After all that stability under Sloan, the times they are a changin' in Utah.

The Celtics have only a handful of players under contract, but at least those players are our best players. Some of the Nuggets best players seem to be defecting out of the U.S.

the Thunder are pretty stacked and the Western power teams are mostly aging. So, the future looks bright.

They almost left Sacramento at the end of last year but they hung on for at least one more year. With their future up in the air off the court, at least they have some reason to hope on the court.

I admit, I don't know much about the Clippers other than the fact that Blake Griffin dunks well. I also knew that they had Ryan Gomes, an old favorite of mine. How's he doing lately? Not so well.

The Lakers were the two time defending champs last year, right up until they got swept out of the playoffs by the eventual Champions the Mavs

The Suns have remained adamant that they won't trade Steve Nash, but it sure seems like he's reached the Ray Bourque in Colorado point of his career.

Can the Mavs do it again? Are the Griz legit? Do the Spurs have anything left? Is Chris Paul staying or leaving? What can McHale do for the Rockets?

Some teams have a realistic shot at competing for a title. Some teams are just fooling themselves. Others have a full grasp of how bad they are and are resigned to a "rebuilding" effort. Or in this case, a continued "building" effort.

The Hawks have tons of talent and have made the playoffs for the last several years but they can't seem to get over the hump to get too far. Perhaps all that experience and familiarity will eventually help them make the leap.