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The Sports Bank‘s series of NBA off-season team needs pages begins with the worst team in the league this past season; the Orlando Magic. The franchise suffered a major setback after dealing disgruntled superstar Dwight Howard last off-season. They enter the off-season stuck with a roster of average talent and rather than trying to scrape by, it is time for the Orlando Magic to blow up their roster and get straight to rebuilding mode.
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With smart drafting, wise acquisitions, and the genius puppetmaster Gregg Popovich pulling the strings; the San Antonio Spurs’ dynasty of being NBA title contenders continued this past season. They face one major objection this summer; re-sign Tim Duncan.
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By signing their key players to contract extensions the past couple of years, the Memphis Grizzlies have a solid starting five. However, their bench production has been average at best which has held them back a bit. The Griz need to upgrade the talent behind their starters this off-season, but that will be difficult to do since the team has very little cap flexibility in free agency.
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Your 2012 NBA Champion, Miami Heat. That’s really all that needs to be said. LeBron James got the monkey off his back and took the first step in their promise to win several rings upon his joining powers with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in South Beach. In order for the Heat to repeat next year, they still need to make a few moves this off-season.
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Winning 50 games in the lockout shortened season of 2011-12 was a major accomplishment for the Chicago Bulls. However, all that excitement and hopefulness of re-claiming the Larry O’Brien Trophy came crashing down with one injury to Derrick Rose. Unfortunately, that’s how the Bulls 2011-12 season will be remembered. Being the best regular season team in the NBA went all for not, as the Bulls suffered that very rare #8 over #1 upset to the Philadelphia 76ers.
And that ACL injury to Rose that cost them the first round playoff series also has major consequence on what happens next season; meaning it’s the number point to center around what they do in the offseason, and on NBA Draft night.
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With Derrick Rose’s health condition up in the air for the 2012-13 season after tearing his ACL in the playoffs, the Chicago Bulls enter the off-season with a ton of uncertainty. Luol Deng’s name has already popped up in numerous trade rumors as the team tries to deal with the fallout from losing their star power.
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With a second straight exit in the Western Conference semifinals, the Los Angeles Lakers could be due for another roster shakeup this off-season. One possibility they will have to strongly consider this off-season is trading Pau Gasol.
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It’s going to be an interesting off-season for the Atlanta Hawks. They enter the summer with only six players under contract for next season yet they are already above what the projected salary cap will be for the 2012-2013 season. In other words, filling out their roster and improving from last season will require some creative thinking.
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I’d say, “they’re back” but let’s be honest; the Los Angeles Clippers were never truly here to begin with. For just the fifth time since the franchise made the move across country to the west coast, the Clips made the post-season, even advancing to the semifinals. The arrival of Chris Paul played a major role in the team stepping out of the shadow of the Lakers. However, there are still some moves to be made this off-season if the Clippers are going to take the next step of emerging as a legit Western Conference title contender.
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Despite coming within a game of advancing to the NBA Finals, the Boston Celtics are approaching a potential crossroads this off-season with veterans Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen hitting the free agent market. The question facing the C’s front office is to re-sign their veterans or look towards the future.
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The Denver Nuggets nearly pulled off a fairly significant upset in the first round of the NBA Western Conference Playoffs before falling to the Los Angeles Lakers in seven games. Their depth has served them well the past two seasons but can that style of play get them to the next level? That is one of the questions management must explore this off-season.
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Dwight Howard is still a member of the Orlando Magic… for now. However, that could be short lived as the team searches for a new general manager, head coach, and improved talent to complement their superstar this off-season. In doing so, that might be enough to convince Howard to re-sign with Orlando rather than hitting the market as a free agent next summer.
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