Los Angeles Lakers

PG: Steve Nash
SG: Kobe Bryant
SF: Metta World Peace
PF: Pau Gasol
C: Dwight Howard

Bench: Antawn Jamison, Jordan Hill, Steve Blake, Chris Duhon, Andrew Goudelock, Darius Morris, Earl Clark, Robert Sacre, Devin Ebanks, Jodie Meeks, Matt Barnes

As if acquiring one of the best point guards this offseason wasn’t enough, the Lakers somehow landed the best center in the game, Howard, while keeping most of the assets on their team. They did lose 24-year old center Andrew Bynum, but it seemed like the relationship between him, Bryant and the coaching staff was strained at best. Howard is easily an upgrade over Bynum, providing a young defensive presence to a team that has several aging stars. While the rest of his teammates are 30+ years old, “Superman” is just 26 years old and should be the cornerstone of this team once the others retire.

Nash’s signing is an interesting one, as fans will finally see what the “Black Mamba” plays like with a competent passing point guard, something he hasn’t had in several seasons now. Nash could average a career-high in assists, considering the number of offensive options available to him. Considering the work he’s done with lesser talent in Phoenix, what’s to keep him from eclipsing his past numbers?

The biggest challenge for the 2012 Lakers, if there is one, is keeping everyone happy on offense, including another new addition – Jamison. He was a top option in Cleveland, so keeping him involved will keep defenses honest. The only real challenger for this division has to be the Clippers, who can match the Lakers in terms of athleticism but not in experience.

Los Angeles Clippers

PG: Chris Paul
SG: Chauncey Billups
SF: Caron Butler
PF: Blake Griffin
C: DeAndre Jordan

Bench: Jamal Crawford, Eric Bledsoe, Grant Hill, Lamar Odom, Ryan Hollins, Trey Thompkins, Willie Green, Ronny Turiaf

With Blake Griffin recovered from his torn meniscus, the Clippers could possibly challenge in the playoffs, although a Pacific Division title is unlikely. Despite losing offensive cogs Randy Foye, Nick Young and Mo Williams in the offseason, they added two proven scorers and two former Sixth Man of the Year award winners, leaving them deeper and more experienced than last season.

Grant Hill shunned other lucrative deals to join the Clippers, including the Lakers and Heat. Despite the numerous injuries he’s suffered in his career and the amount of time he’s spent in the league, Hill seems to still be a top producer on whatever team he joins. With defenses focused on Griffin, Paul and Crawford, the former Duke Blue Devil should be able to pass his 2011 totals of 10.2 points on 45% shooting.

Chris Paul increased his stock as one of the top point guards in the NBA with his play in the Olympics; with another season under Vinny Del Negro and his roster, he could post career high assists and points.

What the Clippers young big men must do to improve is work more on fundamentals and rely less on their athleticism for offense and defense. Trying to dunk every possession won’t work, as defenses will adjust and slow the game down. If the Clippers hope to make noise next season, that could be their biggest challenge.

Golden State Warriors

PG: Stephen Curry
SG: Klay Thompson
SF: Harrison Barnes
PF: David Lee
C: Andrew Bogut

Bench: Carl Landry, Jarrett Jack, Brandon Rush, Richard Jefferson, Draymond Green, Andris Biedrins, Charles Jenkins

As if this team needed any more offense, they were able to draft UNC’s Barnes, who fell to them at #7 in the 2012 draft. His decision to stay in college for his sophomore year was heavily questioned, but his scoring numbers and percentages actually increased his second year. While the hype surrounding him was probably overkill, his skills speak for themselves, and he could post Rookie of the Year numbers in this fast-paced offense.

With a full season together, Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry should form an exciting and high-scoring backcourt for years to come. That is, if Curry’s ankles can stay intact, of course. After playing in 80 games his rookie year of 2009, he played in 74 games in 2010 and then just 26 last season due to injury. The pedigree is there (his dad is Dell Curry), but the body must hold up for Curry to reach his full potential. Thompson showed his true abilities once Monta Ellis was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks, increasing his scoring from 7.6 to 12.5 and his shooting percentages from 46.7% to 54.3%.

The frontcourt for the Warriors is, when fully healthy, a multi-tooled and effective unit. Lee and Bogut have been solid rebounders and efficient scorers, and Biedrins averaged 12 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1.5 blocks just four seasons ago. Injuries have  affected each of them, however, in the last few seasons. Bogut has averaged just 54 games a season since he won the 2005 Rookie of the Year award; his durability will be a major factor in how well the team plays in 2012.

Much like the last few years, offense will not be a problem for this team. They regularly score 100+ points in less than a full game’s time. The problem for this team, again, will be defense – you can’t win games when you give up 101 points and score 100.

Sacramento Kings

PG: Isaiah Thomas
SG: Marcus Thornton
SF: Tyreke Evans
PF: Jason Thompson
C: DeMarcus Cousins

Bench: Aaron Brooks, Jimmer Fredette, Thomas Robinson, Chuck Hayes, Francisco Garcia, Travis Outlaw, James Johnson

Talent is abundant in California’s capital, as it has been for several years now. Unfortunately for Kings’ fans, however, the winning hasn’t happened despite the quality of players to come to the team. Whether it’s because of coach-player issues, immature players, lack of defense, or a combination of the three, Sacramento hasn’t had much success since the early 2000′s.

This group of players is different from that bunch, though. While that group was playoff-tested and experienced, this bunch of players – at least the ones who are main contributors – are all in their late 20′s and younger. While that helps athletically, it decreases the chance that they’ll make much noise in terms of winning games. Three of their best players – DeMarcus Cousins, Tyreke Evans and rookie Thomas Robinson – were all born in 1989 or later; the rest of their roster is just a few years older.

The on-the-court challenges aren’t the only thing that this team has to deal with. There have been talks for almost two years about relocating the team to Anaheim unless the city paid for a new arena. A tentative plan was in place in March 2012, but the Maloof family backed out of the deal. Even if the team moves, the chances of them being competitive is unlikely.

Phoenix Suns

PG: Goran Dragic
SG: Wesley Johnson
SF: Michael Beasley
PF: Luis Scola
C: Marcin Gortat

Bench: Kendall Marshall, Channing Frye, Jared Dudley, Markieff Morris, Shannon Brown, Sebastian Telfair, P.J. Tucker

With just one personnel move, the Suns went from playoff fixture to probable lottery/top-5 team. Steve Nash had extracted just about all he could out of an unappealing roster, and probably played for the team longer than he deserved. The 16-year pro has yet to even sniff a chance at a championship, but he’ll likely get that chance with the Lakers. When he returns to Phoenix, anything less than applause is unexceptable.

Unfortunately for Suns’ fans, the bleeding didn’t stop with Nash. All-around good guy Grant Hill left the team for the Clippers and a chance to play with another All-Star point guard in Chris Paul, back-up guard Aaron Brooks went to the division rival Kings, and big men Robin Lopez and Hakim Warrick were traded for Wesley Johnson, an intriguing but raw former top five draft pick. The team also made some questionable free agency moves, signing Dragic to a $34 million contract and the oft-troubled forward Beasley for $18 million. Former UNC Tarheel Kendall Marshall was drafted as a potential replacement for Nash, so the Dragic signing is even more puzzling.

The Phoenix Suns team that NBA viewers have come to expect is long gone. They might be able to rebuild through the draft, but more than likely, this squad will have some serious growing pains in the next few years.

After nearly a year of publicly telling reporters that he wanted to be moved, Dwight Howard finally got his wish and will be a member of the star-studded Lakers next season.

The four-team, multiple-player deal goes like this:

• Los Angeles Lakers receives Dwight Howard, Chris Duhon and Earl Clark from Orlando
• Philadelphia 76ers receive Andrew Bynum from LA and Jason Richardson from Orlando
• Denver Nuggets acquires Andre Iguodala from Philadelphia
• Orlando Magic get Arron Afflalo and Al Harrington from Denver, Nikola Vucevic and Maurice (Moe) Harkless from Philadelphia, Josh McRoberts and Christian Eyenga from LA and one protected future first round draft pick from each of the teams

As it stands, the Lakers have given up very little and gotten the best center in the league. They gave up a true headache of a player (Bynum) for Howard: three-time Defensive Player of the Year, six-time All-Star, and five-time All-NBA First Team member.

Not only that, but they keep Pau Gasol, leaving them with at least three viable go-to options on offense. Steve Nash could very well average a career-low in points but a career-high in assists with the amount of offensive options at his disposal, and Kobe Bryant will have even less defensive pressure on  him now that the Lakers have another player in Howard that teams have to worry about.

Los Angeles isn’t the only winner here, though. Philadelphia gets a 24-year old big man who, when engaged and active, is likely the second-best center behind only Howard; they also clear up the logjam they have at small forward, while clearing cap space. Losing such a good defensive player will definitely affect their perimeter defense, but if Bynum plays to his potential, he could be a serious force to reckon with in the paint.

Denver receives a legitimate defender and a marketable star, albeit a very underrated one. Iguodala has raised his profile with his stellar defense and thunderous dunks in the 2012 London Olympics, leaving many more people aware of his abilities. Nuggets head coach George Karl is going to enjoy having another tenacious defender who can cause a turnover, run down the court, and create quick offense. Denver is easily the “silver medal” winner in this trade, with an extremely athletic frontcourt including Kenneth Faried, JaVale McGee, Danilo Gallinari and Iguodala.

The Magic are easily the losers in this deal. Not only do they not get any of the major big men involved in this trade (or Pau Gasol) or any current above-average players, they also are receiving draft picks from teams that will likely be in the lower part of the first round. Afflalo is a solid defender and can shoot from three-point range, but has never been a first option – he’s really more of a complementary guard. Harrington has played 14 years in the NBA and has never really been more than a shooter who is just subpar on defense. The rest of Orlando’s haul (Vucevic, Harkless, McRoberts, Eyenga) is a group of relatively raw and unproven talent, leaving the Magic with a larger roster than before, but not much to show for it. The best case scenario for next season’s Magic team is a high lottery pick, something they haven’t gotten since Howard in 2004.

David Stern’s approval of this trade will likely leave fans scratching their heads, as he overturned the Lakers attempted trade for Chris Paul last season; that trade was easily more balanced for all teams than this one is. The team with the most to lose (Orlando) easily got the worst part of the deal, while add-on teams like Denver and Philadelphia upgraded their squads. The “competitive balance” that Stern hopes to keep in the NBA has taken a serious hit with this trade, and it pushes Los Angeles right to the top of the Western Conference.