MY SINCERE THANKS TO THE DEAN

The 2008 NBA finals is now more than a month over but still I can't get over the excitement of the series. Why? It's because I just got my usual pasalubongs from my good friend and godfather, Quinito "The Dean" Henson. I started getting these pasalubongs from Quinito for more than 10 years now and these stuffs (which are safely kept in my sports library at home) were priceless treasures for a basketball junkie like me.

Here are the contents of Quinito's latest 2008 pasalubongs:

• Green Boston Wheapresents T-shirt;
• An exclusive Boston Celtics "New Dynasty" 2008 NBA Champioship Magazine;
• A 56-page colored newspaper on the Boston Celtics "The Road to the finals";
• 2008 NBA finals record book;
• 2008 NBA finals commemorative magazine;
• 2008 Boston Celtics play-off media guide;
• 2008 Los Angeles Lakers play-off media guide;
• 2008 NBA draft media guide;
• 2008 NBA Cares magazine
• 2008 Beat LA poster
• Official Pacquiao-Diaz Scorecard from Las Vegas

What makes it special is that all those stuffs are not available anywhere in the local market. I find myself so lucky to have these materials and forever I'll be very thankful to a find a gem of a friend in Quinito. It maybe a small thing for others but for a bigtime basketball fan like me, it is something larger than life and these "small things" makes life worth living! Again thank you very much, Mr. Quinito Henson!

OFF-SEASON NOTES: RONNY TURIAF IS NOW A WARRIOR

The Golden State Warriors continue to reorganize their line-up for the 2008-09 campaign by taking away erstwhile LA Lakers 6-9 power forward Ronny Turiaf. The Warriors signed Turiaf to a 4-year $ 17M offer sheet which the Lakers decided not to match.

Turiaf, a French national, played a vital role in the Lakers surge to the NBA finals this past season. He started 21 games last season and averaged 6.6 ppg and 3.9 rpg in 78 games during the regular season. Turiaf will be a big help on the frontline spot for the bay area outfit. His high octane kind of game shall jive easily with the free wheeling style of coach Don Nelson.

With Turiaf's arrival, the starting spot for the power forward position now becomes a wide-open race along with regulars Al Harrington, Brandan Wright and rookie draftee Anthony Randolph. The addition of Turiaf had also made the Warriors frontline a deeper one.

Its only July and we had already seen dramatic changes transpired in the Warriors team. Chris Mullin and the entire Warriors organization are just proving that there is life after all in the post-Baron Davis era!

OFF-SEASON NOTES: WARRIORS REVAMP

The post-Baron Davis era has began in the bay area. It was a big letdown to see Davis out of the Golden State Warriors team this coming 2008-09 season. But that is life in the NBA. Loyalty had taken the backseat again in lieu of money. Minus Davis, the Warriors are also looking forward to a season sans forward Matt Barnes and off-guard Mickael Pietrus. Pietrus, like Davis, was signed as an unrestricted free agent by the Orlando Magic, thus reuniting him with his american discoverer, Otis Smith at the magic kingdom.

The Warriors got back at the Clippers on what they've done to Davis by signing unrestricted free-agent and the Clippers' top scorer last season, swingman Corey Maggette. Maggette is an exciting player and a high flyer who could make the Warrior diehards forget about Davis. Aside from Maggette, the bay area outfit drafted 6-10 forward Anthony Randolph out of Lousiana State University. Randolph is a highly versatile long lanky small forward with a great deal of upside.

There are also some positives that comes with Davis exit. Erstwhile starting off-guard Monta Ellis could now become the ace point guard of the team. Ellis will be highly effective at the No. 1 spot with his youth, enthusiasm and an eye for the open man. Italian Sophomore Marco Bellinelli shall also benefit in the post-Davis era and is being groomed by coach Don Nelson at the starting No.2 position. Veteran Stephen Jackson will be a locked-up at No.3 with the No.4 spot being a toss up between Al Harrington and another second year man Brandan Wright. Andris Beidrins will continue to man the center position. Randolph can be the projected 6th man and the ignition off the bench for the Warriors.

Rumors have it that Warrior executive Chris Mullin is also looking in the possibility of acquiring marquee players like Chauncey Billups of the Detroit Pistons and Andre Iguodala of the Philadelphia 76ers. The Warriors indeed are in for a long summer and anything can still happen between today and the opening of training camp on October.

OFF-SEASON NOTES: SADNESS

As the NBA off-season unfolds, I felt extreme sadness on 2 issues which transpired a week ago. I was really shocked when Golden State Warrior superstar Baron Davis opt out of his contract and joined the Los Angeles Clippers as an unrestricted free agent.

I was not really worried when news broke out 2 months ago that Davis is considering a transfer to another team. I suppose that Davis is just feeling the waters of the free agent world. And with his $17.5 million contract for next year, I really did not pay any attention to that news. But lo and behold, the Warriors leader (on and off the court) suddenly annouced that he is opting out of his GS contract and signed a 5-year contract with the Clippers last July1. It caught the Warriors front office and its ton of fans including me, flatfooted with Davis' earthshaking decision. It was a big blow to the Warriors coming campaign wherein Davis was suppose to play a vital role in leading back the Bay Area outfit to prominence after narrowly missing last season's play-offs.

Next on the agenda is the relocation of the Seattle Supersonics to Oklahoma City starting next season. Its really sad to see the Sonics leave the city of Seattle after more than 4 decades. There are lots of good memories of the team while it played in the Emerald City capped by the 1979 NBA crown. That championship team was something special. They beat the then-defending champs Washington Bullets, 4-1 after the losing the prevous year to the same team in 7 gruelling outings. Who can ever forget Jack Sikma, Freddie "downtown" Brown, Gus Williams, Lonnie Shelton, Wally Walker and the late Dennis Johnson. According to NBA reports, the said relocation will also drop the name Supersonics and will be replaced by a new monicker.

Its just a week into the off-season and I expect more shocking news in the days, weeks and months to come leading off to the opening of the 2008-09 season, so sit back and fasten your seatbelts!