Post by Los Angeles Lakers on Feb 26, 2007 0:20:02 GMT -5
Teams On The Brink of Success
Boston Celtics
I had said that Dwight Howard would spend his career in mediocrity after being drafted by Boston but the Celtics do have some decent pieces to throw around to make some great moves. They've got a lot of cap space left and could use it to try and sign some of the free agents still on the market. Ben Wallace or Antawn Jamison would be solid pickups for a team that needs another solid front court player to go with Dwight Howard and Adam Morrison. They could even opt to make a move for a veteran player by trading some of their youth and depth at extra positions away. Gilbert Arenas is definitely a guy that the Celtics will probably push to deal the most. When you're in the east, you're never that far from being a good team.
New Jersey Nets
Not getting back Leandro Barbosa wasn't very smart on their part. I'm not sold on Rajon Rondo being the point guard of a future for this team. In fact, I think Ben Gordon would probably now be the better option at point guard for this team. They probably should make the move to put Darko Milicic at center before training camp. I'm also not sold on that huge contract they gave Mickael Pietrus. They already have one overpaid player in Richard Jefferson and now they have Mickael Pietrus added to the books. I expect Ike Diogu to have a breakout season now that he's no longer in the background for the Atlanta Hawks.
New Orleans Hornets
This is the team that I really think can be a contender in the east and in the league if the right moves are made Dajuan Wagner is one of the best up and coming shooting guards in the league. They just filled their most important need with Rudy Gay in the draft and have Andrew Bogut who unexpectedly fell to them at three in the previous draft. Their pressing need is point guard. They made a huge mistake a couple seasons ago by drafting Nate Robinson with the fifth pick. A team like Cleveland has a number of point guards and perhaps one of the league's best in Jamal Crawford available. The Hornets have the cap space to make a move to package perhaps Nate Robinson and Robert Swift for Jamal. They also could wait it out and gamble on trying to max out on Kirk Hinrich and Marcus Banks. Adding any of those three will be great for this franchise on the rise.
Toronto Raptors
They don't really have to make any moves but now that they've got Dwayne Wade back, they can breathe a sigh of relief. They actually have a very good core coming back next year - especially after they acquired Lamar Odom. They probably have one of the most complete starting lineups in the league with Harris, Wade, Odom, Brand, and Haywood. A good training camp can put this team over the top.
Denver Nuggets
They've made the playoffs two years in a row and had their first 50 win season under GM dasm0kesh0w last year. They're a probably one veteran player away from making some serious noise next year. Re-signing Nene Hilario to a one year max contract and packaging him with Tsakalidis and a couple of picks could yield them something good. Targetting perhaps Keith Van Horn or working out a sign and trade with the Spurs to get them Ben Wallace to add to that frontline would be something the Nuggets should look into doing if they can't land anybody solid with their MLE.
Boston Celtics
I had said that Dwight Howard would spend his career in mediocrity after being drafted by Boston but the Celtics do have some decent pieces to throw around to make some great moves. They've got a lot of cap space left and could use it to try and sign some of the free agents still on the market. Ben Wallace or Antawn Jamison would be solid pickups for a team that needs another solid front court player to go with Dwight Howard and Adam Morrison. They could even opt to make a move for a veteran player by trading some of their youth and depth at extra positions away. Gilbert Arenas is definitely a guy that the Celtics will probably push to deal the most. When you're in the east, you're never that far from being a good team.
New Jersey Nets
Not getting back Leandro Barbosa wasn't very smart on their part. I'm not sold on Rajon Rondo being the point guard of a future for this team. In fact, I think Ben Gordon would probably now be the better option at point guard for this team. They probably should make the move to put Darko Milicic at center before training camp. I'm also not sold on that huge contract they gave Mickael Pietrus. They already have one overpaid player in Richard Jefferson and now they have Mickael Pietrus added to the books. I expect Ike Diogu to have a breakout season now that he's no longer in the background for the Atlanta Hawks.
New Orleans Hornets
This is the team that I really think can be a contender in the east and in the league if the right moves are made Dajuan Wagner is one of the best up and coming shooting guards in the league. They just filled their most important need with Rudy Gay in the draft and have Andrew Bogut who unexpectedly fell to them at three in the previous draft. Their pressing need is point guard. They made a huge mistake a couple seasons ago by drafting Nate Robinson with the fifth pick. A team like Cleveland has a number of point guards and perhaps one of the league's best in Jamal Crawford available. The Hornets have the cap space to make a move to package perhaps Nate Robinson and Robert Swift for Jamal. They also could wait it out and gamble on trying to max out on Kirk Hinrich and Marcus Banks. Adding any of those three will be great for this franchise on the rise.
Toronto Raptors
They don't really have to make any moves but now that they've got Dwayne Wade back, they can breathe a sigh of relief. They actually have a very good core coming back next year - especially after they acquired Lamar Odom. They probably have one of the most complete starting lineups in the league with Harris, Wade, Odom, Brand, and Haywood. A good training camp can put this team over the top.
Denver Nuggets
They've made the playoffs two years in a row and had their first 50 win season under GM dasm0kesh0w last year. They're a probably one veteran player away from making some serious noise next year. Re-signing Nene Hilario to a one year max contract and packaging him with Tsakalidis and a couple of picks could yield them something good. Targetting perhaps Keith Van Horn or working out a sign and trade with the Spurs to get them Ben Wallace to add to that frontline would be something the Nuggets should look into doing if they can't land anybody solid with their MLE.
