Conspiracy Theories and Cap Space!: A Look at the NBA’s Atlantic Division

SBN’s Raptors HQ came through with a fantastic preview of the ‘09 Raptors, a team that’s seen more turnover on their roster than anyone in the league. Bryan Colangelo doesn’t mess around, and, dissatisfied with last season’s results, he brought in freakish athletes like Amir Johnson and Demar DeRozan, and bruisers like Jarrett Jack and Reggie Evans. But chief among the additions was Hedo Turkoglu. Raptors HQ offers their take:

You have to give them credit: the Raptors HQ guys are being realistic. Acquiring Hedo was far riskier for the Raptors, than say, it would have been for Portland, where he nearly ended up. Toronto’s a young team approaching a crossroads— with Chris Bosh set to decide whether he’ll stick around Toronto for a longterm deal, this year’s critical—and a rough year from Hedo could bode very poorly from a team that otherwise has plenty of bright spots.

That’s dedicated to the Philadelphia 76ers. After they signed PF Elton Brand last summer to a 5-year, $80 million contract, GM Ed Stefanski had this to say (via the Associated Press):

Uh, you hit G8, bro. Elton Brand has been consistently solid--if unspectacular--throughout his career, but this signing was doomed from the start. Not only was Brand coming off a season-ending injury, but the Sixers were inviting all sorts of negative karma by signing a guy who’d previously promised the Clippers and Baron Davis he’d re-sign with Los Angeles. So, let’s see... Injury-prone power forward + bad karma ... yup, that makes for a season-ending ACL injury.

Really. No man has generated more false rumors, myths, and conspiracy theories since Tupac’s excursion in Vegas. What do we know? Kevin Garnett, himself, says the knee is pain-free. He told the Boston Globe as much on Saturday:

Then again, the debate still persists. Because let’s be honest: Garnett had knee problems all last season, and when he finally went on the injured list, it wasn’t supposed to signal the end of his season. Then he was out for a month. Then he was out for two months. And then he missed the playoffs. So who knows whether we’re getting the whole story from Garnett and the Celtics, both of whom insist he’ll be 100% come the regular season.

With each of SB Nation’s team blogs preparing season previews for 2009, I’ll be putting together divisional previews, as well, highlighting stuff they’ve discussed, reveling in irrelevant quotes and anecdotes, and generally biding my time as NBA editor until the season finally begins in little less than a month.

In any case, enough prelude.We’ll be updating this stream with scattered thoughts on the Atlantic Division for the rest of the day, so be sure to check back. And check out the team-by-team previews, as well, because they’re excellent.