l think there are 2 good winners in the trade-free agent signings. 1, Spurs and 2, who ever signs Hedo Turkoglu.. But for everybody else l think fixed no problems that they had before, like the cavs. Great team but getting a big man was not really a problem the had last year, there problems were defending the pick and roll and to have better scorers who can take pressure off lebron..... Celtics release Powe...... Lakers basically trade artest for ariza, artest does not even like Kobe look how they were fighting in the play-offs. And ariza was a better fit in LA and l think will struggle in Huston.... And the Magic, why would you not sign Turkoglu when he was one of the main reasons why they got that far in the playoffs, for carter. Carter is good but why trade a sure thing in turkoglu for taking a risk in Carter????

l know l wonder how that is going to work bryant and artest on the same team it seemed to me that they hated each other

turkoglu going to portland.

Lakers will be just fine..2010 champs.

Bryant & Artest only hate each other on the court. l heard they were good friends off it.
Ariza was a better fit in LA, there will be no one who can suck in so many defenders like Kobe did for Ariza to get wide open shots.
Carter was a good trade, & Orlando did not give up on Turkoglu, they're still trying to get him, it just depends on how much their owner wants to go over the luxury tax.

l heard that Turkoglu was being offered a 5 yr/60 million deal by the Raptors. Not sure if he is gonna accept. He will probably go to Portland or something. Getting Shaq was something that the Cavs needed. Probably should've tried to resign Varejao though, no one wants him flopping for their team.

Shaq is a second scoring option for Lebron. Instead of creating shots for his teammates all the time, Shaq is someone that Lebron can give the ball to, to make his own shots. And also, this will give Lebron more rest to effective down the stretch, because he can sort of take a breather when Shaq is doing an iso post - up. l think they helped Lebron.

The spurs do improve dramatically they got RJ as a steal & r the first winners, you're wrong about hedo he is overrated. Do not care about the cavs.

Whatever u want to call the ariza, artest swap the person to blame for all that is ariza. Ariza wanted more money the lakers offered it to him, blah blah this blah blah that the end result was the idiot getting basically the same offer the lakers did, l mean seriously!? he leaves for 6k yr more.

Everyone uses the same excuse about ron ''hating'' kobe, let me tell u something if ron ''did not get along with kobe'' trust me he would do a lot more than just back talk. As we all witness in the detroit, pacers brawl.

The magic r the second winners, vince carter is going to bring much more than better shooting skills than hedo to the magic. He is going to bring veterancy & leadership ability to a VERY young but good team that desperately needs that. l wo not be surprised if they end up in the finals again next year.

l agree that the Spurs r one of the winners this offseason. During the playoffs l remember thinking the Spurs years were over & they were too old to win. Now they add Richard Jefferson to give the Spurs big three some scoring relief. They also added DeJuan Blair in the draft, who was a mega steal. He does have knee problems, but l do not think that will make him a dud in the pros. He will be a good future player for the Spurs. l think the Lakers got better, if Kobe & Ron can forget about past times. l agree with u that Trevor Ariza will struggle in Houston, especially because they have no clue what they r doing in Houston with Yao Ming & Tracy McGrady. l also think the Magic should resign Turkoglu, but he will proabably go to Portland. Vince Carter is a beast but he does not have the same effect on the game that Hedo Turkoglu has on the game. Turkoglu can play three or four different positions & he creates matchup problems. That was part of the reason why Orlando went to the Finals. Every year l believe my Chicago Bulls will win the NBA Championship because l am a Bulls fan. But if the Chicago Bulls do not win it, a healthy Boston Celtics team with Resheed Wallace signing with them will win it all.

The Lakers r the clear cut winners in free agency so far. Kobe & Artest do not hate each other, they r just two of the most competitive guys in the league, they actually respect each other but they both have that killer instinct on the court. Those two can shut down anybody in the backcourt & want to win. If Bynum can put it together this year, they will be really tough to beat in a 7 game series.
Hedo is going to the Blazers, which is one of several deals that does not make sense. They need a vet PG (See Kidd, Jason).
Vince Carter is somebody who can drive & create. But the Magic still need a SF who can shoot & maybe play defense; or a PF with some range so they can move Lewis to SF.
Detroit did well by getting Ben Gordon, & could actually have a solid team next year if they find a way to trade Hamilton and/or Prince to get someone to play center, along with freeing up some cap space for next season.
Shaq is going to hurt the Cavs more than he helps. They needed to pick up a SG, whether it was Barbosa in this trade, or Vince Carter at the trade deadline last year.

How can than spurs be the winners if Shaq, Artest, and Carter are all better than RJ and went to more productive teams? THE SPURS LOST IN THE FIRST ROUND!!!!! The cavs main problem was a big man. The Lakers have been known to struggle with the pick and roll yet they beat the Magic in 5 games. So pick and roll is not the problem. The major difference in the lakers and cavs series was that the lakers stopped Dwight Howard the Cavs didn't. End of story.

The Guard position was a bigger problem than the Center position in the Cavs-Magic series. Shaq is a good signing, but a SG upgrade is more important than Center upgrade for the Cavs.nn l think the Lakers have the best signing so far. Ron & Kobe should work well on the court together; they r not exactly enemies.nnCeltics will get a nice upgrade if they get Rahseed Wallace, but l think they can use another forward, especially if KG does not stay healthy.nn l do not see how you're taking a risk in Vince Carter.

l agree with u on ever detail expect for the Orlando magic trade.Vince carter is a SG that can shoot great jump-shots & pass the ball around of the offense of line. Like he did so well in the Nets was that he lead a team far into the playoffs in his rookie-Nets year. He is a player that can average about 28 points a game 6 assists & 8 rebounds. l agree about what u said about Turkoglu he is a main reason why the Magic were in the Finals. On the other hand it was okay to take a chance on Vince carter cause of what the magic know what he can do & the things they saw him do.

Hope this helps
Adam