Ron Artest and James Posey the Final Pieces for Rockets and Hornets

This article is also posted at hoops4life.com, an NBA fan site.

One year ago, Danny Ainge shocked the entire NBA, getting Kevin Garnett via trade and Ray Allen via free agency, joining all-pro Paul Pierce. Suddenly, the Boston Celtics became the top favourites.

Nine months later, the Celtics confirmed the expectations, lifting the NBA Championship trophy. These offseason moves changed the face of the team, and are considered some of the best moves in NBA History.

This year there have been many interesting moves around the NBA. Some of the league’s elite players will play for a different team this upcoming season.

Baron Davis left the Golden State Warriors, signing with the Los Angeles Clippers. It was a good move during a short while, but many days after reaching to L.A. franchise player Elton Brand moved to Philadelphia. Baron Davis is a great player, but without Brand, he won’t be a difference maker.

On the other hand, Brand reaches to a young and talented team. At Philly, he will join Andre Miller and rising stars such as Samuel Dalembert and Andre Iguodala. The Sixers gave fight to the Pistons in last season's playoffs. Nevertheless, they may need something more than Brand to make a real statement this year.

Another good move involved the Indiana Pacers and the Toronto Raptors. The Canadian team made a risky move, bringing Jermaine O’Neal from Indy in return for T.J. Ford and Rasho Nesterovic. If O’Neal stays healthy, he will absolutely be a difference maker. The Raptors are a settled team, and this could be the final piece for them.

Well, there is no doubt that all of these are good moves, but in my opinion, they won’t have the most impact of all of this offseason's moves. I think that all of them are good additions, but their new teams have many weaknesses, and they can’t overcome this by themselves.

For me, there have been two moves that could really set the difference this year. Ron Artest and James Posey are the best acquisitions for the Rockets and the Hornets. Both reach to settled teams. Both teams made the playoffs last year, and these two players will lead them to the next level.

Artest will provide the Rockets his great aggressiveness and his underrated offensive skills. He will be a reliable third offensive option, and he will put scoring pressure off McGrady’s shoulders. Artest is not a League star like Baron Davis, Elton Brand, or Jermaine O’Neal, but he may be the perfect piece for this Houston Rockets.

We shouldn’t forget that the Rockets were able to make the playoffs without Yao Ming. They also made history, after winning 22 games in a row.

Ming showed during the Olympics that his knee is healthy as he dominated the tournament. T-Mac is an indispensable, and Shane Battier is a great team player.

With Artest with no off-court problems and focused on the game, he will be a changing player for this team, and he will help them to finally take a step forward in the upcoming season.

James Posey will also help his new team to advance through the NBA playoffs. The Hornets are one of the best teams in the League. They were the surprise team of the last season.

Chris Paul had a breakout year, and he made his teammates look better. David West showed a new level, and he was quite a special player. Tyson Chandler and Peja Stojakovic also had solid seasons.

Nevertheless, they paid their lack of playoffs experience, and they lost to the Spurs in seven games. In my opinion, Posey will show the way for this group of players.

Posey holds two championship rings and he knows how to get the job done. Above all this, he will provide aggressiveness and an outstanding defense. He is able to spread his attitude and he is an indispensable in winning teams.

As said, for me, these two players are the best acquisitions of this offseason. Maybe they are not League stars, but they are the pieces that their new teams needed to do something special this year.

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