I'm loving having cable TV in the dorm room. I've watched the Team USA vs. Canada game, part of the Argentina vs. Mexico game, and the Team USA vs. Brazil game. Sure, the games involving the US aren't exactly compelling basketball, but it's interesting to see players that I don't usually get a look at, and also to see how the US players fit into a system full of stars. Some things I saw...
- If I were George Karl, I'd be trying as hard as possible to duplicate the international style of play in Denver's offense, cause Melo is a monster in the international game. He plays well off the ball and has such a versatile game that he's almost impossible to stop. Just check out these lines from the 4 US games:
16 MIN - 17 PTs 17 MIN - 22 PTs 18 MIN - 25 PTs 17 MIN - 21 PTs
That's just obscene. Seriously, I realize the competition they're playing against, but that's nasty. With a full season to mesh together, I would be very scared of the Nuggets. They have 2 elite scorers and a great defensive center, they're absolutely a championship contender.
- Olu Famutimi was the only player on Team Canada who looked remotely like he belonged on the same floor as the US players. Sam Dalembert was a complete non-factor, but Famutimi (who is currently playing in the D-League) was a dynamic player
- I think Luis Scola is going to be a huge asset for the Rockets. He's a skilled player, but he's gritty and works hard on every play. From what I saw, he has a solid jumpshot and a good passing eye for a big man. He's also much more athletic than I thought, and rebounds very well.
- Nene looked terrible. Really, really terrible. He's gained weight since the end of the NBA season, and he missed easy opportunities on multiple occasions.
- I really like Tiago Splitter. After watching him against the US, I'm shocked that he wasn't picked sooner in the draft. He's very athletic and an excellent ball-handler for a guy his size. He took Carmelo Anthony to the hoop multiple times from the elbow area, and Melo isn't lacking in the quickness department. To think of him on the Spurs a year from now is scary.
- Kobe is stunningly good when he wants to be. We all know he's the best offensive player in the league, but when he wants to be, he's an incredible defender too. The fact of the matter is that if Kobe comes out and plays hard, the Lakers are a playoff team next year, if he sulks through the season, they'll be terrible.
- I love Jason Kidd.
Other thoughts on the NBA offseason:
- Other than practically giving away Luis Scola to a division rival, I really like the Spurs' offseason. The acquisition of Ime Udoka and the signing of 2005 first round pick Ian Mahinmi, in addition to resigning basically everyone makes them look like the favorites to repeat, as well as having very solid future prospects.
- Orlando signed Adonal Foyle to replace Darko, and he'll probably give them about the same contributions they got from Darko last year, but for way less money than they'd be paying Darko. They overpaid for Rashard, but they'll definitely be better this year.
- I still think that Phoenix should've gone for KG, but other than that they've had a very solid offseason. Grant Hill was a great pickup, and he'll even help give Nash some rest because he can run the point from the SF position. D.J. Strawberry was a steal as late as they got him, I guarantee he gets some burn next year.
- The Grizzlies are my sleepers for next year. They've got great young talent at every position, and I think they'll really work in Marc Iavaroni's Phoenix-style system. I love that they went out and got Gasol's Spanish team buddy Juan Carlos Navarro.
- I didn't like Houston's draft. I hated that they passed on a bunch of very talented power forwards to reach for an undersized point guard (Aaron Brooks). However, they've had a very good offseason overall. They took a position that was a huge weakness (PG) and made it into a strength, with Steve Francis, Mike James, and Brooks. The starter from last year Rafer "Skip 2 My Lou" Alston, will be 3rd or 4th on the depth chart. They've also significantly improved their PF position by brining in Luis Scola, Jackie Butler, and Carl Landry to replace Juwan Howard. If Yao stays healthy and McGrady can play 60-65 games and be healthy in the playoffs, they're absolutely a legit contender.
- I don't like that Dallas did nothing to shake up their team. Coming off 2 consecutive postseason chokes (Yes, I know the Warriors were a bad matchup. No, I don't care. Losing to an 8 seed is a choke), they needed to make a move, and they didn't.
- James Posey was a great pickup for Boston. They desperately needed to pick up a backup small forward, and Posey is a solid defensive player who makes perimeter shots.
One last note. Hoff and I are going to be finishing up the NBA Legends Competition on Wednesday. I'm thinking arguments due at 5:00 PM EST, and voting will go for 2 days and end at 5:00 PM EST on Friday. Let me know if that's an issue for you Hoff. For the rest of you, tune in Wednesday and vote for whose team of all-time greats is superior.
Really, the NBA astounds me sometimes. It seems that teams never learn their lesson when it comes to free agents. It's not really that hard guys, just stop paying guys twice as much as they're worth and locking them up in long contracts. Ugh, I should be a GM, I really should.
The Rashard Lewis Deal
On the surface, this deal has a lot of logical things going for it. Grant Hill is headed out of town, and the Magic desperately need wing help. In addition, they've got to extend Dwight Howard next year, so this is the last real chance they get to play the free agent market for a while. Lewis is a versatile scorer, and his perimeter shooting should help open things up for Howard (seen here defending his future teammate). However, the problem is that Orlando is paying Lewis superstar money, and he isn't a superstar. He's a very good player, but he's not going to be the star on a championship team. Now, the Magic might be able to work this out in the end because they have Howard there, but as a general principle, it's a bad idea to pay franchise money to a guy who isn't a franchise player (as Indiana and Boston have found out with O'Neal and Pierce). While a guy like Duncan is worth it, a second tier star like Lewis is going to end up crippling your cap space with a contract like that, and you eventually won't be able to acquire anymore pieces to flesh out your team. Now, if Howard develops into the next Shaq over the next few years and Orlando ends up getting a title out of this pair, then you can throw this out the window. More likely situation? The Magic get to the point where they can't quite make it over the hump, but their lack of cap space around their two stars prevents them from improving. I love Lewis as a fit for the Magic, but I wouldn't have maxed him out in order to get him.
The Mid-Level Shooter Exception
Apparently, the thing to do at the moment is to sign one-dimensional shooters who have had one good year to the full mid-level exception. Jason Kapono got $24 mil for 4 years from the Raptors, and Matt Carroll got $27 mil for 6 years to resign with the Bobcats (not actually a use of their mid-level exception since they have cap space, but about the same $$$ amount). At least the Kapono signing makes some sense. The Raptors needed a SF to replace Mo Pete, and they needed a perimeter shooter. Hence, Kapono makes sense, and they did only sign him for 4 years, which isn't too bad. That said, Kapono wasn't ever even a decent player until last year, and he's not gonna give you anything beyond being a shooter. $6 mil a year is a bit steep for a guy as one-dimensional as he is. The Carroll signing makes no sense to me at all. I realize shooters are in demand, had done basically nothing before coming out as a shooting specialist last year for the Bobcats. Not only that, but they just traded for Jason Richardson who is going to take most of the minutes at SG. Carroll is a terrible defender, a one-dimensional offensive player, and not a position of need. You're giving this guy nearly $5 mil a year for 6 years? This is a deal that will probably look really ugly down the road.
He Gets It From His Dad
I'm a big fan of the Lakers resigning Luke Walton. $5 mil a year for a guy as versatile and effective as Walton is practically a steal. The length of the deal (6 years) is cause for concern, but I don't even think Walton will fall off that much as he ages. His game is based around fundamentals and passing, not athleticism, which is a good indicator that his performance won't drop that much as he enters his 30s. He's great in the triangle and a perfect complement for a guy like Kobe. He's certainly not the answer to all their problems, but he's about as good a role player as you're going to find. I really like this signing, it makes a lot of sense to me. Now if only the Lakers could avoid picking up huge contracts on guys like Vlad and Kwame, then we'd be getting somewhere.
Phoenix Bound
The Suns made quite possibly the best free agent signing of the offseason by getting Grant Hill to ink to a 2-year deal at practically no cost using their bi-annual exception. Before signing the deal, the Suns consulted with Hill, his agent, and his left ankle, which says that it promises it will be good this time around and stop screwing with Grant's career. Specifics of the contract are 2 years, $3.8 million, and an unlimited supply of ankle braces and asprin.
The Spurs Are Smarter Than Everyone Else...Again
As if it weren't enough that the reigning champs have the best coach in the business, the best power forward of all time, and the best international scouts (can anybody else match finds like Parker, Ginobili, Oberto, and soon-to-be Luis Scola?), they also have the league's smartest approach to free agents. See, this is a novel idea. They actually pay players what they're worth. Funny, you'd think that might catch on. Another thing that the Spurs do is that they don't sign you to a long term deal unless you're a star (i.e. Duncan, Parker, Ginobili). The result of this is that the Spurs very rarely get caught with terrible contracts, cause if someone isn't performing, they let him walk. It's amazing to me that teams don't learn from their example and continue to sign role players to huge deals. By resigning Fabricio Oberto, Matt Bonner, and Jacque Vaughn all to short, decently priced deals, the Spurs have kept their whole championship team together and put themselves in great position for next year. Keep in mind that this Spurs team is as good as it is, and they still have 2 of the top post players in Europe (Scola and Tiago Splitter) who can come over in future years. There's not a better managed team in professional sports than the Spurs.
a monster in the international game. He plays well off the ball and has such a versatile game that he's almost impossible to stop. Just check out these lines from the 4 US games:
ndler for a guy his size. He took Carmelo Anthony to the hoop multiple times from the elbow area, and Melo isn't lacking in the quickness department. To think of him on the Spurs a year from now is scary.
uis Scola, Jackie Butler, and Carl Landry to replace Juwan Howard. If Yao stays healthy and McGrady can play 60-65 games and be healthy in the playoffs, they're absolutely a legit contender.
On the surface, this deal has a lot of logical things going for it. Grant Hill is headed out of town, and the Magic desperately need wing help. In addition, they've got to extend Dwight Howard next year, so this is the last real chance they get to play the free agent market for a while. Lewis is a versatile scorer, and his perimeter shooting should help open things up for Howard (seen here defending his future teammate). However, the problem is that Orlando is paying Lewis superstar money, and he isn't a superstar. He's a very good player, but he's not going to be the star on a championship team. Now, the Magic might be able to work this out in the end because they have Howard there, but as a general principle, it's a bad idea to pay franchise money to a guy who isn't a franchise player (as Indiana and Boston have found out with O'Neal and Pierce). While a guy like Duncan is worth it, a second tier star like Lewis is going to end up crippling your cap space with a contract like that, and you eventually won't be able to acquire anymore pieces to flesh out your team. Now, if Howard develops into the next Shaq over the next few years and Orlando ends up getting a title out of this pair, then you can throw this out the window. More likely situation? The Magic get to the point where they can't quite make it over the hump, but their lack of cap space around their two stars prevents them from improving. I love Lewis as a fit for the Magic, but I wouldn't have maxed him out in order to get him.
Apparently, the thing to do at the moment is to sign one-dimensional shooters who have had one good year to the full mid-level exception. Jason Kapono got $24 mil for 4 years from the Raptors, and Matt Carroll got $27 mil for 6 years to resign with the Bobcats (not actually a use of their mid-level exception since they have cap space, but about the same $$$ amount). At least the Kapono signing makes
some sense. The Raptors needed a SF to replace Mo Pete, and they needed a perimeter shooter. Hence, Kapono makes sense, and they did only sign him for 4 years, which isn't too bad. That said, Kapono wasn't ever even a decent player until last year, and he's not gonna give you anything beyond being a shooter. $6 mil a year is a bit steep for a guy as one-dimensional as he is. The Carroll signing makes no sense to me at all. I realize shooters are in demand, had done basically nothing before coming out as a shooting specialist last year for the Bobcats. Not only that, but they just traded for Jason Richardson who is going to take most of the minutes at SG. Carroll is a terrible defender, a one-dimensional offensive player, and not a position of need. You're giving this guy nearly $5 mil a year for 6 years? This is a deal that will probably look really ugly down the road.
as Walton is practically a steal. The length of the deal (6 years) is cause for concern, but I don't even think Walton will fall off that much as he ages. His game is based around fundamentals and passing, not athleticism, which is a good indicator that his performance won't drop that much as he enters his 30s. He's great in the triangle and a perfect complement for a guy like Kobe. He's certainly not the answer to all their problems, but he's about as good a role player as you're going to find. I really like this signing, it makes a lot of sense to me.
Scola?), they also have the league's smartest approach to free agents. See, this is a novel idea. They actually pay players what they're worth. Funny, you'd think that might catch on. Another thing that the Spurs do is that they don't sign you to a long term deal unless you're a star (i.e. Duncan, Parker, Ginobili). The result of this is that the
Spurs very rarely get caught with terrible contracts, cause if someone isn't performing, they let him walk. It's amazing to me that teams don't learn from their example and continue to sign role players to huge deals. By resigning Fabricio Oberto, Matt Bonner, and Jacque Vaughn all to short, decently priced deals, the Spurs have kept their whole championship team together and put themselves in great position for next year. Keep in mind that this Spurs team is as good as it is, and they still have 2 of the top post players in Europe (Scola and Tiago Splitter) who can come over in future years. There's not a better managed team in professional sports than the Spurs.
