6 NBA Teams That Need to Blow Up Their Rosters After the 2012 Season

At the end of the playoffs, it will be abundantly clear which teams' experiments are working and which have failed. Even halfway through this NBA season, it is clear enough which NBA franchises need to give up and start over. 

This slideshow is dedicated to those teams that need help. The best thing they can do is clean house and start all over. Trades, free agents, drafts...you name it. 

Just like Portland this year, the following teams need to follow suit...

Orlando Magic

Orlando is a team being held hostage by a primma donna/superstar player who wants everything to go his way. Dwight Howard has been at the head of a media circus ever since the season began and it doesn't seem to be letting up soon. 

It won't end next year either, especially now that Dwight picked up his option. A long term future for Dwight seems unlikely unless Orlando cleans house. The roster and front office both need to be gutted.

The only pieces Orlando should try hard to hang on to are Ryan Andersen and JJ Redick as both players are showing tremendous consistency this year. Everyone else needs to be shipped out. 

In the end, I believe Dwight will find himself in a big market just like every other superstar, whether it be New York, New Jersey, Dallas, or Los Angeles, Dwight seems to have already made up his mind and plans on humoring Orlando for the rest of this year and next. 

Do yourself a favor, Orlando, and trade him before he spurns you. 

Boston Celtics

After this year, I believe the title window for this version of the Boston Celtics will have closed. Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce are well past their primes and will continue their gradual decline into role players. 

Danny Ainge senses this and has been making many of the players on the roster available. He has yet to pull the trigger on anything, but we all know he's not nervous to make any blockbuster deals. No player on this team should feel safe, except for maybe Paul Pierce.

In the end, I believe Boston will build this team around Rajon Rondo and trade away many of their players for draft picks or up-and-coming players. Boston is a team that won't find itself rebuilding for long. 

Phoenix Suns

Steve Nash spoke publicly about his intention to leave Phoenix if changes aren't made. And Steve isn't the type of guy to make statements like that. Known for his unwavering loyalty to a faltering franchise, Nash deserves to go elsewhere and contend for a title. It's a shame that the team has held on to him for so long during the last years of his career. 

This team is filled with bloated contracts (Josh Childress, Hakim Warrick) and solid role players (Channing Frye and Jared Dudley), with no sure-fire stars (except perhaps Marcin Gortat). The time has come for this organization to take a step back and seriously look at the future. Where do they hope to be in a few years? It doesn't seem they have very many good, long-term pieces outside of Marcin Gortat and Markieff Morris. 

It's time to clean house...before they lose Steve Nash. Unfortunately, it seems the writing is already on the wall. 

Atlanta Hawks

Atlanta has had essentially the same core for the past couple of seasons. And yet they remain in exactly the same spot from year to year—they are a decent team, but not a contender. The Hawks need to face the fact that they will not be able to compete with the likes of Miami and Chicago in the Eastern Conference. Their star player, Josh Smith, has made it clear that he wants to be traded but the team has yet to take his request seriously. 

Obviously, something isn't working in Atlanta and changes need to be made. The roster is full of quality players that many teams would love to have. They could get plenty of value back in a Josh Smith trade and might even be able to pull in some good pieces with Marvin Williams. 

Whatever route they plan to take, this roster needs to be overhauled and built around Al Horford. 

Detroit Pistons

Oh boy, what is going on in Detroit? I sometimes forget the Pistons still exist in the NBA. When you look at their roster, it seems like they should be a fairly decent team. But they really aren't and won't be in until they find some sort of direction.

This is a team caught between the old glory days and rebuilding. While they possess some good pieces in Greg Monroe, Brandon Knight, and Rodney Stuckey, the rest of the roster leaves something to be desired. Ben Gordon is a shadow of himself and Charlie Villanueva just needs to disappear. And Tayshaun Prince remains on the roster as well, for reasons unbeknownst to me. 

A poorly built team in every way, Detroit needs to fix anything and everything while trying to keep Monroe and Knight in town. The future could be bright if the front office was dedicated to building something special...but they don't seem to care.

Sacramento Kings

The Sacramento Kings are a team filled with me-first, selfish players. Demarcus Cousins is a nightly headache, Tyreke Evans should be a lot better than he is, and everyone else just loves to shoot more than pass. 

In reality, the team is a mess. While Marcus Thornton and Isaiah Thomas seem to have decent heads on their shoulders, the rest seem to care only about themselves. Huge deals need to be made in order to keep the great fans in Sacramento happy. 

One of those deals needs to include Jimmer Freddette, who unfortunately found himself drafted to a team where he will not be able to shine. I guarantee they can find good value for him as well as the likes of Jason Thompson, Tyreke Evans, John Salmons, and Terrence Williams. 

But will they make a move? The only crazy thing I've seen Sacramento do is release JJ Hickson only to see him be picked up and dominate in Portland. For shame. 

Don't Fix What Isn't Broke

Since we're on the topic of fixing rosters that aren't going anywhere, I thought I'd highlight a few teams that shouldn't touch the bulk of their rosters. While a few minor moves could be made here and there, these are the teams that are set for a successful future.

Utah Jazz- The Jazz are set for years to come as long as most of their players develop as they should. With a core of Gordon Hayward, Paul Millsap, Derrick Favors, Alec Burks, and Enes Kanter this team could do damage in a few years. If they can trade Big Al for a point guard and get rid of Devin Harris, I smell championships in the future.

Oklahoma City Thunder- It would be ridiculous if they even thought about breaking up the core of this team. They are set for titles for years to come.

Miami Heat- Once they find a solid defensive center who can also get rebounds, Miami will be dangerous. Steve Nash might also be taking his talents to South Beach in the future. 

Indiana Pacers- They are right on the fringe of contention and nothing needs to be changed. If they can somehow pull in Eric Gordon next year, this team will be set for years.

Chicago Bulls- I've said before that they should pull off a trade for Josh Smith, but even without that the Bulls should be set for years. The only weak link in that roster is Carlos Boozer.