espi

Yeah, assuming Sam Cassell even bothers to report to training camp. Okay, that's not fair, he did report, just a day late. With Cassell and Spree both bitching about their contracts, I wouldn't look much past this season.

Matching Hassell's offer sheet from Portland was a great move. In fact, I think standing pat this season was the best thing the Wolves could have done. IMHO, the Wolves and the Spurs are going to be the best two teams in the west this season. The Wolves will probably come out of the gate a fast this season and build up a sizable lead over the rest of the west, but the Spurs will turn it on in late February and nearly catch up, they always do.

Here's my picks for the Western Conference top eight (not that anyone cares):

1) TWolves: Gotta give it to them since Garnett is coming off an MVP season and they were nearly the Western Conference champions last year.

2) Spurs: Timmy Duncan, Tony Parker, Bones Barry. How could you not like them? Sure TD didn't look great in the Olympics, but that was more due to the lack of outside shooting to pull back defenders than anything Duncan did.

3) Mavericks: I'm wary about this pick. I've been in the SF Bay area enough to know that Dampier isn't as good as the hype he's gotten lately. Plus, I don't think Terry can replace Nash. But, something tells me not to write them off.

4) Kings: If Webber can actually stay healthy, I'd put them in the 3 spot. But, he can't. I think they're going to have locker room issues, too. From what I've read Divac is the glue that held them all together. I'll put odds on CWebb and Peja going at one another in the papers this season.

5) Houston: I like what they've done on paper, but I don't think their point guard by committee approach is going to work out. They should have worked out something with Philly for Eric Snow. TMac better learn to pass the ball.

6) Lakers: They still have Kobe. And with the possible exception of Pau Gasol, there probably wasn't a better player in the world this summer than Lamar Odom. (I'm going to eat my words and make a complete 180 on Odom). The 4 and 5 positions are looking pretty rough though; Brian Grant can't play significant minutes at the 5 in the West.

7) Nuggets: Melo is looking like a whiny b*tch, but I like the Martin trade. In fact, no one has a better front court than Denver now (Nene, Martin, Camby). Shooting guard is still a little sketchy, but I love Miller at the point. Plus they have my favorite sub in the entire league: Earl Boykins. I could watch that guy play all night.

8) Jazz: I've already talked about the Boozer signing, so I won't go into that again. But, was there a better PG in the Olympics than Carlos Arroyo? I love that kid. Plus, they have Kirilenko who is a legitimate 15/10/5/2/2 threat every night. (That's points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks).

You can probably swap the teams in the 6, 7 and 8 positions any way you like. They're all gonna be fighting it out for playoff position next spring.

It was tough to leave the Grizzlies out of the top eight. I like Gasol, but I think a lot of their sucess last year was based on surprise, which they can't rely on this year. They just didn't make any significant upgrades, and I don't think Swift is the answer at the center. Plus, I think they're going to regret the Brian Cardinal signing. I really like Cardinal, but they waaay overpaid him, and he's almost the same player as Shane Battier.

Man, I really hijacked this thread.

__________________
If it weren't for my horse, I never would've spent that year in college.