2011 NBA Free Agency: What Each Western Conference Playoff Team Should Add
The NBA playoffs have gotten off to a good start.
Chicago and Miami have looked the best so far. LA and San Antonio got off to rocky starts, but have recovered. Boston and Oklahoma City have taken care of business. Dallas and Atlanta look to have the upper-hands in their series but it could go either way.
For many teams, they have an obvious need to fill before they can really truly compete. Even the really good teams like Miami and Chicago are not perfect and could use some different parts.
Here is a look at what each Western Conference playoff team should look to add this summer in order to make the playoffs again or to become or remain contenders.
Read about the Eastern Conference here.
San Antonio: Youth and Depth
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The Spurs had a great regular season this year. The question is whether their core has enough left to continue contending for a championship.
A lot of their growth will come from within, as they begin handing more responsibility to George Hill, DeJaun Blair and Tiago Splitter.
They have a lot of advantages, but athleticism is not one of them. They should look to add an athletic wing and/or post player in the offseason.
San Antonio has a great history of finding gems late in the draft, so they may not need to look any further than that.
Their cap-space will be limited. This may be one of the few teams that could calm JR Smith down. In the end, they will probably get another talent in the draft, and add a couple of minimum-scale guys to complement their roster.
Los Angeles: Frontcourt Depth
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The Lakers are an elite team, no doubt about it. But they don't have the deepest front line.
Lamar Odom is probably the best sub in basketball by a long shot, but behind him, there is no real depth in the Laker frontcourt.
Ron Artest and Matt Barnes can hold down the three position decently, but Artest is a nut-case and unpredictable and Barnes is a nut-case and suffered through injuries this year.
They should look to add a couple guys to preserve Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant's legs. Also, to insure against Andrew Bynum's oft-injured knees and Artest and Barnes' shenanigans.
There are a variety of veterans who would be willing to take a low salary for a chance to win a championship with the Lakers. LA should take advantage of that if they want to extend their shelf-life.
Dallas: Youth, a Starting Wing Player, and Their Own Guys Back
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The Mavericks have been a study in team play as they have Dirk Nowitzki and then a variety of role players after him.
Dirk is one of the top five players of his generation, having led his team to a winning season year-after-year despite never really having another star play with him.
The first order of business will be re-signing center Tyson Chandler, who has been very important to their success this season. They should also look to re-sign injured Caron Butler, who was Dirk's most legit second option in a long time and J.J Barea, Kevin McHale's best little buddy.
If they could find someone who could play well on both ends to start at the shooting guard position, that would be huge. Likely as not, they will continue on with their small two-guards for the time being.
If they could find some young talent, that would also be big. They are currently one of the oldest teams in the league. It will be interesting to see if Roddy Beaubois can turn into anything special.
Oklahoma City: Another Year of Experience, Westbrook Extension
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The Thunder already have one of the most talented starting lineups in the league. Not only that, but they have five guys who can play well off the bench.
They need to sign Russell Westbrook to an extension, probably for max money. After that, they can look at whether to re-sign role players Nazr Mohammed and Daequan Cook.
The big question for the Thunder will be whether they can keep their team together as they continue to hit free agency.
They don't really need to add anything this offseason. If so, maybe one more big veteran, or someone who can play lock-down perimeter defense AND score.
Denver Nuggets: Direction
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The Nuggets have a plethora of talent on their team after the Carmelo deal, as well as cap-space. They do not have one star player though.
The first priority should be their own players. Rotation players Wilson Chandler, Arron Afflalo, JR Smith, Kenyon Martin, and potentially Nene will be up for new contracts.
Chandler and Afflalo will be restricted free agents, they should be kept at all cost. They will probably part ways with Smith and possibly Martin. Nene will probably be re-signed, but nothing is sure.
A starting power forward forward for the future would be nice, as Al Harrington probably isn't the answer. Maybe they could make a run at Carl Landry, Kris Humphries, or another big man.
It will be interesting to see whether they decide to stick to two point guards, Raymond Felton and Ty Lawson, next year.
Portland: Size, Depth, and Shooting
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The Blazers bench has been terrible in the playoffs, which has really hurt them. A lot of their current lack of depth is because of injuries, and that is a huge problem.
Another problem is size. Aside from LaMarcus Aldridge, Marcus Camby is the only big man in the rotation. When either of those guys sits, they have to play small.
The biggest question for Portland this offseason will be Greg Oden. A restricted free agent, Oden and Portland will have to come to terms on a new contract. I don't think the Blazers can give up on him yet with all the talent he still possesses.
A few areas that will still need to be addressed will be consistent shooting, big-man depth and a backup/replacement point guard for Andre Miller.
There are several sharpshooters in the market next year, Portland may be wise to look at adding one. They will probably have to look at trades for a point guard, as there are few in free agency.
They should get at least one more big man. There are a lot of options for bigs who can give you 10-15 minutes a night. Troy Murphy could be a good option, as he has size and can shoot the ball. Reggie Evans and Nenad Kristic are a couple more of the several options.
New Orleans: Depth and Stability
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The elephant in the room for the Hornets is, of course, Chris Paul. He can become a free agent in 2012. His status should be resolved if possible, maybe a trade or extension.
David West, their second option, was looking at a big contract but a severe late season injury may have put that on hold. He may sign for one year and look to enter free agency the next year, or someone could take a risk and sign him long-term.
Carl Landry heads a list of role players that have expiring contracts. He will be in high demand and it may be tough to get him back.
Marco Bellinelli, Jason Smith, and Willie Green will also be free agents.
After re-signing their guys, the Hornets could still use some depth in the post and at the wings.
Memphis: Marc Gasol and Additional Depth
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Now that three of their important players, Rudy Gay, Mike Conley, and Zach Randolph, have been extended, the big task will be getting Marc Gasol back.
Any team with salary cap space will be interested, and Gasol should be able to command over $10 million a year. If they want to keep making the playoffs, they'll need to bring him back.
They have great depth on the wings now, with Gay, Tony Allen, Sam Young, and OJ Mayo there. They should try and bring back Shane Battier as well.
Their backup point guard situation hasn't been good, they may look for player development rather than acquisition to improve there though. Memphis should try and sign one more backup big man to round out their lineup.
