The Five Best Moves Of The NBA Offseason

In no particular order, here at the five best moves that have been made so far this offseason by front offices across the league:

- The Los Angeles Lakers adding Steve Nash and Dwight Howard AND keeping Pau Gasol: The basketball gods must heavily favor the purple and gold because it seems they ALWAYS come out of trades looking like thieves.

Most recently, prior to this summer, it was the Pau Gasol robbery from Memphis (although that deal looks much better now with Marc Gasol's emergence with the Grizzlies than it did when it actually went down back in 2008).

This summer, they somehow made off like bandits not once, but twice, in separate trades that could alter the championship picture for years to come.

First, they were able to land Steve Nash from their division rival, the Phoenix Suns, for a total of four draft picks (two in each round) that will almost certainly be near the bottom of each round. Two of those picks (their first and second rounders for 2013) are coming in one of the weakest drafts since 2000 and will likely fall at the tail end of each round, making them virtually useless.

While the offer was absolutely horrendous from Phoenix's end, they did the right thing for Steve Nash after everything he gave the franchise, which is something of a rarity for teams in today's sports landscape. Nash, even as he approaches the end of his career, instantly becomes the best point guard Kobe Bryant has played with in the NBA.

Then, for some ridiculous reason that will never make sense to me, the Orlando Magic finally caved in and decided to part with Dwight Howard, only somehow they managed to fail to even get Pau Gasol out of the deal. Other than Andrew Bynum, Josh McRoberts and Christian Eyenga were the only other players Los Angeles had to part with to ADD THE BEST CENTER IN THE NBA.

Instead of potentially landing Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol, while shedding most, if not all, of their horrendous contracts in the inevitable trade of Dwight Howard, the Magic decided to take back a package that didn't include either player and left the Lakers with a starting five of Nash-Bryant-World Peace-Gasol-Howard.

I'll never know how Los Angeles Laker's GM Mitch Kupchak managed to swing those deals, but I'm going out on a limb here and declaring him the NBA Executive of the Year. Heck, the NBA might as well go ahead and give him the real award now, it's not like anyone is topping his moves this offseason.

- The Denver Nuggets acquiring Andre Iguodala in the Dwight Howard mega-deal: The Nuggets found a way to sneak themselves into the Dwight Howard mega-deal as one of the two teams that helped facilitate D-12's move to the City of Angels and they made out quite well for their troubles.

Denver added one of the most well-rounded players in the league in Iguodala and all it cost them was Aaron Afflalo, Al Harrington, and the lower of their 2014 first round draft picks.

Afflalo is a great young talent at point guard, however, the Nuggets will be just fine with Ty Lawson and Andre Miller still manning the back court. Lawson is also two years younger than Afflalo, and his 19.4 PER (Player Efficiency Rating) crushed Afflalo's 14.7 PER this past season, so I think it's safe to say Denver kept the better of the two.

Iguodala is still on the right side of 30, at only 28 years old, and is coming off a pretty solid run with the USA's Olympic squad that earned their second consecutive gold medal. Through his first eight seasons in the league, all with the 76ers, Iguodala averaged 15.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 1.7  steals per game.

His critics have always hammered him for not being able to be "that guy" who carries a team on his back. However, Denver doesn't need him to fill that type of role, making him the perfect fit for their system.

Iggy's addition could push Denver from a borderline playoff squad all the way up the ladder in the West to the upper rungs, just below the Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder, but as good or better than anyone else in their conference.

-  The Brooklyn Nets walking away from negotiations for Dwight Howard with the Orlando Magic: The Nets and Howard had their eyes set on each other for nearly a year, dreaming of a pairing they felt would be perfect both for the franchise and the player.

However, in mid-July, after months and months of negotiations that had gone no where, Nets GM Billy King gave the Orlando Magic a deadline to get something done or Brooklyn was walking away from the table for good.

I'm not sure if the Magic and/or their new GM Rob Henenigan thought King was bluffing when he told them of the deadline, however, we are sure of how it turned out now.

King wasn't bluffing, as the Nets walked away from negotiations for Howard and almost immediately swung a deal with the Atlanta Hawks to bring Joe Johnson to Brooklyn to pair with Deron Williams in the backcourt.

They re-signed Williams and Gerald Wallace to long-term deals, signed Brook Lopez to an extension, kept Kris Humphries on a two-year deal, and added several other complementary pieces as well.

While the pairing of Williams and Howard might have been nice for Nets fans, their supporting cast would have been somewhere between pretty bad and "Seriously, THIS is why we wanted to team up in Brooklyn?" bad for the duo.

Think about it. They would have had to part with Lopez, Humphries, MarShon Brooks, and several decent draft picks just to land Howard and bring back some of Orlando's collection of horrible contracts, which in turn, would have kept them from signing role players like C.J. Watson, Jerry Stackhouse, and Mirza Teletovic.

I'd much rather have Williams-Johnson-Wallace-Humphries-Lopez and a decent bench instead of Williams-Jason Richardson-Hedo Turkoglu-Earl Clark-Howard and a bunch of nobodies (with no draft picks) any day, all day, and twice on Saturday's.

- The Atlanta Hawks moving their two worst contracts (Joe Johnson and Marvin Williams) in less than 24 hours AND arguably improving in the process: New Atlanta Hawks' general manager Danny Ferry would almost certainly be the front-runner for NBA Executive of the Year if not for Mitch Kupchak's two armed robberies.

First, he traded Johnson, and the league's most expensive contract, to the Brooklyn Nets for Anthony Morrow, Jordan Farmar (since waived), Jordan Williams, DeShawn Stevenson and Johan Petro, as well as a 2017 second round pick.

Later in the day, he then shipped Marvin Williams (the team's constant reminder that the Hawks could've drafted Chris Paul to his hometown Hawks and blew it) to the Utah Jazz for Devin Harris.

On paper, the moves don't look like much of an upgrade. However, once you realize that Ferry turned Johnson's 2012-13 salary of $19.8 (and the near $70 million beyond this season) and Williams into a top ten three point shooter (Morrow, career 42.6%), a solid back-up point guard (Harris), and $20.5 million in expiring contracts (all six players they acquired have contracts expiring after this season, including Farmar, who was already waived),

After their other signings and moves, including the additions of Kyle Korver and Lou Williams, the Hawks are right back at the level they were at prior to the trade, only with approximately ten times the potential when you factor in all the new faces and the franchise-altering amount of cap space they will have next summer.

While their 2012-13 roster might not fare much better than Atlanta's recent string of first or second round playoff losses, they are primed to transform into legitimate, consistent contenders if they continue making all the right moves.

Keep an eye on the Hawks and their stockpile of expiring contracts at the trade deadline in February. With a core of Josh Smith, Al Horford, Jeff Teague, Lou Williams, Devin Harris, and Kyle Korver, Atlanta is only a player or two away from being a serious contender in the East (although they will almost certainly remain in the Miami Heat's massive shadow as they share the same division).

However, with Danny Ferry trading the most untradeable contract in the league within days of taking the Hawks' GM job, nothing he does will surprise me from now on.

- The Miami Heat stealing Ray Allen away from their biggest rival in the Eastern Conference while also adding Rashard Lewis: While many people who follow basketball thought Pat Riley would focus on adding some more size to the Heat's front court as his top priority this offseason, he went out and did almost the exact opposite.

However, when you have the opportunity to land the best three point shooter in NBA history AND one of your main rivals' best players in the same signing, you just can't pass that up, regardless of current needs.

While Miami could clearly use an upgrade at the center position, they have already shown they have what it takes to win an NBA title playing "small ball" and employing a rotation of semi-competent big men other than Chris Bosh.

While Allen lost his starting role with the Celtics last season to Avery Bradley amid lingering injuries, he won't have to play nearly as many regular season minutes for Miami and will almost certainly be used primarily as a spot up shooter lurking around the three-point line, meaning a lot less running around the floor on offense which means less wear and tear on his body.

With his ability to knock down open threes with such consistency, as well the Heat's plethora of other talented three point shooters (Mike Miller, Shane Battier, James Jones, etc.), Miami will almost certainly be one of the best three point shooting teams in the league next season.

With LeBron James and Dwayne Wade commanding double and triple teams every time they drive to the rim, I also expect more than a few of those threes will be wide-open looks.

Although Rashard Lewis might not be the legitimate big man Riley and the Heat have been searching for during the past two summers, at 6'9, he gives them another player like Chris Bosh that can shoot the ball well enough away from the basket that it forces the man covering him to leave the post and come out to guard him.

With a line-up of James-Allen-Wade-Lewis-Bosh on the court, for instance, head coach Erik Spoelstra would have an almost unlimited amount of options on the offensive side of the ball to work with.

Lewis and Bosh can either take the ball down low to the rim or spot up and shoot from 15 feet, causing nightmares for the large percentage of the league's power forwards and centers that have trouble playing defense away from the rim.

If either one of them draws their man away from the basket, it makes it all the easier for LeBron or Wade to take off and drive to the rim, scoring an easy dunk or lay-up and/or drawing a foul on someone moving off their defensive assignment to try and cover the guy with the ball.

By chance someone makes the defensive switch in time to stop whoever is driving to the rim, it will likely come at the expense of leaving Allen or another one of Miami's deadly three point shooters wide open on the perimeter.

Allen also knows Miami's chief rival in the Eastern Conference, the Boston Celtics, quite well having spent the past five seasons with them prior to deciding to take less money and playing time to chase a second (and maybe even a third or fourth) ring with the Heat.

While the Lakers clearly made some earth-shaking moves by acquiring Steve Nash and Dwight Howard this summer, Miami's addition of Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis keeps them in the pole position of the championship race as they look to repeat and build upon last season's success.

Honorable Mention:

- The Oklahoma City Thunder stealing Perry Jones with the 28th pick in the first round of the 2012 NBA Draft: Normally, teams coming of an appearance in the NBA Finals don't find themselves in a position to land a player at the NBA Draft that will have any meaningful impact on the franchise in the immediate future.

However, that's exactly where Oklahoma City found themselves during this year's draft as they were the beneficiary of Jones' tumble down the draft board after last minute medical red flags went up regarding his potential knee problems.

Jones, who was once projected as high as a top five draft pick, fell into the Thunder's lap after many teams passed on him due to concerns about the meniscus in his knee dating back to before he played at Baylor.

Standing 6'11 and talented enough to play almost position on the floor, Jones will almost certainly find decent minutes starting out as a rookie, and if he begins to live up to his sizable potential early in the season, could even find himself playing a significant role with the team come postseason time.

Even if for some reason Jones doesn't work out in the long run and fails to live up to his once towering expectations, Sam Presti and the Thunder will have lost nothing other than a late first round pick. If he does work out, Presti once again looks like a genius grabbing the guy everyone else was scared to touch. It's a win-win situation for the Thunder and there is potential here for it to be an extremely big win if Jones pans out.

Will Houston Rockets Pull Off A Blockbuster Deal On Draft Day?

The Houston Rockets have probably been the most active team in the NBA heading into tonight's 2012 NBA Draft, as they have been linked to countless trade rumors and free agent interests ranging from Tyreke Evans to Dwight Howard over the past few weeks.

There's no question Houston has the ammunition to pull off a blockbuster trade tonight with any number of teams as they currently own three first round draft picks after sending Chase Budinger to the Minnesota Timberwolves for the #18 pick on Tuesday (they already owned the #14 and #16 picks).

The most prominent rumor circulating around the internet involves Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard, who the Rockets have been fascinated with for quite some time now, even attempting to acquire him at this past season's trade deadline before he ultimately signed a one-year extension with Orlando.

While it's unknown if the Rockets have officially made any offers for him yet, it's almost certain they will make an attempt to land Howard from the Magic with their haul of draft picks before moving on to other players of interest.

The craziest part about Houston's infatuation with the perennial All-Star center is the fact that it's almost certain that he would not re-sign with the Rockets next summer when he is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent.

However, anything is possible if they somehow manage to pull off a deal with Orlando, as he could fall in love with the city of Houston and/or the fan base and decide to stay with a long-term deal in free agency.

He might decide to stay with the Rockets even if he isn't crazy about the franchise, as they would be able to offer an extra year and more money than any other team could in free agency if he is on their roster when he hits the market.

Almost everyone on the Rocket's current roster has been linked to trade rumors and could likely be had by Orlando, along with the draft picks, should they decide to send Howard to Houston.

Kyle Lowry is almost certain to be moved prior to or during the draft tonight, as he is publicly stated he wanted to be traded amidst an apparent irreparable relationship between him and head coach Kevin McHale.

The Rockets have reportedly offered him to the Sacramento Kings, along with the #14 and #16 picks, in exchange for Tyreke Evans and the #5 pick according to DraftExpress.com.

Houston also has been linked to trades involving the Toronto Raptors and their #8 pick, as the Rockets reportedly would like to draft center Andre Drummond out of Connecticut if they fail to land Howard from the Magic.

With the team clearly interested in upgrading the center position one way or another, the Rockets have also reportedly made Samuel Dalembert available, according to HoopsWorld, trying to attach with him with one or more of their picks in attempt to move up in the draft or land a proven veteran.

Earlier this month, HoopsWorld also reported the Rockets had expressed interest in Andre Iguodala of the Philadelphia 76ers and Danny Granger of the Indiana Pacers.

Either of those players could likely be had be had with a package of Kevin Martin (expiring contract) or Luis Scola and a pair of their three draft picks if the Rockets decided to go in one of those directions.

Another option that could be possible, although I have not seen or heard any rumors about this one, could involve the Rockets making an attempt to land Pau Gasol of the Los Angeles Lakers, whom they almost acquired last December in the failed Chris Paul to the Lakers trade.

The Lakers have reportedly been interested in trading him should the right offer come along, and quite frankly, they likely won't receive a better offer for him than Houston could offer with their plethora of draft picks and talented players.

With so many options open to them, and with so many assets stock-piled together, the Rockets have a real chance of pulling off at least a semi-blockbuster move (or two) during tonight's draft as it's highly unlikely they will stand pat and hold onto all three of their draft picks and not either move up or deal for an All-Star.

The real question for Houston is which superstar(s) will the Rockets ultimately land or how far up the draft board will they climb with their U-Haul full of assets?

End Of The Week Free Agency Updates: Brandon Bass, Jameer Nelson, Gerald Wallace, & Jamal Crawford

-- In a somewhat surprising move, Brandon Bass has decided to opt-out of the final year of his contract with the Boston Celtics and test free agency this summer.

Bass would have made $4.25 million next season with the Celtics under his current deal, but considering he is coming off a season in which he posted career highs in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks, it's fair to say he is due for a raise.

However, according to the report from Comcast Sportsnet, it's likely Bass will return to Boston and sign a multi-year contract with the team.

"I would love to be back here," he told reporters after Boston's season-ending loss to the Miami Heat in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. "The fans here are unbelievable. For any player, this organization is the organization that you want to play for."

Regardless of whether or not the Celtics bring back Kevin Garnett next season, Boston still needs some quality front court players for the post "Big Four" era and Bass is exactly the kind of player they need as they move forward and build for the future.

Bass took less money to stay with the Orlando Magic once upon a time, so it's not totally out of the realm of possibility he will give the Celtics a fair discount as well if they commit to him for the long-term.

-- The Orlando Magic and point guard Jameer Nelson have agreed to an extension on his contract opt-out date until June 29 amidst all of the coaching and front office uncertainty within the franchise.

Nelson was originally supposed to have made a decision by today, however, he asked the team for an extension until he finds out who will be the next head coach and general manager of the team.

"The extension gives Jameer the opportunity to evaluate the decisions that Orlando's about to make, which helps in clarifying what Jameer's role would be and whether or not the new management team has a role for him," Nelson's agent Steve Mountain told the Orlando Sentinel.

If Nelson chooses to return  to Orlando next season and exercises his player option, he will earn about $7.9 million, but he could also find himself being dangled in trades because he will have a contract that expires after the 2012-13 season.

However, if he chooses to opt-out, he will hit the free agent market on July 1 as an unrestricted free agent and will be free to sign with any team without Orlando having the right to match an offer.

Nelson has spent his entire NBA career with the Magic and says he would like to return to Orlando if the situation feels right.

--  Gerald Wallace has decided to take a gamble on his value on the free agent market, as he will opt-out of the final year of his contract with the Brooklyn Nets that was due to pay him $9.5 million.

Wallace, who was acquired by the Nets in a midseason trade with the Portland Trail Blazers, will likely draw interest from several contending teams, although he almost certainly won't be offered a contract paying him what he would have made by picking up his player option with Brooklyn.

The Nets gave up a mini-truckload for Wallace, sending Mehmet Okur to the Blazers as well as a first round draft pick, which ended up being the sixth overall selection in this month's NBA Draft.

With that being said, expect Brooklyn to make a major run at re-signing Wallace to a multi-year contract, even it means paying him more than his original deal would've given him for the first season or two of the new contract.

Although Wallace is an 11-year veteran in the league, he is only 30 years-old and still has quite a few solid years left in the tank, especially on the defensive side of the ball.

-- Portland Trail Blazer's guard Jamal Crawford will test free agency this summer and opt-out of the final season of the two-year deal he signed just last summer with the franchise.

Crawford would have earned $5.225 next season with the Blazers if he had decided to pick up his player option on the deal, however, he apparently didn't enjoy his time with Portland according to multiple reports throughout the season.

Part of the reason for Crawford's unhappiness can be traced to the number of minutes he played with the Blazers this year, averaging only 26.9 minutes per game in the 60 he played in, which was his lowest minutes per game average since 2003.

Sam Amico of FoxSports reports that Crawford is interested in signing with one of the following teams in free agency: the Miami Heat, Los Angeles Clippers, Sacramento Kings, New York Knicks or Cleveland Cavaliers.

He was drafted 8th overall in the 2000 draft by the Cavaliers, although he never played for them as he was traded almost immediately after being drafted to the Chicago Bulls for Chris Mihm.

Crawford has played for the Knicks in the past, and although they weren't very good during his first tenure there, they are much better these days and would greatly benefit from the addition of a player of Crawford's level.

If the 32 year-old guard is interested in chasing a championship, Miami and New York would probably be his best options, although the heat would likely have to trade or amnesty Mike Miller to make something happen.

Where do you think these players will end up in free agency? Who will re-sign with the current teams and who will find themselves wearing new uniforms next season? Share your opinions below in the comments section.

Charlotte Bobcats Narrow Their Coaching Search To Three Candidates

It appears the Charlotte Bobcats are finally entering the final stages of selecting their next head coach, as Chris Broussard of ESPN reports they have narrowed their search to three candidates: Brian Shaw, Jerry Sloan, and Quin Snyder.

Each of the three will meet with team owner Michael Jordan within the next week or so according to the report, and then a decision will likely be made soon thereafter.

Recent Hall of Fame inductee Jerry Sloan is the only candidate with prior head coaching experience, resigning midseason during his 23rd season leading the Utah Jazz.

Sloan took the Jazz to the NBA Finals twice during his tenure as their coach, however, he was denied of a championship both times by the Chicago Bulls and his potential future boss, Michael Jordan.

Although Shaw doesn't have any previous head coaching experience, he was a protege of the legendary Phil Jackson and has been an assistant head coach with the Los Angeles Lakers and Indiana Pacers.

He has been an assistant coach since 2004-05 and was considered for the Lakers and Orlando Magic's head coaching vacancies over the past two seasons.

Quin Snyder was an assistant with the Los Angeles Lakers this past season (he still likely will be if he doesn't land the Bobcats job) and coached in the NBDL for three seasons prior to that with the Austin Toros.

Snyder was also interviewed for the Minnesota Timberwolves job last summer, before they had even fired Kurt Rambis.

The narrowing of candidates comes after the team originally had ten people interview with team executives Rod Higgins and Rich Cho for the position.

Including the three finalists, the others that were interviewed were Orlando assistant Patrick Ewing, former Portland coach Nate McMillan, Golden State assistant Michael Malone, Cleveland assistant Nate Tibbetts, Charlotte assistant Stephen Silas, Memphis assistant Dave Joerger and St. John's University assistant Mike Dunlap.

In my opinion, Sloan would probably be the best choice for the job if the Bobcats were closer to being a championship contender, but considering the fact that he is 70-years old will probably mean he won't be coaching long enough to see the transformation through.

With that being said, I think the Bobcats will likely pick Shaw when all three of the meetings with Jordan are complete, as he is widely considered to be the best assistant coach in the league right now.

Shaw spent plenty of time learning coaching tactics from Jackson and has first-hand experience with the Triangle Offense, which with the right players, can be one of the most successful offenses in basketball.

I think Shaw is ready at this point in his coaching career to take a head coaching position, and a spot with the Charlotte Bobcats would be the perfect place to begin his career in the lead role on the bench.

Regardless of who lands the vacant job, they will have a massive task on their hands of turning around a franchise that finished with the worst winning percentage in NBA history last season (.106).

Which coach do you think would be the best fit with the Charlotte Bobcats? Do you think they left someone out of their final three that would've made a better coach? Share what you think about their coaching vacancy down below in the comments section.

Michael Heisley Says Memphis Grizzlies Aren't Shopping Rudy Gay Despite Various Reports

By: Stephen Patterson

Since the Memphis Grizzlies season ended in the opening round of the postseason with a devastating Game 7 loss on their home court to the Los Angeles Clippers, Rudy Gay has been mixed up in trade rumors involving at least five interested teams.

However, despite the various reports saying the Grizzlies are looking to move their starting small forward in a deal to lower the teams' 2012-13 salary cap figure, franchise majority owner Michael Heisley says that couldn't be further from the truth.

"We're not looking to trade Rudy Gay. We're not shopping him around. Period. Do we sit around and say, 'What if we traded Rudy, who could we get?' No. Right now, Rudy is part of the future of this team," Heisley told the Memphis Commercial Appeal.

"Our plan was always to protect the core. I've got the core for four years. If we ever decide to do something, it won't be because of salary. We're going to build a team around this core group. We understand Rudy's salary. We understood it when we gave it to him. We're not looking to cut salary. We're looking to try and win a championship."

With Gay due to earn $16.4 million next season and almost $54 million over the next three seasons, it's easy for people to wonder if the team might be willing to move him for the right package of players and draft picks.

However, it's extremely unlikely the Grizzlies would be able to receive fair value for Gay, who averaged 19.0 points per game for Memphis this season in 65 games.

The Golden State Warriors, Orlando Magic, Toronto Raptors, Brooklyn Nets, and the Charlotte Bobcats are reportedly all interested in acquiring Gay should Memphis decide to move him.

According Marc Stein of ESPN.com, the Raptors are reportedly interested in acquiring Gay or Philadelphia's Andre Iguodala for a package centering around the eighth overall pick in this month's NBA Draft, Ed Davis, and either Jose Calderon or Andrea Bargnani.

Sam Amico recently reported that the Charlotte Bobcats might be willing to deal the second overall pick in a trade centered around Gay.

It's currently unknown what the Warriors, Magic, and Nets would be willing to offer in a trade involving Gay.

This is the second consecutive offseason in which Gay has found himself engulfed in a swirl of trade rumors, as there were many reports last summer that the team was willing to part with him for the right package after the Grizzlies reached the second round of the playoffs for the first time ever.

They came within a game of reaching the Western Conference Finals without Gay, who injured his shoulder in February and was forced to miss the remainder of the season.

Gay bounced back from the injury this season, however, as he led Memphis to a 41-25 record (good for a franchise-record winning percentage of .621) and helped them clinch the fourth seed in the Western Conference, the first time the Grizzlies had ever held home-court advantage for a playoff series.

Considering the fact that the Grizzlies are coming off of two consecutive postseason appearances in which they won a total of 10 games after the franchise was 0-12 in postseason games prior to last season, I think Memphis would be better served to keep Gay and instead try to find the right mixture of role players to help this team reach the next level.

Phil Jackson Withdraws From Talks With Orlando Magic; Where Might He End Up?

By: Stephen Patterson

According to the Orlando Sentinel, Phil Jackson had expressed interest in joining the Orlando Magic's front office as either the team president/general manager or as a consultant before withdrawing his name from consideration on Thursday afternoon.

"It drew some interest from Phil," said Sam Vincent, who played for Phil Jackson with the Chicago Bulls and is now a member of Orlando's front office. "But in the end, Phil decided to go with another opportunity."

Vincent was the intermediary between Jackson and Magic CEO Alex Martins in the negotiations, and was the person who presented Martins with Jackson's proposal.

That proposal supposedly was for Jackson to join the Magic in a capacity similar to the one that Pat Riley has with the Miami Heat. It also included bringing in a coach of Jackson's choosing (a former all-star player and Hall of Famer, according to the report) who would learn from the Zen Master and a group of assistants that likely would've included Frank Hamblen, Jim Cleamons, and Vincent.

The franchise was hoping to land the former 11-time NBA championship winning coach in their front office not only for the incredible wealth of basketball knowledge he possesses, but they also felt it would have greatly helped their chances to keep Dwight Howard in a Magic uniform.

However, despite the flirtations between the two sides, the Magic and Jackson won't be forming any type of relationship right now, which leads me back to the most in interesting part of Vincent's statement: "But in the end, Phil decided to go with another opportunity."

Does he mean another front office opportunity with another NBA franchise?

If so, which teams could potentially be trying to lure Jackson out of retirement?

The most intriguing potential landing spot, at least in my opinion, would be with the Charlotte Bobcats, where he would be teaming up with Michael Jordan once again in an effort to add more NBA titles to their Hall of Fame career totals.

While the Bobcats already have a general manager (Rich Cho), they don't currently have a head coach and are in the midst of a wide-ranging search for a new one.

Jackson could join the team in the role of a consultant, still bring in his own coaching staff, and join Cho in making the player personnel decisions for the team.

If the Zen Master could somehow do the seemingly impossible and turn the Bobcats into a championship contender after they just finished the worst season in the history of the NBA, he would cement himself as the greatest coach/GM ever.

Another interesting potential landing spot would be with the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Trail Blazers currently have an opening at general manager, and while their list of candidates is supposedly down to David Morway, Neil Olshey (who is out of the running after re-signing with the Clippers on Friday), and Tony DiLeo, I'm pretty sure they'd open up their minds to the idea of Jackson joining their front office.

The Blazers have some great talent on their roster already with players like LaMarcus Aldridge and Nicolas Batum, and with Jackson in the front office as a selling point, they would be in great position to lure free agents to come join their championship hunt.

It would also make geographical sense for Jackson to join the Trail Blazers, as he spends a majority of his time away from basketball in Montana, which is also in the Northwest and much closer to Portland than any other potential destination.

The only other real possibility that I could see Jackson entertaining for this upcoming season would be to join the New York Knicks front office as a consultant and see if he can help put together the pieces to their championship picture.

Jackson was a player with the Knicks the last time they won an NBA title and was rumored to be interested in the teams' head coaching position before they decided to sign interim coach Mike Woodson to a three-year extension.

Which team do you think has the best shot of landing the Zen Master? Share where you think Jackson will end up below in the comments section.

All-NBA Teams & Vote Breakdown

What are your thoughts on the All-NBA squads? Should someone have been higher? Lower? Or did someone miss out all together that belongs on the third team? Let me know your thoughts in the comments section.

* Special thanks to www.iamagm.com for the image.

Orlando Magic Finally Ready to Move on from Dwight Howard Era

By: Stephen Patterson

It appear as though the Orlando Magic are finally ready to move on from the Dwight Howard era and will attempt to grant him his long-desired trade.

According to Chris Sheridan of SheridanHoops.com, the team fired Stan Van Gundy and Otis Smith with the intention of also moving Howard and starting with a clean slate across the board.

There were multiple reports earlier in the week that Howard still wanted out of Orlando despite the fact that the team fired Van Gundy, who many believe Dwight had wanted gone for quite some time.

The Magic will begin listening to offers next week after the draft lottery takes place and will try to make a deal happen prior to the NBA Draft in June.

Many people believe the Magic are hoping the Brooklyn Nets will land a top three selection in the draft lottery that they can include in a package along with Brook Lopez and other players and/or picks.

Another team that could potentially jump into the mix for Howard is the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers are likely to make some major moves in order to get back to a championship-contending level and could offer a package involving Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol, and/or Metta World Peace.

A dark horse candidate to watch for could be the New York Knicks. It is becoming more and more apparent that Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire aren't meshing quite as well on the court as the franchise envisioned when they paired the duo up and could be inclined to make a move for Howard to keep him from going to the crosstown Nets.

The Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Clippers are also potential landing spots for Howard, although it would be much tougher for either team to land the NBA's best center without having to part with Dirk Nowitzki or Blake Griffin, respectively.

Who's uniform do you think Dwight Howard will be wearing on opening night of the 2012-13 season opener? Let me know in the comments section below.

Shaq Returning to the Orlando Magic...as GM?

By: Stephen Patterson

Shaquille O'Neal might be making a return to the franchise where his NBA career began two decades ago. According to Chris Broussard of ESPN The Magazine, sources have told him that the Orlando Magic will approach Shaq about their opening at GM, possibly as soon as next week.

The team parted ways with their former head coach Stan Van Gundy and GM Otis Smith on Monday and have said they will take their time in the search for their replacements.

Although Shaq has no previous front office experience, sources close to the team feel that the hire might help the Magic in their efforts to keep Dwight Howard beyond next season.

If the original "Superman" of the NBA lands the role as the teams GM, Orlando is likely to also bring in someone with a little more experience to help teach Shaq the ropes of transitioning from the hardwood to the front office.

There have been numerous over the past few days that Howard wants out of Orlando more than ever, even after Monday's firings of Van Gundy and Smith. Even if the Magic do roll the dice on Shaq as their next general manager, I'm not convinced it will be enough to convince Howard to commit long-term to the franchise.