Off-season NBA Power Rankings

(Never too early, especailly with drafts and trades changing the make-up).

1. BOSTON - The champs stay on top because the Big Three will all be back, and talented roleplayers will gladly take pay-cuts to be part of something special. But they really should try to keep James Posey.

2. L.A. LAKERS - Sure they got blown out of the building to lose Game 6, but this team did it without the services of Andrew Bynum, and they shouldn't have too hard a time getting free agents to want to sign now that they're a good team again.

3. SAN ANTONIO - They win championships in odd-numbered years, but they'll need a decent mid-level signing to stay up here. If they land Corey Maggette, they move up a spot.

4. DETROIT - Their starting five will always get them to the Eastern Conference Finals, but beyond that, they have one ring from Larry Brown's serendipitous year, where they ran past the toxic chemistry of the self-destructing Lakers. They fired Flip, but Joe Dumars has made it clear he's open to trade anyone.

5. UTAH - They have everyone back another year, but they should really try to upgrade the backup point guard position.

6. NEW ORLEANS - Their starting five is one of the best in the league, but they could use some more reliable bench players.

7. PORTLAND - They'll have Greg Oden, Rudy Fernandez and Jerryd Bayless to add to the already exciting core of Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Sergio Rodriguez and Travis Outlaw.

8. ORLANDO - Dwight Howard and Rashard Lewis are a good 1-2 punch. So... do they have anything else the Bulls would want for Kirk Hinrich?

9. HOUSTON - Normally I would expect this to be the year Tracy McGrady makes the second round, as long as Yao's healthy. But then, maybe T-Mac is cursed. And does anyone think they'll get past the Lakers, Spurs, Jazz or Hornets if they meet them in the first round?

10. CLEVELAND - Their midseason trade was more of a trade sideways. Now they need to figure out if they want to make another big trade, see what they can get for Wally Szczerbiak and/or Ben Wallace.

11. NEW JERSEY - Devin Harris, Vince Carter, Yi Jianlian, Bobby Simmons, Nenad Krstic, Brook Lopez... They're becoming a different team, and that's a good thing.

12. PHOENIX - No Mike D'Antoni, no Shawn Marion, no reason to believe they'll be anything more than a first-round team at this point. Which still means 50+ wins.

13. WASHINGTON - Is Gilbert Arenas really worth $127 million? Probably not. But Rashard Lewis isn't worth $130 million and that didn't stop Orlando last year.

14. DALLAS - Mark Cuban is unafraid of crazy trades, so maybe he has one up his sleeve to undo the damage done by gutting their future for a slowing-down Jason Kidd. And hey, Rick Carlisle is a good coach.

15. TORONTO - It hurts that Jorge Garbajosa is outta here already, and that Andrea Bargnani hasn't shown much improvement, but I look for Jermaine O'Neal to rebound from last year now that he's in a new environment and has a big guy like Chris Bosh next to him.

16. DENVER - Kirk Hinrich, Raymond Felton and Andre Miller should be guys they should be trying to trade for. A team with Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony should be better than this. Carmelo's the one on the block, but I'm not so sure it shouldn't be AI they try to move.

17. PHILADELPHIA - The little team that could has the cap room to go after Josh Smith. If they land him, then the 76ers should repeat showing up in the playoffs.

18. CHICAGO - They have some resignings to do, but I expect them to make a good trade for Kirk Hinrich and get themselves back in the playoff hunt. Derrick Rose is great but can he have a Chris Paul-like rookie season?

19. L.A. CLIPPERS - Baron Davis and Elton Brand? Maybe the Clips can get back to the playoffs after all. But now it looks like Brand might go elsewhere, with money talking. Hopefully Eric Gordon is the type of player that negates the loss of Corey Maggette.

20. GOLDEN STATE - With Baron Davis gone, and a bunch of their players in free agency, it's going to be that much steeper an uphill climb to get back to the playoffs.

21. MILKWAUKEE - They have too much talent to lose as much as they did last year. RIchard Jefferson gives them another All-Star in the line-up, and Scott Skiles is the only coach to get the post-Jordan Bulls into the playoffs.

22. ATLANTA - They pushed the soon-to-be world champs to a seventh game. Mike Bibby and Joe Johnson are a solid backcourt. But they could likely lose Josh Smith, which would be a major blow.

23. NEW YORK - Good thing: they have Mike D'Antoni. Bad thing: they still have Stephon Marbury.

24. MIAMI - Dwyane Wade, Shawn Marion, Michael Beasley, Mario Chalmers... This team will not be as bad as last year's team.

25. MINNESOTA - Kevin McHale has actually accumulated some nice pieces. Al Jefferson, Randy Foye, Kevin Love, Mike Miller... These are pieces to play with.

26. CHARLOTTE - They got the point guard they wanted in DJ Augustin, but we still don't know if he'll be any better than Raymond Felton. And will Emeka Okafor be going away?

27. SACRAMENTO - They had a nice surge toward the end of the season, but they still look like a mess. Ron Artest has foreshadowed being a headcase again, talking about regretting not opting out, which means mid-season trade likely.

28. INDIANA - TJ Ford and Jarrett Jack are solid 1-2 upgrades at point guard, and Roy Hibbert will soften the blow of not having O'Neal any more.

29. MEMPHIS - They got OJ Mayo but gave up Mike Miller and Kevin Love for him. Still, with Mike Conley, Rudy Gay, Mayo, etc., they'll win some games. Some.

30. OKLAHOMA CITY - Russell Westbrook joins the black pit with Kevin Durant and Jeff Green. But the fans will be vociferous that first year.