Ranking the top teams in the Eastern Conference post-free agency
By Rob Slater
The Eastern Conference was left in ruins after a number of big names took their talents west, but how do those remain stack up now that the dust has settled?
Much like the early pioneers, many top names in the NBA traveled west this summer leaving the Eastern Conference outgunned and undermanned against its Western Conference counterparts.
But out of the exodus arises opportunity for teams looking to shoot up the rankings after Chicago, Atlanta and Indiana, all playoff teams last season, decided to overhaul their roster. The Bulls and Pacers both dealt their star players to Western Conference teams while the Hawks began a trend to younger (and cheaper) that lost them Paul Millsap and Thabo Sefolosha.
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Then there was the activity from the conference’s top teams. The Celtics famously added star forward Gordon Hayward but will have to sacrifice the depth that got them to the Eastern Conference Finals (Celtics have already lost Amir Johnson and sent Avery Bradley to Detroit).
Meanwhile, the reigning conference champions made nothing but negative headlines as general manager David Griffin left Cleveland and the team failed to make big moves for stars Paul George or Carmelo Anthony.
Toronto and Washington, the third and fourth seeds respectively, retained most of their cores after the Wizards made their matching of Otto Porter’s offer sheet official.
With the bottom of the Eastern Conference changing drastically (Detroit, Charlotte and Miami will surely find themselves in the playoffs this year) and the top remaining the same, how do things stack up after free agency?