*FAN SUBMISSION by Joe Crevier of New Jersey. Follow him on Twitter @RealJoeCrev and find him here as a columnist coming soon.*
Eastern Conference:
Brooklyn Nets:
Courtesy: Bleacher Report
The Nets have surprisingly put themselves right into contention, for the first time in recent memory, with the moves they have made this offseason. Brooklyn first traded away several bad contracts (Gerald Wallace, Kris Humphries) and future draft picks for Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Jason Terry. Yes, Pierce and Garnett are both old and in the latter years of their careers, but this move puts them into position to win today. Since owner, Mikhail Prokhorov has taken over, he has said the Nets want to win now so this move makes sense. A starting lineup of D-Will, Joe Johnson, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Brook Lopez is one of, if not the best in the entire league. Additionally, Brooklyn was able to sign Andrei “AK47” Kirilenko for the mini mid-level exception. Also the addition of Jason Terry in the Boston deal gives Brooklyn an even bigger punch off the bench, not to mention they were able to retain Reggie Evans. So for the next 1-3 years I would say the Nets have set themselves up to finally take down the Heat.
New York Knicks:
A lot of people may think I am crazy for including the Knicks in this, but I believe they have vastly improved their team, with the addition of Andrea Bargnani. This trade gets an A+ simply because they traded nothing for something. Steve Novak and Marcus Camby were not valuable to the team at all. Novak could barely ever get a shot off and Camby was just always injured. Also the Knicks would have been stuck with Novak for 3 more years and Camby for 2. So in addition to getting a fairly productive player, New York shed themselves of two bad contracts. I believe Bargnani was in desperate need of a change in scenery and I think he will be a huge asset off the bench for the next few seasons.
The Knicks have also picked up Metta World Peace, after the Lakers recently amnestied him. World Peace cleared waivers and the Knicks signed him to a 2 year veteran’s minimum contract. He is known for being absolutely out of his mind, but is still an elite defender. MWP will be a big help when playing the Heat, as he can cover Lebron better than anyone else on the Knicks roster. I still don’t think the Knicks are a top team in the East, but they have made moves in the right direction. All they need to do now is find a taker for Amare.
Western Conference:
New Orleans Pelicans:
With the amount of moves the Pelicans made this offseason, the old Hornets nickname is an afterthought. I personally think the Pelicans have improved the most out of any team this offseason. They added all star Point Guard, Jrue Holiday, and former Rookie of the Year, Tyreke Evans. A possible starting lineup of Holiday, Eric Gordon, Tyreke Evans, Ryan Anderson, and Anthony Davis is solid. They also have Al Forouq-Aminu and Austin Rivers off the bench. The Pelicans have positioned themselves to make the playoffs for the first time since the Chris Paul era. I don’t think they can compete for a championship today, but this young team can be a threat in the future. This up and coming team is going to be fun to watch.
Los Angeles Clippers:
Courtesy: Sports Illustrated/CNN
As much as it kills me, the Clippers have improved again this offseason. To begin they locked up Chris Paul for the next five years. This move was vital, obviously because it is Chris Paul, I don’t think there’s any reason to go in depth about why this is important. Aside from the Chris Paul signing, the Clippers traded aging Caron Butler, and back up point guard Eric Bledsoe for deadeye shooter JJ Redick and solid role player, Jared Dudley. After this trade the Clippers re-signed Matt Barnes and Ryan Hollins and they signed big man Byron Mullens. By the way, the almost traded for a coach with a championship pedigree in Doc Rivers.
The big deal to me was getting JJ Redick and Jared Dudley; the major void the Clippers had last season was three point shooting. Now, with this deal, Blake Griffin and Deandre Jordan can kick it out to sharp shooters, when they are double teamed down low. With the signings of Barnes, Hollins, ad Mullens, LAC has solidified their bench even more making them one of the deepest teams in the NBA. As a Laker fan, I am not happy about any of these deals. Unfortunately, the Clippers can possibly be a top 3 team in the West.
