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Tonight begins the annual NBA Yard Sale, and exciting mix of player rejuvenation, team revitalization, and General Manager derision. Typically, an NBA off-season starts slow and builds energy post-draft and reaches a fever-pitch by later tonight. But this year has been somewhat of a tweaked formula, in that we’ve already seen some blockbuster moves made by contenders to usurp the not-even-a-month-into-their-reign NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers. We’ve seen Richard Jefferson trade Conferences, Shaquille O’Neal find yet another superstar wing player to thrive on, and the return of the prodigal son in Orlando. After a dud of an NBA Draft, few could blame you if you tuned out and found comfort in Manny-Gate. Don’t fret, we’ve got you covered on what the chatter is and what we expect to happen in the next 30 days.
Turkoglu to the Blazers?
Fresh off of their NBA Finals exit, the Orlando Magic wasted no-time in grabbing some superstar mettle (albeit aged mettle) for their young tandem of Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson. Vince Carter is a local product, and certainly will have ample opportunities to score next to DH12, Nelson, and Rashard Lewis. But the move was interesting on a number of different levels. For a team that just reached the final round of the playoffs, you would assume the logical step would be to resign their Free Agents, nurse Jameer Nelson back to full-strength, and push for it one more time. But the Magic and GM Otis Smith, opted for a non-traditional home-run swing to shake the foundation and then some. Anyone who expects Turkoglu to resign with the Magic is foolish. The move for Carter has ‘sayonara’ written all over it. Hedo wants money, sure, but he also wants playing time, and the rock in his hands in the clutch. VC is a better playmaker and an even better crunch time scorer. Hard to imagine those two and Nelson fighting for possession in the 4th quarter of a tight game. (Sidenote: I fully expect VC to have a Level 5 Fuck You Season. He’s been mailing it in for the last two years in Jersey, hasn’t really bothered to break much of a sweat, is well rested, coming home, and has a chance to reclaim the spotlight in a city that is now on a lot of networks radars. Not to mention he gets to be roommates with Dwight Howard on the road. Does nobody else see the comedy potential here?? What about the pranks they plays on Dukie JJ Reddick? Anyone???)
So, the Magic shed Rafer Alston (another shocking move considering they grabbed him mid-season and he helped carry a wounded franchise to the promise land. THANKS RAFE!) and promising upstart Courtney Lee (who will have an excellent career playing alongside Devin Harris in NJ) and move their attention to retaining Polish Center Marcin Gortat. Meanwhile, Hedo’s agent has been working the phones to find a new home for his client, and the indications have been mixed. There are legitimately three teams that can offer Turk more than the mid level exception without incurring the luxury tax: Detroit, Memphis, and Oklahoma City. None of those teams really compare to the Eastern Conference Championship squad he was just on. The next best option, in this case, is to find a team that is willing to deal to bring him in, in this case, Portland. The Blazers have been shopping the market for a traditional point guard all summer, as they feel Bayless is more of a Ben Gordon combo-guard, and Blake is better as a backup. Since they struck out in the draft, they’ve worked to pry Houston’s Aaron Brooks, and Memphis’ Mike Conley. None of those overtures have worked, so they’ve turned to the next best thing: a hybrid Euro smallish power forward with ball handling skills and bad teeth.
For the deal to work, the Blazers will most likely have to get the Magic to agree to a sign and trade. I doubt though that this deal goes through, given that the Blazers have a GLUT of wing players on the payroll next season, and they’re not ready to break up a young nucleus of exciting talent. With Roy, Fernandez, Webster, and Outlaw ready to contribute next year, there’s apparently little room for someone like Turk to make his mark. Now, if the Magic come back to them requesting Webster and Channing Frye, the Blazers will do the deal in a heartbeat. But sources have indicated the Magic are holding out for Travis Outlaw. This could happen, but a lot of behind-the-scenes negotiations need to occur first.
Rebuilding the Rockets
Take a guess who the highest paid player will be next season? LeBron? Kobe? KG? Nope. Tracy Fucking McGrady. He will earn $23,239,561, more than anyone else in the association. STAGGERING BULLSHIT. Clearly, T-Mac is/has been doing well for himself, so I suppose it’s not a surprise that he mailed it in last year and shut down midway through his rehab. If he has the ambition to get healthy and contribute, then he’ll be in for a rough haul with news breaking this week that Yao Ming will most likely miss the entire 09/10 season due to his achy foot. Poor Houston, they just can’t catch a break (scratch that, they can. Bad wordplay). Anyhow, if Yao is truly out, and Tracy is a shadow of his former self, then GM Daryl Morey needs to take a long look in the mirror, dust off his copy of MoneyBall, and start retooling a franchise that was on the brink of greatness last year.
The first piece to the puzzle is deciding what to do with Ron Artest. Do you bring him back at $8m/yr? Does he want to stay? Does someone offer him ridiculous cash? All good questions, and we’ve got you covered. Sources suggest that Ron IS willing to stay in H-Town, particularly given his close relationship with Rick Adelman. So expect the Rockets to fend-off offers for their mercurial star and keep him in uniform next year. With that set aside, now comes the issue of covering the crisis in the paint. As evidenced by last season’s playoffs, they might be able to mask around as a legit team, but nobody in the L is scared of Chuck Hayes at the 5. So, the Rockets clearly need to upsize and put somebody next to Luis Scola. Given that T-Mac was nowhere in sight while the Rockets beat the Blazers and took the Champs to 7 games, he’s clearly your best asset to part with. Rumors and sources abound with the notion that Mike D’Antoni and Donnie Brasco- er- Walsh are entertaining the idea of bringing him to NYC in exchange for Eddy Curry.
Yes, it’s ridiculous on paper. But, it might be what both teams need. Curry doesn’t fit into D’Antoni’s high-octaine offense, and would be better served finding a new employer. Tracy has run his welcome in Houston to a thin margin, and would be wise to find another club that lets him do what he does best: shoot. Rumors suggest them making a strong push to Nawlins for wantaway Tyson Chandler (which would be a TREMENDOUS STEAL) as well as contacting the Clippers to find out which of the Kaman/Camby/Randolph triumverate is for sale. But if their only option is Eddy Curry, then the Rockets need to consider doing this deal. If it works, great. If not, Curry is an unrestricted FA in the summer of 2010, and hopefully Yao will be back to form and ready to go at that point. A gamble for sure, but a smart one on both counts.
The Contenders
Here’s a lighting-round snapshot of what the Celts, Cavs, Spurs, Magic, and Nuggets are going to do this summer:
Boston Celtics – they’re going after Rasheed Wallace without exception, and they’re also expecting to pry Dahntay Jones away from the Nuggets to replace the James Posey void in the backcourt. Marbury wants to stay, and it’s likely he might, but let’s also not rule out the possibility that Rondo and Allen may be traded for a younger core of talent. Minnesota controls the eventual destiny of Ricky Rubio, whom the Celts made serious inquiries about leading up to the draft. GM Danny Ainge is already on record as saying that the team doesn’t want to overpay Rondo just to keep him, and they are fighting against an aging core of stars. Rondo is their most tantalizing asset, and they would be wise to explore what is out there.
Cleveland Cavaliers – if they can’t get Rasheed, which I DOUBT considering the monstrous ego’s of Shaq and LeBron wouldn’t allow for another one, they’ll turn to keeping Anderson Varejao & netting Charlie Villanueva. They’re also actively exploring the idea of bringing Chicago’s Ben Gordon into the fold, but they don’t have the cash or pieces to make a deal happen unless Gordon want’s the midlevel (or part of it). They’ll be standing pat and going for broke with Shaq in the fold. But, bringing back Varejao is a must for this club. They’ll also explore the idea of Trevor Ariza, but they won’t have the cash to make it happen.
San Antonio Spurs – they made their major acquisition of the summer with Richard Jefferson, who was a genuine steal for what they gave up (Bruce Bowen, Kurt Thomas‘ knees, and a bucket of KFC Chicken). Expect the Bucks to buy out Bowen, and he’ll return to SA to give them more depth. Still, the Spurs are short on size, with or without mid-season FA Drew Gooden. They need a Center to play next to Duncan, and the feeling is that they’ll finally land their man in Tyson Chandler, whom the Spurs were inquiring about as far back as three years ago. Outside of him, they’ll look at Marcus Camby, Marcin Gortat, & Paul Millsap.
(Speaking of Millsap, I feel for the guy. He’s been underrated his entire career, barely gets into the league, carves out an impressive niche with the Jazz, has a couple of stellar performances in the starting lineup with Booze out, fully expects to get paid and become a leading star for the club, only for Booze to have a conscience crisis at the last minute and elect to stay in Utah rather than opt out. Ultimate Bummer.)
Orlando Magic – They got Vince, and they’ll pay to keep Gortat. That’s it, they’re loaded for another run.
Denver Nuggets – They’ll fight off any takes for Jones, and they’ll look to upgrade behind Carmelo at the 3.
What About the Champs?
All indications point to the entire squad coming back next season. Laker brass exhaled in unison this afternoon when it was reported that Kobe Bryant will not exercise his early termination clause. Rather, he will stay, and his agent will begin communication with GM Mitch Kupchak about a long-term extention for his client. Otherwise, the club will be picking up the team options on DJ Mbenga & Josh Powell, as well as making an offer to UFA Shannon Brown. Their biggest concern stems from Trevor Ariza and Lamar Odom, who will both command decent money in the open market. Both players want to return, and ownership wants them back. Mitch has stated numerous times that there is a value for each player, and they will not overpay to keep either one. The Lakers could potentially lose them both, or keep the team intact. My guess is that they return for another run at the ring, but it will put the Lakers well into the luxury tax hemisphere.
…that should hold you over for now. Phones will be ringing in less than an hour. Let the games begin.
