2009-10 NBA Contenders Who Are in Trouble in 2010-11

Movement, movement, movement.

That is the only way to describe what has gone on in this NBA offseason thus far.

There has been a major power shift in the Eastern Conference, with the Miami Heat rebuilding a team that has struggled to make it out of the first round the past couple of seasons.

And there has been an influx of star power coming over from the West to the East in the forms of Carlos Boozer and Amar'e Stoudemire.

While the offseason is far from over with Shaq, Allen Iverson, and a few other big names still available on the free-agent market, there are quite a few contenders from last season who are already in trouble for 2010-2011.

Teams changing their rosters and performing key makeovers have made these seven teams in desperate need of some sort of move this offseason to stay with their previous season's playoff pace.

While some may be going from championship contenders to just playoff contenders, others may be falling from playoff contenders to planning their spot in next season's lottery.

So without further adieu, let's take a look at those seven teams who may be in a little bit of trouble from their organizational goals going into next season.

As always, sit back, relax, and get your commenting shoes on!

7. The Boston Celtics

2009-2010 Record: 50-32

Reason they are on the list: failure to add new, impact players

The Boston Celtics crack the bottom of this list because they may be a little further away from the NBA Finals now than they were last season.

Last season, they were overlooked and forgotten about, and they made everyone in the East pay for it.

But even though they dominated they East, they fell short to the Lakers in the NBA Finals.

Let's get this straight: the Boston Celtics will still be a top three seed in the East next season, but their age, injury concerns, and failure to add impact players is going to keep them away from their organizational goal of winning a championship.

The Eastern Conference is getting better around them, and their only offseason moves have been re-signing Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Nate Robinson, and Marquis Daniels.

They also added Jermaine O'Neal through free agency, but nobody is really sure what they will get out of the former All-Star.

**Update the Celtics also signed Von Wafer as well on Thursday evening.

There have been rumors they are looking into adding Shaq or Rudy Fernandez, but neither player is going to provide enough of a spark to put them over the hump.

The Celtics could be looking at a rough playoff run unless they add a key component before playoff time.

6. The San Antonio Spurs

2009-2010 Record: 50-32

Reason they are on the list: Western Conference strength/age concerns

As long as Tim Duncan is a Spur, they will always have a fighting chance.

But as the seasons grow longer, and the Western Conference grows stronger, the age of the Spurs begins to show.

San Antonio was one of three teams that tied for the final spot in the Western Conference last season, and with the possibility of Houston getting Yao Ming back, New Orleans possibly having Chris Paul, and Memphis emerging as a better team last season, let's just say the Spurs have their work cut out for them.

They are another team that has failed to make a big splash in improving their roster, although I hear Tiago Splitter can just flat out play.

The Spurs are also facing a tough situation with Tony Parker going into his final year of his contract.

Will they trade the 28-year-old point guard and hand over the reigns to George Hill?

Or will they play the season out and try and make one last run at an NBA Championship with Ginobili, Duncan, and Parker?

Either way, the Spurs may have to make an impact move before the season starts if they want to remain a playoff contender in the West.

5. The Portland Trailblazers

2009-2010 Record: 50-32

Reason they are on the list: the Unknown

The Unknown is a phenomenon that hits a couple of NBA teams each season.

Portland looked so good last season until Brandon Roy went down with his knee injury, and then he showed leadership poise by attempting to play through it in the playoffs.

But as NBA teams know all too well, things change quickly in the NBA.

Portland has a lottery center that continues to be injury prone in Greg Oden, an instant offense shooting guard that wants to be traded in Rudy Fernandez, and just gave over $30 million dollars to a guy who could be a one hit wonder in Wesley Matthews.

That's a lot of situations that could land Portland on the outside looking in on the playoffs next season in the Western Conference.

Portland has a lot of nice young pieces, and combined with savvy veterans like Marcus Camby and Andre Miller, they will continue to be a team to be reckoned with in the West.

But if Brandon Roy goes down, and Greg Oden continues to be injury prone, the Unknown bug will strike again.

4. The Atlanta Hawks

2009-2010 Record: 53-29

Reason they are on the list: choke job in the playoffs/firing of coach

No team (besides the Cleveland Cavaliers) put up a bigger choke job in the playoffs than the Atlanta Hawks.

They were dismantled by Orlando, and they didn't look like they even belonged in the NBA D-League playoffs, let alone the NBA playoffs.

And to top it off, they gave a max contract to the guy who served up the biggest steaming pile of choke in the entire playoffs: Joe Johnson.

The Hawks did decide to go out and make a big move this offseason by stealing Josh Powell away from the Lakers...(this is where you are supposed to laugh).

And they made a switch from the guy who has rebuilt their team from a perennial loser to a winner in Mike Woodson, and brought in a coach with zero head coaching experience in the NBA.

As you can see, things are not looking good for the Atlanta Hawks this season.

And to top it off, this team named the Miami Heat went out and added Chris Bosh and LeBron James to play with Dwyane Wade.

I think it's safe to say that the Hawks need to go out and do something big this season if they want to make a splash in the NBA playoffs this year.

They do have a solid core of Al Horford, Josh Smith, Mike Bibby, and Jamal Crawford returning, but that may not be enough to help carry them over the retooled East.

3. The Charlotte Bobcats

2009-2010 Record: 44-38

Reason they are on the list: loss of key players/no improvement

The teams around them are getting better, and the Bobcats gave a ridiculous five-year contract to Tyrus Thomas.

Oh and did I mention they lost their starting point guard via free agency?

Things are not looking good for Michael Jordan's Bobcats, and Charlotte could find out that their playoff run had a one-year expiration date.

And if that wasn't enough, they traded Tyson Chandler and Alexis Ajinca to Dallas and got back Erik Dampier, Eduardo Najera, and Matt Carroll.

Not really your "team-changing" trade if you ask me.

The biggest loss will be that of Raymond Felton.

He was their floor general, their leader, the heart and soul of the team.

And now he will be lacing up for the New York Knicks, one of the many teams in the East that has gotten better while the Bobcats have gotten worse.

Charlotte will have to go out and make a big move to acquire a real point guard if they hope to make the playoffs again this year.

Or they will have to hope that D.J. Augustin and Shaun Livingston will at least equal Raymond Felton's production next season.

2. The Phoenix Suns

2009-2010 Record: 54-28

Reason they are on the list: no proven scoring inside

As much as I think Amar'e was a product of Steve Nash, the Phoenix Suns lost a HUGE presence down low this offseason.

In order to replace him, they signed Hakim Warrick and traded for Hedo Turkoglu and Josh Childress.

Not to mention they traded the speedy Leandro Barbosa to the Raptors in the deal that brought them Hedo over.

Oh, and let me remind you that Steve Nash is 36, and turning 37 years old this upcoming season.

And the Suns intend on having a combination of Channing Frye and Hakim Warrick to replace Amar'e's production next season.

Needless to say, things aren't looking good for the Suns next season.

They are competing in the most difficult conference in the league, and going to battle with band-aids covering up their offseason losses.

Once the stickiness of those band-aids wears off, the Suns will be exposed as a team with no scoring options and could find themselves on the outside looking in on the playoffs.

1. Cleveland Cavaliers

2009-2010 Record: 61-21

Reason they are on this list: the end of an era

The Cleveland Cavaliers are coming off a disappointed two seasons in which they won 60 games each year and failed to make the NBA Finals.

Oh and this guy, you may have heard of him, LeBron James, decided to "take his talents to South Beach" this offseason.

Now instead of having a guy who draws double teams and averages 29-7-7 each night, the Cavaliers will have a patchwork quilt starting at their small forward position.

Oh and let's not forget both of their starting centers will not be returning, and their roster is filled with complimentary players for a superstar.

Times are a changing in the NBA, and the poster child for change is the Cleveland Cavaliers.

In the past, the organization has gone out and made moves in order to bolster its roster for a championship run, and now they are rebuilding.

That signal came this week when the Cavaliers traded Delonte West and Sebastian Telfair to Minnesota for Ramon Sessions and Ryan Hollins.

Sessions is a young, distributing point guard with huge upside, and Hollins is a seven footer coming off his best season in the NBA.

The Cavaliers have also been reported to be actively shopping Mo Williams and Antawn Jamison to the highest bidder, and have already named the young and super talented J.J. Hickson as the team's starting power forward.

The one positive is that the team has veteran coach Byron Scott at the helm now, and he has been in a rebuilding situation with great success twice before.

The Cavaliers may have lost the ultimate superstar, but they just may find the concept of team basketball in the process.

I don't expect much out of the Cavaliers this season, but I don't expect them to fall completely out of the playoffs because they do play in the East.

Look for them to fight for the seventh/eighth seed this season, but a drop of 20 wins this season lands them on the top of my list.