Check out the NBA's offseason moves By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle Last offseason — now, that made sense. Big names. Big deals. Big winners. Big losers. It was all so easy, so well-defined. Shaquille O'Neal went from Los Angeles to Miami, and it was not difficult to figure the Heat did pretty well there. Steve Nash to Phoenix. Tracy McGrady to Houston. The winners in those deals could not have been more obvious. But this season, it's as if the league was so happy to have a new collective bargaining agreement and labor peace that it went on a two-month bender. There were a few exceptions. The Cavaliers got LeBron James enough help that he might get in the playoffs. The Rockets went after and got the athletes they lacked most against the Mavericks in the playoffs. As usual, Larry Brown got a new job, the latest "dream job" he will never, ever leave. But from the NBA's bizarre tax-amnesty cuts to the refusal of the Hawks' general manager to shake hands with the Hawks' owner while cameras snapped away, things have seemed more out of whack that usual. Allan Houston was not released in an "Allan Houston rule" tax-amnesty cut, but Mavericks owner Mark Cuban did cut Michael Finley — the player he had said he absolutely never, ever would trade — to save, of all things, money. The high-flying, high-speed Suns signed brute Brian Grant and traded for Kurt Thomas. Cleveland and Milwaukee became hot spots, while the biggest name to go to Los Angeles went to the Clippers. But in the oddest turn of events, the Hawks were so thrilled to find a player who actually wanted to play for them, they gave up $70 million, two first-round picks, one player and one owner to land Joe Johnson. Madness aside, however, the major offseason moves — save Finley's destination — are in place, and they were significant enough to make the offseason memorable for more than how odd it was. Rising • Michael Finley — He gets his $51 million in Mavericks money eventually. But Jerry Stackhouse and the kids would have been squeezing his minutes even more. Instead, Finley can go back to Phoenix or home to Chicago, or he can pick between Eastern Conference contenders Miami and Detroit. If that's not good enough, the Spurs want him, too. • The Cavaliers — Danny Ferry got off to a strong start as general manager. Larry Hughes mixed well with Gilbert Arenas in Washington and should make a strong running mate for LeBron James. Donyell Marshall will offer shooting range in the frontcourt. And Ferry made sure to keep center Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Now it's on James to make the Cavaliers winners worth re-upping with next summer. • The Bucks — The Eastern Conference championship is not going through Milwaukee. And the Bucks overspent like sailors on a Cinderella liberty. But NBA players generally can't be lured to Milwaukee by the clock tower. Michael Redd and Bobby Simmons will be paid as if they were Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, but the Bucks got them, picked up Andrew Bogut in the draft, and got T.J. Ford back. Not bad, though treating former coach Terry Porter so shabbily was inexcusable. • The Rockets — They decided to make power forward their priority, went after one — Stromile Swift — and got him. They wanted an athlete in the backcourt, danced briefly with Damon Stoudamire, then targeted Derek Anderson and got him. Add key returning reserves Jon Barry and Dikembe Mutombo, and it has been an outstanding summer. • The Kings — Slipping toward Western Conference irrelevance, the Kings gambled on Bonzi Wells' talent, jumped on suddenly available Shareef Abdur-Rahim and added defensive ace Jason Hart. Suddenly, if quietly, Sacramento is deep and balanced again. Standing still • The Spurs — When you're the best team in the league, standing still is a good thing. But they added Argentine center Fabricio Oberto, a veteran who gets things done, and for the Spurs, that's a good offseason. Land Michael Finley, and it's a great offseason. • The Nets — New Jersey flirted with Swift and signed Abdur-Rahim, but after Abdur-Rahim failed his physical, they ended up with Marc Jackson, a solid player who cannot possibly keep up with Jason Kidd, Richard Jefferson and Vince Carter. Abdur-Rahim's physical might have shown some red flags, but those flags have been flying for several years. • Isiah Thomas — Thomas' Knicks are still a horribly put-together team. Quentin Richardson brings nothing Larry Brown couldn't have gotten out of Jamal Crawford, Stephon Marbury and, if healthy, Houston. But Thomas had a good draft night (getting Nate Robinson in the Suns deal was a steal), and he did bring Brown to New York. Brown, however, should be in Thomas' office demanding Jerome James be dealt before Thanksgiving. Falling • The Lakers — Kwame Brown, having done so well with Michael Jordan, gets to try it again with Kobe Bryant. But the bigger failure was having the full mid-level exception to work with and getting no more than Aaron McKie as a stopgap point guard who is playing out of position. At least no one can say Phil Jackson will coach only loaded teams. • The Suns — Hey, we were convinced. The Suns said their style was a strength and proved it. But then they lost to the Spurs in the conference finals and have since acted as if they were taking orders from all those experts who said running teams can't possibly win. Kurt Thomas for Quentin Richardson might have given them more options, but they have also signed Brian Grant and Pat Burke, seemingly losing their need for speed. • The Nuggets — Denver needed a shooter. The Nuggets knew it. Everyone knew it. And there were plenty out there. The Nuggets missed on every one. It's not good when a team targets Marko Jaric only to find its sights set too high. • Logic — Cuttino Mobley got $42 million. Joe Johnson got $70 million. But c'mon. No one chooses to go to the Clippers and Hawks. The Clippers could be pretty good (though they've hinted at that before). But the Hawks? Did all that winning in Phoenix bore Johnson?
