Save your jokes about there not being any "power" in the East.

I sense a major "jump forward" for Atlanta, Milwaukee and maybe even Charlotte coming soon. Maybe even New Jersey if they can resign Vince and pull off that Jefferson for Randolph deal.

Discuss.

If Atlanta does this right they could be in for a nice improvement. The Bucks should be a lot better without injuries and a nice wing player from the draft. Washington depends on whether they keep Jamison. Miami will get worse. I think Toronto will as well (no first rounder and delfino will not save them). I don't think New Jersey gets much better. VC if he stays will become more and more one dimensional. Kidd will break down eventually. They'll get some help up front in the draft I think. If they move RJ for Randolph and then draft Young/Wright/Thornton (one of them will slip I think) they'd be better off I think. Charlotte could be a lot better if they aren't cheap. They could add a big man and a scorer, and still sign Wallace.

It really depends on the GM's. Yes, a lot of teams could potentially improve a lot. But I also see some teams without draft resources that may falter (Toronto, Miami, Washington) if they aren't careful.

NY and Boston probably get a bit better.

Depending on what happens with their cap space and Gerald Wallace, Charlotte looks to be better.

Milwaukee might have taken Yi just to trade him. I think they might be able to get better value for him in a trade (Dallas? Golden State?) than taking Brewer, Noah, etc. Maybe they feel that they have enough young players and they want some experience? Did the drafting of Sessions and their interest in Devin Harris (part of a Yi deal?) signal that Mo Williams is destined to go elsewhere in a S&T?

Atlanta did well with Horford and Law, but now they have some deals to make (don't need 4 PGs and Sheldon Williams might as well go now, too).

Did the Bulls get much better with Noah, Gray & Curry? I'm not so sure they wouldn't have been better off trading #9 for a vet.

I'm surprised (in a good way) that Cleveland didn't buy a pick, as was rumored.

I think the West might have gotten stronger. Oden in the Blazers alone make them a force. Durant,Green, and maybe Rashard should make some noise although it'd take some time.

Nets should have gone for Randolph but instead someone else in their division gets him.

Cross, no doubt that adding Oden and Durant to the West makes it even stronger (even at the expense of the exiled former Spartans, JRich and Zach) but this really wasn't about which conference is better, we already know that.

I'm trying to identify which teams in the East are moving up the food chain.

Next stop: free agency.

Woops my bad.

The nets are rumored to trade RJ,Kristic, and Collins for Jermaine. If the Pacers did that, I'd think they'd be on their way to Derrick Rose next year but that'd make the Nets pretty strong.

Moore/Boone
Jermaine/WILLIAMS
Antoine Wright?/Nachbar
Vince Carter/
Jason Kidd/Williams

Milwaukee might have taken Yi just to trade him. I think they might be able to get better value for him in a trade (Dallas? Golden State?) than taking Brewer, Noah, etc. Maybe they feel that they have enough young players and they want some experience? Did the drafting of Sessions and their interest in Devin Harris (part of a Yi deal?) signal that Mo Williams is destined to go elsewhere in a S&T?


You know the perfect place for Yi would be in Houston with Yao. It seems like his style would compliment Yao's plus the nationality connection. However, I don't think they have much to offer. I thought Houston might trade Battier and their pick for Yi or something like that.

I wouldn't be surprised to see the Bucks trade Yi at all.

Is there a shit in the balance of power in the East coming?
Fixed.

Seriously, Sean Williams on the Nets could be realllly interesting, especially if they manage to snag Jermaine for RJ.

I think its possible. Sad as it is, I see the Pistons taking a bit of a dive over the next few years. I dont like the way this rebuild is headed.

The Cavs could be in trouble if they lose key role players like Varejao and Pavlovic and dont add a major player to improve their team. They could end up being one of those teams with one great player that never quite got their act together (ala T-Wolves, Magic, Sixers etc) and failed to build a championship team around them.

The Bulls look GREAT for the future, I dont think that needs to be expanded on. Kudos to Paxon.

The Raptors are a wave of the future. Im impressed with the nucleus they have, and if they continue to build on that, they could be players in the east for years to come.

Interestingly, though, I dont see the Knicks or Celtics being movers and shakers, even in the east. Randolph and Curry is a disaster defensively, and offensively thats two guys who need the ball down low, cant pass, and dont have a proven distributor to get them the rock. Allen/Pierce doesnt scare me. It just means fewer touches for Jefferson and the other kiddies.

Ill have to wait and see on the Bobcats. I like the JRich move, but they still need to resign Wallace and down the road add another post player.

I have yet to be impressed with the Bucks. Bogut will be a solid center, but I dont see a star there. Redd is nice, but not a franchise player by any stretch. I dont like Charlie V. after this past season, and I dont know enough about the Chinese player, if he even shows up.

The Hawks have TONS of young talent, but it has yet to materialize. They remind me of the Clippers earlier in the decade, when they had Odom, Maggette, Andre Miller, Elton Brand, Q Richardson, Chris Wilcox, and Michael Olawakandi (hey, he had a couple decent years there) and never had that group materialize into a good team. We'll wait and see with this group.

All in all, Id say the power is already changing, but it doesnt neccesarily have much to do with these draft day trades. The Heat, possibly us and maybe even the Cavs could decline, and the Bulls and Raptors will continue to improve. Depending on what they do in the free offseason, I wouldnt sleep on Dwight and the Magic either.

That said, the outcome of this year's lottery solidified the West as the top conferance for many years to come. I dont think we'll get a pair of bigs like that again any time soon, and they both went out West.

The Bulls have the greatest collection of zero-offense big men in the NBA. Great for them.

I still don't think they can beat us in the playoffs, since they have yet to find an answer for our 1-2-3 guys scoring at will from the perimeter against their midget guards.

The Raptors remain too young and too soft to pose any kind of a threat, especially now that they got Delfino. freaking New Jesey handled them in five.

Milwaukee will spend the entire summer battling the chinese government.

Atlanta will make the playoffs, but at Orlando's expense as the new #8 seed. They're still way too young.

NY is still NY. Marbury alone guarantees them failure.

Boston is a team that is really on the rise, but I can't say they're better than we are. They only have one big man that can walk and chew gum at the same time.

The Bobcats are the only possible surprise "elite" team in the east next year, but they have to re-sign gerald wallace first.

Truthfully the Bobcats, Bulls, Celtics, Raptors, Hawks, Knicks, Bucks, and Nets will all be better teams than last season. Washington, the Cavs, and the Heat will all stay competitive. The Pistons will make the playoffs but have slipped a bit in the pecking order. I still don't see any Eastern teams competing with the top 4 or 5 Western teams.

Unless NJ deals for Jermaine O'Neal next season, they won't be better.

Not to mention, they just drafted a locker room criminal for the 2nd straight season.

Their latest kid was actually late to workouts because he stayed up playing too many video games.....

I am completely unconcerned with a lot of that list mick. Charlotte has MJ at the helm. Isaiah finally has made one decent trade IMO, but certainly they can be beaten. I have total confidence they will find a way to mess it up. The Nets don't concern me at all. Period. Hawks are WAY far away. By that time, our window will be closed and we will be rebuilding again. Besides ownership is going to be a constant battle for them. The Celtics will make the playoffs until Ray Allen retires. That's it. They blew their wad on this trade and it will hurt them in the future.

Bulls are not really improved IMO, but they will still improve due to free agency and their gaining experience. Raps are good with a good GM. Dangerous. Bucks are also getting some needed depth. We'll see with them. Dont' worry, its not as bad as you think. All the major powers will be out west for now.

I am completely unconcerned with a lot of that list mick. Charlotte has MJ at the helm. Isaiah finally has made one decent trade IMO, but certainly they can be beaten. I have total confidence they will find a way to mess it up. The Nets don't concern me at all. Period. Hawks are WAY far away. By that time, our window will be closed and we will be rebuilding again. Besides ownership is going to be a constant battle for them. The Celtics will make the playoffs until Ray Allen retires. That's it. They blew their wad on this trade and it will hurt them in the future.

Bulls are not really improved IMO, but they will still improve due to free agency and their gaining experience. Raps are good with a good GM. Dangerous. Bucks are also getting some needed depth. We'll see with them. Dont' worry, its not as bad as you think. All the major powers will be out west for now.

I'm concerned about those teams not only for their current roster but what they have the flexibility to do.

The Bobcats get Sean May back to go with Okafor, Felton, and J. Rich. If G. Wallace leaves. it will likely be in a S&T so they will get something back. To this point Morrison has been a flop but he's only played one year. They POTENTIALLY could be a very solid and hungry team.

The Nets played relatively well last season without Kristic. S. Williams is a high risk player who if he pans out will make NJ a very good team.

The Bucks and Bulls will both be solid but it's scarier in how many trade pieces they have acquired. I not only worry about their players but what kind of deals that they can make.

The Knicks are the Knicks and although they will be better, won't scare anybody.

The Raptors and Celtics are now both very solid teams that should definitely make the playoffs and be top teams in the East.

Now I look at our Pistons and I see a ton of questions so far:

Who will back up Prince?

What do we do at Center?

Will Billups re-sign and get back to his old self?

Will Flip actually play all of our younger players?

Will Sheed hold it together as we lose more games?

Can Dumars snag a good FA?

Will Dumars make any big trades?

I guess that I'm most worried about seeing all of these other teams making moves to get better while the Pistons seem to be staying the same or even declining a bit.

I too would like to know the answers to those questions, because I frankly have no idea what the hell they are myself.

Center and backup for PRince are the two biggest determinants here. Nazr for Haywood would be a start, if anything for a shorter contract. I also love Ronald Murray to the Bobcats for a 2080 second rounder. They actually would play the guy off the bench, and they just cut Knight, so that opens up a spot behind Nick Young. Who knows, we might even have to give them a second rounder to make that happen.

There are a lot of decent Free agent SFs available, and I expect Dumars to make some offers, starting with Hill. I also loved the idea of send Nazr to Charlotte, but I think his contract will scare them away. They have no crappy ones to give us.

I think the Knicks will be a lot better. They have 3 legit big guys, Balkman defends everybody, and they have guards who can score. That's all you need in the East. I see them winning their division.

I think the Knicks will be a lot better. They have 3 legit big guys, Balkman defends everybody, and they have guards who can score. That's all you need in the East. I see them winning their division.

I would agree with you except for the fact that everyone on the team will want the ball and there's only one to go around. I'm just not sure how everyone will co-exist but they are better on paper.

The Cavs could be in trouble if they lose key role players like Varejao and Pavlovic and dont add a major player to improve their team.
Weird, I'd think they'd be better if they replaced them with players who actually have talent. No i dont mean great players, just ones with consistent talent.

Verajo is possibly the most overrated big man in the NBA and Pavlovic is the poster boy for inconsistency. jmho though. they may actually be more important to the cavs than i give them credit for, i personally dont see it. but its possible.

imo pavlovic is the worst starter in the nba. they couldnt possibly do worse than him.

the knicks struggle just to get into the playoffs. they need to trade randolph.

jersey could be great w/ oneal.

i have big expectations for charlotte, but theyre not top tier (in east) next year w/o a great coach.

boston is a mess.

toronto will be better with another year's experience. same w/ chicago.

atlanta might not suck next year, but not good.

i doubt orlando improves much.

all pistons have to do is tread water and they stay near or on top of the east.