First of, the defense specialist of the Denver Nuggets, Marcus Camby, was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers. The reason is to secure the Nuggets an earlier draft choice in the future. For the past seasons, Camby has been one of the best blockers, averaging 3.2 blocks per game. The solidity of Camby’s made him the primary defender of the Nuggets and without him now, the team sure needs to find the best way to boost their weak defense.

During the offseason, there have been rumors of Baron Davis leaving the Golden State Warriors. The rumors were made valid by the ex-Warrior by signing a 5-year contract with the Clippers. Apart from the $65 million, the Clippers have another price to pay with the acquisition and that was giving up Elton Brand for the Philadelphia 76ers.

But none of these big movers can ever beat the biggest of all, which involves the Seattle Supersonics. Sad to say folks, the Sonics will no longer be in the lineup of teams this upcoming season or the next. The move does not literally mean that the Sonics and its players will be gone for good. This move only meant that the team will shift to a new home – Oklahoma City.

Everybody has been hooked with the unbeaten status of the Americans on the men and women’s basketball team that some of us have not been aware of the noteworthy events in the NBA. The game is sure to be more thrilling this season.

This NBA-powered team simply dominated throughout the tourney, averaging 37.6 points in eight games. Like the US Men’s Basketball team, the team was no doubt the best. Thompson was ahead in scores in three games, which included the fiery 27-point game against the Chinese team in the preliminary round. Adding to the team’s edge is Leslie, who did a superb job in taking care of the rebounds and in staying consistent on the defensive end. Kara Lawson, the Olympic newbie but 6-year NBA veteran, provided a huge difference off the bench that sealed the final game for the Americans.

The preparations made by the men and women’s basketball team of the US for the Beijing Olympics were apparent in every game. The women’s team in particular showed experience and edge and so far, no other team in the international league was able to match well against them. But until that day comes, the US women will savor the golden victory for their team and their country for the fourth time in a row.

Coach Mike Krzyzewski will be back to his regular workload with Duke. If coach K will no longer coach the team in the next games, then the team has a deep pool where they can select the next good coach. One name has been floated is that of New York coach Mike D’Antoni. There is another name that is floated around and that name belongs to Nate McMillan. He is connected with the Portland Trail Blazers. But what makes a good coach for the US team?

Well the lucky coach should have the ability to command attention and to tell the highly paid NBA players what they need to do. There should be that respect as well, and coach K has that.

During the previous summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, the Americans showed everyone their inexperience and arrogance when it comes to international competition. The team was simply disintegrated from the inside and going home without the gold was the consequence. The Dream Team of America just didn’t deserve the gold.

When the Beijing Olympics began, the NBA-powered roster of America came not to be called by their critics as loud-mouthed players but as a team with the desire for the gold. And that desire was apparent particularly on the standing where the team remained undefeated throughout the tourney. Teamwork was biggest difference of the current Olympic gold medalist to the previous American squad. LeBron James even said that in Beijing they were working as a team for their country and not as individuals. They simply had a goal and that was to go home carrying the gold and redeeming the confidence of their loyal supporters.

James along with Kobe Bryant and the other were indeed more cohesive and balanced. That gave them the edge. And they used that to their advantage by defeating one of the best leagues like Spain, Argentina, and Greece.

Maturity also made a crucial difference on the Olympic champions. They were respectful of their opponents and showed their gratitude for their coach, which does not normally happen. The deed in which all the players of the American team put all their gold medals on their coach during the awarding ceremony was a sign of their growth as professional athletes playing for the honor of their country.

When asked about winning the bronze, Sergio Hernandez expressed that he was not disappointed but was actually proud with the achievement of his team. Any coach would have definitely been proud after his team battled and survived against teams like Greece, USA, and Lithuania. The hardest opponent for the balanced team of Argentina would probably be the USA. It was the Americans stiff defense and the turnovers that left the Argentines in defeat.

The game against Lithuania was the only hope that South Americans have in taking home a medal. And it was a dramatic victory for the Manu-less Argentina since they have to play tougher on both ends. In the end, it was their offense that stifled the Lithuanians and sealed them the win.

During the first quarter, Argentine forward Luis Scola took over by tearing down Lithuania’s defense and giving his team the chance to take the lead. And by the next quarter, the Argentineans displayed their 3-point shooting spree. The Lithuanians, on the other hand, were missing a lot of crucial free throws that could have made a difference in their game. Carlos Delfino topped the scoreboards with 20 points and 10 boards. Ramunas Siskauskas and Rimantas Kaukenas dished out 15 and 14 points respectively.

The hard work of the Argentinean team paid off despite the adversities during the final games. The loss was pretty overwhelming for the Lithuanians though because it seemed like the other team wanted the bronze more which showed up to the remaining seconds of the game.

Lisa Leslie made sure that the team will get the win and the gold by scoring 14 points. But Leslie fouled out with 6:33 left in the gold medal match. By this time it didn’t mattered as the team has already the game on its side. The win by the team also brought the total to 26 current and former WNBA players who have earned their medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The WNBA was heavily represented on the games for this Beijing edition, with 39 current and former players on many teams that participate in the games. These players from the league participated for 10 to 12 countries in Beijing.

The win was also significant for Anne Donovan who became the first female to win the gold medal as a player and also led a team to gold as its head coach. The accomplishment by Leslie effectively ties that of Teresa Edwards as winning the most ever gold medals in women’s basketball. Leslie earned her gold in 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008 and Edwards on the other hand earned her gold in 1984, 1988, 1996 and 2000 and another bronze in 1992.

The 2008 season of the WNBA will resume play on August 28.

The Spanish team was the worthy opponent for Team US in the finals. The US team overwhelmed all their seven rivals with large margins, but this time in the gold medal match against Spain the team needs to dig deep in order to put the opposing team away.

The Americans only led by four points with only 2 ½ minutes to play. The team never withered under the pressure and proved that they can handle a close game as well. Argentina took the bronze at the expense of Lithuania with an 87-75 victory.

Dwayne Wade scored 27 points for the team and Kobe Bryant added another 20 points. The Spanish team in the finals was different compared to the team that the US team faced in the preliminaries. It was never the same team that the US humiliated by 37 points. Rudy Fernandez scored 22 points for Spain and Pau Gasol added another 21 points for the Spanish team. The Spanish team is the reigning world champions and hoping that they can win their first Olympics gold as well.

The US players responded well and the players appreciated the challenge forwarded by the Spanish team, hugging the players of the opposing team afterwards. Kobe Bryant had a long embrace for NBA team mate Pau Gasol.

The game against the Russian women has been the toughest test yet for the women’s team. Before the game with Russia, Team US had been averaging 99.2 points through their first six games and the winning margin is pegged at 43 points per game. And just before the game against the Russians the closest the competition got was when Spain managed to score well and the US team led by only 5 at the half.

But the team from Russia proved to be a worthy competition for the likes of Diana Taurasi and Tina Thompson. The results of team Russia had been varied and their games and results during pool play won’t suggest that they are contenders. In fact when the Russian team played Spain, the Russian trailed Spain by 18 in the first half before posting an 84-65 win.

The Russian team started the match well and for the next 23 minutes, Team Russia played toe to toe with the US team. Russia took a 38-33 lead as well after the shot made by Maria Stepanova early in the third quarter. But at that point the US team turned to serious business and scored the next 12 points. The next 12 points came from Thompson, three pointers from Smith and Taurasi, and layups coming from Thompson and Leslie.

The scoring drought for Russia was ended by Stepanova again with a foul line jumper and it was the last point that they have scored in the third quarter. Stepanova was Russia’s lead scored with 14 points and is set to play China for the bronze.

The win by the US over Australia sends the team against the defending champion Argentina on Friday night and the winner will advance for a spot in Sunday’s gold medal match. The Argentina team defeated Greece 80-78 for a place in the semifinals. Bryant and the rest of the US coaching staff watch the Greece and Argentina game from the baseline. Team Argentina was the team that beat the US in the semifinals of the 2004 Olympics.

The Australian team started the game strong and hinted that the team will stay close throughout the match. The performance of Team Australia remained for the first 15 minutes of the game. Their performance duplicated the one that they have shown at the exhibition in Shanghai on August 5. In this exhibition match, the team Americans led by only seven points midway into the fourth quarter. But what was supposed to be a tough contest and even an upset was snapped early in the second half as the US team made its move. Their hopes of a tough game and an upset fizzled out as the US team started the 14-0 run that featured nine points coming from Bryant.James added 16 points to the team. Two more wins by the American team will give the team its gold medal, their first gold medal in a major international competition. Mills led the Australian team with 20 points.

With the win, the American women will face Russia in the semifinals. In the other semifinal game, China will play Australia. Russia advanced to the semifinals after winning over Spain 84-65. Tatiana Shchegoleva led the Russian team and scored 19 points. Australia on the other hand was led by Lauren Jackson who made 17 points and another 12 rebounds and beat Czech Republic. China on the other hand defeated Belarus for a place in the semifinals.

The win by the US women’s team was the team’s 31^st straight games since the team’s losing effort in the semifinals against the Unified Team in the 1992 Olympics. The win against South Korea was their 5^th straight Beijing games and all their wins were fashioned in a spectacular way. The only exception was in the game against Czech Republic where the Team US trailed in the first three minutes 13-2 before it went on to win the match by 40 points. The US Team also encountered rough sailing against Spain as they only led by five after the half. But after the halftime break, the team posted an easy 38 point victory.

The South Korean squad made an impression at the first quarter behind their hot shooting, and shot 59 percent from the field and at the end of the first quarter they were only behind by four. The start of the second quarter was different as Fowles started the charge.