[Mr.Knick 32Participant]

All West Breakout Team

Point guard- Russell Westbrook

Westbrook was great last season (16-8-5) but I still see improvement for him. To me, there’s 2 ways he can go here. Westbrook can become the 2nd scorer on the Thunder and give them maybe 19-7-5 or become a more passing point guard and help develop the younger players. Either way, signs point to Russell Westbrook having a great season.

Shooting guard- O.J. Mayo

Had you asked me this time last season, I would have said Mayo was the #1 on Memphis. Rudy Gay took that spot this past season but I still like Mayo. He’s a top 50 guy for me because he provides defense, scoring and he WANTS it. He wants the ball late. He loves to defend the best guard on the opposing team. I could see Mayo having a amazing season next year.

Small forward- Micheal Beasley

Sometimes, the troubled player just need a change of scenery. Beasley was traded from Miami to Minnesota. Now? There’s no excuses for Beasley not to perform. There’s no clear cut #1 scorer on the Timberwolves. Micheal Beasley could provide points if he’s the starting small forward. If Beasley’s head is on right, I could see 19 points and 7 rebounds next season

Power Forward- Jason Thompson

When Thompson was drafted 12th by Sacramento, alot of people shook their heads. Now, he’s one of the solid big men in the NBA. Thompson will probably never average 20 points in the NBA but with Tyreke Evans and now DeMarcus Cousins being potentially double teamed, Thompson can get alot of looks. 16ppg- 8rpg and 1.5bpg is not too far for Jason Thompson.

Center- Robin Lopez

I said this before ” When your the reason people are not picking your team, you must be valuable”. Robin Lopez? Could be the most valuable player for the Suns next season. The Suns have NO legit big men besides Lopez so for the Suns to have any chance, Lopez has to stay healthy. Lopez could be a top 10 rebounder next season if he remains healthy.

All West Team

PG- Chris Paul

SG- Kobe Bryant

SF- Kevin Durant

PF- Zach Randolph

C- Tim Duncan

Top 5 Western Conference Storylines

– Valley Of The Sun

Amar’e Stoudemire is gone but that won’t stop Steve Nash and the Suns. Phoenix reloaded by making a couple splashes. First, they resigned Channing Frye. Then, they added Hakim Warrick from Chicago and Josh Childress from Greece. Then, the Suns traded Leonardo Barbosa for Hedo Turkoglu. The Suns will look to run and with Steve Nash running the show, the Suns should be looking for a playoff spot. Do they get one? Time will tell…

– The Three Peat In Cali

In case you were living under a rock, The Los Angeles Lakers did repeat as NBA champions. Now, the hunt for the 3 peat begins. The Lakers had a great offseason, resigning Shannon Brown, adding Matt Barnes, Theo Ratliff, Steve Blake along with rookies Devin Ebanks and Derrick Character.

– The Spurs’ holding on

The Spurs last season were swept by the Suns. This offseason, they added Tiago Splitter from Brazil. Drafted James Anderson who should play right away and resigned Richard Jefferson. Watch out for the Spurs potentially moving Tony Parker. Gregg Popovich fell in love with George Hill during the playoffs and if Parker doesn’t want to sign a extension, Parker could be on the way out.

– Development in OKC

Last season, OKC surprised everyone in making the playoffs. This season, there is no surprise. Kevin Durant lead the league in scoring, Russell Westbrook is slowly becoming today’s Dennis Johnson and Jeff Green contributed well for OKC last season. This year, James Harden must step up. Cole Aldrich will get some solid time as a rookie and Serge Ibaka must look down that PF spot

– Carmelo Anthony

As we all know, Carmelo Anthony is looking for a trade. Denver is not looking to trade him right now but there are two issues for Denver potentially looming. The longer they hold on to Carmelo, the less they probably get in trade. Denver could also see attendance records plummet if Melo is traded. As of right now, Chicago is hot on the case for Melo.

[HotSnotParticipant]

I think Denver is trying to fool the rest of the league into thinking that it will take nothing less then an earth shattering deal to acquire Melo. With Denver insisting that they will not trade Melo, I guess they assume the rest of the league will fall for it. Privately they must be Sh$ting their collective pants that he walks at the end of the season… which he will. The entire NBA stood up and took notice of what can happen. The players will start being more proactive about their own destiny’s instead of relying on a bit more money under the pretense of “loyalty” and waiting for their teams GM to luck into making a decent decision via free agency or the draft.

Lebron and Bosh have set the tone for the future of NBA UFA’s. No player will ever fall for the loyalty pitch ever again. Too many players have been promised things by owners who never delivered or were traded away from their homes in the dark of night just to save a few bucks on the payroll… I’m certain that from now on players will be willing to move on to greener pastures. I think they’ve finally come to realize that when your talking MAX money… the 2.5% extra per season and additional year on the life of the contract isn’t worth 5 years of painful mediocrity… Not to mention those contracts are so large they hurt their own teams ability to acquire additional talent. Paying Melo 21mil for 3 more years will certainly fatten up his wallet but if he were to sign for 16.5 mil on a better equipped team, he might actually have a shot at championships… which inevitably leads to more endorsement dollars and accolades.

PS. Zach Randolph and Duncan will regress this season statistically. No chance for Randolph in particular to accomplish what he did last season. He was a one year wonder as an allstar and that will be his shinning moment for his career.

[HotSnotParticipant]

I think Denver is trying to fool the rest of the league into thinking that it will take nothing less then an earth shattering deal to acquire Melo. With Denver insisting that they will not trade Melo, I guess they assume the rest of the league will fall for it. Privately they must be Sh$ting their collective pants that he walks at the end of the season… which he will. The entire NBA stood up and took notice of what can happen. The players will start being more proactive about their own destiny’s instead of relying on a bit more money under the pretense of “loyalty” and waiting for their teams GM to luck into making a decent decision via free agency or the draft.

Lebron and Bosh have set the tone for the future of NBA UFA’s. No player will ever fall for the loyalty pitch ever again. Too many players have been promised things by owners who never delivered or were traded away from their homes in the dark of night just to save a few bucks on the payroll… I’m certain that from now on players will be willing to move on to greener pastures. I think they’ve finally come to realize that when your talking MAX money… the 2.5% extra per season and additional year on the life of the contract isn’t worth 5 years of painful mediocrity… Not to mention those contracts are so large they hurt their own teams ability to acquire additional talent. Paying Melo 21mil for 3 more years will certainly fatten up his wallet but if he were to sign for 16.5 mil on a better equipped team, he might actually have a shot at championships… which inevitably leads to more endorsement dollars and accolades.

PS. Zach Randolph and Duncan will regress this season statistically. No chance for Randolph in particular to accomplish what he did last season. He was a one year wonder as an allstar and that will be his shinning moment for his career.

[The Scare Crow ReturnsParticipant]

Grizzles need a Pg and the Spurs could use another 20/10 Fringe all star Pf next to Duncan

[The Scare Crow ReturnsParticipant]

Grizzles need a Pg and the Spurs could use another 20/10 Fringe all star Pf next to Duncan

[knowledge585Participant]

I agree i think the lakers can potentially make a run for a 3peat… the only way they wont is if they have to many egos on that one team but with the Phil as your coach you wouldnt have to worry about that much

[knowledge585Participant]

I agree i think the lakers can potentially make a run for a 3peat… the only way they wont is if they have to many egos on that one team but with the Phil as your coach you wouldnt have to worry about that much

[bobbybParticipant]

Beasly is not a 3 , he is a 4!!

[Demarcus OnealParticipant]

great list but im sorry but 16ppg and 8 rpg is a real reach for Jason Thompson hes a good player but i wouldnt expect that much from him especially with the crowded backcourt in Sacremento with Landry, Dalembert and Cousins.

[Mr.Knick 32Participant]

Beasley is a 3 in the West

16-8 isin’t to me because Dalembert is a defensive player. Cousins and Landry (as of now) are backups. If Thompson is starting next to Dalembert, he will get tons of high post, low post and mid range chances.

[aarondsonixfanParticipant]

bobbyb- on minnesota, beasley will have to play the 3 because of kevin love. There is no way that love could play the 5. Plus, like Mr. Knick said, there’s now way that he could handle the 4’s in the west. he’s got the build of a 3, and I think that the 3 is the best position for him to be successful

[stanford hoops]

@hotsnot. You lost me after the one year wonder thing for Randolph. If you’ve watched his career you will know that was no
one year wonder. He has been consistantly very good and damn bear 20-10. Sorry but the facts show he’s no
one year wonder

Beasly has shown he has the skills to
play the three. How effective he will be at the three will show this year. The triangle is perfect for him
because as a three you don’t have to create alot with ball handling

[HotSnotParticipant]

Why is Randolph continually traded throughout his career? He obviously has his moments but he is more a stat hound then team player. He has wonderful tools and the ability to be anyone he wants on the floor but he’s a substandard defender and a pretty selfish and lazy team player. He shows flashes but there’s no freaking way he has ever been anything else. Last season Randolph was a feel good story who had been traded 4 times in one offseason. Thats why he made the allstar team… the player all other teams gave up on ends up with a wonderful season.

Much like other players who are all about the stats… Randolph’s teams don’t win. He doesn’t make teammates better or provide consistent help on the weakside. His passing on the offensive end is substandard and his fg% is remarkably average for a PF who puts up -16-17 shots a game for around 20 points.

Don’t fall inlove with the stats… watch the player. If it were all about stats then I agree, Randolph should get looks for the allstar team every year… There’s so much more to look at in the bigger picture.

I’ll bet you five bucks Randolph doesn’t make another Allstar team for the rest of his career.

[Author]

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