July 1st is like Christmas for NBA fans. They countdown to midnight to see what presents their team is going to get them (only to have to wait to enjoy them — NBA moratorium period). This wasn’t just any July 1st though, some of the best players in the game became free agents and the floodgates have opened. With Lebron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh holding meetings with their suitors, other teams made moves to secure tier 2 free agents. The usual fan groans were heard across the blogosphere but at the end of the day… the money has to go somewhere.
INKED
Joe Johnson – Atlanta Hawks*
6 years @ $119 Million (not fully confirmed)
One of the marquee free agents of the summer, the Hawks wasted no time handing out a max contract to a payer who hugely underperformed during this years playoffs. Johnson has helped the team become relevant but after two years of disappointing endings, it’s come as a bit of a surprise that the Hawks didn’t think twice about the massive contract. There is a moratorium period to go through but all signs point to Joe returning as a Hawk — this time under a new coach.
Rudy Gay – Memphis Grizzlies
5 years @ $81.6 Million
That’s a lot of cash for a guy who has yet to live up to the billing. A restricted free agent, Rudy Gay was scheduled to meet with other teams but the Grizzlies didn’t want to wait and see how things played out. On day 1 of free agency they jumped the gun and offered him a max deal and that grin on his face got just a little bigger. Every year we see teams overpaying to keep their own guys but its strange the Grizz didn’t wait to let the market determine his worth.
Drew Gooden – Milwauke Bucks
5 years @ $32 Million
This is the longest contract of his career — I kid you not! Gooden has been a journeyman but never really played like one. He seems to fit with whichever team he is playing for but they never seem to want him back when they get the chance. This will be his 8th team and he should be able to provide some scoring for the Bucks on the front line who were extremely light at that spot beyond Bogut who should be healed after a horrible injury.
John Salmons – Miwaukee Bucks
5 years @ $39 Million
Salmons opted out of the final year of his contract only to ink a longer one with the same team. Brought over in a trade late in the season, he produced for the Bucks offensively and provided a veteran presence for the young team during the playoffs. The Bucks have been feeling generous over the last month by adding Corey Maggette and Chris Douglas Roberts to the mix. It is yet to be seen if there is enough ball to go around.
Amir Johnson – Toronto Raptors
5 years @ $34 Million
A member of the youth movement — dubbed the Young Guns, Amir flourished in Toronto last season. He is getting paid starter money but its going to be a challenge to get him to stay on the floor for starter minutes. The foul prone forward showed a lot of promise and will have some big shoes to fill with the eminent departure of Chris Bosh. He played well with Jose Calderon at point and fits well with what the team is trying to do. (More in a separate post)
Channing Frye – Phoenix Suns
5 years @ $30 Million
He scoffed at the original 5 yrs, $25 million contract offered by the Suns but it didn’t take them long to up the ante and get him locked up long term. Frye fit well in the Suns uptempo, drive and kick system. He became one of the more efficient 3 point shooters in the league playing beside one of the best to dish it. His role will expand with the departure of Amare but this is a good signing for a young guy who has room to grow.
Hakim Warrick – Phoenix Suns
4 years @ $18 Million
Damn those Suns are quicker off the court than they are on. Just hours after talks broke down with Amare Stodemire, the Suns reached out to forward Hakim Warrick and inked him to a 4 year deal. This essentially confirms the end of the Amare era in Phoenix and a fresh start with some younger faces. Warrick, a winner at the college level, has yet to find the right team to build his game with but if history is any indicator — Nash can make anyone look great.
Paul Pierce – Boston Celtics
4 years @ $61Million
Richard Jefferson opted out of the final year of his contract — kinda crazy. Paul Pierce not so much. Pierce was due to earn $21million in the final year of his contract and this new deal allows the team to take a lesser hit next year. His loyalty to the Celtics was evident when he signed his previous deal. He has won the coveted ring and went to the finals again this year. The window is slowly closing on the aging Celtics but their Captain looks to want to finish his career here.
Darko Milicic – Minnesota Timberwolves
4 years @ $20 Million
One word — KAHHHHN. Seriously how is this man still earning an NBA paycheck. One of the biggest busts was just given some job security by one of the most bizzare GM’s in the biz (advised by none other than Rob Babcock). This signing further implies that the Wolves are looking to move Al Jefferson who has dealt with some injuries. Darko has yet to do anything in his NBA career and I would advise against holding your breath for such occurrence to take place.
Nikola Pekovic- Minnesota Timbewolves
3 years @ $13 Million
Nikola was the first player to be signed as free agency opened and another bizzare move by Davd Kahn. The Wolves signed the 6`11 center, who was the teams’ second round pick in 2008 to a 3 year, $13 million contract. Projected to go higher in 2008, his value dropped due to contract issues. Issues no more though as he was given the most lucrative deal ever signed by a 2nd round pick. Again — KAHHHHN!!
MOVED
Corey Maggette to Milwaukee <-> Charlie Bell & Dan Gadzuric to Golden State
Chris Douglas Roberts to Mulwaukee <-> 2012, 2nd round pick to New Jersey
Yi Jianlian to Washington <-> Quentin Ross to New Jersey
Jason Kidd (Dallas Mavericks) As speculated Jason Kidd will remain in Dallas for the next 3 years at a price of approx. $25 million. Ironically the player he was originally traded for and who is 10 years younger, Devin Harris will also be paid the same amount over the next 3 seasons. This move shows me that Cuban is still defending the original trade ignoring the reality that it has been a bust from the start. Kidd is running on fumes and Harris is just warming up. Its safe to say this is where Kidd will end his career and with the team the way it is, this may not be a marriage made in heaven- I don’t see any ring on the finger in the near future.
Mike Bibby (Atlanta Hawks) Smart move for the Hawks. With Acie Law gone in return for Crawford they were left extremely thin at the point guard position. This deal will keep Bibby in ATL for the next 3 years and cost them roughly $6 million per season. Drafting Jeff Teague indicated that he is their PG of the future and in the meantime Bibby can help the Hawks continue with their winning ways while mentoring the young fella out of Wake Forest. I knocked the Hawks from the Crawford deal purely because I don’t think he can take on the PG duties on a regular basis but this fixes that – a rather leaky fix – but it should keep them on the right track going forward.
Rasheed Wallace (Boston Celtics) Big time victory for the C’s nabbing Sheed. He may not be young but neither is the rest of the team and a 2 year contract at MLE is perfect as the window may not be open to long for the Celtics. Adding Wallace to the roster adds another dominant defensive presence on the front line making it one of the best in the East if not the NBA. With this signing they effectively replace Big Baby with Sheed and though his offensive game has dipped over the past few years you can count on Sheed to bring it. Between him and KG there will be a lot of barking on the floor and the C’s are probably hoping for some bite with that bark to help them get back to the promise land.
Hedo Turkoglu (Toronto Raptors) Last time we checked in Hedo was signing in Portland for 5 years $50 Million… Not so fast. Late Friday word came out that Hedo had changed his mind and wanted to be a Raptor. Say Wha? Its a rare thing for a player to want to go to a team with a losing record and even rarer for a player to chose that situation while playing in CANADA! The Raptors have reportedly offered Hedo a 5 yr $53 million contract which essentially is approx $600k more per year than the Portland offer. I have refrained from blogging about all this due to the mess it has created including the need to renounce current Raptor free agents and the thoughts of Quincy Dooby as the first man off the bench. The money involved in the Turkoglu deal essentially leaves the Raptors completely handcuffed. I will keep my speculation to myself until the cap numbers are out and Bryan Colangelo pulls off some Magic to make this work in the long run. More to come on this story….
Shaquille O’Neal – the man with a nickname for every day of the month – needs a new one! Traded to Cleveland, for Big Ben and Sasha Pavlovic, Shaq comes into Ohio as Lebron’s newest sidekick. Way past his prime, I am not sure how many more wins this pairing will bring but I do know it will make for some very interesting pre-game intro’s.
Vince Carter – Heading home and to a contender. The Magic didn’t want to take the risk of a long term commitment to Hedo and pulling this trade off effectively nixed the idea of having him back. For Vince this may be his best situation yet, but never underestimate the pressure of playing at home. On the plus side this does make visitation with his daughter a lot simpler.
Jamal Crawford -It took a little bit of paperwork (signing off that he would not opt out of his current contract) but Jamal has found a new home to play alongside Joe Johnson and Josh Smith. It seems the Hawks had made up their mind not to bring back Bibby but they are remain heavily stacked with scorer’s and still no one to dish the ball out.
Quentin Richardson, Zach Randolph, Darko Milicic Q went to the Grizz for Darko on draft night and within the week was flipped over to his old stomping grounds (Clippers) in exchange for Zach Randolph. This may not look like anything earth shattering but it filled the needs of the Grizz and Clips pretty well. As for the Knicks, I am still scratching my head as to why they would want to bring on Darko – New GM, Same whacky moves…
