With Shannon Brown re-signing with the Champs along with the addition of Matt Barnes, Steve Blake and Theo Ratliff, the Lakers will tour the Western Conference and make their fourth straight trip to the NBA Finals. His opponent remains to be determined as the Eastern Conference has been reloaded. The Celtics, Heat, Bulls, Hawks and Magic will meet throughout the season, but only one will face Kobe in June. Let’s take a look at the contenders:

Atlanta Hawks: Swept by LeBron James the past two years, the Hawks will most likely be swept this year as they haven’t improved their roster during this free agency period. Re-signing Joe Johnson was huge, but a team full of wing players and an aging point guard will result in this team not representing the Eastern Conference.

Chicago Bulls: Since Elton Brand was traded to the Clippers, the Bulls responded to their low-post answers by signing Carlos Boozer, who should provide 20 points and 10 rebounds at best. Chicago missed out on signing JJ Reddick, but added Kyle Korver for long-range shooting and Corey Brewer, who is a defensive-minded shooting guard. With the best young point guard in the league and Noah improving every year, the Bulls should be, at best, the third or fourth best team in the East. CJ Watson is the backup point guard, but I’m not sold on him.

Orlando Magic: Adding Chris Duhon finally gives Jameer Nelson the quality backing he needs from Rafer Alson. Re-signing JJ Reddick along with the addition of Quentin Richardson gives the Magic long-range shooting. If Vince Carter and Rashard Lewis have another disappearing act like they did against the Celtics, don’t expect the Magic to return to the NBA Finals. Hopefully, Superman learned some offensive moves from assistant coach Patrick Ewing.

Miami Heat: The winner of the 2010 free agency period appears to be the best team in the Eastern Conference … on paper. The addition of LeBron James and Chris Bosh along with the resignation of Dwayne Wade creates problems as well as increased ticket sales. An extremely weak bench means all three superstars will work harder for all 82 games. The addition of Mike Miller and the experience of Juwan Howard and Eddie House help, but not that much. Remember that Wade and House are the only players on this team with championship rings.

Boston Celtics: The Black Irish are my predictions to win the Eastern Conference. They are the only team that can play the All-Star game and the Legends game on the same day. Adding the two O’Neals (Shaq and Jermaine) is a huge improvement over losing Rasheed Wallace. Shaq will start until Kendrick Perkins returns, but if he and Jermaine can play 20 minutes, one game would be huge. Rondo will continue to run the team, but this could be the last run for the future hall of fame lineup of Shaq, KG, Pierce and Allen.