Well, if you have been following basketball lately, you’d know that it’s the off-season and not much is going on. With that being said, to keep Full Court Press active I decided to do an East and West one through 8 seeding prediction for the up-coming NBA season. Now I know people aren’t going to agree with this but everyone has there own opinion. Let’s take a look at the Eastern Conference first.

1. Boston Celtics-This was a hard one, and it took me a while to choose, I was thinking Celtics, Magic, or Heat. Now I know what you’re thinking, the Celtics are old and banged up. The Celtics had a great off-season while adding Jermaine O’Neal, Shaquille O’Neal, Von Wafer and recent pickup Delonte West. Losing Tony Allen who’s a great defensive player and possibly losing Kendrick Perkins who’s also another great defensive player could be a blow to there defense. At worst if healthy I can see the Celtics being third seed.

2. Miami Heat-The team who pulled off one the best off-seasons this year, acquiring LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and resigning Dwyane Wade how can you not put them in the top 3 atleast. Last year the Miami heat were the fifth seed and that’s was just Dwyane Wade and company. Not only did the Heat sign James, Bosh and Wade, they also signed sharp shooter Mike Miller. With Wade, Bosh, and James constantly getting double-teamed Miller is going to be wide open all the time and will knock down that shot. If the Heat took the first seed I wouldn’t be surprised, at worst I can see them being third.

3. Orlando Magic-Well where do I begin, I feel like the Celtics and Heat gotten better an this team slightly got worse, but not by much, they basically kept the same team an lost some key players. Losing Matt Barnes will be a big blow to there perimeter defense. They did acquire Quentin Richardson and Chris Duhon over the summer, but I don’t think Duhon is much of an upgrade over Jason Williams an Richardson is a upgrade over Barnes but only offensively.

4. Chicago Bulls-They didn’t get LeBron James or Dwyane wade like they wanted to but they did manage to sign Carlos Boozer over the summer. This pick up is something Derrick Rose really needed and that’s more scoring help. Not only did they sign Boozer, they signed Kyle Korver and Ronnie Brewer, a good shooter to come off the bench and a good defensive player. If everyone can be healthy this team will be great and entertaining to watch, at worst I can see them being sixth.

5. Milwaukee Bucks-Last season the Bucks surprised everyone as they were the sixth seed. The Bucks was another team who had a great off-season, they resigned John Salmons who help this team tremendously after acquiring him last season before the trade deadline, they also acquired Corey Maggette, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Kenyon Dooling, and Drew Gooden. Maggette will definitely will give the Bucks some more scoring punch in which they were kind of lacking with Michael Redd being out for the season again. If Andrew Bogut can be healthy this team can go far, at worst I could see them being sixth.

6. Atlanta Hawks-I think the Hawks will take a drop from last year being fourth seed to being sixth seed. First off there talking about getting rid of last season sixth man Jamal Crawford, and if they do this it will be a big blow to there bench. Also after Joe Johnson getting that horrible contract I can see him slack off, im sorry Hawk’s fans but that contract was atrocious.

7.Charlotte Bobcats-After one through six I honestly didn’t know who to put for seventh and eight. They traded Tyson Chandler, and loss Raymond Felton by letting him sign with the Knicks, and to top it off they got back Matt Carroll an his horrible contract who they got rid of to begin with, an then the get Erick Dampier. If they can flip Dampier’s contract into something to better the team then I will feel more confident about the Bobcats.

8. New York Knicks-Yes Knicks fans, I think it’s that time finally. Signing Amar’e Stoudemire and Raymond Felton, then acquiring Klenna Azubuike, Roger Mason Jr., Ronny Turiaf, and Anthony Randolph I can see this team finally make the playoffs again. I can even see the Knicks being seventh seed.

8 Alternative. Washington Wizards-Just in case the Bobcats or Knicks don’t make the playoffs, I wouldn’t be surprise if the Wizards some how surprise people this year. If John Wall can be what people expect him to be, and if Gilbert Arenas comes back an stays out of trouble, and if Josh Howard is healed and healthy then this team will be exciting and fun to watch, the thing is, that’s a lot of “if’s”

Well there you have it, my one through eighth seeding for the Eastern Conference predictions, I’ll try to do the Western Conference later today or tomorrow.

According to Yahoo! Sports, the Nuggets are prepared to part ways with Carmelo Anthony who has made it clear he wants out of Denver.

Anthony’s camp has advised the Nuggets to deal the superstar forward since he plans to leave as a free agent next summer.

The relationship has become contentious, with Anthony’s representatives making heavy-handed demands and new owner Josh Kroenke responding in kind.

The Clippers and Nets have trade assets that most appeal to Denver’s management, according to the report. No mention is made of whether Anthony has agreed to sign an extension with those clubs.

The Hornets, Nets, Pacers and Rockets completed a four-team trade, Nets General Manager Billy King announced Wednesday.

As part of the transaction, the Rockets acquire Nets guard Courtney Lee and send Trevor Ariza to New Orleans, with Indiana acquiring Darren Collison and James Posey from the Hornets, and New Jersey adding Troy Murphy.

“We’re excited to add Darren to the strong core of young players already on our roster,” said Larry Bird, Pacers President of Basketball Operations. “He’s a dynamic young point guard and we believe that he will be a key piece of our goal of building a team that the fans in Indiana deserve.”

The Boston Celtics announced today that they have waived forward/center Rasheed Wallace after coming to a mutual agreement following which Wallace plans to retire.

“We would like to thank Rasheed for everything that he did for this team and organization last season,” said Danny Ainge, Celtics President of Basketball Operations. “We would like to wish Rasheed and his family the best as they move on into the next phase of their lives. He will always be a member of the Celtics family.”

Tracy McGrady has agreed to a one-year deal with the Pistons, according to a source. The agreement is for the league minimum which is $1.35 million for a veteran with 10 or more years of service. McGrady earned approximately $23 million for the 09-10 season.

In 24 games with the Knicks, he had a PER of 12.2. McGrady’s career PER is 22.8, but has been steadily declining along with his health.

For the moment, this looks like more of piece of bad news for the French team than it does for the Dallas Mavericks, but the breaking story out of France is that Roddy Beaubois has just fractured a bone in his left foot.

“It’s terrible for Rodrigue,’’ says French coach Vincent Collet.

Just how terrible?

It depends on the exact nature of the injury.

At its worst, it can mean a non-weight-bearing cast for 20 weeks and even surgery. More common with this specific injury – a non-displaced fracture of the fifth metatarsal – is a six-to-eight-week recovery period. However, in some cases, an athlete may desire a “minor’’ surgery to speed the healing process.

Beaubois, coming off a stellar rookie season with the Mavs, was to be a featured player for France in the World Cup in Turkey. His injury was sustained in a Friday evening workout with the national club.

Said Collet: “It is a blow to our team, because in two weeks of training, he had contributed enormously in the game by its speed and skill.’’

And in two months, the Mavs hope he will recover and do the same for them.

Tyson Chandler and Alex Ajinca have been dealt by the Bobcats to Dallas for the non-guaranteed contract of Erick Dampier, Matt Carroll and Eduardo Najera, according to a source.

Chandler believed he would be traded to the Raptors on Monday, but owner Michael Jordan backed out of the trade.

Minnesota has sent Al Jefferson to the Utah Jazz for two future first-round draft picks and the salary-cap trade exception, according to a source.

Utah gained the trade exception in the sign-and-trade deal that sent Carlos Boozer to Chicago.