Potential Contenders in the Eastern Conference Next Season

[Wizkids12345]

2 Questions

Wiz fans whats the Deal with Otto Porter?
How Much cap space does Atlanta Have if Any?

Otto porter had a hip injury that kept him out of the first 30 or so games. When he got back we already had two established small forwards on the roster (ariza and Webster). We were in a fight to make the playoffs so wittman did not want to give minutes to the rookie just for development purposes, so he basically redshirted. He did get some minutes near the end and showed some signs of promise though, his three point shot from nba range looks good and he can handle the ball. I think he Is going to be a solid player. Needs to put on weight and can be elite defensively.


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[PaulieWal]

Miami - Assuming Big 3 stays together
Chicago - Assuming Rose is good to go and they add more pieces
Indiana - They may or may not be a contender but they will remain a top 3-4 seed
Potential up and coming team which can make the playoffs interesting - Wizards, Raps, Hawks

[ag3]

Knicks with Melo re-signing and Phil's additions.
Knicks were a 54 win team last year with the right veterans running the team (Jason Kidd, Wallace, etc.)

[MrLutareio]

Miami is going to the Finals next year for the 5th straight time. That's simple fact.

[ATLHawksfan21]

2 Questions

How Much cap space does Atlanta Have if Any?

We got alot of flexibility right now and enough cap space to make some noise if Hawks want. I think it wont be any big changes in ATL unless something good comes up.

Someone like Deng or Ariza could help

No thanks. We need a wing that can create their own shot. I don't care to tie up any cap dollars with a long-term signing this year unless it's for a gamechanger. Currently, we will only have Horford, Teague and Korver on the books going in to the 2015 off-season for a total of around 26 million.

The Hawks will be competing for the 2nd seed next year assuming they stay healthy and add a decent player or two.

[ATLHawksfan21]

It would be awesome to see some team other than the Heat coming out of the East, but barring an injury to the Big 3 or one of them leaving in free agency I don't see it happening. Based on cap space, age of players, and incoming draft picks here's how I see things playing out with the seedings next year:

1) Heat (if big 3 opt out and sign lesser deals they will continue to dominate)
2) Wizards (max cap space, but need to resign Gortat and/or Ariza)
3) Pacers (could possibly lose Stephenson, no 1st round pick)
4) Bulls (have cap flexibility for first time in a while, also two 1st round picks)
5) Hornets (no big free agents to resign, max cap space, and lottery pick)
6) Raptors (good cap flexibility but will need it to resign Lowry/Patterson/Vazquez)
7) Hawks (cap room to sign good player and a decent 1st round pick)
8) Cavaliers (max cap space and #1 pick, bad team culture knocks them down though)

So you have the Hawks pegged at 7, while adding two solid players, when they were entrenched at the 3 this year before Horford went down? The Hawks bench was one of the least experienced groups in the league. Having a year under their belt should help them going in to next season.

[LofJ]

So you have the Hawks pegged at 7, while adding two solid players, when they were entrenched at the 3 this year before Horford went down? The Hawks bench was one of the least experienced groups in the league. Having a year under their belt should help them going in to next season.

I think you guys are going to be pretty good next year, possibly as high as the 4 seed. I have no idea how the seedings will play out, but I do feel confident that the teams I listed will be in the playoffs (ignoring injuries of course).

[NBAfan3024]

Sadly not.. This is why Miami can stay contenders for a good while

[ATLHawksfan21]

So you have the Hawks pegged at 7, while adding two solid players, when they were entrenched at the 3 this year before Horford went down? The Hawks bench was one of the least experienced groups in the league. Having a year under their belt should help them going in to next season.

I think you guys are going to be pretty good next year, possibly as high as the 4 seed. I have no idea how the seedings will play out, but I do feel confident that the teams I listed will be in the playoffs (ignoring injuries of course).

I agree with your top 7 but I think Cleveland misses again. Kyrie is just overrated as hell and adds nothing to the team when it comes to Wins and Losses. All flash no substance is what I have seen from him thus far.

[TeaM DimE]

If the Bulls sign Melo they are a 60+ win team. Its scary to think about. Adding Rose and Melo to a 48 win team. The Bulls are going to be the story of the off season, they are really primed to make a huge run next year.

[bullsaficianado]

Miami
Bulls (if Melo signs)
Indiana

and Brooklyn, Toronto. That's really it, Miami is so lucky they don't play in the Western Conference.

[2thehoopand1]

Wizards, raps, 76ers in 5 seasons


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[2thehoopand1]

Miami
Bulls (if Melo signs)
Indiana

and Brooklyn, Toronto. That's really it, Miami is so lucky they don't play in the Western Conference.

You do know Miami is located in Florida which is located on the eastern side of the country right ? Geography doesn't have much to do with luck


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[LofJ]

So you have the Hawks pegged at 7, while adding two solid players, when they were entrenched at the 3 this year before Horford went down? The Hawks bench was one of the least experienced groups in the league. Having a year under their belt should help them going in to next season.

I think you guys are going to be pretty good next year, possibly as high as the 4 seed. I have no idea how the seedings will play out, but I do feel confident that the teams I listed will be in the playoffs (ignoring injuries of course).

I agree with your top 7 but I think Cleveland misses again. Kyrie is just overrated as hell and adds nothing to the team when it comes to Wins and Losses. All flash no substance is what I have seen from him thus far.

Same story as usual, people overrate offense and underrate defense.

[ATLHawksfan21]

Teague
Korver
Melo
Milsap
Horford

with Bud coaching wins the East.

[Trader_Joe]

I know this will come a surprise to most that read this board regularly (as I am known as one of the biggest pessimists of my own team along with Prokorov and usually predicts the defeat and demise of the Nets), but if most everyone comes back for BK I think they will be the biggest threat to Miami in the playoffs along with Chicago. They played Miami much better than Indy did so far, rather easily. Other than game 1 (where they were coming off one day rest after an emotional game 7 in TO vs. Miami having a week off), they were tied or led late in every game and showed why they had won 6 in a row prior vs Miami. (4 close wins in the RS, 2 blowouts in the PS) Granted Miami had that extra gear and BK did not, you also have to keep in mind that this was a Brooklyn team:

-in their 1st year together
-with an injured PG
-missing their best player (Lopez)

I think they looked great in the playoffs (much better than I expected) and they were one of the best teams in 2014 in the East record wise.

Give them:
- 1 more year together
- Kidd another year under his belt
- D.Will with cleaned out ankles (spurs removed)
- Lopez back

And I think they will be a contender
(not for a top seed as they will rest players as much as possible, but in the playoffs)

But again this is contingent upon
- Most the team coming back (the biggest wild card)
- D.Will playing better post surgery (he just had it done and should be ready for training camp. He's never had ankle surgery before, nor did they mess with any ligaments or joints)
- Lopez being healthy (he's come back better from injury each time prior and they've restructured his foot to lessen the chances of another break)

Best case:

D.Williams / Vet PG / Teague
Livingston / Thornton / Anderson
Johnson / Kirilenko
Pierce / Teletovic / Blatche
Lopez / Plumlee / Garnett

As for who comes back:

Livingston - Though he loves BK, Kidd and the fact he had his best year here, he might get more lucrative offers. 50/50 right now IMO. Hopefully the tax payer MLE is enough.

A.Anderson - still a minimum level player IMO, so familiarity should keep him. He is valuable as a defender

Kirilenko - his rash of injuries and horrendous year shooting probably didn't help his case for more money. With the Russian connection I hope he stays.

Pierce - Nets can offer him the most money, he wanted to come here when he knew Boston was rebuilding, his agent is Jeff Schwartz (Kidd, D.Will, Teletovic, PP, Livingston) and I'm not sure how attractive LAC is looking right now. A Nets insider claims the FO thinks it is likely it stays

KG - that same insider says it's a certainty KG is back. He is still a good defender, had one of the best defensive rebounding %s in the NBA and offers leadership and intangibles. He's also owed $12m. Just don't expect major minutes or any offense from him.

Blatche - Not sure the Nets want him back as he's had some conditioning issues and they have a potential stock pile of Centers. I hope he's back and he is durable and Lopez and KG are not. He could also be a nice assets in trade.

I also expect King to shop his expiring contracts (Thornton and Teague mainly but maybe Teletovic) along with their Euros (Bogdanovic, Karaman, Bavcic) and cash ($2m up until June 30th, $3.2m after) for additional help. This team was always thought to have a two year window (this season and next) so I expect their "all in" mantra to continue up until 2016 when their books are wiped clean other than D.Will and Plumlee on a rookie deal.

Also, keep in mind, while the POs are all about match-up, since we don't know those match-ups, I'm trying to compare the East to one team.. Miami. So far the Nets have looked much better than Charlotte or Indy vs. Miami in both the PO and RS and better than any other Eastern team in the RS.

[KingDavid]

Lance and melo on a discount to bulls...oh my.

Rose
Lance
Melo
Taj
Noah

Jimmy Butler, dj augustin, kirk hinrich, mike dunleavy....ohhhh the bulls can make a serious splash right back into contention.

[GhostsOfGil]

2 Questions

Wiz fans whats the Deal with Otto Porter?
How Much cap space does Atlanta Have if Any?

He was an over rated prospect that has strong ties with the local Georgetown community. Even before his injury, he looked extremely raw (summer league). I'm bitter because Noel was the obvious pick but our idiot GM was so risk adverse he went with the safe "nba ready player". He never had a chance to get into a rhythm but he also showed very little in terms of potential or production when given playing time. His best game was when he had a 3 minute stretch where he made back to back three pointers. That is literally the only highlight of his I can remember

[te887848]

The only other contender besides the Heat can be the Bulls if they acquire Melo and Rose makes a full recovery. Lots of ifs, but they'd clearly be top 2 in the East if all of that went down.

Other than that, no. Listing the Wizards and Raptors as contenders is simply a joke. They'd get crushed by the Heat with ease. The Pacers are going to lose Stephenson, West is another year older and Hibbert is wildly overpaid. Not a true threat to Miami either.

[Keller61]

The Bulls don't necessarily need Melo to be a contender. It would surely help, but they could get back to the level they were at in 2011 and 2012 by just getting Rose back to elite level and adding enough key pieces.