For the past several seasons the NBA's Eastern Conference has been somewhat lacking, but whenever we've heard experts on the league talk about it their primary response is simply that all things are cyclical. Sometimes the Western Conference dominates, sometimes it's the East, and every once is a while we see balance achieved across both sides.

This summer we've seen the pendulum swing back towards the East, as teams like the Toronto Raptors, Orlando Magic, Washington Wizards, and even the Indiana Pacers made moves to try and push things to the next level in 2008-09. No team, however, has done more to improve than the Philadelphia 76ers. A middle-of-the-pack team last season, the Sixers made the boldest move of the summer when they pulled Elton Brand away from the Los Angeles Clippers via free agency.

On Sunday the Sixers finally inked Andre Iguodala, a move that was basically expected, but I'm sure Sixers fans slept a lot easier last night knowing it was actually done. As the Brand scenario showed us, nothing is done until it's done. Imagine how good the Clippers would have been with Baron Davis in place alongside Brand! But Clippers fans soon saw that bubble burst.

The Sixers have an outstanding balance of star power (Brand, Iguodala, Andre Miller), solid role players (Samuel Dalembert, Willie Green, Reggie Evans, Kareem Rush) and up-and-coming talent (Thaddeus Young, Mareese Speights). It's a recipe for success, and it's not a stretch to say the Sixers could find themselves in the NBA Finals is all goes according to plan. After years of the West being the dominant conference we're starting to see a shift back to the East, and the Sixers represent the biggest cause of the shift for the coming season.

Suns Get Their Man

Last week we reported that Phoenix Suns GM Steve Kerr was very optimistic about his team's ability to lure point guard Goran Dragic away from Spain's Tau Ceramica, and today we have official word that an agreement has been reached and Dragic will soon be able to join the Suns.

From Day One he wanted to end up with Phoenix," Dragic's agent Rade Filipovich told the Arizona Republic. "It was very important for us to put him with the team this year. "He's very excited. People in Phoenix are going to be very happy. He's going to be a very good player for several years. The Suns fans are getting an excellent player and should be very excited because he's playing great basketball and he's a great young man."

Indeed, the Suns have very high expectations for their new point guard. Kerr told HOOPSWORLD he expects Dragic to have an impact right away and to eventually take over for Steve Nash. In the mean time he'll allow Leondro Barbosa to move back to his natural position at the two when the second unit takes the court.

Randolph to the Cavs?

So here we go. The only team that's really being talked about in terms of needing another deal to get serious about 2008-09 NBA season is the Cleveland Cavaliers. At the same time, we have the New York Knicks comnstantly in the rumor mill with talks about trading Zach Randolph. He was nearly traded to the Milwaukee Bucks at the trade deadline and is now the subject of many different discussions.

So let's put a couple of stories together and see what we get.

The New York Knicks are going to make a move to lose Stephon Marbury in the near future. The Cavaliers are weighing their options with the now-superfluous Delonte West. Last season you could probably have sold the Knicks on Ben Wallace, but the new regime isn't about to fall for that. So what if the Knicks and Cavs came to an agreement on a package deal that would send West to New York and Randolph to Cleveland?

The Cavs needs a scoring option at the four and Randolph can score with the best of them. The Knicks may or may not be ready to completely hand the team over to Chris Duhon, who hasn't been a full time starter since his rookie season. Adding West would give them some options.

We're going to hear a lot of speculation about the Cavaliers until they make a move that really helps them keep pace with the ever-improving East. Bringing in Randolph would be the kind of move that would end all speculation. The Cavaliers would be a force to be reckoned with.

Quote of the Day

LA Lakers (and Team USA) guard Kobe Bryant, talking about Chris Kaman's sudden transformation to German National for the purposes of playing in the Olympics:

"I hope he knows more German than he knew (at the) Opening Ceremonies," Bryant said. "Know something. … Heineken or something."