Three-Man Weave: Eastern Conference Power Plays

Yes, there are still free agents out there and teams still have slots to fill. But most of the big names are gone, and most of the contenders are done reloading, retooling or rebuilding for the 2014-15 season.

With that in mind, here is another edition of the Three-Man Weave, looking specifically at the balance of power in the Eastern Conference and how it has shifted.

1. Which team is the favorite in the Eastern Conference?

CHRIS SHERIDAN, PUBLISHER: Da Bulls, with a special dark-horse mention of the Wizards. But when you look at Chicago, you don’t see too many weaknesses. Questions, yes. But weaknesses? No, aside from having a lights-out perimeter shooter. The front line of Pau Gasol, Joakim Noah and Nikola Mirotic is like a mini-United Nations of guys who can splendidly complement each other. The backcourt includes an MVP caliber point guard in Derrick Rose and a studly defender in Jimmy Butler. The coach is one of those nuts who wants to go 82-0 and overplays his best players in every game. And there is still plenty of time to build the bench.

CHRIS BERNUCCA, MANAGING EDITOR: Although Chicago will get a lot of love because of its established star power, I’m going with Cleveland. I learned a long time ago that the teams with the best players are customarily the best teams, and in LeBron James, the Cavaliers have the best player, regardless of who won the ESPY. Any team with James can pencil in 50 wins, which puts the Cavs in the top of the East bracket. Playing alongside James should accelerate the learning curve of the kids. And championships are all he plays for now.

SHLOMO SPRUNG, COLUMNIST: The playing field in the East has really leveled out and fallen right in Chicago’s favor. Let’s look at the conference’s semifinalists: Miami lost LeBron James and replaced him with Luol Deng. Indiana lost Lance Stephenson and replaced him with Rodney Stuckey, who’s as reliable as your local meteorologist. Brooklyn lost Paul Pierce and will have to lean heavily on an aging roster anchored by the injury-prone Deron Williams and Brook Lopez. Washington is a young and developing team, but still doesn’t have the experience, coaching and star power of Chicago. That leaves us with the Bulls, the only team among the East’s elite to actually improve this offseason. Pau Gasol is an upgrade over Carlos Boozer, Doug McDermott has been really good in Las Vegas and maybe – just maybe – they will get that contribution from Derrick Rose to put them over the top. I’ll take the experienced and deep Bulls over LeBron and the baby Cavs.

2. Aside from LeBron James, what has been the best free agent signing in the Eastern Conference?

SHERIDAN: The Knicks keeping Carmelo Anthony was huge. No way Phil Jackson can build a contender in two years without him. The Heat getting Luol Deng for $10 million keeps them a lock to be a playoff team. The Wizards getting Kris Humphries is sneaky smart. But the best move made by any team was Charlotte getting Lance Stephenson. I have an affinity for guys who are fearless and crazy. That guy was the X-factor for Indiana for the past two years. Now he forms an all-New Yorker backcourt with the improving Kemba Walker. Don’t sleep on the Hornets.

BERNUCCA: The Hornets signing Lance Stephenson. I don’t put as much stock as others do in Stephenson’s perceived “issues.” Yes, he can appear distracted at times. How focused were you when you were 23? He is not Ron Artest with training wheels. But he was the free agent with the highest ceiling, and his $9.5 million team option in 2016-17 will seem like a bargain. Furthermore, he brings a competitive fire and the knowledge of two deep playoff runs to a team that needs a little gunpowder sprinkled on their pasta. Steve Clifford is going to love him.

SPRUNG: Lance Stephenson and Kyle Lowry earn the highest grades in my book, but the Washington Wizards were two wins away from the conference finals. A healthy Paul Pierce, signed for a measly $11 million over two years, brings experience, leadership, accountability and the other clichés thrown at veteran players with a championship background. If Pierce can teach John Wall and Bradley Beal how to mature and win, it will be well worth the investment.

3. What has been the worst free agent signing in the Eastern Conference?

SHERIDAN: I am a big fan of what the Wizards did, but I think they should have found a way to keep Trevor Ariza because of what he gave them at both ends of the court. Every team needs a lockdown defender who can drill 3-pointers when needed. An extra $1 million per year in Washington’s offer could have kept him around. Instead, the Wizards replaced him with Paul Pierce, whose decline over the past two years has been precipitous. I thought it was telling that Brooklyn didn’t really try hard to keep him. His $10.85 million contract will be considered dead money a year from now.

BERNUCCA: Collectively, I’m having a hard time figuring out what Detroit and Orlando are doing (Jodie Meeks? Luke Ridnour?), but none of those individual signings are truly awful. And Dwyane Wade and his 40-year-old knees at $16 million a year sets off some alarms. But I still can’t figure out who Danny Ainge was outbidding when he gave Avery Bradley $32 million for four years. Was there a team preparing a bigger offer? That’s an awful lot of money for an undersized shooting guard who doesn’t create for others or get to the line, regardless of how well he plays defense.

SPRUNG: It’s easy to justify a long-term contract for a young player by saying that you’re paying for his projected value, but I don’t see it with Boston’s Avery Bradley. Danny Ainge gave Bradley four years and $32 million. He allowed 109 points per 100 possessions last season, a number that has gotten progressively worse over each of his four seasons. His offensive rating was 100 and he needed 13.8 shots to score 14.9 points on 43.8 percent shooting for a horrific team. Isaiah Thomas got four years and $27 million from the Suns after averaging over 20 points and six assists with better shooting, a vastly better PER and nearly six more win shares than Bradley. With Marcus Smart and Rajon Rondo in the backcourt, I don’t see Bradley fitting in unless Boston moves Rondo, which would be a mistake given Bradley’s track record.