Friday, July 06, 2007

NBA GMs Make It Rain When the Free Agent Dance Begins

It's been a busy week in the NBA. Here's a quick recap of some of the bigger deals that went down recently:

Orlando signs Rashard Lewis to max deal (roughly 5 yr, $75 mil.)

Positives: In the diluted East, Rashard Lewis and Dwight Howard become a diluted version of Kobe and Shaq. This deal likely will prohibit Orlando from re-signing Darko Milicic, which I view as a net positive. The Orlando fan base just finished the Grant Hill experience, so they're well accustomed to their team being saddled with overblown onerous contracts.

Negatives: Rashard Lewis isn't much better than Gerald Wallace, who could have been had for less money. Lewis never emerged as a leader in Seattle, so it's difficult to imagine him elevating his game in Orlando. Once Howard signs his 5 year, $80 million-ish deal, that's going to be a good chunk of Orlando's cap space eaten up by two players for the next five years, making it difficult to add any complementary veterans.

Boston trades #5 pick to Seattle for Ray Allen

Negatives: He's about to turn 32, has only a few years remaning in his prime, and will be playing for a team that already has an outside shooter in Paul Pierce. Boston probably should have concentrated on youth and building through the draft, but instead wanted to appease one veteran by signing another.

Positives: Boston fans can take consolation in the topless pics (nsfw) of Rebecca Gayheart that surfaced recently. Like Ray Allen, the ideal time to have Gayheart would have been 10+ years ago in her Noxzema days, but Gayheart shows that just because you're in your 30s and can't drive doesn't mean you've lost all of your game.


Seattle hires former Spurs' employees Sam Presti and PJ Carlisimo to be their braintrust

Positive: If you're going to pick a team to emulate, the Spurs are the best candidate out there.

Negatives: Putting Nick Collison at the 4/5 slot and calling yourself "Spurs Northwest" is like putting red bathing suits on the cast of The View and calling yourself Baywatch A.M.

Toronto Raptors sign Jason Kapono to 4 year, $24 million deal.

Positives: Toronto desperately needed some reliable outside shooting to complement Chris Bosh's inside game. 51% from three point land is certainly reliable. With the experience of having played four years under Steve Lavin, Kapono should have no problem adjusting to Sam Mitchell's tendency to struggle in playoff games.

Negatives: Potential family issues could arise. Judging by these pictures of her (the one w/ curly hair and Kapono forehead) recently posted to a message board, Kapono's sister Jillian is going to be pissed that visiting her brother now means a trip to Toronto rather than the clubbing mecca that is Miami. (note: I can't confirm that the first picture is her, however it was found in the same set.)





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