NBA Off-Season: Western Conference Analysis

By Michael Schneid

Here are some quick thoughts on a few Western Conference teams and what they have done thus far in free agency and the draft.

Blazers had a very weak bench in 2012 but have improved dramaticaly. They signed Dorrell Wright and acquired Robin Lopez, who will likely start at center. They added CJ McCollum and Allen Crabbe in the draft, acquired Thomas Robinson via trade. The Blazers bench should be much improved and last year's lottery picks, Rookie of the Year, Damian Lillard and Meyers Leonard, should be improved as well. If Lamarcus Aldridge plays like an all-star and role players like Wesley Matthews and Nicolas Batum step up, Portland could manage to sneak into the playoffs in 2014.

Clippers have made a lot of moves, including hiring Doc Rivers and trading Eric Bledsoe for Jared Dudley and JJ Reddick. But one of their better moves has been signing back PG Darren Collison. Collison was Chris Paul's back up in New Orleans, so they are certainly familiar. Collison also brings the same speed as Bledsoe. Clippers won't suffer much when CP3 is on the bench.

Pelicans have made some bold moves and are in the mix for playoff contention in 2013-14 by adding PG Jrue Holiday and SG/SF Tyreke Evans. Both men plus a potentially healthy Eric Gordon and last year's number one pick, Anthony Davis, make for a top 8 team in the west.

Timberwolves are another team that can make a push for the playoffs, if Ricky Rubio and Kevin Love are both 100%. The addition of Kevin Martin is a big move for a team in desperate need of a SG and an overall upgrade on three point shooting.

The Thunder will rely on second year guard Jeremy Lamb to fill the 6th man role of Kevin Martin, who replaced James Harden. Lamb, out of Uconn, has a lot of potential and spent a lot of time in the D-League last season but could provide OKC with some valuable scoring off the bench, when Kevin Durant is out of the game.

The Suns have a nice nucleus to build around, with PG Eric Bledsoe and C Alex Len. They have a glut of veterans though that they could certainly live without - Luis Scola, Marcin Gortat, Caron Butler, Michael Beasley, Shannon Brown Goran Dragic. The Bledsoe acquisition was nice but makes you shake your head at the thought of them drafting Kendall Marshall 13th overall last season.

The Rockets had 3 first round picks in 2012 - Terrance Jones, Royce White, and Jeremy Lamb. Lamb was dealt to OKC as part of James Harden deal, Royce White, after missing all of his rookie season with anxiety issues, was dealt to Philly to clear cap space, and Terrance Jones played just 19 games, spending much of his rookie season on the bench and in the D-League.