I know that there's still a ton more left in the offseason, and teams will definitely attempt to make more trades to move parts/pieces around (wouldn't it be funny if New York picked up Gilbert Arenas?). Anyways, I digress. This offseason has seen the most vicious traitorism since Brett Favre switched to Minnesota Viking purple with LeBron's "Decision". Here's how the rest of it all played out.
The Good:
Miami would stand out as the top team here, landing the greatest collection of talent this side of anything we could dream up on NBA 2K10. Throw in Mike Miller, and you've got your lethal 3-point threat. They even managed to get a couple of decent big men (if this were 2005) who in 2010 are nothing more than space-eaters who will help this veteran team out. They still need someone to play the point guard position but when you've got LeBron James and Dwyane Wade on your team, you only need to find a good knock-down shooter who can play decent defense.
I hate to put them here too, but Utah made some good moves too. Al Jefferson is a tad more athletic than Carlos Boozer ever was, and he should do well with Deron Williams and company. Raja Bell's a good signing too, as he should provide a defensive stopper who can spot his 3's pretty well.
My third team in this "good" category would have to be the Bulls in Chicago. They went 0 for 3 with the big names, but got Boozer to man the post and grabbed Ronnie Brewer and Kyle Korver to help Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah out. They're a better team too with Tom Thibeadux as the new coach, a guy who know's his X's and O's, and will do wonders with the team who will end up losing to Miami in the East Semis next year.
The Bad:
Memphis AND Atlanta really screwed up here. You have Marc Gasol, OJ Mayo and Zach Randolph all on your team, yet you break the bank to keep Rudy Gay for 5 years/85 million? Geez, that's just fiscal irresponsibility on your part there. Gay's got talent, but he's a one-dimensional scorer who does nothing else of merit. Then you look to the Hawks, who basically outbid themselves to keep a guy who's more of a #1B or #2 guy and will pay him over 120 million for the next 6 years.
The guys who lost their superstars, Cleveland and Toronto, get lumped together here...and to an extent I'll throw in the Phoenix Suns too. Their clubs are clearly worse off next season. Cleveland has gone from the penthouse to the near outhouse in the league, and Toronto should challenge Minnesota for the league's worst record next year. The Suns losing Amare is painful to watch, and so will watching Hakim Warrick play PF on that club. Robin Lopez looks promising though.
Bad news comes for Golden State, as they've watched their two newest big men go down with injuries (Epke Udoh and David Lee). Shame shame guys. Some teams just never really catch a break.
The Ugly:
This first one goes out to the free agent losers: New York, New Jersey, and the LA Clippers...come on down. Only one of the top 6 free agents signed on to these guys (Amare in New York). You not only blew your opportunity at landing a star when your wallets were itching to spend, you literally were left with scraps. Jersey got sorta screwed when they lost John Wall and were stuck with Derek Favors, and while Travis Outlaw is a nice consolation prize, he's not what the masses envisioned next year. However, the worst of it has to be watching the Clippers CONTINUE to be...well, the Clippers as they've not done much of anything really.
Dan Gilbert also got a bit ugly, but I'll add everyone's favorite spoiled child to this page too. LeBron James has tarnished his individual legacy. If he's looking at being "the man," then he's basically ruined that in his career by bolting for South Beach. However, Gilbert basically catered to his every whim and demand. James and Gilbert lost a lot of public respect with their ongoing public feud.
Finally, what in the world is Minnesota doing these days? You would rather keep Donnie Darko Millicic over Jefferson? I'm just glad there are idiots like David Khan out there who Daryl Morey can continue to swindle on a nightly basis.
And what about us?
We all wanted the big splash. Admit it. We wanted Bosh, we wanted Big Al. We still want to get one of the premier SF's out there (Granger or Iggy), but considering we took Patrick Patterson at #14 and nabbed Brad Miller for a 3year/15million contract while keeping Scola and Lowry at market value, we've done quite well.
What do you guys all think about the 2010 Free Agency Bonanza?


There are 36 Comments. Load Now.
Shortcuts to mastering the comment thread. Use wisely.
C - Next Comment
X - Mark as Read
R - Reply
Z - Mark Read & Next
Shift + C - Previous
Shift + A - Mark All Read
Comment Settings
Live comment alert: Hide it!
Comments for this post are closed.