Allana

The league has officially released the game schedule for the upcoming season (for all my Chicago readers, the Bulls begin on October 8th, in a preseason matchup with the Washington Wizards, which I more than likely will be at) and while fans, players and analysts alike have been busy looking it over, predicting what teams will be on top at what point in the season, free agency is not quite done yet. Sure it has been slow recently, and it seems as though everyone who anyone is interested in has already been swept up, in my opinion it is still important to note the deals, trades and rumors that are floating about. As I've said before, one player alone can't change the course of a team, but the way that player interacts with his teammates both on and off the court, can have a major impact. With that said, heres whats been going down...

-Detroit Pistons sign Tracy McGrady to a 1 year, $1.3 million deal (and although many sources claim he has agreed to take a backseat to the starting roster, I have a feeling his old mindset is going to return rather quickly and cause some drama, possibly with former Bull Ben Gordon).
-New Orleans Hornets, Indiana Pacers, Houston Rockets and the New Jersey Nets have put together a four team, five player trade: Hornets send Darren Collison and James Posey to the Pacers and get Trevor Ariza from the Rockets, Pacers send Troy Murphy to the Nets, and New Jersey sends Courtney Lee to the Rockets. To more easily break it down, the New Orleans Hornets have added Trevor Ariza, the Indiana Pacers have added Darren Collison and James Posey, the Houston Rockets have added Courtney Lee and the New Jersey Nets have added Troy Murphy.
-Boston Celtics have waived Rasheed Wallace (and sources say he wants to retire).
-Tim Thomas is officially a Dallas Maverick once again, on a 1 year, $1.35 million deal.

Looks like things in basketball land are speeding up again. Phew.