The Phoenix Suns made a lot of smoke without much fire to show for it. While there was no blockbuster trade like the ones made by the Boston Celtics, nor was there as highly touted a draft pick as either Greg Oden or Kevin Durant falling to a Pacific team, there was some significant rumblings under the radar. Here is a snapshot of what teams in the Central Division have done and what they need to do during the remainder of the summer to improve their rosters.
Phoenix Suns
The Suns made a minor, but brilliant move in signing Grant Hill. Most consider him washed up and too injury proned to stand up each morning. Yet, he managed 65 30-minute games last year, averaged 14.4 points per game while shooting 52% from the field. For the price the Suns paid for Hill, that's a great acquisition. Moreover, the Suns badly need another player who can create offense for others. When Steve Nash is on the floor, there is no one the Suns can rely on to penetrate and kick to their jump shooters. Boris Diaw is capable of being that guy, but he had an inconsistent season last year. The Suns are also trying to sign veteran forward PJ Brown to replace Kurt Thomas. It's puzzling why Phoenix hasn't gone after inside help and why they passed on shot blocker Tiago Splitter in the NBA Draft. Instead, they drafted guard Rudy Fernandez and traded him to the Portland Trail Blazers for pocket lint. Drafting Splitter would have made sense, since he won't likely be able to enter the league until 2008-2009 which would give the Suns a whole year before they had to pay for him.
LA Lakers
Losing Kobe Bryant would be a travesty for this franchise. They attempted to trade Lamar Odom to the New Jersey Nets in a three-way deal that would have sent Richard Jefferson to the Charlotte Bobcats and Gerald Wallace to the Lakers. That deal fell through when Michael Jordan nixed it. In truth, there isn't much the Lakers can probably do at this point, unless they make a major push for, say, Jermaine O'Neal. It's starting to look like fewer teams are interested in Lamar Odom than anticipated and Andrew Bynum's stock has decreased since mid-season.
LA Clippers
The Clippers took a bit of a nose dive last season after having performed so well the previous year. Sam Cassell is getting older and Shaun Livingston is hurt for a year, which makes the point guard position wide open. That's the team's number one priority right now. Otherwise, they've made a good move in drafting Al Thornton and Jared Jordan.
Sacramento Kings
The Kings badly need some inside help. Though, youngsters Spencer Hawes and Justin Williams make for a bright future. Kevin Martin had a breakout season last year, which makes Francisco Garcia expendable. Moreover, it seems they won't be parting with Ron Artest or Mike Bibby. Keeping Artest makes sense, since they wouldn't be able to get adequate value in return for him given his off court issues.
Golden State Warriors
The Warriors' most noteable trade was sending Jason Richardson to the Charlotte Bobcats for the 8th overall pick, which was used on Brandan Wright. Unfortunately, Wright probably won't develop much of a post game under Don Nelson's system, but his athleticism will be best used in the short term. The Warriors may also look to trade for Cleveland Cavaliers forward Drew Gooden.
Also check out:
- NBA Northwest Team Fixes
- NBA Midwest Team Fixes
- NBA Atlantic Team Fixes
- NBA Central Team Fixes
- NBA Southeast Team Fixes
