The Starting Five: Five Questions About the NBA

The biggest news out of the NBA prior to the draft was the Cavaliers' acquisition of Shaquille O'Neal.

In an effort to keep Ohio's golden boy in a Cavs' jersey, they bring in a proven winner and a proven champion. The Superman has not been able to get over the bad hump that he has suffered since winning his fourth and most recent championship.

But he's not the only one feeling the downside of not having a ring.

LeBron James led his team to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second straight year, but the Cavs were unable to complete the goal of the NBA Finals and an NBA Championship.

Now with Jay-Z determined to get King James to the East Coast, the Cavs made a deal that brings Shaq Diesel to a town that is thirsty for a world championship.

But does bringing in Shaq automatically bring the drought to an end? Not right off the bat. The Celtics will be healthier next season, and the Magic will be tougher and more playoff tested.

On the other side, the Lakers will be looking to restore their dynasty next season, while the Nuggets will be looking to pick up where they left off last year.

But is Shaq enough to not only bring the city of Cleveland a world championship, but also keep LeBron in Cleveland rather than playing for Jigga in Jersey?

I just found out that Milwaukee still has a basketball team! I didn't know that, and most likely, neither did they.

The only reason anyone knows about the Bucks now is because they didn't re-sign Charlie Villanueva. Now Villanueva is on the hot list of free agents that could be wearing another jersey come next season.

Here's another tidbit to know: Kobe Bryant has an early termination option that he could exercise that he could use this offseason.

But Hedo Turkoglu has decided that his services in Orlando are no longer required, so he has decided to provide his services to another team. But Ron Artest is also on that same list of players that need to be looked at quickly.

Also making that list is Lamar Odom, Ben Gordon, Shawn Marion (who could possibly join Shaq in Cleveland), and Carlos Boozer.

But there are two names that people tend to shy away from: Allen Iverson and Jason Kidd. Iverson has had off-the-court problems pretty much his entire career, but is still regarded as one of the best players in the league.

As for Kidd, he has not been a team player as of late, so he may get eyed right off the bat. But he is still one of the best players of his generation...

But does he still have enough left to make something happen?

After years of trying, Kobe finally did what many said he couldn't do: Win an NBA Championship without Shaq. Now that he's finally hoisted the title for the fourth time in his career, what does the future hold for Lord Kobe?

Here's one truth: It's not in Cleveland anytime soon.

But the biggest thing is that Kobe has officially fulfilled his destiny in the City of Angels. And with him having that early termination option in his contract, could we have seen the last of Kobe Bryant in a L.A. Lakers uniform?

For some, it's unheard of, but for others, it's almost inevitable.

Kobe has been cheered, jeered, booed, chanted, and lately praised for this new side of him that shows emotion. But Bryant may be getting tired of the bright lights of L.A., and what shocks me the most is that Jay-Z isn't trying to go after both King James and Lord Kobe.

But does anyone truly know how Jigga thinks?

So if this is the last time that Kobe wears a Lakers uniform, who would have enough green to flash to get Kobe with their team? And where would Kobe want to play if not in Los Angeles? New York? New Jersey? Denver? Okay that last team was a joke...or was it?

So the NBA Draft brought few surprises, but there were some big names drafted in those surprises.

No surprise: Blake Griffin was the No. 1 Draft Pick for the Los Angeles Clippers. We all knew that was coming for months. Big surprise: Tyler Hansbrough was drafted outside the top 10.

Despite putting up impressive numbers and beating Griffin in the NCAA Tournament, Griffin was touted as the best player coming out of the draft.

But which of them, as well as the other rookies, will make the biggest impact next season?

UConn's Hasheem Thabeet went No. 2 to the struggling Memphis Grizzlies, who haven't made any noise since drafting "Big Country" Reeves when they were still in Canada.

Davidson standout Stephen Curry went to Golden State, and the Nuggets snagged Tyler's partner in crime, Ty Lawson.

But who will make the biggest impact next season?

It's hard to talk about Ricky Rubio without grimacing in pain about the current situation with him. But as for everyone else, what can you say about this year's draft?

Besides the fact that Pitt powerhouse DeJuan Blair was drafted in the second round, and this year's draft had more local (meaning country) players drafted than international players in recent memory, was this year's draft better than advertised or just the NBA's attempt at getting people excited for next year's All-Star Game in Dallas?

Ricky Rubio was touted as one of the best overseas players picked up in the draft. The Timberwolves thought they had snagged a steal since he was still available when they got on the clock. But then came the backlash, courtesy of Ricky's agent...his father.

Ricky's father made it adamantly clear that his son would not (I repeat, would not) play for Minnesota, and demanded a trade. He has gone as far as saying that Rubio would sign at least a two-year deal with a European team if Rubio was still a Timberwolf by the beginning of the season.

So has Ricky become the Eli Manning and John Elway of the NBA?

Most would argue that this is just politics, and Rubio will be in a Timberwolves uniform at the start of the new season. But there are those who are trying to figure out what is so bad about Rubio being drafted by Minnesota.

From my standpoint, I think Rubio should come out and say whether he is happy about being drafted by Minnesota or not.

His facial expressions said it all, and we've seen it before...when Eli was selected by San Diego and refused to play for them. But the difference is that Rubio looked excited to be drafted by Minnesota, whereas Eli couldn't even hold a smile without showing nothing but disdain for the Chargers.

So does Rubio deserve to be blamed...or does Rubio's father deserve all the credit for this anarchy in The Land of 10,000 Lakes?