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The initial rounds of trading and free agency are accounted for with superstars making the biggest splashes. Since LeBron James and Chris Bosh have been talked about ad nauseam, let’s examine which other acquisitions will have their teams riding the crests, and which will have them needing life vests. Amar’e Stoudemire—New York Knicks The last time the Knicks acquired a surly, expensive, immature star, Stephon Marbury held the team hostage for half a decade. Amar’e Stoudemire by default shouldn’t prove to be that cancerous, but his presence hardly guarantees success. Stoudemire does bring a lot to the table. He’s explosive off the dribble from 18-feet in, with the kind of primetime athleticism that overwhelms most frontcourt defenses. He can score with his back to the basket, is an excellent mid-range jump shooter, and will even pass when he knows an assist is on the horizon. He’ll provide the Knicks with the reliable one-on-one scorer the team has lacked, while also doubling as a ferocious screen/roll finisher. Plus, his defense automatically is an upgrade over David Lee. On the flip side, Stoudemire has a subpar basketball IQ and no longer has the services of Steve Nash to serve him cookies on a platter. Stoudemire’s also proven to be antagonistic when he’s getting fewer touches than he feels he deserves. How long will it take Stoudemire to lash out when he realizes that Toney Douglas or the rumored Raymond Felton aren’t quite MVP-caliber point guards, or that defenses can devise schemes structured to strictly take him away without Steve Nash reading defenses and manipulating them. Moreso, Stoudemire’s sad-sack defensive awareness gives back much of the production he puts up. Perhaps Stoudemire can provide just enough firepower to push the Knicks into the playoffs. But there’s also an equal chance that the reunion of Stoudemire and Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni ends in disaster. Grade: C- Raymond Felton—New York Knicks Felton’s a solid point guard who can run an offense and who posted the most efficient shooting percentage of his career last season by taking fewer shots and improving his three-pointer. Still, a career 33% shooter, Felton will have to continue to improve his jump shooting to be an asset in the Big Apple. If not, teams will simply go under screens in screen/roll situations, not allowing Amare Stoudemire free reign to roll to the basket. The last non-shooter the Knicks signed to run the point was Chris Duhon. That didn’t work out too well. Felton could be a similar disappointment. Grade: C Carlos Boozer—Chicago Bulls Carlos Boozer provides the back-to-the-basket scorer the Bulls have lacked for a decade. He has a number of quick spins or fadeaway jumpers in the pivot, is an excellent screen/roll player, and has the quickness to create offense from the high post as well. He’s too short to be an impactful defender, but pairing up with Joakim Noah will alleviate some of his defensive shortcomings. Finally the Bulls have an inside-outside pairing that can create havoc in the playoffs. Grade: A Kyle Korver—Chicago Bulls Chicago struggled with their offensive spacing without Ben Gordon last season, something Korver’s presence will take care of. Korver’s an excellent catch-and shoot player who also knows how to work without the ball and will execute an offensive set. He’s an average defender who can’t create his offense, but he fills a needed role in Chicago. Grade: A- Drew Gooden—Milwaukee Bucks Gooden can shoot and rebound consistently, and can sometimes drive, post, and defend. Gooden’s problem is a lack of focus that leads to mistakes or passivity. However, he’s better than Ersan Illyasova and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute at creating his own shot and rebounding, and is nice insurance at center should Andrew Bogut suffer any setbacks with his various arm and wrist injuries. Grade: B Chris Douglas-Roberts—Milwaukee Bucks Chris Douglas-Roberts is an attacking two-guard who can finish around the hoop, but he’s a poor jump shooter which limits his effectiveness. He fell out of favor with New Jersey’s coaching staff by complaining about his playing time during the entire season 2009-2010 season. With the Bucks, he’ll mostly likely be the team’s fifth wing once Michael Redd comes back and likely won’t see much burn either. How long will it take for him to wind up in Scott Skiles’ doghouse? However, Douglas-Roberts has talent and Milwaukee didn’t give up anything (a second round pick) to acquire him. If he can understand his role and improve his jump shot, he can become an asset this season and into the future. Grade: C Daequan Cook—Oklahoma City Thunder A shooter who shoots too many blanks, Daequan Cook isn’t NBA material. Expect him to ride the pine in Oklahoma City. Grade: F Morris Peterson—Oklahoma City Thunder Morris Peterson is on the decline, so he shouldn’t factor too heavily into the on-court happenings of the Thunder. What he will provide is a veteran wing to mentor Kevin Durant and James Harden who can hit an occasional three-pointer. Grade: C Martell Webster—Minnesota Timberwolves Webster’s a solid defender and three-point shooter who also gives the Timberwolves a package of athleticism and court IQ they haven’t seen from the wing. That said, he can’t create his own shot, something the Timberwolves desperately need from their wings. Grade: C+ Darko Milicic—Minnesota Timberwolves Darko has spent his entire career griping about playing time under the assumption that he’d be a big time performer if teams would only commit to giving him 30-plus minutes a night. Not only is he self-absorbed and delusional, but he’s never come close to providing glimpses of potential indicating that he could be an NBA featured player. As is, Darko has a modicum of offensive talent packaged into mechanical post moves, but he has poor basketball IQ and can’t defend a statue. The Timberwolves are the only team in the league that would willingly start Darko. Consider this season, Darko’s final opportunity to prove himself. Grade: D Michael Beasley—Minnesota Timberwolves Beasley’s lack of refinement hurt him in Miami, where he was too unpolished to play smart, winning basketball. In Minnesota, the expectations are non-existent, and Beasley will have room to make mistakes as the T-Wolves’ featured player. His defense is horrendous, he’s slow to understand what defenses are doing, and his feel for the game is poor—but he has undeniable talent, something the T-Wolves haven’t had much of recently. With the T-Wolves expected to be down in the dumps for several more seasons, taking a flier on Beasley could pave huge dividends down the road. Grade: A Steve Blake—Los Angeles Lakers The perfect fit for the Lakers, Blake knows how to run an offense, is crafty off the bounce, and is a terrific three-point shooter. Point guards in the triangle don’t have as much responsibility as in other systems. Blake’s main responsibilities will be bringing the ball up, making the correct trigger pass, reading the defense, and either cutting or spotting up based on how the defense reacts to the machinations of the triangle. Given that Blake has a high basketball IQ, these things will come quickly to him. Expect him to split time with Derek Fisher, getting more playing time in the middle of halves, with Fisher getting the bulk of the minutes and the beginnings and the ends of halves and games. Grade: A+ Chris Duhon—Orlando Magic Duhon’s a smart pick-and-roll guard who makes terrific passes on rolls, and sees defenders sagging from the wing or corner. However, he’s a subpar shooter who was dreadful for much of last season. What’s there to keep teams from going under screens when defending Duhon, preventing open roll lanes for Dwight Howard? At least, unlike Jason Williams, Duhon’s a sound decision maker and a quality perimeter defender. Duhon should prove to be a better backup than a starter. Grade: B- Kirk Hinrich—Washington Wizards Hinrich is still a pesky perimeter defender who can handle and run an offense. His competitive nature will give John Wall someone to emulate, while also keeping Gilbert Arenas off-the-ball at all times. Hinrich’s ability to spot up and shoot will also allow him to play alongside either guard for short stretches. A smart pickup for a team devoid of good role players. Grade: B+ Randy Foye—Los Angeles Clippers Foye’s too short to be a two-guard, and is too shot happy to be a point guard. He does do a decent job as a playmaker off the bench for teams that need energy from a second unit. He’s a useful backup, but the Clippers are in trouble should anything happen to Eric Gordon. Grade: C+ Ryan Gomes—Los Angeles Clippers Gomes understands the game, but isn’t able to create his own offense, and doesn’t have three-point range. With a Clippers team that features far more playmakers than Gomes is used to from Boston and Minnesota, he should be able to carve a niche for himself as a backup forward who knows how to manufacture offense without the ball. Grade: B- Brian Cook—Los Angeles Clippers All Cook wants to do is stand at the top of the key and launch threes. He needs to shoot them at a high clip because he can’t do anything else. He can’t defend, he can’t finish, he won’t pass, and he’s devoid of physicality. Couldn’t the Clippers just keep Steve Novak? Grade: D-

The difference is that Kobe wasn't hated for his play and choices in the NBA. He was always an amazing player that kept his mouth shut and shut everyone else up with his performances. They hated him for his off-court issues. LeBron is hated because of the choices he's made in the NBA. LeBron is more deserving of the 'most hated' title than Kobe ever was.

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

BTW, can't forget this gem:

Lebron fans will stick by him. Cleveland fans will never forgive him.

I know you're new, so I'm going to say this the nicest way I can. Don't ever make a thread like this again, it's been done to death and we're all tired of seeing it. Thank you.

I disagree with this. Besides the rape case, Kobe was hated solely on his choices he made in the NBA. Not saying it was deserved, but between being perceieved to have run Shaq out of town (and all the hoopla those two caused the previous few seasons), trashing Bynum on home-video, demanding to be traded, the Phil Jackson book...there's plenty of things to pick on Kobe for. Above all else, Kobe was hated because he's a Laker. After the 2010 FA starts to fade from people's minds once basketball resumes, people outside of Cleveland will hate LeBron for the same reason...he'll be on a powerhouse team that wins.

http://www.loudsportsshorts.com/basketball/players/magic_johnson.jpg?

lol thats so narrow minded to say blowouts are boring to watch, it;s still basketball. so that means basketball is boring for you. oh, and it's still good basketball. these guys are the best players in the world, to say an NBA isn't good basketball is completely idiotic

i really don't see why you guys are getting angry and butthurt saying you won't watch the NBA anymore. i mean, you know good and damn well if you were ever in the NBA and you had buddies that were good you would want to team up with them and try for a championship instead of "staying loyal" to some team that could care less about what you really want and just like the money they are getting off selling your jersey. think about it guys before you start saying irrelevant things.