NBA Lockout: 10 Teams Who Have the Most to Gain

While many players are heading overseas in order to soften the financial blow of the lockout, there are actually some of them like Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett and many of the older players who would benefit from a shorter season.

Of course there are also younger teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder who may not benefit directly from the lockout but will not lose nearly as much as other small-market teams like the Minnesota Timberwolves or Sacramento Kings will.

Someone like Duncan or Garnett who have a lot of mileage on their bodies, will be able to play longer minutes, while also preserving their bodies for the playoffs should their be a shortened season. 

With teams like the Boston Celtics and San Antonio Spurs being able to rest their aging players in preparation for the playoffs, we could see the 2012 NBA Finals featuring a couple of the oldest teams in the league.

It's also entirely possible that the young teams come back even more energized than their veteran counterparts and they usher us into a new era of basketball with a new young team coming out on top.

Regardless of which team is crowned king in 2012, it's going to be fun to watch the best in the business battle for the crown. 

10. Oklahoma City Thunder

The Oklahoma City Thunder have been anointed by many as the next potential dynasty in the NBA. With young players like Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, Serge Ibaka and James Harden, it's easy to see why people would choose this team to carry the torch as the next lethal NBA team.

While the Thunder do not benefit directly, they will benefit indirectly through Kevin Durant's proactive approach towards the lockout.

Instead of using this a time to pout and wait for the season to start up again, he has been seen at all of the hottest streetball spots and even played games in China. He's not doing it quietly either.

At Pro City, he dropped 41 points, at Rucker Park, 66 points and threw down an earth-shattering tomahawk jam on Michael Beasley at Dyckman Park. He also featured himself at a game in Manila, China with Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, Derrick Rose and several other NBA notables.

All of that face-time in some of the hottest basketball spots in the world for Durant is extremely positive press for the Oklahoma City Thunder, not to mention the NBA as whole.

9. Chicago Bulls

While Derrick Rose has been extremely durable, only missing five games during his three years in the NBA, the Chicago Bulls big men haven't been so lucky.

Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer played 48 and 59 games respectively. Considering the fact that the Bulls only other source of offense outside of Rose, was the underrated Luol Deng and Taj Gibson, you could see how missing the aforementioned big men would cause a problem for them.

Noah has quickly become one of the best rebounders and fiercest defenders in the NBA, and Boozer has been a nightly double-double threat for years now.

While the Bulls still have yet to acquire the scoring shooting guard they clearly need, having Boozer and Noah healthy for a majority of the season still makes them a legitimate contender for an NBA championship.

8. Phoenix Suns

While the Phoenix Suns team is fairly young, save Nash and Grant Hill, the whole team's success really depends on Nash's health.

While Nash hasn't missed more than 10 games in a season since the year 2000, he is going into his sixteenth NBA season and it's no secret that he has had lingering back issues for quite some time now.

A shortened season means Nash can preserve his body to give the Suns one last run at a championship before he becomes a free agent in 2012.

If he is lucky enough to escape the "Valley of the Sun" and sign on with a contender in 2012, I expect him to win his first NBA championship and retire on top.

7. Los Angeles Lakers

With all of the injuries that Andrew Bynum has had, giving him a prolonged lockout would only help give him substantial recovery time, allowing him to come back completely healthy and making the Los Angeles Lakers a more formidable team in the playoffs.

As far as Kobe Bryant is concerned, he actually gains and loses from a lockout that steals half the season. While he always seems to play through injuries, it would give him a chance to come back recovered, which is good for the Lakers.

However, Bryant has been and always will be obsessed with winning and being the best. Taking that into consideration, he already missed games during the 1998-1999 lockout and can't afford to miss anymore as far as his legacy is concerned.

If he plans on hurdling over Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the NBA's all-time scoring list, he'll be praying for the lockout to end as soon as possible.

6. Los Angeles Clippers

Although the Los Angeles Clippers have yet to make the playoffs, it's only a matter of time. With the most exciting player in the game in Blake Griffin, along with the most underrated shooting guard in the NBA in Eric Gordon and gargantuan big man DeAndre Jordan, the Clippers are poised for greatness.

The Oklahoma City Thunder and Clippers are likely to be matching up in the Western Conference Finals for years to come after the Clippers learn to play more consistently, which is sure to happen with the Los Angeles Blakers (sorry I couldn't help myself) doing their best impersonation of the "Showtime" Lakers.

While they don't have anyone like Magic Johnson to ignite the fast break, having two of the most athletic frontcourt men in the NBA to run the floor and catch alley-oops is sure to make Mo Williams' and Eric Bledsoe's job at the point guard position a whole lot easier.

5. Portland Trail Blazers

With Brandon Roy at the point where his knees are basically bone on bone, no one benefits individually from a shorter season than he does.

He showed during the playoffs last season against the Mavericks that he still has something left in the tank, by finding the fountain of youth and having a 24-point outburst against the Dallas Mavericks, scoring 16 of those points in just 24 minutes.

Working tremendously hard to rehabilitate himself back to form, he could catch lightning in a bottle one more time, if we see a shorter season.

Not to mention the fact that Nicolas Batum and Patty Mills are both developing overseas and getting more playing time to figure out the mistakes on the court, when they won't count against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Throw one of the most improved players in the NBA in LaMarcus Aldridge, and if they are healthy, we could see the Trail Blazers give any team in the NBA matchup problems in the playoffs next season and could be a dark horse to win the NBA title.

4. Miami Heat

While many of the teams that will benefit from a prolonged lockout are aging teams, the Heat are one of the teams that benefits for reasons that have less to do with age and more to do with playing habits and style.

The Miami Heat tend to be a streaky team that can catch fire very quickly. They will likely come into the season ready to run teams off the floor, after just barely falling short to a Dallas Mavericks team with endless depth off the bench.

A shorter season benefits them because they can win a ton of games in a short span of time.

Just imagine how scary good the fast-break of the Miami Heat will be when LeBron James and Dwyane Wade build better chemistry and learn to feed off of each other. Having Chris Bosh as a nice jump shooting big man to trail the fast break doesn't hurt either.

3. Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics are at that turning point where the majority of their core is aging and reaching the apex in each of their respective careers. With Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen still being top players in the NBA, there may only be a couple of other teams who will benefit more from a shortened season.

Although the team is certainly Rajon Rondo's to run now, they are not deep enough without the likes of the aforementioned Boston "Three Party" to help carry them to the playoffs.

However, the often criticized trade to bring in Jeff Green and trade away defensive stalwart Kendrick Perkins will help aid in the Celtics transition into a new era.

Green proved to be a great leader with the youthful Oklahoma City Thunder, and will provide a similar role hear. He may be a "tweener" forward, but he is capable of scoring at an efficient rate when called upon, and that will be invaluable to the Celtics. Especially when you take into consideration that Rondo is a pass-first point guard.

With the previously mentioned five players healthy and ready to play more minutes, the Celtics could swoop in and steal one more title before Boston's three aging superstars call it a career.

2. Dallas Mavericks

After Dirk Nowitzki finally grabbed his first ring, the Mavericks proved to be one of the deepest and most talented rosters in the NBA as they defeated the highly acclaimed Miami Heat led by LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.

With plenty of teams leaning on the success of their young players, the Mavericks veteran roster which is filled with chemistry maybe able to catch team's who are unprepared from a long time off and win one more NBA title before Jason Kidd retires and Dirk Nowitzki enters the latter part of his career.

1. San Antonio Spurs

The San Antonio Spurs have been on their last legs for awhile now, but due to the tremendous play from DeJuan Blair, George Hill and their aging three stars they have astonishingly stayed in the hunt for a championship every season since David Robinson retired.

Tim Duncan is now in the twilight of his career, but because he is one of the most fundamentally sound players in the NBA even after 14 seasons of experience, the Spurs still have a chance to make some noise in the playoffs.

Duncan averaged a little over 28 minutes per game last year in 76 games, now cut the number of games in half. Duncan could play anywhere from 35-40 minutes per night for the Spurs with a shorter season and still perform at a high level in the playoffs without missing a beat.

Duncan's game has never been flashy, but it is efficient and certainly reliable. Give the aging backcourt pair of Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili some rest as well and the two oft-injured guards will be ready to get after it in the playoffs.

Should their be a shortened season, the Spurs could win a ton of games giving themselves a chance at a No. 1 or No. 2 seed, which could make their road to the playoffs a little smoother this year.

That is, as long as they don't meet up with the underrated and ferocious Memphis Grizzlies squad in the first round again.