2014 NBA Off Season Recap: Southwest Division

This is my six part series, going division by division recapping the off season. Other than a few lingering restricted free agents, most of the dust has settled and rosters are mostly set.

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The Southwest is the best division in basketball, and it got even better this off season. I want to pick the Pelicans to make the playoffs, but it would be very tough to beat out any of the other four teams in this division. There is so much experience with Memphis and the three Texas teams. It should be a battle all season long.

As always, Click here to view the latest depth charts and transactions.

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1. San Antonio Spurs

Projected Depth Chart

C - Tiago Splitter, Jeff Ayres, Matt Bonner
PF - Tim Duncan, Boris Diaw, Kyle Anderson
SF - Kawhi Leonard, Austin Daye
SG - Danny Green, Manu Ginobili, Marco Belinelli
PG - Tony Parker, Patty Mills, Corey Joseph, Bryce Cotton

The Spurs had three key free agents; Matt Bonner, Boris Diaw and Patty Mills. San Antonio brought back all three players. Of the three, Diaw will be the biggest contributor. His unique skill set is a perfect fit for San Antonio. Most importantly, Tim Duncan and Gregg Popovich are going to return in 2014-2015. What a prolonged run those two, as well as Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, have been on. Five championships. Kyle Anderson was the team's only draft pick. He had drawn plenty of comparisons to Boris Diaw during the pre draft process, for good and for bad. He will get to learn behind Diaw in San Antonio. Do not expect to see him on the court much his first couple of seasons.

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2. Dallas Mavericks

Projected Depth Chart

C - Tyson Chandler, Greg Smith
PF - Dirk Nowitzki, Brandan Wright, Rashard Lewis
SF - Chandler Parsons, Jae Crowder, Richard Jefferson, Eric Griffin
SG - Monta Ellis, Ricky Ledo
PG - Raymond Felton, Devin Harris, Gal Mekel

Other than LeBron James, the main story of the off season for me was Dirk Nowitzki, who is still on top of his game and received max offers from the Lakers and Rockets, returned to Dallas on a 3 year, $25 million deal. That is just over 7 million dollars a year. One year ago he made $22 million. That is unheard of, and shows the dedication Nowitzki has to the Mavericks, Mark Cuban, and playing for another championship. What a winner Nowitzki is. Dallas has gotten a lot better this off season. They gave up quite a bit to get Tyson Chandler, but his presence next to Nowitzki will greatly improve the Mavericks defense. Dallas has struggled since Chandler left town a few years ago. Raymond Felton and Devin Harris should hold down the point guard spot as shooters. They will not have to have the ball in their hands thanks to Nowitzki, Monta Ellis and now Chandler Parsons. Parsons got paid before first round picks in his class thanks to being a second round pick. Dallas is an old team, so to get some fresh legs, and fresh legs who averaged 16, 5 and 5 will really help. Rashard Lewis and Richard Jefferson were brought in to round out the bench.

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3. Memphis Grizzlies

Projected Depth Chart

C - Marc Gasol, Kosta Koufos
PF - Zach Randolph, Jon Leuer, Jarnell Stokes
SF - Tony Allen, Tayshaun Prince, Quincy Pondexter
SG - Courtney Lee, Vince Carter, Jordan Adams, Jamaal Franklin
PG - Mike Conley, Beno Udrih, Nick Calathes

The Grizzlies will continue to roll with their big three of Marc Gasol, Zach Randolph and Mike Conley. For the second straight year injuries hurt the Grizzlies chances to gain a high playoff seed. If Gasol and Randolph can stay healthy, few teams in the league boast as strong of a front court. Memphis went through some cosmetic changes, but that is about it. Gone are role players Ed Davis, Mike Miller and James Johnson. In are Vince Carter, Jordan Adams and Jarnell Stokes. Of the three, Carter should provide some solid veteran leadership and shooting. His tank is not quite on empty. The Grizzlies will go as far as their three talented stars will take them, as depth and shooting remain a serious issue.

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4. New Orleans Pelicans

Projected Depth Chart

C - Omer Asik, Alexis Ajinca, Jeff Withey
PF - Anthony Davis, Ryan Anderson, Patric Young
SF - Omri Casspi, John Salmons, Darius Miller, Luke Babbitt
SG - Eric Gordon, Tyreke Evans, Austin Rivers
PG - Jrue Holiday, Jimmer Fredette, Russ Smith

The big addition here was Omer Asik, a player New Orleans has been trying to get for the past year. He is a logical fit on this roster. The Pelicans have plenty of scorers, but they desperately need a big man to block some shots and gather rebounds. Anthony Davis has been a superstar, but has dealt with nagging injuries. You do not want him to have to play center as much as he did last year. Asik should give them 30 minutes per game. Davis and Asik may be one of the best defensive front courts in the NBA, which is good, because the rest of this roster is offense only. New Orleans has five players on this roster who are capable of dropping 20 points per night. The Southwest is absolutely brutal, but if these players can mesh, I could see New Orleans finishing as high as second place.

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5. Houston Rockets

Projected Depth Chart

C - Dwight Howard, Joey Dorsey, Dexter Pittman
PF - Terrence Jones, Donatas Motiejunas, Josh Powell
SF - Trevor Ariza, Alonzo Gee, Jeff Adrien, Robert Covington
SG - James Harden, Nick Johnson, Troy Daniels
PG - Patrick Beverly, Isaiah Canaan, Ish Smith

The Rockets tried to add a third superstar, offering the max to Chris Bosh, Dirk Nowitzki and Carmelo Anthony. In the end, they traded away some depth in Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin, and replaced young and upcoming forward Chandler Parsons with Trevor Ariza, who was amazing in a contract year. Time will tell if that move was the right one, but other than that, Houston will return almost intact. There is little depth here to speak of. Youngsters Terrence Jones, Donatas Motiejunas and Patrick Beverly will have to step up, or all the scoring load will be placed upon Dwight Howard and James Harden. Houston could still be a 50 win team, but it's hard to call them a championship contender at this point.

Jonathan Carrano

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