The Cavaliers have been busy this offseason, but they're not the only Eastern Conference club on the move.
With the NBA's offseason at the unofficial halfway point - and with the dog days of August approaching - here's a quick look at what's happened in an already interesting summer in the East ...
1. Size Matters in C-Town - After falling to the Magic in the ECF, despite winning 66 games and sweeping the first two rounds of the playoffs, the Cavaliers did some re-tooling of their own - mostly to add size, length and athleticism. Enter 15-time All-Star and four-time NBA Champion, Shaquille O'Neal, to man the middle - providing LeBron James a low-post option that he's never had. The move sends Zydrunas Ilgauskas to the bench for the first time in his career. The Magic ouster also convinced the Cavaliers to stock up on long, athletic wing players - tabbing Anthony Parker and Jamario Moon in free agency and drafting Christian Eyenga and Danny Green.
2. Magic Touch? - Orlando was a missed layup and a pair of botched free throws from making the NBA Finals against L.A. very interesting. Instead, the Eastern Conference Champs re-loaded after the loss. Hedo Turkoglu bolted across the border, so the Magic sent Courtney Lee, Rafer Alston and Tony Battie to the Nets in exchange for 32-year-old Vince Carter and Ryan Anderson. Orlando also inked forward Brandon Bass and guard Matt Barnes, and they remain in the Eastern Conference's upper echelon despite the post-Finals shake-up.
3. Pistons Evolution - Since getting bumped by Boston in the 2008 playoffs, the Pistons have been slowly morphing away from the veteran-oriented squad that made six straight appearances in the Eastern Conference Finals. Chauncey Billups was dealt early last year, Rasheed Wallace left for Boston and Antonio McDyess is in San Antonio. Tayshaun Prince and Rip Hamilton remain - but for how long? The team now belongs to recent free agent acquisitions - Charlie Villanueva and Ben Gordon - as well as Detroit's young guards, Rodney Stuckey and Will Bynum. (Although another blast from the past - Ben Wallace - is rumored to return to Motown.)
4. Miami Vice - Dwyane Wade and Pat Riley have sparred in the media this offseason, and although their timelines might not match, but their goals are identical. Although the present-day Heat are still Wade and a group of talented youngsters like Mario Chalmers, Daequan Cook, and Michael Beasley, Miami looks to still be flirting with the idea of adding heavyweights, Lamar Odom and/or Carlos Boozer.
5. Capital Offense - After losing to the Cavaliers in the first round of the playoffs in three straight years and a disastrous 2008-09, experts thought Ernie Grunfeld might finally bust up the Wizards. But Washington's brass decided to see what the Wiz can do when they're 100 percent healthy. Washington dealt the No. 5 overall draft pick to Minnesota for Randy Foye and Mike Miller and resisted dealing Caron Butler. If Agent Zero can return to form, the high-octane Wizards might just get the Cavaliers in the first round again.
6. One More Celtic Run - The Celtics are inching closer to the dreaded "closing window" as they try to squeeze one more Championship run out of the power trio that Danny Ainge assembled two years ago. This offseason, the C's added Rasheed Wallace and seemingly toyed with the idea of trading Rajon Rondo. Leon Powe likely won't return and Big Baby Davis still hasn't signed with a club. Boston had an epic run in last year's postseason, but they'll need to stay healthy to make one more run at the Ring.
7. Garden Statement vs. New York State of Mind - While the Knicks look like they're still shaping their roster for next summer - eschewing Nate Robinson and dragging on David Lee, the team across the Hudson is slowly building a nice young core, including newly-acquired Courtney Lee, along with Devin Harris and Brook Lopez. The Knicks are hoping Darko can give them something, hoping Danilo Galinari's back will hold up all season and hoping Jordan Hill can ease the pain of not coming away with Ricky Rubio or Stephen Curry on Draft night.
8. Take Off to the Great White North - Another team with a wary eye on 2010, the Raptors stunned the hoops world when they landed Hedo Turkoglu, who looked like a lock to sign with Portland. Unfortunately, the addition of the nine-year pro puts Brian Colangelo in somewhat of a financial bind. (One that allowed the Cavaliers to sign Anthony Parker and Dallas to sign Shawn Marion.) The reloaded Raptors still have All-Star Chris Bosh, along with Andrea Bargnani, Jose Calderon and 20-year-old DeMar DeRozan from USC.
9. Young Blood - Unlike last season, the Western Conference should see the biggest influx of interesting rookies, but the East should still have some curious freshman storylines. At No. 10 overall, the Bucks tabbed the point guard Minnesota didn't draft, Brandon Jennings, who bypassed a freshman season with Arizona to play overseas. UNC's Tyler Hansbrough's late climb landed him at No. 13 to Indiana. The Pistons grabbed the angular Austin Daye and New Jersey drafted Terrence Williams from Louisville. Cleveland's first round pick - Christian Eyenga - will likely spend this season in Spain, but second-rounder, Danny Green, has a shot to crack the rotation.
10. Coaching Carousel - Three coaching vacancies were filled in the East this offseason, and all three have ties to Cleveland. First, former Mike Brown charge - and the team's "offensive coordinator" - John Kuester landed the Pistons vacancy as Joe Dumars replaced Michael Curry after one year on the job. In Philly, former Cavalier draft pick, Eddie Jordan, makes his return to the bench. Unfortunately he won't have Andre Miller to run the show. And finally, Cuyahoga Heights native, Flip Saunders, will take over the bench duties for Jordan's old club, the Wizards.