Several player movements in the Eastern Conference of the NBA have made a virtual arms race out of the free agency market. Shaquille O’Neal, already in his late-30’s but still big enough and strong enough as an NBA force, was perhaps the biggest signee of the off-season. The 7-foot-1 350-pound mammoth center joins the frustrated Lebron James in Cleveland, and suddenly the Cavaliers are looking at a serious run all the way back to the NBA Finals. He may not be the O’Neal of 2000 – 2003, much less 2006, but his size and strength are nearly impossible to match even with double teams in the post-challenged Eastern Conference. His ability to attract double teams down low forces defenses to commit and thus makes things easier for James operating at the high post, or even for the likes of Delonte West and Maurice Williams.

Boston, another team dealing with the frustration of a post-championship letdown in the recently concluded season, helped itself immensely by signing the enigmatic Rasheed Wallace away from their own East rivals the Detroit Pistons. Wallace is in his mid-30’s and may not have more than three or four good years left, but he is a talented and championship-caliber veteran who can play the 4 and 5 positions, and he is coming to a team that does not need him to be the primary superstar. He will most likely come off the bench to spell Kevin Garnett, making him the best bench player in the NBA. There might even be times he and Garnett will be on the floor together. He also gets the perimeter insurance provide by All Stars Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. Heck, Wallace himself can nail the trey just to keep defenses honest and make things easier for Garnett and even Big Baby Davis and Kendrick Perkins in the low blocks. Clearly the rich got richer in the case of the Celtics.

Detroit may have lost Wallace but they did get younger and arguably more talented across the board. GM Joe Dumars signed up hotshot guard Ben Gordon and forward-center Charlie Villanueva in separate deals. He now has two guys who are not only among the best at their positions in the Conference, but he has also made the Pistons a little younger. Both Gordon and Villanueva are only in their mid-20’s. Detroit retained Tayshaun Prince and Richard Hamilton, both of whom should also have at least another four or five good years left. Keeping Prince and Hamilton for now, even with the loss of Antonio McDyess to San Antonio, makes the transition of Villanueva and Gordon to the Pistons organization a little easier.

Orlando could not have done as well in these last playoffs were it not for the multi-talented Hedo Turkologku. That however did not seem enough to justify his retention with Orlando. He was reportedly going back to the out west as he loves warm-weather locales. But things just have not worked out very well for the Portland Trailblazers in this off-season and Turkologku went from sunny Orlando to warm-enough Toronto. His addition to the Raptors might just convince resident superstar Chris Bosh to stay put beyond his contract termination in 2010. Turkologku’s presence might also be enough leverage to convince another Florida resident – Miami Hat superstar Dwayne Wade – to join the Raptors to form a Canadian Big 3 of sorts. Imagine a Toronto team with Turkologku, Bosh and Wade; heaven help any defense.

Orlando, much like Detroit, might have lost a key personnel piece with the departure of Tukologku, but they added a major star as well. Vince Carter has left the swamps of New Jersey for the sunny beaches of Florida. True, Carter is in his early 30’s, a high-risk age for high-flying guard types, but he is still one of the top four or five perimeter players in the NBA, able to score practically at will and able to attract constant double-teaming. Imagine trying to stop Carter when you know Dwight Howard is right there for dump passes and short passes moving from box to box. GM Otis Smith is also seriously looking at keeping backup center Marcin Gortat. If Jameer Nelson can get back to 100% game shape then Orlando will not rue the loss of Turkologku that much while keeping both Howard and Carter happy campers.

With the way things are shaping up in the Conference the balance of power might just be shifting back east. Certainly the addition of Wallace to Boston all of a sudden makes them another sure favorite to return to at least the Eastern Conference Finals. There they will most likely meet O’Neal, James and the Cavaliers. Whatever else happens the East will most assuredly be a tougher place to get out of come the 2010 playoffs.