If they do, then you can bet your ass the Knicks will be the team to beat next season.

After getting the services of multi – time All – Star Tracy McGrady this 2010 NBA basketball season from a three team trade with the Houston Rockets and the Sacramento Kings, the New York Knicks were able to clear enough salary-cap space for the Knicks to possibly sign two maximum-salary free agents this summer.

That’s right, the New York Knicks could recruit LeBron James by giving him the option of choosing which other free agent he wants from the likes of Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, Joe Johnson, Amare Stoudemire and Dirk Nowitzki.

However, getting LeBron James out of Cleveland won’t be easy since the Cavs, who own the league’s best record, bolstered their lineup with the addition of former Wizards forward Antawn Jamison. If Cleveland advances to its second NBA Finals stint in four years with LeBron, the odds of him leaving his home state figure to be diminished.

Sorry Knicks fans.

The New York Knicks aren’t the only team to clear cap space. The Chicago Bulls, a team featuring point guard Derrick Rose and a better core group of players than…

Great. That’s just what the Knicks needed, another overpaid guard to fuck up the salary cap.

After trading Nate Robinson to Boston, you can’t help but wonder, are these guys throwing the 2010 NBA basketball season away already? And what’s even funnier is the fact that the Knicks actually think bringing in a Tracy McGrady who is now merely a shell of his former self, the right move to make.

But when you come to think of it, this is probably a good business decision by New York Knicks gerenal manager Donnie Walsh. We all know the Knicks won’t be competing for the NBA championship this season anyway so the least they can do now is just put more asses inside Madison Square Garden and just like Iverson in Philadelphia, McGrady can be that guy in New York City.

Having a guy like Tracy McGrady can bolster interest to this ailing Knicks franchise. Of course, if they want to have McGrady for the next couple of years, they would have to give up key players within their team like Al Harrington and Eddy Curry at some point just to stay below the cap.

And since the Knicks are trying to clear up some cap space anyway for the highly anticipated 2010 free agency, those guys are as good as gone along with their hefty paychecks.

The first move New York Knicks general manager Donnie Walsh was looking into before the deadline was a three-team deal that involves both the…

We’re letting these out now before the trading deadline expires in a few hours.

The halfway point of the 2010 NBA basketball season only means one thing, this is that point of the season when teams have to make their final adjustments in their roster for that final push for a possible playoff spot come April.

And as far as that is concerned, we still have quite a few. With deals that sent Caron Butler to Dallas, Josh Howard to Washington and just recently, Antawn Jamison to Cleveland, we still have quite a few big names that could end up somewhere else.

Let’s start with arguably the biggest name out there on the trading block. And in case you didn’t get that, we’re referring to Amare Stoudemire. Stoudemire has been the topic for the past few weeks as his name continue to pop – up in trade talks for the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Miami Heat.

Now that Cleveland already has Jamison, the Cavaliers have left the pursuit for Stoudemire, letting the Miami Heat to make a move. I know Heat president Pat Riley is doing his best to land Stoudemire to pair him with his fellow All – Star Dwyane Wade.

We also have Ray Allen, who has an expiring contract with the Boston Celtics, in the middle of trade rumors. Boston continues to measure the veteran guard’s appeal on the market, but general manager Danny Ainge is unwilling to pull the trigger. Allen still is considered an important asset to Boston but as ya’ll know, you really don’t know for sure what the Celtics will do before…

Why? Yeah, you guessed it, he is injured again.

The Portland Trail Blazers would have to once again do without their prized center Greg Oden this 2009 NBA basketball season.

Yes, Greg Oden suffered yet another season-ending injury after he broke his left kneecap against the Houston Rockets a few days ago. The No.1 overall draft pick in 2007, Oden is out once again and now have some eery similarities with Sam Bowie, the often-injured big man the Blazers selected ahead of Michael Jordan in the 1984 draft.

Oden underwent surgery on his left patella and the Portland Trail Blazers confirmed what they feared all along that he was done for the season. Oden, drafted ahead of Kevin Durant, has been plagued by injures in the three seasons he had in the NBA.

He already missed his rookie season after undergoing microfracture surgery on his right knee. Last season, he sat out six games after injuring his right foot in the season opener against the Lakers, before missing 14 games after the All-Star break with a bone chip in his left knee. He finished the season averaging 8.9 points and 7 rebounds.

This season, Oden lost weight and was averaging 11.7 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.4 blocks as a starter. Along with improved numbers in all the major statistical categories, Oden had a renewed confidence that was seldom evident in his delayed rookie season, when he admitted the pressure of being a top draft pick got to him.

Then this happened. The Blazers sure have not…

Odds to win 2010 Western Conference 
All wagers have action. The team that wins the conference final in the playoffs will be graded the winner. (This Prop is Closed for Betting)

Competitor
Price

Dallas Mavericks

15.00    

Denver Nuggets
[...]

Odds to win 2010 NBA Championship 

Competitor
Price

Atlanta Hawks
46.00    

Boston Celtics
5.00

Charlotte Bobcats
101.00 

Chicago Bulls
46.00    

Cleveland Cavaliers
4.33

Dallas Mavericks
31.00 

Denver Nuggets
16.00

Detroit Pistons
46.00   

Golden State Warriors
126.00 

Houston Rockets
51.00 

Indiana Pacers
101.00

Los Angeles Clippers
91.00

Los Angeles Lakers
3.00 

Memphis Grizzlies
101.00

Miami Heat
46.00

Milwaukee Bucks
51.00 

Minnesota Timberwolves
151.00

New Jersey Nets
101.00   

New Orleans Hornets
36.00

New York Knicks
76.00

Oklahoma City Thunder
101.00 

Orlando Magic
9.00

Philadelphia 76ers
66.00

Phoenix Suns
61.00  

Portland Trailblazers
21.00 

Sacramento Kings
151.00

San Antonio Spurs
8.50

Toronto Raptors [...]

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Southwest Division

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Houston Rockets
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New Orleans Hornets

With Yao Ming out indefinitely, the Rockets need to fix that huge hole in the middle of their defense, quick.

The Houston Rockets find themselves in serious trouble now with Yao Ming’s broken foot ultimately ruling their chances of another run in the playoffs over even before the 2009 NBA basketball season can officially begin.

Dr. Tom Clanton, the Houston Rockets team physician, said that the injury Yao Ming suffered ”has the potential for him missing this next season and could be career-threatening.” That’s not really something you want to hear.

So what can the Houston Rockets do to fill such a gaping hole? The answer, trade for Chris Bosh. Bosh is reportedly going to sign with the Rockets in another year or so anyway. Some even say that there’s no way he’s coming back to the Raptors, so it makes sense for the Rockets to go grab the guy now when they need him most.

Chris Bosh is also originally from Dallas, so a return to his home state would be something he’d likely be interested in as well. It worked so far for Vince Carter in Florida anyway.

Yao suffered a hairline fracture of the tarsal navicular bone late in a May 8 playoff game against the Los Angeles Lakers. The team said last week the injury hasn’t healed, ruling him out for the coming season, indefinitely.

Yao played in 77 regular-season games in 2008-09, his most injury-free year since 2004-05, when he played in 80. Before last season, Yao missed chunks of the previous three seasons with leg and foot injuries. He missed 21 games in 2005-06 after surgery to heal an infection to his left big toe, then broke a bone in his left foot with four games left in the regular season.

In 2006-07, Yao missed 32 games after breaking his…

Replacing Trevor Ariza with Ron Artest is a downgrade, let’s just put that one out first.

Sure, Ron Artest is obviously the more talented player but why in the world did the Los Angeles Lakers let an energy guy like Trevor Ariza go and jam Artest up on their roster that just might mess up the chemistry these guys have been trying to establish the last couple of years?

That is the dilemma the Lakers are in heading to the brand new 2009 NBA basketball season. For a team that already won the NBA title, was getting a guy as volatile as Ron Artest the right way to go?

For all of you who didn’t know, Ron Artest signed a mid-level exception to play for the Los Angeles Lakers, receiving $18 million over three years.

This is the same guy who mixed it up with Lakers star Kobe Bryant on multiple occasions during the 2009 NBA playoffs. Hell, they almost killed each other with elbows then and they’re suppose to be teammates now?

Sure, he will add extra toughness to a Lakers team trying to defend their championship. But if Artest can’t put his ego aside, they might as well kiss their bid for a re-peat goodbye.

Well, they’d have to anyway with Shaquille O’Neal now…

You just know how bad Cavs fans wanna’ know if they’ll still have LeBron on their side after the 2010 free agency.

And with still more than a few months left before the new 2009 NBA basketball season kicks off, it looks like LeBron James has finally made some kind of statement that kinda’ sounds like he’ll remain in Cleveland past 2010.

It turns out that the Cleveland Cavaliers wanted free agent Trevor Ariza bad. And in a last ditch effort to lure Ariza away from Houston before the Rockets can officially sign him on their roster this Wednesday, LeBron James uttered the words Cavs fans wanted to hear from him for months.

According to a source, Trevor Ariza, probably thinking about having a change of heart and sign with the Cavaliers instead of the Rockets, asked LeBron James if he would be in Cleveland after next season. And did you know what LeBron said? ”I’ll be there. Of course, I’ll be there.”

You read it, LeBron James told Trevor Ariza that he will remain in Cleveland past the 2010 season. Now I don’t know if all that is just about getting Ariza to sign on that dotted line or if James’ statement to Ariza was more than just an empty sales pitch but the fact of the matter is, Cavs fans could care less if they end up with Ariza before the new season starts as long as James keeps his expensive ass in Ohio.

Of course, James was CONVENIENTLY unavailable for…