Which NBA Teams Will Be the Most Exciting to Watch in 2012-13?

With the free agency period drawing to a close and the 2012-13 NBA schedule being released last week, the fervor for next season is almost uncontrollable.

The Miami Heat come into next season as the defending NBA champions, after defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder in five games and have vastly improved their roster this offseason.

Also working the offseason transaction circuit is the Los Angeles Lakers, who brought in point guard Steve Nash in a shocking sign-and-trade with the Phoenix Suns.

Both the Lakers and Heat are high-profile teams that should be among the NBA's most exciting. Who are the rest of the league's most exciting teams for 2012-13? Follow along to find out. 

Houston Rockets

The intrigue with the Houston Rockets for the 2012-13 season comes down to one word: Linsanity.

If newly minted $25 million man Jeremy Lin can live up to the hype of his 26-game Cinderella run as a Knicks starter, then Houston could become one of the NBA's most exciting young teams.

The Rockets have a cavalcade of young talent who can run Lin's preferred uptempo system and chances are one of them is a future star.

But if the clock strikes midnight and Lin turns into a pumpkin, the Rockets could quickly become one of the league's biggest train wrecks. Houston has no backup plan to speak of at point guard, and most pundits have already chalked up center Omer Asik's contract as a sunk cost.

Either way, the world should be on the edge of their seat watching.

Brooklyn Nets

"HELLO Brooklyn, how ya doin'?"

Even if the Nets aren't technically an expansion franchise, the intrigue with the team's move to Brooklyn eclipses any new team in recent memory.

Adding Joe Johnson to the core of Deron Williams, Gerald Wallace and Brook Lopez, the Nets instantly vaulted themselves into top-tier Eastern Conference contention.

If the product on court matches the excitement around the team and its paper talent, Brooklyn has the opportunity to capture the youth in New York City.

But either way, Jay-Z is still an owner. And that's probably the greatest thing in the history of everdom.

Oklahoma City Thunder

Shooting guard James Harden and power forward Serge Ibaka are restricted free agents after next season and the Thunder cannot afford to keep both without paying gobs of luxury tax money.

So barring some beyond unforeseen circumstance, the 2012-13 NBA season will be the last for Oklahoma City's core four youngsters.

Regardless, the four Olympians will likely do everything in their power to make sure this last season is a memorable one. Star Kevin Durant has established himself as Team USA's leading scorer in London and seems motivated by the team's NBA Finals loss.

And considering how rare it is to see four young guys with this much talent in today's NBA, we need to appreciate this roster before it's gone.

San Antonio Spurs

At their apex last season, the Spurs played the most beautiful team basketball since the Showtime Lakers.

The players' unbelievable passing prowess turned D-Leaguers into valuable role players, made Tony Parker an MVP candidate and undoubtedly extended star Tim Duncan's career.

The Euro-influenced system brought the Spurs, once the NBA's most "boring" team, to the forefront of most fans' League Pass schedules.

The 2012-13 Spurs should be even better.

Next season, San Antonio brings over Tony Parker and Boris Diaw's French national teammate Nando de Colo. De Colo will backup Parker and revive the role lost when the team traded George Hill to the Indiana Pacers.

That can only serve to help the Spurs as they look to atone for their collapse in the Western Conference Finals against the Thunder.

Los Angeles Lakers

Can Steve Nash and Kobe Bryant, two players who have thrived on ball dominance throughout their 16-year careers, coexist on the same roster?

Can Nash adjust to the Princeton offense, an offense based on screens and ball movement which all but negates the traditional point guard role?

Will Andrew Bynum come into the season bitter about being fodder on the constant Dwight Howard trade rumor mill?

In L.A., the personal storylines are often as riveting as the on-court play and next season will be no different.

If the stars can co-exist and run the Princeton offense to perfection, there will be no more talented team in the Western Conference. Nash gives Bryant the All-Star point guard they never had, Pau Gasol is a perfect fit for the Princeton and Bynum is the second-best big man in the league.

But luckily for us, the flipside could be just as fun.

Los Angeles Clippers

If Blake Griffin can make a complete recovery from the torn meniscus that ended his Olympic dream, then Lob City 2.0 could be something special.

Point guard Chris Paul returns for his second season in L.A. with his first chance at a full training camp with the team and in a contract year.

That can only mean good things for the Clippers.

The team also brought in what should be motivated versions of forward Lamar Odom and guard Jamal Crawford, both coming off terrible 2011-12 campaigns.

If everyone performs up to potential, the Clips could ascend to Western Conference greatness. If not, Paul could be headed to greener pastures via free agency next summer.

It's one hell of a year to be a L.A. basketball fan, isn't it?

Miami Heat

The NBA champion Miami Heat have an honorary spot on this list until LeBron James and Dwyane Wade stop connecting on jaw-dropping alley oops.

And that train ain't stopping next season.

The Heat adds Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis to the league's most talented roster and will be the most interesting defending champion since the Shaqobe Lakers.

If Miami roars into next season and repeats as NBA champions, then all of the visceral hatred would be worth it. They would prove all of James, Wade and Chris Bosh's 2010 bluster was correct, that they re-wrote NBA history and created a dynasty overnight.