Heat, Cavs make summer's best moves
By John Hollinger

Earlier this week I offered my list of the summer's worst NBA free-agent moves. In response, several readers inquired about the best moves of the summer. Fair enough -- if I can criticize, I should hand out equal amounts of praise.

So without further ado, here are the 10 best acquisitions of 2004-05. As with the worst moves, I've included each player's contract dollars and stats-per-40-minutes for 2004-05, as well as his Player Efficiency Rating. (PER is my rating of a player's per-minute statistical production. The league average is 15.00.)


10. New York Knicks get Quentin Richardson (five years, $37 million, 14.9 pts, 6.1 reb, 13.59 PER)
Richardson isn't a great player, but here's why I like the deal. First, the Knicks got him for Kurt Thomas (PER 14.15), who was better than Richardson last year but probably won't be over the next few seasons because he's eight years older than Q. Second, the Knicks got whirling Nate Robinson in the deal, solving the Knicks' backup point guard woes with one stroke. Faint praise though it may be, this was the best trade of the Isiah Thomas era.

9. Milwaukee Bucks overpay Michael Redd (six years, $90 million, 24.2 pts, 4.4 reb, 18.30 PER)
Because of some unusual salary cap rules, things are not always as they seem in the contract game. For example, look at the deal the Bucks gave Redd. Based purely on his performance, this is a horrible contract because Redd isn't worth nearly this kind of money.

But here's the twist: Because Redd made so little last season and wasn't on a rookie contract, his "cap hold" was very small. As a result, the Bucks could sign another player under the cap -- Bobby Simmons, in this case -- and still max out Redd with the Larry Bird exception. Had Redd jumped ship, they couldn't have done this with any other player. That means they could have either paid through the nose to keep Redd or not gotten anybody. Faced with those choices and the Cavaliers' hot pursuit of Redd, this deal made all kinds of sense.

8. Washington Wizards sign Antonio Daniels (five years, $29 million, 16.7 pts, 6.1 ast, 18.08 PER)
Although Daniels has been a terror off the bench for Seattle the past two seasons, he's gotten little acclaim for his achievements. Thus, his deal with Washington is a fantastic value for the Wizards based on his past performance. Better yet, Daniels was uncharacteristically inaccurate on 3-pointers a year ago, suggesting he could do even better this year. The only reason this deal doesn't rank higher is because Daniels is 30 years old and the effects of age on his play remain to be seen.

7. Atlanta Hawks sign Zaza Pachulia (four years, $16 million, 13.1 pts, 10.2 reb, 14.32 PER)
Pachulia is only 21 years old, so if he isn't pulling a Rafael Furcal on us and lying about his age he's probably going to get a lot better. Pachulia wasn't a bad player even last year, with his soft hands and skill around the rim compensating for below-average athleticism. But his deal is inexpensive enough that he's a good value even if he doesn't improve at all.

6. Sacramento Kings get Jason Hart (two years, $3.5 million, 15.0 pts. 7.8 ast, 16.87 PER)
For the low, low cost of a second-round pick, the Kings picked up one of the game's best backup point guards from Charlotte. Most people don't realize how well Hart played last season because he did it in the obscurity of an expansion team, but he was better than many team's starters. Acquiring Hart became necessary when the Kings dealt an injury-prone Bobby Jackson to Memphis for Bonzi Wells, and the move again demonstrated why Geoff Petrie is one of the league's best general managers.

5. Washington Wizards get Caron Butler (one year, $2 million, 17.4 pts, 6.6 reb, 15.77 PER)
Gotta give Ernie Grunfeld props for this one. He took a commodity he had no interest in keeping, Kwame Brown, and parlayed it into a starting small forward in Butler and a backup point guard in Chucky Atkins. Butler's overall numbers are impressive enough, but his April performance really jumps off the page: 22.8 points, 7.6 boards, and 2.2 steals.

4. New Orleans Hornets keep Chris Andersen (details unknown, 14.3 pts, 11.5 reb, 18.54 PER)
Andersen was a steal last year too when he signed a two-year deal for just $3 million. He opted out this summer and re-signed with the Hornets, and it's a good deal for them regardless of what they paid. The Birdman was easily New Orleans' best player last season (except for at the dunk contest), shooting 53 percent and averaging nearly three blocks per 40 minutes. Why Byron Scott played him only 21 minutes a game is a mystery that may never be solved.

3. Houston Rockets sign Stromile Swift (five years, $29 million, 18.9 pts, 2.9 bks, 16.70 PER)
Swift actually had an off-year last season -- the numbers from the previous two seasons were even more impressive. That is a good omen for the Rockets, who were trotting out Juwan Howard and Maurice Taylor last season in their attempts to pass them off as NBA power forwards. Don't see the big difference? Swift averaged 2.9 blocks per 40 minutes, while Howard blocked five all last season.

2. Cleveland Cavaliers sign Donyell Marshall (four years, $21 million, 18.2 pts, 10.4 reb, 19.92 PER)
How could Cleveland get such a good player so cheaply? Better yet, how could a lousy team like Toronto keep this guy out of its starting lineup? Marshall is a rare triple threat -- a deadly 3-point shooter (41.6 percent at a high volume) who also gets points inside and is a good rebounder. He gives the Cavs the sharpshooter they desperately need to help spread the floor, and also is nice insurance if Drew Gooden starts acting loopy.

1. Miami Heat get Jason Williams (14.7 pts, 8.2 ast, 15.48 PER), Antoine Walker (19.9 pts, 9.4 pts, 15.41 PER), and James Posey (11.7 pts, 6.3 reb, 10.48 PER)
I have one minor quibble about this move -- the Heat gave Antoine Walker a six-year, $54 million deal as part of the trade, and that's far more than he's worth. But the rest of the deal stacks up so well for Miami that it's still a home run. The Heat lacked three things last year -- a perimeter stopper, a point guard who could create shots, and a reliable scoring option outside of Shaq and Wade. Pat Riley put check marks next to all three items on his shopping list with this deal, getting a stopper in Posey (whose PER was terrible last year because of a foot problem), a point man in Williams and a scorer in Walker. Amazingly, it cost him only Eddie Jones (14.3 pts, 5.7 reb, 13.59 PER). If the Heat end up winning their first-ever title this June, this trade is likely to be the reason.

KT for Q and Nate was #10?????

So freaking typical.

Yes the boy is back!!! The Knicks should be a lot higher than 10th on that list, but I guess were just gonna have to show them come November.

Posted by Killa4luv:

KT for Q and Nate was #10?????

So freaking typical.

You're right- looking at those ten, I think you've got to put this deal up near 6- especially when you think Nate might be one of the best players out of this draft!

Doesnt Hollinger now work for ESPN? I think anybody who agrees to write for them signs a contract which states that they are obligated to hate on the Knicks in every single article or they will get fired.

Hollinger really knows what he is talkin about most of the time, so I would read his insight and skip the Knick related materical since he works for ESPN now.

Posted by JUNKMEIN:

For the Knicks i'm gonna say the best move of the summer was a non-move. I'm predicting that Isiah not moving Sweetney is gonna be the motherlode of moves. With LB steering the team Sweetney will be an All Star or damn close to it.

I completely agree. I like Sweets and JJ up front, not many teams can physically handle those two. I know LB will get the most out of each player--utilizing their size to the fullest extent.


[Edited by - Knight on 08/13/2005 17:10:29]