GS and Bulls ranked in top 10 for off season improvement

GSW and Bulls are both listed in the top 10 for teams that improved with the draft and free agency. Da Bulls are #7.

The Bulls turned one lottery pick into two, and will reap the benefits. I'm a big Ben Gordon guy, and so are most of the league's scouts -- "he's not going to fail," a personnel guy said before the draft. A Gordon-Kirk Hinrich backcourt is going to be rough sledding for opponents for a long time, and getting Deng, who should step in to the small forward spot, with the seventh pick is only a bonus. Deng isn't going to wow you with athletic prowess, but he does everything well. When he adds a jumper to his game, watch out. Plus, whatever John Paxson decides to do with Jamal Crawford, he should get something good in return, but he's also looking to also rid himself of some onerous contracts (Eddie Robinson and Jerome Williams), and that might not be possible. We know Chicago will only go as far as Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry improve this season, but with the new kids on the block, and with Scott Skiles getting an entire offseason and training camp to get everyone in shape, the Bulls should be much improved next season.

GSW are #9.

They finally gave Chris Mullin the keys to the car, and Mully hasn't wasted any time. He brought in Rod Higgins as his right-hand man, drafted big man Bierdins out of Latvia with the 11th pick and hired Stanford's Mike Montgomery as head coach. The last is the biggest gamble, but at least Mullin put solid assistants (Terry Stotts, Mario Elie) around him, and the NBA guys who worked with Montgomery on the World Championship team say he's got a chance. And Mullin is surrounding his young core of Jason Richardson, Mike Dunleavy and Troy Murphy with veterans from winning situations -- enter 0.4 hero Fisher, and Davis, whose been in the playoffs for most of the last decade. Giving Adonal Foyle $41 million is a reach, though, even if Dampier won't be retained. That should set up an interesting negotiation next summer with Dan Fegan, Dampier's agent -- and the rep for Murphy and Richardson, both of whom could be restricted free agents after next season. But Mullin isn't going to back down from a fight.

GMs C.Mullin and J.Paxson are similar. Both are players from the same NBA generation who "got by" on work ethic and drive rather than talent. Neither is going to back down or blink in a trade stand-off (Crawford and Dampier) nor are they frightened to take risks. Mullin has not waited on E.Dampier. Once he opted out of his contract C.Mullin made moves to resign his other center A.Foyle and acquire a new back-up center from Portland. This means GS can be flexible in future deals and doesn't need a replacement center in a sign-and-trade for E.Dampier.

E.Dampier is the "best" free agent left and as a center, he could make the difference between the payoffs or the NBA lottery for an Eastern conference team.