Pacific Division

The Golden State Warriors. Sigh. Do I have to? On the plus side, they did unload Latrell Spreewell, but they got three mediocre players in return. Not one with the star potential and talent that Spree has. Chris Mills and John Starks are both decent enough players. They are especially useful on a good team, to add some spark, but neither are 20 point per game scorers like Spree. Terry Cummings was a throw in. He's a shadow of the man who used to dominate back in the 1980's. The draft and trade for Antawn Jamison was good. Jamison is a great talent. He should thrive in the western conference's wide open style of basketball. Although he's a classic 'tweener, too small for power forward and not enough of an outside game for small forward, he's got game. They did resign Jason Caffey which is good news. He was playing very well in the last few games of the season. Clarence Weatherspoon and Jimmy Jackson were allowed to leave, which might be a problem with their lack of talent. The starting five of Mugsy Bogues, John Starks, Donyell Marshall, Jason Caffey and Erick Dampier is pretty weak. They do have a lot of players they can play though. Bimbo Coles, Tony Delk, Duane Ferrell, Adonal Foyle, Todd Fuller, Jeff Grayer, Feltson Spencer, Jamison, Mills and Cummings are all warm bodies. Look them to challenge the Clippers for the last in the west.

My beloved Clippers. What have you become? Either Michael Olowakandi is either the next Hakeem Olajuwon or he's the next Yinka Dare. Somehow, I'm thinking Dare. It is the Clippers. He is the future, good or bad. He's got great potential. Great size and speed. Good coordination. He might be the real deal. The Clips also drafted Brian Skinner, who until before the draft, I had never heard of. Guess what? I still don't know who he is. Knowing the Clippers, he'll be a bust. Ike Austin and Loy Vaught were allowed to walk, which was a big mistake. But I'm sure neither wanted to stay in Clipperland. The starting five of Darrick Martin, Eric Piatkowski, Rodney Rogers, Lamond Murray and Michael Olowakandi isn't too good. They do have some players off the bench though. Maurice Taylor was good as a rookie last year. Lorenzen Wright is also a good player. Keith Closs is tall. Stojko Vrankovic is big. Pooh Richardson is washed up (I still love this guy from his UCLA days). James Robinson still can dunk, but that's about it. The Clips and the Warriors will fight for last place.

The Lakers reloaded this off season. After an off season of trying to unload Elden Campbell and Eddie Jones and getting nothing, they still have the most talented team in the NBA. They didn't get Scottie Pippen. They didn't get Tom Gugliotta. They didn't get Antonio McDyess, Chris Webber or Kevin Johnson. What did they get? They drafted Sam Jacobson from Minnesota and Ruben Patterson. Well, who cares? They won't play anyway. Travis Knight was re-acquired from Boston in return for rookie bust Tony Battie. Although I think Battie could have thrived on the Lakers with Shaq, Travis Knight had a great rookie season on the Lakers, knows the system and is a good backup at center and power forward. Tyronn Lue, who was coveted by Jerry West during the draft, was picked up for Nick Van Exel and the departed Battie. Derek Harper was added as point guard insurance. The starting five is dangerous, Derek Fisher, Eddie Jones, Rick Fox, Elden Campbell and Shaquille O'Neal is as good as any team. Robert Horry, Kobe Bryant, Sean Rooks, Knight, Lue and Harper add great depth. If this team doesn't make the finals, it's a disappointment.

And the big losers of the 1998-1999 NBA Lockout....the Phoenix Suns. They set up themselves for two years to scoop up every free agent available? What they ended up with? Not bad, but not great either. Tom Gugliotta is a blue chip star. He's their starting power forward for the next decade. Luc Longley was acquired in a sign and swap. He should settle the center position. Joe Kleine was signed as a backup. Pat Garrity was picked up in the Steve Nash trade. They resigned Rex Chapman, George McCloud, Clifford Robinson. They did lose out on the Antonio McDyess sweepstakes and I think that will hurt them for a long time. The starting five of Jason Kidd, Rex Chapman, Clifford Robinson, Tom Gugliotta and Luc Longley is good. They have some depth with Danny Manning, Kleine, Garrity and McCloud. I think they can win 30 games, maybe more or maybe less.

The Blazers didn't have a draft pick this year, but they did pick up Bonzi Wells through the draft and signed Greg Anthony as a backup point guard. The main move the Blazers did was resign Mighty Mouse, Damon Stoudamire. Without him, the Blazers weren't going anywhere. As well the Blazers resigned Arvydas Sabonis, another key to their offense. They still have a young and deep team, so I expect big things of them. The starting lineup of Stoudamire, Isaiah Rider, Brian Grant, Rasheed Wallace and Arvydas Sabonis is damn strong. Their bench is deep as well. Stacey Augmon is the defensive stopper. Kelvin Cato is the shot blocking center. John Crotty and Greg Anthony are the back court backups. Jermaine O'Neal is the youthful underachiever. Carlos Rogers is the towel waiver. Walt Williams is the designated shooter, who can't or won't play defense. The anti-Michael Cooper. The Blazers could make a run for the western conference crown.

So what's new in Sacramento? How about Chris Webber as power forward? How about Mitch Richmond playing in the nation's capital? How about Vlade Divac as the starting center? How about Jason Williams, the troubled Florida star, as the starting point guard? They lost Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, Billy Owens and Olden Polynice, none could actually defend against their shadow. They did resign Corliss Williamson, which was a nice touch. I think Sacramento might actually become a good team. If everything works out, meaning, Chris Webber decides to play and doesn't get injured, you're looking at possibly the most improved team in the league. The starting five will probably be Williams, Tariq Abdul-Wahad (former Olivier St. Jean), Pedrag Stojakovic (who was supposedly the best player in the world not playing in the NBA), Webber and Divac. That's a good starting five. Terry Dehere, Lawrence Funderburke, Chris Robinson, Vernon Maxwell and Jon Barry add depth. While I don't think they'll contend for a title, they will break their under .500 record this year.

The Sonics made some small moves, but good ones. Their draft yielded Jelani McCoy, a shot blocker from UCLA and Rashard Lewis, a high schooler, who will probably sit for the season. Call it a red shirt year. Neither is considered an impact player. They finally unloaded the mistake, Jim McIlvaine for Michael Cage and Don Maclean. Cage promptly retired. Maclean will probably spend the whole year on the injured list. Billy Owens and Olden Polynice were added. I guess there was a special package on former Sacramento Kings. Owens should add some depth at 2, 3 or 4. Polynice can run and rebound. Anything is better than Jim McIlvaine. They lost Sam Perkins and that will hurt. Nate McMillan retired, but he became a coach, so he'll be a coach on the side lines now, and not on the bench. The starting five of Gary Payton, Hersey Hawkins, Detlef Schrempf, Vin Baker and Olden Polynice is still dangerous. Their bench is not nearly as strong as their starting five, with Aaron Williams, Dale Ellis, James Cotton, Owens, McCoy, Lewis and Maclean. I think they will challenge for the NBA crown, but without George Karl as coach, you have to wonder. Paul Westphal is a good coach, so we'll see how good after the season.

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