Shifting the NBA Balance of Power

I've been on a writing hiatus for the past... four weeks or so, between spending two weeks in Hawaii, getting back into the swing of things at the office, and adjusting to life with the new Mrs. COAS. It's been an awesome few weeks. But things have been happening in the world of sports that I need to get to.

While none of the signings actually happened until I got back from Hawaii, the frenzy that was NBA free agency started while we were down there. I heard lots of rumors but wasn't really able to follow up on much of it. I had moments of hope that the Bulls would actually land one of the prime targets of the offseason, which went unrealized yet again. But there were exciting moments in the past week or so that have shifted the landscape of the league.

For almost my entire life, the balance of power in the NBA has been centered in the Western Conference. There have been a ton of juggernauts based in the East, but based on the number of quality teams, the West has long been stronger. I'd argue that now with a lot of the dust settled, the West is definitely stronger and holds the full balance of power. The defending champs reside in the West. Oklahoma City isn't going away any time soon. You have the Clippers within striking distance as well, and teams like Portland are on the rise. Houston, despite whiffing on all the major free agents, is still a team to worry about despite also losing Chandler Parsons. The odds of 2015's champion coming out of the West are pretty good.

What we did have in the last few years that we won't this upcoming season is a powerhouse in the East to serve as a counterbalance. With the breakup of Miami's "Big Three", the East has opened up significantly.

• Chicago Bulls: Geoffrey Clark over at Grabbing the Bull Horns has covered their major moves, including the signing of Pau Gasol and finally bringing over Nikola Mirotic. These moves combined with Derrick Rose coming back... again... hopefully not to get hurt again put the Bulls in a good position. If Rose is even 80 percent of the guy he was in 2011, look out. The fact that neither LeBron nor Carmelo decided to come to Chicago is kind of sad, but there's still some potential for improved offense this year.
• Cleveland Cavaliers: They got the top prize of the class to come back home. You add LeBron to a talented point guard in Kyrie Irving, plus rookie Andrew Wiggins, and some shooters like Mike Miller are on board. This team isn't as dangerous as LeBron's two title teams in Miami, but this is a young team with upside that, in adding the best player in the league, becomes a contender.
• Indiana Pacers: Two straight Eastern Conference Finals is nothing to sneeze at. But the Pacers seem to be on the downswing now, with Lance Stephenson leaving for Charlotte and the chemistry they had a couple years ago shot. Paul George is still a talented player, but unless Roy Hibbert returns to 2013 Roy Hibbert status, I'm not sure how much of a contender Indy is anymore.
• Miami Heat: Even without LeBron, you still have Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade (who is definitely getting older and his knees are a question mark), and they added a couple solid pieces in Luol Deng and Josh McRoberts. They're not as dangerous as they were the last four seasons, but this team can still make some noise both during the regular season and playoffs.
• Washington Wizards: They snuck into the playoffs last year and proceeded to run over a gassed Bulls team in the opening round. You add to that talent guys like Paul Pierce and lock up a talented big man in Marcin Gortat? These guys can contend in the East as well as long as John Wall and Bradley Beal continue their progress and Nene plays as well as he did against Chicago.

All of this stuff is big, but we're still waiting out the end of the Kevin Love Era in Minnesota (it's coming, probably not till next summer though). Otherwise, most of the big names have moved at this point. What I really enjoy at this point though: the fact that the Lakers will be irrelevant this year (an obscenely overpaid Kobe, rookie Julius Randle, Jeremy Lin, and a bunch of scrubs pretty much) makes me laugh. The whole Carmelo thing is kind of a mixed bag. I have joked for the past couple days, "Keep getting 'dem checks, Melo" with his decision to go back to New York for more money. In the grand scheme of things, it's his choice, and I don't blame him, because I'd be tempted by that amount of money. But if he was looking to win a title... he's not winning one in New York. I feel pretty safe guaranteeing that.

This might be the one season of basketball that I'm most looking forward to since LeBron went to Miami. Maybe it's also because Rose should be back and hopefully the Bulls can make some noise in the playoffs.