1) 1st off i'll address the interesting and somewhat surprising trade of charlie villanueva from toronto for tj ford from milwaukee. i know the bucks were shopping the tiny ford because he lacked a big, consistent spark last year and his size made him a liability on defense, but he is more talented, hes quicker, and has more playmaking ability and potential than the other two options at point for the bucks, charlie bell and mo williams. bell came on to end the season and really played hard so i guess he earned the job, but i still question this trade for milwaukee because they lack a real proven long-term point guard now. the bucks still have plenty of young talent and added to that talent pool in a big way with villanueva, he was a huge rookie surprise with toronto and showed off his versatile offensive skills and ability to score. he will be a bright young player and a key for the buck's nucleus, he doesn't fit on the team that well and he doesn't fill any glaring need but he will help with shooting and with shouldering the offensive load, especially when the disappointing magloire is released. so toronto got their point guard of the future and the pass-1st guy that chris bosh desired, which throws mike james way out of the picture, but it's still yet to be seen if ford is the player he can be. i have trust in colangelo though and he knows how to find talent. the bucks got another talented young future-star and villanueva will be a key player for many years.

2) The New Orleans Hornets have been very busy in the offseason and i have really loved all the moves they have made. they lost valuable veteran backup speedy claxton to the point guard starved hawks but he became expendable after they signed instant-offense guard bobby jackson. the hornets did not address their need for a spot up shooter to complement the drive-and-kick chris paul in the draft because their need for big men was greater, but they ended up stealing one of the best pure shooters in the game away from indiana in peja stojakavic. they locked him in for the future and the new environment might be exactly what peja needs to get out of his shooting slump, this is a fantastic pickup for the hornets, peja will be happy because he will get tons of open looks with paul feeding him the ball, and paul finally has a real shooter to make the open shots when he drives. along with the two big men (hilton armstrong and cedric simmons) they got in the draft the hornets addressed every single one of their issues and their talent has greatly improved, i already think that they should be a lock to make the playoffs just because chris paul doesn't have to be superman anymore with his new, deep, and talented supporting cast. now all they need to do is unload the inconsistent j.r. smith, who has yet to pan out and develop and who is not fitting in with the hornets despite all of his talent.

3) other free agent deals going on are between the two teams of l.a., the new and improved clippers and the rebuilding kobe-centred lakers. the clips failed to hang on to offensivley-skilled euro vladimir radmanavic, which isn't a big surprise seeing as vlad failed to give the clippers much energy during the season and didn't come through with points or minutes in the playoffs. he's instead jumped across town to the lakers where his scoring and three point shooting will help right away, the lakers need scoring support and the will probably give vlad the starting job that he's desired for 2 seasons now. the clippers managed to keep veteran leader and clutch ace sam cassell, a very important move for the team seeing as he was a key reason for the clippers improvement in play and attitude and he holds the team together with his all-around play, plus his experience and leadership. this is also a good sign for clippers fans because it shows that donald sterling is taking some initiative and spending some money to fulfill elton brand's wishes and keep last year's team intact. there are also rumors that the clippers made up for the radmanavic loss by picking up tim thomas from phoenix, who's shooting and offensive versatility will be very valuable off the bench, depth was a key concern for the clips and if thomas can do what he did in phoenix last year (which probably won't happen) than he will be one of the best sixth men in the league. the suns also picked up veteran erick piatkowski, a notorious three point bomber whose shot has kept him in the league for a long time, his three point shooting will fit right in with the suns and make up for the loss of eddie house, their instant offense spark off the bench last season, who opted out of his contract with phoenix.

4) Denver has kept their core intact by getting 'melo locked up for the future and keeping their brazilian big man nene around for the long-term, even though he was hurt all of last season. denver still hasn't found that ever-elusive three point shooter they have needed for so long, though. the mavs re-signed jason terry but are still pursuing mike james, they love his toughness and his scoring and would like to play terry and james together in the backcourt, but his old team, my rockets, are going after him as well and they have an advantage in that james lives in houston and would fit right in, the rocket's have big depth issues, especially in their backcourt, and james could fix them and provide the scoring that the rocket's lacked so much last season. the bulls seem to be succeeding in wooing ben wallace from detroit, im starting to accept that maybe moving ben wallace wouldn't be such a bad thing for the pistons. the bulls still need big men and wallace is a proven vet who would be an improvement no doubt, but he provides no offense and the bulls need scoring in the post. the pistons need more energy and depth and they could fix those needs with ease without ben's maximum level contract on their hands, but the chemistry issues that wallace's departure would cause are hard to ignore. you'll have to stay tuned for that one. al harrington wants to go back to indiana and it seems like a great fit for him, he won the sixth man of the year award playing there and has improved since, indiana doesn't have a whole lot of talent in their frontcourt and even if the combination would be undersized, a jermaine o'neal and al harrington frontcourt would be fantastic. don't forget that the league is shifting to small ball either. keep an eye on bonzi wells too, after his dominating playoff performance against the spurs he's bound to be getting plenty of oversized offers.

5) so it's official, the bulls finally nabbed ben wallace away from the pistons for a reported 4 year deal worth 52 million dollars. big money and i don't think wallace is worth it at this point in his career, wallace fans may not want to hear it but wallace is on the downside of his playing career and showed signs of fading during last season and in the playoffs. he has virtually no offensive game and may be a worse free throw shooter than shaq, but before i sound like too much of a hater i should mention the good things. hes a proven vet and leader who automatically makes the team tougher and feared in the post, hes still a premier shot blocker and all-around defender and one of the game's best rebounders. he will fire up the team and give them playoff experience, should make them a title contender in my opinion. he doesn't solve the bulls problem of scoring a big man but he makes tyson chandler expendable. the problem with the pistons now is the disruption of their chemistry, they are no longer the dominate starting 5 that set records for most games play together, ben was the heart and soul of the team and he kept them together and acted as their leader, who knows what will happen to team chemistry now and if detroit can ever be the same team. if you look at this move on paper it's a good one for detroit however, they have plenty of money to sign more depth and bring in some high-energy free agents, but thats not taking into account wallace's intangibles. maybe it was the money or maybe it was flip, but for some reason ben is gone.

6) minor notes concerning free agency movement on the date of july 4th. matt harpring re-signed with the utah jazz today, hes a valuable role player for them, a hard worker and coach favorite, it was a good move. hes a high-energy athlete who provides good offense off the bench, he is hurt often though. lebron james has yet to sign the maximum contract extension he was offered, the last one of the big 4 drafted in '03 to have no signed yet. it might be a little disturbing to some cavs fans but they should have nothing to worry about, everyone is making a big deal about it because of who lebron is but he will re-sign soon, i don't blame him for looking at the options because the cavs have not been aggressive enough in getting support for lebron. another surprise to me was joel pryzibilla signing a 5 year extension with portland, i thought that it was pretty clear he wanted out of there but i guess his attitude changed after portland's team-makeover draft and after the bulls, the team that was expected to go after joel the most, signed ben wallace. he will be one of the key players on the blazers and important for their future, hes a hardworker and the type of player that the blazers want to rebuild with. nazr mohammed was also plucked from the spurs as he signed with the pistons to fill their big donut at the center position, after rasho was dealt to the raptors it was only a matter of time before nazr was released. nazr will fit right in with the pistons, hes a scrappy team player and hes a good rebounder and defender.

7) pretty big trade business today as the suddenly and surprisingly aggressive hornets have made another move by making their expected trade of pj brown and jr smith to chicago for power forward tyson chandler on wednesday july 5. this deal was seen coming after the bulls got ben wallace because there was no way that chi-town would play two non-scoring bigs on the floor at the same time and tyson hasn't been what they wanted ever since they drafted him. he will fit right in with the young, athletic, and suddenly run-and-gun hornets, tyson is long, lean, and athletic and will fill pj's role on the boards (especially offensive) and with the shot blocks but with more quickness and energy, chandler won't have the locker room presence of brown and he doesn't even supply the offense of brown either, but will be an important young player and a part of new orleans' nucleus along with chris paul, peja, and david west. the bulls have been huge winners in free agency and the draft and they have made themselves title contenders in the span of a week. they land the athletic and high energy tyrus thomas in the draft to fire up their defense in the frontcourt and get a potential star, than they get the proven vet in ben wallace who will bring all the toughness and frontcourt banging you could want, hes got at least two good years on him. now they land pj brown, one of the best leaders and locker room guys in the nba who will be a valuable backup or even starter with his solid banging and defense and reliable scoring. jr smith really fell out of favor with the hornets and hasn't shown the production to match his talent that was expected of him when he was drafted. he will have to work his way up in the deep rotation of the bulls backcourt and small forward positons but he has great talent and could be one of the bulls best young players and a high energy scorer off the bench for now. the bulls are deep, unstoppable on the perimeter, set in the froncourt, and they are a good defensive team, if they don't finish 2nd in the East with all of this talent they will have underacheived.

8) the dallas mavericks made the expected move and traded versatile forward marquis daniels to indiana for austin croshere, who i thought would be a pacer for his entire career. marquis somehow fell out of favor with avery johnson and surprisingly hardly got into any games during the nba finals, i didn't agree with this at all and i think marquis is an underrated player, i thought he would would be a key member of the mavs nucleus. he had a big contract and dallas got tired of him so i guess they made the smart move, mo ager, the rookie from msu, could be just as good of a player. im more surprised at austin croshere leaving, hes been with the pacers his whole career and has been a very solid and skilled role player and hardworker, a good locker room guy as well. marquis is very quick and athletic and he was the best defender on the mavs, he has a very poor jumpshot but he can definitly score. marquis should fit in with the pacers thanks to his versatility and will probably become one of their key bench players, maybe even a starter someday, while croshere will have more trouble getting into the mavs deeper and more athletic rotation, keith van horn will probably be out in dallas because a team shouldn't have more than one offensively skilled white guy. the utah jazz acquired a good shooting veteran guard in derek fisher, something they needed, he will be key as a leader and veteran presence and with three point shooting off the bench, which the jazz severely lack. utah also traded their underacheiving young big man project, kris humphries, to the raptors so toronto could get their huge draft bust, rafael araujo, off their hands. this is not a big trade by any means but a good one by colangelo in toronto to get the stigma of the araujo draft off their hands.

9) lebron james finally quieted cleveland fans fears by signing the big contract extension saturday. everyone made it a much bigger deal than it really was because he was the last member of the 2003 draft class "big 4" to not agree to his extension, following 'melo, chris bosh, and d-wade. cavs fans had reason to worry because they have been disapointed in professional sports and with promises many times before, and they have not had much to be optimistic about in a long time. if lebron left for a bigger market like new york or chicago it would have been a crushing blow that the cavs or even the nba might not be able to recover from. king james will now be with cleveland for the future and will guide them to a championship someday, though not next year unless the cavs an get more scoring support for james. al harrington still seems to be leaning towards indiana but its getting hard for other teams to get him because the squads with cap space that are left on harringtons list still have to do a sign and trade with the hawks, and the hawks can only do one-year contracts right now because of ownership issues and that's not too attractive to most teams. someone will pick up the versatile and talented al though. mike james has houston, dallas, and minnesota on his small list of teams and is expected to make a decision any day now, dallas seems out of the picture unless james has a love for mark cuban and minnesota would have to do a sign and trade, but james has expressed interest in playing with KG. houston is still the front-runner because james lives there, played there, and has been outspoken about returning.

10) mike james finally made his decision between the mavs, my rockets, and the t-wolves, and he selected minnesota, much to my distress. i was really hoping that james would bring his scoring help to houston and give them the backourt presence they needed, but i guess the 4-year deal that minnesota offered (dallas and houston only offered 3-year deals) and the allure of playing with kevin garnett was too much to pass up on. houston had the advantage of mike living in houston and the fact that he was outspoken about returning to play there after they, sadly, traded him, and dallas had the advantage of avery johnson and mike being friends. he will really help the wolves though, along with ricky davis and randy foye they will have tons of scoring around kevin garnett, but james better replicate his numbers from last year and foye better be good right away because KG is 30 and the timetable for winning a title with him or rebuilding without him is running out. i guess james is just gonna have to become a villified player to me, but houston should not have traded him in the 1st place, even though i'm by no means a rafer alston hater and i think his pass-1st tactics could complement tmac and yao well and hopefully contribute to houston winning a title soon.

11)adrian griffin decided to sign with the bulls, basically just a move to clear out j.r. smith so they could send him to the nuggets for howard eisley. the bulls did not want smith from the time they traded for him and pj brown from new orleans, and smith should be a key player and major contributor for the nuggets. smith has a sweet stroke but he is not the sharpshooter he was supposed to be coming out of high school, hopefully his three point shooting will improve because the nuggets need that bad and all the athleticism and scoring talent that smith brings is already filled on this team. griffin will help the bulls with his experience and leadership, because they are a young team, and will make the hustle plays and give them some hard work off the bench and depth on the perimeter. darius songaila left the bulls and went to the kings, he is a flawless midrange shooter with good size but he cannot do much else except provide some needed depth in the king's frontcourt and give them another big body and versatile offensive option. marcus banks signed with the phoenix suns, he is a perfect fit in their uptemto and lighting quick style, the suns have been looking for a solid backup to steve nash and they found a perfect one. banks is not a true point guard and has not played well over a consistent stretch of his career but he is super-quick and great with penetration, he likes to shoot threes even though he is an average shooter, and he can run the fastbreak. flip murray signed with the detroit pistons to give them some much needed backcourt depth and scoring off the bench, he is undersized for his poisition and an average shooter but he can really score and i think this is a very underrated pickup for detroit, i think the cavs will miss his scoring. dallas got involved with the pacers again in a 4-player trade to get indiana's veteran overacheiver anthony johnson. johnson played incredibly well in the playoffs against the nets last year and he played well when all the pacers were suspended for the brawl at the palace two seasons ago, but the pacers were looking for a true long term point guard (unless they are sticking with tinsley) and johnson is an average veteran who is not as good as he has looked before and has not played consistently good or consistently played many minutes in his career, his scoring talents and leadership will fit right in with the mavs though so it's a pretty good move for them. the pacers got 38 year old darrell armstrong, who won't play much but who will provide much needed depth at point guard, an iffy position for indiana, and he will give them a great locker room presence and leader and a tenacious defender off the bench whenever they need one. i really like the two young players the pacers got, josh powell and rawle marshall. they both have the potential to be very good and i'm kind of surprised that dallas let them go. powell is a strong big man with impressive size and nice shot blocking and defensive ability, but his skills are raw and dallas already has three of the same type of player at center. marshall really impressed me whenever i saw him play, he has great length and athletcism, basically guaranteeing nba success, and his scoring/playmaking ability along with his immense potential as a lockdown defender make him like a younger, rawer, and skinnier shawn marion. both of these guys could be vital pieces of the pacers team someday and i like this trade more for indiana.

12) the spurs surprised the knicks by stealing away their big man project of the future, jackie butler, who is only 21 and came out of high school a few years ago. the knicks were kind of counting on him to return and while this is not a crushing blow it is another tough one for new york, because at least butler is better than jerome james. this is a great move by the spurs, he could finally be the big guy they need, popovich knows what he is doing, butler has a big body and could post-scoring skills, and in san antonio he will onl improve and stay in shape as well. the hornets made their signing of bobby jackson official and they also re-signed vital sharpshooter rasual butler, who really came through for the hornets in key moments last season. the kings signed the somewhat-disappointing john salmons away from the 76ers, after salmons denied an offer from the raptors. the 6-7 swingman was a good player and a good scorer but he never became the type of player or the scoring support that he was supposed to be and he was not a good draft pick by the 76ers organization. he will fit in with the kings and give them yet another versatile and athletic scoring option on the perimeter and maybe he can find a good role here. the raptors signed overrated athlete fred jones away from indiana, jones played pretty well after the artest-brawl 2 seasons ago but his overall game and impact on the team was really overblown and he is not that great of a player. he is a freak athlete with great hops and will give the raptors a spark off the bench, and like i've said before, colangelo knows what he is doing. al harrington is supposed to sign with the pacers any day now, that frontcourt of harrington and jermaine o'neal will be one of the most versatile, athletic, and dangerous in the league and it would be a good move for harrington and for the pacers, harrington is also comfortable and familar with the organization, as he won the 6th man of the year award there. the boston celtics signed another undrafted rookie when they got sharpshooting west virginia big man kevin pittsnogle, kind of a surprise after pittsngole's poor summer league showing, especially shooting-wise. boston is getting some good young players who were left out of the draft though, and pittsnogle will help with shooting thanks to his super-quick release and confidence, he just cannot do much else to get many minutes. the nets landed veteran mikki moore from the sonics, he is like a less athletic and older josh boone, but new jersey needs that type of player and they need frontcort depth desperately so this is a decent pick-up. the raptors keep on signing all these euro and spanish league superstars, i guess they are pulling that strategy where you pick a lot of unknown guys up and hope that one of them pans out. colangelo loves international players and has had success with them in the past so he knows what he is doing, and a lot of these players are getting signed for cheap contracts so if they become contributors it will be a good bargain. the new york knicks have reportedly offered wizard's swingman jared jeffries a 5 year and $30 million deal to come to new york, i don't even know what to make of the knick's moves anymore because there team is filled up with so many players and every position is stacked so much that i don't see how everyone, and especially all these headcases, are going to get playing time. they already have 4 guys at jeffries' position that all want playing time ,so this whole team is just a chemistry mess right now, but a talented mess. jeffries is lanky and athletic and a matchup problem with his lockdown defense but didn't give washington a consistent effort in the playoffs against the cavs and he isn't much of a shooter or offensive player.

supposedly the bucks are bout to finally trade center jamal magloire to the trail blazers for point guard steve blake and centers ha seung-jin and veteran brian skinner. from a casual view this trade doesn't look like much for either team, but it's good for the bucks because they got some needed point guard depth, a tough veteran presence in brian skinner which always helps with a young team like the bucks, and most importantly, they cleared room so that andrew bogut, their center of the future, can move to his more natural position of the 5. magloire was not the answer to the bucks problems at getting over the postseason hump like everyone thought he was and he had an overall poor year, and he is gonna have an even tougher time playing consistent minutes and matching his all-star year production of '04 in portland, where they already have a wealth of post players such as joel pryzibilla, lamarcus aldrige, and zach randolph. they are gonna be in trouble at point guard too if jarrett jack struggles because they don't have anyone backing him up right now except for spanish rookie sergio rodriguez. steve blake is a solid player but portland should have kept him because of the on-court chemistry he shared with juan dixon, blake might get trapped on the bench in milwaukee but at least he is there for insurance now that tj ford is gone. seung-jin is a huge project and it looks like his time has come and gone to prove that he can be a good nba player, he cannot even do much in summer league and he looks like a wasted 7 footer, i doubt a fresh start will change much and i expect the bucks to put him in the d-league or waive him. the addition of skinner is an underrated pickup, he was valuable with the kings as a banger with experience and will contribute with this callow squad.

13) the wizards made jared jeffries expendable by signing free-agent deshawn stevenson from orlando. stevenson will be cheaper and much more enthusiastic and ready to play hard than jeffries, who thought he deserved much more money than he did. stevenson came out of high school a few years back and is still young, but he has not developed into the offensive player many thought he could be. he is a great athlete and high leaper who is an impressive defender as well, could have lockdown-defensive ability in washington. if he can improve his long-range shooting consistency than he will be not only a solid pickup but a great one. the wizards then let jared jeffries go to new york, where he might get more money but will probably get a lot less playing time (good luck getting a smell of the starting lineup) on this crowded roster, where his athleticism and defensive ability can already be filled by numerous others. dallas had added to depth and experience with laker veteran devean george, a good leader and outside shooter who was a key member of the laker's title teams, and with undrafted george washington rookie pops mensah-bonsu, who should fit in with his high-energy athleticism and shot blocking. greg buckner should also make a moderate impact with his toughness, defense, and decent all-around game. lorenzen wright also adds some nice size and toughness to the improving frontcourt of the atlanta hawks, a good pickup for them. the spurs have recently grabbed some more frontcourt help by snatching up denver free agent francisco elson, who is a long and athletic big man with some nice skills, but he is raw and not too polished offensively, the spurs need all the center help that they can get after losing nazr and rasho, and he is an improvement over rasho at least. the nuggets also traded ruben patterson to the bucks for veteran joe smith. smith, most known for being a number one pick the year KG was drafted, wanted to be a starter and he might get his chance in denver with kenyon martin having some turmoil and looking likely to leave. smith is solid in all areas of the game and he brings nice size and experience, but he would be best as a backup and as some high-quailty depth instead of as a starter. ruben didn't give the nuggets much in the playoffs and he wasnt what they wanted from him when they acquired him from the blazers midseason, but he wil be a valuable backup with the bucks. he is an aggressive perimeter defensive stopper and an athletic slasher, can be out of control and has had temper tantrums in the past but he at least brings experience to this young team and he will be a good player, i think denver got the better fit in joe smith though because he could fill a vacant hole and be a better contributor than ruben. the nets won the battle recently to get eddie house, the quick shooting three point bomber who was a successful bench player with the uptempo suns last season. house is instant offense but he cannot do anything but shoot the basketball and shoot it really fast. he will help with a key fault in new jersey, offense off the bench. the al harrington deal with indiana finally went through after months of talk, it was really getting out of hand and tiresome with all the waiting because we knew it was going to happen, even when they said it wouldn't. harrington got sent back the pacers along with young, raw, and unknown big man john edwards for a draft pick. this will be very good for the pacers, like i have already said, because al is one of the most versatile and athletic frontcourt players in the league and pairing him with jermaine o'neal will make that frontcourt unstoppable, while edwards will replace the spot left by 12th man scott pollard, who left to cleveland to provide some needed post depth behind zydrunas and varejao. atlanta lost a talented and valuable player but they still have a promising young nucleus and could make the playoffs in the near future, and while i don't think harrington will push the pacers over the top to a championship level he will be a great contributor and at least improve their win total and make them much better and consistent with post scoring, and it doesn't hurt that he's very comfortable in indy, where he won the 6th man of the year award.

My rockets have gone through plenty of change since the end of the season and im sure they will have a crazy offseason, but some of their recent decisions, especially in the draft, were questionable at best and i dont think that they have gotten what they need so far. i say houston is easily a playoff team (and a good one) last season if all the injuries didn't take place, and as long as they have a healthy tmac (which definitly isnt guarenteed) and yao ming they will always be a contender, my major question for the rockets is depth, they don't really have many good backups and they have some age problems as well, such as with mutombo. ill start with my thoughts on what has transpired so far in this offseason..

1) 1st off ill start with the storyline on every houston-fan's mind, the rocket's draft-day trade of their number 8 pick, rudy gay, along with power forward stromile swift, to the memphis grizzlies for van gundy prototype player shane battier. i personally dont agree with it, not because of shane battier, hes a very solid player who will help right away, but because of the large price my rockets had to pay to get shane. i know stromile swift had work ethic issues and provided no energy for the rocket's coming off the bench, but houston has zero-depth and stromile would have at least provided some much needed youth and athleticism to the bench. rudy gay had his motivational issues as well and we all know van gundy is not the coach to play rookies, but rudy gay has serious talent and athleticism and if the rockets were looking down the road and at the scary back issues with tmac they would have kept gay, but they obviously weren't. battier is the prototype van gundy player, lockdown perimeter defender, big hustle and energy player who does the dirty work, and can hit the open threes, something the rest of houston's roster couldn't do last season when tmac and yao got pressured. he will be a good fit but time will tell if rudy gay turns out to be a big star that the rockets passed up on or a draft bust.

2) a glaring concern with the rockets also has to do with depth and backups, of which there are few. as free agency progresses im sure they will clear up some of this problem and the rockets already have one of the game's most potent inside-outiside duos but if they get injured, as last year's disaster season showed, they need more depth, especially in their old and frail backcourt and for yao ming. rafer alston appears to be set as a point guard of the future for houston, hes a pass-1st guy willing to give the ball to yao and tmac every time and hit the occasional open three, but he never provided a big spark that showed he is a definite starter. i heard a story that van gundy went to mike james' house in houston at 11 o'clock at night to persuade him to come back to the rockets, and that made me giddy with joy. i would love to see mike return, his scoring has improved to elite levels and he brings the toughness and energy that all players need for a van gundy team. it will interesting to see how he would fit in if he returned (the mavs are also pursuing him), he would go a long way towards solving the depth issue but since he wants the starting job, and deserves it, he could create chemistry problems. david wesley might be re-signed just for the sake of depth and because he is van gundy type of player, but lets face it, hes getting too old and inconsistent for an undersized 2-guard. luther head is a great backup and he showed tons of promise as a high-energy, all-around player last season and he could really be a star playmaker and contributor for houston in the near future. hes gotten over the rookie hump and if he can improve his consistency i have little doubt that he will be one of the league's better sixth men in a few years. keith bogans is an average all-around guard whos defense makes him a van gundy player, he never did much with houston and if hes re-signed it should be for depth. yao's only backup is the old as dirt dikembe mutombo, whos lost nearly all of his speed and offensive production, cant play for very long anymore either and only effective as a shot blocker, yao needs a more reliable and a younger backup. chuck hayes will be the immediate backup for power forward juwan howard, this is a very iffy position for houston. juwan howard is underrated and should be respected for his consistency and reliable offensive game and leadership, hes called average too many times and even though hes getting older hes a valuable complementary player, probably shouldn't be a starter at this point in his career though. chuck hayes is undersized and lacks an offensive game but his work on the glass and on defense make him a valuable bench player and a van gundy prototype. and finally we have marquette rookie steve novak, a sharpshooter who can hit the threes but who can do little else. hes skinny and a defensive liability but i think houston got excellent value with this pick and almost redeemed itself for the last pick-and-trade, novak will knock down the open shots, sounds so simple but something the rocket's could not do.

3) While tmac's back injuries are disturbing, i don't think they will affect the rockets for now and i believe tracy will return at a high level next season. hes one of the most competetive in the league even though his playoff record doesn't show it, hes not just one of the most talented players, hes more than that. he really deserves to win a playoff series and has been robbed multiple times in his career when he should have won, like with orlando when he guarenteed that his team would advance and with houston last year when they won the 1st 2 games against dallas on the road and ended up losing in game 7. he was back practicing seriously for the 1st time in a while this past monday and word is he was draining threes like that legendary performance against the spurs when he dropped 13 in 35 seconds, thats a happy memory that seems so long ago for me and many rockets fans. as long as tracy and yao are playing together houston will be contenders, not title contenders but they should be a good playoff team, they don't have enough athleticism or scoring in the backourt and lack much depth, especially when it comes to backing up yao ming and the dikembe mutombo issue (hes too old). yao did not get enough credit for his coming out as a dominate player last season and truly becoming the best center in the west, no more hype and no more billion chinese people voting for him in the all-star game, he is legit as the best center in the west. no one could stop his scoring and work on the boards and he finally started playing like hes 7 foot 6. i mean look at the other centers in the west, dallas' guys in diop and dampier have no offensive game, marcus camby is a shot blocking menace but hes frail and doesn't have much of an offensive game, while the suns and spurs dont even have true centers. tracy is also hated on too often, after his injuries last year everybody but the nba live guys gave up on tmac as one of the game's best and most exciting but he truly is one of the best playing today and will win with the rockets, i promise that, im tired of people saying tracy cannot win because, excluding his incident in orlando, it has not been his fault. critics just gave up on the rockets after one poor year of not making the playoffs, but if they payed attention to what was going on they should realize 80 or 90 percent of houston's problems have to do with injuries, the rest has to do with depth and age.

4) the rockets let average guard keith bogans sign with orlando and ended up having to trade a little cash and potentially a future 2nd round pick to get athletic slasher kirk snyder from new orleans. snyder was already going to have trouble getting into the hornets new and improved rotation next season before he underacheived in summer league, so when the hornets saw that happen i guess they made up their minds. snyder is a better player than bogans and he has more potential to be good as well, bogans was a tough and scrappy guard who lacked offensive confidence and who was poor at driving to the basket, the magic only signed him because they realized that they could not hang on to their athletic defensive stopper deshawn stevenson. snyder brings some nice athleticism and depth to the backcourt that houston lacks, especially since they missed out on mike james, and he will give the rockets some nice scoring and tough perimeter defense, he will also be able to knock down the open threes, which was one of the biggest problems for houston last year but one they seem to be fixing in the offseason. even though snyder played poorly in summer league i still support this deal because he is a better player than bogans. vassilis spanoulis is a greek guard who was playing overseas ever since the rockets acquired his draft rights about three years ago, and they recently signed him to a three-year deal to come over to the nba and play for them. i've heard that he is a van gundy type of player with great potential and who will give the rockets needed depth at point guard since they failed in getting mike james. he is supposed to be a pass-1st playmaker with great court vision and an aggressive style of play with a decent ability to knock down open shots, even though he is by no means a shooter. any guard help that houston gets is welcome by me, even if the guy cannot shoot. houston also let aging and undersized 2-guard david wesley sign with the cavs, where he will be a better fit playing in a more complementary role and contributing less minutes than he did in houston, where injuries forced him into a key role. wesley was a great hustle and energy player last year tough on defense and who would occasionally go crazy from three point range, but he was inconsistent with his shot and age was catching up to him so it's good that they let him go to a role that will fit him better. houston finally signed steve novak as well, something was supposed to be a given but something they were sure taking their time on. novak's shooting will extremly valuable next season and will be sure to get him his playing time. john lucas III is also said to be ready to sign with houston in the next day or so, he definitly earned a spot on the roster with his impressive scoring and playmaking in the summer league and without mike james the rockets need all the backcourt depth that they can get. recently houston continued their trend of signing kentucky players over the past year by getting an undrafted rookie from the class of '04 or '05 with the last name of azubuike. i know he has been impressive with his scoring in summer league and in the d-league and he played with current rocket chuck hayes while having a successful college career, so if he makes the team for good he should provide some nice depth.

The nets are one of the most exciting and popular teams in the league because of their super-talented big three. the talent and chemistry of their big trio is enough to make them one of the better team's in the nba and always a contender, but they are missing too many important pieces to seriously compete for a title. jason kidd is at the point in his career when everyone says he is declining, but he is still one of the top point guards in the game and he doesnt get enough credit anymore, he holds this squad together and is the main reason for their success. hes always been a dream teammate because of his elite passing and ball-handling and for his ability to always find the open man. hes perfect in transition and has two dream options himself on the fastbreak, the super-athletic duo of richard jefferson and vince carter. he is one of the best defensive guards in the nba and inspires his teammates to play better defense, and his toughness gets him major respect, hes always in the paint banging for rebounds or making plays happen. this is a poor rebounding team (because of their lack of big men) and jason kidd has led the nets in rebounding multiple times. kidd is not known as a great shooting point guard but he can usually knock down the open jumpers from the midrange and can be streaky from three point land. one of the best and most respected passers in nba history. and then there's everybody's favorite dunker, the explosive offensive force vince carter. his eye-popping athleticism, creative and classic dunks, and obvious offensive talent led many to dub him the next jordan, quite the shoes to fill for young vince. though it's apparent that hes not the next MJ he has found a new home and become reborn as a superstar in new jersey. he was looking distressed and lacked that spark his last few years in toronto, i think anyone would have felt beaten if they had to play for a crappy team in canada, but with jason kidd throwin him alley-oops and the nets offense giving him plenty of freedom to do his one-on-one thing he has excelled and re-emerged as a premier player. i am a little baffled by why the nets don't run a more fast paced, run-and-gun offense like the suns because they certainly have the weapons to do so, but they prefer the slow paced, isolation business, which is also effective because it demonstrates the one-on-one talents of vince and rj. problems with vince carter over the past few years have been his lack of toughness, which has improved since coming to the nets, and the fact that he doesnt play much defense. his main issue, however, if his penchant for jacking up jumpers and three pointers and settling for too many difficult shots when he should use his driving ability to finish around the rim and get easier buckets. he is probably the best dunker of all time and one of the most popular players in the game today. richard jefferson is an underrated wing for the nets, one of the most vital and consistent members of the team and he has quietly had two star-worthy seasons these past two years and has improved every year. his jumpshot is still really inconsistent but it has gotten much better than when he couldnt hit a thing in 2004's Olympic disaster. he is a fantastic athlete and impressive leaper with great quickness and a speedy 1st step, great option in transition for kidd and a prolific scorer. hes also become a good defender and his versatility holds the nets afloat, he played the best out of any net in the heat playoff series. now we move on to the main problem with new jersey, the power forward position and their lack of a solid frontline or any depth on their frontline. that is what's holding them back from a title, even though nenad kristic is developing into a very solid young center and looks like a long-term starter they still have no depth there and their power forward position is iffy at best, they need to add some serious post beef, another power forward who has starting potential, and they need a lot of overall depth, their poor bench was exposed in the playoffs and the main reason that they lost, hardly any depth at any position and scrubs had to play key minutes against miami. the current starter at power forward is the scrappy jason collins, twin of jarron who plays for the jazz. he doesnt put up much of anything stat-wise but he actually makes a bigger impact than most think, he is a tough post defender and hardworking player who goes after rebounds. he is a big guy and i think he guards shaq better than anyone in the league, a notorious flopper against him but he knows how to take the pain in exchange for shaq getting in foul trouble and his strategy works now that officials are getting a lot more strict with mr. o'neal. not a long term option by any means and a major hole to fill for the nets but as a role player coming off the bench jason would be good, just not as a starter. cliff robinson is an old vet who often starts at power forward as well, hes been in the league for a long time and knows how to play his role and be a leader. i thought his experience and leadership was very vital to the team and was shocked to discover that he had been suspended for the playoff series against the heat for violating the drug policy of the nba, that was really stupid and horrible timing, vets hardly ever make mistakes like that, especially in key situations. that wasnt the main reason that new jersey lost but because of their lack of depth it didn't help by any means. cliff is valuable as a player because of his size and shooting range, he can hit the three and the set shot from anywhere and is dangerous if left open, hes scrappy and hardworking out on the floor as well. used to be a great athlete but legs left him long ago, might retire before next year. nenad kristic mans the center position, i thought he had a breakout playoffs this season but he ended up being inconsistent and not showing up when the nets needed him. hes had the talent and potential to be one of the great euro centers since coming to the nba but has been raw and has needed some time to adjust to the american game, but he seems to be coming along and has emerged as a key player on the weak nets frontline. he is maybe their most valuable player because hes the only guy inside thats a threat with scoring and rebounding for new jersey. like most euro big men he has great shooting touch and range for someone his size and he is scrappy, has great length, and really pursues the boards and finds ways to put the ball in the basket, even though its usually not pretty.

lamond murray is a vet with nice size for a guy who plays strictly on the perimeter, hes dangerous as a shooter and offensive weapon off the bench and is pretty solid overall and with leadership. bostjan nachbar is an average euro whos been vaunted as a dangerous shooter but has never proved that claim correct and has never shown anything that propels him over the top to make him more than a benchwarmer and trading option. scott padgett is a streaky three point ace with decent size but is used strictly as a spot up shooter from the three point range. zoran planicic is a young and talented european project who's development in the u.s. game and with beefing up will be valuable. john thomas is a big and out of shape undersized center who only gets playing time because of the lack of post players on this team, tough and a banger but not too talented and hasnt played much basketball since coming into the league. antoine wright is a talented and versatile, athletic swingman who was a rookie last season. he didnt play much at all and doesnt fit in on this team but he definitly has talent and could contribute if he were on another team. jacque vaughn is a hardworking veteran who is a good leader and tough player when hes on the floor, can hit the open shots and does what is expected of him.

The two prominent questions out there following this year's NBA Finals are "can the heat can repeat as champs?" and "does dwayne wade really deserve to be compared to micheal jordan after his classic Finals debut, maybe the best of all time?" i just don't think that the heat can repeat as champs, obviously they are everyone's favorite going into next season and they have dwayne wade so they are going to be competitive no doubt, but shaq is not getting any younger and he really didn't make a big impact in the championship, and other key role players for miami like 'zo and GP will probably retire, and the other ones are aging too. i believe they could use some more youth and athleticism for the bench and another shooter so they can have some more offense for the bench as well. shaq will still be dominating next year and will be a main focus for the heat's opponents and dwayne wade is at least one of the top three players in the league, so that one-two punch will make them tough, but there are some great teams in the league and next year's finals is perhaps the most wide-open in years. my prediction is that if amare stoudemire returns healthy, and i mean 100 percent healthy, that the suns will win the title and become unstoppable on offense. they will be so good when amare returns that its gonna be scary, look how well they did this season getting to the conference finals without him, with all their young talent and offensive stars defenses are going to stand no chance, and teams playing against phoenix cannot just attack the inside for the entire game to beat them with amare down low blocking shots. obviously dallas is going to be a contender again because they have so much talent, the coach of the year, and they play tougher and they play better defense. they lost this year because they broke down mentally after game 3 and they have lots of playoff and championship inexperience, dirk was too passive and lacked the mental toughness to take over the games in the clutch, but that will only come with more experience. they also settled for too many jumpshots down the stretch, but that is just another sign of inexperience. the spurs will be a contender again and if they meet the suns they have the type of team that can lock them down, i believe that if the spurs would have beat dallas that they would have moved on to the finals and that their team and style of play could have beat the heat, they match up well with them. i think bruce bowen could have done a great job on wade, and duncan could have attacked the inside and shaq has notoriously had issues with tim. i also think that the spurs win the matchup battle at point guard with tony parker and small forward with manu ginobli. the spurs are still the type of team built for a title, they are aging and their flaws and depth issues were exposed against dallas but they know how to win, they have great chemistry, and they still have tim duncan and young stars parker and ginobli. detroit will obviously be a contender because of their dominating starting 5, but there is talk that ben wallace may not get re-signed, that would scare me big time if i were a piston's fan because he is the heart and soul of the team and would disrupt their chemistry to the point that they wouldn't even be close to what they are now. they just don't seem to be the same team that won a title or even that got to the finals and lost to the spurs, "fading" might even be the word to use. but there is not doubt that if wallace is re-signed that the pistons would automatically be a title contender again. some experts are saying that cleveland could be a dark horse title contender, but im just not buying that until they get more help for lebron. how soon we forget about lebron and all the jordan comparisons he was getting when he was dropping triple-doubles in his playoff debut, it seems like nba experts find a new "flavor of the week" ,well, weekly. lebron will keep his team in contention and they are bound to have more confidence now that they have seen that they can compete with the best, but king james just does not have enough support. going back to the dwayne wade question, i honestly dont believe that he is the best player in the league, i think that title belongs to kobe. obviously wade is much more likable than kobe and he brings better leadership qualities and intangibles, but kobe has that three point range that wade lacks and hes more untoppable of a scorer and a better shooter. i think wade is a better jump shooter than lebron but king james is a better passer and ball-handler and he is basically a bigger and more physically dominate wade. as far as the jordan comparisons go, i think wade's performance and talents are jordan worthy but hes gonna have to win a few more titles before we start talking about that, as well as play more defense, which is something lebron also has to put a bigger effort into.

The mavs may have the most talented and versatile roster in the league, they have always had plenty of offensive weapons but when coach avery johnson took over late last season he turned them from a talented finesse team that couldnt do squat in the playoffs into a tougher, defensive-minded title contender. not many people thought that the mavs had a chance to get to the finals but not many experts could have predicted the immense impact avery had on this team, don nelson's teams where fastbreaking, up-and-down offensive juggernauts that couldnt play defense, and if you can't play defense you cannot win a championship. avery definitly deserves coach of the year for getting this team to the finals and getting them to play like champs, even though things kind of fell apart for them in the finals. dirk nowitzki added even more to his nearly unguardable game when he listened to avery and started attacking the basket more frequently and with more aggressiveness, which in turn caused many to call him one of the best players in the league and a definite superstar. he had an overall poor championship outing but that doesnt diminish the series' he had against the spurs and the suns. i really thought the mavs just had too much talent up and down for miami in the finals but i could not have forseen the dominate and classic performance by dwayne wade or the determination and big plays from the title-hungry vets on their roster.

the point guard position is an interesting spot for the mavs, it is usually manned by true 2-guard jason terry but devin harris often claims the starting role and the harris-terry backcourt almost-always is more effective. terry is the 2nd offensive option on this team and a scoring and offensive sparkplug, he is a true scorer and has an explosive 1st step and leaping ability, known to pull up and shoot questionable shots in transition (which he can actually make) but he has really improved his once-poor shot selection since coming to dallas from atlanta. hes good with his signature tear drop which he can always get off in traffic and with his rainbow jumpers, he likes to shoot over the defense and he has great range, not always consistent with his threes and hes more of a scorer and streaky shooter but hes one of the best clutch shooters on this roster and you can't leave him open, really broke out as an offensive star in the houston playoff series last year. hes never been known for his defense and he often lets quick opposing guards blow right past him. devin harris is one of the quickest players in the league, his dribble penetration is pretty unstoppable and he kind of reminds me of a younger tony parker, before he got the midrange shot down. he had a few breakout games in the suns series and has emerged as a bright young star in the league and basically shed his awkward rookie image from last season. there are still games where he seems to disappear and not have much of an impact and his drives to the basket can often get out of control as he runs straight into the opposing team's big men. with that said the whole team thrives off his quickness and explosive agility at getting to the basket, where he knows how to finish and dish to open teammates. his midrange shot is still inconsistent by nba standards but hes shown that he can knock it down in the clutch with game 1 in the sun's series. another back-up point is respected vet darrell armstrong, always known for his amazing hustle, energy, and fearlessness in taking charges and playing tenacious defense, and nothing has changed now in his back-up role. he doesnt get much playing time anymore like he did in his starring role with the magic, but he brings great leadership and experience off the bench and always plays with fearless energy when he gets in the game.

adrian griffin is a vet who is an off and on starter at 2-guard, not really talented enough to be a starter but he is a great complementary role player who plays hard and helps his teammates. he can play defense and knock down open shots and is reliable in doing the "dirty work", never makes a big impact though. jerry stackhouse is one of the best 6th men in the league and is one of the game's better scorers, in his prime and in his starting roles in phila and detroit he was an offfensive star who averaged well over 20 points a game multiple times, but hes hapily and smoothly adjusted to bringing offense and scoring off the bench in dallas so that he can win games instead of being the star. very valuable and maybe the only consistent offensive player off the bench for the mavs, he is an assassin with shooting range all over, he's single-handedly taken over games with a string of three pointers, hes long and athletic as well which adds to his versatile offensive game, he also brings great intensity and energy whenever he comes in. marquis daniels is one of the more talented, versatile, and promising young players off the bench. he has a great all-around game and gives the team a huge boost whenever he comes on the floor, he did not play enough in the playoffs and he is incredibly underrated when it comes to his impact. he can handle the point position whenever needed and is an excellent ball-handler, hes long, quick, and real athletic wiht his 6 foot 6 frame and he knows how to score and finish in transition. his game is pretty identical to josh howard so i could see that they get confused, they have the same scoring moves and same appearance, but howard has got himself a much better jumpshot than marquis. thats the only problem with daniels, hes a horrible jumpshooter even though his form looks alright. daniels is perhaps most well known for his defense, he was the steals-leader in college with over 2 a game, he is maybe the best defender on the team, he is quick and athletic enough to stick the best players in the league (like dwayne wade in the finals, he did the best job out of anyone) and he can still get his steals.

josh powell is a rookie out of nc state, a raw player who has great physical skills, strength and athleticism. he still has a lot to learn with the nba game as far as post moves and shooting touch go but he has the size and shot blocking ability to be a real nice player and long-term option at forward, right now hes an emergency option and there for depth. a player who was not even on the playoff roster for the mavericks but who i think has some serious star potential is undrafted rookie rawle marshall out of oakland universiy in michigan, his game is like that of a raw and skinnier shawn marion. he is a great scorer with impressive atheticism and amazing length, raw and still has a lot to learn, he needs to bulk up big time as well, but when i saw him play for the injured josh howard and marquis daniels he looked impressive and showed off the potential to be a star on this roster someday in the near future. josh howard is a versatile, all-around future star and the player who holds this team together. his impact on this team is pretty unrivaled among role players, howard has the talent to be a star but his role with dallas is so valuable i dont think they would be the same team without him. he still needs to work on consistency for his jumpshot but he has improved his shooting drastically and is now dangerous so that opposing defenders cannot leave him open. hes known for his signature one-handed runners and wide array of scoring moves, hes very quick and athletic and is very hard to defend. hes also one of the team's best defenders and he often guards the superstars, great all-around player and very important to this team. keith van horn is another forward, an injury-prone but offensively skilled vet. he was hurt for much of this season so he was understandably rusty, but overall he basically made a playoff no-show and wasnt even an impact in the finals, he did have a pretty good series shooting-wise against the spurs though. hes always been a big guy who can shoot and who has dangerous three point range but hes not much of an inside player and is kind of a softie in the post. he gets hurt often so that has diminshed his career but he is one of the more skilled big men in the league. it seems like he lacks energy, effort, and passion out there sometimes as well and ive noticed a lack of tenacity in pursuing loose balls, hes not really a reliable option off the bench. and the final forward is the great superstar dirk nowitzki, maybe the most unguardable player in the history of the game. noone his height (7 feet) has been able to shoot like him or is as offensively skilled as dirk is. his perimeter shooting touch is maybe the best out of anyone in the league, let alone big men, and for his size he has great quickness and ball-handling ability. hes always settled for lots of perimeter shots and tough-to-make fadeaways but hes always drained them and his height makes it impossible to block his shots. he was already unstoppable with his larry bird-caliber shooting but avery johnson wanted to make him dominate and he has him attacking the basket, driving right to the hoop, and posting up more on the blocks. dirk has always had an amazing work ethic and passion out on the court, but hes never been a very good defender, he takes a lot of tough shots, and hes not really a vocal leader for this team. however,with his newfound aggressivness he is one of the game's best.

the position of center for dallas is interesting, hardly any offensive production but some great defensive presences here and even a little promising young talent in desagana diop. diop came out of oak hill academy high school and spent his few nba seasons warming the bench in cleveland, he ended up losing a ton of weight and dallas gave him a chance to be a starter and the team's center of the future. he has amazing length and is pretty quick and athletic for someone his size, one of the league's most gamechanging shot blockers and a defensive force whenever hes in the game. hes a hardworker who goes after rebounds and his long arms make him an offensive board specialist, offensive game is limited to putbacks but he is working on post moves. erick dampier is a much-criticized back-up center for the mavs. he has great size and strength and that made him a dominate center in college and a beast at golden state, but the mavs made a big mistake in signing him for so much money. dampier also should not have said that he was the 2nd best center in the league, that also caused shaq to call him ericka. hes got great strength and is a tough finisher and fearsome post defender, nice shot blocker. he can be a hack and be a lazy player at times, also kind of passive on offense and with the boards sometimes. dj mbenga is a huge, physical young african center. he doesnt have much going on skills wise and he doesnt really have any offensive moves except a type of jump hook but he is strong, he can jump, and he can block shots. he gets a lot of fouls but his strength and physical play make him valuable against some of the bigger and better centers in the nba.