Re-signing Antawn Jamison will be an offseason priority for the Wizards. AP Ian Thomsen's Mailbag Ian Thomsen will periodically answer questions from SI.com users in his mailbag. Name: Email: Hometown: Question: SEND

5 Playoff teams with big questions to answer

5. Washington Wizards. Their stubbornness in refusing to yield to Cleveland outweighs the knuckleheadedness of some decisions their players have made recently. The offseason will center on whether to re-sign Gilbert Arenas (who can opt out of his contract) and Antawn Jamison. In both cases, the answer is yes. Arenas can't (and won't, unless the condition of his surgically repaired knee changes horribly) be allowed to walk, because second-team All-NBA guards are almost impossible to replace. The Wizards hope to reach a compromise on a new contract for the 31-year-old Jamison, who has established himself as an All-Star and leader in Washington.

Coach Eddie Jordan appeared in danger at the start of the year, but he strengthened the defense while keeping the team relevant despite the injuries. The Wizards would like to see what they could accomplish with one full year of health.

4. Toronto Raptors. They must re-sign restricted free agent Jose Calderon while gauging the value of fellow point guard T.J. Ford, who has another three years coming at $26 million. Coach Sam Mitchell succeeded in keeping his team together despite myriad health problems; the question going forward is whether he can develop Andrea Bargnani's low-post game. Not that he'll ever be dominant down low, but he needs to have those skills to become an All-Star complement to Chris Bosh. If Bargnani doesn't fulfill that potential, then Toronto president Bryan Colangelo will have made a mistake in selecting him ahead of No. 2 pick LaMarcus Aldridge of Portland in the 2006 draft. As Bargnani improves, so improve the Raptors.

3. Denver Nuggets. Owner Stan Kroenke spent $83 million on the league's third-highest payroll for a team that has won four playoff games over the last five seasons. A short-term goal would be to restore Nenê's value in order to move his contract (worth $43 million over the next four years). Unless they can trade Allen Iverson or Marcus Camby to a team with cap space, the Nuggets must endure another heavy luxury-tax bill next season. Otherwise, expect Iverson to become a free agent in 2009 as the Nuggets allow his $20.8 million to expire from the books. Restricted free agent J.R. Smith probably can be re-signed below the mid-level range. Coach George Karl appears safe for next season, but everything could change if the Knicks hire his chief ally, Nuggets vice president Mark Warkentien, as general manager, in which case a wholesale cleansing of Denver's front office may be in the works.

2. Dallas Mavericks. Their payroll drops from a league-leading $105 million to $83 million as the phantom contracts of Michael Finley and Shawn Bradley expire this summer. But they have no first-round pick, Devean George is their biggest free agent and they're committed to five players at a combined $70 million next season, so it will be difficult to undergo a comprehensive makeover of a team whose spirit appears broken after successive first-round playoff losses. Jason Kidd's $21.4 million expiring salary may be movable next season, but in this case the cliché is true about it being easier to fire the coach than to trade the players.

Who should be hired to replace Avery Johnson? The Mavs decided that Don Nelson's emphasis on offense couldn't win a championship, and unhappiness with Johnson's structure convinced them of the need for Kidd's unpredictability and the easy baskets he creates in transition. It's hard to envision the next phase for this team.

1. Phoenix Suns. The rest of the league is hoping that they fire coach Mike D'Antoni, as it would put one of the best coaches on the market while ending the Suns' run of contention. It's probably not a good idea to hire someone new to coach a lineup with a current 25-year-old in Amaré Stoudemire and four others who will average 35 years at this time next season. A new coach is going to teach Steve Nash and Shaquille O'Neal how to improve their pick-and-roll defense? It's not happening.

Nash has excelled for two up-tempo coaches throughout his career -- Nelson and D'Antoni -- and to insist on a different style of play, as any defensive-minded coach would do, would likely diminish Nash's strengths. I don't see these guys taking well to longer practices, either.

Let's be honest: If the Suns want to become more of a defensive team, then they need to overhaul their roster, because a simple coaching change is not going to bring out new qualities in All-Stars with 10 or more years of mileage. Before starting over again, they may want to review how things have been going in Sacramento since its high-scoring team bottomed out a few years ago. To change the way they play, the Suns will have to change the players, and that is going to be painful. Wouldn't it make more sense to see if they can contend for one or more years with Shaq, Nash and Stoudemire in training camp with D'Antoni?

No team has won a championship in modern times by playing to the high-scoring style of Rick Adelman in Sacramento or D'Antoni in Phoenix, but both could have won championships if not for Robert Horry, who made the outrageous three-pointer to kill the Kings years before his infamous hip-check of Nash culminated in Stoudemire's decisive suspension last season. More teams would commit to playing fast if only Adelman or D'Antoni had proved once and for all that it works, but one guy -- Horry -- has killed the up-tempo revolution.