Yao Ming

News from weeks ago has almost been confirmed. From perennial championship contenders to rebuilding stage. It seems very accurate for the Houston Rockets, who have just lost Yao Ming for the whole 2009-2010 NBA season, weeks after losing Ron Artest to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Yao himself announced that he would have surgery next week on his broken left foot, which will likely keep him out all of next season. The team said there is no timetable set for the return of the 7-foot-6 Yao, a seven-time All Star, but that he is “expected to be available for the team’s training camp in 2010.”

With the absence of Tracy McGrady’s return as well, what does this bode for the Houston Rockets? Will their acquisition of Trevor Ariza help keep them contenders in the Western Conference?

Rasheed Wallace

Reports have already indicated that Rasheed Wallace is now an ex-Detroit Piston. He has now reached a deal and signed with the Boston Celtics.

Bill Strickland, Rasheed Wallace’s agent, told two newspapers, namely the Boston Herald and the Boston Globe on Sunday night that the 34-year-old veteran power forward with three-point range has given the go signal to join the 2008 NBA Champions, the Boston Celtics, and thus  called off planned meetings with the Dallas Mavericks, Orlando Magic, and San Antonio Spurs.

Wallace played the last six seasons as the starting power forward with the Detroit Pistons and helped the team win the NBA championship in 2004. With the move that sent Rasheed Wallace to the Boston Celtics and with veterans such as Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce, the Boston Celtics are highly touted once again to win the championship, even though the Los Angeles Lakers’ acquisition of defensive stalwart Ron Artest made it doubly hard to do so.

In 14 NBA seasons, Wallace has averaged 15 points and almost 7 rebounds. He averaged 12 points and 7.4 rebounds last season.

Yao Ming. Photo courtesy of Chinadaily.cm

After not finishing the secound round of the 2009 NBA Playoffs against Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers due to a broken left foot, Yao Ming may miss the rest of the 2010 NBA season now that he’s facing a “career-threating injury”, as told by Dr. Tom Clanton, the team physician of the Houston Rocekts.

The broken left foot hasn’t even healed as of last week and this may probably be due to his non-stop playing of basketball both in the NBA and international competitions. Yao has always been forced to hurry back from injuries sustained during the NBA’s regular seasons to play for China, most recently in the Beijing Olympics.

Chosen as the top pick of the 2002 draft by the Houston Rockets, Yao Ming will make over $16 million next season and possibly over $17 million after that.

Tracy McGrady, Yao Ming, and Ron Artest.

Even with this news of Yao’s career-threatening injury that may cause him to miss the whole of next season, the Rockets have stated that this will not compromise their efforts to re-sign controversial and unpredictable forward Ron Artest. After toning down on his wild antics and leading the Rockets past the first round of the playoffs, something that Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady haven’t done, Artest has won the favor of the team.

Now combined with reports that Rockets All-Star Tracy McGrady, or T-Mac, will probably miss half of the upcoming season, do the Rockets have any chance of making a good run at the playoffs? Or will injuries once again plague the Houston franchise?

Vince Carter. Photo courtesy of Ingamenow.com

A day after the blockbuster trade that sent Shaquille O’Neal to Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, another epic trade has been announced. In an effort to get a go-to-guy who can create his own shot, the Orlando Magic have completed a trade with the New Jersey Nets that sent All-Star high-flyer Vince Carter to join Dwight Howard in their hopes at a championship run in the 2009-2010 NBA season.

The New Jersey Nets traded Vince Carter, a Daytona Beach native and Orlando resident, together with Ryan Anderson for point guard Rafer Alston, promising young guard Courtney Lee, and 33-year old veteran big man Tony Battie. This moves solidifies the intent of the Magic to run after a championship in the upcoming season, after falling to Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers in the recently concluded 2009 NBA Finals in five games.

The Magic gave up key pieces to their lineup though. Rafer Alston was a huge acquisition from the Houston Rockets, especially at the time when Jameer Nelson was shelved for the season due to a shoulder injury. Alston was the starting point guard for the rest of the season but often complained in the NBA Finals about his diminishing minutes as Nelson came back and abruptly took over the point guard duties. Courtney Lee is the most athletic player in their backcourt and usually defended the other team’s best perimeter player, though he could do nothing to slow down 2009 NBA Finals MVP Kobe Bryant. Tony Battie was their reliable third string center.

The New Jersey Nets' Big Three: Richard Jefferson, Vince Carter, and Jason Kidd. Photo courtesy of NBA.com

The Magic believe, however, that trading for Vince Carter shows too many upsides than disadvantages. “Vince gives us a veteran, go-to scoring presence, especially at the end of games,” Orlando general manager Otis Smith said. “Our goal remains the same—to win a championship. Any time you can add an All-Star to help you reach your goals, you have to do it.”

This trade by the Nets formally concludes the era of their own Big Three. First, Jason Kidd was dealt to the Dallas Mavericks in 2008, then Richard Jefferson (who was recently traded to the San Antonio Spurs) was sent packing to the Milwakuee Bucks. Finally, Vince Carter is traded to the Orlando Magic. All-Star Devin Harris will now be the cornernerstone of a rebuilding Nets franchise.

With a starting lineup of Jameer Nelson, Vince Carter, Hedo Turkoglu, Rashard Lewis, and Dwight Howard, do you think that this trade by the Orlando Magic to acquire Vince Carter will be enough to catapult them to the NBA Championship? Or do they lack a few more pieces to be the best in the NBA?

Shaquille O'Neal. Picture courtesy of Droppingdimes.gearlive.com

It’s official. Shaquille O’Neal is now a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

In order to boost its chances of winning the much coveted NBA Championship, the Cleveland Cavaliers have executed a trade that sent Shaquille O’Neal to tandem with arguably the best player in the league today, Lebron James, in a huge trade announcement very recently. In exchange, the Phoenix Suns got former Defensive Player of the Year Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic. The move seems more of a salary cap clearing activity for the Suns, who finally got rid of the huge paycheck they would have owed to Shaquille O’Neal had they kept him for next season. Moreover, they might further experience a more manageable payroll with Ben Wallace contemplating retirement.

This will be Shaq’s third team after winning three championships with the Los Angeles Lakers alongisde 2009 NBA Finals MVP Kobe Bryant. The Diesel won another in a Miami Heat jersey when he teamed up with Dwyane Wade whom he dubbed, “The Flash”.  O’Neal, a former regular season MVP and Finals MVP, was then traded to the Phoenix Suns, in the hopes of teaming up with Canadian superstar Steve Nash and All-Star big man Amare Stoudemire to bring a championship to the Valley of the Sun.

This did not transpire though and after one and a half sub-par regular season performances from the Suns, rumors arose that Shaq and his huge salary would be traded to the Cavs to join King James. After a disappointing Eastern Conference Finals exit against Orlando last season, will Shaq’s presence be the final piece of the puzzle in the Clevland Cavaliers’ hunt for championship gold? Or will they suffer a disappointing result, similar to what happened with the Phoenix Suns?

For Phoenix, will they give Ben Wallace a buyout of his contract? Or will he be left alone to retire by himself? Moreover, will he consider playing one more season, this time for the Suns, who desperately need a huge defensive presence inside, especially with Amare Stoudemire’s documented troubles playing defense? Will Pavlovic replace the aging Grant Hill in the rotation? What do you think?

The answers to these questions may very well lie with the upcoming regular season. Or for all we know, in the upcoming days leading up to bigger NBA trades.

Ray Allen. Picture courtesy of Babble.com

In possibly the biggest trade rumor so far, sources have indicated that the Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics may reach a deal. The Pistons, wanting to regain their status as a Championship contender, may possibly trade All-Stars Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince along with rising point guard Rodney Stuckey for Boston’s perennial championship backcourt of Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo!

The 2008 NBA Champions, the Boston Celtics, came up short in the recently concluded NBA Playoffs, succumbing to the Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic in six games in the Eastern Conference semi-finals. Losing one of the best big men in the league in Kevin Garnett and key reserve Leon Powe late in the regular season exposed a weakness in the depth of the Celtics, thus possibly inciting this supposed trade. The Pistons, on the other hand, have long been itching to make it to the championship race especially after experiencing a sharp decline in their productivity following a blown trade that sent their steady All Star guard Chauncey Billups for another All Star in then Denver Nugget Allen Iverson.

Should this trade push through, do you think that it would further both teams’ desire to win the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy of the NBA once again? Will a starting five of Stuckey, Hamilton, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Kendrick Perkins together with sixth man Tayshaun Prince strenghten the storied franchise in Boston? Or will the championiship experience of Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo carry Allen Iverson, Rasheed Wallace, and the rest of the bad boys of Detroit to the top?

Fresh from the offseason, a few teams have started positioning themselves on the trading block already.

Richard Jefferson with wife Teresa Lourenco. Picture courtesy of Hogwild.net

In a trade involving four players, the Milwaukee Bucks traded veteran athlete and scorer Richard Jefferson for three key role but aging players of the San Antonio Spurs in Bruce Bowen, Fabricio Oberto, and Kurt Thomas. Though a perennial small forward in the NBA, the Milwaukee Bucks decided to ship “RJ” to the Spurs due to tax considerations. They would rather let go of  RJ than relieve the team of sharpshooting guard Michael Redd and/or a strong inside presence in Andrew Bogut. This gives the Spurs the much needed scoring production that the team sorely lacked in the recently concluded NBA playoffs where they bowed out to the Dirk Nowitzki-led Dallas Mavericks. This Dallas team was eventually eliminated by the Denver Nuggets, who then were eliminated by the 2009 NBA Champions and Kobe Bryant-led Los Angeles Lakers.

Milwaukee eventually traded Fabricio Oberto for Detroit Pistons foward Amir Johnson, who has not seen much significant playing time throughout his career with the Pistons.

Randy Foye. Picture courtesy of Nike.com

The Minnesota Timberwolves, on the other hand, have continued their rebuilding process with early trades as well.  In exchange for their guard Randy Foye and potent shooter Mike Miller, the Twolves got the No. 5 pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, Etan Thomas, Darius Songaila, and Oleksiy Pecherov all from the Washington Wizards. This leaves the Twolves with a staggering four first round draft choices for the upcoming NBA Draft. The Wizards, on the other hand, will get more offensive support with Foye and Miller, hopefully to back up the team’s own Big Three in Agent Zero Gilbert Arenas, Caron Butler, and Antawn Jamison.

This year’s NBA Draft features high prospects such as Blake Griffin, Hasheem Thabeet, and Spanish guard Ricky Rubio among others.