http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=aldridge_david&id=1844534 Teams 1-10 1. Utah Jazz 2003-04 RECORD: 42-40, did not make playoffs SIGNIFICANT ADDITIONS: G Kirk Snyder (1st round, draft); F Kris Humphries (1st round, draft); F Carlos Boozer (restricted free agent, Cleveland); C Mehmet Okur (restricted free agent, Detroit) SIGNIFICANT LOSSES: C Greg Ostertag (signed with Sacramento) Last summer, the Jazz stuck a toe in the free agent waters, signing Jason Terry and Corey Maggette to offer sheets. Both were matched, and Utah came away with nothing. But instead of shying away this summer, the Jazz jumped in neck deep. They targeted Okur and got him early. And when whatever happened with Boozer happened in Cleveland, GM Kevin O'Connor was ready to pounce. It is a measure of how much O'Connor is respected around the league that absolutely no one is angry with him for taking advantage of the rules. The free agency boom also overshadows the selection of Snyder midway through the first round of the draft, a player some scouts compare to Latrell Sprewell. And don't forget Matt Harpring, who missed the last half of last season but is expected to be back in time for training camp. Utah now boasts a talented, deep young frontcourt that will give Andrei Kirilenko some help, and allow the precocious Humphries time to develop. We can only hope that Jerry Sloan's heart is in coaching next season after losing his wife, Bobbye, to cancer. We wish him well. 2. San Antonio Spurs 2003-04 RECORD: 57-25, lost in second round SIGNIFICANT ADDITIONS: G Brent Barry (unrestricted free agent, Seattle); G Beno Udrih (1st round, draft) SIGNIFICANT LOSSES: F Hedo Turkoglu (signed with Orlando) We say it a lot around here: When you're already good, often, the goal is just to keep what you've got. And the Spurs did that again. Last year, they kept Tim Duncan on the reservation before things got, shall we say, Boozerized. This summer, they fended off serious pushes from Denver and Phoenix for Manu Ginobili, re-signing the guard for $52 million, and re-upping Bruce Bowen for three years. Some think the price tag for Ginobili was too high, considering he's a guy who's more comfortable coming off the bench. In most places, it would be. But in San Antonio, where Ginobili's Latino heritage makes him a near-god among the locals, it was a smart investment. And Barry is exactly what the doctor ordered -- a perennial top-10 three-point shooter who should get five or six open looks a game playing off of the Big Fundamental. We love Brother Hedo, but the Spurs had to get better on the perimeter. In the Duncan Era, when the Spurs have knocked down jumpers, they've won titles. And don't overlook Udrih, who seems to be missing a consonant but who could solidify the Spurs' backup point position. 3. Denver Nuggets 2003-04 RECORD: 43-39, lost in first round SIGNIFICANT ADDITIONS: F Kenyon Martin (acquired from New Jersey) SIGNIFICANT LOSSES: F/C Chris Anderson (signed with New Orleans); F/C Michael Doleac (signed with Miami) Yes, the Nuggets may still need another shooter. But they needed a cop for Carmelo Anthony even more. When the Wolves are talking junk to you, as they did to Denver in the first round, you need to go get an enforcer. K-Mart fits the bill, and then some. He's ornery. He's physical. He's a leader in the clubhouse. He's one of those guys whose impact on the game is so much greater than his numbers. Guys really don't want to mess with him. And with Martin running the floor (call it the Mailman Effect), Anthony and the other Nuggets should be even more lethal in transition. The Nuggets also strengthened their bench, bringing in Michael Cooper from the WNBA as top assistant and making Adrian Dantley -- extremely well-respected around the league -- a fulltime assistant coach. Jeff Bzdelik knows full well that this is his last season in Denver, and that Cooper is his likely replacement. But he's handled it with grace. Besides, if Martin does what he's getting paid $92 mil to do, Bzdelik's going to go out in style. 4. Detroit Pistons 2003-04 RECORD: 54-28, won NBA championship SIGNIFICANT ADDITIONS: F Antonio McDyess (unrestricted free agent, Phoenix); G Carlos Delfino (reached buyout with Skipper Bologna) SIGNIFICANT LOSSES: C Mehmet Okur (signed with Utah) The champs took about five seconds to replace Okur with McDyess, with a reasonable four-year, $23 million deal with an option for a fifth season. If McDyess can stay healthy, he should provide Larry Brown with the rebounding that Okur did only sporadically. And the 6-foot-6 Delfino, one of the Pistons' first-round picks in 2003, is finally in the fold. He'll be a combo guard who will give Detroit a little bit of everything behind Rip Hamilton. Plus -- you laugh at your peril -- Darko Milicic should get on the court next season. So Detroit's adding three players to an already-strong rotation. Potential glitch: Brown lost a lot of brain power with the departures of assistant Mike Woodson -- who took the head job with the Hawks and took Brown's brother Herb with him -- and assistant John Kuester, who's going to New Jersey. We know that Pound-for-Pound is the best guy out there, but on his teams, the buffer between head coach and players that the assistants provide is critical. 5. Houston Rockets 2003-04 RECORD: 45-37, lost in first round SIGNIFICANT ADDITIONS: G Tracy McGrady (acquired from Orlando); F Juwan Howard (acquired from Orlando); G Tyronn Lue (acquired from Orlando) SIGNIFICANT LOSSES: G Steve Francis (traded to Orlando); G Cuttino Mobley (traded to Orlando); F/C Kelvin Cato (traded to Orlando) If McGrady's truly a great player, he'll raise his game to elite levels playing with Yao Ming in the hole and for Jeff Van Gundy on the bench. McGrady should become a great defensive player, for example; no excuse for him not being able to lock people up with his quickness and length. The same goes for Yao, by the way. Entering his third season, he should be close to full-formed. And with Shaq out of the West, Yao should be the best big man in the conference by a lot. Yao and T-Mac will discover what Kobe and Shaq should have known -- hey, together, we're even better. If that happens, the Rockets will be a force in the West. If you look at Howard's career, when he's been a third option -- as he should be in Houston -- he's been pretty good. Lue is a solid backup, but struggles as a starter; the Rockets still need to get a top-shelf ballhandler. 6, 7, 8 ............................
Sorry, forgot to put this part on the top: "Please keep in mind: This is not a predicted order of finish for next season. Nor does it mean that I think the teams at the bottom of the rankings will be in the lottery. This only covers the offseason, where owners, GMs and agents rule, and is only a measure of where these teams are relative to themselves last season. Once the ball goes up, the players usually decide who wins for real."
im just not getting all this utah love. boozer may be a decent player, but he'll be playing in the west now, not the push-over pansy leastern conference. he is undersized, and that rarely pans out into an effective PF here in the WC. and okur!!! what the hell has this guy done so far in his career??? to come in and say these two guys are the saving grace for this crap-tastic franchise is a reach, IMO. now i'll give sloan credit (a lot, really). he seems to get the most out of his players, but no way does that make them an elite team. but my intense hatred for the jazz could be clouding my judgement, so who knows....
I agree with SWT about Okur. I never understood all the hype he got because he never did anything to deserve it. Boozer is a nice addition, but I don't see him having the year he had in Cleveland. Utah is overrated.
I really wouldn't call Boozer undersized. He's a definitely a good player. Duncan; 7'0" 260 lbs Webber: 6'10" 245 lbs Garnett: 6'11" 240 lbs Brand: 6'8" 265 lbs Boozer: 6'9" 258 lbs I'd say his size is comparable to some of the elite power forwards in the west. Sure his numbers won't be as great as the were last year, but he'll do fine. As for Okur, despite limited playing time, I think he's demonstrated that he has the necessary skills to be a good player as well. That said, it really pisses me off that the Jazz's rebuilding period lasted only one season.
I agreed with you on Boozer, he's going to be good in the West. I don't think Okur ever did anything to demonstrate he has the necessary skills to be a good player. If you say Okur has the necessary body to be a big player, it makes more sense. I don't understand the hype on Okur, I saw him play and he ain't nothing special. He's slow, he's not so coordinated, and he doesn't have much of agility in the post, he can't board, he makes about 1 in 5 of jumpers from outside, he can't really pass. All he show in the finals is he is another big body to give foul to Shaq.
9.6ppg, 6.5rpg, 1.14bpg Okur's stat line through 48 games before Rasheed became a Piston... Nothing special, definately not worth what Utah paid him. But he's a skilled big man. Okur has the skills to be good. He's inconsistent. But he has skills. He has some nice finnese moves on the low block and has a decent jumper. I guess Utah figures they can get him to utilize all of his talents under Sloan and become a good player for them. I wouldn't bet against it; I've seen too many scrubs excel with the Jazz.
Jazz has the best front line in the west. It has a very solid lineup and will cause trouble for the top teams. I see it seeded #5 or 6.
How can you guys be so down on Okur. Clearly, he is an intimidator: Get out of the way of his powerful chins!
Hey MemphisX! 29. Memphis Grizzlies 2003-04 RECORD: 50-32, lost in first round SIGNIFICANT ADDITIONS: F Brian Cardinal (unrestricted free agent, Golden State); G Andre Emmett (acquired from Seattle) SIGNIFICANT LOSSES: None No, I haven't lost my mind. The Logo is still the Logo. But the teams behind Memphis in the West last season are all muscling up, and every team ahead other than the Lakers isn't losing ground. Moving into FedEx Forum should be a big boost for a team that built a nice fan base last season at the Pyramid. But what's Logo got up his sleeve? He's taking his sweet time re-signing Stromile Swift, which leads me to believe he's already got a deal in his pocket and is trolling for something a little better. Bringing in Cardinal will help, but you wonder if Memphis can keep Cardinal at $39 million, and re-signed Shane Battier at $37 million, and get Swift under contract this summer, and still be able to pay Pau Gasol next summer. The Grizz are only down here for now. Once the Logo pulls off whatever he's going to pull off, they'll go on a rocket ride. You better hope the Logo pulls off whatever he's going to pull off!
Not at all concerned. Even if we go into the season as is , we should maintain being the 6th best team in the West.
Boozer and Okur are way overrated. That Utah team will be pretty good though because of Sloan. The team that I think really helped itself out this offseason was Denver. They overpaid for Martin, but he's going to be fantastic out there. They come at you up in that Denver altitude and Kenyon Martin should flourish. He runs the floor, will defend, and bring some much needed toughness. Denver now has the best frontcourt in basketball with Martin, Nene, Camby, and Carmelo. I don't think that team is built for a championship, but look out for them in the regular season. They should be terrific.
It's way too early to think who's overrated, sho's fantastic. I think their performance next year will decide that.
