[ESPN] Offseason's winners and losers

batkins · Aug 3, 2008

WINNERS

Philadelphia 76ers -- The Sixers landed the biggest free-agent coup of the summer when they stole Elton Brand from the Clippers. Brand filled the biggest need of a team that played solid basketball in the second half of last season. Now the team has two veterans at key positions -- Brand anchoring the paint and Andre Miller running the point -- and they can surround them with a slew of talented young studs like Thaddeus Young, Louis Williams, Samuel Dalembert and first-round pick Marreese Speights. If they get Andre Iguodala locked up in the next few weeks, the Sixers have a team that should be one of the top three of four in the East.

Indiana Pacers -- The Pacers did most of their work prior to the draft and on draft night, but none of it could be officially announced until July. For a team that was capped out and had no future, the Pacers found solid value for Jermaine O'Neal, fixed their problem at point guard with the addition of T.J. Ford and Jarrett Jack and added a couple of solid rookies in Brandon Rush and Roy Hibbert. Most importantly, Larry Bird and David Morway gave themselves considerable cap flexibility starting next summer to remake the team. If they can find a home for Jamaal Tinsley and shore up the power forward position, the Pacers could be a sleeper to sneak into the playoffs in the East next season.

Toronto Raptors -- Here was the great thing about the Raptors-Pacers trade this summer: It really helped both teams. The Raptors had a hole in the middle and a logjam at point guard. In one fell swoop they filled the hole in the middle with Jermaine O'Neal and broke the logjam at the point by finding a taker for T.J. Ford. They also made one of the more underrated moves in free agency, locking up Jose Calderon at a bargain contract for a borderline All-Star point guard. If O'Neal is truly healthy, as his camp and the Raptors claim, he and Chris Bosh will form one of the best frontlines in the East.

Houston Rockets -- The Rockets pulled off the most controversial move of the summer when they agreed to acquire Ron Artest. This is one of those all-or-nothing moves that will be impossible to forecast. If Artest is on his best behavior, the Rockets are a serious force to reckon with in the West. If he's on his worst behavior, he could cause this team to implode the way he did with an elite Pacers team a few years ago. They're still recovering from Artest's antics in Indiana. That's scary. Whatever you think of the deal, you have to hand it to the Rockets. They were bold. Their window with Tracy McGrady was closing. Several conference rivals, like the Mavericks and Lakers, were in hot pursuit of Artest, too. If it pays off, the Rockets look like geniuses. If it blows up, they can quickly dump Artest. But with Artest in the last season of his contract and looking for a big deal next summer, the guess is that he's on his best behavior -- relatively speaking.

Portland Trail Blazers -- The Blazers didn't make major moves this summer. But they've improved enough that you have to believe they'll be a serious contender for one of the eight playoff spots in the West next season. The Blazers had yet another good draft, landing Jerryd Bayless. Bayless lit up the summer league and looks like he can compete immediately for a starting position at the point. They also lured last year's late first-round pick, Rudy Fernandez, over to play. Fernandez is already a star in Europe. If he can make his game translate, the Blazers backcourt just got much deeper. But the biggest addition will be Greg Oden. The team says his knee is completely healed and he's on track to be at full strength for training camp. The addition of those three, without any real subtractions, should translate into the playoffs in Portland next season.

Milwaukee Bucks -- The Bucks had a big hole at small forward and shored it up with an All-Star in his prime when they acquired veteran Richard Jefferson on draft day. Now the team is loaded with players who can score. Jefferson, Michael Redd, Mo Williams, Andrew Bogut and Charlie Villanueva can all put the ball in the basket. The question is: Can any of them play defense? That's what Scott Skiles is there for, but he has his hands full getting that crew to buckle down. Still, for a team that seemed to be going nowhere fast, the Bucks look like they'll be much stronger than the 26 win team last season. The playoffs might be a stretch, but respectability is a good thing, too.

LOSERS

Atlanta Hawks -- You've got to hand it to the Hawks, the most dysfunctional team in the NBA. After finally making the playoffs and pushing the Celtics to a seventh game in the first round, the Hawks looked like THE team on the rise. Then the summer came and the Hawks' ownership group, Atlanta Spirit, got to work. Their first move was a good one, letting GM Billy Knight walk. The Hawks were in the playoffs despite Knight's consistent botching of the draft, not because of him. Unfortunately, after Knight resigned, everything got seriously mangled. A number of the top GM candidates they pursued said no thanks. They ended up settling on Rick Sund, a nice guy who's failed badly as a GM in his last two stops in Seattle and Detroit. Sund's first move was to bring back head coach Mike Woodson -- a guy that several players on the team don't really like because his coaching style really doesn't fit the talent on the team. Then the Hawks completely mishandled Josh Childress. First, they offered him a contract for less than the mid-level exception. Then they told him to go find a better deal -- thinking that no one had the money to match. Childress found a better deal ... in Greece. Childress warned the team he'd take the money. The Hawks called his bluff and Childress took the money and ran. Normally, I wouldn't make such a fuss over a sixth man, but Childress was the glue that held the team together -- he was very underrated. Now they're between a rock and hard place with Josh Smith. Their offer is lower than what Emeka Okafor and Luol Deng got. Smith is upset and doesn't really want to play in Atlanta. If they up the offer, they risk overpaying a player who is unhappy in Atlanta. If the Hawks don't increase the offer, they risk Smith taking the one-year qualifying offer in Atlanta and bolting next summer as an unrestricted free agent.

Los Angeles Clippers -- The Clippers once held the coveted title of most dysfunctional franchise in the league and they made a lot of strides toward reclaiming it this summer. Everything started off so well. They shocked many by quickly coming to terms with Warriors free agent Baron Davis -- filling a big need at the point. Pairing Davis with Elton Brand was supposed to put the Clippers on a course back to the playoffs in the West. Unfortunately, the team inexplicably lost Brand to the Sixers a week later. Brand's people say the Clippers mishandled the negotiations. The Clippers point the finger at Brand's agent, David Falk. Corey Maggette left a few days later. Suddenly, the Clippers' dream team was a nightmare. Davis making $65 million stretches credulity -- even when he's motivated. An unmotivated Davis playing on a cellar dweller? Ugh. The Clippers tried to minimize the damage by bringing in Marcus Camby and Ricky Davis, but I don't think they're a playoff team in the West with that crew.

Dallas Mavericks -- Two seasons ago, the Mavericks were an elite team in the NBA and had the league's best record. Coming into this season, the Mavs no longer look like a contender. In fact, there's a small chance they might not even be a playoff team in the wild, wild West. The Mavs still have Dirk Nowitzki, but the rest of the team is fairly underwhelming at this point. The addition of Jason Kidd at the trade deadline last season looks like an awful move in retrospect. It's unclear whether Kidd really has the juice left to be an elite point guard. Josh Howard's brushes with controversy over his comments on smoking mar1juana and a charge of drag racing this summer haven't helped. And that huge $30 million-plus contract that they gave DeSagana Diop will come back to haunt them the same way that $60 million-plus contract they gave to Erick Dampier did. They were active trying to get their hands on Ron Artest, but, like the Rockets, it was more an act of desperation than a savvy basketball move. Maybe head coach Rick Carlisle can turn things around, but as it stands right now, a team in need of a major overhaul to get back into title contention did too little and risks falling into irrelevancy.

Denver Nuggets -- It's not hard to get your arms around the game plan in Denver. The team barely made the playoffs last season, the window on Allen Iverson's career is rapidly closing and suddenly the team switches gears? The Nuggets are in cost-cutting mode. Shipping off Marcus Camby will seriously affect the team's defensive ability. I think the move was an admission that the combo of Iverson and Carmelo Anthony just wasn't going to catapult the team to a championship. Next season, there's a good chance they will miss the playoffs given the competitiveness of the West. The bright side is that the Nuggets have a huge trade exception and also will be looking at potential cap room next summer. They still have Carmelo to build around, but dreams of bringing a championship to Denver are now over for the next few years.

Golden State Warriors -- I feel sorry for Warriors GM Chris Mullin. A little more than a year ago he was the guy who helped the Warriors end an ugly 12-year playoff drought. His hard work paid off in the 2007 playoffs when his Warriors pulled off one of the biggest first-round upsets in NBA history. Last season, the Warriors were good, just not good enough to make the playoffs in the ultra competitive West. Then disaster struck. Baron Davis bolted for the Clippers, and the Warriors panicked a little. After trying and failing to lure Elton Brand and Gilbert Arenas to Golden State, the Warriors spent way too much on Corey Maggette, a guy who duplicates many of their strengths and addresses none of their weaknesses. Now the Warriors look poised to fall out of the playoffs for the next few seasons as they restart the rebuilding process. That has to be a huge blow to the gut of Warriors fans that rabidly supported their playoff Warriors in 2007. However, there is a golden lining in Golden State. First, the Warriors were right in not overpaying to keep Davis. I'll be shocked if he's still playing 50 games a season in the last few years of that deal. Second, the Warriors also locked up their two young free agents -- Monta Ellis and Andris Biedrins -- to rich, but not ridiculous deals. If they continue to develop along with young players like Brandan Wright, Marco Belinelli and rookie Anthony Randolph, they'll be good ... in about three years. I'm not sure I like the ring of missing the playoffs 16 out of the past 17 years.

Memphis Grizzlies -- After completely mishandling the Pau Gasol trade last winter, the bright side was that the team was going into the summer with cap room. Once the Sixers, Warriors and Clippers quickly used their cap space, the Grizzlies were the only team in the league left with room and in a prime position to make a steal or, at the very least, put some pressure on teams to overpay their restricted free agents. Instead, the team stayed on the sidelines, presumably to focus on the 2009 summer -- a summer with better veteran free agents, but also with more teams with salary cap space to compete against. To make matters worse, the Grizzlies traded away a key veteran, Mike Miller and the draft rights to Kevin Love, to move up in the draft two spots to get the draft rights to O.J. Mayo. Now the Grizzlies are one of the youngest teams in the league, have a huge glut of guards and are paper thin on the front line. In other words, you thought last season was bad? You haven't seen anything yet. However, like Golden State, there is a bright side. The Grizzlies do have lots of young talent. Rudy Gay and Mayo have the potential to be All-Stars some day. Mike Conley has a bright future too. And they got a late first-round steal of the draft in Darrell Arthur. If GM Chris Wallace can parlay some of that talent into some NBA vets like his former boss, Danny Ainge, did (remember when we were all bemoaning how young and inexperienced the Celtics were?) or if they can use their significant cap space next summer to lure a talented free agent or two, we may be speaking differently about the Grizzlies next August. But this season? It isn't going to be pretty.
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http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=ford_chad&page=FreeAgentwinnerslosers-080802

mrm32 · Aug 3, 2008

I always enjoy Rockets praise

ToyCen428 · Aug 3, 2008

Sounds like the writer is very unsure of our move. We'll either hit a home run or strike out. He's not a believer of the "It's-been-4-years-man-get-off-my-back" theory.

ParaSolid · Aug 3, 2008

chad ford said:

They were active trying to get their hands on Ron Artest, but, like the Rockets, it was more an act of desperation than a savvy basketball move.
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Did anyone else notice this? I think he does not really like the move as he isn't giving Morey his due for getting Artest for a bag of chips, but had to give the Rockets recognition because they could very well skyrocket (no pun intended) to the top of the league/conference.

rockbox · Aug 3, 2008

How did Artest cause the Pacers to implode. They let Stephen Jackson and Peja go for nothing. That is not imploding The Kings didn't implode because of Artest either. Artest got them to the playoffs and Kings did pretty well considering the injuries to Bibby.

apocclass · Aug 3, 2008

rockbox said:

How did Artest cause the Pacers to implode. They let Stephen Jackson and Peja go for nothing. That is not imploding The Kings didn't implode because of Artest either. Artest got them to the playoffs and Kings did pretty well considering the injuries to Bibby.
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agreed. i hate when they blame everything on ron.

W22_STREAK · Aug 3, 2008

let me say something:

Ron will be on his best behaviour for next the season in Rockets uniform.

He is under a coach he adores

He is playing in a contract year, looking for the last luractive deal of his career

Rafer and T-Mac and Yao will provide the veteran leadership direction to keep him on tract

There is a championship to contend for genuinely

smoothie · Aug 3, 2008

W22_STREAK said:

let me say something:

Ron will be on his best behaviour for next the season in Rockets uniform.

He is under a coach he adores

He is playing in a contract year, looking for the last luractive deal of his career

Rafer and T-Mac and Yao will provide the veteran leadership direction to keep him on tract

There is a championship to contend for genuinely

Click to expand...

agreed completely.

he was on good behavior last season because he thought he'd opt out this summer and go for a big money deal. he got something like 1 or 2 Ts all season.

he has said that whatever tmac and yao say goes because its their team.

he was did a great job under adelman before and respects him more than any other coach.

he looks up to rafer thanks to his days at rucker.

J.R. · Aug 3, 2008

I could argue that we were the #1 winner in the offseason sweepstakes. The three teams ahead of us? Theyre in the Leastern Conference, and maybe only Philly would contend for a spot in the West. But then again, Ford did list us as the first WC team that was a winner.

Blue Brick · Aug 3, 2008

batkins said:

LOSERS

Dallas Mavericks -- Two seasons ago, the Mavericks were an elite team in the NBA and had the league's best record. Coming into this season, the Mavs no longer look like a contender. In fact, there's a small chance they might not even be a playoff team in the wild, wild West. The Mavs still have Dirk Nowitzki, but the rest of the team is fairly underwhelming at this point. The addition of Jason Kidd at the trade deadline last season looks like an awful move in retrospect. It's unclear whether Kidd really has the juice left to be an elite point guard. Josh Howard's brushes with controversy over his comments on smoking mar1juana and a charge of drag racing this summer haven't helped. And that huge $30 million-plus contract that they gave DeSagana Diop will come back to haunt them the same way that $60 million-plus contract they gave to Erick Dampier did. They were active trying to get their hands on Ron Artest, but, like the Rockets, it was more an act of desperation than a savvy basketball move. Maybe head coach Rick Carlisle can turn things around, but as it stands right now, a team in need of a major overhaul to get back into title contention did too little and risks falling into irrelevancy.
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Yes!

csux · Aug 3, 2008

haha don't care don't care
as long as mavs sucks!

EbolaScola · Aug 4, 2008

batkins said:

Dallas Mavericks -- Two seasons ago, the Mavericks were an elite team in the NBA and had the league's best record. Coming into this season, the Mavs no longer look like a contender. In fact, there's a small chance they might not even be a playoff team in the wild, wild West. The Mavs still have Dirk Nowitzki, but the rest of the team is fairly underwhelming at this point. The addition of Jason Kidd at the trade deadline last season looks like an awful move in retrospect. It's unclear whether Kidd really has the juice left to be an elite point guard. Josh Howard's brushes with controversy over his comments on smoking mar1juana and a charge of drag racing this summer haven't helped. And that huge $30 million-plus contract that they gave DeSagana Diop will come back to haunt them the same way that $60 million-plus contract they gave to Erick Dampier did. They were active trying to get their hands on Ron Artest, but, like the Rockets, it was more an act of desperation than a savvy basketball move. Maybe head coach Rick Carlisle can turn things around, but as it stands right now, a team in need of a major overhaul to get back into title contention did too little and risks falling into irrelevancy.
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Desperation? It's not like we traded half the team for him.

Extrakid · Aug 4, 2008

我需要个翻译~

Marsarinian · Aug 4, 2008

Extrakid said:

我需要个翻译~
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Aww, dude! A friendly point of the finger: www.hoopchina.com

All your basketball needs in a friendly, convenient language!

mc-fine · Aug 4, 2008

W22_STREAK said:

let me say something:

Ron will be on his best behaviour for next the season in Rockets uniform.

He is under a coach he adores

He is playing in a contract year, looking for the last luractive deal of his career

Rafer and T-Mac and Yao will provide the veteran leadership direction to keep him on tract

There is a championship to contend for genuinely

Click to expand...

Sounds likely if Artest wasn't a effing loon! He is nutjob always one poke away from losing it. Thats why Yao needs to stfu and stop poking the crazy with his comments.

Noob Cake · Aug 4, 2008

Diop deal is so bad that it not even funny.

Hippieloser · Aug 4, 2008

Noob Cake said:

Diop deal is so bad that it not even funny.
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Yet it still doesn't touch Dampier's deal! Wow.

I don't get the "desperation" talk. We got a year of Ron Artest essentially for FREE.

RokitFan · Aug 4, 2008

"Several conference rivals, like the Mavericks and Lakers, were in hot pursuit of Artest, too."

This is so dumb. If the Lakers would have acquired Artest for a bag of peanuts everyone would be kissing their arse right now...but since the Rox got him instead...we're desperate. I can't wait for the season to start.

yamazaki · Aug 4, 2008

I say there is only one winner --- ROCKETS

Albert Einstain · Aug 4, 2008

obviously morey is winner.other teams' gms who faild to land artest are all losers.

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