2009 Offseason: Initial Roster Moves

CLEVELAND CAVALIERS
Rotation Outlook:
C - Shaquille O'Neal/ Zydrunas Ilgauskas / Varejao
PF - Anderson Varejao/ Jamario Moon
SF - Lebron James/ Moon / Parker
PG - Mo Williams/ West
OG - Delonte West/ Parker
Most of the offseason attention in Cleveland focused on the acquisition of Shaquille O'Neal, but the key to their success will be the performance of their PF position. Varejao can team with either Shaq or Z, while also serving as a 3rd string center in a big lineup, or they can go small with Shaq or Z or even Varejao at center, with Moon and LBJ at the forward slots. While Moon will be abused by the bigger PFs, the presence of Shaq should still allow him to play certain matchups at the 4 spot and provide the agility and athleticism to offset the lack of footspeed at center.

BOSTON CELTICS
Rotation Outlook:
C - Kendrick Perkins/ Rasheed Wallace / Davis
PF - Kevin Garnett/ Wallace / Glen Davis
SF - Paul Pierce/ Marquis Daniels
PG - Rajon Rondo/ Eddie House / Daniels
OG - Ray Allen/ House / Daniels
Right now the Celtics frontcourt buildup is ahead of their backcourt. They have good depth at the power slots being able to go 4-deep with Garnett, Wallace, Perkins, and Davis, and a quality 12th man in Scalabrine. Daniels will be an adequate backup at the wing positions, with House adding depth with his ability to play the offguard spot. They are still thin at the point, with House and Daniels better suited at the other guard, though capable of playing limited minutes at point. The possible x-factor here could be the development of the previous two draft picks - Gabe Pruitt and JR Giddens as possible back-ups at the point. If they have not developed, the Celtics may need to sign a quality back up point guard.

ORLANDO MAGIC
Rotation Outlook:
C - Dwight Howard / Marcin Gortat
PF - Brandon Bass / Ryan Anderson / Gortat
SF - Rashard Lewis / Mickeal Pietrus
PG - Jameer Nelson / Anthony Johnson
OG - Vince Carter / Pietrus / JJ Redick
I feel the Magic have made the biggest change, morphing into a "conventional" lineup. Part of last year's success, specially in the playoffs, was due to the mismatches created by having 2 small forwards at the same time in Turkoglu and Lewis. This year, they will be parading a conventional look, with the power forward spot being manned by Brandon Bass and Ryan Anderson. While Anderson is a shooter with range, he is still a good shooting power forward, as compared to a true small forward playing the power slot in Turkoglu/Lewis. The possible downside here is that it allows the opposing team to go with 2 big men, providing more help against Howard. That said, this is a deeper team than last year, going 2 deep at all positions. Whether they are more effective remains to be seen.

SAN ANTONIO SPURS
Rotation Outlook:
C - Antonio McDyess / Theo Ratliff / Duncan
PF - Tim Duncan / DeJuan Blair / Matt Bonner
SF - Richard Jefferson / Michael Finley
PG - Tony Parker / George Hill
OG - Manu Ginobilli / Roger Mason
The Spurs have rebuilt themselves as a contender to make one last push during the Tim Duncan era. Free agent signees McDyess and Ratliff, plus possibly a return by now free agent Oberto provide warm bodies for the center spot to allow Duncan to play at power forward. Should Blair emerge and prove to be a lottery level talent, this may require Duncan to play more minutes at center to open up the power forward slot for Blair. Regardless, the majority of the minutes should go to Duncan and McDyess, with depth provided by Ratliff, Blair, and Matt Bonner. The Spurs are also deep at the wings, with Jefferson and Ginobilli playing most of the minutes and quality reserves Finley and Mason having to make do with what is left over. Popovich can give his wings a few extra minutes by giving Mason some minutes at the point. Hill and Mason should be adequate as backups to Parker.

LA LAKERS
Rotation Outlook:
C - Andrew Bynum / Gasol / Josh Powell
PF - Pau Gasol / Lamar Odom / Powell
SF - Ron Artest / Luke Walton / Odom
PG - Derek Fisher / Jordan Farmar / Shannon Brown
OG - Kobe Bryant / Sasha Vujacic / Brown
Presuming the Lakers re-sign Lamar Odom, they will be bringing back their title team intact except for the upgrade at SF with the signing of Artest. Further improvements could be in the form of another back-up at center and an upgrade at point guard. As is, however, they appear to be strong contenders to repeat.

2009 Offseason: Free Agent Signings

Free agency officially started last July 1, and already many of the big name free agents seem to be off the market even before they can officially sign contracts. Based on deals closed up to this point, the pre-season favorites for 2009-10 season would be the following:

LA LAKERS: Defending champions may start this year with a stronger lineup. There seems to be strong indications that Lamar Odom will be re-signed, and while they lost Ariza, they actually upgraded the position by getting back Ron Artest for the same money.

BOSTON: The signing of Rasheed Wallace already makes this a good offseason for Boston and coupled with the return to health of Garnett makes them an instant contender. Signing Grant Hill and re-signing Glen Davis would make them top seeds in the East.

SAN ANTONIO: No free agent moves yet, but the acquisition of Richard Jefferson gives them a "big 4" to rival Boston's. Should Bruce Bowen and Fabricio Oberto return via free agency and/or they succeed in luring Antonio McDyess, they should be the Lakers top challenger in the West.

CLEVELAND: While they haven't done much this offseason outside of the Shaq trade, the Cavs are better off than the Magic which I think regressed, at least as of this point. Trading for Carter would have been a great move...if they didn't lose Turkoglu. Carter was an upgrade over Courtney Lee, but is not necessarily so against Hedo. Unless the Magic have some more moves planned (i.e. acquiring Shawn Marion), I think the Cavs have moved ahead. On the Cavs side, they still need to shore up their power forward spot. Resigning Varejao is the default move, but if they can get Marion, even at the expense of Varejao, that would be a better move.

As for the other teams, while they have made major free agent moves, none of these would make them contenders:

DETROIT: Despite signing Villanueva and Gordon, they are still in rebuilding mode. Interesting development would be where Rip Hamilton ends up being traded to. Prince could also go. Moving these two to a contender could tilt the balance towards a team.

TORONTO: Even if they sign Hedo, they are still closer to the lottery than they are to contending.