The NBA offseason is still young, but we have already seen major player movement especially amongst some of the best teams in the league.  The Spurs, Magic, and Cavaliers, all teams who have recently appeared in an NBA Finals (and in the case of the Spurs, actually won a title) have all added major pieces to what they hope is a NBA Title puzzle.  With free agency starting July 1st, how do the teams stack up as of now?  Let's count down, starting with number five.


5. Denver Nuggets
Many people thought the Nuggets could win the title this year after their dominating performance in the first two rounds of the playoffs.  Of course, that ignored the fact that the Hornets and Mavericks were two of the worst playoff participants.  However, if the Nuggets choose to go over the luxury tax and keep all their peices together, they should improve this season.  While many people will still try to attribute this to Chauncey Billups (fun fact: the Nuggets only improved 4 games over the previous year; Billups didn't massively upgrade this team), it will due to Carmelo Anthony and Ty Lawson.  Carmelo finally put his whole game together last year and realized his potential.  The young man has yet to enter his physical prime (only 25 years old) and will certainly continue to improve.  Assuming Ty Lawson can translate his game from the collegiate ranks, he will provide even more energy to one of the most electric benches in recent NBA memory.  These two men will allow the Nuggets to continue to grow and possibly contend for an NBA title.


4. Boston Celtics
Being a Lakers fan I hate to admit this, but if Kevin Garnett was healthy last year we may have seen a repeat of the 2008 NBA Finals.  However, he wasn't.  The Celtics should still do quite well this year, despite Ray Allen and Paul Pierce showing signs of age.  Rajon Rondo, assuming Danny Ainge doesn't trade him away, is looking like an All-Star point guard who will rival Derrick Rose his whole career.  Big Baby Davis showed that he can contribute when given time and Kendrick Perkins, despite apparently hating life, will continue to improve playing alongside the Kevin Garnett.  The Celtics may not have a true go-to man this year depending on how much life Pierce, Allen, and Garnett show this year, but will have a plethora of viable options in late game situations.  This can be good or bad, likely depending on Doc River's coaching ability and the unselfishness of his players.


3. Orlando Magic
The reigning Eastern Conference champions have made a big splash already this offseason, acquiring Vince Carter from the New Jersey Nets.  They gave up Rafer Alston, who they won't miss, and Courtney Lee, who they may miss.  The move likely means that Hedo Turkoglu will be gone.  However, the Magic may not be done.  They are rumored to be going after Rasheed Wallace, who could provide them some post offense (because Dwight Howard can't) and Wallace still has the ability to stretch the floor which is incredibly important for Orlando's offense.  Assuming they get Wallace, they will have added two very talented peices who will be risky hit-or-miss guys.  If Carter and Wallace can find their role in the offense, the Magic may find themselves on the top of this list.  If Carter and Wallace decide to take a bigger peice of the offense than they deserve, the Magic will likely find themselves off of this list completely.


2. Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers have done nothing so far this offseason.  They sold off their 1st two picks in the draft in hopes of keeping some more money in their pockets so they can sign both Lamar Odom and Trevor Ariza this offseason.  I'm going with the assumption that both men stay with the Lakers.  If they (especially Odom) don't, the Lakers could be in trouble. When Odom finds his groove, the Lakers are nearly unbeatable.  The Lakers haven't necessarily done anything wrong this offseason, but have been surpassed by a team having a nearly flawless offseason.


1. San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs started their offseason by trading three worthless players for Richard Jefferson.  If Jefferson plays as he did last season, he will play a huge part in spreading the court by hitting the corner three that the Spurs depend so much on.  After that, they had the good fortune to having DeJuan Blair, a natural Spurs fit if there ever was one, falling to them in the 2nd round of the draft.  After that, they selected Jack McClinton from Miami, who has Eddie House-like instant offense ability with the 51st pick.  Nobody in the NBA has had a better offseason so far than the Spurs.  If the Spurs can remain healthy, which is a big if at this point, they are undoubtedly the NBA title favorites right now.

You may have noticed that a certain reigning MVP's team is not on this list.  Despite having the best regular season record last year, the Cavaliers pretty much ended any chance of winning the title this year by acquiring Shaquille O'Neal from the Suns.  While Shaq played well last year, he doesn't help the Cavaliers one bit.  The Cavaliers were knocked out from the playoffs last year because they could not defend Rashard Lewis (and would've had similar problems with Lamar Odom).  Shawn Marion, Charlie Vilanueva, or Rasheed Wallace would've been a much better fits for the Cavaliers, but Cleveland went with Shaq.  The Cavaliers will probably have another year like the previous one - great regular season and exposed in the playoffs.