The Atlanta Hawks made a bunch of moves, but they hope their biggest addition is by substraction. Trading Christian Laettner to the Pistons should relax the Hawks locker room. They drafted Roshown McLeod, which was a reach at 20. Scot Pollard came over in the Laettner trade. Shammond Williams, from UNC, was acquired from the Bulls after the draft. He might be a steal. He's a great shooter. The Hawks picked up Laphonso Ellis, to play small forward, which should be a huge improvement over Tyrone Corbin. Mark West should provide some backup bulk for Dikembe Motumbo. Here's hoping former Kentucky star Jeff Sheppard makes the team. He's just like former UK star Rex Chapman. All he needs is a chance. A starting five of Mookie Blaylock, Steve Smith, Ellis, re-signed Allan Henderson and Motumbo is very impressive. The bench is now a real strong point, even with all their losses. Pollard, McLeod and Williams are young, as is former number 1 Ed Gray, with Mark West, Anthony Johnson and Kebu Stewart, it gives the Hawks a really deep bench. Atlanta is a good team. I think they might actually contend for the central division title.
The Hornets added some veteran backups in Chucky Brown, Chuck Person and Eldridge Recasner. They signed Derrick Coleman to take over for the departed Vlade Divac and Matt Geiger. Coleman still can score and rebound when he wants. He is not a center. Never has been. Never will be. If they play him at pivot, look for DC to sulk. He's a power forward, who can play inside and outside. No one has ever questioned his ability, just his desire. Ricky Davis, the sharp shooting guard from Iowa, should take over for Dell Curry as the designated marksman. The Hornets have a decent enough team, an above .500 team, but it's not a team that could challenge for the division crown. A starting lineup of David Wesley, Bobby Phills, Anthony Mason, Glen Rice (when he's healthy) and Derrick Coleman isn't that threatening. B.J. Armstrong and J.R. Reid add bench depth along with the Brown, Recasner and Person. All in all, a decent team, good depth, but not much in the way of great NBA talent. Maybe a 4 or 5 seed in the conference at best.
These are not your father's Chicago Bulls. No Michael. No Scottie. No Dennis. No Steve Kerr. No Luc Longley. No Scott Burrell. No Jud Buechler. No Joe Kleine. These Chicago Bulls are much different. And much worse. Corey Benjamin was drafted from Oregon. A great athlete who will have a tough time making the transition to the NBA. Maceo Baston was drafted from Michigan in the second round and in his case, it helps that his agent is friends with Jerry Krause, otherwise, he'd be a free agent shopping his wares. Mark Bryant, Cory Carr, Andrew Lang and Roy Rogers all came via trades. None are considered starting NBA talent. Most are borderline players. Brent Barry was signed. He, along with Toni Kukoc and Ron Harper, will have to take it upon themselves to score about 100 a game, if they want to win, otherwise, it's tank city. A starting lineup of Ron Harper, Brent Barry, Toni Kukoc, Dickey Simpkins and Bill Wennington is so pathetic in comparison to the previous Bulls teams that it almost doesn't warrant a comparison. The Bulls still have some depth, but the drop off from starter to bench player isn't a lot and that's not good. Keith Booth should get some playing time after spending the whole year on the bench. Randy Brown, Bryant, Rogers, Lang, Carr and Benjamin should all get some playing time, since this team is so bad.. If they make the playoffs, it's because Michael Jordan has come back and wanted a real challenge, win with these chumps.
The Cavs haven't done much this off-season. They didn't have to. They had a great rookie class last year, so this year there wasn't much room. The only player of note that was added is veteran journeyman Johnny Newman. He can provide some scoring off the bench. They did waive Damon Bailey. I'm kind of pissed about that. I liked that little guy. What can be said about this team? They are basically the same team as they were last year, except the young players should get better. You have to wonder if Shawn Kemp can lose the extra weight he's carry around before the beginning of the season. But right now, a starting five of Brevin Knight, Derek Anderson, Shawn Kemp, Vitaly Popatenko and Wesley Person is pretty damn good. Zydrunas Ilgauskus, Cedric Henderson, Danny Ferry and Bob Sura add depth on the bench. If they grow as a team, they should make a run at the central division.
The Pistons added some needed muscle with Loy Vaught, formerly of my beloved L.A. Clippers and Christian Laettner. Vaught should give the Pistons a true power forward who will fight for every ball and bang down low. Laettner should give the Pistons another scoring threat to play beside Grant Hill. They should thrive together. Too bad Vaught and Laettner are out for half the season with injuries. Korleone Young was drafted in the second round. He though he'd be a first rounder. I knew better. Sucker! He's supposed to be a good player, so who knows? They did lose some bench strength with the losses of Grant Long, Rick Mahorn and Malik Sealy, but I think Vaught and Laettner make up for it. I think a starting lineup of Lindsay Hunter, Jerry Stackhouse who was resigned, Grant Hill, Loy Vaught (when he gets healthy) or Christian Laetter (when he gets healthy) and Bison Dele (formerly known as Brian Williams) is a good starting five. Joe Dumars re-upped for another year in purgatory. Don Reid and Jerome Williams give their best Hoya try at playing in the NBA, albeit without much talent. Eric Montross is big. That's about all he has going for him these days. I don't like their chances until their injuries clear up. But you can't count out Grant Hill.
The Pacers are in a similar situation as the Cavs. They didn't make too many moves over the off season, but the ones they did make are pretty good. They drafted high-schooler Al Harrington. He should get no playing time, but will get work at practice. Sam Perkins was signed as a backup center and forward. He brings his outside jumper to the east for the first time. He takes over for Mark West. They resigned Travis Best, Fred Hoiberg, Mark Pope and Rik Smits. Add that to the players under contract and you've got a complete team. Keep this in mind, Larry Bird uses 10 players a game, and this team can handle it. Their starting five is the same as last year, Reggie Miller, Mark Jackson, Chris Mullin, Rik Smits and Dale Davis. They have an awesome bench. Antonio Davis, Derrick McKey, Jalen Rose, Heywoode Workman, Best, Hoiberg, Pope, Perkins and the former first round pick Austin Croshere, should make for a deep and strong bench. Larry Bird will have these boys whipped into shape and contend for the NBA crown.
The Bucks. Rhymes with....sucks. Right? Maybe not this year. Maybe. George Karl as coach. That's their best move in years. Added Robert Traylor via a trade after the draft. He should give the Bucks some needed muscle down low. Dell Curry and Donald Royal were signed as veterans off the bench. They have some good talent, especially in the back court with Ray Allen and Terrell Brandon. Glenn Robinson is a great scorer. He'll just have to learn how to play Karl's style of trapping defense. A starting five of Allen, Brandon, Robinson, Tyrone Hill and Ervin Johnson is pretty potent. They just need some more depth and less turnovers. Michael Curry, Armon Gilliam, Jerald Honeycutt, Elliot Perry, are added to newly acquired Curry and Royal to make a pretty toothless bench. Karl might actually get this bunch into the playoffs.
The Toronto Raptors. What can I say about them that I haven't said before, at least a hundred times. For a change, this year they did good. In a draft day trade, in separate deals they acquired Vince Carter for their pick, Sean Marks (a second round banger) and Charles Oakley for perennial underachiever Marcus Camby, and Kevin Willis for two low first round picks. After the lockout, the Raptors unloaded chucker, Chanucey Billups for useless Michael Williams, 2 first round picks and the rights to potential Euro-star Zeljiko Rebraca. They also signed Michael Stewart for some youth, athleticism and shot blocking. Sharone Wright announced his retirement, which is one less big body. But Oakley and Willis should cushion that blow. They also let Gary Trent get away, after his price tag was too high. Surprisingly, he signed for a $1 million salary cap exemption with Dallas. I guess, another loser in the salary cap squeeze. The starting five is almost looking like a real NBA team. Alvin Williams (who is nothing more than a backup at best), Doug Christie, Tracy McGrady, Willis and Oakley. On the bench, John Wallace brings scoring. Vince Carter brings athleticism. Reggie Slater and John Thomas, along with Marks brings bulk. I see this team lucky to win 15-20 games.
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