Moves/Thoughts:
- Ron Artest agrees to a deal with the Los Angeles Lakers. To put the bias out there immediately, I am a huge L.A. Lakers fan. This move scares me a bit. Essentially what happened with this move is the Lakers are exchanging Trevor Ariza, who is going to sign a deal with the Houston Rockets, for Artest. We all know about Artest's unpredictability (brawl, technicals, odd behavior in general), but at the end of the day Artest is the better player (as much as that pains me to say). I am a huge Trevor Ariza fan. Ariza is just now entering his mid-twenties and was a massive contributor in the Lakers run to the championship. Offensively, Ariza seemed to be improving game by game; look at his 3pt. shooting in the playoffs. He's not the type of player who needs to have the ball in his hands constantly in order to be effective on the offensive end and he does a lot of the small things (sorry for the cliche, I hate them too); he's a glue-guy. As for Artest, the big question is, does he have the right mindset? He certainly has the skills, but can he keep himself right mentally? This is the risky part of this move. Does Artest have respect for Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson (I'll assume that he comes back)? You'd think any person with a resume similar to Kobe or Phil would command respect from others in the game, but if there is one person who might not respect that long term, it might be Artest. Artest is going to have to defer to Kobe and Phil, not to mention some of his new teammates (specifically on offense). On the court, something that has always bugged me about Artest is his propensity to take bad shots. Frankly, the Lakers already have a player that does that (I'll let you figure out who I am talking about). Artest simply cannot do that if the Lakers are going to be successful. The main thing that really intrigues me about this signing for the Lakers is in late game situations (especially in the playoffs). They are going to be able to have Kobe and Artest cover the other team's two best wing players; this should be exciting to watch. Another attribute Artest brings to the table is his physicality; he's strong and is difficult to match up with. This move can be dynamite (in more ways than one) for the Lakers. They'll be extremely difficult to beat if Artest is on board (mentally) and they resign Lamar Odom. I text messaged one of my good friends to tell him that the Lakers were going to sign Artest. His response was, "Who's going to be able to stop us now?" My response: "Artest."
- Richard Jefferson traded to the San Antonio Spurs. This was a really nice move for San Antonio. They get a fourth big time player in their lineup who does not have to be relied upon to carry the load offensively night after night. The floor will open up for him as well because of Parker's penetrating ability and Tim Duncan commanding double teams. The best part is that they only had to give up three old-timers in Bruce Bowen, Fabricio Oberto, and Kurt Thomas. They might even get one or two of those guys back if they get waived by their new teams (I hate this rule, but it's a discussion for another time). Jefferson should also be motivated after spending a season in irrelevant Milwaukee. At the end of the day though, the question for San Antonio is health. Can Parker, Ginobili, and Duncan stay healthy deep into a playoff run? One other small note on S.A.: It kills me when good teams continue to make smart decisions while bad teams continue to make dumb decisions. San Antonio drafting Dejuan Blair in the second round of the draft might have been the biggest steal of the night. It's the exact type of move that makes San Antonio who they are.
- Shaquille O'Neal is traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers. I like this move for Cleveland because they only had to give up dead weight (Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic) to get Shaq. The problem is that it looks like Shaq may have been acquired to play defense against one guy (Dwight Howard). Maybe it's worth it, I mean, they didn't have to give up anything vital to get him. A motivated Shaq can be a great asset to a team and he should help out scoring. Cleveland just can't trot guys out on the floor like Mo Williams and Delonte West to try to combat guys that are stronger and taller than they are. This was a good move for them, but it doesn't necessarily address Cleveland's biggest needs (size on the perimeter). Let's be honest, Shaq is going to miss about 20 regular season games anyways. One of these times we are going to see Shaq's last injury, that time may be coming rather soon.
- Vince Carter is traded to the Orlando Magic. Of all of the moves that have happened so far, this one might be my favorite of the lot and I am not even a big fan of Vince Carter's game. Carter, when healthy, is one of the best scorers in the game and he will take some of the pressure off of Dwight Howard's...um...offense? Vince is no longer "half man half amazing" (with injury problems he never was for any long stretch), but he's a very good player. Orlando is going to lose Hedo Turkoglu to free agency (in all likelihood) so this is another trade-off. I'd take Vince over Hedo easily. Orlando also got rid of constant headache Rafer Alston in the deal; this is a case of addition by subtraction. Also in the deal were Tony Battie (replaceable) and Courtney Lee (promising rookie, but probably not going to be star in the league). Orlando also adds Ryan Anderson. This was the sneaky part of the deal. Anderson might become a nice player for Orlando down the road. I really liked this deal for Orlando.
- Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva agree to deals with Detroit Pistons. I'll be honest, I don't think this put Detroit back into contention with the rest of the big boys in the east, namely Boston, Orlando, and Cleveland. Both of these guys are good players, but they aren't obvious stars. This is definitely an improvement for this team over last season, but I don't see how they compete with the other top tier teams. By the way, I still have no clue why they traded Chauncey Billups for Allen Iverson. I know it was a move done because of contracts rather than talent, but it was foolish. Billups is one of the top five point guards in the game (easily) and Allen Iverson is a head case who takes way too many shots. More on point, I don't see how Rodney Stuckey, Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Ben Gordon, and Charlie Villanueva as a core group is any better than 4th or 5th best team in the Eastern Conference (at best). Call me crazy, but I don't see it. Oh wait, I just took a look at their roster and saw that they still have Kwame "Small Hands" Brown. Never mind Detroit is getting a ring next year. Small rant: two things I marvel at from time to time are how the "genius" Michael Jordan actually handpicked this guy as the number one player in the draft and how he was involved in two of the most lopsided trades in the last decade. Kwame Brown for Caron Butler being the first. Kwame Brown, Marc Gasol, Javaris Crittenton, Aaron McKie, and two first round picks for Pau Gasol being the second. I'd like to take this time to thank Chris Wallace once again for giving away Pau Gasol. Mr. Wallace deserves a ring for the Lakers championship this year.
- Quick Hits
- I have no clue what the Minnesota Timberwolves are thinking. Drafting two point guards with the 5th and 6th picks in the draft. Unbelievable. Now Ricky Rubio, in my opinion the clear second best player in the draft, is contemplating going back to Spain. Minnesota may have really screwed this one up.
- The Boston Celtics are not finished, especially if they sign Rasheed Wallace (which it looks like they might do). He'd be coming in as the fifth, sixth, or maybe even seventh best player on the team. Could be a really nice fit.
- The draft last week featured the shallowest (in talent) and most unpredictable group of players I have ever seen. After Blake Griffin and Ricky Rubio, I have no idea of who we can expect to be solid out of the class. Picks 3-20, on a talent level, were very close to each other.
- As of July 2nd here are my top five teams going into next season.
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Boston Celtics
- Orlando Magic
- San Antonio Spurs
- Cleveland Cavaliers
No comments:
Post a Comment