Updated: Aug. 12, 2005, 3:39 PM ET


Heat, Cavs make summer's best movesBy John Hollinger
ESPN Insider
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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.

Continued...

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this has been posted a LONG time ago. Thanks.