dallas a good team to watch this year. Good enough to keep fans happy, but they're not challenging for the West.

Hard to be sure about the Wiz. All the injury interruptions and Arenas need for the ball may mean they don't click, but I think there is potential there if they get it right. If I were the GM I would never have signed Arenas for that much. He's spectacular, but I remember how much better Butler and Jamison's numbers were when he first got injured about 2 years ago. I think they could either click and finish 4th or 5th in the conference, or implode and have a horrible season.

Ooops, meant to comment on the Clips, etc too!

I still fear the effect of the Indian curse on the Clippers, but if you're blessed with the boundless optimism all long term Clippers fans must have, you'd have to feel good about the team with solid vets like Kaman, Camby and Davis, two top notch prospects in Griffin and Gordon and Deandre Jordan a good project to bring along as Griffin's future frontcourt foil. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that Griffin and Gordon are both as close to sure stars as you can expect! But you're right, its foolish of me to anger the Indian spirits. Now that I've said something positive about them, Griffin's leg will probably fall off by February and Baron Davis will probably lead a locker room revolt soon after.

Nutter, I reckon the Celtics will have a much improved bench this season. Wallace is the perfect guy to rotate with KG and Perk, maintaining defensive intensity and ensuring none will play too many minutes. Likewise, though he isn't signed yet, Daniels has committed to the team and he will keep Pierce's minutes under control. He'll also be very useful playing alongside House, because it will allow House to defend opposing point guards and play SG on offense. Signing Davis (which seems likely) will ensure a very deep big man rotation. The only remaining question is, does Ainge sign a backup point guard for Rondo? Up until last week, I was still thinking Marbury for the right price, but the dude has lost the plot with his antics recently and is in no state of mind to contribute next season. Realistically though, Celtics only need a backup who can handle the ball competently and make the open three. So I like their depth a lot, especially when you compare it with the Lakers, who are very thin on the ground after their top 6.

and with a "thin" bench the Lakers won the last championship

Yep, they won. Doesn't change the fact that their bench is thin!

guess the rest of the league just suck too much. can't even beat:
-an aging Kobe
-soft Gasol
-inconsistent LO
-overated Bynum
-slow Fisher
-thin bench

Think the Nuggets will struggle to make the Conference finals again this year. Word today that Klieza is leaving for Greece following Jones' departure. Not huge pieces, but they played their roles last season, and the Nuggs dont want to spend money to replace....