Hawks. Sensible moves, no ridiculous contracts, Horford returning. Have a game plan and sticking to it. Washington will be good but older than people think and still need to sort out SF. Bobcats except for the Hayward move long term are in a good position. Conference will be up for grabs.
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What's so amazing about Washington? I really don't see it. Yes Wall&Beal are a dynamic duo. But people keep saying they have so much promise, yet they only really have two young guys with real potential. Nene is getting older, even if they keep Ariza who knows if he will stay competitive next year, and he's not young either. Marcin Gortat, I like him, but they signed him to like a 5 year $50M deal? Isn't he 29?
I like out situation much better. Lots of young talent.
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tenforthewin wrote: View PostAtlantic Division - We may still hold the Division Title but who Knows
Rivals: Brooklyn Nets, New York Knicks
Watch out For: Boston Celtics
No Brainer, Stash for another Disappointing Season: Philly 76ers
Rationale:
New York Knicks - The Knicks will be looking to resign Carmelo Anthony and if he resigns, they may be looking forward to sign and trade for Pau Gasol, possibly shipping Bargnani out to play with Kobe. The Knicks will be having
Calderon, Tim Hardaway Jr or JR Smith, Melo, Gasol, and Stoudamire. This is a playoff team and also considering Phil Jackson is the GM, I see them making a run at the 7th or 8th spot
Is there a reason why you think LAL would trade Gasol for Bargs? I think they'd rather lose Gasol for nothing, than trade him for Bargs.
Gasol wants rings, which NYK can't offer. He's more likely to go to play for the Spurs, than NYK IMO.
Brooklyn Nets - The Nets are aging and with the loss of Jason Kidd, the Nets may miss the playoff but they still pose some threat to the Raptors consider the return of KG and Pierce along with Joe Johnson and a possibly return of Brook Lopez making the team a capable playoff team.
Pierce hasn't signed a contract with BKL yet, not sure if he's even going back. I think Pierce wants to play with Doc. With Deron being useless, KG being near useless, and Lopez only having 1-foot, I don't think BKL is going to be too threatening.
Boston Celtics - Marcus Smart won't make this team better but they still have Rondo and a newly resigned Avery Bradley who may play his heart out. I don't see them making the playoff but on the verge perhaps. Smart is a good candidate for ROY and I would love to see him play in the upcoming season along with Kelly Olynyk.
I don't see why Bradley would play his heart out, he already got the contract he wanted, lol. If anything, he'll get lazier. Don't see Boston making any noise.
Philly 76ers - Joel Embiid may miss the entire season but with Nerlens Noel, the team looks promising. I see them making a playoff push but will bounce back down to Earth when April comes.
No. The 76ers are not going to make a playoff push, lol. They have a bigger chance trying to let Embiid "Rest" and rehabilitate than making a playoff push. Likely tanking again to try and get another high draft pick, maybe for Okafor in the next draft.
Central Division - It's either the Pacers or the Cavs
Cleveland Cavs - Lebron James twitts that he will sign with the Cavs, oh wow, watch out and if they get Kevin Love, man this team is up for a championship run with a lineups of Irving-Wiggins-LeBron-Love-Varejao. Watch out and their 6th man in Dion Waiters and a newly improved Anthony Bennett. Damn!
That lineup is impossible for the Cavs to field, just by the way. The rumored deal, was Wiggins would be going to MIN, with a potential Thompsons and Waiters also, and a 1st, depending on what it is.
AB, I like him, but, he's still a bit of ways away from being anything near the player he's supposed to be.
Although, if LeBron does end up going back to the Cavs, they should be favourites to be at the top of the Eastern Conference.
Indiana Pacers - The Pacers will make to the playoff and will only get better consider they made some slight changes to their roster by adding some key arsenals. Evan Turner is not returning but they got CJ Miles, a deadly shooter and an European deadly shooter in Damjan Rudez. Lance Stephenson resigns with the Pacers and they are looking to sign and trade for Dragic. A lineup of Dragic-Stephenson-George-West-Hibbert looks good on paper
I don't think Lance stays with the Pacers. They offered him a contract already, 5/44 I believe, and he wanted more. He's likely to get the same amount, if not more than what the Pacers offer him from other teams, especially when the LeBron/Melo sweepstakes are over.
I also don't see how they can afford Dragic either, along with resigning Stephenson. I believe they're very close to the cap already, and wouldn't be able to afford Dragic. And...why are the Suns letting go of Dragic again, when they're already shopping Bledsoe around?
That being said, I'm sure they'll string together a strong regular season, and choke when it counts.
Chicago Bulls - Ok, they will amnesty Carlos Boozer or do a sign and trade and with Rose healthy, watch out, the Bulls will make an impact in the playoff consider their fatal loss to the Wizards in the playoff this year. They added Doug McDermott, a deadly shooter as their starting 3, while their bench production improves as well.
Bulls, with a healthy Rose, could make some noise. Though, that depends on if Rose gets back to MVP form, which many people are doubting. Nobody's going to S&T Boozer, he's still under contract for the following year. He's likely to play for the Bulls again, if they lose the Melo sweepstakes, since their owner is cheap, or they'll Amnesty him, only if they think they have a chance at a big name FA.
Detroit Pistons - The Pistons didn't do much in the offseason but who knows, they may be looking to acquire Trevor Ariza and with Greg Monroe, a possibility of resigning with the team, the Pistons will be looking for a playoff push. Andre Drummond will continue to improve his game while KCP, a fan favorite in the summer league will upgrade his game as well.
I don't think they're going to resign Monroe. Maybe a S&T, but, he's going to cost them the Max, since so many teams afterwards will have space, and the FA will really get rolling after LeBron/Melo make their decisions. Ariza won't make them any more dangerous, their team is too dysfunctional. With Jennings and Smith jacking up all the shots they can wherever and whenever, it's hard to see this team getting anywhere.
KCP is also improving, but, this team still has a very big issue with being able to hit shots. Meeks will help, but i don't think it's enough. KCP, Smith, and Jennings, are terrible chuckers.
Milwaukee Bucks - Hands down to Jabari Parker, with 99% of chance he will win ROY for the young Bucks, while proving to the league why he should be picked 1st overall. The Bucks will get slightly better than last year but will miss the playoff due to lack of experience
This team won't amaze any, but wont' disappoint either, considering how bad they were the previous season. Their young players will continue to develop, and how much they develop will depend on whether MIL is bottom of the East, or in the lower 3/4 of the East.
Southeast Division
Miami Heat - With the departure of LBJ and possibly CB4, the Heat is back to square one, like the 2009 season. They may still make to the playoff with Wade and Granger but the Heat wont be the same like it was two seasons ago, watch them fall and back to lottery draft next year.
If LeBron and Bosh leave, the Heat would barely scrape by into the playoffs. With Wade's degenerative knees, Granger's inability to do anything on the court now, the future doens't look bright for Miami.
On the flip side, if LeBron and Bosh both come back, they're likely be 1st/2nd in the East.
Washington Wizards - The Wizards will prove to the team that last year's playoff run wasn't a fluke. Wall, Beal, Ariza? Nene, Gortat are all back with an improved Otto Porter, the team may make some buzz when Jan and Feb roams along
Wizards are a nice up and coming team. Similar to the Raptors. The potential loss of Ariza could be a big deal, as he was quite important in their success lass season. How well their players step up if he leaves, will dictate their success this season.
Atlanta Hawks - John Salmons will lead this team to a championship title, haha just kidding. This team is a fringe playoff team consider they lost Louis Williams but in return they may look to add a few arsenals in the off season, possibly Dwayne Wade.
Why would DWade leave Miami to ATL? That...just doesn't even make sense. ATL will make some noise. With Horford coming back, even with the loss of Williams, they should still be alright.
Charlotte Hornets - The Bobcats got stang, say hello to the once again Hornets. The Hornets added Noah Vonleh in the draft to pair up with Al Jeff. On top of Vonleh, they also drafted a gamble in PJ Hairston who may be their Gilbert Arenas, Avery Bradley, Monta Ellis of the draft. The Hornets are strong consider they may look to sign Gordan Hayward.
Hayward is likely to be matched by the Jazz. But the Hornets are in a good spot.
Orlando Magic - Jameer Nelson is gone with his 10 years of service for the Magic, only to be waived, sigh.. I always thought he will retire as a Magic or be traded. The Magic will have an interesting season with their top 2 prized rookies in Gordan and Payton, and uprising talent of Harkless and T.Harris, the Magic will be a fun team to watch this year. They should do better than the Bucks
The Magic, are in all sorts of a mess right now. Giving out stupid contracts, Frye and Gordon, and having a log-jam of bigs. Whatever they're planning, I hope they don't enter the season with the lineup, that'll be laughable.
They have too many young players that need to be developed if they want any success in the future, but they lack enough playing time for them all.
My Prediction of Eastern Conference Standing at the end of the Season:
Indiana Pacers
Chicago Bulls
Charlotte Bobcats
Toronto Raptors
Cleveland Cavs
Washington Wizards
New York Knicks
Atlanta Hawks
Brooklyn Nets
Miami Heat
Philly 76ers
Orlando Magic
Milwaukee Bucks
Detroit Pistons
Boston Celtics
Pacers
Raptors
Bulls
Wizards
Bobcats
Hawks
Knicks
Nets
Heat
Pistons
Celtics
Magic
Bucks
76ers
If LeBron and Bosh stay in MIA, then I would guess:
Heat
Pacers
Raptors
Bulls
Wizards
Bobcats
Hawks
Cavs
Knicks
Nets
Pistons
Celtics
Magic
Bucks
76ers
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We laugh at "Born Ready" but Lance is the only Pacer who plays with passion -- the guy might not even be back next year.
Will Lebron be back? If he goes back home I'd argue they improve more than the Heat can.
Charlotte are offering Gordon Hayward max money? Does that make long term sense?
This is the last year Philly is bad...they're going to get scary quickly.
Not sure what the Celts are doing. They need wings. They drafted Rondo's eventual replacement, but they're not seriously thinking of moving him, are they?
Meanwhile, other than Houston, the top teams in the West are models of consistency. Not sure how the East is improving. The Raps are improving, the Wiz are improving -- simply by keeping their cores together. That's about it really.
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I love what Boston did, picked up Smart for PG and James Young in maybe 4 years, has the potential to be really good. Kind of like how DeRozan was when he got drafted, very raw. Except he can shoot threes, and has a 7'0 wingspan.
If they are going to rebuild, they should trade Rondo for a young player with upside and picks.
They're in a good situation right now, lots of picks and young assets they have. Bradley, Sullinger, Olynk
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JordanMariam14 wrote: View PostI love what Boston did, picked up Smart for PG and James Young in maybe 4 years, has the potential to be really good. Kind of like how DeRozan was when he got drafted, very raw. Except he can shoot threes, and has a 7'0 wingspan.
If they are going to rebuild, they should trade Rondo for a young player with upside and picks.
They're in a good situation right now, lots of picks and young assets they have. Bradley, Sullinger, Olynk
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Cavs could now be top seed in the East then Pacers and Us. Kyrie , Andrew , Lebron , Tristian or (Kevin Love if he wants to sign ,which I think he will) ,and Varejao.....Nevermind what haters say,
ignore them ’til they fade away. - T.I
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