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firefly
Posts: 23229
Alba Posts: 17
Joined: 7/26/2004
Member: #721
United Kingdom
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Wow, they really like the Knicks over there. Proper koolaid-sipping converts. The first half of free agent signings have begun and now we await the end of the NBA's moratorium for the second half to begin.
Atlanta: The Hawks have been on the outside looking in for several off-seasons as free agents have visited them as leverage in their negotiations with the clubs they really want to sign with.
It remains unclear whether or not things will change in the summer of 2005.
Sources indicate that Joe Johnson is serious about wanting to play in Atlanta. They will pay dearly to acquire him, but with Marvin Williams, Josh Childress, Josh Smith and whomever they can get for Al Harrington, the Hawks would instantly have one of the most versatile young teams in the league. Johnson, Williams, Childress and Smith can each play multiple positions and their size would present a multitude of match up problems.
With Samuel Dalembert re-signing with the Sixers, even greater attention will be placed on Eddy Curry, who the Bulls are hesitant about retaining. His offensive game is more polished than teammate Tyson Chandler, but questions remain about his heart condition, work ethic and lack of rebounding numbers.
If the Suns decide to let Johnson walk and if they can pull off a Curry sign-and-trade, they will possibly make the playoffs in the 2005-2006 season and are guaranteed to make it the following season.
Boston: The only splash the Celtics have been able to muster has been stealing the gritty and cerebral Brian Scalabrine away from the division rival New Jersey Nets .
The Celtics have been seemingly sitting on their hands because they are still not sure if they’re rebuilding or if they’re building while competing.
Good drafts over the last two seasons are enticing Danny Ainge to move Paul Pierce, even though they won their division last season, and even with the Nets’ improvements, the Atlantic remains the weakest division in the game and there is no reason to think that they can’t repeat.
The off-season will pivot on what kind of market exists for Antoine Walker. If they are able to keep him at a reduced rate, then the ship will continue to sail.
Charlotte: Big questions remain as Gerald Wallace and Brevin Knight are free agents. Wallace has a ton of talent and should be re-signed, but since he didn’t go to school in the region, they appear reluctant to retain him.
He is surprising not garnering much interest around the league so it is assumed that Bernie has put the word out that they aim to match any reasonable offer.
Chicago: Whether or not they keep the fruits of the 2001 draft are still to be determined. John Paxson has threatened to match any offer sheet that Tyson Chandler signs and is keeping his cards close on Eddy Curry, but he appears ready to be convinced to do a sign-and-trade for the player.
Keeping Duhon is almost a lock, while Pargo could be gone. It is unfortunate that there wouldn’t be ample playing time for Jay Williams after the Bulls took care of him so well after his motorcycle accident.
Cleveland: The Cavaliers have had the most fascinating off-season in the entire league.
First they were on the field for the early stages of the Larry Brown saga, when he was a candidate to become team president. They eventually hired Danny Ferry, who studied under one of the best two or three GM’s in the league, RC Buford. Ferry is undoubtedly the right guy for the job there.
After making a run at Michael Redd and coming up $20 million short, they signed Larry Hughes from the Washington Wizards . Hughes gives LeBron James a defensive minded combo guard coming off a career season. The only knock on Hughes is his poor long range shooting percentage, which a GM like Danny Ferry will atone for elsewhere.
I expected Zydrunas Ilgauskas to leave the Cavaliers as they’d go after a younger more athletic center, but keeping him gives a clear indication that Cleveland wants to compete immediately and he will allow LeBron James to have a Bill Cartwright era and then the Luc Longly era.
Dallas: The Mavericks have been eerily quiet all summer long. The luxury tax might be beginning to take its toll on Mark Cuban. Every team that made the playoffs in the Western Conference last year has improved their club with the exception of the Grizzlies, so it is difficult to imagine that Dallas won’t do something.
One way or another Michael Finley has played his final game in a Dallas uniform. They might be able to trade him, but they will likely just take the luxury tax relief.
The main reason why they have been quiet is because of their belief in Marquis Daniels. Daniels was hurt last season and if he is healthy this season, they will have an element they didn’t have during their playoff run.
Denver: After George Karl so quickly turned things around for the Nuggets, Kiki Vandeweghe appears reluctant to mess with the nucleus that battled the Spurs hard in the first round of the playoffs. They had hoped to be a player in the free agent game, but the Najera trade put a monkey wrench in those plans.
Look for them to re-sign Buckner and march forward with a young team that will soon become seasoned veterans.
Detroit: The only person happier than Larry Brown’s agent to see Larry Brown leave Detroit is Darko Milicic. Flip Saunders will give Darko minutes and so the Pistons go into this season already with one more player than they had last, and that player was once the second overall pick.
The Pistons don’t need to make major moves and even if they did, most of Joe Dumars time has been spent handling the Larry Brown situation. No major moves will be made, unlike last off-season when they re-signed Rasheed Wallace and acquired Antonio McDyess.
Golden State: The Warriors weren’t expecting to make any moves this offseason and barring a Mike Dunleavy or Mickael Pietrus trade that gets them Eddy Curry, the club that was on the floor at the end of the 2005 season will be on the floor in November.
Houston: Bringing in Stromile Swift is an example of a perfect signing for both player and club.
Swift gives the Houston frontcourt a much needed dose of athleticism and he should become the perfect complement to Yao Ming.
And Swift gets to play for his favorite boyhood team. A nice story for the former second overall pick.
Indiana: The signing of Sarunas Jasikevicius gives the Pacers another level of depth as they are poised to make a title run. Re-signing Dale Davis would put a cherry on top of a subtle but solid summer.
LA Clippers: They struck out in attempts to sign both Michael Redd and Ray Allen and instead went with Cuttino Mobley. Mobley isn’t necessarily a bad player, but in comparison to the former two, there is no comparison. Redd and Allen are more talented and are better character guys, while Mobley has a reputation for being a difficult player.
LA Lakers: Last summer Mitch Kupchak did what he was ordered to do, trading Shaquille O’Neal to the Heat and this summer made a bold trade in order to try to salvage his job.
Acquiring the top pick of the 2001 draft, who has shown brief glimpses of brilliance over a disappointing early career for a player that would never become a starter was a sound move. With only a two-year contract given to Brown, there isn’t a long term commitment if he continues to be bust.
Memphis: The Grizzlies are going from one of the deepest clubs in the league, to one with Pau Gasol and a bunch of average players. NBA teams don’t need 10-man rotations and if anything, it puts you at a disadvantage. Cap space is being cleared for a big run at free agents in 2007 and more trades should happen this summer for the Grizzlies.
Miami: A big decision on Damon Jones still needs to be made, as does how much money Shaquille O’Neal will be able to milk from the club.
Like Brian Sabean must do with Barry Bonds, Pat Riley is undoubtedly looking at having an exit plan in place for when O’Neal retires. When that happens, Dwyane Wade will be entering his prime and the transition will have to be as seamless as it was when the post-Kareem Lakers continued to excel until Magic Johnson was forced to retire.
Milwaukee: They had to re-sign Michael Redd and they did.
They had to get another scorer and they did when they picked up Bobby Simmons.
They had to stay tough on the inside and they did when they re-signed Dan Gadzuric.
They had to get an insurance policy on T.J. Ford and they did when they signed Charlie Bell.
Did they overpay for each of those guys? Undoubtedly so, but all four signings were certainly more than worth the price.
Minnesota: A silent but lethal team. Big moves might be made, but they are still in a wait and see holding pattern.
They appear to be 100% behind Eddie Griffin and that should payoff in the long run because he is a highly talented player that appears to be close to having his personal problems squared away.
Trade rumors will continue to dog this team until further notice.
New Jersey: The Nets looked at Stromile Swift, but when Shareef Abdur-Rahim agreed to come to the club, even if they weren’t able to execute a sign-and-trade, Rod Thorn knew that they were getting the right guy.
Plugging in Abdur-Rahim at power forward gives the Nets the most complete starting five in the Eastern Conference this side of the Pistons.
Losing out on Keyon Dooling will end up being a blessing, as Orlando’s offer was well above fair market value, but a sturdy backup point guard will still be signed to keep Jason Kidd’s minutes down this season.
New Orleans: They have dabbled in free agency, but have been spurned. Free agents will want to see CP3 and J.R. Smith together for a season before they commit to the downtrodden franchise. They are in good shape and because their young backcourt is so good, a Magloire trade will eventually be made, because that backcourt is a few seasons away from competing, no matter how good they are already.
New York: They got things off quickly by trading Kurt Thomas and what ended up being Dijon Thompson to the Suns for Quentin Richardson and what became Nate Robinson.
Robinson is already a folk hero, poised to be the slam dunk champion and Richardson is a healthy perimeter shooter with a nice back to the basket game for a guard.
Waiving Allan Houston will happen as soon as it is allowed.
Jerome James will turn out to be a steal.
Then there is the Larry Brown situation. There is little doubt that he will be the next coach and the player that will benefit the most is Stephon Marbury.
The most interesting aspect yet to come though are the expiring contracts of Tim Thomas and Penny Hardaway. That is over $28 million worth of cap relief for whoever wants to get rid of their high price talent.
Pau Gasol is the clearest option at this point, but Isiah might want to hold playing those chips until the season is well underway and teams that were believers stop believing.
Orlando: The Keyon Dooling signing immediately raises eyebrows and brings conspiracy theorists to the forefront believing that Steve Francis will soon be dealt away. While they do not necessarily intend to trade the former Rocket, they will certainly entertain offers for him, right up until the February trade deadline.
Philadelphia: Maintaining the core, no matter what the expense has been the them of the Sixers off-season. There was little doubt that Billy King would re-sign Samuel Dalembert, particularly when they fired Jim O’Brien after the playoffs and brought in Maurice Cheeks.
Kyle Korver is a nice piece to have and so is Willie Green, but you can’t help but thinking that they overpaid for both players.
Phoenix: Not matching the offer sheet that Joe Johnson signs with the Hawks will be the biggest decision the Suns have to make this summer.
It is almost impossible to imagine the Suns not keeping Johnson, especially because they dealt Quentin Richardson, but it is shocking that the Suns haven’t made a firm commitment in the player.
Portland: John Nash waited long enough to get what they wanted out of the Nets for Abdur-Rahim.
Inactivity should mark the remainder of their off-season, as they will watch Damon Stoudamire, the final piece of the Jail Blazers leave the club.
Sacramento: The Kings are in a better place financially, as well as on the floor than they were last season.
Losing Bobby Jackson hurts, but they have been losing him routinely for the last few seasons and Bonzi Wells will have a resurgence in Rick Adelman’s system.
San Antonio: The Spurs appeared to be on the verge of bringing over Luis Scola, but buyout negotiations quickly soured. Re-signing Robert Horry makes everyone in San Antonio feel better about their May and June chances.
You can also count on RC Buford to pick up another veteran free agent steal with the LLE.
Seattle: Keeping Ray Allen went off without a hitch, but Mr. Sonic is no more, as is AD.
The biggest decision remaining is what to do with 77. He is looking to put himself in the Stromile Swift category by signing a one-year contract and then become an unrestricted free agent next season when he would become one of the top names in a weak class.
Toronto: No team baffles me more than the Toronto Raptors and that isn’t a bad thing whatsoever. I just can’t even begin to predict what they will do.
Utah: Getting involved with the Bonzi three-way almost netted Kevin O’Connor Sarunas Jasikevicius. It is unfortunate that they lost Raja Bell because keeping him around would relieve a lot of pressure off Deron Williams. Re-signing Keith McLeod will be their biggest move for the remainder of the off-season.
Washington: Losing Larry Hughes surely hurts, but so does the contract that the Cavaliers gave him.
Antonio Daniels is a similar player and is far more affordable, but is definitely a downgrade.
Ernie Grunfeld did very well in his Kwame Brown sign-and-trade. Moving him wasn’t as much of a certainty as many felt, but a change of scenery will do both the player and the team well, as Caron Butler will give the Wizards a proven NBA talent and is tailor-made for Eddie Jordan’s system.
Losing out on Donyell Marshall was a blessing as they need a true rebounder from the power forward position. Some men see things as they are and ask why. I dream things that never were and ask why not?
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. Seriously dude, my brother does computer networking and sales, I can get him to mail you a new one if you need.
7/26/2005 8:06 AM