NBA Summer Thus Far

Here are updates on 3 teams whom are having a very active summer.

Chicago Bulls: B+
The Chicago Bulls obviously made the biggest splash of the off-season with their surprise steal of Ben Wallace and subsequent trade of Tyson Chandle for PJ Brown. This was after they were able to draft both Tyus and Thebo. I think this was a good off-season for them, but not a great one. Wallace and Brown will provide them with nice veteran balance plus even more defence, and Tyrus has some serious upside, but none of their moves address their lack of post scoring. I think they've gotten better, but none were slam dunk moves and they may have improved their team better over the long haul by either signing Harrington or drafting Aldridge.

New Orleans Hornets: B-
I am excited for the Hornets next season. They followed up their surprising near playoff run by adding Stojakovic and Chandler. I hope this results in a Chris Paul-led playoff run. It might not and both decisions may later be deeply regretted. I mean, Peja's skills were already declining and they gave him a lot of money. Meanwhile, Chandler has shown no signs of being worth the 50+ million the Bulls signed him for. But it might just work out. Chandler should be more effective in a fast-paced offense, while Stojokavic will have no problem hitting the open shots Paul creates. They overpaid, but the chemistry has a chance of making this a fruitful off-season for the Hornets.

Portland Trailblazers: A-
It was a very solid draft for the Blazers. If summer league play is any indication, Roy is going to be competing for the R.O.Y. with Foye. And although Aldridge might not have a huge impact this year, he is a big man with post moves who should be, at the least, fairly effective when he gains more strength. I'm not so sure though about their latest rumored trade, Magloire for Blake, Ha, and Skinner. It doesn't seem to totally make sense roster-wise, and I hope it means that they've found a trading partner for Randolph. But if it doesn't, they have a suprisingly overstocked frontcourt (Magloire, Randolph, Raef, Pryzbilla, and Aldridge) and have pretty much given the PG position to Jarrett Jack (who's coming off surgery). Not that Blake was that great, but he was solid, Ha has potential (or was at the least interesting), and they'll only get Magloire for a year. Right now, it seems like an odd move, but doesn't overshadow their otherwise stellar off-season.