July 15, 2003

FREE AGENCY CONTINUES TO STRENGTHEN WEST AND WEAKEN EAST

      With Karl Malone and Gary Payton both agreeing to take massive pay cuts and sign on with the Los Angeles Lakers, and with Rasho Nesterovic agreeing to a contract to replace David Robinson in San Antonio it is apparent that next year the NBA champion will once again come out of the West.  Malone and Payton have decided to take severe pay cuts to play one year with the Lakers and hopefully cap off their illustrious careers with championship rings.  The questions going in will be many though, as Malone will have to learn to play third fiddle to Kobe and Shaq, and Payton will have to settle for being a playmaking guard and not to constantly look for his own shot.  Whether these two hall of fame players can fit into with the Lakers, and the triangle offense, will have to be seen, but if they do the Lakers will unquestionably become the favourites to recapture the NBA title.

       The Spurs will return to defend their crown with their team mostly intact.  Missing Robinson’s leadership and experience will be huge but on the court Nesterovic should more than compensate for the loss of the Admiral.  Robinson was becoming an injury prone veteran who could rise to the moment only occasionally—Rasho will be able to deliver more consistency.  The Spurs will be L.A.’s primary foe now that they have shed the Laker albatross from around their necks. 

       Taking dead aim at the two teams will be Dallas and Sacramento.  The Mavericks are looking at ways to plug their one gaping hole, the lack of an inside game.  However the Mavs may not be able to find anyone to fit the bill for the money they would be offering—the mid-level exception—and may look to bring in some veteran leadership instead.  The talk is that Robert Horry will bring his five championship rings to Dallas with the hope that he can settle the team down when it struggles and provide some much needed championship mettle.  The problem though, is that Horry is nearing the end of his career and can’t be counted on to provide as many valuable minutes as he has in the past.  The Kings believe that injuries were the reason they did not win the title.  They were able to compensate for the extended loss of Webber and Bibby during the regular season, but when Webber went down against Dallas the team didn’t have enough to overcome a hot shooting Mavericks squad.  Perhaps a full season from all their stars will be enough to push Sacramento past their Western Conference rivals and into the NBA finals.  But the time for this team is running out and they had better figure out if there is anything missing now before Divac gets too old and Webber’s injuries slow him down.

       In the east the defending champion New Jersey Nets worked very hard and managed to maintain the status quo.  Re-signing Jason Kidd meant that the Nets will stay the favourites in the conference, and the signing of Alonzo Mourning will hopefully fill the missing link as the Nets attempt to beat the Western Conference champions in the finals.  But Mourning has missed two of the past three seasons with a kidney ailment and it is a big gamble on the Nets behalf to think that ‘Zo can return to his all-star form.  If he does rebound then the Nets will have a center that can compete against every other center in the league—outside of Shaq.

       There aren’t any other reasonable contenders for the NBA crown.  Portland is trying to rebuild a torn and tattered image, as well as a moribund squad, and Minnesota will once again try to find complementary pieces to surround Kevin Garnett.  But until the Wolves win a playoff series they will never be seriously considered a title contender.  Phoenix is getting better, but isn’t quite there; Seattle is rebuilding and Utah will need to create a new system now that longtime teammates Malone and Stockton are now gone.   Detroit hopes that Larry Brown can coach the Pistons into the finals, but unless they find more offense Detroit will struggle to be as good as they have been.  Indiana is a wild card--they could be good but with Isiah running the team who knows.  Juwon Howard’s addition to Orlando makes the Magic a deeper and stronger team, but they aren’t a championship club.  Boston continues to try to find way to build a contender around Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker, and New Orleans can’t figure out what kind of team they want to be.  Philadelphia is always a threat as long as Allen Iverson stays motivated, but they have neither the depth nor the inclination to compete for a title.  All other teams would be happy with simply making the playoffs.

       Shaq and Kobe will try to integrate their two newest star teammates and attempt to take one last shot at a crown.  The Spurs will be an efficient, hard-working outfit that won’t entertain much but will win, and the Mavs and the Kings will try to find the missing ingredients needed to attain the lofty heights reached by the Spurs and the Lakers.  But with five straight championships having been won by either the Lakers or the Spurs it is doubtful, at this time, whether any other team will be able to present enough of a challenge to prevent them from making it six.

       The more things change—the more they stay the same.