The 2013-14 NBA season ended in very dramatic fashion, and the offseason has become almost equally entertaining.
Eight Western Conference teams entered the playoffs last year, and while none of them have made wholesale changes, they each at least tried to make a big splash, several of them landing at least one big-name free agent, or are rumored to be in trade talks with elite players. In fact, many of them have made attempts to or have succeeded in stealing players from each other’s rosters.
That being said, the defending champion San Antonio Spurs seem satisfied with where they’re at (can you blame them?), their only addition being the “quiet” drafting of UCLA “point” forward Kyle Anderson. They did try to recruit Pau Gasol to team with Tim Duncan and in essence make every frontcourt in the league burst in to tears, but some level of David Stern magic convinced Pau to bring his talents to Chicago instead, and with no other worthy big men to replace Tiago Splitter, it appears that is where the Spurs’ offseason changes will end. They did, also rather quietly, re-sign Duncan, Patty Mills, and Gregg Popovich.
Oklahoma City finished their season as runner-ups in the West, and were hopeful they could put a stop to the third-longest-second-title-drought in the conference (only Sacramento and Portland’s are longer) by successfully convincing Pau Gasol to play for them at a discount, but that didn’t happen as he is now with the Bulls. A front court trio of Gasol, Serge Ibaka, and Kevin Durant would have been downright scary, but it’s back to the drawing board for OKC. Ideally starting the season with a healthy Russell Westbrook, and the hope that Jeremy Lamb and/or Perry Jones III can ever really take off, will make up the difference for their lack of a serviceable center. And who knows, Mitch McGary could prove to be more center than forward and overtake Kendrick Perkins’ job, all he would need to do is prove that he’s not a vacuum where offense goes to die and the job is all yours, rook.
The Los Angeles Clippers finished 3rd in the conference and were sent home in the playoffs by the Thunder in the second round. Their already intimidating low-post duo of DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin just got better, as the team added center Spencer Hawes. Hawes is one of the best passing and shooting big men in the league whose defense could use some work, however at 4 years/$23m, he should be considered a bargain. The additions of veteran guard Jordan Farmar and rookie CJ Wilcox to a backcourt that was already loaded (despite losing Darren Collison) would have been great moves on their own, but add to that Hawes and his 25 double-doubles in 78 starts last year, and you could have the new best team in the West. Granted Hawes’ numbers should dip without starters’ minutes, but his presence if nothing else should help the Clips space the floor when he’s on it given his outside shooting, which is pretty scary given how many scorers they can have on the floor at any minute.
Houston finished 4th in the conference, and really never established an identity, other than they love to shoot the three. Dwight Howard and James Harden create a defensive nightmare, and Chandler Parsons thrived in becoming the oft-forgotten man. All of that is old news by now, as Houston started the offseason slow by selecting Swiss forward Clint Capela and Arizona’s Nick Johnson on draft night. The last 7-10 days have been quite a different story. They were interested in Carmelo Anthony, he re-signed with New York. They were interested in Chris Bosh, he re-signed with Miami. They were interested in Parsons to Dallas, after deciding he wasn’t worth the money Dallas was offering. Not to mention that backup center Omer Asik was traded to New Orleans in a three team deal that brought the Rockets most notably Trevor Ariza. Jeremy Lin was sent packing to the Lakers in a separate deal that also included waving goodbye to a future first and second round pick that ultimately landed Houston cap space that they didn’t use on Parsons, and the draft rights to 32 year old Sergei Lishouk, who was selected by Memphis in 2004. Did I mention no one made wholesale changes? Because that was clearly wrong. I suppose we’ll see if Houston changing the look of their starting five drastically pays off for what feels like the 13th time since Hakeem left in 2001.
The Portland Trail Blazers finished 5th in the conference and look to build off of finally getting past the first round of the playoffs. The Blazers held no picks on draft night, but welcomed home Steve Blake, a fan-favorite and savvy veteran that can help out with both guard positions. LaMarcus Aldridge decided against signing a max-offer contract extension, citing that he wants a longer deal after next season, when he will have the option to sign with Portland for the most money or take a hit to play the market as an unrestricted free agent. Speaking of UFA’s, center Chris Kaman, by far the scariest looking of all open market players available, agreed to a 2-year deal to help with keeping team fouls and missed shots counts high, and generally failing to defend the better centers. Kaman has size and some valid and valuable experience, but most Portlanders have to be questioning the move. He could be a quality backup if Lopez struggles or misses any time. Mo Williams is assumed to be gone and not coming back, as Mo opted out of his 2 year deal to pursue a long-term deal to stay in Portland, and has since been rumored to be talking to Dallas. With that, young guards CJ McCollum, Allen Crabbe, and Will Barton should get plenty of minutes to prove if they truly belong in the Rose City this year.
Golden State finished 6th and were bounced by the Clippers in seven games. The Warriors fired head coach Mark Jackson following the loss, and hired Steve Kerr. Rumors swirled that Kevin Love would be in the Bay Area next season along with sharp-shooter Kevin Martin in exchange for Klay Thompson, David Lee, and depending on the rumor, another player or draft pick. Golden State eventually decided that keeping the “splash brothers” together was more important than making a big splash, so they kept their core players in house. The Warriors also held zero picks on draft night, and their only addition so far is signing guard Shaun Livingston to an already crowded backcourt.
The Memphis Grizzlies finished 7th, lasting seven games against the Thunder (4 in OT), but struggled to keep up with the scoring power of Westbrook and Durant. The Grizz went on the offensive this offseason, drafting UCLA guard Jordan Adams, and signing veteran Vince Carter to team with Mike Conley, Jr. in the backcourt, and re-signing Zach Randolph to keep the post duo of Randolph and Marc Gasol on the court for at least another 1-2 years. Memphis is always in the conversation out West, but rarely has the firepower to overtake the elite teams. Their efficiency and old-school post game however, is rivaled by only San Antonio and Chicago.
Dallas brought up the rear last year, narrowly claiming the 8th seed and making the Spurs look old for six games before San Antonio found their groove in the seventh game, and started a rampage that made every other team in the playoffs look silly. The Mavericks successfully lured Chandler Parsons from Houston, but lost Vince Carter to Memphis. Tyson Chandler and Raymond Felton were acquired in a trade with New York, but that lost Dallas both of their second round picks in the June draft as well as Jose Calderon, along with Samuel Dalembert, Wayne Ellington, and Shane Larkin. All of that overshadowed Dirk Nowitzki re-signing. A starting five of Felton, Monta Ellis, Parsons, Nowitzki, and Chandler could be very tough to stop. With getting younger and more scoring power their main agendas this offseason, the Mavericks may have only hit half of the mark, but they got better regardless.
All in all, the eight teams that made the playoffs last season look primed for another run. And who knows, given all of the shaking up, any of them could be crowned the conference champs next year. What we do know, is that given all of the offseason movement, next season will be anything but dull.
It’s indeed a Wild Wild West, and it never fails to entertain.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
