NBA Power Rankings 2011: Starter from Each Team in Danger of His Losing Position

The NBA is currently a league in flux with the lockout making the future more uncertain than ever, especially for players in the league that are hangers-on, aging veterans and marginal players.

Some of these players have been squeaking by in the league and, in some cases have even been staying on teams as starters.

With the salary cap likely coming down or hardening, teams will turn away from signing pricey veterans and look toward staffing their teams with younger, cheaper players.

Some teams have many players that could get supplanted in the coming year, removed from their starting job or could even be on the way out of the league.

However, there are some teams that are very well staffed right now, and should be perfectly fine with their starting lineups, but could still do some tinkering if there are players on the bench that start to step up during the season.

I've gone through the league and found a player that should, could or might lose his starting job sometime in the 2011-12 upcoming season.

Atlanta Hawks, Kirk Hinrich

The Atlanta Hawks tried to upgrade at the point guard spot at the trade deadline, swapping Mike Bibby's corpse and some table scraps and prospects for Kirk Hinrich, but what did that really get them?

Hinrich did fine in the regular season, but in the first round of the playoffs he didn't look great, and when they swapped him for Jeff Teague in the second round, Teague outperformed him in almost every sense.

Teague's rise to the starting five has been a long time coming, and it should be helpful to the Hawks in the long run.

Boston Celtics, Jermaine O'Neal

There are four spots in the Celtics lineup that are pretty much set in stone as long as an injury or something unforeseen doesn't happens.

Rajon Rondo is going to be their point guard, Ray Allen their shooting guard, Paul Pierce their small forward and Kevin Garnett their power forward—that just leaves their center position.

Jermaine O'Neal did fine for them when he was healthy, and he was certainly better than Nenad Krstic, but if there is anybody on that team in danger of losing his position, it's whoever they trot out there at center on Opening Day, which seems to be O'Neal at the moment.

Charlotte Bobcats, Center Committee

My first thought was that D.J. Augustin was in trouble with Kemba Walker coming in, and he may have his hands full keeping his spot, but his job is safer than whoever they start at center.

Charlotte started Kwame Brown, Nazr Mohammed, Joel Przybilla and god knows who else in the 5 spot.

This year there is a new long-armed, raw player coming to town with whom Michael Jordan has fallen in love with in Bismack Biyombo.  As long as his buyout goes through, Jordan could be pushing to have him on the floor as quickly as possible.

Chicago Bulls, Carlos Boozer

Carlos Boozer has been a large disappointment for the Chicago Bulls thus far, and he could turn it around yet, but right now he is starting to fall out of favor with the Bulls.

Boozer is getting paid $13.5 million next year, so losing his starting role seems unlikely, but by the time the playoffs roll around, if they need added toughness, Taj Gibson could be the guy for the Bulls to turn to.

Cleveland Cavaliers, Baron Davis/Ramon Sessions

Last season Baron Davis, Ramon Sessions, Mo Williams and Boobie Gibson start at point guard with Sessions finishing the season up in the starting role.

With Kyrie Irving coming in this year as the No. 1 pick, fans and Dan Gilbert alike will be clamoring for Irving to start, and you would be hard-pressed to keep him off the court.

Dallas Mavericks, DeShawn Stevenson

DeShawn Stevenson was an amazing defensive presence for the Dallas Mavericks this year, but when it came down to it in the playoffs, they opted to bring him off the bench.

Stevenson is a good player, but they have Jason Terry behind him who could come in and be a threat to score 20 points on any given night, plus they have the option of starting J.J. Barea (if they re-sign him) and Jason Kidd at 1 and 2 to play a small matchup against the opposition.

Denver Nuggets, Ty Lawson

Ty Lawson got the starting role from Chauncey Billups when he was shipped with Carmelo Anthony to New York, and he did a good job for the time he had.

Lawson had the starting role well in hand until the Nuggets traded away Raymond Felton for Andre Miller, who was once a mainstay in Denver, but ended up leaving on sour terms with George Karl.

Miller is back now, and with him comes some veteran leadership and natural point guard skills, which could mean he slides into the starting role.

Detroit Pistons, Rodney Stuckey

Brandon Knight is on his way into Detroit and is looking to crash the point guard party that is going on in the Pistons training camp.

Detroit has Rodney Stuckey and Will Bynum jockeying for the starting position, and Brandon Knight should step right in and go toe to toe for the starting job.

Golden State Warriors, Monta Ellis

The Golden State Warriors are starting to look elsewhere with the direction of their team, which is likely going to mean shipping Monta Ellis away.

Every other position has Golden State starting a young up-and-comer, and it will likely want to see what Klay Thompson can do after trading away Ellis.

Houston Rockets, Chuck Hayes

Chuck Hayes has done an admirable job with the Rockets in the past season, and was actually one of the most impressive players in the NBA this year, standing a mere 6'6" and playing center against guys a full six inches taller than him.

He has done a great job, but it seems to me that the Rockets are going to be able to re-sign Yao Ming, who should initially take back the starting role, at least until his feet explode or his shins crumble.

Indiana Pacers, Tyler Hansbrough

Tyler Hansbrough plays with all the heart and hustle that I love in an NBA player, but if some stat heads get ahold of the Pacers starting lineup they may swap him out.

Josh McRoberts got 51 starts last season, but was supplanted by Hansbrough at the end of the season in favor of a more fast-paced, intense style of play.

However, McRoberts was a part of the most efficient lineup for the Pacers (Collison, Dunleavy, Gragner, McRoberts, Hibbert), which could make some people rethink his benching.

Los Angeles Clippers, Ryan Gomes

Jamario Moon took over the starting small forward role when he was traded with Mo Williams to the Clippers, but his contract has run out, and he will likely not be re-signed, so that leaves Ryan Gomes with the starting role.

Neither Ryan Gomes nor Al-Farouq Aminu is a particularly good option at the 3, but Aminu could overtake Gomes in training camp, or a free agent could come in and take the spot easily.

Los Angeles Lakers, Ron Artest

There seems to be a total shakeup coming for the Lakers at some point in the coming season, and one of the casualties could be Ron Artest.

Mike Brown is a defensive coach first and foremost, so he should be in love with Artest initially, but he had a terrible year last year by his standards and if that continues then he could be relegated to the bench.

The Lakers started Lamar Odom at the 3 in their third game against the Mavericks, and they have Matt Barnes waiting in the wings to give it a shot.

Memphis Grizzlies, Rudy Gay

The only way Rudy Gay loses his starting spot this season is if the Memphis Grizzlies end up trading him away, which isn't an impossible situation.

Memphis has its starting lineup set with Mike Conley, Tony Allen, Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol, and it is likely going nowhere, so the guy with the biggest chance of losing his spot is Gay, who could potentially be traded.

Miami Heat, Mike Bibby

We have talked about it all year long; the Heat have no center and they have no point guard.

Right now they have a center by committee, and there isn't anyone on the market that would be cheap enough for them to get and at the same time be much of an improvement, so they may be stuck with the talent level they currently have.

However, they have a guy on the bench at point guard that could end up being a good player in Mario Chalmers. He's gunning for Bibby's spot, and with the way that Bibby played, there's a good chance that he will get it.

Milwaukee Bucks, Carlos Delfino

The Bucks rolled the dice a bit with Carlos Delfino starting at small forward for them these past two years, and for the most part it paid off.

Delfino posted career highs in points per game and steals per game, while taking a bit of a hit in most of the other statistical categories, but was still an impressive player overall in the past season.

However, with the acquisition of Steven Jackson it is hard to see him keeping the role as the starting small forward for any amount of time really.

He could, however, move a spot down and play shooting guard as the only other option they have there after trading John Salmons is Chris Douglas-Roberts.

Minnesota Timberwolves, Luke Ridnour

Sorry, Luke, but Johnny Flynn leaving does not mean that the starting point guard spot is yours—it's far from it, in fact.

Ricky Rubio is coming in from Europe and you would be insane to think that David Kahn won't be pressuring whatever poor coach is the next to take over at the helm in Minnesota to start him and play him big minutes.

New Jersey Nets, Travis Outlaw

Travis Outlaw is by far the worst player starting for the New Jersey Nets, and the fact that they overpaid him by about $4 million a year shouldn't be enough to keep him in the starting position all season long.

An average defender who is decent at everything else, Outlaw is really a bench player at heart, and although New Jersey currently doesn't have anyone under contract (his backup, Sasha Vujacic, is a free agent) that is visibly better than him, the Nets may get frustrated and give someone else a chance at some point in the upcoming season.

New Orleans Hornets, Trevor Ariza

Playing for the Lakers got his name out there, as Trevor Ariza looked like an excellent defender and a good shooter in L.A., which is why everyone was up in arms when they let him walk a few years back.

Well, a few years and two teams later and Ariza has fallen off tremendously as a shooter and just doesn't look as terrific on defense as he did with the Lakers.

New Orleans doesn't exactly have anyone lined up to take his spot, with Quincy Pondexter backing him up and Willie Green and Patrick Ewing Jr. capable of playing the position, but if they want to shake things up a bit during a slump, Ariza could see his starting spot start fall on shaky terms.

New York Knicks, Landry Fields

New York nearly had a perfect year in terms of player movement after nearly a decade of ineptitude, but they made Landry Fields untouchable over Danilo Gallinari, a move many have questioned since they traded Gallinari away as a part of the Carmelo Anthony trade.

Fields didn't do very well for the Knicks starting this year, and with Iman Shumpert coming in and Bill Walker actually looking like he could handle playing the 3 over the 2, Fields could be in a bit of trouble.

Oklahoma City Thunder, Thabo Sefolosha

It's likely that the Thunder will do little to nothing in terms of fiddling with their lineup as the season progresses this season, but for the sake of argument, Thabo Sefalosha's position is on the rockiest ground.

James Harden and his beard are waiting in the wings, and with his stellar play throughout the past season, people may start to question his coming off the bench, although I think their team works tremendously well with him as the sixth man.

Orlando Magic, Brandon Bass

After Rashard Lewis and his albatross contract were traded for Gilbert Arenas and his equally ugly deal, there was a vacuum left at power forward for the Orlando Magic, leaving the least exciting position battle in the history of basketball happening between Brandon Bass and Ryan Anderson.

Bass did a decent job in the role, but Anderson could easily do as well, and with nobody waiting in the wings to dethrone Hedo Turkoglu from his small forward spot, I'd say Bass has the most to lose in the upcoming season.

Philadelphia 76ers, Jodie Meeks

For a while it looked as if Evan Turner wasn't going to live up to the standards a No. 2 pick usually lives up to and would be relegated to the bench for the year on the 76ers. However, when they gave him a starting role sporadically throughout they year, he did a decent job with it.

Jodie Meeks was a decent option for them at shooting guard, but Turner was a better rebounder and passer all year, and with the starting role he could become a better shooter and all-around player, something the 76ers would kill to see.

Phoenix Suns, Grant Hill

Grant Hill is an old man and a free agent this summer, so he may not be coming back to Phoenix anyway, but even if he does come back, his position is the shakiest out of all five starters.

Hill did a great job defensively yet again for Phoenix, but the Suns have Jared Dudley playing out of position starting at shooting guard, and he performed well as a small forward last year.

Portland Trail Blazers, Wes Matthews

The Portland Trail Blazers are looking to have yet another interesting and successful season in the coming year, and they hope to stay free from injury if at all possible.

They should have both Brandon Roy and Greg Oden coming back at "full" strength, which means LaMarcus Aldridge should be sliding back to power forward, his natural position, and Brandon Roy could take back his starting role, one that Wes Matthews filled admirably in his absence.

Sacramento Kings, Whoever Wanted to Play Point Guard

Sacramento filled its point guard spot with Beno Udrih for the most part of last season, but sprinkled in some Luther Head, Marcus Thornton and Pooh Jeter for good measure.

Now, the only player the Kings have listed on their roster as a point guard after the three-team deal that sent Udrih away is Jeter. Sorry for my pessimism, but I just don't see him grabbing the job in camp this year.

The Jimmer Train is about to roll into Sacramento, and it's likely that they give him the keys to the car when he gets there.

San Antonio Spurs, Richard Jefferson

Trading for Richard Jefferson is probably the only move I can remember that didn't go very well for the Spurs. Even though they only gave up an all-but-retired Bruce Bowen and Fabricio Oberto along with Kurt Thomas, Jefferson just hasn't lived up to his old play.

Now San Antonio has a young hotshot coming in with Kawhi Leonard, a guy who everybody said was NBA ready, plus they have Danny Green and Da'Sean Butler who would like to throw their hats into the ring as well.

Toronto Raptors, James Johnson

James Johnson took over the starting small forward role for the Toronto Raptors after they traded the Bulls to acquire him, but he isn't producing numbers large enough for his spot to be safe.

Toronto has Sonny Weems, Julina Wright and Linas Kleiza lined up behind him, none of whom would do terrible with the starting job.

Utah Jazz, Raja Bell

Once a decent guard admired for his toughness, Raja Bell is now one of the worst players still with a starting role in the NBA. Bell started 63 of the 68 games he played in last season, and that could be the last of his cracking the top five in his career.

Utah has a fan favorite behind him in Gordon Hayward, who I don't think would do a whole lot better, but at least the Jazz would be giving minutes to a young player, and not some old guy who the Heat will offer a veteran minimum contract to when he is a free agent.

Washington Wizards, the Small Forward Committee

Much like in Sacramento with the point guard position, a rookie could come in and throw his hat into the ring right away for a starting role.

Washington drafted Jan Vesely who is listed as a small forward and would play as an enormous 3 if he does indeed play there, which I expect to happen.

Maurice Evans, Josh Howard and Larry Owens are listed as small forwards on the Wizards, and I don't think they could put all their basketball talents together and keep Vesely from at least sniffing the starting role.