Ma ne gledamo izgleda.... ti ocito ne gledaš... pa kako možeš u isti koš stavljati bobcatse i chichago??? Misliš da su bobcatsi tenkirali?? ako to misliš nemoj se više truditi gledati ovu ligu... wariorsi tenkirali? :))) misliš da su s ovim rosterom bili sposobni za velike stvari na zapadu ali ne i najveće pa su odlučili tenkirati?? ma o čemu ti pričaš?? 
Blazeri su tenkirali zato su imali 16-9 na polovici lige? oni su se jednostavno raspali i nikakvog smislenog tenkiranja nije bilo!  
Ja kažem da ne s ovim rosterom prektički nemoguće tenkirati i da se to nece nikako desiti u slučaju chichaga ove godine!

Pa dobro nisu tankirali cijelu sezonu, ali već poslije all stara je krenuo val misterioznih ozljeda. Lee igra kao zmaj, odjednom doktori kazu da je ozlijeđen i ne smije igrati (a on sam kaže da ne osjeća nikakvu ozljedu), Aldridge iz nekog razloga propusti kraj sezone, trejdaju Wallacea za pick... 

Istina, Blazersi su krenuli s tankiranjem tek nakon što su se totalno raspali a Warirorsi kad su izgubili šansu za play off, ali opet... radili su to namjerno.

Ima vise vrsta tankiranja koje se svake sezone desavaju u nba i to je pod normalno. Imas Boston verziju od prosle sezone gdje su punom snagom poceli igrati tek poslije playoffa i drzali intenzitet do trenutnka kad su se izborili za zeljenu poziciju u doigravanju (osvajanje svoje konferencije).

Imas tankiranje za pickove kad se planovi izjalove- primjerice portland i golden state. potonji suocen sa konstantnim ozljedama currya radi trejd gdje salje elisa za ozdljedenog boguta, ne zuri sa oporavicima ni jednog ni drugog, odmara i lee-a te si daje dobre sanse za odlican pick kojeg su i dobili na kraju. sad imaju potencijala za ozbiljni(ji) fajt.

Portland se odlucio rasformrati izuzetnu ekipu koja je doslovce svaku mogla razbiti, sto je i potvrđivala u jednom dijelu sezone protiv pismenih favorita konferencija.

Imas Bobcats tankiranje kad svjesno niti se ne trudis sastaviti konkurentnu ekipu vec se nadas sto losijem plasmanu radi picka koji ce biti nositelj franšize (sto nisu dobili)

Te na kraju tu je tankiranje u liku New Orleansa ciji je vlasnik liga te su htjeli dobiti sto privlacniji proizvod da bi ga prodali novim vlasnicima. Imali su dobru petorku (relativno), malo se ozljeili a nesto se i isfoliralo i eto ga. Dobili su prvi pick drafta, nositelja franšize te nove vlasnike.

BROOKLYN NETS
Key additions: Deron Williams (re-sign), Joe Johnson (trade), Brook Lopez (re-sign), Gerald Wallace (re-sign), Kris Humphries (re-sign), Mirza Teletovic (FA), C.J. Watson (FA), Reggie Evans (FA), Keith Bogans (FA), Tyshawn Taylor (draft), Jerry Stackhouse (FA)

Key subtractions: Anthony Morrow, Jordan Farmar, Gerald Green, Johan Petro, Jordan Williams, DeShawn Stevenson

Nets GM Billy King's fingers have been in so many pots the past 18 months that it's hard to separate what the Nets have done from what they were rumored to be doing. On the first day players officially could be signed-and-traded, assistant GM Bobby Marks sorted out the logistics on a head-spinning 13 player contracts via free agency and trade worth a total of nearly $300 million.

When the dust settles, most will remember that the Nets didn't add Dwight Howard. Fair enough. But once Howard decided to opt into the last year of his deal with the Magic, the Nets' chances of landing him greatly diminished anyway.

If you take each deal separately, there's plenty to pick apart. Johnson is dramatically overpaid, with four years, $89 million left on his contract. The Nets never should have given a high lottery pick to the Blazers for the right to overpay Wallace to the tune of $40 million. Lopez's $60 million also seems steep. So does the $24 million for two more years of Humphries.

But in aggregate, King looks much smarter. His huge gamble to trade for Williams 18 months ago paid off. Williams was the single most important signing for any team this summer, and he has made it clear that he would not have re-signed with the Nets had they not pulled the trigger on the Johnson and Wallace trades. So how can you criticize either deal? Lopez? Roy Hibbert got the same deal. Heck, Omer Asik got huge money. And say what you will about Humphries, but the guy has been an A-list rebounder the past two years.

Add in a few smaller signings like Watson (who played well in Derrick Rose's absence last season) and Bogans, and the Nets have added some much needed depth off the bench.

All in all, the Nets have put together a team that is relevant. If they stay healthy -- a big if with a few of their older players -- they have a shot at winning somewhere between 44 and 50 games this season. They'll be a playoff team. Maybe they'll even get into the second round. Given where they've been the past few seasons, that's progress. Whether they can sustain momentum past the next two seasons? Well, that's the question.

GRADE: B+

CHARLOTTE BOBCATS
Key additions: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (draft), Ben Gordon (trade), Ramon Sessions (FA), Brendan Haywood (amnesty claim), Jeff Taylor (draft), Mike Dunlap (coach)

Key subtractions: D.J. Augustin, Corey Maggette, Jamario Moon, D.J. White, Paul Silas (coach)

For two years, our Future Power Rankings have had the Bobcats ranked dead last. Last year, they certainly played like it.

This year, I don't expect things to get much better.

The good thing about the NBA is that it rewards futility with high draft picks, and the Bobcats got a great one in Kidd-Gilchrist. He is not an immediate impact player the way Anthony Davis will be, but I believe he will be the second-best player in this draft and will add toughness, athleticism and a sense of urgency that this team lacked last season. Taylor is one of the best on-the-ball defenders in the draft, but he seems to duplicate much of what Kidd-Gilchrist brings to the table without the upside.

I'm not a huge fan of the Gordon-Maggette swap. Yes, the Bobcats needed shooting, but adding Gordon isn't going to move the needle much and he has a whopping $25.6 million left on his deal. While most rebuilding teams are clearing future cap space, the Bobcats have an annoying tendency toward adding to it. On the other hand, the Bobcats did pick up a protected first-round pick from Detroit that they'll likely see in the 2014 draft. That's a lot of money for a late lottery pick, but it is the type of asset the Bobcats need to keep acquiring.

The Bobcats also essentially swapped Augustin for Sessions, who is bigger and was superior in virtually every statistical category the past two seasons. Augustin may have been a slightly better passer, but that's about it. Overall, it was an upgrade for the Bobcats.

The team also won an amnesty claim on Haywood. I'm not sure what the Bobcats' infatuation is with the Mavericks' overpriced big men (they traded for both DeSagana Diop and Erick Dampier in previous years). Haywood, at $2 million a year, is probably a solid backup. But given his age, I'm not exactly sure how he fits into the Bobcats' bigger plan.

Even with the new additions, they still look like the overwhelming favorites to be the worst team in the league for a second straight year. Kidd-Gilchrist is a ray of sunlight and Sessions is an upgrade, but for the most part, the hole the Bobcats have dug is still very dark.

GRADE: B-


DALLAS MAVERICKS
Key additions: O.J. Mayo (FA), Chris Kaman (FA), Darren Collison (trade), Elton Brand (amnesty pick-up), Delonte West (re-sign), Jared Cunningham (draft), Dahntay Jones (trade), Bernard James (draft), Jae Crowder (draft)

Key subtractions: Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, Lamar Odom, Brendan Haywood, Kelenna Azubuike, Ian Mahinmi

Best-laid plans.

I thought Mark Cuban and GM Donnie Nelson were pretty brilliant in December when they decided to break up a championship team just in time to reload for another one. The prospect of landing both Deron Williams and Dwight Howard with their newfound cap space seemed like the perfect plan, worth the one-year hit in the win column.

Alas, Howard decided in March to opt into the final year of his contract, and a last-second acquisition of Joe Johnson by the Nets persuaded Williams to spurn his hometown and re-sign with Brooklyn.

When Kidd and Terry bolted soon after, it sure looked as if the once-proud Mavs were playing for pingpong balls this upcoming season.

I'll say this about the Mavs: They're resourceful. After hearing they were losing Williams, Kidd and Terry, the Mavs went quickly into Plan B. First, they landed Kaman on a very reasonable one-year, $8 million deal. Then they pulled off an inconceivable heist for Collison. Next, they won the bid for Brand off the amnesty waiver wire for a paltry $2.1 million. Finally, they signed Mayo to a very reasonable two-year deal. Suddenly, the team had a young starting point guard and 2-guard on reasonable deals, and a veteran center and power forward to go alongside Dirk Nowitzki and Shawn Marion.

I don't think the moves will put them back in contention, but they should be back in the playoffs, so here's the dilemma for Mavs fans: Now that the Lakers have Howard in purple and gold, the chances of getting Howard have taken yet another hit. Unless Chris Paul decides to bolt for Big D next year, this rebuild may take much longer than Cuban anticipated.

GRADE: B-

DENVER NUGGETS
Key additions: Andre Iguodala (trade), JaVale McGee (re-sign), Andre Miller (re-sign), Anthony Randolph (FA), Evan Fournier (draft), Quincy Miller (draft)

Key subtractions: Arron Afflalo, Al Harrington, Chris Andersen, Rudy Fernandez

The Nuggets continue to prove that they have one of the best front offices in basketball. They have built a team that, while not at the same level as the Oklahoma City Thunder or Los Angeles Lakers, is a serious threat in the Western Conference.

This summer, the highlight was their part in a four-team trade that landed Iguodala in Denver. The cost was minimal (Afflalo and a protected first-round pick) but the upside is tremendous. Iguodala is a significant upgrade over Afflalo and the perfect fit next to all of the Nuggets' gunners.

The team also re-signed McGee to a four-year, $44 million contract. That may seem a little rich for a player like McGee, but given the impact he had in the playoffs, he might turn out to be worth it. And the four years, instead of five, makes the deal a little less risky.

The Nuggets also re-signed Miller to a reasonable three-year, $15 million deal. The final year is partially guaranteed, meaning that the risk was pretty minimal. And adding Randolph at just $2 million a year seems like a very reasonable gamble. He's an unusual player, but he's just 23 and his player efficiency rating indicates he has an impact on the court. Fournier felt like a bit of a stretch at pick No. 20, but he can score. I felt like Miller was a second-round steal. Once he is fully healthy, he has the chance to be a solid forward down the road.

The Nuggets now are two-deep at every position and could be a major sleeper in the Western Conference if either the Thunder or Lakers stumble.

GRADE: A-



HOUSTON ROCKETS
Key additions: Jeremy Lin (FA), Omer Asik (FA), Carlos Delfino (FA), Jeremy Lamb (draft), Royce White (draft), Terrence Jones (draft), Donatas Motiejunas (draft), Shaun Livingston (trade), Jon Brockman (trade), Toney Douglas (trade), Gary Forbes (trade), JaJuan Johnson (trade), E'Twaun Moore (trade), Sean Williams (trade)

Key subtractions: Luis Scola, Kyle Lowry, Goran Dragic, Marcus Camby, Chase Budinger, Samuel Dalembert

Every summer, GM Daryl Morey goes all out in an attempt to lasso a star. And every summer, he falls just short.

Two years ago, he made a strong pitch to Chris Bosh. In December, Morey almost landed Pau Gasol, only to see commissioner David Stern crush his hopes. He then went to Plan B, Marc Gasol, only to have his efforts thwarted by the Grizzlies.

This year, Morey chased Dwight Howard hard. But his huge collection of middling assets wasn't enough to persuade the Magic to pull the trigger on a trade and eventually Howard was traded to the Lakers.

Like I said last year, someday Morey is going to get one of these deals. Unfortunately, that day still hasn't come for Rockets fans. And it's going to get worse before it gets better.

Houston gutted its roster to have the cap space to do a Howard deal. Key players such as Scola, Lowry, Dragic, Camby, Dalembert and Budinger are all gone. The idea was for the Rockets to send the Magic a number of their young players and draft picks while taking back some of Orlando's junk -- the hefty contracts of Hedo Turkoglu, Jason Richardson, Glen Davis and/or Chris Duhon. Unfortunately, Orlando GM Rob Hennigan decided that a combination of Arron Afflalo, Moe Harkless, Nikola Vucevic, Al Harrington and a handful of mid-to-late first-round draft picks was the better deal.

Despite the Howard setback, the team did have some success this summer. Just about everyone was shocked when the Knicks decided not to match their offer for Lin. The Rockets clearly overpaid Lin, who commanded a three-year, $25.1 million deal, but he's a young, starting-caliber point guard who will get the fan base excited again. The bigger question is whether Dragic, the guy they let walk, was an even better prospect. The Rockets also got their hands on Asik by creating a poisonous offer sheet that the Bulls couldn't stomach. In Asik, they've added a young big man who gets after it defensively. Again, they paid too much, but that's what teams have to do to land restricted free agents.

As for their young players, scouts raved about the play of Lamb, Motiejunas, White and Jones in the Las Vegas Summer League. Summer ball isn't the best indicator of future success, but the value of Lamb, White and Jones all went up.

Overall, the Rockets' roster is still a major work in progress. At this point it looks like the Rockets will go into opening day with Lin, Asik and a bunch of rookies and second-year players. It's pretty clear that unless Morey pulls off a major trade before the season begins, Houston is in the midst of a major rebuild. It's not what Morey or Rockets fans wanted, but at least there's finally some clarity on which direction the franchise is heading.

GRADE: C+

INDIANA PACERS
Key additions: Roy Hibbert (re-sign), George Hill (re-sign), D.J. Augustin (FA), Gerald Green (FA), Ian Mahinmi (sign-and-trade), Miles Plumlee (draft), Orlando Johnson (draft), Donnie Walsh (team president), Kevin Pritchard (GM)

Key subtractions: Darren Collison, Dahntay Jones, Larry Bird (team president), David Morway (GM)

After experiencing a level of success that even they couldn't predict last season, the Pacers' goal this offseason was to bring back their starting five and strengthen their bench.

The Pacers achieved their first goal. The team was hit with a huge four-year, $58 million offer sheet from the Blazers for Hibbert on July 1. Hibbert has been a key part of the rebuilding effort, but virtually everyone agrees that $58 million is a lot for him. The Pacers wisely agreed to pay Hibbert, but it cost them. In the meantime, the team overreacted a bit and threw a whopping $40 million at Hill. I'm a Hill fan and think he has upside, but again, the contract seemed a tad excessive.

Whether they achieved the second goal is debatable. The decision to trade Collison, who led the team in playoff PER, for the right to give $16 million to Mahinmi is a head-scratcher. Considering the Pacers could have signed Mahinmi straight up as an unrestricted free agent for probably half the cost -- he wasn't getting two years, $8 million from anyone else -- it's completely unclear why they had to give away Collison to do it. Did they really need to get Jones' $2.9 million off the books that badly?

Mahinmi does give the Pacers a credible backup 5 when Hibbert is out of the game, but the cost, both in dollars and lost assets, was unusually high.

The Pacers quickly countered Collison's loss by signing Augustin to a one-year, $3.5 million deal. Collison was statistically superior to Augustin by virtually every metric but one -- pure point guard rating. Augustin is a better passer than Collison, which was a need for the Pacers. Hill isn't a pure point guard, and Augustin's specialty is getting everyone involved. But when you factor in that Augustin can't guard anyone and that they're paying him $1.3 million more than they were Collison, I'm not sure this is an upgrade.

Offensively, Green is an upgrade over Jones. He put up some big numbers for the fledgling Nets last season. However, he lacks the defensive toughness or maturity that Jones brought to the table.

Finally, the Pacers' draft night call on Plumlee felt a little off. Plumlee had wowed scouts (and apparently Bird) in workouts with his freakish athletic ability, but he rarely showed it during his four years at Duke. Workout wonders infiltrate the first round virtually every year. They rarely pan out.

None of these smaller moves should keep the Pacers from being a top-four team in the East, but the difference between good teams and great teams often is in the details. The Pacers, for the first time in a while, seemed to smudge them this summer.

GRADE: B-


MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES
Key additions: Darrell Arthur (re-sign), Jerryd Bayless (FA), Marreese Speights (re-sign), Tony Wroten (draft), Wayne Ellington (trade), Hamed Haddadi (re-sign)

Key subtractions: O.J. Mayo, Dante Cunningham

The Grizzlies made most of their big moves the past two summers and are on cruise control. They're good, and if they can get everyone healthy, they might be able to make some noise in the playoffs.

Adding a healthy Arthur to the mix should help. Before he went down last season with an injury, he looked like he could be a breakout big man. Bayless will do lots of the things Mayo did at a considerably smaller salary. Ditto for second-year guard Josh Selby if he plays anywhere near his summer league performance.

I think Wroten had top-five potential in this year's draft. He is a big point guard, is very athletic and can be a spectacular passer. However, his shot is broken, and he can play out of control at times. If the Grizzlies can rein that in, he could be the steal of the draft.

GRADE: B-

MIAMI HEAT
Key additions: Ray Allen (FA), Rashard Lewis (FA), Justin Hamilton (draft)

Key subtractions: None

The defending champs will be returning all of the key players, with the potential exception of an injured Mike Miller, and have added more firepower this offseason.

Allen and Lewis are well past their primes, but given the dominance of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, all Erik Spoelstra is going to ask them to do is spot up and shoot 3s, something both of them can do well.

When the 3s are raining down in Miami, the Heat are tough to beat. Allen and Lewis just made them that much tougher. Whether it will be enough to defeat a maturing Thunder squad or a radically improved Lakers squad is the only real question facing Miami.

GRADE: B+



NEW YORK KNICKS
Key additions: Marcus Camby (sign-and-trade), Jason Kidd (FA), Raymond Felton (sign-and-trade), Steve Novak (re-sign), J.R. Smith (re-sign), Kurt Thomas (sign-and-trade), Ronny Brewer (FA), Pablo Prigioni (FA), James White (FA), Chris Smith (FA)

Key subtractions: Jeremy Lin, Landry Fields, Toney Douglas, Jared Jeffries, Dan Gadzuric, Josh Harrellson, Jerome Jordan, Kostas Papanikolaou

The Knicks, for the first time in a while, weren't the center of the media offseason hype this year. With no cap space or assets to make a serious run at Deron Williams or Dwight Howard, they were reduced to making a so-so offer for Steve Nash.

When Nash opted for the Lakers, the Knicks found Kidd, the next-oldest point guard, and signed him. Then they found Camby, the oldest center they could get their hands on, and worked out a sign-and-trade for him.

Next, they paid $15 million to Novak, a guy who scored a total of 12 points in the playoffs this season.

If that isn't head scratching enough, the Knicks then turned around and dumped uber fan favorite Lin for Felton, one of the most despised players in Blazers history. Felton was cheaper, sure, but it's pretty hard to argue he can come close to having the same impact Lin did last season.

To top it off, the Knicks, in a rare moment of frugality, declined to match the Raptors offer for Fields.

The message? Your guess is as good as ours. Are they going for it? The Camby and Kidd signings suggest they are. Are they suddenly pulling back? The Lin, Felton and Fields decisions all point in that direction.

Overall, the Knicks appear to be treading water. Given the massive push by the Brooklyn Nets to become relevant again, that can't sit well with Knicks fans.

GRADE: C-

OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER
Key additions: Perry Jones (draft), Hasheem Thabeet (FA), Hollis Thompson (FA)

Key subtractions: None

Every year, I write the same opening paragraph about the Thunder. Every year it proves to be true.

The Thunder tend to be overly conservative during the offseason. In their case, it's a virtue. Too many teams panic and believe they have to spend all their money or the offseason is a failure. Oklahoma City GM Sam Presti waits and waits and waits for the right deal to come to him. When it does, he pounces.

Once again, there wasn't a lot for Presti to do this summer. He has a young team that is a serious championship contender for the next five years. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are locked up to long-term deals.

Their biggest question this summer will be what to do with James Harden and Serge Ibaka. If they give them market-value extensions, the Thunder will be forced to pay the luxury tax. No one is sure whether they'll swallow that pill or trade one of them to get cap relief.

Because of the impending salary hit, the Thunder kept their spending down. They made a great pickup in the draft with Jones, who slid from a potential lottery pick to the late first round because of questions about his left knee and his motor. He has looked solid in the summer league, and with Durant as his mentor, he could be the star of the draft.

Thabeet has been a bust, but he is young, blocks shots and is on a cheap two-year deal. Thompson was one of my undrafted sleepers. He shoots well and has good size and athletic ability at the 3. He is a nice, cheap pickup.

GRADE: B


PHOENIX SUNS
Key additions: Goran Dragic (FA), Luis Scola (amnesty claim), Michael Beasley (FA), Wesley Johnson (trade), Kendall Marshall (draft), P.J. Tucker (FA)

Key subtractions: Steve Nash, Grant Hill, Robin Lopez, Hakim Warrick, Josh Childress, Ronnie Price

The sun has set on the Suns' franchise. Nash, the heart and soul of the club, was traded to the Lakers for a couple of first-round picks. Nash said his first preference was to stay in Phoenix, but the Suns decided to move in a different direction and ended up getting a few late first-round picks in return.

With Nash and Hill gone, and younger players like Lopez, Warrick and Childress having bolted as well, the team is officially in the throes of rebuilding. Sort of.

The one bright spot this summer was the addition of Dragic. He's not Nash, but he is a good, young point guard who fits the Suns' system. If you ignore the fact that Phoenix traded Dragic away to the Rockets a year ago -- and gave the Rockets a first-round pick to take him -- he was a solid pickup.

The addition of Scola should also help though the Suns interest in him is a little puzzling. Scola can play, but he's 32 and can't be thrilled to be landing on a rebuilding team at this point in his career. Scola is better than the Suns' other options at the 4 -- Markieff Morris and Channing Frye -- but he's not enough to put them back into the playoffs in the West.

The rest of the team is a work in progress.

The Suns did make a max offer for Eric Gordon, who would have been a terrific addition, but the Hornets quickly matched.

Phoenix's two other big moves were adding Beasley and Johnson. Beasley is talented, but his difficulty playing with others will be an issue. The fact that they'll likely have to play him out of position at the 3 isn't great either. Johnson was the No. 4 pick in the draft two years ago but has struggled to live up to his potential. If he finds it in Phoenix, then landing him was a steal.

Marshall is a true point guard who sees the floor as well as anyone in the draft, but his lack of athleticism and defensive ability make me wonder if they reached a bit on him in the lottery.

At some point, the Suns will get around to realizing they should have traded Nash two years ago when he still had enormous value. What they're left with is a handful of pieces that will struggle as a late-lottery team for the next few years.

GRADE: C

PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS
Key additions: Nicolas Batum (matched offer sheet), Damian Lillard (draft), Meyers Leonard (draft), J.J. Hickson (re-sign), Victor Claver (draft), Joel Freeland (draft), Will Barton (draft), Jared Jeffries (trade), Dan Gadzuric (trade), Neil Olshey (GM), Terry Stotts (coach)

Key subtractions: Jamal Crawford, Brandon Roy, Raymond Felton, Hasheem Thabeet, Kurt Thomas, Joel Przybilla, Nate McMillan (coach)

Three years ago, the Blazers could do no wrong. They've been in a downward spiral ever since. Is this the summer things start turning around in Portland?

Re-signing Batum was at the top of the Blazers' list. The cost was high, almost too high, but the cost of letting him walk to the Wolves for nothing was higher. I might have been tempted to take their offer of Derrick Williams and another first- round pick for him ... but probably agree that the Blazers made the right call on Batum.

I thought Lillard was the best point guard in the draft. He is in for a pretty big adjustment, going from the Big Sky Conference to the NBA, but if the Summer League is any indication at all, I think it will happen quicker than people think. Leonard, a project, was a little more of a reach, but he has the requisite size and athletic ability to be a starting NBA center someday. Barton was a bit of steal in the second round. He is a good scorer with a nice midrange game. Overall, they had a strong draft.

The Blazers also added two former first-round picks, Claver and Freeland. Claver, a 3 with a high basketball IQ, played well in Spain last season. Freeland is an athletic big from England. Neither player projects as a star or even a starter in the NBA, but they add depth and should finally give the Blazers some return on their picks.

Hickson was solid for the Blazers last season and is re-signing on a reasonable one-year, $4 million deal.

GRADE: B



UTAH JAZZ
Key additions: Mo Williams (trade), Marvin Williams (trade), Jeremy Evans (re-sign), Kevin Murphy (draft), Randy Foye (FA), Dennis Lindsey (GM)

Key subtractions: Devin Harris

The Jazz continue to quietly rebuild both their roster and their front office. They shocked just about everyone when they made the playoffs last season and did a few things this summer to make sure they stayed in contention for a seventh or eighth seed in the Western Conference.

Once again, executive vice president Kevin O'Connor deftly used his assets to add depth to his roster. He turned Mehmet Okur's trade exception into a starting point guard and turned Harris' expiring deal into Marvin Williams.

Mo Williams should be a significant upgrade over Harris at the point. He is a better shooter and plays the pick-and-roll much better than Harris. And Marvin Williams' shooting stroke and defensive abilities give Utah some much-needed depth at small forward.

I also liked their second-round draft choice. Murphy was one of the best scorers in college basketball last season, and he has deep range on his jumper. He is not the strongest or most athletic guy, but he could give the Jazz a nice scoring bump off the bench.

Utah has significant assets going forward, with expiring contracts in Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson along with, most likely, the Warriors' 2013 first-round pick. If the Jazz want to make another big deal, they have the tools to get it done.

But Utah's real progress will be determined by the growth of its young players. Derrick Favors and Gordon Hayward both have a chance to be special. Enes Kanter and Alec Burks could end up being solid as well. If they continue to improve, the Jazz are going to be tough to beat in a few years.

Perhaps the biggest news of the summer, however, was O'Connor's decision to hand over the GM duties to the Spurs' Dennis Lindsey. O'Connor, who has been with the club since 1999, has set up the Jazz for another long run and made a great call in putting in place a succession plan that included Lindsey. He has got the perfect combination of basketball and management IQ, along with the requisite dose of humility, to follow in O'Connor's huge footsteps.

GRADE: B+

WASHINGTON WIZARDS
Key additions: Bradley Beal (draft), Emeka Okafor (trade), Trevor Ariza (trade), Cartier Martin (re-sign), A.J. Price (FA)

Key subtractions: Andray Blatche, Rashard Lewis

The Wizards went all-in this summer with a mixture of moves that should propel them from the second-worst record in the NBA into the hunt for a playoff spot in the East.

Adding Nene at the trade deadline was the first major shift, but the addition of Okafor and Ariza solidifies their front line. They now have toughness, some athleticism and some real defensive punch. Throw in a little addition by subtraction via the Blatche's amnesty and the Wizards have quickly improved the culture of the team.

But the real story for the Wizards is Beal. Many scouts believed Beal was the second-best player in the draft -- a sweet-shooting 2 who resembles Eric Gordon. The Wizards desperately needed to pair John Wall with a shooter, and Beal looks like the perfect fit.

If Wall turns the corner this season in his development, the Wizards have put together a formidable starting five without dramatically sacrificing their young core. The moves they made take away any cap flexibility for the next two years, but by the time Okafor and Ariza come off the books, Wall and Beal should be in a position to lead this team.

GRADE: B+

Iguala vidim da ti navijaš za Philu,i meni je isto draga da se razumimo,al opet...
Po čemu je to Phila po tebi jača od Bullsa?
Bullsi imaju najboljeg trenera u ligi,imaju jebeno dobru petorku,dobru klupu i na okupu su već 2,3 sezone...
Realno gledajući da sutra Bynum padne i slomije nogu,šanse da bi Phila ušla u play off su 1 %.
Ti bi se samo nasmija na to da bi Bullsi dobili Miami?
Molim te moš li mi reć koliko Miami ima pobjeda konta Bullsa u zadnje 2 godine?
Boston jači od Bullsa lani? Kad bi se šalili...
Svi NBA kritičari stavljaju Bullse na 2. misto istoka,a ti sumnjaš da će u play off...Neznan,očito da gledamo neki drugi sport ili ligu...Ako su lani mogli bez Rosea i s polučitavim Hamiltonom bit prvi nakon regularnog dijela,ko kaže da ne mogu i sad?

Ne znam koji bi to kritičari bili, ja sam do sad uglavnom vidio da ih guraju na 3-6. mjesto, neki i u samu borbu za playoff. 

Phila ovisi o zdravlju Bynuma i napretku Holidaya i Turnera. Žao mi je što su se riješili Branda, Loua i Iguodale, ali bilo je vrijeme da se krene dalje i da ključeve ekipe mladoj jezgri. Osnova Brand-Iguodala sigurno ne bi donijela naslov, za ovu sad bar postoji neka nada.

Zdrava sezona Bynuma (automatski All-star) i breakout sezona Turnera (u koju baš ne vjerujem) ili Holidaya stavlja Sixerse ispred Bullsa. Nemoj zaboraviti ni na Collinsa, ne bih rekao da je puno lošiji trener od Thiboa. Uz trenutačno vrlo široku rotaciju, rekao bih da Phila itekako ima što reći na istoku. 

Naravno da ima,ali opet,ja bi rekao da je Bynum 50 % te ekipe koji je za mene atletski najjači centar lige...
Al problemi se mogu javiti ukoliko se ozljedi i propusti cijelu sezonu,on će za Philu značit kao Rose za Chicago..
Sve u svemu Miami je favorit broj 1 na istoku,zatim će se za pozicije 2.-4. potuć Indiana,Phila i Bullsi,iza njih idu Boston,New York i Brooklyn...8 pozicija je otvorena za ostatak društva,a blagu prednost bih dao Hawksima...