Lakers Establish Themselves as a Major Contender

The amount of substantial moves in the NBA this season has been the most that I've seen in recent years. It proved just how important superstars are to their franchise on and off the court, and probably most importantly when owners look at their revenue.

• First, Kobe Bryant threatened to leave, almost everyone expected him to opt out after this year - he was begging for help - and he got it. The additions of Trevor Ariza and Pau Gasol and the arrival of Andrew Bynum makes the first place L.A. Lakers a real threat in the league. They also have pretty good wing players in Luke Walton and Lamar Odom. Let's hope that Bynum doesn't rush his comeback and when he does comeback, he's back at 100% - the kid is under 20 years old, I'm suspecting he'll be fine. The only thing this squad is missing is a proven solid PG and the sky will be the limit for the Lakeshow. Things have just been working in their favor, give those guys a A+.

• The ultimate losers this season have to be the Memphis Grizzlies. Yup, the Memphis Grizzlies, not the Miami Heat or the New York Knicks - the Memphis Grizzlies. They're obviously planning a reconstruction and their management seems to be in shambles ever since Jerry West (one of the best GMs to bless the front office) stepped down. Whenever you lose Pau Gasol, but "gain" Kwame Brown...you've got a major problem. D

• The Miami Heat made a move they had to make - or did they? The trade was excellent in the aspect of giving up not so much for a lot. Shaq is on the horizon of retirement but still poses a threat to anyone in the paint, can still grab boards, defense is still there, and rarely anyone is going to want to challenge him the paint. Shawn Marion is the most underrated superstar in the league, the guy does everything well and will provide a great dose of everything that the Heat needs and Marcus Banks is good, too - it's just difficult playing behind Steve Nash and Barbosa for much of the beginning stages of your career. I'm expecting the Heat to develop decent chemistry but they still need a big man - maybe their hoping Earl Barron to be their Andrew Bynum. B+

• The Atlanta Hawks made a good move that will put them in serious post-season contention by acquiring PG Mike Bibby from the Hawks for four players including Tyronn Lue, former starter Anthony Johnson and sophomore Shelden Williams. But Bibby is recently coming off of an injury and hasn't been able to put it all together like he used to. We'll see how the talented Hawks all play together, it would be good to see them put it all together for once. B

• The San Antonio Spurs made their usual close to nothing move by getting rid of Francisco Elson and acquiring Kurt Thomas. B-

• In another "ask and you shall receive" situation, Lebron James got some much needed help in Cleveland by adding Ben Wallace, Wally Szczerbiak, Joe Smith, and Delonte West to their roster. Defensively, this is a great improvement for the Cavs. As far as the "O" goes, let Lebron take care of all of that. B

• The Supersonics simply got nothing in return for what they gave, Donny Marshall and Ira Newble, giving Kevin Durant even less support...C-

• The Nets gave up a proven superstar that helps everyone around his excel for a few role players and a retiree. This now puts more pressure on Richard Jefferson and Vince Carter to make the team theirs and carry them to wherever they lead them. B-

• The Suns acquired Shaq for Shawn Marion...not a good trade for the Suns, Shaq will inevitably get injured and that'll be the end of that...there's no D.Wade on the Suns. C

• The Kings don't have a quality PG now with the exception of Anthony Johnson (if you want to call that quality) and John Salmons, who is always good for 5 turnovers per game. C

• The Mavs definitely upgraded, their offense will flow like the days when they had Steve Nash on their squad, but now inside presence is a bigger issue than ever. B+

• The Bulls got it all wrong by getting rid of Joe Smith and Ben Wallace for Drew Gooden and Larry Hughes - Hughes can't do anything on the court that no other guard on Chicago can and Ben Wallace and Joe Smith for Drew Gooden is just plain wrong. C

We'll see what the future holds for all of these teams, it's going to be an exciting second half of the NBA season