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Marcus Camby: Big news yesterday as the Denver Nuggets traded Marcus Camby to the Clippers for what basically amounts to a 10 million dollar trade exception. The Denver Nuggets made this move because they needed to save some money since they were well over the salary cap. Now, I'm not sure if the Nuggets plan on making another move but I think the loss of Camby seriously hurts their playoff chances in the competitive Western Conference. With Portland improving and teams like Sacramento and now the Clippers in the mix for a playoff spot, I would not be surprised to see Denver miss the playoffs. Of course since they still have Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson, they will be able to put up points and I have a feeling they have another move or two up their sleeve. Either way this is definitely a major change for the Nuggets and the Clippers now have Camby who will help ease the burden of losing Elton Brand

Josh Smith: Strangely enough, Josh Smith has been affected by both the Elton Brand signing and the Marcus Camby trade. The 76ers and Clippers were two of three teams who had enough cap space to offer Josh Smith a big deal that the Hawks might not have matched. However, the 76ers used most of that cap space on Elton Brand and the Clippers now will be using most of theirs on Marcus Camby. The other team with enough cap space to go after Josh Smith is the Memphis Grizzlies but they are in a rebuilding mode and aren't trying to spend money. This means that Josh Smith will probably have to go back to the Atlanta Hawks unless they can pull off a sign and trade.

James Posey: Major move for the New Orleans Hornets, who were able to sign James Posey to a 4 year deal. This is a huge loss for the Boston Celtics because James Posey was a huge part of their championship run. It will be interesting to see what the Celtics will do now to try and replace Posey. I can almost bet that they will try to bring back Tony Allen now but I'm pretty sure he won't be able to replace Posey. On the flip side, this is a big time score for the New Orleans Hornets and they will definitely be an improved team with the addition of Posey. This is the type of signing that builds on their success of last season and solidifies the Hornets as legit championship contenders.

Ron Artest: Last week there were rumors of a potential Ron Artest for Lamar Odom deal and this week there are a few more rumors that involve Ron Artest. The latest rumor is a Shawn Marion for Ron Artest deal, but this move is seen as unlikely because the Heat need helo down low and at the point guard position and Artest fills neither one of those needs. The other rumor out there is a possible trade with Dallas for Josh Howard. This trade is more likely to me, especially when you consider that their new coach is Rick Carlisle who used to coach Artest in Indiana.

Jamaal Tinsley: Speaking of the Pacers, they are definitely shopping Jamaal Tinsley and they feel very strongly that they will be able to move him rather easily once some of the other point guard situations shake out.

Orlando Magic: One of the teams looking to shore up their point guard situation is the Orlando Magic who had offered a contract to Keyon Dooling but it was less than last seasons contract, so he was insulted by it and turned it down. That led to the Magic signing veteran point guard Anthony Johnson instead. They have also been rumors that the Magic have been talking to the Memphis Grizzlies about trying to acquire Javarris Crittenton.

Detroit Pistons: There has been a lot of speculation around the Pistons lately and potential trades they could make. The first piece of speculation is that the Detroit Pistons are trying to trade for Tracey McGrady. The second rumor is that they are trying to offering Chauncey Billups to the Warriors for Andris Biedrins. However, the Warriors are countering with Al Harrington instead of Biedrins. I'm not really buying either one of these rumors but I've seen a lot of rumors involving the Pistons trading Chauncey Billups, which seems crazy when you think about it. If it's true they are thinking about trading Billups, then either they really love Rodney Stuckey or they think Billups is starting to get old. I'm not sold that the Pistons would trade Billups and if they do then I think it would not be a very smart move unless they are getting an All-Star quality talent back for him.


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