8/19 ESPN INSIDER - Ranking the West

[OutletPass]

The Western Conference Fab Fives
By Chad Ford
NBA Insider
Send an Email to Chad Ford Tuesday, August 19
Updated: August 19
11:00 AM ET


Forget about the Kobe Bryant case, LeBron James, the Eastern Conference, the incoming foreign invasion and just about anything else the pundits will use to try to define the upcoming NBA season.



Mark Cuban and the Mavs are determined to stay in the hunt out West.
Mark Cuban and four other NBA owners have a more subtle, more true answer to what ails the NBA.

For the first time in ages, you don't have to get excited about a slick new marketing ploy. No, Cuban along with Jerry Buss, the Maloof Brothers, Glen Taylor and Peter Holt have something different in mind now.

Competition.

The race for the Western Conference crown is shaping up to be one of the most exciting in recent NBA history. Over the summer, five teams -- the Lakers, Mavericks, Timberwolves, Kings, and Spurs -- have come out swinging, upping the ante weekly on what it will take (and cost) to bring home a Western Conference championship and, ultimately, an NBA title.

The Lakers roared out of the gate early, grabbing two future Hall of Famers -- Gary Payton and Karl Malone -- to add to the two most dominant players in basketball -- Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant.

The T-Wolves answered next, with two big trades and a key free agent signing that essentially remade three-fifths of the starting roster in the blink of an eye. Taylor, in act of desperation to keep Kevin Garnett from bolting next summer, added Sam Cassell, Latrell Sprewell and Michael Olowokandi to a team desperate for more firepower.

The Spurs were right behind them, re-signing Tim Duncan, stealing away Wolves center Rasho Nesterovic, and trading for Hedo Turkoglu and Ron Mercer. In a matter of weeks, the defending NBA champs looked even stronger than they did last season.

Not to be outdone, the Kings, shipped out seldom used back-ups Turkoglu and Scot Pollard for All-Star center Brad Miller. While the Kings moves were more subtle, few in the West have forgotten that they already sported one of the deepest and most talented teams in the NBA before the move.

That leads us to Cuban's Mavs. Sensing there was no way to be able to repeat their 60-win season without more help, the Mavs have been burning up the phone lines for months searching for an answer. After being burned by Alonzo Mourning in free agency, the Mavs decided they couldn't get the big man that they wanted, so they added an All-Star caliber small forward in Antawn Jamison to their already lethal starting five.

The result? Five of the most impressive starting fives in the past two decades. Who has the best? Insider breaks the down.

The West Fab Fives
(Statistics are from the 2002-03 season.)
1. Los Angeles Lakers


O'Neal
PG - Gary Payton (20.4 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 8.3 apg)
SG - Kobe Bryant (30 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 5.9 apg)
SF - Devean George (6.9 ppg, 4 rpg, 1.3 apg)
PF - Karl Malone (20.6 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 4.7 apg)
C - Shaquille O'Neal (27.5 ppg, 11.1 rpg, 3.1 apg)
Playoff experience: 551 games
TOTALS: 105.4 ppg, 34.1 rpg, 23.3 apg

The skinny: What's not to like about the Lakers? Assuming Bryant isn't wearing an orange jumpsuit and picking up trash on the side of the highway next season, the Lakers will be devastating. The have the lethal combination of inside-outside scoring, playoff experience and, for the first time in a while, nice depth off the bench. Will the starting five average 105 ppg next season? No. But they might come pretty close.

2. Dallas Mavericks


Nowitzki
PG - Steve Nash (17.7 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 7.3 apg)
SG - Michael Finley (19.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 3 apg)
SF - Antawn Jamison (22.2 ppg, 7 rpg, 1.9 apg)
PF - Dirk Nowitzki (25.1 ppg, 9.9 rpg, 3 apg)
C - Raef LaFrentz (9.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 0.8 apg)
Playoff experience: 147 games
TOTALS: 93.6 ppg, 30.4 rpg, 16 apg

The skinny: The team will be an offensive power house. With Nash pushing the ball, Jamison and Nowitzki on the wings and Finley trailing, you're looking at one of the scariest young teams we've seen in a long time offensively. Add to that superb outside shooting by all five starters, and the Mavs will be a handful. Can you imagine what this team would've looked like had they signed Alonzo Mourning and done this trade? The two real questions? Will anyone bother to play defense? If they don't, expect a lot of 130-128 shootouts in Big D. Does this team have enough veteran leadership to reach the Finals? Adding Jamison may have been a coup on the talent side, but he's yet to play a single playoff game. The Mavs are dead last in playoff experience, and it's probably going to show.


3. Minnesota Timberwolves


Garnett
PG - Sam Cassell (19.7 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 5.8 apg)
SG - Latrell Sprewell (16.4 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 4.5 apg)
SF - Wally Szczerbiak (17.6 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 2.6 apg)
PF - Kevin Garnett (23 ppg, 13.4 rpg, 6 apg)
C - Michael Olowokandi (12.3 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 1.3 apg)
Playoff experience: 204 games
TOTALS: 89 ppg, 35.4 rpg, 20.2 apg
The skinny: Believe it or not, the T-Wolves aren't that far behind the Mavs and Lakers. They have the most balanced starting five of any of the teams and have a nice mixture of youth and veteran leadership. They have scrappy guards, a couple of nice perimeter shooters, one of the top three forwards in the league in Garnett, and a center who, if he gets his head on straight, still has the potential to be an All-Star. The other thing the Wolves have going for them? They're hungry. After seven consecutive first-round exits, no one wants it more than Minnesota. The negatives? A very thin bench and a plethora of chemistry issues. Not one of these guys has a rep of being easy to get along with. Will they kill the competition or kill each other?

4. Sacramento Kings


Webber
PG - Mike Bibby (15.9 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 5.2 apg)
SG - Doug Christie (9.4 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 4.7 apg)
SF - Peja Stojakovic (19.2 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 2 apg)
PF - Chris Webber (23 ppg, 10.5 rpg, 5.4 apg)
C - Vlade Divac (9.9 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 3.4 apg)
Playoff experience: 270 games
TOTALS: 77.4 ppg, 30.2 rpg, 20.7 apg

The skinny: A year ago, the Kings were the closest thing the NBA had to a dream team. They had a super-solid starting five and a deep, deep bench. Now, they're almost an afterthought. But treating them that way would be a mistake. The Kings have great chemistry, still have the best bench of the five, and they, too, are hungry. Numerous injuries derailed what should have been a smooth sail to the NBA Finals last season. With the competition now much stiffer, will the Kings bounce back and finally regain their throne? They have two things going for them. One, with the exception of the Lakers, they have the most experience. Two, along with the Spurs, they actually play defense -- a necessity come playoff time.

5. San Antonio Spurs


Duncan
PG - Tony Parker (15.5 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 5.3 apg)
SG - Emanuel Ginobili (7.6 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 2 apg)
SF - Hedo Turkoglu (6.7 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.3 apg)
PF - Tim Duncan (23.3 ppg, 12.9 rpg, 3.9 apg)
C - Rasho Nesterovic (11.2 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 1.5 apg)
Playoff experience: 184 games
TOTALS: 64.3 ppg, 27.1 rpg, 14 apg

The skinny: On paper, the Spurs look vastly inferior to the Lakers, Mavs, T-Wolves and Kings. That's due in part to two players, Ginobili and Turkoglu, who were reserves last season. Both players have a ton of talent and are expected to blossom in starting roles this season. If they do, the Spurs will be right back in the mix. Nesterovic should benefit from playing next to Duncan in the paint. Parker is going to keep maturing, and the Spurs are still going to be the best defensive team of the group. Oh yeah, and don't forget they have the MVP.


Around the League

There's still a lot of confusion out there about when, exactly, the Warriors are going to get all of the cap room to go out and sign a top-tier free agent. The answer? It depends.

If the Warriors find a way to move Erick Dampier this year for a player in the last year of his contract and decide against re-signing Adonal Foyle, the team could be looking at around $10 million in cap room in the summer of 2004. If they don't move Damp, the number is $2 million -- not enough to do much of anything.

Erick Dampier
Center
Golden State Warriors
Profile


2002-2003 SEASON STATISTICS
GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%
82 8.2 6.6 0.7 .496 .698



For those of you who are crossing your fingers that Dampier and Nick Van Exel will both opt out of their contracts after this season, forget about it. There's no way Van Exel will leave $12 million worth of guaranteed money on the table. The same is true for Dampier, who is due another $17 million after this season.

Van Exel's contract, as Insider first reported on Monday, isn't guaranteed for the 2005-06 season. So that's when the Warriors will likely be able to get rid of his salary. (Van Exel does have partial guarantees on his 2004-05 salary, but it appears that he has met the criteria to make his contract fully guaranteed for that season.) Pulling Van Exel off the books would give the Warriors $22.5 million in guaranteed salaries for the summer of 2005. That's where you keep hearing the $20 million in cap room number.

However, as we pointed out on Monday, that number is mostly a mirage. To get to the Warriors' real number you have to factor in two lottery picks (roughly $3 million each), and a few minimum cap holds. That essentially puts the Warriors at $29.5 million in payroll, which is still a lot of dough. However, the analysis doesn't end there. To get at $29.5 million, the Warriors would have to renounce the rights to Troy Murphy and Jason Richardson when they become restricted free agents. Would they really do that just to get a shot at a free agent? Would a top free agent even consider the Warriors if they strip mined their team?

If the Warriors do decide to re-sign Murphy and Richardson, even to deals just over the mid-level exception, their cap room is essentially gone. That brings us to 2006, when Dampier and Speedy Claxton also come off the books. That gives the Warriors another $11 million to play with. Of course, Mike Dunleavy hits restricted free agency that summer. If he's as good as Chris Mullin and company thinks he is, he'll essentially use up much of the money the Warriors just cleared.

All of this leads to one important conclusion. If the Warriors really want to make a free-agent splash and keep their young core of Richardson, Murphy and Dunleavy together, their best shot of doing it is to trade Dampier this year, get him off the cap and make a run at a free agent next summer. If they wait any longer, the team will be forced to decide between the young players it's already developed and a free agent willing to play on a bad team in Oakland.

Chris Mills
Small Forward
Dallas Mavericks
Profile


2002-2003 SEASON STATISTICS
GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%
21 4.8 2.4 1.0 .368 .889



How long will Chris Mills stay in a Mavs uniform? And how long will Avery Johnson be wearing a Warriors uniform? Both teams were fielding lots of calls on Monday about deals for the two veterans. Both players are in the last year of their contracts, making them desirable trade bait. Each can be traded immediately as long as they aren't packaged together with other players. If either player has to be combined with more bodies, their new teams can't trade them for two months per collective bargaining rules.

The Mavs have made no secret about their desire. They're trying to land either a legit back-up point guard to take some of the pressure off Steve Nash and/or another defensive minded big man to patrol the middle. Among the players the Mavs could end up with? Nazr Mohammed, Jerome James, Calvin Booth or Chucky Atkins.

The Warriors are in a different dilemma. They have no need for Johnson, but don't want to take back long-term salaries in return. The Warriors' biggest need? Depth at small forward. Right now it's Mike Dunleavy Jr. and no one else. The team wouldn't mind adding a veteran or two spell Dunleavy when he gets overwhelmed. Their options include veterans like Cliff Robinson or Wesley Person.

The Magic's ongoing feud over Grant Hill's future continues to stew. Hill appears determined to play this season. While the Magic have commended his work ethic in the rehabilitation room, there's a reason why they aren't excited to see Hill come back this season. The team wants to keep the clock running on Hill's retirement table. The CBA states that Hill's salary can come off the team's cap if he plays in fewer than 15 games over a two year period after he suffered his last injury. Hill played his last game on Jan. 16, 2003 meaning that, if Hill doesn't play more than 15 games, he would come off the books on Jan. 16, 2005. That could mean a huge savings for the Magic down the road -- and major cap room for the summer of 2006.

If Hill does what he did the past few years, plays a little bit before getting injured again, the clock resets and the Magic must wait another two years. That's the biggest issue.

Hill wants to try to test his ankle. The Magic don't want him back until they're sure that he won't just re-injure it again.

GM John Gabriel reiterated to the Orlando Sentinel the franchise's desire for Hill to sit out the season as a precaution after three false starts but admitted, "I think Grant will want to try to play."

Watch for the Magic to take as many steps as they can to get comfortable with Hill's decision to play. The Sentinel reported today that Hill would be put through extensive workouts in game-type situations with the team before he'd ever be activated. Gabriel's response? "Grant's rehabilitation will be supervised."

[Chiwas]

Amazing rosters!

With Nash pushing the ball, Jamison and Nowitzki on the wings and Finley trailing, you're looking at one of the scariest young teams we've seen in a long time offensively.

I liked the word "young".

Will anyone bother to play defense? If they don't, expect a lot of 130-128 shootouts in Big D.

With little small ball, I hope none at all, defense will improve a lot.

[Lonely PSU Mavs Fan]

Originally posted by: OutletPass
The Mavs have made no secret about their desire. They're trying to land either a legit back-up point guard to take some of the pressure off Steve Nash and/or another defensive minded big man to patrol the middle. Among the players the Mavs could end up with? Nazr Mohammed, Jerome James, Calvin Booth or Chucky Atkins.

UUUAAAAAAGGGGHHHHH!!!! please not calvin booth. The only of those four i would even consider is Mohammed.

[Ummmmm Ok]

Can you imagine what this team would've looked like had they signed Alonzo Mourning and done this trade?

Can you imagine a starting lineup going into the playoffs of Nash, Finley, Jamison, Dirk, and Mourning?

OMG we would run the through the playoffs like "one long blue sock and Rhylan" playing dallas-mavs members in a pickup game!!! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

[jayC]

I think they think Raef will make a big turnaround. Especially since he has danny fortson as Nellie called him "the center piece of the deal, "breathing down his neck.


Not even remotely interested in any seattle reject centers period. Or a second tier eastern conference center. Wow it would have been interesting if we had done this deal at the start of free agency would ZO be knocking on our door. Or the other big what if GP had signed with the mavs. Oh well I am happy with this team as is.

[MavsFanatik33]

What's the point? Mavs have no chance, we lost the powerhouse Rigadeou. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

[Tony tha Mavs fan]

I think Mavs should sign a point guard to a 1 year deal, and trade mills for Nazr.

[Tony tha Mavs fan]

It's good to see that The Mavericks are listed @ 2 on his list.