Do you think players will start leaving the western conf..

[AdamTheGreek]

Come to Orlando for tourism and tax relief.
Oh yeah, our team isn't bad either.

[mistatwo mayn]

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Did Jackson really say that?

And he didn't get snubbed from the All-Star game, you have to deserve to make it before you can get snubbed. And he wouldn't make it in the East either.

LOL that was a fake article.

[lovehoops01]

I think the problem has been more of the East teams shipping their stars West when they demand out because they don't want to see them four times a season. And the West teams just haven't done a lot of that.

What's really strange is the conferences have almost switched personalities. Now, a lot of the top point guards are in the West and a lot of the top forwards are in the East, and it used to be the exact opposite. Although...there just are a lot of good forwards in the league in general so that part is not as obvious.

I think the Lakers have a chance to be a good young team for a while. Kobe is in good enough shape that he's not going to age quickly. And with Bynum and Gasol, they can be good for a while if they find a point guard they want for the long term to replace Fisher as he gets older.

The thing with the Suns is they never seem to really bottom out and start over. They always end up bringing in some aging all-stars to keep the team in playoff contention, though -- as of yet -- this hasn't won them a title.

The East has some up-and-coming teams. LeBron and Dwight have the chance to put their teams on top over the next few years. Some of the less heralded teams now might get better, too, with good salary-cap management. Personally, I think the league is in better shape now talent-wise than it has been in a while. If it just could find a few more tough guys in the middle and a few more guys with good 16-foot jump shots, it would be perfect. But overall, I'm really enjoying the competition for playoff spots in both conferences (even though the West gets all the publicity).

[BRINGTHEPAIN]

The Suns are good at acquiring aged all-stars to keep them in playoff contention because here at Phoenix we have the best medical staff in the National Basketball Association.

[Anticon]

Things are definitely looking up in the East.

Philly, Orlando, and Toronto were all teams with fairly bad management in recent years that appear to have partially turned the corner. With New York getting Walsh, they'll improve as well.

Add Boston to that, along with recently good teams like Detroit, Cleveland, and Washington, and the conference has the potential to produce 8 pretty good teams. It's nowhere near the insanity of the West, but it's an improvement.

Miami will also improve under Riley, as will NJ. The badly managed teams with uncertain prospects are still Atlanta, Indiana, Milwaukee, and perhaps Chicago and Charlotte.

[GJense4181]

The Suns are good at acquiring aged all-stars to keep them in playoff contention because here at Phoenix we have the best medical staff in the National Basketball Association.

No, the Pistons do.

[rayofsunshine]

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Can he opt out of his contract after this season? Or is that not until next season?


If I was A.I. I would take a serious look at Orlando & Cleveland....

I don't know? Can't you force a trade like shaq-fu?

[Flash3]

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Can he opt out of his contract after this season? Or is that not until next season?


If I was A.I. I would take a serious look at Orlando & Cleveland....

LeBron and AI both need the ball in their hands to be effective.

Not sure how that would work.

[MagicNolesFSU]

I love AI HoF-er, but please stay away from orlando. Andre Miller on the other hand....

[kookie_819]

LeBron and Dwight will soon be huge free agent magnets.

I think maybe a good 80-85% of the players would like to play alongside them, besides the other superstars who play the same position as them.

[MagicNolesFSU]

Maybe dwight can get Bron to come to orlando for the mid-level...ROFL

[PaKwAn]

Maybe dwight can get Bron to come to orlando for the mid-level...ROFL

And Chris Paul for the LLE.........

[MagicNolesFSU]

nah we will use bron as our PG

[The_Believer]

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Joe Johnson > Stephen Jackson.

Jax's defense and playmaking >>>>>>>>>> Smoove's.
The only thing JJ is better at is volume scoring. BTW, Baron >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> JJ for the record.

[High 5]

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Jax's defense and playmaking >>>>>>>>>> Smoove's.
The only thing JJ is better at is volume scoring. BTW, Baron >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> JJ for the record.

I'm not sure why you brought up Josh Smith, but both Joe and Smith are better or as good as Jackson when it comes to defense and playmaking. Definitely playmaking for Joe and definitely defense for Smith.

And I'm not sure why you brought up Baron, either. Not sure I'd say he is better than Joe but whatever.

[The_Believer]

Whoops I meant JJ. And you're seriously mistaken if you think JJ's defense is as good as Sjax's. Does Smith strike fear into the NBA's elite like SJAx does when he guards them? SJax gives the best players in the leagues nightmares (ask Dirk, TMac, Kobe, among many). IMO he's a lock for all nba d team first. As for BD, BD's a better scorer (he can burn you in so many ways), playmaker (top 5 in apg multiple times), defender (see how he's guarded Kobe (at times)and AI the last two Nug/Dubs games), clutch player (ask BOS +LAL), and leader (back to back TD's vs Tmac in POs, singlehandedly led mediocre Hornets and Warriors teams to the 2nd round). JJ gets more boards, but that's b/c he's taller. Will JJ ever be on R2MVP or put up some of the gaudy PO numbers Baron did? And I don't think he would be able to guard some of the West elite like SJ did, or even LeBron and Wade down East.

[GJense4181]

If I were Allen Iverson I would head back East, too.
He has better chances of a) making the All-star team, b) making the playoffs, and c) contending.
He may be the odd man out every year, in terms of both personal and team success, if he continues to play out West.

This goes for players of Elton Brand, Ron Artest, and Baron Davis caliber, as well.

[The_Believer]

I don't think he'd have a better chance of conteding because whoever comes out West would just destroy the East champ, unless if it's DET/BOS. Those teams would have relatively little use for the players above, since they have similar players already, although they could still help. And IMO when Baron and Brand are healthy and don't have grudges against them, they can make it out west too. Keep in mind that the East forward spot is now tougher than that of the West.

[GJense4181]

The All-Star argument, and therefore the All-NBA team outlook, holds for Eastern Conference point guards. Iverson and Davis would have much better chances in the East. Jose Calderon almost made the squad for crying out loud. Elton Brand has a better chance stealing a PF spot from Kevin Garnett, Rasheed Wallace, Chris Bosh, or Antawn Jamison than Carlos Boozer/Tim Duncan/Amare Stoudemire/Dirk Nowitzki, etc.
I'd take my chances against Detroit/Boston in the ECF than have to go through three rounds of Western Conference teams in order to make the finals, as well.

If Elton Brand decided to head to Orlando, for example, Orlando would make the East officially a three-headed monster.
Nelson/Turkoglu/Lewis/Brand/Howard.
Having a three-headed monster out East is much better than battling NINE teams out West.
That's merely a hypothetical, since Brand would have to leave abotu 12 million dollars on the table, but the point stands.

If my career was already defined by individual accolades and it was about time to win some rings (or at least qualify for a couple post-seasons), I would leave a non-playoff team out West and go East.