NBA Draft Kit: Southwest Division Positional Battles

While everyone freaks out about Kevin Durant in Golden State, know that there have been plenty of other changes out West. Father Time is finally catching up with the Spurs. The Mavs continue to make "interesting" free-agent moves. Houston is hoping for addition via subtraction. Memphis' revolving door at small forward continues. And the Pelicans continue to struggle to surround Anthony Davis with quality teammates.

Dallas Mavericks

The good news: Dallas signed a dream team Olympic gold medal winner! The bad news: it's Harrison Barnes. Sigh. The addition of Barnes quickly fills the gap left by Chandler Parsons, who signed with the Grizzlies. With the addition of center Andrew Bogut, acquired when Golden State had to clear cap room for Durant, the starting five is set. Expect Deron Williams at the point, Wesley Matthews at shooting guard, Barnes at small forward, future Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki at power forward and Bogut in the middle. But who will score off the bench?

Scoring Sixth Man:J.J. Barea, Devin Harris, Seth Curry, Dwight Powell

The Mavs have a thin bench, and they're pretty old at some starting positions. Barea is 32 and Harris turns 34 in February. Speed-oriented players tend to age poorly, plus both averaged single-digit points per game last year. That leaves plenty of opportunity for Curry (26) and Powell (25) to lead the second unit. Fantasy-wise, Powell is more of a defense-first option at the four and five, so expecting him to score over 10 points per game is unrealistic. That leaves the much-traveled Curry with one whale of an opportunity. He could be a Vinnie-the-Microwave-Johnson type player off the bench, especially if Harris and Barea get lots of starts when 33-year-old Williams is injured (66-game average over the past five years). Curry showed some flashes in Sacramento last year, including shooting 45 percent from three land and 83 percent from the line.
Houston Rockets
If you think the Mavs have a thin bench, check out the Rockets' depth chart. And it will get uglier when Eric Gordon suffers his inevitable injury. The starting five is set with Patrick Beverley, James Harden, Trevor Ariza, newcomer Ryan Anderson and the Swiss Roll, Clint Capela. But minutes off the bench are up for grabs.

Backup Guards:Eric Gordon, Pablo Prigioni, Gary Payton, Isaiah Taylor, K.J. McDaniels, Corey Brewer

Gordon will get big minutes and then get hurt, mark it down. He's averaged 44 games played per season over the past five years. That means big minutes could be in order for the 39-year-old Prigioni and Payton, an undrafted free agent. Yikes. Brewer (6-foot-9) and McDaniels (6-6) will probably be forced to play a lot of minutes at the two, even though both are better suited to play small forward. Unfortunately, Brewer shot 38.4 percent last year and McDaniels wasn't much better at 40.3 percent.

Backup Big Men:Michael Beasley, Nene Hilario, Chinanu Onuaku

Yes, that's right, Beasley is now in Houston, and frankly, he had a pretty good run over the last 20 games, averaging 12.8 points, 4.9 boards and 18 minutes per game with impressive 52.2 percent shooting from the field. That's quality bench production, and he could be a cheap fantasy steal. But after Beasley, it's a free fall. 33 years old and often injured, Hilario will back up the young Capela at center. Remember, Capela is no lock for solid 28-minutes of production. The Swiss Roll played only 19 minutes per last year, and while his defense was stellar, he only scored 7.0 points per game. But how much does Nene really have left in the tank? Onuaku, a second-round pick in this year's draft from Louisville, is third in line at center, but he's only 19 years old and is defensively-focused.

Memphis Grizzlies

Things in Memphis are pretty set after they poached Chandler Parsons (four years for $94 million) from Houston and re-signed Mike Conley (five years for a staggering $153 million). The starting five is Conley, Tony Allen, Parsons, Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol. 39-year-old Vince Carter will provide points off the bench and JaMychal Green and Brandan Wright will back-up the aging big vets. That leaves…

Backup Point Guard: Wade Baldwin, Andrew Harrison, Tony Wroten

If those names don't jump out at you, you are forgiven. Conley has averaged over 30 minutes per game since after his rookie 2007-08 campaign, so maybe this debate doesn't matter. But he's also coming back from an Achilles injury that forced him to miss 26 games last year. The rookie Baldwin is expected to be Conley's backup. Baldwin slid in the draft down to no. 17 in the first round after murmurings that the 6-4 point was a bad teammate. The veteran-heavy Grizzlies will probably shake him of his bad habits. He's worth a late-round flier in deep and keeper leagues. Harrison (second-round rookie) and Wroten could battle for the last roster spot.
New Orleans Pelicans
The Pelicans have struggled to surround Anthony Davis with a strong supporting cast. This offseason, the Pels added rookie Buddy Hield with the no. 6 overall pick in this year's draft and Solomon Hill via free agency. But they lost both Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon to Houston via free agency. And in very serious news, Jrue Holiday will miss extended time to be with his pregnant wife, who is set to undergo brain surgery. In addition, Tyreke Evans isn't expected back until mid-November, or possibly later, as he recovers from February knee surgery.

Point Guard: E'Twaun Moore, Tim Frazier, Langston Galloway

Things appear rocky in the New Orleans backcourt, but Moore is coming off a breakthrough season in Chicago, where he averaged 7.5 points, 1.7 assists and 0.8 made threes in 21 minutes per game in 59 appearances. As you can see, those are quality back-up shooting guard stats, not point guard stats, though Moore is listed as the starting point guard to start the season. When injuries rocked the Pelicans last year, the team was forced to play Frazier big minutes down the stretch, encouraging the squad to release Toney Douglas. A more traditional point guard than Moore, expect Frazier to see 25+ minutes per game until Holiday returns. Frazier could be the fantasy gem in this situation, as over his last 16 games last year he averaged 13.1 points, 7.5 assists and 0.8 made threes from 29 minutes per game. He could be staring at a similar situation for the first month or two of this season, with Moore needing to help Hield at the two. Galloway will be given a chance to revitalize his career after a disappointing sophomore season for the Knicks.
San Antonio Spurs
Let's take a moment to appreciate the career of Tim Duncan: in 19 seasons, he had the most ever career wins (1,074, 60 wins ahead of second place Robert Parish), five championships and two MVP awards. Not bad.

He'll be replaced at center by veteran Pau Gasol. That sets a pretty impressive starting five of Tony Parker, Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard, LaMarcus Aldridge and Gasol. Veterans Manu Ginobili and newly acquired David Lee will provide a boost off the bench. In typical Coach Pop fashion, all the roles are defined well before the season starts.

That said, let's end things with some Tim Duncan career highlights: