Normally I would start this off talking about the worst move in history...Seattle to Oklahoma City, but alas the true king is off his throne.Before LeBron James took his crown, there was Shareef Abdur-Rahim. The man who made Atlanta relevant again after they had been drowning in oblivion from the loss of Dominique Wilkins or the man who gave the Kings one last breath in their pursuit of a championship.
The problem is many wont remember King Rahim's 18 PPG and 7 RPG career average. Rahim is a shooting star. Someone who lived the rock star lifestyle for a brief moment, but wont shine as long as his contemporaries like Kobe Bryant, James, Steve Nash and Tim Duncan will.
But before this star totally fades out let me leave you with this Tribute to Reef.
Now to the grades...
Dallas Mavericks
DeSagana Diop, Antoine Wright and Gerald Green are all nice players. They only lose Tyronn Lue, Jamaal Magloire and Malik Allen. The problem is it was a completely safe off-season when Mark Cuban NEEDS to shake things up already. Make a big move or suffer. Grade: C-
Denver Nuggets
The Nuggets have a pretty bad defense and it just got worse. They said goodbye to Marcus Camby, Eduardo Najera and Yakhouba Diawara. Kenyon Martin is their last chance to stop a team. I will give them props for adding "Birdman" Chris Andersen, Renaldo Balkman and Sonny Weems. Great exciting offense, but an overall worse team. Grade: C
Golden State Warriors
They lost The Baron, but they added some nice pieces in Corey Maggette, Ronny Turiaf, Marcus Williams and Anthony Randolph. Anytime you lose a franchise player and a spark plug like Matt Barnes it can be hard to recover, but they proved it's possible. Grade: B
Houston Rockets
Are they taking off? They should after this off-season, but they are the Rockets. Ron Artest was a brilliant pick up and DJ Strawberry and Joey Dorsey will add even more depth to a great bench. If they stay healthy, it could be their year. Grade: A-
LA Clippers
Defense: Marcus Camby, Brian Skinner, Jason Hart (that's a check) Offense: Ricky Davis, Baron Davis and Eric Gordon (that's a check). Losing Elton Brand after thinking you have him in the bag is not a check and hurts and otherwise great off-season. Grade: B+
LA Lakers
Sun Yue. Yup, that was their off-season. A team a move or two away from being champions decided Sun Yue would be enough. Don't get me wrong, I am excited to see him play, but come on guys, your so close. Maybe Andrew Bynum getting healthy will do the trick. Grade: C+
Memphis Grizzlies
They lost Juan Carlos Navarro and Mike Miller so that is not good. They did bring in O.J. Mayo to complement Rudy Gay and also brought in Darrell Arthur and Marc Gasol. But they are too young and not good enough in the post, and they didn't do anything about it. Grade: C
Minnesota Timberwolves
If they thought Mike Miller and Kevin Love would be enough to turn their sinking ship around they were wrong. I don't understand how they didn't pursue Elton Brand harder or Ron Artest or even Sean Livingston. Please, stop hurting yourselves. Grade: D
New Orleans Hornets
They landed James Posey, a great defender and clutch shooter who could help give the team the extra boost it needs. They didn't have a real deep bench and it got shallower after Chris Andersen and more importantly, Jannero Pargo, left. Grade: B-
Oklahoma City Thunder
Well, they got decent players with Desmond Mason, Russell Westbrook and D.J. White, but they left Seattle and changed their name to Thunder. I mean I would like to give them a B for the personnel they got, but the name is terrible. Grade: F
Phoenix Suns
Robin Lopez, Matt Barnes and Sean Singletary wont improve a team that needs a kick in the rear. Singletary will be good in the future, Barnes is a tough player and Lopez will probably bust. Shaquille O'Neal is a year older, so is Steve Nash. And Amare Stoudamire could go down at anytime. Sorry guys, you are starting to slip. Grade: C-
Portland Trailblazers
Greg Oden is coming on strong, Jerryd Bayless looks awesome and Rudy Fernandez is crossing borderlines. Mr. SIU Jamaal Tatum is also in the mix, talk about the best off-season ever. This one is easy to grade. Grade: A+
Sacramento Kings
Well they got Donte Greene and Bobby Jackson. But at least now when they lose they wont have to deal with Ron Artest making a fuss. But on the other hand, they may see more losses now that Artest isn't there to stop the other team. They will be young and scrappy, but not a very good off-season. Grade: C-
San Antonio Spurs
They either added or resigned 11 players. And none of it mattered. This team showed its age last year, and they didn't get younger. How can you either add or resign 11 players and get nothing of significance out of it. Maybe Roger Mason can do something Grade: D+
Utah Jazz
This is a great young team, and they didn't add much aside from Kosta Koufos who could really go either way. The fact of the matter is they didn't really need anything other than experience, which comes with playing. They stood pat, but that is fine. Grade: B
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