A young, talented, and hard-working .500 team will naturally upgrade themselves with the additions of Oden, Rudy, and a lottery pick.
Trade Carmelo?
Instead of dealing Carmelo, it's time for Mark Warkentien and Rex Chapman to take the blame for the trade that brought Allen Iverson to Denver.
Lottery Summit: Los Angeles Clippers
Fans of the Clippers agree on three things - Chris Kaman is legit, Elton Brand should be locked up for the long-term and help is needed on the perimeter.
Lottery Summit: New York Knicks
Donnie Walsh is in charge of the Knicks as they enter the 2008 NBA Draft, giving New York fans much more confidence than they had when Isiah Thomas was pulling the strings.
The Good: The Raptors have depth at nearly every position. Toronto's Jose Calderon competes with Phoenix's Leandro Barbosa for the title of best backup point guard in the league. He scores at a really high percentage and keeps his teammates involved. Rasho Nesterovic is overpaid but plays within himself and is a good role player when the team is matched up against the big boys. Power forward is ridiculously deep with Jorge Garbajosa, Kris Humphries and Joey Graham all able to play minutes there. Graham is more of a small forward and he will be competing against newly acquired Carlos Delfino and probably starter Jason Kapono. Expect Kapono to start.
Bad: Their depth at shooting guard is a concern. After Delfino the only other option is undersized journeyman Juan Dixon. Jorge Garbajosa is the team's 'glue guy' but he's still recovering from major leg surgery. He's playing right now on a broken leg and it wouldn't be surprising to see him miss time this year.
Overall Grade:A
Calos Delfino murdering Emeka Okafor with a dunk.
The Boston Celtics
The Good: Shooting guard Tony Allen was showing signs of developing into a decent scoring guard (albeit one without three point range or any playmaking ability) before his knee injury hit. If he's healthy he'll be huge for their guard depth. James Posey is a veteran who'll provide much needed relief for Paul Pierce.
The Bad: Eddie House is not a point guard and should never be labeled as such. His ball handling is terrible, he has averaged less than two assists per game and he can't create his own shot. The frontcourt depth is abysmal as starting center Kendrick Perkins would be coming off the bench for nearly every other team in the league and his minutes should be limited due to his consistent foul problems. Leon Powe, Brian Scalabrine and Glen Davis would out the frontcourt bench and they're all undersized. Hopefully they'll acquire Juwan Howard.
Overall Grade: F
Tony Allen Mix
The New Jersey Nets
The Good: Their overall depth is strong at nearly every position. Jason Collins will probably lose his starting spot but he does the little things well and doesn't take shots away from Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson. Three point assassin Bostjan Nachbar is playing in his ideal situation as he's getting open shots when Vince Carter draws double teams and when Kidd hits him with pin-point passes. He also has a sick pump fake which he can use to get to the basket and sometimes finish with monster dunks. Sean Williams is an elite level athlete and might be able to contribute in a J-Kidd led offense.
Bad: Marcus Williams will be hobbled throughout camp putting even more pressure on the 34 year old Jason Kidd.
Overall Grade: B
Nachbar Nonsense
The New York Knicks
The Good: It's well known what I think of the addition of Zach Randolph (who looks like he swallowed Zack Morris' cellphone in the offseason) and the Knicks roster in general, but they might have a better second unit than starting lineup. David Lee was one of the league's best rebounders last year and brings much needed athleticism to an overweight frontcourt. Renaldo Balkman had a successful rookie season, he does the little things and that's what the Knicks need. Nate Robinson tore up the summer league, winning MVP honours, and he always plays an intense game.
Bad: As good as Nate Robinson is as a backup point guard, he is a shoot-first guard and the team could really use someone in the backcourt who is a pure playmaker.
Overall Grade: B+
Nate Robinson breaking Jose Calderon's ankles
The Philadelphia 76ers
The Good: There is ample athleticism on the bench with rookie Thad Young, Louis Williams and Rodney Carney. Williams in particular looked really impressive in summer league and could develop into a poor man's Allen Iverson.
Bad: The veterans on this bench are lacklustre. Kevin Ollie's best years are well behind him and they weren't even that good to begin with. Front court depth looks to be a big problem as Shavlik Randolph is coming off major surgery and rookie Jason Smith did not look ready to play at summer league. There also is a lack of size, I feel for any team that has to play Calvin Booth.
