Basketball Thoughts

Some random thoughts on what teams ought to do for next year:

1. Mavs. Keep the team together, get Butler back, and go for the repeat. Even if Kidd retires, they still have a lot of guards. They had such wonderful chemistry this year, better not to mess with it. I'm sure Cuban will pay for it. Dirk looks like he has some years left in him. Ride the wave. Give Carlisle whatever he wants. That guy coached the hell out of the playoffs.

2. Lakers. The talks shows etc are talking about a big trade for Dwight Howard. Or wait a year for free agency. The tough thing for the Lakers is they isn't much they can do other than blow up the team, but that pretty much would put an end to the Kobe era. If I were the Lakers, I'd upgrade at point guard and pray Bynum can play and go for it one last time with the three big guys, Kobe, and an improved PG. What is your other choice? Make a blockbuster deal for Howard and rebuild your team around a Kobe-Howard thing...but how many years do you get out this? 1-3 and knowing Kobe, it will take awhile for it to settle in. I think the smarter option is to pick up PG, sign an outside shooter, and wait on Howard to be a free agent if you want to go after him.

3. Heat. I think one needs to look at this year and say it was a success overall. They completely changed their team, suffered major injuries to two starters: Haslem and Miller and still came within 2 wins of the NBA finals. It is easy to overreact to the media hype with James, but they owe it to themselves to have another go at it. They discovered a couple things: Bosh is good, Chalmers can play, Haslem can play, Miller can play, and maybe LeBron doesn't have it in him to be "the man." So what? They have Wade. What other team doesn't need to be worried about their best player being a psychological mess? They could use one or two other guys and to get LeBron a sports psychologist, but other than that, there is no need to panic or overreact from an organizational standpoint.

4. Celtics. A tough one. Sort of like the Lakers in that there is nothing they can do without blowing up the team. They obviously need someone down low to play with Garnett - the post left neglected by Perkins. I'd sign someone big and tough who can score an occasional basket - someone like Ibaka or Bynum - and insist Rondo work on his outside shooting all summer and then go for it with the Big 3 one last time. (other idea: trade for Duncan?)

5. OKC. You have to be happy with the season overall. They took the champs to 6 games and won some playoff series, including one against a very tough Memphis team. The biggest worry is Westbrook, so I'd just force the guy to watch video of himself and write down all the shots he takes and mark green for the ones he makes and red for the ones he misses and he will come to the conclusion: I ought to only take shots when I'm driving to the basket. Then, take freeze frames all the red shots and look around to see if other guys are open (I bet they are). Hopefully he can learn from that.

6. Memphis. Do nothing. You have forged an identity as a blue collar, pound it inside team. Stay with it. Ride the Randolph/Gasol train. Could always use knock-down 3 point shooters. Will win 3-4 times out of 10 against OKC - could be the Duncan Spurs to Kobe Lakers with OKC in the future.

7. Chicago. If I were Chicago, I'd go for Howard. Imagine Howard, Rose, Noah? Good lord. They might beat Miami on toughness alone. They need size. Rose and Noah ought to go to Howard's house and say "you want to win 1 with Kobe or 3 with us?" Oh man, how exciting would the Eastern Conference finals be for the next 4 years if Howard went to Chicago. I have no idea whether this is possible from a practical perspective.

8. Spurs. I'm afraid Duncan era is over and it is time to move on. I don't think there are any pieces worth keeping. Could see Tony Parker as a Laker. They could use a guy like him. You can't build a team around Parker, but he is a winner and the Lakers need a PG with speed. If Chicago can't get Howard, could you imagine Duncan going there for 1 year? Admit - not a bad idea. Ginobli is old and injury prone. Could see him go to a team like Orlando or Memphis for 1 year to see if he could push them over the top as a 6 man. Be the Terry of this year's Mavs.

9. Hawks. Who knows? They can't compete with the powers in the East, but they finally seemed to play well in the playoffs.

10. Orlando. Howard wants out, so what can they do? Nothing really other than try and get something for him. Don't think they can beat Chicago, Miami, in the East. Aren't strong enough all around. Could they sign a guy like Ginobli for 1 year and take a crack at it with Howard?

11. Knicks. Team is doomed, despite the talent. If I were them, I'd try to sign Nash for 2 years and see if he has some magic left in him. They are team without an identity. Failing that, they ought to go for Chris Paul. Don't know if they have the money for all this. How can you win with Carmelo? It is a tough question...I'd maybe look at him like a similar case to Rasheed Wallace...where you need a guy like Chauncy Billups to take over leadership. Oh wait a second, they tried that in Denver. But I think the principle still makes sense. So how do find a 2004 Chauncy - bearing in mind the East is way stronger than it was back then?

Can't think of any other interesting teams I know much about...