NBA team-by-team preview

Western Conference

1. SAN ANTONIO SPURS

2003-04 record: 57-25 (2nd in West).

Coming: Brent Barry, Tony Massenburg, No. 1 pick Beno Udrih.

Going: Hedo Turkoglu, Kevin Willis, Charlie Ward, Ron Mercer, Jason Hart.

Outlook: Last spring, Phil Jackson challenged the Spurs to beat them from outside as the Lakers eliminated them. That won’t work as well with 3e-point ace Barry taking the shots.

2. MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES

2003-04 record: 58-24 (1st in West).

Coming: Eddie Griffin.

Going: Gary Trent.

Outlook: Last season they finally got out of the first round and gave the Lakers trouble in a six-game West finals. Now they’re a power with a $68-million payroll, No. 5 in the league, and their best may be yet to come.

3. SACRAMENTO KINGS

2003-04 record: 55-27 (4th in West).

Coming: Greg Ostertag, Courtney Alexander, Matt Barnes.

Going: Vlade Divac, Anthony Peeler, Rodney Buford, Tony Massenburg.

Outlook: Bobby Jackson is back, and Webber looks closer to being Chris Webber, so they’re not done yet.

4. HOUSTON ROCKETS

2003-4 record: 45-37 (7th in West).

Coming: Tracy McGrady, Juwan Howard, Ty Lue, Bob Sura, Dikembe Mutombo, Charlie Ward, Ryan Bowen.

Going: Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley, Kelvin Cato, Eric Piatkowski, Adrian Griffin.

Outlook: McGrady must prove he’s not last season’s quitter, but he’s still a monster talent who’ll be more effective in a real program with a 7-foot-5 center and a real coach on his back.

5. MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES

2003-04 record: 50-32 (6th in West).

Coming: Brian Cardinal.

Going: None.

Outlook: Team president Jerry West took them from 23 wins, when he got there in 2002, to last season’s stunning 50. The hard part is figuring where to go from here.

6. DALLAS MAVERICKS

2003-4 record: 52-30, (5th)

Coming: Jason Terry, Eric Dampier, Jerry Stackhouse, Avery Johnson, Dan Dickau, Calvin Booth, Devin Harris and Pavel Podkolzin.

Going: Steve Nash, Antoine Walker, Antawn Jamison, Christian Laettner, Eduardo Najera, Travis Best, Tony Delk, Danny Fortson, Scott Williams.

Outlook: Hyperactive Mark Cuban managed to keep from firing Don Nelson and settled for turning over the roster instead, starting with his surprising decision to let Nash go. With Dampier, they finally have size.

7. DENVER NUGGETS

2003-04 record: 43-39 (8).

Coming: Kenyon Martin, Greg Buckner.

Going: Michael Doleac, Chris Andersen, Jon Barry, Ryan Bowen.

Outlook: Happily for Carmelo Anthony, whose summer included a fight in a club, an Olympics chained to the bench and a marijuana charge. Anthony’s game, at least, was grown-up enough to help them go from 17 wins to 43. There’s more in store.

8. L.A. LAKERS

2003-04 record: 56-26 (3rd in West).

Coming: Coach Rudy Tomjanovich, Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, Brian Grant, Chucky Atkins, Chris Mihm, Jumaine Jones, No. 1 pick Sasha Vujacic.

Going: Phil Jackson, Shaquille O’Neal, Gary Payton, Derek Fisher, Rick Fox.

Outlook: For those of us who kept predicting the end of their world, it’s here. Bryant drove them to a 6-2 exhibition mark, playing heavy minutes, but there are things to still work out with Odom.

9. UTAH JAZZ

2003-04 record: 42-40 (9th in West).

Coming: Carlos Boozer, Mehmet Okur.

Going: Greg Ostertag, Tom Gugliotta, Mo Williams, Mikki Moore.

Outlook: Whoever these guys are, they’re not going away. Instead of falling to 10 to 20 wins after Karl Malone and John Stockton left, they were still competitive and stayed that way after losing leading scorer Matt Harpring. Now Harpring is back and they’ve upgraded their front line.

10. PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS

2003-04 record: 41-41 (10th in West).

Coming: Nick Van Exel, Joel Pryzbilla, No. 1 picks Sebastian Telfair and Sergei Monia.

Going: Dale Davis.

Outlook: This is a work in progress with parts that don’t fit, like forwards Zach Randolph, who’s staying, and Shareef Abdur-Rahim, who is not.

11. NEW ORLEANS HORNETS

2003-04 record: 41-41 (5th in East, tie)

Coming: Coach Byron Scott, Rodney Rogers, Chris Andersen, No. 1 pick J.R. Smith.

Going: Coach Tim Floyd, Stacey Augmon, Steve Smith, Robert Traylor, Courtney Alexander.

Outlook: New Orleans is now an official disaster area with the Hornets moving West and saying good-by to the playoffs as attendance drops and Baron Davis muses about escaping.

12. PHOENIX SUNS

2003-4 record: 29-53 (13th)

Coming: Steve Nash, Quentin Richardson, Steven Hunter.

Going: Antonio McDyess.

Outlook: There’s a lot of talent but it’s young and, except for Amare Stoudemire, 6-8 and under. Coach Mike D’Antoni is going small with Stoudemire often at center but that’s hard in the West where even also-rans are big and deep.

13. GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS

2003-04 record: 37-45 (11th in West, tie).

Coming: GM Chris Mullin, coach Mike Montgomery, Fisher, Dale Davis, Najera, No. 1 pick Andris Biedrins.

Going: GM Garry St. Jean, coach Eric Musselman, Dampier, Van Exel, Cardinal, Dickau, Avery Johnson.

Outlook: They’re very deep with Jason Richardson and Mike Dunleavy Jr. coming on. Montgomery can go 10 deep, and will.

14. L.A. CLIPPERS

2003-04 record: 28-54 (14th in West).

Coming: Kerry Kittles, Zeljko Rebraca, Mikki Moore, Mamadou N’diaye, Shaun Livingston.

Going: Quentin Richardson, Keyon Dooling, Melvin Ely, Eddie House.

Outlook: Mike Dunleavy spent last season without a real point guard. Livingston just turned 19 and is being brought along slowly, which means they hope he can be in rotation now and starting by season’s end.

15. SEATTLE SUPERSONICS

2003-4 record: 37-45 (11th in West, tie).

Coming: Danny Fortson, No. 1 pick Robert Swift.

Going: Brent Barry, Calvin Booth.

Outlook: The Sonics are basically Ray Allen and a bunch of 6-10 guys such as Rashard Lewis and Vladimir Radmanovic, who want to stand outside and shoot too. That’s a lot of threes. Owner Howard Schultz has to choose between giving Allen $126 million, or letting him go and starting over with $20 million worth of cap space.

Eastern Conference

1. MIAMI HEAT

2003-04 record: 42-40 (4th in East).

Coming: O’Neal, Wesley Person, Damon Jones, Michael Doleac, Keyon Dooling, Christian Laettner, No. 1 pick Dorrell Wright.

Going: Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, Brian Grant, Samaki Walker.

Outlook: Shaquille vs. the East. It’s not fair. Unlike the West, where everyone stockpiled big guys to throw in his path, only a few East teams are big enough to deal with him. The Heat had to strip down to get him but still has Eddie Jones and the sensational Dwyane Wade.

2. DETROIT PISTONS

2003-04 record: 54-28 (2nd in East).

Coming: Antonio McDyess, Derrick Coleman, Carlos Delfino.

Going: Corliss Williamson, Mehmet Okur.

Outlook: With Rasheed Wallace, they were better at the end of the season than they were at the start, and with McDyess and Delfino, they look better this fall than they did last spring.

3. INDIANA PACERS

2003-04 record: 61-21 (1st in East)

Coming: Stephen Jackson and David Harrison.

Going: Al Harrington, Kenny Anderson.

Outlook: Big, deep and talented, they’ve come a long way for a team that was rebuilt after losing in the 2000 Finals, but their young players have to grow up soon.

4. PHILADELPHIA 76ERS

2003-04 record: 33-49 (10th in East, tie).

Coming: Coach Jim O’Brien, Corliss Williamson, Brian Skinner, Kevin Ollie, Kedrick Brown, No. 1 pick Andre Iguodala.

Going: Coaches Randy Ayers and Chris Ford, Eric Snow, Derrick Coleman.

Outlook: Only in the East would you pick a bickering 33-win team to finish this high.

5. CLEVELAND CAVALIERS

2003-04 record: 35-47 (9th in East).

Coming: Eric Snow, Drew Gooden, Lucious Harris, Scott Williams, No. 1 pick Luke Jackson.

Going: Carlos Boozer, Kevin Ollie, Tony Battie.

Outlook: Coming off a 17-65 season and a 6-19 start, they actually made a run at the playoffs behind LeBron James, who averaged 22 points, 6.1 assists and 5.1 rebounds after the All-Star break. Losing Boozer, who averaged 16 points and 11 rebounds, was devastating, but Gooden, who tanked in Orlando, is still promising.

6. MILWAUKEE BUCKS

2003-04 record: 41-41 (5th in East, tie).

Coming: Maurice Williams, Zaza Pachulia.

Going: Brian Skinner, Damon Jones, Brevin Knight.

Outlook: The Bucks are still small, and last season’s point guards are gone. T.J. Ford is out because of a back problem, and Jones signed with the Heat.

7. ORLANDO MAGIC

2003-04 record: 21-61 (15th in East).

Coming: Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley, Kelvin Cato, Tony Battie, Hedo Turkoglu, No. 1 picks Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson.

Going: Tracy McGrady, Drew Gooden, Juwan Howard, Ty Lue, Steven Hunter.

Outlook: Coach Doc Rivers and GM John Gabriel spent four seasons waiting for Grant Hill. Now the coach is Johnny Davis, the GM is John Weisbrod and Hill is trying yet another comeback.

8. NEW YORK KNICKS

2003-04 record: 39-43 (7th in East).

Coming: Jamal Crawford, Jerome Williams.

Going: Dikembe Mutombo, Othella Harrington.

Outlook: After two crushing exhibition defeats in the West, Marbury was already musing about fans calling for Coach Lenny Wilkens’ head, the papers were speculating about Phil Jackson and GM Isiah Thomas was calling Jackson “an attractive candidate.”

9. BOSTON CELTICS

2003-04 record: 36-46 (8th in East).

Coming: Doc Rivers, Gary Payton, Tom Gugliotta, Al Jefferson, Tony Allen and Delonte West.

Going: Coaches Jim O’Brien, John Carroll; Chucky Atkins, Chris Mihm, Jumaine Jones.

Outlook: Rivers’ foibles-heavy lineup has Payton and Ricky Davis joining Paul Pierce, who’s had too much leeway for his own good.

10. NEW JERSEY NETS

2003-04 record: 47-35 (3rd in East).

Coming: Eric Williams, Travis Best, Ron Mercer, Jacque Vaughn, Rodney Buford.

Going: Kenyon Martin, Kerry Kittles, Lucious Harris, Rodney Rogers.

Outlook: It’s going to be a long lame-duck season in the swamp.

11. WASHINGTON WIZARDS

2003-04 record: 25-57 (13th in East).

Coming: Antawn Jamison, Anthony Peeler, Antoine Walker.

Going: Jerry Stackhouse, Christian Laettner.

Outlook: Gilbert Arenas is good but wrapped too tight. Moving Stackhouse and his $6.5-million salary helps.

12. TORONTO RAPTORS

2003-04 record: 33-49 (10th in East, tie).

Coming: Coach Sam Mitchell, Rafer Alston, No. 1 pick Rafael Araujo.

Going: Coach Kevin O’Neill.

Outlook: After leading the Raptors nowhere, Carter, the reluctant superstar, wants out. Management is resisting, but the fans are booing and soon there may be no choice.

13. CHICAGO BULLS

2003-04 record: 23-59 (14th in East)

Coming: Eric Piatkowski, Andres Nocioni, Adrian Griffin, Othella Harrington, No. 1 picks Ben Gordon and Luol Deng.

Going: Jamal Crawford, Jerome Williams.

Outlook: Despite appearances and misadventures, they’re actually getting somewhere.

14. ATLANTA HAWKS

2003-04 record: 28-54 (12th in East).

Coming: Coach Mike Woodson, Antoine Walker, Al Harrington, Jon Barry, Kevin Willis, Kenny Anderson, Predrag Drobjnak, Tony Delk, No. 1 picks Josh Childress and Josh Smith.

Going: Coach Terry Stotts and everyone except Jason Collier, Chris Crawford and Boris Diaw.

Outlook: Now they’re like an expansion team that has to be assembled from scratch. Of course, after averaging 52 losses over the last five seasons, they had nothing to lose.

15. CHARLOTTE BOBCATS

Record: Inaugural season.

Outlook: First this city got George Shinn and the Hornets. Then they were deserted. Now this.

– By Mark Heisler, Los Angeles Times