The Seattle Supersonics had the rough season that was anticipated but have set themselves up well for the future.

Kevin Durant won the Rookie of the Year award going away, with Atlanta Hawks forward Al Horford his only real competition.

Jeff Green and Chris Wilcox both showed a lot of ability and will be mainstays in the future.

The team will have the opportunity to draft another impact player in June, and a free agent pickup or two could have the Sonics reaching for the .500 mark next season.

The season went as could be expected for the Minnesota Timerberwolves, a team in rebuilding mode that traded away franchise player Kevin Garnett.

The good news is that they got Al Jefferson in return, a low-post player who could very well be a better scorer than Garnett when all is said and done.

The Timberwolves had a couple of stretches where they played well, and will benefit from a healthy Rashad McCants and Randy Foye in the lineup.

Minnesota needs to make some type of free agent signing that will give them an outside shooting presence. They will also be helped by a high draft pick.

The Portland Trailblazers had a very encouraging season considering they lost rookie center Greg Oden before it even began.

The Trailblazers actually competed for a playoff spot in the Western Conference through the first half of the season and finished with a .500 record.

Interestingly enough, the Trailblazers were 28-13 at home and 13-28 on the road.

Portland should be in great shape next year with another season under their belt and the return of Oden from injury. It should be an exciting team to watch.

What a terribly disappointing season for the Denver Nuggets, especially the way they went out.

The Nuggets essentially gave up in their first round playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers, especially once they lost the first two games.

Carmelo Anthony had more off-the-court problems, and failed to prove he can lead his team through adversity and be a true star in the league.

Allen Iverson isn’t getting any younger, and Kenyon Martin’s huge contract is killing them.

Expect some type of big move this offseason from the Nuggets, and it could mean trading away Anthony.

It was a very busy year for the Memphis Grizzlies if nothing else.

The team made several trades, the most noteworthy being the lopsided deal that sent forward Pau Gasol to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Memphis received a lot of criticsm for not getting enough back in return for a star player, but they chopped off a lot of salary while also acquiring a young guard and draft picks.

The biggest development was probably the progression of second-year player Rudy Gay, who looks like he is on the verge of stardom himself.

The Grizzlies will have a top draft pick in June, and competing for a playoff spot next year, even in the ultra-competitive Western Conference, should be their goal.

It was a second straight disappointing season for the Dallas Mavericks, who appear to be going in the opposite direction they are trying to go in.

After being stunned in the first round of the playoffs by the No. 8 seed last year, the No. 7 seed Mavericks lost to the upstart New Orleans Hornets in the first round this year.

The team made a big trade at the deadline, acquiring point guard Jason Kidd from the New Jersey Nets for point guard Devin Harris.

The move proved to be of no benefit, as Kidd struggled to fit in and couldn’t stop the much quicker Chris Paul in the first round series.

The Mavericks fired head coach Avery Johnson and brought in Rick Carlisle. The team ...

Texas Rangers closer C.J. Wilson still has his job despite a recent save by veteran Eddie Guardado.

Manager Ron Washington said Guardado and Joaquin Benoit could still receive the occasional save opportunity, but Wilson is still their primary guy.

Some thought Washington may be giving Guardado a chance to become the primary closer after Wilson gave up four runs in just two thirds of an inning.

Boston Red Sox pitcher Bartolo Colon was impressive in his recent rehab start and could be brought up from the minors to pitch on Tuesday.

The pitcher gave up just one hit over six innings in his team’s 6-0 victory.

Colon would be taking pitcher Clay Buchholz’ spot in the rotation after he was placed on the disabled list.

The veteran was signed by the team during the offseason as possible insurance should one of their starters get hurt or be ineffective.

Preakness hopeful Behindatthebar have been scratched because of a sore foot.

Behindatthebar was the No. 5 horse.

That means the field has been narrowed to 12, and heavy favorite Big Brown has one less horse to worry about.

Brown will be coming out of the No. 6 gate now with the Behindatthebar’s removal from the race. He was originally slated to come out of the No. 7 gate.

Tonight marks the beginning of a three-game series at Camden Yards, where the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals would meet in what has been called the Battle of the Beltways.

The O’s have been hot of late, having taken three of four in Kansas City and then sweeping the rival Red Sox in a shortened series.

The Nationals have been playing better of late as well, taking three out of four in New York from the Mets.

The series is still fairly new between the two close cities and neither team has been good yet, so a true rivalry has not yet set in.