NBA washington Wizards

There was a lot of activity in the NBA this week, and we're not just talking about the draft. Some of the NBA's big names and better teams were in on it.

Here's a quick look at the trades that went down and what they mean:

The Deal: Phoenix sends Shaquille O'Neal to Cleveland for Sasha Pavlovic, Ben Wallace, a second-round pick in 2010 and cash.

The Thinking: The Cavaliers get an aging O'Neal, with the hope that he can have a productive year playing alongside LeBron James. The only way this trade is a success is if the Cavaliers are the 2009-10 NBA champions. For the Suns, trading O'Neal means that they are beyond tinkering and are leaning toward turning over the personnel of a team that missed the playoffs last season.

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In the weakest NBA draft in years, sitting out might have been the best thing to do. All the fireworks were done before it even began. The Cavs traded for Shaq. The Magic added Vince Carter. The Wizards snagged Mike Miller instead of the No. 5 pick. Several teams showed little interest in getting involved.

Keep reading after the jump for the Eastern Conference rundown.

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One of the more bizarre on-court storylines of 2008-09 was the "death" of Mike Miller.

Long one of the NBA's great shooters, Miller's single season in Minnesota reeked of miscast talent. The great Britt Robson of Secrets of the City called Miller's Timberwolf season "one of the most perverse, distasteful wastes of player's tailor-made role on a ballclub" he's ever witnessed. It is incredibly difficult to disagree.

What happened to Miller last season, when he averaged single digits (9.9 points per game) for the only time in his career? And can it be reversed in Washington? Let's find out.

For those of us hoping that the draft would bring some exciting developments, it has at least started with a relative bang. And for Minnesota fans, it has brought with it the "good" exciting, rather than the "oh, what's that funny feeling in my stomach, oh, it's vomit" exciting. You know, their usual kind.

A deal is close to closing that has the Timberwolves sending Mike Miller and Randy Foye to the Washington Wizards for the No. 5 selection in Thursday's draft, Oleksiy Pecherov, Darius Songaila, and Etan Thomas.

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This is the time of the year when NBA executives earn their salaries, making the decisions that often determine the success or failure the following season.

They make the trades, draft the players, and sign the free agents that set the stage. They can make or break a season long before it actually begins. The winning and losing generates the enthusiasm or leads to the apathy that surrounds your favorite team, but it's the executive decisions now that can give you a glimpse into the future.

The general managers usually sleep well during a season while the coaches fret every minute. In the summer, the GMs don't sleep at all, and with good reason today. When the economy is booming, NBA owners can be a little forgiving when things don't go their way. In an era of economic hard times, dwindling ticket sales and shrinking salary caps, there is no room or patience for mistakes. Here are five GMs on the hot seat in a very hot summer.

Michael Lee of the Washington Post followed up recent Wizards rumors in a piece this morning on the No. 5 pick and Caron Butler. Lee said the 'Zards and Suns discussed an Amar'e Stoudemire trade, but D.C. balked when Butler became a requirement from Phoenix's end.

Washington GM Ernie Grunfeld famously has little interest in keeping No. 5. Phoenix needs to do two things in short order: get younger, and get rid of its (spiritual) question marks up front (Stoudemire and Shaquille O'Neal), one way or the other. So can the Wizards and Suns arrange a deal without involving Butler, Gilbert Arenas or Antawn Jamison?

Bloggers knee-jerking on the phone + roundtable style = RoundCast.

With the NBA Draft just a few days away, Matt Moore and Tom Ziller joined me to discuss some of the many ways that we might see things play out on the big night in NYC. And just about every scenario hinges on what the Memphis Grizzlies decide to do with the number two pick.

There's Ricky Rubio and Hasheem Thabeet to consider, or the team could try to trade down to get some more value, while still scooping up someone like Tyreke Evans. We know that the Clippers have the first pick, but for all intents and purposes, the Grizzlies are on the clock.

The New York Knicks and New Jersey Nets, picking at No. 8 and 11, respectively, are busy preparing their teams for next summer's free agent class, trying to add complementary pieces now for the new stars they are hoping to attract.

The Toronto Raptors, at No. 9, are trying to make sure that free-agent-to-be Chris Bosh, doesn't go anywhere in 2010. All three teams should be able to get decent players where they are picking. In the Atlanta Division, the Knicks are the most likely of the three to trade up to get what they want.

With only one lottery pick (Washington), there isn't a lot of draft buzz around the Southeast Division. The Orlando Magic, who reached the NBA Finals, don't have any picks, and the Miami Heat, who lost in the first round of the playoffs, have only picks in the second round.

Washington Wizards

Picks: No. 5 (first round), No. 33 (second round).

Needs: After such a disastrous season, they need one of those Obama Stimulus giveaways. They need a quality big man who can rebound, but they also need help on the perimeter so that Gilbert Arenas can limit his minutes and avoid getting hurt again. They need depth, and most importantly, they need some durability because there were too many guys sitting out too many games last season.

Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.

Nick Young of the Washington Wizards and Gabe Pruitt of the Boston Celtics are best of friends dating back to their days as college teammates at USC. In fact, they may have even put USC basketball back on the map. In this exclusive video we catch up with the two promising players as they stop by the Roadstar Motorspots mansion party. Find out why Pruitt, who was offered $400 to jump in a three-foot pool, is not happy to see the Lakers in the finals, what Young will look like in 10 years, and how Nick was able to get phone numbers at the event.

Check out the video after the jump.