The 10 biggest moves of the summer
10. Adding some Love to the frontcourt
The Minnesota Timberwolves acquired the draft rights to Kevin Love, plus Mike Miller, Brian Cardinal and Jason Collins from the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for the draft rights to O.J. Mayo, plus Marko Jaric, Antoine Walker and Greg Buckner. This was a positive move for both teams, giving the Grizzlies a pair of superior talents out on the floor with Mayo joining Rudy Gay — both having exceptional star power for the future. But it was a great move for the Timberwolves, unloading excess baggage from the roster, while getting Love to play up front next to blossoming start Al Jefferson. And Miller adds exceptional perimeter shooting and underrated ballhandling to a team in dire need of both. That's not to say either team will come close to getting out of the lottery next season, but at least the move makes both teams more interesting to watch on a daily basis.
9. I'm outta here, too
Corey Maggette left the Los Angeles Clippers to sign a five-year, $50 million free agent contract with the Golden State Warriors. Talk about a player fitting the style of a team; the extraordinarily athletic 6-6, 225-pound Maggette is perfect for the Warriors. It became apparent when the Clippers stole Baron Davis from the Warriors with a big contract and then lost Elton Brand to Philadelphia in free agency that they were not going to re-sign Maggette. He averaged 22.1 points and 5.6 rebounds a game, but more important, is coming off career-best shooting percentages of .458 from the field and .384 from 3-point range, while continuing his consistent free throw shooting at .812. He'll start on the wing with Stephen Jackson now that Monta Ellis will be moved to the point. There is the possibility that Don Nelson would leave Ellis at shooting guard and start newly acquired young point Marcus Williams, but that would rub either Maggette or Jackson the wrong way, and after not making the playoffs last season, that wouldn't be the way to go.
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| Corey Maggette and the Warriors ... a match made in heaven. (Rocky Widner / Getty Images) |
8. What does O'Neal have left?
The Indiana Pacers traded Jermaine O'Neal and the rights to draft choice Nathan Jawai to the Toronto Raptors for T.J. Ford, Rasho Nesterovic, Maceo Baston and the rights to Roy Hibbert. Finally, the Pacers realized it was better now than never with J.O., who at the age of 29 had his lowest numbers in seven years. He has played 206 out of a possible 328 games the past four seasons and if he's not damaged goods, the Raptors know something nobody else did. With knee and hip problems, it's hard to fathom at this point of his career that O'Neal can get back to the 20 points, 10 rebounds and 2.5 blocks he averaged from 2001-05. But was it worth the $44 million he'll get over the next two seasons? Well, they no longer have to worry about Ford's spinal weakness and they didn't need the other three. So even if O'Neal is healthy enough to score 17-18 points a game, garner 8-10 rebounds and block a couple of shots playing next to Chris Bosh, they can become serious contenders in the East.
7. It's all Greek to me
Josh Childress stunned the Atlanta Hawks by signing a three-year contract to play with Olympiakos in Greece. The former lottery pick became the first name American player in this generation to spurn the NBA — the Hawks offered him more than $30 million to stay. It was ground-breaking in a variety of ways, as his signing was followed by a wave of international players — Boki Nachbar, Nenad Krstic and Carlos Arroyo to name a few — heading back across the water as well. Granted they are not stars, and that's the kind of thing it will require for it to seriously alter the course of history, but it is a rude awakening that the NBA is not impervious to losing quality players to international basketball. It also is a reminder that someday soon, it very likely will be in the NBA's best interest to absorb teams from Europe and Asia as the league expands its fan base internationally, adding to the already immense stash of broadcast rights and merchandising.
6. An interesting Net result
The New Jersey Nets trade Richard Jefferson to the Milwaukee Bucks for forwards Yi Jianlian and Bobby Simmons. The Bucks get a strong presence on both ends of the floor in Jefferson, who is expensive, but the kind of player they've lacked to complement All-Star gunner Michael Redd on the other wing. For the Nets, the unloading of Jefferson's contract added to all the rumblings that the Nets are just preparing for their future move to Brooklyn and opening up cap room for minority owner Jay-Z's buddy LeBron James. True or false, Jianlian is a young, interesting and talented 7-footer and Simmons, if healthy, can give them a lot of energy and scoring from the wing. Mostly, though, it crushed Jefferson, going from a potential exciting situation with the Nets to that wasteland of average basketball in Milwaukee — even if coach Scott Skiles will obviously make them a better team.
5. Without Camby the Nuggets are defenseless
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| He's no Elton Brand, but Marcus Camby should help the Clippers absorb that loss. (Andrew D. Bernstein / Getty Images) |
The Denver Nuggets traded center Marcus Camby to the Clippers for a future second-round draft choice. This move blew away a lot of people, if only because Camby has led the league in blocked shots the past three seasons, and has averaged 10.5 points, 11.3 rebounds and 3.2 blocks over the past five for a team that has no other solid defensive player. They clearly gave away his $9.1 million contract to avoid paying luxury tax again since the Nuggets have lost eight playoff games in a row after winning the first game of their opening round series with the Spurs in 2007. Losing Camby puts all the pressure on injury-prone Nene. Camby won't make up for the loss of Elton Brand in free agency, but putting him at power forward next to Chris Kaman gives the Clippers the best shot-blocking duo in the West, and will open the door for a lot of fast breaks for Baron Davis to run.
4. Baron bolts the Bay Area for Hollywood
Baron Davis left the Warriors to sign a five-year, $65 million contract with the Clippers. This move set off a chain of events that sent Brand to Philadelphia, Maggette to Golden State and Camby to the Clippers. In that respect, it was enormous. Nonetheless, there are those who believe Davis wasn't worth that much money. He obviously was interested in going home, plus having daily access to Hollywood and his burgeoning film production career. Although he played 82 games this past season, he has a history of breaking down physically and there are a lot of questions how long he'll last the more infatuated he becomes with the film industry. And yet, there are few point guards as gifted as Davis when healthy because of his strength, speed and limitless shooting range. He'll certainly make the Clippers more interesting.
3. A new brand of ball
Elton Brand stunned just about everybody when he signed a five-year, $82 million deal with the Sixers. Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy was certain Brand was staying, and so was Davis when he committed to the Clippers. But once agent David Falk caught wind of the tentative verbal agreement between Brand and Dunleavy, he got involved, turned Brand's head and suddenly he was gone. The Clippers gathered themselves enough to steal Camby to replace Brand in the starting lineup, but the real story is what it does for president Ed Stefanski, coach Maurice Cheeks and the young Sixers. With veteran Andre Miller at point guard, plus young talents in Andre Iguodala, Samuel Dalembert, Thaddeus Young, et al, the 76ers suddenly become a serious threat in the East coming off their impressive six-game series with the Pistons last spring. Nonetheless, it is still surprising that a guy with the solid history that Brand has would pull that stunt on Dunleavy.
2. Not exactly the Kings' ransom
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| If Ron Artest can behave himself (yeah, yeah, we know), the Rockets could win the West. (Noah Graham / Getty Images) |
The Sacramento Kings traded Ron Artest to the Houston Rockets for the draft rights to Donte Green, Bobby Jackson, their 2009 No. 1 draft choice and cash. The mercurial Artest now gives the Rockets a superior defender and very good offensive player to go along with the combination of Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming ... almost instantly making the Rockets solid contenders to win the Western Conference in 2009. Artest has a history of playing exceptionally well for his first season with a new team until he goes off the deep end, and there was little reason for the Kings to hang on to him for another year when he'll be a free agent next summer. That said, it's even more incentive for him to raise him game and stay focused for the coming season as the Rockets get comfortable with each other. On the other hand, this was a team that won 22 consecutive games last season — the last 10 without Yao — reflecting what great chemistry they had. In that respect, Artest may very well be nitroglycerine.
1. Heartbroken in Seattle
The city of Seattle stunningly settled its lawsuit with Sonics owner Clay Bennett, allowing him to immediately move the team to Oklahoma City for the 2008-09 season. It was a horrific blow to Sonics fans, and surprising that it came the same afternoon a federal judge from Seattle district court was to rule whether the Sonics would be forced to play in KeyArena for the next two years in accordance with their lease. But out of nowhere, the city accepted $45 million with the possibility of another $30 million if Seattle has approval for the proposed $300 million renovation (half of it private money on the table from Microsoft chairman Steve Ballmer's group, and another $75 million committed by the city) by December 2009 — and another NBA team is not promised to Seattle by 2013. All the static of political garbage aside, Sonics fans were dumped on by not only Bennett, but Starbucks chairman Howard Schultz and his ownership group that sold the team to Bennett in 2006; and the Washington State legislature and governor; and NBA commissioner David Stern, who did everything he could to help orchestrate the move despite 41 years in Seattle. It's hard to believe the Sonics are no longer in existence.
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