NBA Draft Kit: Central Division Position Battles

The Cavaliers are certainly the big, bad wolf in the East. The Pacers, Bucks and Bulls have all made changes this offseason, but are they a threat to LeBron James and company? Maybe. But more importantly, how do the offseason roster changes affect playing time? Let's review the current position battles and, hopefully, discover some potential fantasy gems for the upcoming season.

Chicago Bulls

It's been weeks since Dwyane Wade's return to Chicago, yet I'm still shocked. Yes, I get that Wade grew up in Chicago and this is a nice homecoming. Still, I assumed the Heat had Flash on the "farewell tour and statue outside the building" path. Presumably, Wade and Jimmy Butler will see a ton of minutes playing both shooting guard and small forward. The battle is at the other forward spot:

Power Forward:Nikola Mirotic, Taj Gibson, Bobby Portis, Cristiano Felicio

With Pau Gasol (Spurs) and Joakim Noah (Knicks) moving on, there are suddenly plenty of minutes available on Chicago's baseline. Robin Lopez presumably will get the bulk of the minutes at center, but what about the four? Gibson is coming off a 55-start season, so presumably, he has high expectations. If Tom Thibodeau was still in charge, Gibson would certainly start, but with Fred Hoiberg running things, I think the Bulls opt for Mirotic's outside shooting. Threekola, who shot 39 percent from three-point land last year, might be the only deep shooting threat in the starting five. Here's how RotoWire's Bulls expert Mike Barner (@rotomikebarner) puts it:

I think the Bulls power forward spot is up for grabs between Mirotic and Gibson. The Bulls will need shooting in the starting five so while Gibson has the history and defensive prowess, I think they might bring him off the bench and let Niko fire away. Rondo could give him plenty of good looks.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Not much has changed in BELIEVELAND since their remarkable Game 7 win over Golden State (yes, I called that). LeBron James re-signed for even more money (three years, $100 million) and the Cavs picked up Mike Dunleavy on the cheap as Chicago was looking to clear cap space for Wade. In Cleveland, the only question marks are at shooting guard:

Shooting Guard:Mike Dunleavy, J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert

Why is this position always so hard to fill for Cleveland? With LeBron and Kyrie Irving drawing all the attention, the Cavs seem like a dream location for a catch-and-shoot two-guard. What is John Paxson doing?

Last year, the enigmatic Smith started 77 games for the Cavs, shooting a not particularly impressive 41.5 percent from the field and, at times, playing tough defense. But Smith remains a free agent and the two sides don't seem close. That means, as of now, lots of minutes are available for Dunleavy and Shumpert. It's doubtful the 35-year-old Dunleavy can handle major minutes – he's averaged 61 appearances over the past five years and is no longer quick enough to guard the league's premier wings. Shumpert still plays excellent defense, but last year's 37.4 percent shooting makes him a liability in most fantasy formats, unless "Kanye Video Appearances" is a stat in your league. If Smith has a protracted contract hold-out, Dunleavy could be a very cheap source of fantasy threes.

Since I mentioned former-Bull John Paxson, here is his game winning three in Game 6 of the 1993 NBA Finals. Danny Ainge, play some D!

Detroit Pistons

The starting five in Detroit is set with Reggie Jackson, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Marcus Morris, Tobias Harris and Andre Drummond. In fact, all five starters averaged over 30 minutes per game last year. The main question for the Pistons is how to get more playing time for second-year, 20-year-old Stanley Johnson. Assuming none of the starters pass out from exhaustion, Johnson is probably looking at another 23 minutes per game as the sixth-man. This is a young team, so expect Stan Van Gundy to keep a small rotation and continue playing his young studs major minutes.

Let's enjoy PG Reggie Jackson doing his best Stan Van Gundy impersonation:

Indiana Pacers

Management seemed to realize that the "Paul George as superstar" window may be brief, so they quickly made some win-now changes to the roster. Veteran Jeff Teague will take over at point guard and Thaddeus Young will man the power forward spot. Monta Ellis will quit his hybrid guard role and focus on shooting guard responsibilities. The only question that remains is the spot in the middle.

Center: Myles Turner, Al Jefferson, Lavoy Allen

Pacer fans must be praying that Turner can grab the majority of minutes at center this year and for many years to come. Long term, the odds seem high of that occurring. But short term, Turner needs to solve his occasional offensive lapses. Too many times last season Turner's shot deserted him. For instance, he scored eight points or fewer in eight of the final 11 regular season games. So the possibly impatient Pacers brought in Jefferson on a three-year, $30 million contract. Jefferson has averaged 32.3 minutes per game over his 12-year career. How well will he adjust to a bench role?

I think for a veteran with Jefferson's very high mileage, this is a smart move. He should recognize it's better to play a supporting role and win games. But Colin Cowherd apparently thinks this move is bigger than Kevin Garnett to the Celtics:

.@ColinCowherd: After signing Al Jefferson, the Pacers are a TOP 5 NBA team.https://t.co/TqGgUDIy5d

— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) July 1, 2016

Milwaukee Bucks

Giannis Antetokounmpo is going to play point guard. I can't say it enough because it is so exciting. This means the Michael Carter-Williams free fall continues. It also means the Bucks finally added some outside shooting by having Mirza Teletovic and Matthew Dellavedova join Kris Middleton on the wings. OK, they are not adding a young Ray Allen, but it's an improvement .

But what about all that money being spent at center?

Center: Greg Monroe, John Henson, Miles Plumlee, Thon Maker

I would love to see what Henson could do with 30+ minutes per game. Last year's 4.1 blocks per 36 minutes ranked fourth in the NBA. That defines rim protection, which the Bucks will need with Delly and Teletovic playing major minutes. Henson is still only 25 and has shot north of 56 percent each of the past two seasons.

The Bucks seem to have admitted that the Monroe signing was a mistake, as he came off the bench for the 12 games in the second half of last season that he appeared in. And there were numerous trade rumors this summer. Look for coach Jason Kidd to make some kind of announcement before the season starts.

Further complicating things, the Bucks re-signed Plumlee this summer to four-year, $52 million. That's a lot of money for your third center, adding to the Monroe rumor mill.

Confused? Well, don't forget that the Bucks also drafted 7-foot-1, 19-year-old enigma Thon Maker. Here is RotoWire hoops expert and Bucks aficionado Nick Whalen's (@wha1en) take:

How long can the Bucks afford to start Greg Monroe? They got better defensively in the backcourt (Delly), but Teletovic doesn't help on that end. Could finally be the year John Henson gets his chance…We still don't really know where Thon Maker will play; my guess is he plays in ~65ish games and averages around 10 minutes