Earlier this week I focused on the winners of the NBA offseason to this point, and now it's time to turn my attention to the front office failures. Some executives are making the wrong moves, while others are sitting back and watching talent fly off the market. Whose franchise is in danger of suffering the consequences this upcoming season?
Denver Nuggets: They acquired rookie point guard Ty Lawson in a draft trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves, but other than that, they're bringing the exact same team back for the 2009-2010 NBA season.
Now don't get me wrong -- that's not a bad team, but it was clear that they weren't quite ready to outplay Kobe's Lakers over the course of a best of seven series. Is Denver's front office hoping that the Lakers won't be able to resign Lamar Odom, and that that will give them some sort of advantage in a potential playoff match-up?
I guess. It's a possibility. But let's not forget that the Lakers have already added a high-quality two-way player in Ron Artest this offseason. Losing Odom would be a hit for Los Angeles, but it wouldn't be the end of the world. Kobe and Pau Gasol will continue to carry the load, and Artest will be right there with them providing stable assistance. "Stable" basketball-wise, maybe not so much mentally.
It would be nice if Denver did something to show that they'll avoid organizational stagnation. Something other than resigning Chris "Birdman" Andersen, who was already a part of this club's rotation. Otherwise, they'll be in a 35/65 situation in the playoffs again in '09-10.
Houston Rockets: Ron Artest proved to be a better sidekick to Yao Ming than Tracy McGrady ever was, and now Artest and Yao are BOTH out of the picture. Ironically enough, T-Mac is left to pick up the pieces. Unfortunately for the Rockets and their fans, McGrady's prime has passed, and his porous shot selection makes it virtually impossible to build a team around him.
This organization has lost Artest to free agency and Yao to injury, and all that's left is McGrady, Luis Scola, and Aaron Brooks. They were able to sign Trevor Ariza away from the Lakers, but c'mon, he's not going to turn it all around for them. This franchise is in trouble...especially if Yao's injury is truly career-threatening.
Milwaukee Bucks: Scott Skiles is a very respectable in-game head coach, but his off-the-court crap is getting out of control. He holds grudges against guys that don't play "his way," and then he drives them out of town by nagging Milwaukee's front office. According to Rotoworld.com, this would be the Bucks' starting lineup if the '09-10 season started right now:
PG-Luke Ridnour, SG-Michael Redd, SF-Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, PF-Amir Johnson, and C-Andrew Bogut
Ramon Sessions, one of their best players last season, is a free agent, and Charlie Villanueva has already signed with the Detroit Pistons. Michael Redd's future is questionable coming off a severe injury, and this organization traded its second-best player in Richard Jefferson.
Where's the offense going to come from? Where's the explosiveness?
Hell...where's the talent?
New Orleans Hornets: This club's front office can't possibly think that they can be a serious contender with the starting lineup of Chris Paul, Rasual Butler, Peja Stojakovic, David West, and Tyson Chandler.
That EXACT same team got bounced easily from the playoffs this past season, and there's no reason to believe that they'll improve on that result. Byron Scott is one of the most underrated head coaches in all of professional sports, but he's not a miracle worker. This team needs a ton of help if they want to be championship contenders, and rookies Darren Collison and Marcus Thornton aren't the answer. At least now they aren't.
Philadelphia 76ers: Am I truly supposed to believe that Jason Kapono is going to get this team over the hump in the Eastern Conference? I mean sure he can shoot, but Philly needs a helluva lot more than that to jump to the potentially "elite" level.
Elton Brand is expected to be healthy for the start of the season, but that's not necessarily a good thing. The Sixers played better WITHOUT Brand in '08-09, so why should it be any different this time around? Even if Brand's play and value to his team improve, I doubt it'll be enough to get Philadelphia anything better than a six seed.
Where's the offseason activity from this organization? They must be in a financial bind.
Phoenix Suns: There's no beating around the bush: Steve Kerr's done an AWFUL job since taking over as GM of this franchise. On the court, they had a good thing going with Steve Nash/Amare Stoudemire/Shawn Marion a few years back. Off the court there was some friction between Amare and Marion, but Kerr allowed THAT to make up his mind for him?
Obviously Shaquille O'Neal wasn't going to fit with an incumbent roster in love with the fastbreak, but Kerr forced that initial deal. Kerr thought that Shaq would help him in a potential playoff match-up with Tim Duncan and the Spurs, but the Suns ended up losing that series 3-1. They were one game away from the NBA Finals the year before, and Kerr weakened the roster, and they digressed the following year.
Amare had a tough time meshing with Shaq on the court, so now Shaquille's out of the picture. But Ben Wallace? Seriously? The guy is finished. They can't be expecting much from him. Kerr also acquired softy Channing Frye this offseason, a shoot-first power forward with no "power," or toughness.
The funny thing is, they can still be a playoff team if Amare stays healthy. He's a monster, and the one move that I DID like by Kerr, netted him Jason Richardson last season. So Nash, Amare, Richardson is a workable core.
Neutral: Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Bobcats, Chicago Bulls, Golden State Warriors, Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Heat, Minnesota
Timberwolves (though the Ricky Rubio thing bothers me a little bit),
New Jersey Nets, New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Orlando Magic,
Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings, Toronto Raptors, and Utah
Jazz.
That's it for the obvious losers, and the stagnant teams this offseason. Thanks for reading this, as well as the winners post. I look forward to your comments, as always.
(The Red Sox are the new Yankees. How did they make the transition? "JFro," aka John Frascella, is the author of "Theo-logy: How a Boy Wonder Led the Red Sox to the Promised Land."
It's the first full-length book centered on Boston Red Sox's popular
general manager Theo Epstein. Preview or purchase it online at Amazon.com, Barnes
and Noble or Borders. It's currently stocked in Barnes and Noble stores
throughout the U.S. Also, check out John on Twitter.)
Ashley Allen
Irina Shayk
Pop Culture Hot List
2009 Turkeys Of The Year
Comments (12) Add A Comment
How are the Lakers not winners?
Southern Discomfort
Charlotte, NC
Total Comments (4878)
The Wild? The Minnesota Wild? What do they have to do with the NBA?
JFro
L.I., NY
Total Comments (602)
Because they lost Trevor Ariza, who had developed into one of their most important role players. Ariza was lights out from downtown, and became a shutdown defender at the small forward position. Now they've replaced him with Ron Artest, who is a better all-around player than Ariza, but they HAVEN'T resigned Lamar Odom.
So Artest without Ariza and Odom right now, that lies somewhere in the middle of the pack for the offseason.
JFro
L.I., NY
Total Comments (602)
I don't see New Orleans as a loser.
Stojakovic was hurt, Morris Peterson was hurt, Chandler was hurt. They brought in a guy who could develop into a nice backup SG (Thornton) and one of my favorite players of the draft, Darren Collison. He can play defense, he is incredibly fast, ane shot over 40% from downtown a couple years at UCLA.
People also forget that both Hilton Armstrong (from UCONN, a legit producing school) and Julian Wright (from Kansas, another legit producing school) are both lottery picks who are young and finally saw some playing time last year.
A rotation of Paul, Butler, Mo Pete (if he comes back) James Posey, David West, a healthy Peja, a healthy Chandler, Armstrong looks fine to me, and if they can get anything from Wright, Collison or Thornton, they could be alright.
0x NBA/NFL Champion
Saint Paul, MN
Total Comments (5072)
Stojakovic is over the hill; he's a liability defensively because the injuries have hindered his lateral movement, and he brings nothing offensively other than open three-point shooting.
Peterson is a bum; he's never been a consistently successful player at the professional level. He's a streak player with limited value.
Chandler's had one good year in his career and he disappeared in the postseason. He's soft and also brings nothing offensively, except alley-oop finishes.
I don't dislike their draft picks this year, they just aren't the type of rookie guards that will propel a team like this to the next level.
I went to UConn and I covered the men's basketball team for the university publication, so I know plenty about Hilton Armstrong. He'll never be an above-average NBA player because he's a turnover machine in the post, and he lacks the coordination and offensive ability.
And I didn't say the Hornets will be losers in general, only this offseason they are losers. They could still be a 7 or 8 seed in the West. But what good is that if they get bounced in the first round again?
JFro
L.I., NY
Total Comments (602)
Well, the Timberwolves picked up three talented guards in the NBA Draft. Jonny Flynn and Wayne Ellington will be able to contribute immediately, and Ricky Rubio will bring his exciting style and playmaking ability to Minnesota in the future. They didn't get any WORSE, at least.
JFro
L.I., NY
Total Comments (602)
I can agree with the Stojakovic analysis, although I think he's a fine 4th option if Chris Paul is running the team. If guys had NBA live ratings, CP3 would bring everyone up at least 2 points. lol
I disagree about Peterson being a bum. The last time he got consistent playing time (05-06) he went for 17 and 5 and shot almost 40% from downtown. His numbers have gone way downhill with his minutes decreasing, but again, I think it's fine if he is a very low option.
Chandler has had one good offensive year, but he's always been a good rebounder and is a nice post defender. The key with him is that he's still just 26, so there's time to develop further.
I'm not sure about Thornton, but I really do think Darren Collison will be an effective NBA player. He can shoot, he's incredibly unselfish and he plays defense. Obviously he isn't gonna step in and have success, but he'll probably be able to learn a lot from CP3, as well.
You might be right about Armstrong, I don't know anything about him. haha
Maybe it just comes down to opinion, but I don't think that they're a loser because they didn't go out and get anything. They needed help at SG and a backup PG, and they got both of those in the draft. They core of the team is very young, so if neither Collison or Thornton works out, they can bring someone in when Peja and Posey retire. They got bounced last year early because of injuries, and I don't think that'll be the case again.
0x NBA/NFL Champion
Saint Paul, MN
Total Comments (5072)
How could they have realistically improved? They needed guards, and obviously didn't like Miller and Foye, so they brought in Rubio, Flynn and Ellington, picked up expiring contracts (seriously though, who will wanna play for us though? lol) and got rid of the guys who weren't really doing anything. Foye might not have been good to let go, but if he can bring in Rubio, it works out fine.
0x NBA/NFL Champion
Saint Paul, MN
Total Comments (5072)
Oh, and J-Fro, it's awesome to debate with someone who isn't an idiot. lol
0x NBA/NFL Champion
Saint Paul, MN
Total Comments (5072)
I wanted to take this opportunity to talk about the Denver Nuggets. They should be on the Winners list for a number of reasons. The best moves for them to make were to stabilize their backcourt and resign their guys. People seem to forget that just a couple of years ago the Nuggets were THE BEST TEAM IN THE NBA. They had the NBAs best record and Melo was the leagues leading scorer. A fight at Madison square garden became the impetus for the iverson trade which destroyed the dynamic of their team. The team they have today is very similar to that orginal team and it may be fair to say that Chauncey Billups is an upgrade over Andre Miller. Nene is finally healthy and the emergence of Chris Anderson makes us forget about Marcus Camby. JR smith is also much improved. Their is no reason to think that this team will not compete for a number 1 seed out west and a possible NBA finals appearance.
THEMOSTEXCITINGMANIN…
Freehold , NJ
Total Comments (7)
Haha, I know what you mean. Same to you; I appreciate the compliment.
I didn't think anything you said about the Hornets was egregiously wrong, but -- all things considered -- they are barely worth discussing because I don't seem them improving drastically. And if they don't improve drastically, then they won't be especially relevant in the difficult Western Conference. Back-end playoff team, at best. With luck they could scurry to a 5-spot. I guess.
JFro
L.I., NY
Total Comments (602)
When evaluating the winners and losers of the offseason to this point, I'm sizing these teams up against the '08-09 versions of themselves. Which means, the Nuggets haven't done much of note, as far as bringing in new talent and helping themselves get to the very top of the league. They were arguably the second-best team in the NBA last season (after the champion Lakers), but other championship contenders like the Celtics, Cavs, and Spurs have since improved.
That means, by staying pat, the Nuggets are losing...so far. Plenty of time left for that to change this offseason, though.
JFro
L.I., NY
Total Comments (602)
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