Whether you think Josh Howard is unpatriotic or a knucklehead, there is one thing that most basketball fans can agree with.

He speaks his mind.

It’s very easy for us to get on a high horse and criticize Howard for his actions, but shouldn’t we be more bothered that there might be some truth to this? Until this year’s Olympics, playing for the national team was something many players avoided.

With the 2008 Summer Olympics nearly wrapped up, Major League Baseball approaching the end of its long season and the NFL season gearing up, the 2008-2009 NBA season is looming just around the corner.

The Boston Celtics showed that one summer can change a team’s stripes dramatically. In 2006-2007, the Celtics won just 24 games. After acquiring Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to team with Paul Pierce, the Celtics boasted the best record in the NBA in 2007-2008, winning 66 games and ultimately the NBA Championship.

The 2008 off-season has featured big deals much like the one that sent Garnett to Boston. Some of the biggest deals include the Philadelphia 76ers signing Elton Brand; the Milwaukee Bucks acquiring Richard Jefferson; the Houston Rockets acquiring Ron Artest; the LA Clippers acquiring Marcus Camby and Baron Davis; and the Toronto Raptors acquiring Jermaine O’Neal.

Last Friday, seven greats of the game were inducted into the Basketball Hall Of Fame.

Now, ok, the hall has lost a lot of respect in the years gone by due to the questionable decisions made by its shrouded committee, but that is another issue, one that will not be discussed today. Whatever the hall's faults, they should not be transferred to the inductees; past, present or future, it is still a tremendous honour and one of the best things that can happen to a baller.

And it is none too soon for some of them.

While watching ESPN's Pardon the Interruption couple of days ago, I found out that Shaquille O'Neal is planning on retiring in exactly 731 days. Meaning two more seasons. We all know Shaq is one of the most dominant players ever to play the game, but can he really make it two more years?

Whatever their feelings on each other are like at this point, the Chicago Bulls and Ben Gordon aren’t separating any time soon.

At this point, both sides have run out of leverage, which should cause a very interesting few months considering that NBA training camp is under a month away.

Weekly Review:

It is, unfortunately, another slow week in basketball, but here are the headlines we've got..

It's the summer. Things are slow for us hoopheads.

Free-agent signings have come and gone. The summer leagues are over.

Which means now is the time to imagine what could be...or what could have been.

We will never know what would have happened to the league if a certain player had inked a certain contract, or a GM had said yes to a certain deal. Everything could be different!

So here are some of the biggest 'what if' situations of this millennium, ranked in no particular order, with what almost happened, what would have occurred if it had gone down, and some kind of verdict on whether this is a good thing or not.

Expect a shaky season for the Phoenix Suns in 2008-2009, not because of the Shaquille O’Neal trade last spring and not because they’re necessarily waning in talent. Whenever a team losing a coach with such a distinct style as Mike D’Antoni and replace him with a coach with a completely different style, as Terry Porter, the adjustment curve is going to be steep. Yet, in the long haul, it should be for the better.

Forgive my recent absence from this, AOL don't know what they are paid for, but I'm back so let's get to it.