Jimmy's Top 5 Teams That Had The Best Offseason

Written by Jimmy "Win In The End" Castro... as he calls himself. Anyway, Jimmy is a die-hard Laker fan and appears in our podcast, the Chronicles of Crotty. You can find Jimmy on Twitter under the name... wait for it... WinInTheEnd! Of course! I know it´s been awhile since I blogged. I've just been busy since I was in vacation in the States for 5 weeks. Now I´m back here in Costa Rica. So now that the NBA season is fast approaching, I will give my Top 5 teams that made the best offseason moves. A lot of great moves were made this season so far. Who improved the most? 5. ORLANDO MAGIC. Last season, they were 59-23. They were first place in the Southeast Divison and made it all the way to the Finals, where they ran into the Los Angeles Lakers. Since Hedo Turkoglu opted out of his contract, they got Vince Carter and Ryan Anderson from New Jersey... and Matt Barnes as a free agent. They then matched Marcin Gortat's offer from Dallas (5 years for $33 million!). The Magic lost some key players. Hedo Turkoglu is going to Toronto. And Tony Battie, Courtney Lee, and Rafer Alston are all going to New Jersey. The key player has to be Jameer Nelson. Last season, he had an All-Star year but then he got hurt in the middle of the season. Even though he came back in the NBA Finals, he wasn´t a hundred percent. I expect him to be an All-Star again this season. 4. CLEVELAND CAVALIERS. They went 66-16, best in the NBA. But in the Playoffs, they lost in the East Finals to the Magic, 4-2. The Cavs got a BIG upgrade. They got this center named Shaquille O´Neal in a trade from Phoenix. In the free agent market, they got Anthony Parker, Jamario Moon, and Leon Powe. And they kept their forward, Anderson Varejao (re-signed for six years, $50 million). Who did they lose? Oh no, they lost ¨Big¨ Ben Wallace (traded to Phoenix, then released, then re-signed with Detroit) and Sasha Pavlovic (traded to Phoenix)... The key player is Mo Williams. Other than LeBron James, nobody had a great series with Orlando. And Mo Williams needs to step up and take this team to the top. Now with Shaq, they will be a different team. Also, if the Cavs want to win that ring, they better do it this year. LBJ might be packing his bags and go somewhere else. 3. LOS ANGELES LAKERS. They went 65-17, which was good for first place in the West. They beat the Orlando Magic, 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals, to become the 2008-2009 NBA CHAMPIONS. (sorry had to throw that in there). Since then, they added Ron Artest (free agent, five years, $33 million). They since re-signed Shannon Brown (two years, $4.2 million) and Lamar Odom (four years, $33 million). The Lakers lost a big-time player (espeically in the playoffs), UCLA´s own Trevor Ariza (signed with Houston Rockets). My key players for this team are Andrew Bynum and Odom. I believe that if Bynum can stay healthy, they could be unstoppable. As for Lamar Odom, LO needs to put numbers like he did in the playoffs. I also have a personal goal for Lamar and that is winning the sixth man award. I know he can do it. If he can put numbers like he did in the playoffs, he will win it. With these 2 players and Kobe (of course), I could see this team back in the Finals and winning back-to-back titles¨. 2. BOSTON CELTICS. They went 62-20, first in the Atlantic Divison, and lost in the second round of the Playoffs to the Orlando Magic, 4-3, in their house. Don´t worry, Boston. You got Rasheed Wallace (free agent, two years, $11.6 million) and Marquis Daniels (Free agent... REY'S NOTE: Transaction not completed yet... but should happen any day now.). Another piece of good news is that Glen ¨Big Baby¨ Davis re-signed (two years, $6 million). They did lose Leon Powe. The key man for this team is easily Kevin Garnett. You know, Boston fans, that you can´t win without him. He needs to stay healthy in order for Boston to make it to the Finals. 'Cause remember, he used the ¨G¨ word. And, no, not the Gatorade G. Anyways, I have this team winning the East. And they should win the East. Then again, you have Orlando and Cleveland in the way. 1. SAN ANTONIO SPURS. They went 54-28 last season, first place in the Southwest Divison, and lost to the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs. But, Spurs fans, you finally have some fresh talent in your team. Like Richard Jefferson (traded from Milwaukee), Theo Ratliff (free agent, one year, $1.3 million), Antonio McDyess (free agent, three years, $15 million), and DeJuan Blair (second-round pick). The Spurs lost Bruce Bowen, Kurt Thomas, and Fabricio Oberto in that trade for Jefferson. Meanwhile, Drew Gooden signed with Dallas. The key player is Manu Ginobili but it all depends on his injury status. They needed him in the playoffs last season and that was a big factor. I don´t know if he will be a hundred percent at the start of the season but he needs to be in order to be a factor in the West. Overall, the season is all up in the air. I have the Lakers and the Celtics in the NBA Finals but you never know. It´s hard to determine with these offseason moves. I´m ready for this season to start so the Lakers could defend their title.