Glenn
07-21-2006, 11:08 AM
"Aging team in decline", I love it!
http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/powerRankings
NBA Power Rankings
DIME Magazine / Dime MagazinePosted: 2 days ago
With so much player movement having gone down this offseason, as well as some youngsters getting to show off their skills in the summer leagues, we figured it’s time for another Dime Hit List. Without any official games on the schedule for another few months, we’re simply looking at how the rosters are stacking up so far.
NBA Power Rankings Week Of 07/17/2006
Rk Team Last Wk Rise/Fall High/Low Comment
1 Heat 5 (+4) 1/13 Obviously, offseason priority No. 1 was to ink Dwyane Wade to a contract extension, which they did. Without a draft pick, the Heat have been auditioning undrafted rookies Mike Gansey, Daniel Horton and Chris Quinn as reserve point guards in case Gary Payton decides to retire. Alonzo Mourning recently said he’s coming back for one more run. And watch out for Earl Barron next year. The guy is putting up 25-30 points a game in the summer league.
2 Mavericks 2 - 1/6 Re-signing Jason Terry and extending Dirk for a few more years marked the Western Conference champs’ biggest accomplishments of the summer. They also traded Marquis Daniels to the Pacers for Austin Croshere, who can fill the role Keith Van Horn struggled in last year. Dallas also got a great value pick in the draft with Maurice Ager, who some experts had going in the Lottery before he fell to the Mavs with the 28th pick.
3 Suns 6 (+3) 2/9 Losing Tim Thomas hurts, but the core of this Suns team returns pretty much intact – Marion, Nash, Diaw, Barbosa and Bell. Not to mention, Amare Stoudemire has looked good in his summer league games. We still don’t know why they didn’t draft a young point guard to backup Nash, though.
4 Spurs 4 - 1/4 After trading away Rasho Nesterovic and losing Nazr Mohammed in free agency, the Spurs are scrambling for a legit five. They’ve already missed out on ‘Zo and Przybilla, and have to wait and see if the Knicks match their offer sheet for Jackie Butler, or if Denver matches SA’s offer for Francisco Elson.
5 Clippers 3 (-2) 3/15 Tim Thomas is an upgrade over Vlad Radmanovic at the three, since Thomas can do more things than Vlad. The Clips also re-signed Sam Cassell, keeping their core unit together. Corey Maggette will come back healthy next year, too.
6 Cavaliers 8 (+2) 4/11 Signing LeBron to an extension was all anyone cared about in Cleveland. Negotiations with Drew Gooden reportedly aren’t going so well, since Gooden apparently wants Nene-level money. The Cavs could lose him in a sign-and-trade. Shannon Brown is a more athletic and versatile combo guard than Flip Murray was, and having a healthy Larry Hughes will be big.
7 Bulls - - /28 Whether you think Chicago overpaid for Ben Wallace or not, the fact remains that the Bulls landed the biggest free agent on the market and the best defensive player in the League. Adding Big Ben to a group of Hinrich, Gordon, Deng and Nocioni puts Chicago up there with the legit Eastern Conference contenders. Plus, Tyrus Thomas and Thabo Sefolosha have been impressive in summer league.
8 Pistons 1 (-7) 1/8 Four-fifths of the Best Starting Five in Basketball returns, but Detroit lost its heart and soul when Ben Wallace went to Chicago. Nazr Mohammed certainly isn’t the answer, and suddenly the Pistons look like an aging team in decline.
9 Nets 7 (-2) 3/24 Marcus Williams was the steal of the draft, and the Nets addressed another need by drafting Josh Boone.
10 Kings - - /23 Will they lose Bonzi Wells? Ron Artest (jokingly) said he’d kill Bonzi were he to leave, but realistically, an improved Kevin Martin/Francisco Garcia combo – plus rookie Quincy Douby – would balance out what Sacto could lose with Wells.
11 Lakers - - /16 Andrew Bynum has had some promising summer league outings, and Kwame Brown’s legal problems are officially behind him - both good news for L.A.’s frontcourt. The Lakers have addressed their biggest needs: getting a shooter in Vladimir Radmanovic and a true PG in Jordan Farmar.
12 Grizzlies - - /14 Shane Battier is gone, Bobby Jackson left as a free agent and Lorenzen Wright is on the way out, but the Grizz will stay solid after putting together a good draft with Rudy Gay, Kyle Lowry and Alexander Johnson.
13 Hornets - - /25 You can make a case that no team has improved itself more than the Hornets. They brought in Peja Stojakovic (albeit with a hefty price tag), Tyson Chandler, Hilton Armstrong and Cedric Simmons, and unloaded the reportedly disgruntled J.R. Smith. Giving up veteran leader P.J. Brown hurts, but this is now Chris Paul’s team, anyhow.
14 Bucks - - /27 Michael Redd is reportedly in killer shape, and assuming Milwaukee pulls off the much-rumored Jamaal Magloire trade, Andrew Bogut can move to his natural center position. Charlie Villanueva is a potential All-Star, but will he prove to be worth giving up T.J. Ford?
15 Nuggets - - /17 Carmelo is signed to an extension and Nene got a long-term deal, but the rest of this team’s core is up in the air. It’s no secret Denver is trying to trade Kenyon Martin, and we recently read a Philadelphia Inquirer article that said Marcus Camby and Andre Miller are being shopped “to anyone listening.”
16 Timberwolves - - /27 Randy Foye has been destroying the summer league. Between Foye, Ricky Davis and newly signed Mike James, the Wolves suddenly have a nasty backcourt. And that’s even with Rashad McCants possibly missing the entire season recovering from knee surgery.
17 Jazz - - /23 After barely missing out on the playoffs last season, the Jazz have been quietly effective in their offseason moves. They picked up Ronnie Brewer, Dee Brown and Paul Millsap in the draft – all accomplished three to four-year college players who fit specific need areas in Utah. The Jazz also re-signed Matt Harpring, and got Derek Fisher in a trade with the Warriors.
18 Wizards - - /25 As long as the Big Three are around (Arenas, Jamison and Butler), the Wizards should be in good shape in the East. But they were exposed as an awful defensive team in the postseason, which is why they’re trying to get free agent DeShawn Stevenson.
19 Rockets - - /25 The last we heard, T-Mac isn’t feeling any pain in his back, and Yao Ming’s recovery from a broken foot is going according to schedule. Shane Battier gives them defense and some offensive help, but not as much firepower as Rudy Gay would have brought had they kept him instead.
20 Celtics - - /28 The C’s have been stockpiling young talent, but some think it’s all in an effort to entice Philly in a trade for Iverson. We can’t say who is and who isn’t on the block right now – probably everyone except Paul Pierce.
21 Pacers - - /21 Shawne Williams and James White have loads of potential, but Indy would have been better off shoring up the point guard position in the draft. They must be counting on Sarunas Jasikevicius settling into the PG role. Marquis Daniels can fill it up in the right system, but most likely won’t be the scorer that Peja was for the Pacers.
22 76ers - - /22 Are they trading Allen Iverson or not? That’s all anyone wants to know. Rodney Carney is a good talent, but he’s basically the same player as Andre Iguodala.
23 Hawks - - /30 Atlanta finally got a decent PG in Speedy Claxton and some defensive toughness in Shelden Williams. Marvin Williams is going nuts in the summer league (he put up a 30-10-10 the other day) and is emerging as a decent replacement in the event Al Harrington leaves town.
24 Raptors - - /30 Love or hate the Villanueva/Ford trade, at least the Raptors are making moves with a specific goal in mind. The team wants to play up-tempo, so bringing in one of the fastest point guards in the League is a good move. Unless, of course, Ford gets injured again and Charlie V becomes an All-Star.
25 Warriors - - /28 One of the teams in the running to land Al Harrington, although it would cost them Troy Murphy and probably another impact bench guy at the least. Harrington could form a nice frontcourt one day with Ike Diogu and Patrick O’Bryant.
26 SuperSonics - - /27 Why did they draft another seven-foot project who can’t legally drink (Saer Sene) when Ray Allen doesn’t have a true backup? Ronnie Brewer, J.J. Redick and Rodney Carney were right there. Or maybe incoming French import Mickael Gelabale is as good as advertised.
27 Bobcats - - /30 Adam Morrison has been going off in the summer leagues, including one game where he dropped 25 in the first half. Other than Morrison, Charlotte’s biggest offseason move was bringing Michael Jordan into the fold as a part-owner.
28 Trail Blazers - - /30 Arguably no team had a better draft (Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge), but you never know how rookies will come out of the gate. Portland also re-signed Joel Przybilla and traded Sebastian Telfair, which freed up the logjam at point guard.
29 Magic - - /30 The cornerstones are there in Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson, but J.J. Redick is now a question mark with his back problems. Redick is already being held out of summer league games, and won’t be playing in Team USA’s training camp. Grant Hill’s health is always an issue, and the Magic will be weaker defensively if they lose free agent DeShawn Stevenson.
30 Knicks - - /30 It seems everyone on the Knicks is nothing short of giddy to be playing for Isiah Thomas. But will all of that goodwill translate into wins? The same crew that won only 23 games is returning pretty much intact; the only wild card is Jackie Butler, who signed an offer sheet with the Spurs last week that New York still has time to match. Isiah has been unable to give away any of New York’s huge contract guys – Steve Francis, Mo Taylor, Jalen Rose, etc. Can Renaldo Balkman save the day?
http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/powerRankings
NBA Power Rankings
DIME Magazine / Dime MagazinePosted: 2 days ago
With so much player movement having gone down this offseason, as well as some youngsters getting to show off their skills in the summer leagues, we figured it’s time for another Dime Hit List. Without any official games on the schedule for another few months, we’re simply looking at how the rosters are stacking up so far.
NBA Power Rankings Week Of 07/17/2006
Rk Team Last Wk Rise/Fall High/Low Comment
1 Heat 5 (+4) 1/13 Obviously, offseason priority No. 1 was to ink Dwyane Wade to a contract extension, which they did. Without a draft pick, the Heat have been auditioning undrafted rookies Mike Gansey, Daniel Horton and Chris Quinn as reserve point guards in case Gary Payton decides to retire. Alonzo Mourning recently said he’s coming back for one more run. And watch out for Earl Barron next year. The guy is putting up 25-30 points a game in the summer league.
2 Mavericks 2 - 1/6 Re-signing Jason Terry and extending Dirk for a few more years marked the Western Conference champs’ biggest accomplishments of the summer. They also traded Marquis Daniels to the Pacers for Austin Croshere, who can fill the role Keith Van Horn struggled in last year. Dallas also got a great value pick in the draft with Maurice Ager, who some experts had going in the Lottery before he fell to the Mavs with the 28th pick.
3 Suns 6 (+3) 2/9 Losing Tim Thomas hurts, but the core of this Suns team returns pretty much intact – Marion, Nash, Diaw, Barbosa and Bell. Not to mention, Amare Stoudemire has looked good in his summer league games. We still don’t know why they didn’t draft a young point guard to backup Nash, though.
4 Spurs 4 - 1/4 After trading away Rasho Nesterovic and losing Nazr Mohammed in free agency, the Spurs are scrambling for a legit five. They’ve already missed out on ‘Zo and Przybilla, and have to wait and see if the Knicks match their offer sheet for Jackie Butler, or if Denver matches SA’s offer for Francisco Elson.
5 Clippers 3 (-2) 3/15 Tim Thomas is an upgrade over Vlad Radmanovic at the three, since Thomas can do more things than Vlad. The Clips also re-signed Sam Cassell, keeping their core unit together. Corey Maggette will come back healthy next year, too.
6 Cavaliers 8 (+2) 4/11 Signing LeBron to an extension was all anyone cared about in Cleveland. Negotiations with Drew Gooden reportedly aren’t going so well, since Gooden apparently wants Nene-level money. The Cavs could lose him in a sign-and-trade. Shannon Brown is a more athletic and versatile combo guard than Flip Murray was, and having a healthy Larry Hughes will be big.
7 Bulls - - /28 Whether you think Chicago overpaid for Ben Wallace or not, the fact remains that the Bulls landed the biggest free agent on the market and the best defensive player in the League. Adding Big Ben to a group of Hinrich, Gordon, Deng and Nocioni puts Chicago up there with the legit Eastern Conference contenders. Plus, Tyrus Thomas and Thabo Sefolosha have been impressive in summer league.
8 Pistons 1 (-7) 1/8 Four-fifths of the Best Starting Five in Basketball returns, but Detroit lost its heart and soul when Ben Wallace went to Chicago. Nazr Mohammed certainly isn’t the answer, and suddenly the Pistons look like an aging team in decline.
9 Nets 7 (-2) 3/24 Marcus Williams was the steal of the draft, and the Nets addressed another need by drafting Josh Boone.
10 Kings - - /23 Will they lose Bonzi Wells? Ron Artest (jokingly) said he’d kill Bonzi were he to leave, but realistically, an improved Kevin Martin/Francisco Garcia combo – plus rookie Quincy Douby – would balance out what Sacto could lose with Wells.
11 Lakers - - /16 Andrew Bynum has had some promising summer league outings, and Kwame Brown’s legal problems are officially behind him - both good news for L.A.’s frontcourt. The Lakers have addressed their biggest needs: getting a shooter in Vladimir Radmanovic and a true PG in Jordan Farmar.
12 Grizzlies - - /14 Shane Battier is gone, Bobby Jackson left as a free agent and Lorenzen Wright is on the way out, but the Grizz will stay solid after putting together a good draft with Rudy Gay, Kyle Lowry and Alexander Johnson.
13 Hornets - - /25 You can make a case that no team has improved itself more than the Hornets. They brought in Peja Stojakovic (albeit with a hefty price tag), Tyson Chandler, Hilton Armstrong and Cedric Simmons, and unloaded the reportedly disgruntled J.R. Smith. Giving up veteran leader P.J. Brown hurts, but this is now Chris Paul’s team, anyhow.
14 Bucks - - /27 Michael Redd is reportedly in killer shape, and assuming Milwaukee pulls off the much-rumored Jamaal Magloire trade, Andrew Bogut can move to his natural center position. Charlie Villanueva is a potential All-Star, but will he prove to be worth giving up T.J. Ford?
15 Nuggets - - /17 Carmelo is signed to an extension and Nene got a long-term deal, but the rest of this team’s core is up in the air. It’s no secret Denver is trying to trade Kenyon Martin, and we recently read a Philadelphia Inquirer article that said Marcus Camby and Andre Miller are being shopped “to anyone listening.”
16 Timberwolves - - /27 Randy Foye has been destroying the summer league. Between Foye, Ricky Davis and newly signed Mike James, the Wolves suddenly have a nasty backcourt. And that’s even with Rashad McCants possibly missing the entire season recovering from knee surgery.
17 Jazz - - /23 After barely missing out on the playoffs last season, the Jazz have been quietly effective in their offseason moves. They picked up Ronnie Brewer, Dee Brown and Paul Millsap in the draft – all accomplished three to four-year college players who fit specific need areas in Utah. The Jazz also re-signed Matt Harpring, and got Derek Fisher in a trade with the Warriors.
18 Wizards - - /25 As long as the Big Three are around (Arenas, Jamison and Butler), the Wizards should be in good shape in the East. But they were exposed as an awful defensive team in the postseason, which is why they’re trying to get free agent DeShawn Stevenson.
19 Rockets - - /25 The last we heard, T-Mac isn’t feeling any pain in his back, and Yao Ming’s recovery from a broken foot is going according to schedule. Shane Battier gives them defense and some offensive help, but not as much firepower as Rudy Gay would have brought had they kept him instead.
20 Celtics - - /28 The C’s have been stockpiling young talent, but some think it’s all in an effort to entice Philly in a trade for Iverson. We can’t say who is and who isn’t on the block right now – probably everyone except Paul Pierce.
21 Pacers - - /21 Shawne Williams and James White have loads of potential, but Indy would have been better off shoring up the point guard position in the draft. They must be counting on Sarunas Jasikevicius settling into the PG role. Marquis Daniels can fill it up in the right system, but most likely won’t be the scorer that Peja was for the Pacers.
22 76ers - - /22 Are they trading Allen Iverson or not? That’s all anyone wants to know. Rodney Carney is a good talent, but he’s basically the same player as Andre Iguodala.
23 Hawks - - /30 Atlanta finally got a decent PG in Speedy Claxton and some defensive toughness in Shelden Williams. Marvin Williams is going nuts in the summer league (he put up a 30-10-10 the other day) and is emerging as a decent replacement in the event Al Harrington leaves town.
24 Raptors - - /30 Love or hate the Villanueva/Ford trade, at least the Raptors are making moves with a specific goal in mind. The team wants to play up-tempo, so bringing in one of the fastest point guards in the League is a good move. Unless, of course, Ford gets injured again and Charlie V becomes an All-Star.
25 Warriors - - /28 One of the teams in the running to land Al Harrington, although it would cost them Troy Murphy and probably another impact bench guy at the least. Harrington could form a nice frontcourt one day with Ike Diogu and Patrick O’Bryant.
26 SuperSonics - - /27 Why did they draft another seven-foot project who can’t legally drink (Saer Sene) when Ray Allen doesn’t have a true backup? Ronnie Brewer, J.J. Redick and Rodney Carney were right there. Or maybe incoming French import Mickael Gelabale is as good as advertised.
27 Bobcats - - /30 Adam Morrison has been going off in the summer leagues, including one game where he dropped 25 in the first half. Other than Morrison, Charlotte’s biggest offseason move was bringing Michael Jordan into the fold as a part-owner.
28 Trail Blazers - - /30 Arguably no team had a better draft (Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge), but you never know how rookies will come out of the gate. Portland also re-signed Joel Przybilla and traded Sebastian Telfair, which freed up the logjam at point guard.
29 Magic - - /30 The cornerstones are there in Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson, but J.J. Redick is now a question mark with his back problems. Redick is already being held out of summer league games, and won’t be playing in Team USA’s training camp. Grant Hill’s health is always an issue, and the Magic will be weaker defensively if they lose free agent DeShawn Stevenson.
30 Knicks - - /30 It seems everyone on the Knicks is nothing short of giddy to be playing for Isiah Thomas. But will all of that goodwill translate into wins? The same crew that won only 23 games is returning pretty much intact; the only wild card is Jackie Butler, who signed an offer sheet with the Spurs last week that New York still has time to match. Isiah has been unable to give away any of New York’s huge contract guys – Steve Francis, Mo Taylor, Jalen Rose, etc. Can Renaldo Balkman save the day?