| The Different Look of The League |
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| Written by Joe Buckley | |
| Tuesday, 15 July 2008 | |
 Shaq is still chasing criminals on South Beach. The NBA looks very different. Consider this. Before the beginning of last season we had the major blockbuster moves that immediately made Boston a contender. One of the most promising rookie classes ever filtered into the league. Amid a number of smaller profile trades and signings across the league. Then during the season itself, we had possibly the most active of all seasons in terms of trades and signings. IT began mainly in February. Pau Gasol was donated to the Lakers. Shaq came back west and Shawn Marion was finally moved. Dallas went to incredible lengths to secure the services of Jason Kidd. Boston began to add more and more veterans such as Sam Cassell and P.J Brown. And now we have the off-season. What was supposed to be a quiet offseason. Yet two major stars have switched teams in Baron Davis and Elton Brand. The Nets and Bucks have also vastly changed the look of their teams not just this season but for years to come. Indiana has made possibly the most changes, first in a major deal with Jermaine O’Neal finally leaving the team that made him and heading north to Toronto. And also swapping some of the new rookies with Portland. Memphis and Minnesota made the biggest rookie trade of the year. And of course the new rookies have again filtered into their respective teams. So, a pretty busy 12/13 months. And this is just considering Player Movement. But I’m not here to simply provide a round-up of what’s happening this off-season. There are enough articles out there that dictate what these movements mean for each team. I’m not going to evaluate each different transaction. I am simply noticing how different our NBA is. It is changing quickly. Last year people would only talk about how dominant the west was compared to the east (aside from Boston obviously). No-one can expect a conference race as tight as last year’s west was, but the east is not going to be like last year. Not a chance. It will be close. Plus, its not just the teams. As with every year, the players will look different. The veterans will age a little bit more. The true younger stars will start to emerge. This has all happened within the last year or so. Bet on who’s going to be in the all-star game. Bet who’ll be MVP. Bet who’ll be in the finals. I dare you.         Set as favorite Bookmark Comments
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