Offseason Rankings: Western Conference

To check out our Eastern Conference rankings, click here.

1. San Antonio Spurs
Richard Jefferson
Additions: Richard Jefferson, Antonio McDyess, Theo Ratliff, Dajuan Blair

Subtractions: Bruce Bowen, Fabricio Oberto

With his most recent offseason Picasso, R.C. Buford proved why he’s the best in the business at keeping a window open.  By stealing Jefferson away from Milwaukee, he has addressed the Spurs’ need on the wing that had been glaring since Bowen died a few years ago.  Jefferson gives the Spurs four guys who can go for 30+ on any given night, and alleviates much of the burden on their Big Three to score.

Even if Blair doesn’t play much (let’s not forget, he’s a rookie under Gregg Popovich), the additions of McDyess and Ratliff add blue-collar knowhow on the frontline.  The Spurs go at least 11 deep – 12 if you count Blair – providing Popovich with his perhaps deepest team ever.  If Duncan’s knees hold up and Manu Ginobili is fully recovered from ankle surgery, the Spurs are the favorites in 2010 – an amazing sentence considering where they were just four months ago.

2. Los Angeles Lakers

Additions: Ron Artest

Subtractions: Trevor Ariza

People are saying that Artest makes the Lakers a no brainer to repeat, but I say Andrew Bynum is the real difference maker in Los Angeles.  If they can get him to stay productive and healthy, the Lake Show will be a beast.

But, I’m not sold on the virtual Artest-Ariza swap.  Are we really counting on Artest to deliver a title?  When has this guy ever been dependable?  

The parallels to Dennis Rodman, a similarly deranged player who flourished under the guidance of Phil Jackson, don’t work for me, either.  The two – despite their penchant for being unpredictable and generally crazy – are completely different types of players.  First, before Rodman came to Chicago, he had won two championships in Detroit.  Maybe he was a headcase, but at least he was already proven on the biggest NBA stage.  Artest, on the other hand, hasn’t won anything except individual awards and a yearlong suspension.

Second, Rodman made his mark on the defensive end: rebounding everything in sight, hustling everywhere and frustrating opponents with his savvy antics.  Though you worried about the endless technical fouls, the wedding dresses, and cameraman safety, you never worried about Rodman destroying offensive sets and taking shots away from MJ.  That can’t be said about Artest.  He’s a ball stopper.  Always has been.  He routinely goes one on five, over-dribbling into poor shots that sometimes go in.  And on defense, his staple skill, Artest has lost a step.  I worry there because the effect of losing a step as perimeter defender is much more pronounced for big men like Rodman, who guard body to body in the paint.

All I’m saying is that it’s not a given that he’ll fit in with Kobe.  Ariza knew his role and was a key contributor to an NBA Championship squad.  And at 24, he has the potential to get even better.  Artest is a risk that could pay off into multiple championships for the Lakers, but the potential for failure is ripe.

3. Dallas Mavericks

Additions: Shawn Marion, Drew Gooden, Quinton Ross, Tim Thomas

Subtractions: Brandon Bass, Ryan Hollins, Antonie Wright, Devean George, Jerry Stackhouse

The Mavericks aren’t in the Western Conference elite with the Spurs and Lakers, but they did the best job possible with the hand they were dealt this offseason.  Jason Kidd is Marion’s best chance at a career resurrection and if Rick Carlisle realizes early on that a Kidd, Jason Terry, Josh Howard, Marion and Dirk Nowitzki is his best lineup – and I think he will – this team has a shot at putting a big scare into any team come Playoff time.

Given Dallas’ luck in signing largely unproven centers to mid-level exceptions over the years, I wouldn’t be too bummed out about Marcin Gortat if I were a Dallas fan.

4. Los Angeles Clippers

Additions: Blake Griffin, Sebastian Telfair, Craig Smith, Mark Madsen

Subtractions: Zach Randolph

On paper, the Clippers did a bang-up job this offseason.  Finding a taker for Randolph was imperative for Griffin’s development as well as for a team trying to improve its overall character.  The addition of Madsen, a favorite in any locker room, will help with the latter as well.  I’ve always liked Smith’s game and I think the Clippers got themselves a nice bargain there, as well.

Yet, with the Clippers, nothing is what it seems.  As we know, promising offseason quickly turn into disastrous regular seasons.  But, on paper, the Clippers did a good job dumping cumbersome salary and acquiring young talent.  If he’s still got his job next summer, Dunleavy will have a ton of cap room and if he can convince a superstar to try to come in and change the Clippers’ culture, we might be talking about the Clip Show in 2011.

5. Portland Trail Blazers

Additions: Andre Miller

Subtractions: Sergio Rodriguez, Channing Frye

The pressure was on Kevin Pritchard to use his cap room and bring in an upper tier free-agent, and he delivered… kind of.  Miller is an upgrade over Steve Blake, but he was their third choice. Turkoglu was the guy they really wanted.  His size, passing and versatility would have worked well alongside LaMarcus Aldrige up front, and would have allowed the Blazers to match up nicely up front with the Lakers.

With Roy just signing an extension and Aldridge due up next, this was the last time the Blazers were going to be under the cap for a while.  You could say that the Blazers failed in their quest to add that final piece, or you could say they succeeded in improving their team.  My opinion falls somewhere in the middle.  They didn’t get what they coveted the most, but with Miller’s reasonable contract and other valuable assets, the Blazers added another potential trade chip for a bigger move.

6. Oklahoma City Thunder

Additions: Etan Thomas, Kevin Ollie, James Harden, B.J. Mullens

Subtractions: Earl Watson, Chucky Atkins, Damien Wilkins

Sitting well under the cap this offseason, Sam Presti stayed prudent and declined to make big offers in free-agency.  Smart stuff from one of the smartest GMs in the League.  Despite what some feel, this team is still another year away from the Playoffs in the crowded West.  But, that doesn’t mean that this team isn’t worth tuning in to see.  Harden is ready now, meaning the NBA’s best young nucleus just got better.  And watch out for Serge Ibraka.  After spending a year abroad in Europe, the Congolese big man is getting rave reviews this summer from everyone, and could provide the team with an injection of rejections in the middle.

With a stable of young talent, expiring contracts, multiple draft picks and the potential for some serious cap space, no team is in better position for the future.  When Presti unloads on the League and makes his big move, the Thunder will be a contender for the next decade.

7. New Orleans Hornets

Additions: Emeka Okafor, Ike Diogu, Darren Collison

Subtractions: Tyson Chandler

The Okafor-Chandler trade is the ultimate “blah” move and thus the Hornets get a “blah” ranking at seven, smack in the middle of the Western Conference.  This move doesn’t make them better.  Okafor is a fringe double-double guy who gets hurt twice a year.  Obviously, it’s stupid to totally dismiss a team that has Chris Paul (which is why still scratching my head over the Collison pick), but the Hornets still have no depth and are now undersized up front in an oversized Western Conference.

Playoffs yes, but I can’t see anything past the first round for this team.

8. Denver Nuggets

Additions: Aaron Afflalo, Ty Lawson, Malik Allen

Subtractions: Linas Kleiza, Dahntay Jones, Walter Sharpe

The Indiana Pacers are the latest team to get “Warked” by Denver GM Mark Warkentien.  While they overpaid to sign Jones – a pit-bull defender with no distinguishable talents – to a three year deal, Warkentien turned little used Sharpe into Afflalo, a young, cagey defender with three point range to boot.  It’s an under the radar move, but as we’ve seen with Warkentien (Chris Anderson anybody?), he knows how to strike gold in unobvious places.

Lawson’s blurriness in the open court will make him a tough check in today’s Bluetooth (hands-free) NBA, and will compete with Anthony Carter for backup minutes.  Nuggets fans are hoping that they won’t be competing for late-game inbounding duties.

9. Sacramento Kings

Additions: Sergio Rodriguez, Sean May, Tyreke Evans, Omri Casspi

Subtractions: Ike Diogu

He’s not the most refined rookie in this year’s class, but with his ability to get to the line, Evans won’t have to be.  And I like acquisition of Rodriguez.  It’s exactly the type of cheap, low-risk flyer that could develop into something real.  At any rate, it’ll mean less Beno Udrih, which is a good thing.

The Kings are still struggling to find a post-Chris Webber identity, and they'll still struggle to win games this year.  Evans, Kevin Martin and Spencer Hawes gives the team some hope, but the Kings are going to be right in the thick of the John Wall sweepstakes, which may not be a bad thing for a team that desperately needs a franchise saviour.

10. Utah Jazz

Additions: Eric Maynor

Subtractions: None

The Jazz were the nosiest team this offseason, yet ended up being the most quiet.  Paul Millsap to Portland was nixed, and after non-stop trade chatter, Boozer appears to be staying.

If Boozer can be moved for close to equal value, and the Jazz cash in on the Knicks’ lottery pick next year, then the Jazz would be back in Western Conference picture.  But, for the immediate future, it’s back to swimming in the Western Conference soup.

11. Golden State Warriors

Additions: Acie Law, Speedy Claxton, Devean George, Stephen Curry

Subtractions: Jamal Crawford, Marco Bellineli

Well, at least it will be a fun ride to lottery land.  When you combine the front office drama, Don Nelson, potential changes in ownership, and Anthony Randolph, I don't think there is a more entertaining team in the NBA.  I'll be watching this team frequently on League Pass next year.  Do you want to miss a team that will routinely score in the 120s and allow in the 130s?

The Warriors are worth a look simply because of Randolph.  He is a circus freak show on two feet, an uber-quick 6-10 forward with limitless potential and a mix of unrelated skill sets that are unleashed randomly.  Oh yeah, and he says he’s still growing.  He tore up Summer League, which means he may have figured things out a little bit.  That excites me.

12. Phoenix Suns

Additions: Channing Frye, Sasha Pavlovic, Earl Clark

Subtractions: Shaquile O’Neal, Matt Barnes

Getting and Nash to re-up was huge for season ticket sales, but it’s not going to stop the inevitable.  Steve Kerr won’t give the ocularly handicapped Amare Stoudemire the max contract he desires, STAT will be traded, and the Suns will be in rebuilding mode.

Kerr has failed in Phoenix.  His planned transition to a Shaq-centric, half court offense under Terry Porter’s direction was a disaster and ultimately ended in Alvin Gentry reinstalling the up-tempo style Kerr originally vowed to stamp out.  Shaq’s gone now, as is almost everybody else from the good old days.  And with the Suns title hopes – maybe even Playoff hopes – gone as well, one wonders how much longer Kerr will have a job.

13. Houston Rockets

Additions: Trevor Ariza, David Andersen

Subtractions: Ron Artest, Dikembe Mutombo, Von Wafer

Let’s see if people still think the Rockets can win without Yao when they watch Houston playing ping-pong in Seacacus in May.  No Yao and no Tracy McGrady means no scoring in Houston this year, and a vertically challenged big man rotation means there may not be much interior defense either.

The good news is that the Rockets are one T-Mac trade away from reloading.  With Ariza under the wing of Shane Battier, the Rockets are going have two legit Kobe stoppers.  The little pieces are already in place.  Now, Daryl Morey needs to land a new superstar.  Morey is too ahead of the field to not right this ship.  The Rockets’ struggles are likely to be a temporary thing.

14. Minnesota Timberwolves

Additions: Quentin Richardson, Chucky Atkins, Oleksiy Pecherov, Darius Songaila, Damien Wilkins, Ryan Hollins, Ricky Rubio(??), Johnny Flynn, Wayne Ellington

Subtractions: Randy Foye, Mike Miller, Craig Smith, Mark Madsen, Sebastian Telfair, Kevin Ollie

Nobody knows what’s happening in ‘Sota.  I’m not sure if David Kahn even knows.  This much is true: he certainly likes things in twos.  Two cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul), two power forwards (Al Jefferson and Kevin Love) and two point guards (Flynn and [maybe] Rubio).  Could we be seeing another head coach beside Kurt Rambis?  At this point, nothing would surprise me.

The Rubio situation strikes me as just unlucky.  To me, Kahn never anticipated drafting two point-guards because there was no way of knowing Rubio was going to slip that far.  With Flynn – a guy they definitely wanted – there at five, and Rubio still there at six, Kahn simply took the two best guys available.  We’ve slammed the Hawks in recent years when they drafted for need (Marvin and Shelden Williams, anyone?) and now we’re going the opposite direction and bashing Kahn for taking arguably the second best player in this Draft?   It reinforces the belief that context doesn’t matter.  People just love to criticize.

Despite that, Minny doesn’t do well in the rankings because for obvious reasons concerning defense and athleticism, I’m not a fan of the Jefferson-Love tandem up front.  Nor do I like any of the guys Minnesota acquired through trades and free agency.  They do have some cap space in 2010, but the promise of bringing in a big talent into a small market with no hope of competing soon is dim.

15. Memphis Grizzlies

Additions: Zach Randolph, Hasheem Thabeet, DeMarre Carroll, Sam Young

Subtractions: Darko Milicic, Quinton Ross, Hakim Warrick

No team in the NBA balances promise with hopelessness as well as Memphis does.  The trio of Mike Conley, O.J. Mayo and Rudy Gay is among the most exciting young foundations in the League, and with their supporting cast of other young players like Thabeet, Marc Gasol and Darrell Arthur, the Grizzlies appear to have a pretty encouraging future.

However, with current economics, no attendance to speak of and the recent arrival of Randolph, the Grizzlies are unlikely to make good on that potential.  Since nobody comes to the games, owner Michael Heisley is pushed to absurd levels of cheapness, such as releasing his entire scouting department.  In Memphis, expiring contracts are coveted not because they can be packaged in a deal to acquire good players -- they are valuable because by letting them expire off of his books, Heisley can000 save some money the next season.  It’s a true, albeit depressing reality for the few loyal fans left in Memphis.

But, things are rarely as absolute as people make them to be.  The blame for what's happening in Memphis needs to be shared, meaning Grizz fans must be held accountable as well.  See, fans in Memphis have never gone to games, even when the team was in the Playoffs under Hubie Brown and Mike Fratello.  And if fans don't show up when the team is good, then there's no way they're going to come to support a promising young squad.

Bottom line, spending the money to build a good team is just dumb if nobody shows up to watch.  Fans are quick to place blame on ownership in situations like these, but at some point, responsibility needs to fall on the customers.  There’s reason to get excited about young rosters (just ask Thunder and Blazers fans), and the Grizz have one of the most exciting in the league.  Yet, nobody is excited.  I’m not saying it’s completely the fans fault, nor am I saying it’s completely ownership’s fault, but it’d be nice if both sides could be held accountable for a bad situation that has been completely driven downward by economics.  In fact, if I had to blame one thing, I'd blame the NBA for putting a franchise in a city that obviously shouldn't have one.

Jon Pastuszek can be reached at jon@hoopsdaily.com