標題: [球會動態] 霍林格：东西部盛宴那熟悉的味道 [打印本頁]
作者: sylk 時間: 2009-8-16 04:54 PM 標題: 霍林格：东西部盛宴那熟悉的味道
本帖最後由 sylk 於 2009-8-16 05:00 PM 編輯
作者：约翰-霍林格
ESPN.com
摄影：Nathaniel S. Butler/Getty Images ，
保留了夺冠的主要阵容--加上新加盟的阿泰斯特--湖人期待着卫冕。
好了，各位翘首以待的球迷，在周一品尝了东部联盟的各道大菜（点我）以后，现在我们把注意力转向西部的“美食”。
由于在休赛季西部球队阵容变化没有东部球队那么大，因此和上赛季结束时相比，西部联盟的格局排名变动也不多。但是我还是可以来替它们分分类。像东部联盟一样，西部球队也可以分为五个不同的集团。 确切的说是五个半集团，因为有一个特别的集团是东部联盟所没有的。
就像昨天一样，我们今天来享受一下西部“美食”。
如果没有进一步的阵容变化，西部盛宴将会如下排列。
超级集团：厨师推荐之头牌大菜
菜单上有很多好菜，但这道菜鹤立鸡群。当然，菜要贵一些，但美食家一致认为物有所值。它必将长久成为人们的话题中心。
洛杉矶湖人队
考虑一下这一点：卫冕冠军在夺冠的季后赛中，几乎没有从拜纳姆那里得到任何帮助。如果他能够恢复状态并发挥潜力，本赛季湖人队将会强到怎样变态的程度呢？
然而，对阵容更直接的影响来自于他们和火箭队对换阿里扎和阿泰斯特。阿泰斯特上个赛季在进攻端有些迷失不知所措，但他仍然是一个优秀的防守球员，同时是一位比阿里扎更好的定点射手。（对于那些只看了季后赛的球迷，我提醒你一下，阿里扎到上赛季为止职业生涯的三分球命中率只有29.9%。让我们不要被他上赛季末及时的手热而失去冷静的判断。）
给阿泰斯特五年合同有些愚蠢，但是无疑和阿里扎交换使得湖人队在短期内会变得更强。随着奥多姆和香农-布朗以非常合理的价格续约，菲尔-杰克逊回来继续执教，洛杉矶湖人队在夏天休赛季表现得安静（对湖人球迷来说）而有效。
当然，最大的有利之处是湖人队仍然在西部联盟里。东部联盟的三巨头魔术队，骑士队和凯尔特人队齐头并进，争夺决赛名额，在西部联盟中洛杉矶湖人队明显一枝独秀。
第一集团：主菜
当然了，你开始会吃些免费面包或点一两个小菜。但是 ，下面这些最令人难忘的美味将可能伴随你直到本赛季结束。
圣安东尼奥马刺队
在纸面上，马刺队的阵容看上去最有希望挑战湖人队的西部冠军头衔。他们在保留主力阵容的情况下得到了理查德-杰弗森和麦克戴斯，让先发五虎的进攻火力大增。在第二轮选秀中淘到的布莱尔和伤愈复出的伊恩-马哈米无疑加强了马刺队板凳深度。
但所有这一切还是取决于他们明星球员的状态。 蒂姆-邓肯和吉诺比利在上赛季末都受了伤。考虑到他们的年龄，人们不禁会怀疑他们能否恢复以往的神勇并坚持整个赛季。不弄清楚这个问题，马刺队就只能呆在第一集团。
丹佛掘金队
在今年春天，掘金队和湖人队在西部决赛中苦战了前四场比赛，第五场大部分时间也咬得很紧，因此理论上他们两队在赛季结束后水平相近。 然而，囊中羞涩的他们在休赛季没法跟上其它强队“军备竞赛”的脚步。尽管上赛季战绩喜人，然而掘金队不是一个高收入的球队。目前他们已经超过奢侈税门槛，所以不得不在花钱上缩手缩脚。正因为如此，克雷扎和琼斯将不会留下，安东尼-卡特也可能离开。
尽管如此，掘金队的6名主力球员都留下了，其中包括重新签约克里斯-安德森 ，以及招入了一些年轻潜力男如泰-劳森 （今年选秀我的最爱之一）和Afflalo 。尽管掘金队实力还不是十分稳定，但如果全队保持健康的话，他们仍然会取得非常不错的成绩。
波特兰开拓者队
现在还没有人认为开拓者队是西部真正的强队，但我们应该感觉到这个西部冠军的潜在竞争者。波特兰开拓者队在上赛季全明星赛以后取得了联盟最佳的赢球分差，正如我反复强调的，赢球分差往往比胜率更能预示球队未来的成功。
是的，他们在过去许多年里只在上赛季进过一次季后赛并在第一轮被淘汰，但这支球队在新赛季中应该能更进一步。 开拓者队得到控卫米勒 ，大大提高了他们的后场深度，同时韦伯斯特也已伤愈归队。唯一离队的是弗莱 ，他在上赛季末已经跌到轮转阵容的边缘。最重要的是，联盟中最年轻的球队核心（罗伊）去年取得了宝贵的季后赛经验，他知道该怎么打季后赛了。 新赛季大家都要小心这只球队。
第二集团：美味餐前小点
少量餐前小点还是十分可口的，这些球队都希望能从您对上面几个强队的关注中抢到一些目光，运气好的话它们说不定会得逞。 但由于它们每个都缺少了一项关键成分 ，使得它们无法在我们的饭桌上呆到明年6月（总决赛）。
犹他爵士队
犹他的球迷们看到下面这个事实不可能很开心：上个赛季最后23场比赛，爵士队全队健康却只打出了8胜15负。今年夏天到目前为止爵士队干得还不错，他们在选秀中得到了替补控卫埃里克-梅诺，并且在匹配了波特兰的报价后留下了米尔萨普。他们可能会失去水平下滑的哈普林（退役）。
不过，我们仍在等待着另一只鞋的落下。令爵士队沮丧的是，布泽尔选择执行合同最后一年选项，让球队远远超过了奢侈税线。几乎人人都认为他们会交易他，如果能换来一个好的翼侧球员，球队实力还能再提升一步。爵士队还有另一个好东西：完全不受保护的尼克斯队2010年首轮选秀权。
达拉斯小牛队
当其它队都在卖球员时小牛队却大肆招兵买马，他们在休赛季留下了基德，买来了马里昂 ， 古登 ， 汉弗莱斯 ， 蒂姆-托马斯和昆汀-罗斯。他们将面临高额奢侈税，以及给基德的过高合同（付给一位36岁老将三年2500万美元 ？），但老板库班自己不鸟奢侈税，我们还瞎操什么心呢。
尽管队员年龄偏高，小牛队还将延续他们的小快灵打法，在比赛关键时刻会排出基德，特里 ，霍华德 ，马里昂和诺维茨基的跑轰阵容。这可以给他们一个冲击季后赛的机会，但是还很难说这样的阵容是否能够顶住其它顶级球队强力内线的冲击。
由于库班一向爱花钱，他们一年后会拥有可能是联盟最令人垂涎的财富：丹皮尔的到期合同-2010-2011年无担保1200万美元。 一般的菜鸟球迷可能没有意识到在目前的经济状况下，这是多么有价值的东东。明年夏天那些深陷财政困境的球队会用自己的高薪明星球员交换小牛队的丹皮尔，然后立即放弃他以清空薪金压力。鉴于目前的经济状况，我觉得肯定有些球队愿意这样做。
新奥尔良黄蜂队
黄蜂队今年夏天并没有花什么钱，从最近球队交易历史来看，也许这是一件好事。一大堆糟糕的自由球员合同（ 斯托亚科维奇 ， 皮特森 ， 波西 ）捆住了黄蜂队的双手，并把他们推到奢侈税门槛以上。但他们在夏天还是用钱德勒交换 奥卡弗略略升级了一下中锋。
克里斯-保罗以一己之力把球队带入季后赛，休赛季得到的达伦-科利森和迪奥古可能会改善一下这个上赛季联盟中最差的板凳阵容。黄蜂队仍然可能试图摆脱一两个合同以避免交奢侈税，就目前阵容来看，现在他们翼侧球员实力仍旧非常一般。
第三集团：谜一样的肉菜
这些队的情况就象你跑到国外用自己不懂的外语胡乱点菜。它可能很美味，也可能很糟糕，完全无法预料。但它肯定会与众不同，你可能会有一两个有趣的经历。
洛杉矶快船队
他们上赛季一塌糊涂，这可是快船队，摆起烂来更本不需要时间通知。 但是，休赛季的好消息温暖了许多铁杆球迷的心。状元秀布莱克-格里芬应该拥有两双的即战力，用兰多夫交换昆廷-理查德森给了球队所需的薪金空间，以追逐明年的自由球员。更棒的是，他们进一步用理查德森从明尼苏达森林狼队换来了被低估的前锋克雷格-史密斯 。
看好快船队的最大理由是，他们一定会变得更好（反正上赛季烂得不能再烂了）。 拜伦-戴维斯 ，卡曼和里奇-戴维斯的身体状况都好多了，而二年级生埃里克-戈登还在提高中。虽然不知道他们能否闯进季后赛，但这样一只快船队至少让我们看到了希望。
菲尼克斯太阳队
由于老板不愿意支付奢侈税，加上管理层对薪金结构的严格控制，太阳队在休赛季连续裁人。在鲨鱼享受过全明星赛后，太阳交易掉了他以舒缓薪金压力—然后再裁掉刚换来的本-华莱士和帕夫洛维奇。然而当人们以为球队开始准备重建时，他们却延长了史蒂夫-纳什的合约，签下了弗莱以及重新签回了格兰特-希尔 ，这意味着他们仍然有可能进入季后赛，如果斯塔德迈尔能恢复健康的话。
没人知道他能否从眼睛受伤中恢复过来，以及眼睛问题会对他在场上打球有什么影响。但是如果他回复不到原来的水准，太阳队可能会做另外的打算。有一个前例暗示了到时候太阳队会怎么做：菲尼克斯太阳队在2007年为了脱手科特-托马斯的大合同，把自己不受乐透保护的首轮选秀权交易给了俄克拉荷马雷霆队。
俄克拉何马城雷霆队
我相信雷霆队会在本赛季提升排名，只是不知道会提升多少。他们选择今年捂紧钱袋为明年自由球员市场做准备，到时他们将有大约1500万美元的薪金空间。因此，本赛季的进步将完全来自于从现有球员（杜兰特 ，杰夫-格林和罗素-威斯布鲁克和新秀詹姆斯-哈登）身上挖掘潜力。
本赛季杜兰特能够爆发，获得场均25-30分并带领伙伴们冲进季后赛吗？绝对有这种可能。这一点完全依赖于他个人的进攻能力，而他目前尚未证明他可以在得高分的同时保持高命中率，以及为队员创造得分机会的能力。球队的问题还在于，如果主力受伤，他们的板凳深度可没多少。
第四集团：我可以把这菜退了吗？
第一眼看看，觉得它们还象是不错的开胃菜。但是 ， 一旦你吃了几口，就会发现每个球队都有些半生不熟的东东。
金州勇士队
如果仅仅考虑球员天份，勇士队不应该落在这个集团。他们有足够强的进攻火力：归来的埃利斯，新秀斯蒂芬-库里，马盖蒂 ， 别德林斯 ， 斯蒂芬-杰克逊和夏季联赛明星安东尼-兰多夫 。
可惜，从过去的经验我们已经知道他们会浪费掉这些进攻天赋。象没头苍蝇一样的制服组整天忙于将老尼尔森讨厌的球员踢出球队，然后去寻找另外的合适球员。哈灵顿 ， 克劳福德和Belinelli都这样被轻易地放弃了，布兰登-赖特很快就会是下一个。凭着这样的阵容和老尼尔森的经典打法：用7个得分后卫各打30分钟，勇士队绝对还是联盟中最糟糕的防守球队。所以，如果他们仍然只关注进攻，今年还是没戏。
休斯顿火箭队
伤病问题在赛季开始前就强行结束了火箭队的旅程，姚明和麦迪先后受伤去开刀，一个只能在赛季中回来，一个干脆整个赛季报销。与此同时，阿泰斯特和阿里扎的交换可能有利于火箭队的未来，但是对目前的球队帮助不大。
这是火箭队休赛季唯一的主要举动。另一方面，休斯顿为了补充其未来阵容做了许多疯狂的尝试，这可能是购买路易斯安那州以来美国最大的房地产收购行动。火箭队支付了近900万美元以收购泰勒，布丁格，Llull和大卫-安德森四名球员的签约权，注意：仅仅是签约权，不是工资—结果呢？只有安德森有可能进入本赛季的轮换阵容。
如果火箭队其他队员保持健康，而阿龙-布鲁克斯和卡尔-兰德里能够爆发的话，他们有可能留在季后赛的边缘，但没有足够得分能力的火箭队更有可能流于平庸。
第五集团： 公路上被撞死的野生动物
我相当肯定这是肉，但它的味道怎么尝起来不象是餐厅里提供的普通肉类呢？会不会是在公路上被撞死的某种野生动物呢？我想我刚才在上面看到了一个轮胎面商标 … NND，赶紧跑吧...
孟菲斯灰熊队
虽然克里斯-华莱士的门牌目前还写着总经理，但很明显老板海斯利已经开始大肆裁员。像往常一样，每当老板干预球队运转时，结果都是灾难性的。看看这都是些什么样的脑残交易吧：加索尔被湖人队扔下几块钱后打劫走，一年后同样为了蝇头小利换来了兰多夫的超级烂合同？同样脑残的交易还在继续准备着：高薪追逐布泽尔，大卫-李 ，我看还不如把1600万美元的票子烧着玩过瘾。噢，听说他还想要艾弗森。 真是强得无以复加。
尽管球场上座率极低，灰熊队仍然能够赚钱。这是因为他们会为300万美元做任何事情，哪怕把一个有用的球员（ 米利西奇）换成一个“废人”（昆廷-理查德森） 。少数还坚守在孟菲斯的球迷们下赛季会看到两个联盟中最独的球霸兰多夫和盖伊每天晚上在场上争抢球权。而如果他们买下艾弗森以后，场上的组合可能会为球迷贡献一些没有一次助攻的比赛。
明尼苏达森林狼队
和其他一些获得联盟关注的球队一样，森林狼队为了摆脱资金窘迫，开始积极交易掉球员。交易掉克雷格-史密斯仅仅是为了摆脱掉270万美元薪金额度以准备明年签特尔菲尔，这一举动已被许多人定为脑残。人们还发现森林狼队其实非常高兴金童卢比奥不能来，这样就能在未来几年里每年省下300万美元。在休赛季他们放走了麦克-米勒和弗耶，最终获得了一位他们可以随时放弃的非保护球员（ 阿特金斯 ），他们在自由球员市场的唯一举动是用低薪去尝试追逐赖安-霍林斯 。
如果艾尔-杰弗逊能回到自己在上赛季前半段的全明星水准，森林狼队还可以远离垫底位置一些。但是和上赛季1月份的强劲表现相比，他们的实力已经大打折扣了。
萨克拉门托国王队
看着萨克拉门托日益糟糕的经济形势和严重破损的阿科球馆，国王队迫不及待地找寻新的球馆，同时锁定所有资金流动。如果新球馆建在萨克拉门托，万事大吉。但是如果不行的话，许多其它城市象San Jose，Anaheim，堪萨斯城都是国王队的选择。 在目前前途未定时，他们是不会愿意多花一分钱在球队建设上的。
国王队在选秀中得到了潜力明星球员埃文斯，交易来了底薪潜力男罗德里格斯 ，加上凯文-马丁估计能更健康一些。这些应该能让他们本赛季勉强运转，而不是一泻千里的摆烂，但即使是乐观主义者也无法找到球队的亮点。
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Vince Carter, 32, 准备努力帮助魔术重返总决赛。.
VC对于今年的长草期做出了如下的评价：有点意思哟。
原本，我们都以为今年的长草期不会出现什么大动作，因为每个GM都在为明年的LeBron休养生息。然而，偏偏有人反其道而行之。每一个竞争者都开始加强自己的军备，尽管目前的世界经济不大景气，再说，要是能拿几个冠军，那小小的奢侈税算个鸟！
尽管没有那些当打的全明星被交易，不过今年长草期换了东家的球员还是星光熠熠。 Shaquille O'Neal, Richard Jefferson, Vince Carter, Ron Artest, Trevor Ariza, Rasheed Wallace, Andre Miller, Shawn Marion, Ben Gordon, Antonio McDyess, Emeka Okafor, Tyson Chandler, Charlie Villanueva和Hedo Turkoglu就是其中的佼佼者。
而且这份名单非常有可能继续增加一系列的名字，因为David Lee, Allen Iverson和Ramon Sessions这样的球员至今没有和任何球队签约。我们还有可能看到某些球队为了躲避奢侈税而做出某些惊天纱布交易，其中最有可能的就是Carlos Boozer。现在离训练营开始还有两个月左右的时间，所以看到Quentin Richardson再被交易个6，7次也不要大惊小怪哟。
尽管今年的转会窗口还木有关闭，但GM们不再像转会市场刚刚开启时那么狂热了。最重要的是，地主家也木有余粮口牙！并且，有些球队已经达到了预期的目的，他们也就不会被牵扯到球员交易中了。
饿了？想多吃点？哼，劳资也想啊！不过那得看RP的，而且乃的赛季目标也是一个重要因素。有30多个不同类型的球员任君选购，从5冠加身的大佬到和饮水机搅基的狗不理球员，品种繁多，琳琅满目，各有千秋。乃还在等什么？快快投身自由球员市场口牙！！！
从大图中，乃可以明显地看出，球队对于新援的选择是多么的吹毛求疵，所以，我把他们分成了5类。好啦，拿稳乃的王老吉凉茶，慢慢地滚动乃的鼠标吧！今天哥哥我先说东部。西部的球员将出现在下一个版本中。
Group I: 这么大的动静，乃们是想拿冠军吧？
当然，乃可以津津有味地吃着免费面包，再叫两个小菜。可是，这些家伙才会是在赛季结束后让乃回味无穷的大餐。
Orlando:
这支冠军级别的防守队伍并没有沉浸在获得的荣誉中。此时此刻，他们的球员大名单看上去比总决赛时更为可怕。VC是对于Turkoglu的有力补充，球队还签下了自由球员Matt Barnes和Brandon Bass，这使得他们原本瘦弱的前场突然变得剽悍起来。
再加上他们留下的球员(Marcin Gortat)和回归的球员(Jameer Nelson，上赛季因伤缺席了半个赛季)，魔术看起来灰常的妖媚。这支球队也成了东部的夺冠大热门，在防守端的表现将决定他们能够走多远。我相信他们有可能带来让人惊讶不已的表现，一路过关斩将，直取奥布莱恩杯。
目前球队唯一的隐患就是后场的深度。为了换了VC， Rafer Alston 和 Courtney Lee都去了New Jersey。现在Mickael Pietrus 很有可能成为首发J.J. Redick和Anthony Johnson将不得不担任主要替补，要是Nelson再次被伤病击倒……
O'Neal
Cleveland:
劳资被骑士的制服组震精鸟！！！ -- 上赛季他们赢了66场，居然还想着在长草期对球队进行补强。不管能从Shaquille O'Neal身上获得什么好处，至少比Ben Wallace 和 Sasha Pavlovic这两个家伙要有用得多，所以这笔交易对Cleveland来说绝对是稳赚不赔。除此之外，随着Anthony Parker和Jamario Moon的到来，骑士队的两翼得到了加强并且对抗能力也有所提高。
Cleveland还留下了Anderson Varejao，尽管工资总额居高不下，可那是Dan Gilbert的事，和我们无关。在球场上，他们增加了三名关键的轮换球员，并且几乎没有损失之前的力量。
骑士现在得到了很大的补强，在阵容方面已经不亚于甚至强过魔术了。尤其是找来Shaq对付Dwight Howard。不过丑话要说在前头，他们不能分心，才能够取得好成绩。
Wallace
Boston:
是的，Celtics在2008年的神奇夺冠看起来有点“过把瘾就死”的意思。但没人有魄力让三巨头解散。
上一季，他们的胜场比Orlando要多，尽管Kevin Garnett错过了最后两月的比赛，他们还是将魔术拖入了第7场。如今，KG已经回归，虽然我们对他膝盖的恢复情况不得而知。然而， Celtics引进了 Rasheed Wallace 和Marquis Daniels（注：居然漏了我凯的房东= =），这三个球员都是非常实用的。
年龄是个不容忽视的问题，他们必须在常规赛就找到自己的节奏，所以他们落到东部的三号种子乃也用不着奇怪。如果在季后赛来临时，他们悉数保持健康，再加上我凯那神秘的Ubuntu，在东部打通关完全不是问题。
Group II: 虽然只买了点小酒小菜，不过味道挺好哟。
这些球队只是进行了小修小补，他们希望能够吸引你的注意力，而且有时候他们看起来似乎能够弄出点动静。但是他们都缺少能够待到6月份的条件。
Crawford
Atlanta:
上季，他们可是东部第四，我想乃们都不记得了吧？通过完美的运作，Atlanta把重要的自由球员(Marvin Williams, Mike Bibby 和 Zaza Pachulia)留在队中，还交易到了Jamal Crawford，在选秀大会上摘到Jeff Teague，使得球队的后场空前强大。
最有争议的动作就是引进Crawford了，一个在防守端无脑的球员。但是老鹰队没花任何代价就得到了他。Flip Murray，也就是Crawford的前任，同样是一名助攻并不出彩的球员。第六人的角色应该会让他刷到不错的数据。
如果Atlanta顺利地续约Joe Johnson，然后再签下一名老兵 (Joe Smith就很不错)，那么鹰队的这个夏天可以说是接近完美了，唯一的遗憾就是白白地损失了Josh Childress。
Chicago: 季后赛经历了和Boston的首轮7场恶战，Chicago失去了一个得分利器——Ben Gordon。随着Kirk Hinrich, Luol Deng和John Salmons的身体状况逐渐恢复，恐怕没人会想念Gordon了。
Chicago的另一个重点应当是提升Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah和Tyrus Thomas这些年轻人的各方面能力。这些可不是“能有就是最好了，没有也没关系”的事情，这个是必须有！这些小伙子们必须变得更好，因为为了在明年的夏天有所作为，Bulls没有签下任何球员。更糟的是，他们有可能为了获得更大的薪金空间而交易掉Thomas或Hinrich。
Miami:
和Bulls类似，Heat不打算有大动作，原因同样是2010年夏天，届时他们会拥有足够的工资来签下一位重量级球员，再给Dwyane Wade找一个好搭档。同时，俱乐部并木有流失人才。Wade说，如果自己不受伤，将至少带领球队获得41胜，并且在季后赛中一雪前耻。但是，Wade在去年的表现还不够疯狂吗？如果Michael Beasley不进步，他还能做出什么事来？
Group III: 乃们可真让我搞不懂。
这些球队的做法就像是一名食客跑到外国，在完全不懂当地语言的情况下乱点鸳鸯。没人知道结果是好是坏。但是，国外的食物总不可能和国内的一个口味。而且，电视上总是在说别人的东西是多么的香甜可口……
Turkoglu
Toronto: Euraptors在这个夏天烧了不少钱。可是，这样的做法是否恰当还有待商榷。先发五虎中， Turkoglu和 Andrea Bargnani两人的合同总额达到了一亿美刀，如果NBA也拥有DH制度（注：MLB的规则，棒球比赛中的投手不需要去进行击打，可以减轻投手的负担，作者在此引用应该是觉得Turkoglu和Bargnani的防守不好。），那么这一亿美刀绝对能发挥更大的作用。2000万的合同签下Jarrett Jack也太多了。如果Euraps不打算在未来交奢侈税，那他们明天还会有大动作。
但是，这又不是劳资我的钱，HIAHIA。当然，这些钱有可能会得到回报。现在他们在复制Bryan Colangelo的太阳队打法——拉出空间，外围远射。不过他们在续约Chris Bosh上遇到了一些麻烦。不管他们是否真的有诚意留下Bosh，他现在就住在日内瓦，某些人最好还是把这6个小时的时差给抹掉吧！
尽管Toronto大手大脚，他们的确做了一笔不错的买卖：签下 Rasho Nesterovic和 Marco Belinelli，至于我不是很看好的 DeMar DeRozan，我必须承认，他还是有两把毛刷子的。
我猜我说的这些话就是我对于Raptors的未来不确定的表现。他们能够轻而易举地将全队命中率达到50%以上，但我认为那还不够。以目前球队的状况，要么就一飞冲天，要么就死无全尸。
Miller
Washington:
“我们去年赢了19场，伙计们，为什么今年不能咸鱼翻身呢？”
既然Boston能做到，这些小伙子为什么就做不到呢？
的确，这支球队没有Garnett和 Ray Allen这样的球员加盟。 Washington只是从Minnesota得到了Mike Miller和Randy Foye ，而且想获得好成绩，必须期望Gilbert Arenas能够从膝伤中恢复，再次成为令人窒息的得分手。尽管Wizards不确定今年的配置会比去年强到哪里去，或者在前进的路上上又发生什么倒霉事。而且，他们得交奢侈税！
唯一让我略感欣慰的就是请来了Flip Saunders。是的，在活塞的时候，他一进季后赛就不像纯爷们了，总是打不过那些重金打造的球队。可是，他是防守型的教练，所以聘用他对于JaVale McGee, Andray Blatche 和Nick Young这样的年轻人是灰常有好处的。要是Arenas重回颠峰状态。HIAHIA，乃们尽情地YY吧……
Group IV: 乃们现在后悔啦？可惜太晚了……
这些筒子看上去就像那些能够开胃的东西。但只要你咬上几口，就会发现有些地方居然烤焦了。
Wilcox
Detroit: Joe Dumars还是曾经那个叱咤风云的商场老油条咩? 交易掉Chauncey Billups咩? 和Richard Hamilton续约咩? 签下Kwame Brown 和 Chris Wilcox咩? 不停地更换主教练，乃是想打造一个“老式印钞机”计划咩？听了这些，乃还会觉得Joe Dumars是那个“过去的五年中在眼光上甩开其他人两条街”的GM咩?
Pistons有4个能得分的后卫，却木有一个能传球。他们还有两个罚球糟糕的中锋…… 2，3，4号位的先发球员会很辛苦，因为他们的替补，唉，还是不说了。下一季，又是一个新教练，也许他会使球队有所起色，不过我对此并不乐观。
Philadelphia:
看着一支这么高素质的球队不会利用自己的天赋，我实在是受不了。当然，他们也是为钱所困。Andre Miller是留不住的，因为球队不想触发奢侈税。如今，球迷们只能希望Elton Brand恢复到伤前的水准。
如果 Brand成功恢复，那么球队将会迎来完全不同的局面。目前的Sixers拥有一大把的年轻天才 (Thaddeus Young, Marreese Speights, Andre Iguodala, Lou Williams, Jrue Holiday 以及即将伤愈归队的 Jason Smith)，在休赛期交易到Jason Kapono 可以解决球队最大的问题，外围投射。新教练Eddie Jordan，一个进攻大师，应该会让他们的场均得分不那么难看。当然，最重要的还是进入季后赛。最差的结果会是什么？这个就别管了，一切向上看。
Charlotte: 这个夏天，最大的好消息就是老板Robert Johnson决定出售球队。Bobcats球迷都希望他马上能找着下家，因为不管是谁接手都不会再对Michael Jordan听之任之了。要知道，MJ居然在离球队700英里的地方进行指挥。
另外，球队的内线从曾经的Emeka Okafor降到了如今的Tyson Chandler，因为……好吧，我也不知道是为什么
。不过他们木有给Raymond Felton 新合同的原因我还是知道的，唉，万恶的奢侈税！！！所以球队也不会再签新人了。自从Bobcats在上季成为进攻最烂的球队，并且交易走J-Rich，最重要的是，换来的人出手不到他的一半！！！我实在不知道这支球队还有什么前途。
Jones
Indiana:
给Pacers的小建议：乃们伟大的GM知道7x2=14，很不错，但是签7个场均两分的球员和签一个场均14分的球员是完全不同的概念。Indiana用1100万签下Dahntay Jones，290万签下 Earl Watson。 Solomon Jones 和 Josh McRoberts同样是Pacers在长草期的重要签约。除此之外，球队还选中了坚韧矮小型的前锋Tyler Hansbrough 。可是，他们居然连假惺惺都做不到，就让Jarrett Jack 和 Marquis Daniels和别的队爽快签约。
要知道，Jack一个人就能做到球队新签的5人加在一起能做到的活！
唯一的好消息就是Mike Dunleavy的恢复情况不错，如果上赛季他木有受伤，这支球队具备进入季后赛的能力。不过，这个阵容放在今年就不好说了，何况球队的整体实力并未加强。
Group V: 乃们怎么这么窝囊口牙？
我敢打包票，这是一块猪肉，不过尝起来不像是饭店里供应的肉，而是被车撞死的发臭的死猪的肉。而我们都目睹了车祸现场。
New York: Knicks没有引入新援，不过考虑到他们今夏的目标，乃就会觉得这是件好事。那么，今年夏天，Knicks看上了什么人呢？Jason Kidd? Grant Hill? 这些人对一支志在重建的球队来说，能起多大的作用呢？干脆给Adrian Dantley提供一个合同吧，至少他年老时还能大杀四方哟。
唉，纽约还是没能延长David Lee和Nate Robinson的合同，因为他们对于2010年夏天的态度已经是路人皆知了，他们就是冲着LeBron James去的。用Quentin Richardson换来Darko Milicic会对球队的内线提供一定的帮助——尽管这个家伙和囧多姆一样，每5场比赛中只有1场是正常的——但是为了小皇帝，薪金空间压倒一切！
New Jersey: Philadelphia 和 Indiana面对金融危机，必须将球队的重要人物交易出去。但New Jersey是东部第一支丧失志气的球队，为了压缩工资，Nets主动将Vince Carter交易掉，而且还想着把其他高薪球员弄走，然后就躲在沙坑里忍受球迷的唾骂等待2010的到来。他们今夏唯一的动作就是清理球员，而不是考虑补强，而唯一的结果就是球场里继续空空如也。试想，木有球星的球队，乃会去看咩？ 
作者: sylk 時間: 2009-8-16 04:55 PM
John Hollinger：West's pecking order has familiar flavor
West's pecking order has familiar flavor
By John Hollinger
ESPN.com
Archive
Nathaniel S. Butler/Getty ImagesWith the main ingredients back -- plus the addition of Ron Artest -- the Lakers look poised to repeat.
OK, hungry fans, it's time to turn our attention to the Western side of the menu, after Monday's look at the new pecking order in the East.
I'm not sure the pecking order in the West is quite so "new;" less changed in these parts since the end of last season. But I'm here to break it down all the same. Much like the East, the West can be broken into five distinct groups. Make that five and a half, actually, as there's one additional category we didn't have in the East.
And, like yesterday, we'll be sticking with an epicurean theme. Without further ado, here's how it lays out.
Group IA: The Chef's Special
There's a lot of good stuff on the menu, but this one looks a cut above. Sure, it costs more, but the reviewers all say it's worth every cent. You'll be talking about this meal for weeks.
Los Angeles Lakers
Consider this: The defending champs won a title despite getting virtually nothing from Andrew Bynum during the postseason. If he comes back and plays to his capabilities they're going to be scary good.
Of more immediate interest, however, is their de facto swap of Trevor Ariza for Ron Artest. Artest is nuts and lost a step at the offensive end last season, but he's still an elite defensive player and he's a better spot-up shooter than Ariza. (For those who watched only the playoffs, I'll remind you that Ariza was a 29.9 percent career 3-point shooter when the postseason began. Let's not get carried away with a well-timed hot streak.)
Committing to Artest for five years was foolish, but the swap makes the Lakers better in the short term. With Lamar Odom and Shannon Brown re-signed at very reasonable prices and Phil Jackson coming back, L.A. has quietly (for them) had a strong offseason.
Of course, the greatest break for the Lakers is that they're still in the Western Conference. While the East is top-heavy with Orlando, Cleveland and Boston all loading up, L.A. remains the clear favorite to oppose one of those three in the Finals.
Group I: The Entrees
Oh sure, you'll eat the free bread and order a side dish or two. But realistically, these will be the last and most memorable items on your plate at the end of the season.
San Antonio Spurs
On paper, the Spurs look like the most legitimate aspirant to the Lakers' Western crown. They've added Richard Jefferson and Antonio McDyess without surrendering anyone important, giving the starting five a badly needed infusion of scoring. Throw in the second-round theft of DeJuan Blair and a return from injury from Ian Mahinmi and the Spurs should be deeper, too.
But all this depends on their stars carrying the mail. Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili both broke down at the end of last season and, at their age, one wonders if they can regain their previous form and sustain it through an entire season. Without knowing the answer to that major question, the Spurs merely rank as another of the West's hopefuls.
Denver Nuggets
Last spring, the Nuggets had the Lakers sweating bullets for four games and most of a fifth, so theoretically they entered the offseason on near-equal footing. However, money matters have prevented them from keeping up with the arms race among the other contenders. Denver isn't a high-revenue team despite its success last season and is already over the luxury-tax threshold, so it had to manage its money carefully. As a result, Linas Kleiza and Dahntay Jones won't be back, and Anthony Carter might not be either.
But the Nuggets' top six players return, including a re-signed Chris Andersen, and trades brought in some younger help in rookie Ty Lawson (one of my draft favorites) and Arron Afflalo. There isn't a huge margin of safety here, but if the Nuggets are healthy they'll still be really good.
Portland Trail Blazers
Nobody talks about the Blazers as serious contenders in the West, but we should. Portland had the best scoring margin in basketball after the All-Star break last season, and as I keep repeating, scoring margin predicts future success better than winning percentage.
Yes, they went one-and-done in the playoffs, but this team should be better this time around. The Blazers added Andre Miller, vastly improving their backcourt depth, and returned Martell Webster from injury. The only departure was Channing Frye, who fell to the fringes of the rotation by the end of last season. Most importantly, one of the league's youngest nuclei gained a valuable year of experience and cut its playoff teeth. Watch out for these guys.
Group II: The Tasty Hors D'oeuvres
Scrumptious in small doses, these clubs are hoping to steal your attention from the centerpiece, and at times it seems they might succeed. But each lacks a key ingredient to keep it on our plate 'til June.
Utah Jazz
It's hard to get too jazzed up about a ride on the Utah bandwagon when it was healthy for the final 23 games of last season and went 8-15. The Jazz have effectively stood pat thus far this summer, drafting a backup point guard in Eric Maynor and retaining Paul Millsap by matching Portland's offer sheet. They may also lose a breaking-down Matt Harpring to retirement.
However, we're still waiting for the other shoe to drop. Carlos Boozer dismayed everyone by opting in for the final year of his contract, leaving the Jazz well over the luxury-tax line. Pretty much everyone assumes they'll trade him, and if Utah can score a quality wing player in the deal it could move up a class. Utah owns one other huge asset as well: the completely unprotected 2010 first-round pick belonging to the Knicks.
Dallas Mavericks
The Mavs bought when everyone else sold, retaining Jason Kidd and adding Shawn Marion, Drew Gooden, Kris Humphries, Tim Thomas and Quinton Ross this offseason. They are well into the tax and overpaid for Kidd especially (three years and $25 million at 36?), but if paying luxury tax doesn't bother Mark Cuban then it's really not a problem.
Despite their age, the Mavs will try to play small and fast, with Kidd, Jason Terry, Josh Howard, Marion and Dirk Nowitzki playing as a run-and-gun unit in crunch time. That could give them a puncher's chance at a playoff upset, but it's tough to see how they can match up physically against the powerful frontcourts the top contenders possess.
Because of Cuban's willingness to spend, they're a far more intriguing team a year from now thanks to what may become the league's most coveted asset: Erick Dampier's expiring, non-guaranteed $12 million in 2010-11. Casual fans may not realize how valuable this is in the current economy. Next summer a financially struggling team could trade a highly paid player to Dallas for Dampier, waive him immediately and wipe their books totally clean. And given the current economic conditions, I have a feeling some teams will be willing to do it.
New Orleans Hornets
The Hornets didn't spend any money this summer and, based on recent history, maybe that's good thing. A series of bad free-agent contracts (Peja Stojakovic, Morris Peterson, James Posey) have tied the Hornets' hands and put them in tax territory, though they did manage a slight upgrade at center with the Tyson Chandler-Emeka Okafor swap.
Chris Paul makes them a playoff team on his own, and offseason pickups Darren Collison and Ike Diogu might improve what was among the league's worst benches last season. But the Hornets might still try to shed a contract or two to get under the tax, and as things stand now they're going to get miserable production from the wings.
Group III: The Mystery Meat
These teams are the equivalent of going to a foreign country and ordering blindly off a menu in another language. It might be awesome, it might be terrible; really, you have no idea. But it will definitely be different, and you'll probably walk away with a good story or two.
Los Angeles Clippers
They stunk last season, plus they're the Clippers, which means they could screw this up at a moment's notice. But the offseason certainly pleased the Clipper faithful. First overall pick Blake Griffin should be a double-double guy immediately, and the trade of Zach Randolph for Quentin Richardson gives the Clips cap space for a free-agent run next year. Better yet, they parlayed Richardson into frontcourt depth with a second deal with Minnesota for underrated forward Craig Smith.
But the biggest reason to like the Clips is because they were going to be better anyway. Baron Davis, Chris Kaman and Ricky Davis should all be in much better physical condition for this go-round, and second-year pro Eric Gordon should improve, too. Whether it's enough for a playoff run remains to be seen, but this version of the Clips should keep us entertained.
Phoenix Suns
Thanks to a reluctance to pay luxury tax and some horrific cap management in prior offseasons, the Suns keep shedding personnel. Phoenix traded Shaquille O'Neal for straight cap relief -- plus the already-released Ben Wallace and the soon-to-be-released Sasha Pavlovic -- when he came off an All-Star season. But instead of launching a full tear-down operation they extended Steve Nash, signed Channing Frye and re-signed Grant Hill, which means they could still make the playoffs if Amare Stoudemire is healthy.
We have no idea how well he'll recover from his eye injury or what the implications are for his game if the eye gives him problems. But if he's not playing to his usual standard the Suns could embark on a long ride down. One quick note to file away if that happens: Oklahoma City has Phoenix's draft pick from the Kurt Thomas salary dump in 2007, and there's no lottery protection whatsoever.
Oklahoma City Thunder
I think the Thunder are ready to move up the standings this season, but I'm just not sure how far. They opted to hold back on spending this summer and save it for next year, when they'll have about $15 million in space under the cap. So any improvement this season will result from internal development by the core of Kevin Durant, Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook and the addition of draft pick James Harden.
Is it possible Durant blows up, averages in the high 20s and leads these guys to the playoffs? Absolutely. But they depend an awful lot on one guy for the offense, and that one guy has yet to demonstrate he can take high-percentage shots or create meaningful opportunities for others. And if injuries hit, there's not a lot of depth here.
Group IV: Can I Send This Plate Back?
Sure, they look like decent appetizers at first glance. But once you have a few bites, it turns out there's something half-baked about each of these clubs.
Golden State Warriors
Based on talent, the Warriors shouldn't be down here. They have plenty of offensive firepower with the return of Monta Ellis and the addition of Stephen Curry to go with the likes of Corey Maggette, Andris Biedrins, Stephen Jackson and summer-league star Anthony Randolph.
Unfortunately, we already know they'll screw this up somehow. The dysfunctional mess of a front office is too busy running Don Nelson's least-favored players out of town to bother acquiring pieces that fit. Al Harrington, Jamal Crawford and Marco Belinelli already departed with nothing to show for it, and Brandan Wright's got next. With this roster and Nelson's basic M.O. of playing seven shooting guards 30 minutes each, the Warriors are guaranteed to be among the worst defensive teams in the league, so if the offense isn't lights-out they're gong to struggle.
Houston Rockets
Medical problems pretty much ended Houston's season before it started, as Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady went under the knife and will contribute little, if anything. Meanwhile, the de facto swap of Ron Artest for Trevor Ariza bodes well for Houston's future but doesn't alter its present outlook much.
That was the only major offseason move. Otherwise, Houston tried to supplement its future with the biggest run of property acquisitions since the Louisiana Purchase. Houston paid nearly $9 million to acquire the rights to Jermaine Taylor, Chase Budinger, Sergio Llull and David Andersen -- not their salaries, mind you, just the right to be the ones paying them -- but only Andersen is likely to be in the rotation this season.
If the Rockets stay healthy and get bust-out years from Aaron Brooks and Carl Landry it's possible they can stay on the fringes of the playoff race, but it's more likely they'll struggle too much to score.
Group V: Roadkill
I'm pretty sure this is meat, but it tastes like an animal not normally served in restaurants, and I think I see a tread mark. We're outta here …
Memphis Grizzlies
Chris Wallace's nameplate still says general manager, but it's obvious that owner Michael Heisley is calling the shots on personnel. As usual when an owner meddles, the results have been disastrous. What kind of a buffoon trades Pau Gasol for pennies on the dollar and then a year later acquires Zach Randolph at the same money? The same kind that prefers trading for Randolph to trading for Carlos Boozer, or to making a run at David Lee, or to just setting $16 million on fire. Oh, and he wants Allen Iverson too. Great.
Despite a near-empty arena, the Griz still make money. That's partly because they'll do anything for $3 million, even trading a useful player (Darko Milicic) for a finished one (Quentin Richardson). But the few fans left in Memphis will get to see two of the league's biggest ball hogs fight it out for shots every night when Randolph and Rudy Gay take the court. One almost wants to see them add Iverson to the mix just to see if they could go an entire game without an assist.
Minnesota Timberwolves
While other teams have gained more attention as belt-tighteners, the T'pups have quietly joined their ranks. Trading Craig Smith just to be rid of a $2.7 million obligation to Sebastian Telfair next year has to qualify as a low point, and one gets the impression they're pretty happy to defer a $3 million obligation to Ricky Rubio a couple years into the future. They dumped Mike Miller and Randy Foye, eventually acquiring a non-guaranteed player they can waive (Chucky Atkins), and their only foray into free agency was a low-wattage bid for Ryan Hollins.
If Al Jefferson returns to his All-Star-caliber level of the first half of last season it lifts Minnesota half a notch above doormat status, but the Wolves leaked a lot of talent since their strong January last season.
Sacramento Kings
Shell-shocked by increasingly horrific economics in Sacto and the woefully outdated Arco Arena, the Kings locked down financially while they wait to find out where their next home will be. If it's a new building in Sacramento, great, but if not, San Jose, Anaheim, Kansas City and others await with open arms. Either way, they won't spend a nickel without some certainty on this front.
The Kings did pick up a potential star in the draft in Tyreke Evans and a low-budget breakout possibility in Sergio Rodriguez, plus Kevin Martin should be healthier. That should keep them run-of-the-mill bad rather than historically awful, but optimists won't find a lot of ammunition here.
作者: sylk 時間: 2009-8-16 05:01 PM
Taste test: Rating East offseason orderComment Email Print Share
By John Hollinger
ESPN.com
Archive
Fernando Medina/NBAE/Getty ImagesVince Carter, 32, should help make the Magic the East favorite to return to the NBA Finals.
Say this about the NBA this summer: They've kept it interesting.
We were expecting a fairly humdrum free-agent season while everyone held their cards for the LeBron Sweepstakes next summer. Instead, the opposite happened. Every contender in sight began loading up, and despite warnings of economic Armageddon, several championship hopefuls blew past the luxury-tax threshold without even tapping the brakes.
Though we didn't have any All-Star free-agent signings, the list of players who changed uniforms this summer is an impressive one. Shaquille O'Neal, Richard Jefferson, Vince Carter, Ron Artest, Trevor Ariza, Rasheed Wallace, Andre Miller, Shawn Marion, Ben Gordon, Antonio McDyess, Emeka Okafor, Tyson Chandler, Charlie Villanueva and Hedo Turkoglu were among the prominent names to relocate.
And we might have a few more to add to that list, as prominent free agents like David Lee, Allen Iverson and Ramon Sessions are still unsigned. We also could still see several money-driven moves by teams over the tax line, with the most notable potential one being Utah's Carlos Boozer. And with nearly two months to go until camp starts, it's still possible we'll see Quentin Richardson dealt six or seven more times.
But while the offseason isn't complete, things have clearly calmed down from the initial frenzy. Money is tight everywhere, and a lot of teams are done shopping, especially since several clubs will limit themselves to the minimum 13-man roster.
Hungry for more? So are we. And as luck would have it, it's time to check out the menu for this season. With 30 different items there are several kinds of grub to choose from, ranging from five-star specials to stuff you wouldn't feed your dog.
In the big picture, there's a pretty clear pecking order in each conference, so I've grouped everybody into five categories. So order your drinks and stay awhile. Today I'll start with the East and establish where everybody stands and how, exactly, they got there. In the next edition, we'll move on to the West.
Group I: The Entrees
Oh sure, you'll eat the free bread and order a side dish or two. But realistically, these will be the last and most memorable items on your plate at the end of the season.
Orlando: The defending conference champs didn't exactly rest on their laurels, did they? At this juncture, in fact, their roster looks a lot more fearsome than it did at the end of last season. Carter is a major upgrade on Turkoglu, while free-agent additions Matt Barnes and Brandon Bass make what was a thin frontcourt suddenly look much deeper.
Add in whom they retained (Marcin Gortat) and returned (Jameer Nelson, after a shoulder injury wiped out the second half of his season) and the Magic look absolutely stacked. At this point, they have to be considered the favorites in the East, and depending on how this remix works out at the defensive end, there's a chance they could post a jaw-dropping win total.
The one reason for misgiving is a lack of backcourt depth after the trades of Rafer Alston and Courtney Lee to New Jersey; now Mickael Pietrus is a likely starter and J.J. Redick and Anthony Johnson will have to play major minutes, and another injury to Nelson could leave them exposed.
O'Neal
Cleveland: Scary thought -- the Cavs won 66 games and got better in the offseason. Whatever they get from Shaquille O'Neal will dwarf the contributions of Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic a year ago, so that trade is a home run for Cleveland. Beyond that, they addressed the greatest area of concern by adding size and depth on the wings in the form of Anthony Parker and Jamario Moon.
Cleveland also kept Anderson Varejao, and while their payroll is on pace to outstrip the national debt, that's Dan Gilbert's problem. On the court, they've strengthened three key rotation spots without losing a single important player.
The Cavs can make a strong case that they will match much better against Orlando now, especially against Dwight Howard with Shaq in the middle. One caveat, however: They must overcome the distraction of the most eagerly anticipated walk year in sports history.
Wallace
Boston: Yes, it's possible the Celtics' magical championship march in 2008 was a one-shot deal. But dismiss them at your peril.
Last season they won more games than Orlando, even though Kevin Garnett missed the final two months, and took the Magic to seven games in the conference semifinals. Garnett will be back, but is something of a question mark until he shows his knee is fine. Meanwhile, the Celtics brought in reinforcements in Rasheed Wallace and Marquis Daniels, with the former being particularly useful since the Celtics lacked a "stretch 4" a year ago.
Age is a huge issue here, and they'll have to pace themselves in the regular season, so they're probably going to be the East's No. 3 seed. But if they're healthy come playoff time and the Ubuntu is flowing, they still look like a team that can win the East.
Group II: The Tasty Hors D'oeuvres
Scrumptious in small doses, these clubs are hoping to steal your attention from the centerpiece, and at times it seems they might succeed. But each lacks a key ingredient to keep it on our plate 'til June.
Crawford
Atlanta: A distant fourth in the East this past season, the Hawks look to have retained that position after a successful offseason. Atlanta kept all its major free agents (Marvin Williams, Mike Bibby and Zaza Pachulia), and supplemented its shaky backcourt depth by trading for Jamal Crawford and drafting Jeff Teague.
The most controversial move is the acquisition of Crawford, a mindless gunner who plays no defense whatsoever. But they got him for free, and the man he replaced, Flip Murray, wasn't exactly known as the Human Assist. He'll be fine as the designated launcher off the bench.
If Atlanta can extend Joe Johnson and add a veteran big man (Joe Smith, anyone?), it will be a near-perfect summer, with the only blemish being the Hawks' inability to convert restricted free agent Josh Childress into a usable asset.
Chicago: Postseason darlings after taking Boston to seven thrilling games in the first round, Chicago lost a big chunk of its offensive firepower when Ben Gordon bolted for Detroit. But with the trio of Kirk Hinrich, Luol Deng and John Salmons likely to be healthier than they were last season, Gordon might not be missed.
The other big factor in Chicago's favor is the likely improvement of young players like Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah and Tyrus Thomas. That's not a "nice to have," though; it's imperative. The kids have to get better, because the Bulls didn't sign any players as they gear up for a free-agent run next summer. In fact, it's possible they'll trade Thomas or Hinrich to have more cap space left over.
Miami: Like the Bulls, the Heat mostly stood by with their hands in their pockets waiting until next summer, when they'll have enough cap space to add a max-contract free agent and another well-compensated sidekick to run with Dwyane Wade. In the meantime, this club doesn't look much different than the one that lost to the Hawks in the first round a year ago. Wade guarantees them a .500 record if he's healthy and gives them a puncher's chance of pulling an upset in the playoffs, but it's hard to see how they'll get better right away unless Michael Beasley blows up.
Group III: The Mystery Meat
These teams are the equivalent of going to a foreign country and ordering blindly off a menu in another language. It might be awesome, it might be terrible; really, you have no idea. But it will definitely be different, and you'll probably walk away with a good story or two.
Turkoglu
Toronto: The Euraptors spent a ton of money this summer, but whether it was well-spent is a question open for debate. For starters, spending a combined $100 million for Turkoglu and Andrea Bargnani would make a lot more sense if basketball had a DH rule. Jarrett Jack at $20 million was excessive as well, and if the Euraps don't commit to paying a luxury tax down the road, these deals are going to give them a lot of problems.
But hey, it's not my money, and it might all work out brilliantly. They're committed to a floor-spacing, sweet-shooting outfit reminiscent of Bryan Colangelo's old Suns teams in a final crack at convincing Chris Bosh to stay beyond this season. Either that or they're trying to convince Bosh he's really living in Geneva; somebody needs to check to see if they aren't setting all the clocks six hours ahead up there.
While Toronto spent freely, there were some value moves beneath the surface: They got Rasho Nesterovic for a song and Marco Belinelli for less than that, and while I'm not high on DeMar DeRozan, a lot of folks whom I respect are.
I guess what I'm saying is I have no idea how this will work out, which is how they ended up in the mystery meat section. It's easy to split the difference and say they'll be a .500-ish team, but I don't think that will be the outcome. I'm expecting either a brilliant success or a spectacular failure, and I'm really not sure which.
Miller
Washington: "We won 19 games last year. Let's go all-in." Hey, if Boston can do it after winning 24 games, why not these guys?
That said, this isn't quite like landing Garnett and Ray Allen. Washington obtained Mike Miller and Randy Foye from Minnesota and is hoping that Gilbert Arenas can finally shake off two years of knee injuries and become a dominating scorer again. While the Wizards are finding out if this works any better than last season's outfit, or the procession of 40-something-win teams that preceded it, they'll also be paying luxury tax through the nose.
Only one offseason move can allay my cynicism, and that's the hiring of Flip Saunders. Yes, he's had some playoff failures, but the dude wins. Somehow, he'll figure out how to get some competent defense from these guys and teach talented-but-frustrating young 'uns like JaVale McGee, Andray Blatche and Nick Young how to play with others. If somehow Arenas can regain his old form, it might all work out spectacularly well.
Group IV: Can I Send This Back?
Sure, they look like decent appetizers at first glance. But once you have a few bites, it turns out there's something half-baked about each of these clubs.
Wilcox
Detroit: Are we sure Joe Dumars is still the one calling the shots over here? Trading Chauncey Billups? Extending Richard Hamilton? Signing Kwame Brown and Chris Wilcox? Trading in coaches like they're eligible for the "cash for clunkers" program? Does this sound like the guy who was two steps ahead of everybody else in the league for half a decade?
The Pistons have four guards who can score and none who can pass. They have two centers who might not shoot .800 from the line … combined. Their starters at the 2, 3 and 4 would have trouble bench-pressing my laptop. They have another new coach, and maybe he'll make this all work somehow, but I'm not holding my breath.
Philadelphia: It's painful to watch a quality team leak talent because finances have tied their hands, but that's what happened to the Sixers. They had to let Andre Miller walk because their woeful attendance can't support a luxury-tax payroll, and now they have to hope that Elton Brand bounces back from a horrific first year in Philly.
If Brand delivers, this might work out anyway. There's quite a bit of young talent here (Thaddeus Young, Marreese Speights, Andre Iguodala, Lou Williams, Jrue Holiday and a returning-from-injury Jason Smith), and an offseason trade for Jason Kapono will help with their biggest Achilles' heel, shooting. New coach Eddie Jordan, an offensive maestro, should find them a few extra points as well. Nonetheless, getting back to the playoffs is the ceiling here. As for the floor? Don't look down.
Charlotte: The best news of the offseason is that owner Robert Johnson plans to sell the team. Bobcats fans have to hope he'll find a buyer immediately, and that whoever takes over won't be too awed by Michael Jordan's presence to tell him you can't run a basketball team from a driving range 700 miles away.
Otherwise, the Bobcats willfully downgraded from Emeka Okafor to Tyson Chandler because … well, we're not sure why. They haven't re-signed Raymond Felton because they don't want to be a tax team next year, and they haven't signed any new players at all, and since they were one of the league's worst offensive teams a year ago and just traded the only guy who made half his shots, I'm not sure how it's gonna work.
Jones
Indiana: Note to the Pacers: Signing seven players who average two points a game isn't the same as signing one player who averages 14. Indiana spent its offseason combing the league for 11th men, forking out a four-year, $11 million deal for Dahntay Jones and another $2.9 million for Earl Watson. Solomon Jones and Josh McRoberts were the other big offseason signings for the Pacers, who also picked up gritty but limited forward Tyler Hansbrough in the draft. Meanwhile, they let Jarrett Jack and Marquis Daniels walk to sign deals for roughly the same money; Jack alone will probably outproduce the five new players combined.
About the only piece of legitimately good news for Indy is that Mike Dunleavy is apparently recovering very nicely from a career-threatening knee injury. Plug him into last season's roster and this was probably a playoff team. Alas, the same can't be said for this year's bunch.
Group V: Roadkill
I'm pretty sure this is meat, but it tastes like an animal not normally served in restaurants, and I think I see a tread mark. We're outta here …
New York: The Knicks didn't sign anybody, which is probably a good thing considering whom they targeted. Jason Kidd? Grant Hill? Does this make any sense for a rebuilding team? Hey, you want to put in an offer for Adrian Dantley while you're at it?
They still haven't moved to retain David Lee or Nate Robinson, as they're caught in a quandary of whether to forfeit their 2010 cap space and a possible run at LeBron James. Trading Quentin Richardson for Darko Milicic will help a bit as they now have a legit center -- albeit one who plays hard in around one game in five -- but that's about the high point of the summer thus far.
New Jersey: Philadelphia and Indiana had to make some concessions to the economic downturn this summer, but New Jersey was the first Eastern team to offer a total capitulation. The Nets traded Vince Carter for spare parts, slashed the salaries of any staff they hadn't already laid off and hid in a bunker the rest of the summer. Their only activity this season will be removing players, not adding them, and the result will be even more empty seats than usual in the Swamp.
作者: birdman2007 時間: 2010-1-4 01:18 AM
thank you
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