Los Angeles - The NBA played its annual summer game of "Deal or No Deal," and many old familiar faces will be in new places when the season officially tips off on Tuesday night.

Free agent Baron Davis left the Golden State Warriors and returned home to Hollywood to run the Los Angeles Clippers offence.

However, while the Clippers were welcoming their new floor leader, they were stunned to learn that Elton Brand - the team's cornerstone - left without as much as a goodbye.

The two-time All-Star went green and bolted to the Philadelphia 76ers for a whopping five-year deal worth a reported 82 million dollars.

The shocker was that Brand told Davis he would resign with the Clippers, if he came on board. He also allegedly gave his word to coach Mike Dunleavy through a series of text messages.

"It wasn't an issue of him leaving," Dunleavy said.

"It was an issue how Elton left. To me, it was that he didn't even call or explain it after the time we had together. I basically did all I could for the guy. He could have called me up and said this is better for my family and I would have said Ok. What could I do with that?

"After being with somebody for five years and being as close as I thought I was with someone and a guy gives his word, that's all it would have taken as far as I'm concerned. It's just one of those types of things."

Sidelined for most of last season with a ruptured Achilles' tendon, Brand will have an immediate impact on the young and upcoming Sixers. The power forward makes them bigger and tougher inside. He is a reliable low post scorer and will be the second option behind Andre Iguodala.

"I'm prepared to do some big things this year," said Brand, one of a handful of players who owns career averages of 20 points and 10 rebounds per game.

Feeling under-appreciated coming off the bench the past few seasons, Clippers' top scorer Corey Maggette headed up the California coast to start for Don Nelson's run and gun Warriors.

The Clippers appear to have filled the void by landing centre Marcus Camby from the Denver for next to nothing. The Nuggets agreed on the option of exchanging second round picks with them in 2010.

Camby, the oft-injured former NBA Defensive Player of the Year, will join Davis in hopes of taking the Clippers back to the playoffs following a two-year absence.

Jermaine O'Neal, a multiple all-star selection with the Indiana Pacers, headed to Toronto in search of a fresh start. The power forward is expected to team up with Olympic gold medalist Chris Bosh to give the Raptors their version of the Twin Towers.

The Houston Rockets took a gamble by acquiring former hot head, but still fiery Ron Artest from the Sacramento Kings. If the versatile swingman can control his temper, he will help make life easier for Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady, who have never made it past the first round of the playoffs.

More importantly, it will legitimize the Rockets as a title contender in the wild West against powerhouses LA Lakers, New Orleans Hornets, San Antonio Spurs and Utah Jazz.

Also, James Posey, who owns NBA rings with Miami and Boston, will try to be the good luck charm for the Hornets, after inking a four-year deal in the 25 million dollar range - more than the Celtics were offering for his services.

The New Jersey Nets shipped small forward Richard Jefferson to the Milwaukee Bucks for rising Chinese star Yi Jianlian and Bobby Simmons.

Those were just some of the big-name players who changed uniforms in the off-season. However, eight coaches found new homes as well.

Mike D'Antoni moved his successful up-tempo style from Phoenix to the Big Apple, where he will attempt to turn around the dysfunctional New York Knicks, who finished with an abysmal 23-59 record under Isiah Thomas.

The Suns pegged former Bucks coach Terry Porter to replace D'Antoni; Retread Rick Carlisle, who had successful stints at both Detroit and Indiana before getting canned, was hired by the Dallas Mavericks to replace fired Avery Johnson.

Scott Skiles, given his pink slip by the Chicago Bulls on Christmas Eve, resurfaced to guide Milwaukee; Lacking any coaching experience, the Bulls hired former Suns scout and broadcaster Vinny Del Negro to run their ship.

The Detroit Pistons gave former player Michael Curry a shot to call the plays, after firing Flip Saunders, successful in the regular-season, but a bust in the playoffs.

Long-time NBA coach Pat Riley, a recent inductee into the Basketball Hall of Fame, finally retired and handed the Miami Heat reigns over to long-time assistant Erik Spoelstra.

Another Hall of Famer, Larry Brown, who has achieved success in every level of coaching, returned to the NBA to put the sting back into the Charlotte Hornets.