The Lone Granger

I've actually got the Raptors as the #8 seed in the East in my predictions. They've built a very solid all-around team, and the additions of Landry Fields and Kyle Lowry will make them an extremely dangerous team. The Eastern Conference as a whole isn't the strongest, especially from seeds 6-8. With the potential starting lineup of; C: Jonas Valanciunas PF: Andrea Bragnani SF: Landry Fields SG: Demar DeRozan PG: Kyle Lowry And don't forget about the talented players they're going to have off their bench in Jose Calderon, Terrence Ross, Ed Davis, Amir Johnson, and more, they're going to be a tough team to beat. Not saying that they'll be contenders to do much once they get in the Playoffs, but I think a lot of people are looking past them because they don't have any "big name" players or scorers. If DeRozan steps up like he's capable of doing this season, they're going to be able to lock up that #8 seed in the East.

Honestly, I think he could. Granted, he's missed some time due to injury this off-season, but he's back at full strength and ready to go. He's got a good core of players built around him, and he's improved a lot offensively over the course of this off-season. I know for a fact that he's worked hard to develop his three-point game, and he's also improved his mid-range game as well. Should be a very good season for him. That being said, being in a top-5 of Rajon Rondo, Deron Williams, Chris Paul, and Russell Westbrook is going to be tough. Tony Parker is going to be his main competitor if you ask me. Very well could.

Not even a poll. Andre Drummond is the only rookie that one really could be excited to watch play. Will certainly be interesting to see how he's able to contribute as the season progresses. His offense looked better in the preseason than I was expecting, and we already know he has the ability to be a good rebounder/defender as well. Excited to see if he can stabilize that Pistons front-court.

Is there really a debate about this? LeBron James made an immature decision when he announced his "decision" on live ESPN TV, but at the same time, he didn't cause drama throughout an entire off-season, and not to mention the season before that off-season. Howard was trying to tell the Magic when to trade him, who to trade him to, and didn't really care about what the Magic needed to do to keep a good basketball team around him. James played his best through the season, and tried to win a Playoff series by himself to be honest for the city of Cleveland. Not a very close call in my opinion, Howard went about this the worst way possible.

I'd take Harrison Barnes myself. He's a great offensive threat, and he also can play defense decently well. Brandon Rush also will push for that starting spot with the way he performed last season. I wasn't a big fan of him after his "bust" tenure with my Pacers, but he showed me some things last year. He's in a good situation with a coach that uses him correctly. Wouldn't be a bad move to start him to be honest.

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Very tough news for Bayless and the Raptors. After what he's been able to do in Toronto this year in limited minutes, he looks very good. That being said, I think he very well could be the future at point guard for the Raptors if they're willing to invest in him. When he was starting in Calderon's place, he put up some big games, and I think he's able to do that every single night. Interested to see what they do this off-season.

#2 or #3 overall pick would be my guess. The kid has tremendous potential, he could become a superstar in the NBA. Like a buddy of mine and I have discussed, if he falls somehow to Cleveland, that team is stacked for the next 10 seasons assuming they can re-sign all their young talent. Can you imagine a lineup of; C: Anderson Varejao PF: Tristan Thompson SF: MKG/Alonzo Gee SG: Alonzo Gee/MKG PG: Kyrie Irving In my opinion, that would be pretty sick. Of course they'd have to package some picks to move up in the draft in order to snag Gilchrist, but they would be stacked for quite a few years to come if that happened.

He definitely hasn't been getting the desired results out of this team that was supposedly going to be one of, if not the best team in the NBA. They're struggling, and with the recent success of coaching changes in the league, I wouldn't be surprised to see it happen.

Like I've stated in another thread, this is going to end up being a very nice pickup for the Thunder. Fisher will be that floor general that they need, and the veteran point guard that can get them over the hump if you ask me. Really excited to see what he brings to the table for them the rest of the season.

Interesting move to say the least. As a Pacers fan, we really could use another front-court player, and while Hickson has struggled this year with the Kings, I've seen him at his finest when he was in Cleveland. The dude could be a very nice pickup for any team out there. Looking forward to seeing where he heads. Maybe a change of scenery is all he needs.

Was wondering when someone would go out and pick Arenas up. Granted, he's nothing like what he used to be back in his prime with the Wizards, but he can still shoot the ball, and I think he'll be a nice fit in Memphis with what they're trying to do there. Solid move.

Absolutely love the move by the Broncos. Look, I understand that this means Tebow likely will have to be moved, but it's the right move to make. Whenever you can snag a guy of Peyton Manning's stature and skill-level, there's just absolutely no reason to pass that up. Expecting Denver to be highly competitive in the AFC this year.