Phoenix Suns

The Suns’ offseason failures begins and ends with the ageless wonder, Steve Nash. He may be 38 years old, but there’s likely no one better at finding open teammates and making that precise pass. Team owner Robert Sarver tried convincing Nash to stay, but the need to stay close to his children, while also the possibility of winning that elusive first NBA title, brought the former Santa Clara University star to Los Angeles.

Unfortunately for Suns’ fans, the bleeding didn’t stop there. Backup point guard Aaron Brooks, who averaged 19.6 points and 5.6 assists just three years ago, signed as a free agent with Sacramento, leaving a sizable hole in the backcourt. In a strange twist, Phoenix signed Rockets point guard Goran Dragic, who had been traded to Houston for none other than… Brooks. While the Slovenian is a serviceable player, he isn’t worth the $34 million that Phoenix gave him for four years. With rookie Kendall Marshall waiting to take the reins of this team, why overspend on essentially a back-up caliber player?

Things don’t get much better in the frontcourt for the Suns, either. Fan favorite Grant Hill signed with the Clippers over the Suns, Heat, Knicks, and Lakers. While he’s likely on the last legs of his career, Hill is still considered one of the best character players in the league and still has some game left in him. They might have traded for his replacement in second-year pro Wesley Johnson, but the former Syracuse forward is still unproven in the NBA. The newly-signed Michael Beasley is also vying for a chance at redemption with his third team in five seasons, but will he be able to put his past issues behind him for good? The Suns will find that out this season, which should be one of extreme change for the recently successful franchise.

Houston Rockets

General manager Daryl Morey drafted three new players, signed two free agents, and traded for 11 more this offseason. With just four players under contract for 2012-13 when free agency started, it was obviously time for the Rockets to load up their roster. In his attempt to pick up pieces for a potential trade with Orlando for Dwight Howard, however, the sixth-year GM went for quantity over quality, leaving the roster bloated, unappealing, and overpaid.

The Rockets made either the smartest or dumbest move of the offseason, depending on who you ask, in signing overnight sensation Jeremy Lin away from the Knicks. While the former Harvard star was incredible for a stretch of last season, it’s debatable if those performances were worthy of a $25 million, three-year contract. New York let him leave because of the financial burden his signing would have put on their checkbook in the later years of his contract, and it was perhaps their smartest move in years. Lin should provide some excitement teaming with Kevin Martin in the Houston backcourt, but will it translate to wins?

Another $25 million contract was handed out by Morey this season, but its recipient was someone that most fans have likely never even heard of. Turkish center Omer Asik averaged just 3.1 points and 5.3 rebounds in 15 minutes last season with the Bulls; apparently that was worthy of a contract from the Rockets. He did provide solid interior defense and shot-blocking ability, but at that cost, they should have stuck with current center Donatas Motiejunas, who is five years younger and offers more offensively. If Morey is able to somehow pull off a trade for Howard in the upcoming months using the pieces he’s acquired, it could make it all worth it; Rockets fans shouldn’t hold their collective breaths though.

Orlando Magic

The Magic are included on this list not only because of the ongoing trade inaction involving star center Dwight Howard, but also because they haven’t really done enough to convince him to stay otherwise.

In keeping generally the same core of players from last season, the team has ensured mediocrity should Howard stay. One major loss for Orlando is sharp-shooting forward Ryan Anderson, who was traded to New Orleans. The third-year pro really came on last season, earning the Most Improved Player award with career-high averages of 16 points and 7.7 rebounds. The player they received in the deal, Gustavo Ayon, is a 27-year old forward who averaged just five rebounds last year; definitely not an upgrade.

If they do happen to find a trade partner, the team will be in for some pretty serious rebuilding. They did draft two big men this summer – Andrew Nicholson and Kyle O’Quinn – but both are limited in their skillsets. They certainly won’t be able to replace Howard, but should he leave, it would give the team a chance to see Nicholson and O’Quinn play.

Chicago Bulls

The Bulls’ offseason began pretty much the moment that star guard Derrick Rose went down in last season’s playoffs with a torn ACL. With a recovery period of 8-12 months, he would probably only be able to play in 40 or so games, and that’s if he begins to play right after rehab. If Chicago is smart, they would consider keeping him out of game action until he’s absolutely ready to play.

To replace him for the time being, the Bulls signed Kirk Hinrich from Atlanta and drafted Kentucky’s Marquis Teague. Hinrich is better than most back-ups, but depending on him to orchestrate the team’s offense is a big task. Teague played major minutes last year for the Wildcats’ national championship team, averaging 4.8 assists and one steal a game. He should provide some help off the bench, but again – it would be asking way to much for him to replace what Rose brought to the table.

In addition to Rose, this offseason saw the Bulls lost plenty of roster depth – one of the key factors to their recent success. Sharpshooting Kyle Korver was traded for a trade exception and cash considerations; defensive guards C.J. Watson and Ronnie Brewer left via free agency, and center Omer Asik got the mind-boggling deal of the offseason, $25 million for three years. They did add Marco Bellinelli and Nate Robinson, but neither of those players can make up for the losses the Bulls have experienced. Without Ross and their trademark depth, the Bulls could very easily be  lottery-bound in 2012.

We’ll start in the Central Division, where one team (Chicago) is still tops, but is on shakier ground than they’re used to. Much like the “Central” divisions in MLB, picking a clear winner for this division is a tough task, as there are maybe one or two favorites but the very real possibility of a surprise finisher.

Chicago Bulls

PG: Kirk Hinrich
SG: Richard Hamilton
SF: Luol Deng
PF: Joakim Noah
C:  Carlos Boozer

Bench: Taj Gibson, Marquis Teague, Vladimir Radmanovic, Jimmy Butler, Mike James, John Lucas III, Brian Scalabrine, Marco Belinelli

The Hinrich signing this offseason is a temporary move, as the team’s star guard Derrick Rose recovers from a torn ACL suffered in last season’s playoffs. With no return date for Rose, it could be a tough year for the Bulls, who have enjoyed a great deal of success atop the division the last few seasons. One of the most defining factors of the team – their bench – has been decimated this offseason, with the losses of Kyle Korver, Omer Asik, CJ Watson, and Ronnie Brewer. Relying on the 34-year old Hamilton is also a gamble, as he hasn’t shown much since leaving Detroit.  After winning 50 games last season and running away with the Central, next season could be much more of a challenge.

Indiana Pacers

PG: George Hill
SG: Paul George
SF: Danny Granger
PF: David West
C:  Roy Hibbert

Bench: DJ Augustin, Lance Stephenson, Gerald Green, Tyler Hansbrough, Ian Mahinmi, Orlando Johnson, Jeff Pendergraph, Miles Plumlee

The Pacers lost just two players this offseason – Darren Collison and Dahntay Jones –  but both played a fairly important role in last season’s successes. While Jones is mainly a defensive specialist, Indiana traded for Collison in 2010 to be the team’s point guard of the future. Unfortunately for him, Hill has emerged as a capable replacement and George has shown NBA ability at the shooting guard, so the team decided to trade the former UCLA Bruin to the Mavericks for Mahinmi. This team’s strengths lie in their frontcourt, however. After resigning Hibbert, the team now has him, West, Granger, Hansbrough, and Plumlee locked in down low. League-wide that may not be the most impressive lineup, but in the weaker Eastern Conference, it could very well win them the division and possibly a high playoff seed.

Detroit Pistons

PG: Brandon Knight
SG: Rodney Stuckey
SF: Tayshaun Prince
PF: Jonas Jerebko
C: Greg Monroe

Bench: Will Bynum, Kim English, Andre Drummond, Khris Middleton, Austin Daye, Corey Maggette, Charlie Villanueva, Kyle Singler, Slava Kravtsov, possibly Ben Wallace

After three straight seasons of lucking out in the NBA Draft, the Pistons have three potential building blocks for the team’s future. Monroe is an emerging center, Knight showed flashes of brilliance last season, and Drummond has already turned heads at the Summer League games in Orlando. That said, they range in age from 18 to 22, meaning there will likely be more learning bumps along the way, but since a title run isn’t likely in the near future, the team can play with lower expectations. Fans may not like that, but it’s the truth, and it could prove more invaluable to the development of all their young players. Stuckey will continue to evolve as a shooting guard alongside Knight. Four-year college players English and Singler should be logging minutes next season as two “veteran” rookies, while players like Bynum, Daye, Villanueva, and Maggette will be playing for either another contract or simply the chance to stay with the team. Sneaking into the playoffs as a low seed could happen, but another lottery trip is just as likely.

Milwaukee Bucks

PG: Brandon Jennings
SG: Monta Ellis
SF: Mike Dunleavy
PF: Drew Gooden
C: Samuel Dalembert

Bench: Carlos Delfino, Beno Udrih, Doron Lamb, Ersan Ilyasova, John Henson, Ekpe Udoh, Larry Sanders, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Tobias Harris

The Bucks have been in a strange purgatory-esque place for several years now: never good enough to win a title but never bad enough to get a top draft pick. After drafting Andrew Bogut first overall in 2005, Milwaukee made the playoffs just twice (2005-06 and 2009-10) and lost both times in the first round (Detroit and Atlanta, respectively). Apparently that was enough for the Bucks, and they traded Bogut for Monta Ellis and Ekpe Udoh last season, leaving the team with two shoot-first point guards in Jennings and Ellis. It should be an interesting experiment next season as the duo has had a chance to learn more about each other’s games during the offseason, but my money is on both players jacking up ill-advised shots. The rest of the roster is littered with some intriguing young pieces (Lamb, Henson, Udoh, Harris, Mbah a Moute) and other serviceable parts (Gooden, Dalembert, Udrih, Dunleavy), but overall, this could be another average year for the Bucks.

Cleveland Cavaliers

PG: Kyrie Irving
SG: Daniel Gibson
SF: Omri Casspi
PF: Tristan Thompson
C: Anderson Varejão

Bench:  Dion Waiters, Tyler Zeller, Donald Sloan, Kelenna Azubuike, Luke Harangody, Samardo Samuels, Alonzo Gee, Jon Leuer, Jeremy Pargo

If this was owner Dan Gilbert’s grand scheme for rebuilding post-LeBron, he may want to rethink it. After a 19-win season netted them a star point guard in Kyrie Irving, Cleveland has gone on to to collect an assortment of lower-level NBA talent and several players who spent more time in the NBDL than the big show. They are essentially a lesser version of the Bucks – not a good comparison. They traded a possible young star in JJ Hickson to the Kings for a tweener in Casspi, and drafted Thompson – another small-ish forward – with the fourth pick after drafting Irving. Varejão has always been a frustrating player to defend, as his tough low-post play and questionable flopping have gained him notoriety around the league, but he suffered a broken wrist last season and missed all but 25 games. With Irving breaking his hand in Olympic warm-ups earlier this month, things haven’t gotten much better for the Cavs. Unless a major (unforseen) move is made, the next few seasons could be much of the same for the Wine and Gold squad.

What do you think? Are the Bulls and Pacers the class of the Central, or could a surprise team top them both?

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