How Each NBA Playoff Team Can Make the Conference Finals Next Season

The 2012 NBA Playoffs have whittled themselves down to the final four teams, and with each of the conference finals locked at a team up two wins to none, we could be down to two teams before we know it.

The San Antonio Spurs are looking like one of the best teams in playoff history, having now won 20 games in a row and their first 10 in the playoffs, just one off the record by the 2001 Lakers.

Meanwhile, the Miami Heat are coasting through the Eastern Conference, throwing their banged-up team up against the banged-up teams of the East, now taking down the Boston Celtics bit by bit.

So, with that in mind, let's examine what each team that made the playoffs can do to make it to the conference finals next season.

Chicago Bulls

The only real important free agents the Bulls need to re-sign are Omer Asik and Brian Scalabrine; otherwise, they can sit on their team and be relatively happy.

Now, I know the cool idea going around is to amnesty Carlos Boozer or somehow swap him for anything, but they can get by with him on their squad for another season, and they might need him with Derrick Rose being out as long as he could be.

They'll need to add a veteran point guard with their exception, possibly someone like Andre Miller or Chauncey Billups. Beyond that, all they need to do is hope and pray for Rose to get healthy for the playoffs. If he does, then they'll have a good shot at making the Eastern Conference Finals.

San Antonio Spurs

What do the Spurs need to do, you might ask, to get back to this point next season? Spend their money wisely. Which basically means all they need to do is be the Spurs.

The scary thing about San Antonio is that they only really need to re-sign Tim Duncan, who should come back at a cheaper price, Dejuan Blair, who'll make just over a million bucks, Danny Green, who is equally cheap, Gary Neal (ditto) and possibly Boris Diaw (double ditto).

That means San Antonio will probably have a good chance at having their full mid-level exception to use on a free agent of their choice, possibly bringing in someone like Ray Allen, Jason Terry or Carl Landry.

Miami Heat

Really, it seems like all Miami needs to do is have LeBron James and Dwyane Wade and they'll have a pretty good shot at making the conference finals again next season.

They'll add Chris Bosh to their roster again at some point, which can only be a boost to their team. Other than that, they'll only have money for their draftees, veteran free agents and the mini mid-level exception.

Their team won't look too different next season, barring a trade, but they should make it back to the conference finals.

Oklahoma City Thunder

There aren't any expiring contracts that Oklahoma City needs to worry about when it comes to re-signing guys, so they shouldn't worry too much on that front.

Likewise, they shouldn't look to blow too much money in free agency, so they can attempt to keep both James Harden and Serge Ibaka on their team going into the future, but they can splurge on one-season contracts.

Giving a few million bucks to a big man who can score (like Antawn Jamison or Kris Humphries), which seems to be the one thing they lack late in games, might not be a bad idea, but all they really need to do is get their team to click even better and they'll be back next season.

Indiana Pacers

The biggest question facing the Pacers going into this offseason is how much money they'll be giving to Roy Hibbert. I say give him whatever he wants. He's a special talent and he's only going to get better, especially being friends with Tim Duncan.

The only free agent Indiana really needs to re-sign is George Hill. Aside from that, they should have quite a bit of money to spend.

They can throw some money at restricted free agents like O.J. Mayo, Eric Gordon or Brook Lopez, but they'll likely end up going back to their original teams. Indiana can instead elect to go after a great veteran guy like Kevin Garnett or Ray Allen.

Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers need to move someone if they want to make it to the conference finals next season. It's as simple as that. They have too many holes in their lineup to make it any farther than the second round again without a whole lot of luck.

Andrew Bynum for Dwight Howard would be an interesting choice, but the best option would probably be sending Pau Gasol away for multiple pieces.

Houston and Minnesota have been popular rumored destinations for Gasol over the past few months, and either team could offer decent packages.

The Lakers could probably end up with Luis Scola or Kevin Martin, and get Chase Budinger, Goran Dragic or a few draft picks. From Minnesota, Michael Beasley would definitely be coming their way along with one of their wing scorers and a draft pick or two.

Boston Celtics

The notion that the Boston Celtics are making their last run with their current squad isn't necessarily true, and probably shouldn't be their mindset moving forward.

Sure, they should probably let go of Ray Allen unless they can get him for an extremely reduced price, but I can see them getting Garnett to come back for a few years at $8-10 million a season. After picking him up, giving Brandon Bass his option and locking up guys like Jeff Green and Mickael Pietrus, the Celtics suddenly have millions to spend.

They can build depth with smart free agents like Grant Hill, Delonte West, Jason Terry, Marco Bellineli, Chris Kaman, Gerald Wallace or DeShawn Stevenson.

This team isn't done, and they can easily get back to this point again next season.

Memphis Grizzlies

The Memphis Grizzlies don't need much, they just need to find their team's identity. Okay, that's a lot of work I suppose.

They'll need to pay O.J. Mayo, who has become a really good sixth man for them, and then decide between Marreese Speights and Darrell Arthur. They can pay both of them to do the same job, at which point they'll need to work out this Rudy Gay-Zach Randolph situation.

If they can start Speights and convince Randolph to come off the bench, then they'll have an amazing Randolph-Mayo combination that no other team could deal with. That right there could make them conference finals threats alone.

Atlanta Hawks

The Atlanta Hawks are going to have to make the most drastic moves if they want to make it to the conference finals next season, and it'll probably destroy their team in the process.

Basically what they need to do is rent Dwight Howard, which means giving up Al Horford and a couple of draft picks (a package of Horford and Joe Johnson would also work).

After trading for Howard, they need to buy out a bunch of veteran free agents who can hit threes, guys like Vlad Radmanovic, Tracy McGrady and Willie Green. Howard would then likely leave the team the following offseason and leave them hanging in a bad way.

They aren't making the conference finals with the squad they have, so they've got to think outside the box if they want a shot in the immediate future.

Los Angeles Clippers

The Clippers have a lot of players they'll have to evaluate going forward, and that should be the big deciding factor on whether or not they can make it to the conference finals next season.

One of the biggest questions will be Nick Young and Randy Foye, both of whom seem set to be backups at their positions. Los Angeles could go ahead and pick them both back up on short-term contracts to see if one develops more than the other.

Otherwise, they should avoid giving too much to their veteran free agents like Chauncey Billups and Kenyon Martin (lest they kill their cap space), but they should pay up for Reggie Evans, who is the biggest reason for their edge.

With their mid-level exception, they really need to find a veteran shooting guard or small forward who can start and give them some experience on the floor. Someone like Grant Hill, Delonte West or DeShawn Stevenson wouldn't be a bad idea.

Orlando Magic

Orlando is going to need a miracle to keep Dwight Howard. That being said, they could still get a very good package for him, but that wouldn't get them into the conference finals.

Keeping Howard would make them a good team yet again, but with them needing to re-sign Ryan Anderson, they don't have any wiggle room when it comes to available money. They'll need to hope that another round of veteran free agents and possibly a good defender with their mid-level will get them to that point.

Denver Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets are probably the most exciting young team in the league that has a shot at being very good in the near future.

Ty Lawson is developing into a borderline All-Star, JaVale McGee is looking like he has a brain with a good coach at the helm and the rest of their team just fits well together.

Now, what they'll need to do is get Wilson Chandler to come back, which gets them to at least the second round of the playoffs. From there they can go with signing a few good players or go after a veteran leader like Kevin Garnett, who'll add a little toughness to their youth and speed.

That team we saw last season with Kevin Garnett jogging alongside them will be damn dangerous.

New York Knicks

The New York Knicks need health above anything else to make it to the conference finals next season, because this is a pretty good team the way it is.

Jeremy Lin running the point gives them a good pick-and-roll combo, and using Carmelo Anthony as a bail-out with 10 seconds or so to go on the shot clock brings the hype.

An Amar'e Stoudemire without a huge gash in his hand and a Iman Shumpert without a busted knee also wouldn't hurt.

Other than that, they'll need a big man to give them some depth, a role that could be filled with Emeka Okafor, who could end up anesthetized by the Hornets after they draft Anthony Davis.

All they really need to do is become a team. This is a dangerous bunch of guys only a few pieces away from a conference final. That is, if Linsanity revives itself.

Dallas Mavericks

The Dallas Mavericks' entire future relies on what Deron Williams decides in the offseason.

If they're able to grab the Nets' star facilitator, they're already a lot better than they were last season.

Other than that, they should probably try to re-sign Jason Terry and Delonte West along with Ian Mahinmi, who was really coming into his own near the end of the season.

At the end of the day, however, they're going to go as far as their duo of centers takes them. With a little bit of luck, this team could be in the conference finals next season.

Philadelphia 76ers

Philadelphia showed everyone that any eighth seed can make waves with a few bounces going their way. That being said, Philadelphia has themselves a really interesting team.

Andre Iguodala suddenly looks like a clutch player, Evan Turner looks like he's developing well and their guard play is just tremendous at times, at least when they can score.

How is this for an option? Elton Brand is going to make $18 million next season. Why not amnesty him and make a run at Kevin Garnett to improve their frontcourt in one fell swoop? (Can you tell I'm a big fan of Garnett this offseason?)

That gives them even more money to spend on free agents, and another shooter on their team like Anthony Parker or Willie Green couldn't hurt along with a big man who can score off the bench like Chris Kaman.

Utah Jazz

The Utah Jazz are going to be a tough team to get into the conference finals, even as good as they were last season.

It seems that they'll really need to get a legitimate point guard, trading one or both of their older big men in the process.

Jefferson is also a likely trade candidate, but Paul Millsap is probably going to stay for the time being. They need to find a way to turn Jefferson into another young player for their future.

Otherwise, they have the money to make a run at Steve Nash, which is probably the only free agent move that automatically makes them 5-10 wins better, but Nash and whatever Jefferson brings would probably make them threats for the conference finals.

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