From:
http://www.twolveszone.com
What an offseason.
No league does free agency like the NBA, which plays like a frenetic game of musical chairs set to the soundtrack of "The Fast and the Furious."
Shaq to Miami, T-Mac to Houston, K-Mart to Denver. Carlos Boozer and his conscience and Mehmet Okur seemingly headed to Utah.
"It's unbelievable," Turner Sports analyst Steve Kerr said.
"Shocking, unbelievable, exciting," said Mychal Thompson, former Wolves TV analyst now calling games for the Lakers. He was talking most specifically about the past few days in Los Angeles, but he could have been describing the flurry around the league. "Baseball has the hot stove league. You'd call this the air-conditioned league."
Most of the marquee names have made their move, but the dust hasn't settled. Still, it's hard not to look at what has happened in recent days and not jump to a couple of conclusions:
1. The East is not least anymore. Not with the defending champion Pistons, an improving Pacers team and Miami, armed with Shaquille O'Neal, ready to put the heat on both of them.
2. For all action taking place in the Western Conference, it might be a couple of teams that have been relatively quiet that emerge as the real winners.
"I think the two happiest teams -- after Miami -- are the Timberwolves and the [San Antonio] Spurs," Kerr said. "All of a sudden, they're the leading contenders in the West."
ESPN analyst Jack Ramsay agreed.
"Stability is always a positive," Ramsay said. "Especially when you've had success with it."
That said, there are a few teams in the West who have made themselves better:
• Houston, by acquiring Tracy McGrady from Orlando to play alongside Yao Ming -- though a point guard still is needed.
• Denver, by acquiring Kenyon Martin from New Jersey, who will give the Nuggets another big defender.
• Utah, which went 42-40 without a lot of talent last season, has signed Boozer and Okur to offer sheets.
• And Phoenix, with the big-bucks signing of Dallas free agent guard Steve Nash.
All the changes have created a new landscape in the West. The Lakers made the most stunning moves, sending O'Neal to Miami and dismantling a team that had been to the NBA Finals four times in five years. That move was intended to persuade Kobe Bryant to stay, according to most reports, and the free agent announced Thursday his intention to accept the Lakers' offer.
That leads Kerr and Ramsay to put the Spurs and Wolves atop the pecking order in the West. The Spurs will probably lose Hedo Turkoglu to the Magic, but they added Brent Barry from the Sonics to bolster their outside shooting. And don't forget Sacramento.
The Wolves have agreed in principal to a new contract for free agent guard Troy Hudson. Hudson and Wolves point guard Sam Cassell -- both are coming off surgery -- should be healthy for the start of the season, as should forward Wally Szczerbiak.
There is still work to be done in getting other free agents -- such as Trenton Hassell and Fred Hoiberg -- back into the fold. But most of the pieces that produced a run to the Western Conference finals last season are in place.
"The subtraction of the monster has put both of them up one rung," Kerr said. "[And] it leveled out the two conferences."
Asked to put together a Western Conference power poll, Kerr put the Spurs No. 1, the Wolves No. 2, and then?
"Three is the interesting one," Kerr said. "Dallas has dropped out, losing Nash and [Antawn] Jamison. I think it's probably a toss-up between Houston, maybe Denver and even Utah."
Ramsay also puts the Spurs and Wolves 1-2. The two teams will be in different divisions in the upcoming season.
"There are a lot of positives with both of those teams," Ramsay said. "They both have another year together. If the Wolves had had Hudson last season, it might have been a difference-maker. And they'll have Szczerbiak back at full speed; he played well in the playoffs. It's a vastly different landscape than it was when Shaq and Kobe were together."
Which team will walk through?
"Minnesota was the favorite [in the West] going into the offseason," Thompson said. "Now that they have two healthy point guards, you have to figure they will be the favorite."
Crazy Offseason good for Twolves??
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