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The first volleys of trading and free agency have swept across the NBA battlefield. Let’s examine the first trades fired and what they’ll mean to their prospective teams. Only trades involving two teams swapping players who weren’t subsequently cut will be analyzed. New York acquires Anthony Randolph, Ronnie Turiaf, and Kelenna Azubuike from Golden State for David Lee David Lee would be superfluous with Amare Stoudemire in tow, so the Knicks shipped him off for solid depth and a potentially high reward in Randolph. Randolph is a long, lean forward who runs like a gazelle, falls in love with his inconsistent jumper, plays zero defense, and has a limited understanding of the game. However, If he can gain some upper body strength and put things together, he could become a big time player in an up-tempo offense somewhere down the road. Turiaf will always play hard on defense, even if his undersized frame mitigates the success rate of his efforts. He’ll block shots, rebound, and make plays simply on his competitive spirit. Azubuike can defend a little, shoot a little, handle a little, and run the floor. He’s not a bad backup wing, especially in an uptempo offense. Still, the pickups do little to plus the gaping holes the Knicks need plugged at the guard and power forward/center position. Grade: C- Golden State acquires David Lee from New York for Anthony Randolph, Ronny Turiaf, and Kelenna Azubuike. Lee has terrific rebounding instincts and an extraordinarily quick second jump which allows him to dominate the glass. Aside from Dwight Howard, Lee probably has the most rebounding range in the NBA. His ability to rebound, make quick outlet passes, and run the floor will add another dimension to Golden State’s fast break. He doesn’t need the ball offensively, but he’s an excellent screen-slipper and finisher with both hands around the rim, particularly his left. He’s also improved his game to the point where he’s a dangerous mid-range jumper. He’s far too quick off the dribble for centers to handle, forcing them to give up space for him to shoot 18-footers at will. Of course his defense is deplorable, but in Golden State that’s hardly a footnote. With Golden State’s get-up-and-go gameplan, expect him to put up even bigger numbers than the gargantuan totals he produced under Mike D’Antoni. Getting him for filler amounts to the basketball equivalent of highway robbery. Grade: A Milwaukee acquires Corey Maggette from Golden State for Charlie Bell and Dan Gadzuric. Maggette fills a major hole in Milwaukee’s lineup. He’s a ferocious baseline player with a penchant for ducking in, sealing weaker defenders, and finishing or drawing fouls at the hoop. Looking at the Bucks roster, you’ll see a team devoid of interior finishers. Andrew Bogut is solid up front, but John Salmons takes too many dribbles to get to the hoop, Brandon Jennings is a pathetic finisher, Luke Ridnour is soft, Michael Redd’s career is in limbo, Jerry Stackhouse is running on fumes, Kurt Thomas is strictly a jump shooter, and Ersan Illyasova has trouble finishing among the trees. Acquiring Maggette gives Milwaukee’s offense much needed muscle power to go with the team’s heart and scrappiness. Sure, Maggette’s as ball-hungry as they come, but he hasn’t played for a coach with a strong personality in years. He’ll always play hard on offense if he gets his touches, but looking at Milwaukee’s roster, he’ll be a primary option down low. Plus, if he overdribbles or takes too many quick jumpers, he’ll have to deal with Scott Skiles and a number of well-respected veterans who will make sure he falls in line. Defensively is a different story as Maggette’s never been a good defender. The hope is that he improves by osmosis and provides enough offensive production to offset his lack of defense. Grade: B+ Golden State acquires Charlie Bell and Dan Gadzuric from Milwaukee for Corey Maggette. Taking on players is the secondary aspect of this deal. Golden State is more than happy to shed Maggette and free up more ball time for Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry. Bell is a defense-oriented guard who is too small to defend shooting guards, and too slow to defend point guards. He’s a respectable shooter and playmaker but is hampered by lack of size. Gadzuric can run the floor and his active on the offensive glass, but he has no offensive game to speak of and gets pushed around defensively. He’s strictly a third center. Each will be lucky to see more than spot duty. The Warriors are perfectly fine with that. Grade: B+ Sacramento acquires Samuel Dalembert from Philadelphia for Andres Nocioni and Spencer Hawes. Dalembert is a terrific weak side shot blocker and springy rebounder who will clean up some of the mistakes of Sacramento’s novice perimeter defenders. He also displays poor judgment and will take two or three jump shots per game that are beyond his range. Still, his clean up defense will help Sacramento’s offense stay in games, and he’ll feed off the cookies provided by Tyreke Evans’ penetrations. He’s a short term upgrade over Spencer Hawes, with Hawes lacking the potential to become anything more than a journeyman center. Nocioni had no future in Sacramento’s plans, and had fallen out of favor by clashing with Tyreke Evans. Grade: B Philadelphia acquires Andres Nocioni and Spencer Hawes from Sacramento for Samuel Dalembert. With Dalembert set free, the Sixers will have more playing time available for Elton Brand, Marreese Speights, and Thaddeus Young. While no player in that trio is a center, the Sixers will be able to split Brand and Speights at the center position, while having the other split time with Young at the four. If the lack of size is an issue, Spencer Hawes won’t embarrass himself by playing major minutes at center. Noccioni used to be a plus defender and a versatile scorer but he’s lost a step. His defense is no longer exemplary, and he has trouble finishing in a crowd. He can still shoot the three, and he still plays hard, giving the Sixers’ bench more teeth than it has with Jason Kapono. Grade: B New Jersey Acquired Quinton Ross from Washington for Yi Jianlian. Defense is Ross’ stock-in-trade—he offers virtually nothing on the offensive end of the floor. At worst, he’s an upgrade over Trent Hassel, and an indicator of what the Nets think of Yi after two seasons. Grade: C Washington acquires Yi Jianlian from New Jersey for Quinton Ross. Softer than a sponge, Jianlian is little more than an oversized shooting guard. Yi offers little without the ball so it’s a wonder why the Wizards traded for him when they have so many players who’ll need the ball to be effective next season. Grade: F

No I don't hate any team but the Lakers lol. I just think it looks good on the Cavs fans who were burning his jersey and saying he was a coward and stuff. He made a decision that was in the best interest for him. He already got MVP, All-stars, scoring titles, broke many records, pretty much the only thing he needed to get was a ring and he was never going to get it in Cleveland. He made the right decision to win a ring, and it's sad that his old 'die hard fans' felt like he owed them something. He did what he could with the team he had, and then he realized it was going nowhere.

But look at what they did. They acquired talent in Gooden and Maggette for nothing in Bell and Gadzuric. They upgraded two positions. Keep in mind, their alternative after Maggette to start at the wing is Carlos Delfino. The Bucks played a Hawks team that flat out quit last postseason and still couldn't beat them. They had so much trouble scoring and generating offense when Jennings wasn't hitting his jumpers. They added offensive versatility, and Gooden isn't a worse defender than Illyasova, or Gadzuric. People assume that Maggette's a dog...the guy works hard on offense and puts teams in the penalty just by cutting hard. He's the only perimeter guy the Bucks have who can put the opposing team in the penalty. He won't complain because he'll be one of their go-to options and he'll be playing for a coach who'll get him to buy in. They hope that by giving him a shorter leash defensively, he'll play hard on that end. Yeah, the contracts are long, especially for Gooden. What major free agent wants to play in Milwaukee though? Carmelo Anthony isn't playing for the Bucks next year. Milwaukee's making a play to win a playoff series this year and they've put themselves in position to do so. They still have a huge chip with Michael Redd's golden expiring contract ready to fetch them a piece at the trade deadline. People hated on Maggette in Golden Sate because Monta Ellis is a golden boy despite being just as ball hungry, just as bad on defense, and even more inefficient. Maggette's a nice scapegoat. But the dude can still play and fill a role the Bucks badly need.

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HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHA yes!!!! All those Cavs fans are like 'Big Z wouldn't do that, he's true to the Cavs.' Maybe now they'll realize that the NBA is a business.

It's not a dream team until they've accomplished something together.

That shows the definition of loyalty. I wish there was a way he could get a ring but not Bosh or LeBron.

Wow. Look at all that work Toronto has done to repair themselves from the loss of Bosh. So... what's Cleveland up to?

Dan Gilbert Fined by NBA

To add to what's been said, the outcome of the Hawks - Bucks series could have changed dramatically had Bogut been healthy. Considering how AB has become a top 3 center in the league, and Jennings still has yet to tap into his potential, the Bucks could end up improving their record a good deal next year. If Salmons can keep up the same level of play, and if Skiles can train Maggette properly, they may end up surprising some people come playoff time. As they say... fear the deer! Lol.

I like it, Fisher off the bench is good for 6 more years. It's called passion.

Well just throwing this out there, wilt chamberlain said hes had sex with 20,000 women, so I guess he is the nba's greatest "scorer"

Just joined up. Martellis is going to be VERY active, been in leagues with him before.

Because overpaying Outlaw is less costly than overpaying Amar'e or Boozer.

(Appropriate) Instincts are shaped by your IQ. So that.

Yes because that worked out perfectly for so many teams this year.

There's no one in this world I dislike more then [expletive]ing Jesse Jackson. We get it, you're black. You aren't a slave, never will be, times have changed. Jackson is the primary reason for people being racist in this world, and is just as bad as any slaveowner.

Aaron was upset that no Lakers fan could have an opinion on OTR, and that others were turning every topic about LA into a joke...not to mention a few other things I won't dive into. You contributed. You were suspended twice, and actually banned once. Some of you should probably stop and wonder why we have a couple of Lakers fans who screw around from time to time. It's good to be funny, but after a few months (years for some), people start getting sick of the comedy. I get numerous "U MAD" complaints. People were really sick of "my tv out" comments. We lose important members, and it gets to where I question why I do board updates, banners, skins, and rack up 7,000 posts a year. Aaron posted over 1,000 gameday topics, filled our calendar with every NBA game. Then we get 40+ guests every time a topic is posted (due to Twitter) and they look over at our right sidebar and see immature status messages, dive into a topic and see personal attacks and baiting, and there's really no reason for them to waste their time, either...so they don't.

watch what u say about Ocho, he makes the world better.

If he really did throw the game and changed the entire series (which was already put to sleep by Sky, but nobody reads anything pro-Lakers), I guess I can regain my suspicions about other teams and referees as well, namely in 2006.

You guys actually believe she's the hottest chick in the world...