Post by jupee on Sept 24, 2023 14:22:29 GMT -6
Before season 2003, when author of this article joined ITP, East were definitely looking on a very positive track. Asked by some very smart reporter if Atlantic Division was the best in the league at the moment, FDA, GM of New York Knicks, had this to say: “With Philly, Washington, and Brooklyn all improving. Miami being the Atlantic Champs last year. Orlando has been in the Finals last 3 years, and they might be in danger of missing the playoffs. So from a depth perspective yes the Atlantic is the best“. Central Division complimented to this too. Raptors just signed Jimmy King and Mitch Kupchak and Hawks... well they had George McGinnis at his prime, and that’s all you needed really.
That year West (Clippers) still reclaimed the title, however, future competitions looked intense the East Conference. However, now, few seasons later, team at .500 (Cavaliers) are 4th (!) at the Conference standings – which is definitely a sign of East being as weak as ever. What happened?
Knicks and Toronto remained leading stars of the East, as we seem to be heading towards their 4th annually meeting in the Conference Finals. Nets lost their GM, while Orlando and Hawks never had a GM in this period of 4 seasons. Uncontrolled teams just drifts around while eventually becomes easy targets for those with some team development plan.
76ers lost important piece of their team - Lloyd Neal - in Free Agency, gave away Greg Ostertag to acquire Swen Nater, but then lost in the first round and went tanking right after. They are making gradual return, seem to be benefiting of weak Eastern conference at the early stages of this season. Celtics, after adding Swen Nater in 2005, looked like very promising and fun to follow team last season. However, lost their floor general Marcus Smart before this one – and such turn of events might force them towards rebuilding.
Bulls are the team not mentioned in my first paragraph, however, in my opinion they had the most potential to break Toronto-New York party. Sadly, they run out of cap while McDonalds won over weight room in Jokic daily schedule planner.
Another talented team, Wizards, had their best season in 2006, after kicking away their GM, who turned out to be donald sterling of ITP. However, this year Eric Money PPG surprisingly dropped by 10 and Washington will be testing John Shumate as center of their attacks. I am not sure how sustainable this move is, give Shumate age and fact that this is his contract year, but I could understand all-in attitude – just more work has to be done.
Cavaliers and Hornets improved, but still looks unstable and, on balanced conference, are first-round-exit-material teams. Heat stagnated. Pacers and Bucks finally went tanking instead just lurking around playoff mark, while Pistons kind of lacking direction.
Of course, inverses had to be happening in West. No drastic differences were spotted after analysing drafts history, but if we talk about Free Agencies… Biggest move of 2004 was for sure Knicks signing Artis Gilmore. However, stars were taking their talents westwards since then. Lakers sign PG Damon Stoudamire ; Timberwolves sign Théo Maledon ; Nuggets sign Joel Embiid ; Trailblazers sign Marcus Smart. Similar story with trades: Andrea Bargnani and Bojan Bogdanovic to Spurs, Moses Malone to Kings, even Joe Smith to Spurs. Michael just put up his All-Star game predictions, 6 out of 12 players he mentioned as his candidates for Wast were playing in East back in 2003. 2 were not yet drafted.
In conclusion, inactive team GMs damaged East while big free agency signings restored West. However, in last couple of days 5 new owners showed up, 4 of them took Eastern teams. If few of them are to stay for at least a season, maybe there is a hope!
That year West (Clippers) still reclaimed the title, however, future competitions looked intense the East Conference. However, now, few seasons later, team at .500 (Cavaliers) are 4th (!) at the Conference standings – which is definitely a sign of East being as weak as ever. What happened?
Knicks and Toronto remained leading stars of the East, as we seem to be heading towards their 4th annually meeting in the Conference Finals. Nets lost their GM, while Orlando and Hawks never had a GM in this period of 4 seasons. Uncontrolled teams just drifts around while eventually becomes easy targets for those with some team development plan.
76ers lost important piece of their team - Lloyd Neal - in Free Agency, gave away Greg Ostertag to acquire Swen Nater, but then lost in the first round and went tanking right after. They are making gradual return, seem to be benefiting of weak Eastern conference at the early stages of this season. Celtics, after adding Swen Nater in 2005, looked like very promising and fun to follow team last season. However, lost their floor general Marcus Smart before this one – and such turn of events might force them towards rebuilding.
Bulls are the team not mentioned in my first paragraph, however, in my opinion they had the most potential to break Toronto-New York party. Sadly, they run out of cap while McDonalds won over weight room in Jokic daily schedule planner.
Another talented team, Wizards, had their best season in 2006, after kicking away their GM, who turned out to be donald sterling of ITP. However, this year Eric Money PPG surprisingly dropped by 10 and Washington will be testing John Shumate as center of their attacks. I am not sure how sustainable this move is, give Shumate age and fact that this is his contract year, but I could understand all-in attitude – just more work has to be done.
Cavaliers and Hornets improved, but still looks unstable and, on balanced conference, are first-round-exit-material teams. Heat stagnated. Pacers and Bucks finally went tanking instead just lurking around playoff mark, while Pistons kind of lacking direction.
Of course, inverses had to be happening in West. No drastic differences were spotted after analysing drafts history, but if we talk about Free Agencies… Biggest move of 2004 was for sure Knicks signing Artis Gilmore. However, stars were taking their talents westwards since then. Lakers sign PG Damon Stoudamire ; Timberwolves sign Théo Maledon ; Nuggets sign Joel Embiid ; Trailblazers sign Marcus Smart. Similar story with trades: Andrea Bargnani and Bojan Bogdanovic to Spurs, Moses Malone to Kings, even Joe Smith to Spurs. Michael just put up his All-Star game predictions, 6 out of 12 players he mentioned as his candidates for Wast were playing in East back in 2003. 2 were not yet drafted.
In conclusion, inactive team GMs damaged East while big free agency signings restored West. However, in last couple of days 5 new owners showed up, 4 of them took Eastern teams. If few of them are to stay for at least a season, maybe there is a hope!