Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

It’s the end of August and things have settled down somewhat in the NBA. There aren’t a lot of free agents left out there looking for teams and we have a good idea of what kind of roster everyone will have for the start of next season.

The summer began pretty quietly with the NBA Draft, were there wasn’t quite as many trades as usual. Then the biggest news came with restricted free agents until Dwight Howard was eventually traded.

Here is a look at some of the best and worst from this offseason.

Best

Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers clearly lead the way as having the best offseason of anyone this summer. They started it off by trading for Steve Nash, shocking just about everyone as Nash decided to join his past rivals in chase of a ring. The Lakers immediately became a much stronger team after this trade as their point guard play has been very weak in the past few seasons.

Then the Lakers landed Howard in what was inevitable and surprising all at the same time. All-Star centers have a knack for finding their way to L.A. and the trade wasn’t completely out of the blue. But the Lakers really didn’t give up much at all to get Howard, just Andrew Bynum and Christian Eyenga.

The Lakers immediately became title contenders after the Howard trade. They kept Pau Gasol and now have a starting five considered possibly the best in the league. No one is going to hand the title over to them but there isn’t another team that improved as much as they did.

Brooklyn Nets

With the move to Brooklyn on the horizon for 2012-13, the Nets wanted to make sure they had a quality product on the floor to give their new city. The biggest move they made was locking up Deron Williams for the next five years.

The Nets were then very much in the hunt for Howard who even came out and said Brooklyn was the only place he wanted to play next year. A deal could not be found with the Magic and Brooklyn decided to go a different direction. They traded for Joe Johnson then re-signed Brook Lopez and Kris Humphries to hefty contracts.

The Nets are spending a lot of money for the team they have right now but the money isn’t a huge issue to their owner. The one problem is that they are pretty locked in to the core they have now and if it doesn’t work out, they will be in some trouble.

The acquisition of Johnson and locking up of Williams were great though. The Nets have a very good chance of contending in a weak Eastern Conference right now with the roster they have. Wherever Howard landed was going to make that team have the best offseason in the league but despite the Nets missing put on him, they did a pretty good job.

Boston Celtics

The Celtics were supposed to be on the way out, old and unable to compete for a title anymore. The moves they made this summer will extend that window a little longer. The Big 3 era is over now as Ray Allen signed with the Miami Heat this summer but that era was really already over anyway.

The Celtics started things off re-signing Kevin Garnett for a good price. They also drafted well addressing a need in their lack of size. They picked Jared Sullinger who slipped very late in the draft and has the potential to be one of the most talented players from this draft class. Then they picked a 7-foot center in Fab Melo.

Jason Terry decided to sign with the Celtics a little later, essentially replacing Allen’s role. The sneakiest move for Boston was a sign-and-trade to acquire shooting guard Courtney Lee who seems just what this team needs. Lee is a good outside shooter and solid wing defender that should mesh well with this roster.

The Celtics may still be a far way off from the Miami Heat but their roster looks better than it did last year despite the expectation that they were still on the decline.

Worst

Orlando Magic

The Magic were put in a no-win situation this year. Their franchise player wanted out and quit on the team. The Magic knew they couldn’t replace him and were going to take a significant step back next season. So they decided to stay strong and hold out for the best possible deal despite all the drama that was going on.

Then they traded Howard and the deal they ended up getting seemed pretty terrible. They weren’t able to get Bynum or Gasol from the Lakers in the deal, although they may not have really wanted either, and instead ended up with Arron Afflalo, Al Harrington, Nikola Vucevic and Moe Harkless. They also received four protected first-round picks which won’t be very valuable either.

The plan was to completely start over with new GM Rob Hennigan who wants to imitate the Thunder model. They are definitely doing that but good luck drafting your version of Durant-Westbrook-Harden-Ibaka in the next three drafts.

The Magic come away post-Howard looking closer to the Bobcats than a team that is young with a promising future. It never ends well when your star player wants out but how could it have gone worse for Orlando?

Houston Rockets

The Rockets made some of the most noise this summer as they tried to go all-in on acquiring Dwight Howard. That obviously didn’t work out and their consolation prize was restricted free agents Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik, not horrible but nothing even close to Howard.

While the Rockets were stockpiling assets to throw Orlando’s way, it started to look like they had the best package to woo the Magic. Later the rumored deals Houston was willing to trade to Orlando proved to be false and they weren’t offering quite that much for Howard.

The Rockets are parting ways with Luis Scola, Kyle Lowry, Goran Dragic, Marcus Camby and Chase Budinger from last year’s team while replacing those guys with not much. They do have three first-round draft picks that could be cool and Donatas Montiejunas is coming over next season.

The Rockets have a very good chance to have the worst record in the conference next season. Sometimes you have to get worse before you can get good and that seems to be Houston’s mindset right now.

New York Knicks

There wasn’t a lot the Knicks could do heading into this offseason but what ended up happening was embarrassingly bad. The worst thing was when they decided not to match Houston’s offer sheet for Lin. They are avoiding some harsh luxury tax penalties by parting ways with Lin, but letting him walk for nothing is truly unforgiveable.

The Knicks are replacing Lin with Jason Kidd and Raymond Felton. No one can get excited for that.

The Knicks were in the running for Nash too before the Lakers swooped in and got him. Not only did the Knicks lose Nash but Landry Fields as well, who signed a big offer sheet with Toronto that New York chose not to match.

When the Knicks acquired Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony, they were supposed to start competing for NBA championships. It still feels like they are very far away from this and it’s hard to see how they can change that too.

Where the Thunder fit in

The Thunder had a quiet offseason for the most part and that’s how they like it. They weren’t the best or worst, and closer to one of the best if anything. In the draft, picking Perry Jones who fell so far to them is a great pick. He has nothing but potential and if he doesn’t work out, no big deal either.

The Thunder then made some headlines a few days ago locking up Serge Ibaka for the next four years. James Harden is next on the list and those close to the team really feel like that will happen soon.

The Thunder will improve next year simply from experience and are still the favorites in the Western Conference. There’s nothing wrong with that.

Douglas Jones-US PRESSWIRE

The Los Angeles Lakers have emerged as the frontrunner to trade for Dwight Howard this summer. But the Orlando Magic are in no rush to deal the All-Star center, according to ESPN’s Chris Broussard.

The Magic have stood their ground on trading Howard. They aren’t going to give him up for nothing and now maybe won’t give him up at all.

Sources told Broussard that the Magic may be willing to wait until after the season starts and all the way until the trading deadline in February before trading Howard. They are waiting for the best possible deal and their recent trade talks with the Lakers may be to try and get other teams to jump in with a better offer.

The potential trade between Orlando and the Lakers would also include the Cleveland Cavaliers as the third wheel. Howard would go to L.A., Andrew Bynum would go to Cleveland and the Magic would receive a slew of picks and some young prospects.

The most recent news surrounding that potential trade was Howard saying he does not plan on signing an extension no matter where he is next season. He wants to test free agency at least somewhat next summer but whichever team he ends up on will be able to offer him the longest contract worth the most money.

On paper, this deal still seems not quite as good as the potential package the Houston Rockets would be willing to send Orlando. Houston GM Daryl Morey has been going “all-in” to try and acquire Howard by stockpiling picks and first round draft picks from this year’s draft to try and entice the Magic to pull the trigger on a deal.

Houston is confident too that they would be able to convince Howard to stay with the team beyond next season.

The Rockets have signed this offseason two restricted free agents in Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik. They are paying each quite a bit of money but the signings of both shouldn’t impede their attempts to trade for Howard.

The fact of the matter is that the Magic still have plenty of time before deciding what they want to do with Howard and they intend to take that time. It’s a smart move as the landscape of the NBA and potential trade partners can change on a daily basis.

The Brooklyn Nets who first appeared to be the frontrunners for Howard this summer and were the team that Howard said he wanted to be traded to, would be back in the hunt if Howard is still on the Magic by Jan. 15, 2013.

When the Nets extended center Brook Lopez, who would have been an integral piece in a Howard trade, it meant they couldn’t trade Lopez until Jan. 15 of next season. Brooklyn had essentially moved on from trying to trade for Howard or maybe they knew Howard wasn’t going anywhere, anytime soon.

Orlando dragging out the Howard saga may seem like a bad idea and many people would like to see the Magic trade him and rid themselves of his drama but it may be smarter for them to hold out for the best possible deal, even if that means waiting until next February.

Mark D. Smith-US PRESSWIRE

Oklahoma City Thunder free agent Nazr Mohammed will sign with the Chicago Bulls, according to a report by Peter Vecsey.

Mohammed was reportedly meeting with the Bulls and Brooklyn Nets and will now choose the Bulls.

The Thunder filled out their roster shortly after free agency officially started. They are letting go of Mohammed, Derek Fisher and Royal Ivey and replacing them with rookies Perry Jones and Hollis Thompson and also Hasheem Thabeet.

The Bulls signing Mohammed all but assures they will not match the Houston Rockets’ offer sheet they agreed to with Omer Asik for three years, $25.1 million.

The Rockets will not have signed restricted free agents Jeremy Lin and Asik this offseason to pretty heft contracts.

The No. 1 priority for Houston still is to trade for Dwight Howard. Having Lin and Asik on the books will give them less cap room but it shouldn’t impede their attempts to go after Howard. Lin and Asik at least will be something of a consolation if they do not get Howard.

The Los Angeles Lakers are still considered the frontrunner to trade for Howard. The rumored deal that could go down right now will include a third team in the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Andrew Bynum would be dealt to Cleveland although he has not been notified of this possibility and the Cavaliers would want Bynum to agree to extending with them beyond next season if they were to trade for him.

Howard will unlikely extend with anyone next season and instead plans to test free agency next summer. Whichever team he ends up with will be able to offer him the best contract to try and keep him however.

Thunder free agents Mohammed and Ivey have found new homes now this summer leaving just Fisher who is still in search of a new team. Fisher has also been rumored to have met with the Bulls and Nets as well as Dallas.

Jeff Hanisch-US PRESSWIRE

The New York Knicks had until tonight at midnight to decide if they would match the offer sheet Jeremy Lin signed with the Houston Rockets. According to Howard Beck of the New York Times, the Knicks have decided not to match the offer.

When word of Lin and the Rockets reaching an agreement on this offer sheet was first announced, the Knicks were thought to without question be planning to match it. Then the Knicks traded for Jason Kidd and Raymond Felton and their plans to keep Lin went away.

Lin will make $25.1 million over three years with the Rockets. Had the Knicks matched they would have paid Lin $5 million in year one, $5.225 million in year two and then a whopping $14.8 million in the third year.

By that third season if the Knicks kept Lin they could incur a tax penalty of around $43.75 million.

That seems like a lot but the Knicks would have more than made up for that in other profits the team would see because of Lin.

The stock of Knicks parent company MSG is up 20 percent since Linsanity began, with Nate Silver of the New York Times reporting that MSG’s market capitalization has gained $600 million since that fateful day in February when Lin took over as the Knicks’ starting point guard.

So what happens to MSG if the Knicks fail to retain Lin? “As of late Monday morning, on the mere possibility that Lin might not be re-signed, MSG stock had lost about $50 million in market value,” Silver wrote. This was on a rumor — imagine what the company’s losses will be if losing Lin becomes a reality.

via ESPN’s Larry Coon

The Knicks would have other options too in dealing with Lin’s loaded third year. They could trade him before that season or waive him. If they were to waive him, the new “stretch provision” in the CBA would have allowed New York to stretch out Lin’s 2014-15 salary over three seasons giving them more cap room for those years and much less of a luxury tax hit.

It is hard knowing this to think why the Knicks could possibly decide against matching Houston’s offer for Lin. They’re letting a 23-year old point guard walk who took the city by storm last season and losing a ton of money in the process.

The Rockets and GM Daryl Morey are more than happy that they will get Lin. Lin will make a huge impact in terms of jersey sales and ticket sales and is a great consolation prize for Houston if they are unable to land him.

The Rockets’ point guards thrived in a pick-and-roll heavy system last season very similar to how Lin thrived under Mike D’Antoni when he first came on. It will be a better basketball fit for Lin in Houston.

The Rockets also don’t have to pay Lin the huge 2014-15 salary and risk tax penalties then. They have the cap space now and will have a cap hit of around $8.3 million each season instead.

Houston still plans to keep trying to trade for Dwight Howard. Lin may not help the situation much and could put Houston in a tougher situation than they were before to land Howard, especially if Chicago chooses not to match Omer Asik’s offer sheet Houston offered him.

Howard Smith-US PRESSWIRE

Jeremy Lin will most likely be wearing a Houston Rockets uniform next season. The New York Knicks are very unlikely to match the offer sheet Houston and Lin agreed upon and are prepared to let Linsanity walk.

The Knicks matching Lin’s offer sheet seemed as certain as anything before Saturday night. Then the Knicks pulled off a sign-and-trade with the Portland Trailblazers for point guard Raymond Felton.

The Knicks would now have two point guards on their roster in Felton and Jason Kidd and paying a third in Lin the kind of money they’d have to just doesn’t make sense, even for the Knicks.

Lin’s 3-year offer sheet with Houston has him making $5 million in year one, $5.225 million in the second year and a whopping $14.8 million in the final year. It’s that third year that reportedly is keeping New York away from Lin as they’d likely incur around $30 million in luxury tax penalties that season with Lin on the books.

Lin at 23 years old gave the NBA world one of the best stories last season. He came out of nowhere playing on the biggest stage in the league and put up All-Star caliber numbers. Linsanity didn’t last long, just a few weeks really, but it was enough to get him paid this summer.

The money Lin will make in the third year of this contract is too much. The sample size for his production is small and there are doubters out there who don’t think he’ll reach the All-Star level of play he demonstrated this past season.

Lin brings so much more to the table though with ticket sales and jersey sales that a team is likely to make up for overpaying him some with the profits they’ll earn elsewhere. That is unless your payroll is violently beyond the luxury tax threshold like New York’s would be.

The Knicks are playing it kind of safe for once. Lin can be good in this league but needs a lot of help to do so. In Mike D’Antoni’s system, a point guard will always put up numbers and that’s what Lin did. That isn’t the case as much playing for Mike Woodson.

Lin has huge turnover problems too. He isn’t even really a true point guard and it’s not like he’s an elite athlete either. Lin will have to continue to prove people wrong to make in this league. Houston will be a good fit for his game as they feature their points in the pick-and-roll similar to how D’Antoni does.

Parting ways with Linsanity has to be a tremendously tough decision for the Knicks front office. Beyond basketball it won’t be easy for them to throw away all of the potential Lin could bring the organization.

The Rockets know about that potential and they plan to capitalize on it. They’re still “all-in” for Dwight Howard but a Plan B of Lin on the team Yao Ming used to play for isn’t too bad.

New York will complete this offseason making the most noise by not making moves than by making them. They lost out on Steve Nash, let Jeremy Lin walk and there’s a new team in town ready to steal their thunder.

The Knicks have a long road ahead of them to be considered a championship-caliber team. They’ll have to be patient as they try and find the pieces that fit but that’s a hard thing to do in a city like New York.

The Knicks were believed all along to be planning to match the offer sheet Jeremy Lin signed with the Houston Rockets for three years, $25 million but now trading for Felton makes it seem like the Knicks will pass on Lin.

The Knicks would incur some pretty steep luxury tax penalties if they were to match Houston’s offer for Lin but many believe the value of Lin in New York and his effect on ticket/jersey sales would be able to make up for it.

Lin played in 35 games for the Knicks this season and averaged 14.6 points and 6.2 assists per game. Felton played for the Knicks in the 2010-11 season and averaged 17.1 points and 9.0 assists per game.

The deal between New York and Portland will also involve the Knicks sending Jared Jeffries and Dan Gadzuric to the Blazers for Kurt Thomas along with Felton. Felton will be set to make around $10 million over the next three years with New York.

The Knicks could still potentially match Houston’s offer for Lin but after also trading for Jason Kidd this offseason, acquiring a third point guard in Lin doesn’t seem to make much sense.

The Rockets will be happy to get Lin although their main priority is still Dwight Howard. Lin thrived in the pick-and-roll under Mike D’Antoni and Houston is a system that loves their point guards in the pick-and-roll with Kyle Lowry and Goran Dragic doing so well in it last year.

The latest rumors on Howard’s potential movement now involve a 3-team trade between Orlando, Cleveland and the Lakers that would send Howard to L.A. and Andrew Bynum to Cleveland.

Although now that deal looks to not be happening either, according to Sam Amico of Fox Sports.

The Magic would make out of the deal with a package of picks and prospects, according to Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld. This potential deal is very far from being done but does seem the most likely trade Howard would accept.

It is unlikely that any team would be able to offer a greater package of picks and prospects than Houston though.

Howard trade rumors are different every few days but many still believe the Lakers have the best chance of getting him like they’ve done so many times before with the NBA’s best centers.

Douglas Jones-US PRESSWIRE

The Orlando Magic have stopped making progress on a potential Dwight Howard trade for the time being. The Brooklyn Nets are now out of the picture and no deal elsewhere seems imminent for Howard.

Orlando was close to a deal with the Nets. They would have received three future first round picks and Brook Lopez and would have given up Howard and one of their bad contracts. The deal never looked great for the Magic and that’s why it wasn’t much of a surprise when it fell through.

The Lakers appear to have possibly the best package to send Orlando’s way with Andrew Bynum. But Bynum hasn’t agreed to re-sign with the Magic past next season leaving Orlando holding out for more.

The Magic and GM Rob Hennigan seem more interested in acquiring picks and young players than a replacement for Howard in Bynum that would leave the team in a similar situation trying to keep him.

The Houston Rockets have emerged as the team with the best possible offer for Howard. It is a deal that the Magic should take advantage of and get done as soon as possible.

Houston is doing everything possible to get a chance at Howard most recently cutting cap room so that they will be able to absorb a few bad contracts from the Magic. The Rockets have amnestied Luis Scola which means they would be able to take on Glen Davis, Jason Richardson and Chris Duhon along with Howard.

The Rockets can put together a package involving multiple future first round picks, Kevin Martin, Patrick Patterson, Marcus Morris, Chandler Parsons and the rights to their three first round picks this year, Jeremy Lamb, Royce White and Terrence Jones.

The Magic can do exactly what they wanted to all along if they make a deal with the Rockets. Orlando gets to part ways with Howard and clear a ton of cap essentially allowing them to start over from scratch with a bunch of young talented players as well.

Howard has yet to agree to re-sign with the Rockets after next season if he is traded there but Houston and GM Daryl Morey remain optimistic they would be able to convince Howard to stay after a season with the team.

While the Rockets are going all in to acquire Howard, they have also made a few offer sheets to restricted free agents Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik. If Lin and Asik’s offers are matched by the Knicks and Bulls then the Rockets will have more cap space to go after Howard. The Rockets don’t want to pull out of any of the promised offer sheets either.

The Knicks are expected to match Lin’s offer sheet despite the Rockets increasing the amount in the deal. It was first reported that Houston offered Lin a 3-year, $19 million deal but has since increased to a 3-year, $25 million deal.

The Knicks could incur upwards of $45 million in luxury tax penalties by the third year of Lin’s contract if they match. All indications are that the Knicks aren’t too concerned about entering the luxury tax penalties over the next three seasons.

Lin will be able to sign it officially on July 11 then the Knicks will have three days to match. The deal is worth $10.2 million over the first two seasons and $9.3 million in the third and fourth year with the final year being a team option.

The Knicks can offer Lin a 4-year, $24.5 million deal.

Jason Kidd surprisingly chose the Knicks over the Dallas Mavericks. Kidd was rumored to be close to re-signing with Dallas and was earlier rumored to plan to follow Deron Williams wherever he signed.

Kidd’s deal with New York will be a 3-year, $9 million deal.

Every indication is that the Knicks will match the offer sheet for Lin and team up the two point guards. A lack of a point guard was a glaring hole in the Knicks’ roster during the playoffs. Carmelo Anthony turned into an isolation machine playing right into the hands of the Miami Heat defense.

Kidd and Lin should be able to help with that, especially Kidd who has the right personality to control things on offense even next to a superstar like Anthony.

The Minnesota Timberwolves made a few big signings last night.

Brandon Roy has come out of retirement and agreed to a 2-year, $10.4 million deal with the T-Wolves. Minnesota also signed another former Blazer in Nicolas Batum to a 4-year, $45 million offer sheet although Portland reportedly plans to match any offer for Batum.

The Timberwolves clearly are looking to strengthen their wing positions to surround Ricky Rubio and Kevin Love with better guys. Minnesota also traded for Chase Budinger before the NBA Draft.

Trade talks between the Los Angeles Lakers and Orlando Magic for Dwight Howard have lessened. The Lakers after trading for Steve Nash now intend to keep their core of Nash, Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum.

Bynum was involved in trade rumors that would send him to Orlando in a deal for Howard but the Magic have not shown a lot of interest in any deal presented to them this offseason.

The Brooklyn Nets are still trying to work on a deal to get Howard although they’re chances of landing them seem increasingly less.

Ray Allen has narrowed down his decision of where he wants to play to the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics. The Los Angeles Clippers were thought to be int he running yesterday before signing Jamal Crawford and Chauncey Billups.

The Heat appear to be the frontrunner although only able to offer Allen $3.09 per year while Boston has offered Allen a 2-year, $12 million deal.

Thomas Campbell-US PRESSWIRE

The Houston Rockets have agreed to trade point guard Kyle Lowry to the Toronto Raptors for a future first round pick and Gary Forbes.

Lowry and Rockets head coach Kevin McHale had a falling out and Lowry has been looking to get out ever since.

The Rockets have made an offer sheet to restricted free agent Jeremy Lin for four years, $30 million. The New York Knicks are expected to match the offer for Lin especially after failing to acquire Steve Nash who became a Laker last night.

The earliest Lin can sign it is July 11 then the Knicks will have three days to match it. The Knicks have also emerged as the favorite to sign Raymond Felton.

The Raptors were also hopeful to land Nash so much that they agreed to an offer sheet of three years, $20 million with Landry Fields. The Raptors won’t totally lose out as they settle for Lowry as a decent consolation prize.

The Los Angeles Clippers have effectively taken themselves out of the running for Ray Allen by signing Jamal Crawford to a 3-year, $15.7 million deal. Allen was set to meet with the Clippers on Friday.

The Clippers have also agreed on a 1-year deal for Chauncey Billups.

The Clippers were a tough team last season that gave the Oklahoma City Thunder some trouble in the regular season. They were obviously in the market for a two guard after being forced to start Randy Foye there in the playoffs.

Lob City was swept by the San Antonio Spurs in the second round but have made some nice moves to prepare for next season including trading for Lamar Odom.

As we always forget about the Spurs during this time of the year, the top of the West is looking like OKC, LA, LA right now.

Meanwhile, Allen is meeting with the Heat today and is now expected to sign there even though Boston is offering Allen nearly double in salary that Miami can.

Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

The New York Knicks may have become the front-runner to land Steve Nash, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

The Knicks are in the process of working out a deal where Nash and the Phoenix Suns would be a part of a sign-and-trade involving Iman Shumpert. The potential deal for Nash would be three years and worth between $27 million-$30 million.

Nash’s named was linked with the Los Angeles Lakers yesterday but any potential deal between Phoenix and L.A. apparently fell through because the Suns do not want to trade Nash to their old rival.

Phoenix would also receive Toney Douglas and Dan Gadzuric as part of the deal. The Suns were close to drafting Shumpert in last year’s draft which could sweeten the deal for them.

The Knicks would prefer not to trade Shumpert but “will if they have to” to get Nash.

The Toronto Raptors previously seemed like the team most likely to sign Nash. Toronto was prepared to offer Nash a 3-year, $36 million deal and also offered restricted free agent Landry Fields a 3-year, $20 million deal in an attempt to prevent New York from getting Nash.

The dream scenario for the Knicks right now would be the sign-and-trade for Nash as well as re-signing Jeremy Lin, according to ESPN’s Marc Stein. The Knicks would be committing upwards of $82 million to five players in the 2014-15 season if they get Nash and Lin.

The Houston Rockets are meeting with Lin today and are expected to offer him a deal worth around $30 million. The deal would be heavy on the back end with Lin making around $5 million per year in the first two years then around $10 million per in the final two.

The Knicks intend to match any offer sheet Lin signs with another team.

The Raptors were the first team to go all in on Nash and now the Knicks have countered. If New York can snag Nash from the Raptors, the move to sign Fields by Toronto will really look bad.

Nash in New York, reunited with Amare Stoudemire and possibly taming the trigger-happy Carmelo Anthony, would be heaven for Knicks’ fans. It wouldn’t necessarily be enough to call the Knicks contenders to the Miami Heat but it has to be seen as progress.

The Raptors have reportedly reached a verbal agreement with restricted free agent Fields for a 3-year, $20 million deal.

This thwarts any plans the New York Knicks had of pulling off a sign-and-trade with Fields to Phoenix for Nash. The Knicks could still match Toronto’s offer for Fields but the Suns would be much less interested in trading Nash for Fields at that price.

The Raptors, who have offered Nash a 3-year, $36 million deal, are now essentially putting up $56 million to bring Nash in if you include what they’ll pay Fields.

Nash may 38 years old but he had an excellent season last year and will immediately make the Raptors a playoff team in the Eastern Conference. The city will love Nash and the Raptors will become one of the most exciting teams in the conference.

This is what the train of thought is for the Raptors. They know they aren’t winning a title any time soon so why not go all in on Nash and put their team on the map?

The Knicks will now almost definitely re-sign Jeremy Lin or match any offer sheet he signs with someone else. The Knicks were also rumored to possibly consider Raymond Felton is they could not sign Nash.

J.R. Smith is said to be leaning towards re-signing with New York as well.

Anderson received 33 first place votes while Ersan Ilyasova of Milwaukee was second with 21 first place votes.

Anderson finishes the year with a PER of 21.2. Last year his PER was 19.0. He didn’t have a tremendous increase in terms of efficiency but his overall numbers were better.

The award could have gone to any number of players as usually is the case with this one.

Jeremy Lin of the New York Knicks seemed like the certain winner before getting injured and eventually only playing in 35 games this season.

Nikola Pekovic of the Minnesota Timberwolves also got injured after a huge improvement this season that may have had more to do with playing with Ricky Rubio.

At the beginning of this season Anderson was really stepping up despite all of the drama surrounding Dwight Howard and he was even making a case as a potential All-Star.

This year the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge will introduce a new format to the game that historically featured the NBA’s rookies facing off against the sophomores.

Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal each drafted teams this year so the players are mixed but the pool still consists of just first and second year players.

The best part about this draft has resulted in Ricky Rubio and Blake Griffin being paired together on Team Shaq. Rubio is already one of the best passers in the NBA this season and we all know the kind of things Griffin can do with a lob pass.

Oklahoma City Thunder rookie point guard Reggie Jackson will not compete in the game. Jackson isn’t having the greatest rookie season, now getting run with Eric Maynor lost for the year with an injury, but has been better lately and is showing promise.

Jackson has played 28 games this season and is averaging 3.7 points and 1.7 assists in 11.9 minutes per game. In February those numbers have risen slightly and will hopefully continue to rise for the Thunder this year.

Jackson holds a crucial position for the Thunder as their backup point guard. Russell Westbrook isn’t exactly a true point guard and it was always nice when Maynor would come in because he was a true point guard that could run an offense.

James Harden has stepped up this year as the playmaker for the second unit for the Thunder but if Jackson can produce a little more scoring and playmaking then the Thunder will become a much better team.

Jackson’s absence in the Rising Stars Challenge is also in part to the deep talent at his position. Rubio, Jeremy Lin, John Wall, Kyrie Irving, Kemba Walker, Norris Cole and Brandon Knight are all point guards in the game.

Thunder fans will have to wait until Saturday night to see a Thunder player compete at All-Star Weekend with Westbrook in the Skills Challenge and Kevin Durant in the Three-Point Contest.

Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

The field for the 2012 Sprite Slam Dunk contest has been announced today. Thunder forward Serge Ibaka will not be competing this year after he did last year.

Paul George, Derrick Williams, Iman Shumpert and Chase Budinger will be the four players competing this year.

None of these players are big names per say but they all have some hops of course. Williams has emerged in some highlights this year with the help of fellow rookie Ricky Rubio and has specialized in two-handed tomahawks.

Each contestant will receive help from a teammate during the contest, an element that has been present in a lot of the recent contests. It is speculated that Jeremy Lin will be the teammate aiding Shumpert of the Knicks.

Blake Griffin won the contest last year but will also not be competing this year. It seems the only thing that will ever continue to keep the Dunk Contest relevant is big named rookie competing in it and this year’s class just doesn’t have enough young, high flyers.

Jeremy Lin has done it again.

With the Knicks trailing for most of the game against the Raptors in Toronto Lin scored 12 points in the fourth quarter including this three-pointer to give New York a 90-87 lead with 0.5 seconds left.

Lin is undefeated since taking over the starting point guard role for the Knicks and has scored more points than any player in NBA history in the first five starts of their career.

Westbrook continues another great year for OKC sports.yahoo.com

The last week in the NBA has been arguably the best week thus far. It has everything that the normal NBA week has, ridiculous dunks from Blake Griffin and a crazy 30-20 game from Kevin Love. Kobe Bryant and Paul Pierce breaking huge milestones and the biggest story of the year Jeremy Lin. Jeremy Lin has single-handedly made the Knicks exciting AND relevant in just five games. This great week was capped of with Lin winning the East player of the week award along with…. o ya Westbrook winning it in the West.

With all this excitement Westbrook and the Thunder continue to be second page news. I want to say it right now, I am not taking anything away from Jeremy Lin. The kid can absolutely ball. Not only is he winning, he as made New York exciting. His arsenal of moves amazes me. I saw him crossover, spin. Euro-step, throw oops and drain threes all in one quarter. He absolutely deserved the player of the week award, but so did Westbrook.

Lin tallied 27.3 points, 8.3 assists and 2.0 steals and a perfect 4-0 record from Feb. 6th through Feb 12th. Truly amazing numbers from some guy considered a bum coming from the D-Leauge and sleeping on couches to rejuvenate the Knicks. The energy he has brought not only to New York, but to everyone in America is the things they make movies about. If you haven’t watched this kid play yet you need too.

So that leaves us with Westbrook flying a bit under the radar. Westbrook, in his second player of the week award, put up 30.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 2.5 steals. The Thunder had a record of 3-1 in that week, playing all four games on the road in five nights. Each game Westbrook has at least 28 points providing a very consistent scoring option beside Durant.

Even with Westbrook’s great week you still hear the typical naysayers saying that Westbrook needs to pass more and are slow to give Westbrook his credit. Maybe he does need to make better decisions, but with Ibaka and Perkins starting, the Thunder need more great offensive weeks like this from Westbrook to maintain the best record in the NBA.

Westbrook’s continued growth from year to year seems to go overlooked. The learning curve for someone only playing point guard for four years is extremely step, and many people clamor for a trade. Maybe Westbrook isn’t the best fit for OKC, but all the guy does is continue to work hard every day. The biggest thing is Russ WANTS to be in OKC. In a week where Brandon Jennings said he will sign his qualifying offer, a move almost unheard of by people exciting their rookie contract, we have to remember that keeping stars in small markets is always a big challenge.

So while Westbrook might not be resurrecting basketball in the Mecca, or at the center of trade sending him to the Lakers, he should not go overlooked. Stories will always come and go in the NBA, and all Westbrook seems to worry about is working hard and winning. So maybe it’s time we start giving Westbrook some of the respect in which he has rightfully earned.

Kyle Terada-US PRESSWIRE

For the second time this season, Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook has been named the Western Conference Player of the Week. Kevin Durant has only received this honor once so far this year.

Westbrook dominated this past week as the Thunder went 3-1, he averaged 30.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 2.5 steals per game.

The interesting thing about Westbrook this season is that he’s not getting that many assists. He’s turning into even more of a score first player and I don’t think it’s a bad thing. It’s who Westbrook is.

Westbrook might be the best athlete in the NBA and his ability to explode on offense should result in him shooting a ton. Plus, he has been better this season at creating his own shot than Durant at times.

The Thunder are going to need to get more production from their bigs but until then, Westbrook scoring 30 a game and dishing out five assists a night is enough to win.

Of course, Jeremy Lin won the Eastern Conference Player of the Week as he took the league by storm.

Lin averaged 27.3 points and 8.3 assists a game as he is reinventing the Knicks into a playoff player this year. Lin’s 109 points in his first four starts is the most ever by an NBA player.