Free Agency Frenzy

I realize it has been quite a while since my last post, and many people - namely my father, sister and closest friends - have been badgering me to update this woebegone web-log, so here is my best attempt, albeit a short post.

It goes without saying that this summer has been an active offseason for many NBA franchises. The first major move was the Atlanta Hawks shipping All-Star shooting guard Joe Johnson - and his albatross contract - to the New Jersey Nets for expiring deals. I feel this was a win-win deal. The New Jersey Nets obtained a top-flight 2-guard - which eventually allowed them to retain Deron Williams, the top free agent on the market this summer - while the Atlanta Hawks focused on rebuilding around Al Horford, Josh Smith, Jeff Teague, along with draft picks and salary cap space. This makes the Nets an immediately fun team to watch - along with the resigning of Gerald Wallace, Kris Humphries, and Brook Lopez, it allows the Nets to trot out a competitive, albeit defensively limited, starting five - and this allows the Hawks to avoid the undesirable fate of being a middling-playoff-eligible team with little upside, hamstrung by onerous contractual obligations. Along with the trade of Marvin Williams for Devin Harris - and his expiring contract - and a few minor deals to obtain shooters in Anthony Morrow and Kyle Korver, the Hawks will remain competitive enough to keep butts in the seats, but will have a tremendous amount of cap space next summer - or the following summer, should they decide to wait - when they will be able to make a play for a number of free agents.

The New York Knicks tried to one-up the Nets by making a splashy move for a point guard, but failed in courting Steve Nash. They eventually ended up trading with the Trail Blazers for Raymond Felton, Kurt Thomas, Kurt Thomas' walker and a nutritionist in the hopes of adding a starting point guard and some front court depth. This deal made little sense after the 'Bockers had just added free agent point guard Jason Kidd and center Marcus Camby, particularly the former, as he was brought in to tutor young Jeremy Lin. But, in traditional Jimmy Dolan fashion, the Knicks lost their most prized free agent in years, when they opted not to match the Houston Rockets' $25 million offer sheet for the Harvard prodigy. The Knicks' reasoning for letting the fan favorite - Lin - go, was that due to the new collective bargaining agreement, the Knicks would end up paying roughly $26 million for the third year of Lin's back-loaded deal. However, letting him walk - without compensation, I might add - made/makes little sense, as they were going to get two years out of Lin at the mid-level exception (around $5.6 million/year) and could have made a move thereafter to trade him. Now the Knicks have an aging lineup whose pieces do not seem to fit together. They are still capable of winning 50 games and a top-8 of Felton-Smith-Anthony-Stoudemire-Chandler-Kidd-Shumpert-Camby is pretty strong. But I just don't like how they mortgaged their future for their present, particularly given the fact that their present is not that strong.

On the other end of the deal, the Rockets obtained a young point guard (Lin) who showed flashes of brilliance this season (even if the sample size was small). Nevertheless, the Rockets struck out in free agency, as their only other major acquisitions were Omer Asik (the former backup center for the Chicago Bulls) and swingman Carlos Delfino (who agreed to a one-year deal last week). The Rockets tried to go all-in to obtain Dwight Howard, but apparently they were unwilling to part with a number of their young assets - nor were they willing to take on as many bad contracts as originally advertised - to consummate the deal. As such, the Rockets lost two top-flight point guards in Kyle Lowry and Goran Dragic and walked away with Jeremy Lin (an obvious downgrade) and a first round pick from the Toronto Raptors. Not bad, but not good either.

Meanwhile, the "Dwightmare" was eventually resolved two weeks ago when the apparently brain-dead general manager of the Orlando Magic agreed to ship Howard to the Los Angeles Lakers (shocker!) in a four team deal, wherein the Magic acquired Al Harrington and Aaron Afflalo from the Nuggets, Mo Harkless from the Philadelphia 76ers and first round picks from the aforementioned three teams. Meanwhile, the 76ers acquired LA big man Andrew Bynum, and shipped Andre Iguodala to the Denver Nuggets. I like this deal for everyone except Orlando. The Lakers now have a starting five of Howard-Gasol-World Peace-Bryant and the recently acquired Steve Nash (who was stolen away from Phoenix for the Lamar Odom trade exception and late-round picks) which will likely compete for the Larry O'Brien trophy late in to the post-season. Meanwhile, the Denver Nuggets now have the fastest and most athletic team in the entire NBA, and can play defense too. With Kenneth Farried, JaVale McGee and Andre Iguodala, they have three great defenders to pair with sharp-shooter Danilo Gallinari and water bug point guard Ty Lawson. Their bench is deep, the air in Denver is thin, and George Karl is the master at getting the most out of his players. Expect this team to earn a top-3 seed in the Western Conference, and don't count them out come May and June. Finally, the 76ers got the second best big man in basketball, and offloaded Andre Iguodala (and his hefty contract) who had become redundant with Philadelphia's wealth of wing-talent. This deal makes Philadelphia an immediate contender in the Eastern Conference, where they will be able to claim the best big man in the conference, a versatile lineup, and some of the best coaching in Doug Collins.

The Boston Celtics made a curious move in giving Jeff Green $9 million dollars/year (I forget how long the contract lasts), but as a survivor of aortic surgery myself, I can't help but congratulate the guy for getting his. I hope he recovers from his year off, and is able to integrate back in to basketball. Along with Jason Terry, Avery Bradley, Kevin Garnett, Brandon Bass, Rajon Rondo, Paul Pierce and rookie Jared Sullinger, the Celtics are going to be a sneaky-good team, capable of beating anyone and everyone on the right night. Look for Rondo to develop even better rapport with Bradley this season that he did last year, and expect Jason Terry to replace 90% of Ray Allen's shooting prowess, while also bringing the Celtics a capable ball-handler.

Meanwhile, Miami stole Ray Allen from the Celtics for little money, and then gave Rashard Lewis (who was amnestied by New Orleans) a small bag of cash and told him to spot up in the corner and not get lost on defense. The Heat had little wiggle-room in free-agency, but came away from it all with two premier shooters to surround their already-deadly troika of stars.

Speaking of New Orleans, they struck gold in the draft, landing Anthony "The Brow" Davis with the top overall selection, and adding Austin Rivers with the tenth pick in the draft. While the later is undoubtedly a project, who may or may not prove to be a bust, the former is a sure-thing. Davis will instantly transform the already-strong Hornet defense in to a juggernaut. Add to that the swap with Orlando (seriously what is going on in Central Florida?) of Gustavo Ayon for Ryan Anderson and his sweet shooting, and the Hornets are really making some great moves for the future. I think they deserve perhaps the highest marks for their off-season additions.

Toronto, like New York, went all-in for Steve Nash, even so far as to make a ludicrous offer for Landry Fields, in hopes of blocking a sign-and-trade between New York and Phoenix, only to see it all explode in their face when Nash shocked the world and moved a few hours west to Los Angeles. The (C)Raptors ended up with Landry Fields and Kyle Lowry. I like Lowry (even if it meant surrendering a likely lottery pick), but Fields is going to be making way too much money for what he brings to the team. Hopefully, Jonas Valuncinas can improve upon his showing at the 2012 London Olympics and make an immediate impact for Toronto. Otherwise, this franchise is screwed.

Orlando continued to make curious (read: HORRIBLE) moves, when they re-upped mid-tier point guard Jameer Nelson for another three years. I don't get why they are adding payroll when they are trying to rebuild. My only explanation for this is that new General Manager Rob Hennigan went to the Billy King/Billy Knight/David Khan school of franchise management. Orlando will be bad for a while, trust me.

The Bobcats did very little in free agency, which doesn't really matter, because they were going to be bad this coming season one way or another. By adding Ben Gordon, they got another combo-guard who looks for his own shot and rarely moves the basketball. The upside to that is that they also received a first-round pick from Detroit (who acquired Corey Maggette, another black hole if ever there was one) so hopefully Charlotte can compete with Washington (another team that did little in free agency) and Orlando to see who can win the lottery over the next few seasons.

While on the topic of the Washington Wizards, why they decided to trade for over-paid players in Emeka Okafor and Trevor Ariza, rather than merely amnestying Rashard Lewis (over Andray Blatche and his penchant for hookers) boggles my mind. I thought Ted Leonsis was committed to the future with guys like John Wall, Bradley Beal, that European dude whose name I can't spell, Chris Singleton and Kevan Seraphin? It is quite clear to me that Miami will be owning the Southeast Division for quite a while.

The Central Division might have seen the least action in all. The Bulls let just about their entire bench go when it became clear that Derrick Rose would be out for a majority of the coming season. While they retained their core (Rose-Boozer-Deng-Noah-Gibson) they lost pretty much every other contributor, and will likely take a major step back this season. The Cavaliers overreached for Dion Waiters and made no big moves in free agency, while Milwaukee got another thin big man in John Henson and resigned their own guy, Ersan Ilyasova. Adding Samuel Dalembert was also a nice move for the Bucks, who might be a sleeper pick to win the Central Division were it not for the Indiana Pacers. While the Pacers made some bone-headed moves of their own (like trading Darren Collison for the right to overpay Ian Mahinmi) they locked up Roy Hibbert (after Portland made him a solid offer) as well as George Hill (who will be slightly overpaid for the next half-decade.) I imagine Indy is eventually going to move Danny Granger, particularly with Paul George coming in to his own, but for now, they are a top-4 squad in the Eastern Conference, and a tough-out in the playoffs.

The Lakers were the big winners in the West with the acquisition of Howard and Nash. Add to that Antawn Jamison, who got the same deal that the Heat offered Rashard Lewis, and Jodie Meeks, who will be playing on a contract that is likely below market-value, and the Lakers suddenly went from aging veterans to title contenders overnight. They were also able to resign late-season contributor Jordan Hill to a team-friendly contract, and acquire Darius Johnson-Odom (out of Marquette) from Dallas on draft night. I like Johnson-Odom, and see a bit of Derek Fisher in him. If he can give them anything this season, that is like finding money on the ground. Meanwhile, the Suns acquired Goran Dragic, bringing him in for a second run with the franchise, and forward Michael Beasley. They lost Josh Childress (he was amnesthitized) and Brook Lopez (traded to New Orleans along with Hakim Warrick) but they also kept a lot of cap space for a future run at James "The Beard" Harden. The Clippers brought back Chauncey Billups, who is still rehabbing from an Achilles tear, signed Jamal Crawford, shipped out Mo Williams and added front-court depth by acquiring Lamar Odom and Ryan Hollins. With Chris Paul and Blake Griffin both coming off of injuries (not to mention Billups) the Clippers will need to lean on their bench for help in November. The Kings did very little, other than threaten to leave for Virginia Beach (really?) and the Warriors resigned their own free agents, made a cagey deal in dumping Dorrell Wright for Jarret Jack, and swung a nice haul in the draft, particularly with their choice at number seven, Harrison Barnes.

The Jazz dealt Devin Harris for Marvin Williams, instantly upgrading their wing depth, and brought in Mo Williams (who was part of the three team deal with Dallas and the LA Clippers). The Thunder signed Hasheem Thabeet, with the intention of turning him in to a real basketball player, and stole Perry Jones (assuming he stays healthy) with the 28th pick in the first round. They also resigned Serge Ibaka to a 4-year, $48 million deal, assuring that they keep at least three of their four core guys together for the next few years. The Timberwolves signed Andrei Kirilenko, Olympic standout Alexy Shved, and Dolph Lundgren and are expected to play what Kevin Love dubbed "euro ball." I foresee a lot of complaining to the referees, cheap shots, the singing of the Russian national anthem, and an eventual trade of Kevin Love to a major media market. The Trail Blazers nabbed Damion Lillard and Myers Leonard in the first round and resigned Nicholas Batum for a contract they will eventually regret. They took one step forward, and two steps back.

Meanwhile, the Dallas Mavericks, after being spurned by Deron Williams, Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, Dwight Howard, and pretty much everyone else, claimed Elton Brand off of the amnesty waivers, added German-citizen Chris Kaman, O.J. Mayo (on a deal that is only guaranteed for one year) and the aforementioned Darren Collison. These are clearly stop-gap measures meant to keep Dallas on the precipice of the playoff picture, without capsizing their future ambitions of rebuilding with top-flight talent. San Antonio resigned Tim Duncan to a three-year, $30 million deal, re-upped Boris Diaw and the twins, and kept their core pretty much intact. They still have some game in them, and anyone who counts them out is an idiot. The Memphis Grizzlies let Mayo walk, and replaced him with Jerryd Bayless, resigned their back-up big man (DARREL ARTHUR!!!) and kept the status quo.

All in all, it was an active off-season. I hope to write more soon, particularly with everything that has gone on in the NBA and basketball this summer, so stay tuned for more regular blog posts.