Marty Burns West Rankings

[beav]

Ouch! The Blazers couldn't even edge out the Kings and the Grizzles? LOL!

It's still early, but the Western Conference has been mostly quiet this summer as several teams wait for mid-tier free agents to make up their minds.

Among the top contenders, only the Rockets have been particularly active. Otherwise the biggest shakeups have occurred at the bottom of the standings, where Minnesota, Portland and Seattle have radically altered their lineups.

Here's one man's view of the West race, as of right now, with the caveat that there are more moves (albeit relatively minor ones) in the pipeline for several teams:

1. SPURS: They haven't added much new blood this offseason, instead re-signing Fabricio Oberto, Jacque Vaughn and Matt Bonner. Then again, the defending champs don't need to make major changes. As long as Tony Parker doesn't decide to run off somewhere with his new bride Eva, they should be just fine.

2. MAVS: They also haven't shaken things up after winning a league-best 67 games a year ago. They re-signed Jerry Stackhouse and Devean George, and will hope the bitter finishes of the past two postseasons can give them the edge they need to get over the top.

3. SUNS: After dangling Shawn Marion and Amaré Stoudemire in an effort to land Garnett, they ultimately are left with the core intact while adding Grant Hill via free agency. Of course, keeping this team together might prove to be a good idea. Steve Nash probably has at least one more MVP-type campaign left in those 33-year-old legs.

4. JAZZ: Coming off that terrific run to the conference finals, they didn't want to do anything to break the mojo. It's still possible they could look to deal Andrei Kirilenko, especially after losing out on free agent Morris Peterson (who signed with the Hornets), but most likely they will keep it together and hope another Morris (Almond) can fill their need for outside shooting.

5. ROCKETS: New GM Daryl Morey has added solid pieces in veterans Steve Francis and Mike James and Argentine power forward Luis Scola, who was acquired in a trade with the Spurs. If Bonzi Wells doesn't go AWOL again, new coach Rick Adelman should have some more depth to go with Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming.

6. NUGGETS: They made their splash last winter by acquiring Allen Iverson from the Sixers. Their only significant move this summer has been to sign point guard Chucky Atkins, who replaces the departed Steve Blake. With Iverson, Carmelo Anthony, Marcus Camby, Nenê and a healthy Kenyon Martin, it should be enough to keep them in the Western mix.

7. WARRIORS: It's tempting to rate them higher after the way they tore through the West down the stretch and slayed the Mavs in the playoffs. But Baron Davis is injury-prone, Matt Barnes and Mickael Pietrus remain unsigned, and they might miss Jason Richardson (traded to Charlotte) more than they think. They better hope that Italian sharpshooter Marco Belinelli doesn't play like a rookie.

8. LAKERS: Despite Kobe Bryant's pleas, they have not yet been able to do anything major to get him the help he needs. Derek Fisher is only going to help so much. Bryant and a healthy Lamar Odom should be enough to get them to the playoffs, but it's hard to imagine them doing much better as presently constituted.

9. HORNETS: Despite a wave of injuries, they came on strong late last season and still almost made the playoffs. GM Jeff Bower then went out and signed Peterson to fill their hole at shooting guard, giving Chris Paul another weapon to go with Peja Stojakovic, Bobby Jackson, David West and Tyson Chandler. But can they stay healthy?

10. CLIPPERS: Which team are they? The feisty Cinderella who won 47 games two years ago, or the lackadaisical outfit that backslid to a 40-42 mark a year ago? Hard-working Elton Brand will give them a chance to return to the postseason, but their only significant addition has been No. 14 pick Al Thornton.

11. GRIZZLIES: They added one of the big catches in the free-agent market in power forward Darko Milicic. He should join with Pau Gasol, Rudy Gay and Mike Miller to get them back to respectability after a dismal 2006-07 campaign. But young point guards Mike Conley Jr. and Kyle Lowry will have to learn on the fly.

12. KINGS: Despite trade rumors involving Mike Bibby and Ron Artest, they have stood pat so far. GM Geoff Petrie did fill their need for more size by adding free-agent center Mikki Moore and 7-foot first-round pick Spencer Hawes, but coach Reggie Theus still faces a tough job in his first season.

13. BLAZERS: Top pick Greg Oden hasn't been their only significant addition. New GM Kevin Pritchard also stockpiled two other first-round picks in Rudy Fernandez and Petteri Kopenen, as well as veterans Blake, James Jones and Channing Frye (the last in a trade for Zach Randolph).

14. SONICS: Like their Pacific rivals, they too have gone into full rebuilding mode behind top rookies Kevin Durant (No. 2 overall) and Jeff Green (No. 5). New GM Sam Presti also traded for veterans Wally Szczerbiak, Delonte West and Kurt Thomas to replace the departed Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis and help ease the kids' transition.

15. WOLVES: With the KG era officially over, they can get on with the rebuilding. Al Jefferson and Juwan Howard (acquired in a trade with the Rockets) take over at power forward, while top rookie Corey Brewer joins a whole bunch of young players who figure to need a lot of time to grow.

[cyman3]

for the most part, i agree w/ the rankings.

however, now that Brand is out Clippers should be ranked lower.

[Packfill]

It is a real shame about Brand. He is the type of hard working productive player you can't help but root for.