Cleveland - Traded next to nothing for Shaq, who will still be able to give them something. After that it's down hill. They miss out on Rasheed, Ariza, Artest, Marion, Kidd, and only manage to sign Parker up to this point. Parker is decent, but still nothing like the others listed ahead of him. Probably won't have Wally back... Not a huge hit, but still a little significant. Still don't have a REAL all-star sidekick for LeBron.. Should have tried for Carter, or even Michael Redd despite the injury. No good power forward, and worst of all they exteneded their piece of crap forward Varejao to a six year, 50 million dollar contract. Ick. D+ C- at best.
Orlando - Missed out on Rasheed, and Marion who could have helped them most in free agency. Traded for Wince Carter while getting rid of a pretty solid chunk of their rotation in Lee, Battie, Alston. Got back Anderson, so that isn't too bad but you have to wonder where they have a backup PG. Then they're going to lose Gortat and Hedo because they apparently prefer a whine ass, oft injured Carter. I don't know about that, probably not wise. You just made it to the Finals with that core (Albeit, a fluke) and you want to break it up?
C- for the Orlando Magic
San Antonio - I really like what they've done so far. They missed out on their main target in Rasheed, but compensated quite nicely with McDyesse. Added a still fairly young Richard Jefferson for their old, worn out parts. Can't go wrong with that, at all. I still thinking they could use a slight upgrade at the starting two (Assuming Manu is sixth man) But if they can't find that guy, Roger Mason proved to be capable of an admirable job last season. Parker/Mason/Jefferson/Dyesse/Duncan with Ginobili off the bench is a really, really great rotation and they never did lose anything significant. A-
Lakers - Didn't have much of anything to show in the draft, but surprised me with them coming to terms so quickly with Ron Artest. A great signing, especially for just the MLE. Gives them needed toughness with a scoring threat to boot. I can easily see Odom vacating for Portland, however. Ariza is already gone to rival Houston. So with Odom and Ariza both likely gone, I don't feel too strongly about their bench. In fact, it looks extremely weak without Bynum or Odom in that slot. Morrison/Farmar/Brown/Walton/Vujacic/ Not looking so hot here. However, props for Artest... But they still only get a C+ because now it looks like their bench is completely... depleted.
Boston - Didn't look too hard into guys like Marion, Artest, but they did get the guy we were after all long - Rasheed. I'm going to try and not be biased here, but I do really like the signing. The team's biggest need got plugged a little bit. Rasheed, despite what you've been told by Detroit fans still plays really, really solid defense. He has numbers to prove it on basketballreference. Celtics still need to bring back Baby, though. He showed great improvement in the playoffs and while he isn't a star, he's certainly a huge luxary to have on the bench. Then the team still needs a backup three and a point guard behind Rondo. I'd like to see us sign one of those positions and then trade for the other. Right now, though I'll give us a B-