The Hour Draws Nigh

So the draft is today, at 7pm ET, meaning 4pm here in California where I am. There's a lot of speculation and anticipation regarding what's going on, who'll go where, what draft day trades will be had, so on and so forth. I'm not extraordinarily interested in the draft class of 2008-2009, honestly, outside of Rose and Beasley, I don't know that it looks all that promising. Several players I feel are overrated, and honestly, if it weren't so guard heavy, Brook Lopez would not be in the top 5. Regardless though, I want to take a look at the teams that can potentially improve, that are only a couple of pieces away from serious contention.

Portland Trailblazers:
All they need really, is a little veterancy and some experience in the playoffs. Granted, that sort of puts them out of contention next year, but for the next few they should be good. As good as Steve Blake and Jarret Jack do, I still think that they have a need for some sort of improvement on the PG position. There have been rumors of trading up in the draft slot for a shot at someone like DJ Augustine, but I really don't know that another young player is something that the Blazers need right now. Given their current roster, I think that packaging their 13th pick might not be a bad idea if they can land a good PG. Ideally, I'd say you want someone like Mo Williams with the serviceable Steve Blake backing him up, but I don't know that you'd be able to pry Williams from Miluakee right now (despite there being some trade rumors of Redd to Cleveland). However, given the strong impression of a potential TJ Ford for Jermaine O'Neal trade, it seems that the Pacers want to reshape their look around Michael Dunleavy Jr and Danny Granger. Of course, this means that veteran PG Jamaal Tinsley is out of a job, I think he'd fit quite nicely in Portland. Of course, injury is always a question, but I think he's able to add the veteran presence as well as the skills to run the offense around such a young squad. With Oden officially starting his NBA career next season, they'll be a monster team inside with Oden and Aldridge on their frontcourt, and Roy has developed into an All-Star caliber player. Additionally, throw in the slew of athletic forwards in James Jones, Travis Outlaw, and Martell Webster, you've got one heck of a solid team.

Orlando Magic:
I know Magic already threw a ton of money at Rashard Lewis last season, but I think there's still room to improve. Noteably, their guards. Arguably, they could go bigger, finding a legitimate PF and move Turkoglu to the SG position and play Rashard Lewis at his original SF position. I think this would be the ideal way to go, since having a weak side mid-post presence, someone who can hit those 10-15 foot jumpers would really add a lot to their offense as well as giving Dwight Howard even more looks and opportunities to isolate. Jameer Nelson may be improving but behind him I don't know that Carlos Arroyo is the guy you want, you need someone a little better, or an improvement over Nelson so that he can start. They could always try trading younger, but that's never a guarantee. Memphis of course has a major platoon of guards in Javaris Crittenton, Kyle Lowry, and Mike Conley Jr, which means that one of them is likely to go. It could be a good opportunity for Orlando to trade off some of its excess flak like it's 2 guard platoon of Marcus Banks, Keith Bogans, and JJ Reddick. However, they're almost there, they're improving as a team, and I can only see them getting better, despite similarity in their games, Turkoglu and Lewis will always provide some sort of matchup problem no matter what position they play.

LA Lakers:
Of course some of you might ask me, how can you make this team better? Well, the fact is that with Bynum coming back into the lineup, the whole roster gets shaken up a little. I personally think that Odom is something of what I call a 3.5 forward, he rebounds better than a normal 3 but doesn't shoot as well, but he also doesn't have a low post presence like a normal 4 forward would. Naturally, with Bynum inserted into the triangle Odom's role will be reduced further, requiring him to do more of what he does worst, take jump shots. Of course, one potential prospect I heard that would be beneficial for both teams would be to trade him off for New Jersey Nets' Richard Jefferson. This works out for the Lakers because Jefferson is a dynamic player that can finish and shoot, in addition, having played behind Kidd and Carter, he can make the most of the few shots he does get. Odom gives the Nets a solid finisher at the rim, and solves the problem of redundancy between Richard Jefferson's game with Vince Carter's.

Golden State Warriors:
With only 6 of the players on the roster as non-free agents, aside from keeping Biedrins and Ellis, it's likely that Warriors are going to let everyone else go, or pull some sort of sign and trade. Most noteably on the list are forwards Mickael Pietrus and Matt Barnes. Of course, the growing disconentment of Al Harrington may opt him for a trade as well. The question is what they need. Of course, there is the trade speculation of Detroit sending over Chauncey Billups and Rasheed Wallace for some kind of package including Baron Davis. Personally, I think that's a major mistake, Baron is the face of the franchise for now, and honestly, I don't think Chauncey Billups can run the offense effectively. While Billups has a better shot to Davis's volume shooting, he thrives in a half-court set, a game in which, I don't believe Monta Ellis plays well in. If you were to take out Billups and Davis and just do the rest of the package and Rasheed, I'd think it'd work out for the Warriors. Basically what the Warriors need is one of two things, either some grit down low that can run with the offense or someone more serviceable than CJ Watson to relieve Baron of playing 40+ minutes a game for the whole season. Many Warrior fans have opted for Ron Artest while I've also heard shots for Elton Brand, Drew Gooden, or Chris Wilcox. Either way, I don't expect the 14th pick that the Warriors have to amount to much. However, as is true for many Warriors, maybe this second year for Brandon Wright and Marco Bellinelli will be breakout years.