NBA OFF-SEASON WINNERS/LOSERS

October 29, 2010 | From: Wolves Radio

This past off-season in the NBA was one of the busiest in the history of the league and featured a little bit of everything.  From a 'Super-Team' in Miami, to Amare switching conferences this off-season brought anguish to some fans, hope to others and even an old fashioned war of words between former colleagues.  From a dramatic standpoint, Hollywood couldn't have scripted it any better...even though the Hollywood Lakes stood pat for the most part. 
Now that things have settled down, well except for the constant rumors of Carmelo Anthony's impending departure from Denver, let's take a look at the 'Winners and Losers' of the off-season. 

Winners- 
Miami: No doubt the Heat accomplished everything they wanted to this summer.  Resigning the face of the franchise Dwyane Wade was priority number one, and then landing LeBron James and Chris Bosh was more than just icing on the cake.  It has made them one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference and has sparked controversy all over the league.
The formation of a 'Super Team' means the Heat will be playing every game with a huge target on their back, and the war of words between Miami and Orlando this summer makes that already heated inter-state rivalry near scorching and they haven't even played a game yet. 
After landing the three biggest names on the free-agent market Pat Reilly went about adding other pieces such as Mike Miller, Juan Howard, Big Z and resigning Udonis Haslem.  How that team will mesh during the early part of the season remains to be seen but in terms of off-season additions Miami took the cake. 

Chicago: While the Bulls hoped to land one of those top three FA who signed in Miami, Chicago came out pretty good in their own right.  They were able to sign Carlos Boozer to help inside sue to the departure of Brad Miller to Houston.  Boozer will add front court depth to Jokim Noah and second-year forward Taj Gibson.  The Bulls also added Kyle Korver to stretch the defense with his 3-point shooting, while bringing in Ronnie Brewer (do the Jazz have any players left?) and Keith Bogans to bolster their shooting guard spot.
The Bulls also have a new coach in Tom Thibodeau, a defensive-minded coach who built the stingy Celtics D over the past few years.  Maybe not as flashy as Miami but Chicago added depth and experience where they needed it. 

Oklahoma City: The Thunder didn't go out and wow anyone by landing a top free agent but they are winners because they locked up scoring champ Kevin Durant to a long term contract.  After signing the extension with the Thunder, Durant went overseas to lead Team USA to the Gold Medal in the World Championship where he showed just how good he can become...and don't forget he is just scratching the surface at the age of 22 going on 23.  Not only that but OKC added some shooting with Daequan Cook from Miami and depth to their front court drafting Cole Aldrich out of Kansas.   The Thunder are young and confident after taking LA to 6 games which is a scary combination for teams in the West especially now, knowing that their core group will be together for while.

LA Lakers: The Lakers are off-season winners not so much for what they did, but what they didn't do.  They didn't allow any of the main pieces of their championship team walk away this summer and that includes head coach Phil Jackson.  The Lakers were one of the biggest teams in the NBA last season boasting Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom up front and now they add veteran Theo Ratliff to the mix.  Last season LA had Ron Artest on the wing as a defense stopper and this off-season they added Matt Barnes another ball-hawking, intense wing player, they brought back highlight reel Shannon Brown and added veteran depth at point guard with Steve Blake after letting Jordan Farmar walk.  
Others receiving votes: Washington with John Wall, Kirk Hinrich and Gilbert Arenas back, Houston getting Yao Ming back from injury and Dallas resigning Drik while bolstering their front court with Tyson Chandler.  LA Clippers, getting former #1 draft pick Blake Griffin in the lineup finally, Eric Gordon has gotten better and landed veterans and former Wolves Randy Foye and Ryan Gomes.

Losers- 
Cleveland: Guess we can start with the obvious...the Cavs lost Lebron James and Big Z to Miami, Shaq to Boston, Delonte West also ended up with the Celtics, and owner Dan Gilbert suffered a very public meltdown.  Not the way you want to go into the off-season by any means.  Cleveland did land Byron Scott as head coach and has a decent roster but after failing to resign LBJ watching Antawn Jamison and Mo Williams will be tough for Cavs fans to stomach. 

Boston: Speaking of the Shaq signing...Boston took LA to 7 games before falling in the NBA Championship last season.  At times that Celtics team showed its age but again was able to turn it on in the postseason and get to the Finals.  This off-season, the Celtics just got a little older. They were able to resign free-agent Ray Allen (35) added Shaq (38) and brought in the oft-injured Jermaine O'Neal (32) to help fill the void left by Kendrick Perkins who is recovering from a knee injury and is expected to miss a big chunk of the regular season. 
The Celtics do have some nice young pieces in Rajon Rondo, Glen Davis and Perkins (when healthy) but they are going to be relying a lot on some old players and some question marks in Nate Robinson and Marquis Daniels. 

Suns: The Suns had a great run last season, taking LA to 6 games in the Western Conference Finals, after many had written them off before the season began.  This off-season they lost Amare Stoudemire to New York and brought in Josh Childress and Hakim Warrick to take his place.  Nothing against either of those guys, they are decent players (Childress spent the past two seasons in Greece) but they are not going to fill the void left by Stoudemire.  Phoenix did trade for Hedo Turkoglu but in the process sent Leandro Barbosa to Toronto.  Barbosa was a tempo-changing guard who was great off the bench and while they did keep Goran Dragic he is the only one backing up the aging, but brilliant Steve Nash.  Hedo Turkoglu has shown in the past he can be a very good player, and a clutch player to boot, but after his ill-fated, one year stint in Toronto, who knows which Hedo will show up in Phoenix and how he will mesh with Steve Nash and the run and gun Suns.  

Others recieving votes: Portland, lost their GM on draft night and are dealing with the Rudy Fernandez saga.  Atlanta, signed Joe Johnson to a massive deal but now are dealing with Jamal Crawford's contract extension demands.  Denver didn't really upgrade at all and could end up losing Carmelo Anthony.

If there was one theme to this off-season it was movement.  Many players, big and small names, were traded or moved willingly across the league and if there is a theme going into this season it will be chemistry.  Who finds it first may determine which of the new-look teams are still standing come early June.