There are still a lot of things that can (and will) happen between now and the start of training camp in October.
We're still waiting for the Minnesota Timberwolves to hire a coach and the Philadelphia 76ers to find a point guard. And as far as I'm concerned, the NBA season doesn't officially start until Allen Iverson signs.
But based on rosters as they stand today, here's my take on the best and worst of the NBA:
1. Los Angeles Lakers - Slid Ron Artest in Trevor Ariza's old role, re-signed Lamar Odom and still have Kobe Bryant. No reason to think they can't win it all again.
2. Cleveland Cavaliers - Much-improved bench now consists of Zydrunas Ilagauskas, Anthony Parker and Jamario Moon, with another signing (Joe Smith? Steve Novak?) likely still to come.
3. San Antonio Spurs - Landing Richard Jefferson and Antonio McDyess gives Spurs two more guys with Finals experience and makes them biggest threat to L.A.
4. Boston Celtics - Still need a backup PG, but a healthy Kevin Garnett and addition of Rasheed Wallace gives C's length and defense that resulted in title two seasons ago.
5. Denver Nuggets - Haven't done squat this off-season, but sometimes, just keeping the nucleus of team together can work wonders. Especially when that nucleus includes Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups.
6. Orlando Magic - Lost three starters off Finals team (Hedo Turkuglo, Courtney Lee, Rafer Alston), adding Vince Carter and Matt Barnes. Time to adjust will be needed, but Magic could still emerge out of East again.
7. Dallas Mavericks - Everyone is back, happy and healthy. Additions of Shawn Marion and Drew Gooden give Mavs more depth and versatility. Could be a major factor by season's end.
8. Washington Wizards - Return to relevancy is highly likely with returns of Gilbert Arenas, DeShawn Stevenson and Brendan Haywood, and additions of Randy Foye, Mike Miller and especially, coach Flip Saunders.
9. Portland Trail Blazers - Same old very good young talent, now a year older and wiser with valuable playoff experience. Just imagine if Greg Oden finally lives up to expectations.
10. New Orleans Hornets - Chris Paul and David West make Hornets a top 10 team all by themselves, but will need players around them (read: Emeka Okafor and Peja Stojakovic) to play their best to become a true threat.
11. Atlanta Hawks - Only have nine guys under contract, but trio of Joe Johnson, Jamal Crawford and Mike Bibby gives Hawks perhaps most potent backcourt in the league. Still need serious help in the frontcourt, though.
12. Phoenix Suns - Will continue to run and gun with Amare Stoudemire back at center, and no longer need to worry about Shaquille O'Neal getting in the way. Have potential to be league's biggest surprise.
13. Utah Jazz - Could move up considerably once Jazz figure out what to do with Carlos Boozer, who's suddenly become more neurotic than Ron Artest.
14. Toronto Raptors - Still awful soft with leaders like Chris Bosh and Hedo Turkoglu, but should be much more exciting to watch with their brand of European basketball. Will likely be better at end of year than start.
15. Miami Heat - Lost out on Lamar Odom, meaning Dwyane Wade will have to do it all himself again. But things could be worse, as Wade is just that good.
16. Los Angeles Clippers - As usual, a lot of ifs involving injury-prone veterans Baron Davis and Marcus Camby, but good health, improvements from Al Thornton and Eric Gordon, and addition of top draft pick Blake Griffin could make Clips relevant.
17. Chicago Bulls - Losing Ben Gordon won't hurt as much as confidence-building playoff series against Boston will help. So will having a real winner at perhaps the most important position in PG Derek Rose.
18. Charlotte Bobcats - Despite financial woes and biggest offseason move being the one for average center Tyson Chandler, Bobcats still athletic and likely to continue making strides under Larry Brown.
19. Indiana Pacers - Underrated addition of Dahntay Jones gives Pacers defender that was previously lacking. Having Danny Granger back won't hurt, either.
20. Detroit Pistons - No longer a veteran club, Pistons are now rebuilding under another new coach (John Kuester) with new players who don't defend (Ben Gordon, Charlie Villanueva). Could be fun to watch on offense, though.
21. Golden State Warriors - If Anthony Randolph plays anywhere close to how he did in summer league, small ball will be bigger, and possibly better.
22. Philadelphia 76ers - Hoping Elton Brand stays healthy for an entire season isn't enough. Especially when you have no starting point guard.
23. Houston Rockets - No Yao Ming, no Ron Artest and no Tracy McGrady in his prime means no more postseason for the team that gave the Lakers their toughest playoff series.
24. New York Knicks - Haven't necessarily gotten worse, but have done nothing to improve since last season, when they finished as somwehere around the 24th best team.
25. Oklahoma City Thunder - With an average age of 22.9, Thunder still resemble a really good college team. But watch out, all that talent is gonna grow up soon.
26. Memphis Grizzlies - NBA and network television types likely dread the thought of small-market teams like Memphis and Oklahoma City meeting in the conference finals, but it very well could happen in four years.
27. Milwaukee Bucks - If nothing else, Bucks will play hard and could have some decent stretches. But who other than Michael Redd is capable of doing something when a game is on the line?
28. New Jersey Nets - Devin Harris and Brook Lopez are two reasons for hope, but the rest of the lineup is a mish-mash of washed-up veterans and inconsistent youth.
29. Sacramento Kings - At least the Kings have a coach, which is more than you can say for Minnesota. Still, it seems like 90 percent of the roster is one bad bounce away from playing D-League ball in North Dakota.
30. Minnesota Timberwolves - Boast some nice young talent, especially in the frontcourt with Al Jefferson and Kevin Love. But anything more than 15 wins would be a basketball miracle.
Sam Amico is the editor of Pro Basketball News and a frequent contributor to Sportstime Ohio and TheClevelandFan.com. He can be reached at amico@probasketballnews.com.
