Thursday, July 17, 2008

Free Agency Movement v1.1

I am very tempted to put the LA Clippers acquiring Marcus Camby on a 2 year $10 million contract or something like that, but "technically" it was a trade. I don't care how much cap space you need to relieve, or how overrated Marcus Camby's defense is, you're still giving up a guy that's averaged like 13.4 rebounds and 3.6 blocks per game for the entire season. Tack on 1.1 steal and 3.3 assists per game, and that's still pretty substantial, I mean yeah, it's only 9.6 points, but hey, he's playing next to Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony, seriously, how many touches can you really expect him to get. I know, I know the stats don't tell it all, I'm just saying. Anyways, this is about free agency movement, not how LA managed another heist, so let's talk shop.

New Orleans Hornets

James Posey (SF)
$25 million for 4 years

A little above the MLE, and honestly, for the money someone like Posey is worth it. He's a battled veteran and has been there winning rings with Miami and recently with Boston. He's got a penchant for big shots like a next-gen Robert Horry, and he plays tight defense. There's nothing not to like. He'll definitely help the thin bench of New Orleans (significant upgrade from Rasual Butler), however, I believe that the problem with New Orleans remains the same. They have no front court depth. I had a hard time remember who they had behind David West and Tyson Chandler, and I could only come up with Chris Anderson. I decided to do some research and found out; Hilton Armstrong, Ryan Bowen, and Melvin Ely, uh.... who? It's like all those players that hang around the middle of the fantasy free-agency that you don't want to pick up unless you're desperate. If David West and/or Tyson Chandler go down with another injury I don't see New Orleans doing too well, of course, serviceable reserve big-men are hard to come by nowadays. All in all, Posey is a big plus.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Daniel Gibson (PG)
5 year contract (don't know how much he got)

So the Cavs get "Boobie" back. Seriously, I cannot think of a good thing to say about a guy who's called "Boobie", maybe it's me. I mean, yeah, he got like, second place in the 3 point shooting contest, but it's not a significant move for the Cavs. To me he's pretty identical to Delonte West, so there's not a huge upside to him. His game is kind of streaky, but then again, other than LeBron, the entire Cavs team has a streaky game. Honestly, if Mike Brown doesn't figure out a legitimate offense to run his team that doesn't begin and end with "Give LeBron the ball" I don't think the Cavs are really going anywhere. The problem isn't that they have all these cap space issues, what with Wally Sczerbiak and Ben Wallace sucking out any cap space that might be available, and being something of a contractual fixture in the books (meaning, they're almost impossible to move), honestly, I don't know that they CAN get anyone better than Daniel Gibson. I mean, they don't even have expiring contracts with which they can rob (I mean, trade with) Memphis.

Boston Celtics

Patrick O'Bryant (C)
I really don't know the details to this one

Uh... what happened here? I'm reading that he's supposed to replace James Posey, and I don't see how a 7 foot 250 pound center is going to stay in front of Big Baby in practice let alone Kobe Bryant and LeBron James in games. Of course, that might be why they're going after keeping Tony Allen as well. Seriously though, I don't know what they're going to do with this guy, they already have Leon Powe and Glenn Davis off the bench, I suppose he's supposed to be more of a PJ Brown replacement? I'm trying to think of how he fits but for some reason all I can remember is people having a problem with his conditioning. Understandably he doesn't fit with Don Nelson's small-ball Warriors, but I don't know if he'll even get to play in Boston. Maybe he'll surprise me. I suppose it never hurts to have an extra big man.

Houston Rockets

Brent Barry (PG/SG)
2 year contract (again, not sure for how much)

I was under the impression that Houston had TOO many guards. To say the least, at least they're consistent on the type of guards they get; those 3 point specialist types. Seriously, they already have Rafer Alston, Luther Head, and Aaron Brooks, alongside Shane Battier and T-Mac shooting all the treys they want, he seems kind of redundant. I suppose they could use his defensive tenacity, but then again Rick Adelman isn't really a defense kind of guy. Seriously, tack on Steve Francis again, and where the heck are these guys going? They are one of the few teams I see actively getting older. Are they going to move Head? Move Brooks? Bobby Jackson? Alston? What the heck is going on here? I don't know. I figure you could upgrade from Chuck Hayes, but I suppose Luis Scola and Brandon Bass are worth the risk. Another head scratcher, at least for me.

New Jersey Nets

Eduardo Najera (SF/PF)
Jarvis Hayes (SF)
Again, don't know the details

This off-season has been kind of confusing all around. For the Nets, I suppose it's a little less so, they're definitely in that "rebuilding" mode, which entails simply throwing together as many slap-dash pieces for two year contracts so that when the 2010 free agency rolls around they can throw legitimate amounts of money (meaning to us normal people obscenely outrageous sums) at some superstar, namely; LeBron James (also including, but not limited to; Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, and Amare Stoudamire). So while it doesn't make a huge amount of sense, they're just trying to build a team around a player they don't have yet. Yeah, I don't get it either, but I guess they're that confident about it.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Trade Reviews v1.1

I was going to do this later, but I figured I just saw it, I might as well do it now. Here I was about to do a whole entry on what the Clippers should look for and they pull this off. How the heck does LA consistently do this?! And seriously, why are some GM's dumb, or is the whole thing rigged?

Clippers and Nuggets
Los Angeles agree on conditional 2nd round pick swap
Denver send Marcus Camby

Are you serious? Were the Nuggets moved by sympathy because of the whole Elton Brand fiasco? Honestly, the only thing that could have happen to make this a bigger steal is if the Nuggets threw in cash, 1st round picks, and Carmelo Anthony or Allen Iverson. Seriously, the Clippers stole, I repeat, stole Marcus Camby. Sure Camby's not going to get you 20-10 but he's solid, if healthy, which he was last season, he'll net you something along the liens of 13-15 points, 12 rebounds, 5-6 assists, 2-3 steals, and 4+ blocks per game. This guy is one of the best interior defenders in the league. I've had nights in fantasy when he's given me 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 of everything else except treys and turnovers. He's a solid block, likely I think he'll move back to the PF position he originated from, but he's a solid contributor. This actually works out a little better allowing Cuttino Mobley to get more touches and for Al Thornton to develop into more and more of the scorer he looks to become.

For the Nuggets, I only have one question: WHAT ARE YOU THINKING? It appears obvious to me now, that they are giving up all pretense for defense, if they could, I wouldn't be surprised if they got rid of K-Mart and Nene, and any semblence of defense that they had, starting Linas Kleiza at the 3 and Melo at the 4. Seriously, only Golden State has worse defense than these guys, the only thing is that Denver had the gall to say that this season defense was going to be their priority. Then they thought they did it because Melo was averaging 2 more rebounds per game. That, and Denver took all the fun out of speculating if the Clippers would really take Zach Randolph for a 2nd round pick and cash. From the GM that thought Linas Klieza was better than Ron Artest... I bring you, the Denver Defensive Player giveaway sweepstakes, we already have our first winner; the Los Angeles Clippers, and they get the grand prize: Marcus Camby!

Monday, July 14, 2008

The Artest Move: What Would Happen if it Happened?

For those of you that haven't read about it for the past year or so, Ron Artest wants out of Sacramento, and he wants to play for a winner. Recently, there's been decided interest in going to join Kobe and company down in LA for the year, of course, provided that the Lakers can afford him. Deciding not to opt out of his contract makes him one of the more affordable defensive stops in the NBA for only $7 million on the remaining year in his contract. If you haven't already, check out John Ludden's analysis of the situation here. So what do I do if I were Lakers GM? Odom for Artest. Money doesn't work straight up, so take Kenny Thomas too, this he's owed $8.5 million over the next 2 years and Sacramento wants to get rid of him anyways, all that for Odom's $14 million remaining.

Here's my breakdown on how the trade works. Honestly, I think that $17 million for Ronny Turiaf is along the lines of some sort of major bank heist, seriously he's not worth it. However, Golden State has been so distraught over the loss of Baron Davis they've been throwing money around like there's no tomorrow (seriously, $50 million for Corey Maggette?). If I'm the Lakers' GM, I give up Ronny Turiaf, and then trade away Odom, it works out better for the Lakers for sure. Of course this is all assuming that Andrew Bynum comes back and picks up where he left off. Now, if he doesn't, letting go of Odom and maybe Turiaf will look like a colossal mistake, but I think it's a risk I'd be willing to take. Here's why; with Bynum coming back Pau Gasol slides over comfortably to the PF position, meaning Odom is either an SF now or he comes off the bench to back up Gasol. I prefer the latter simply for one reason, and one reason alone, Odom can't shoot for beans. Seriously, for a guy who's going to get the ball a lot less, you want someone that can catch and release, I really don't trust Odom reliably any more than like 8 feet away from the basket. Phil Jackson has also reported that he would rather start Vladamir Radmonovic at the three, the guy who can do nothing except catch and shoot (perhaps not as well as Jason Kapono), over Odom at the 3. The biggest problem with that, is simply that Radmonovic is an even bigger defensive liability than Odom. Artest solves both of those problems, he's got a fairly consistent shot, pretty legitimate from 3 pt range, and he's extraordinarily defensively tenacious. Some argue that you give up Odom's rebounding and passing, and I would argue first, with Bynum and Gasol both on the floor at the same time, how many rebounds do you seriously expect Odom to get? I also anticipate with the triangle offense locked around Bryant, Gasol, and Bynum, can you really expect Odom to get enough touches to make his passing that much more effective in the game? If Sacramento wants to throw in Kenny Thomas, all the better, he may not have the energy of Ronny Turiaf, but he's a heck of a lot better rebounder. As for locker room issues, let me remind you that Phil Jackson coached Dennis Rodman to 3 championships. So the only question that remains is, is Sacramento willing to trade one of their best players to not only a conference rival but also a division rival as well? (aka have Sacramento given up on making the playoffs next year? aka is the Sacramento front-office as dumb as Memphis's?)