Sometimes, you need to take a step back in order to go forward...
|
Following up last week's 10 worst moves of
the off-season, I had to acknowledge that not all NBA GMs are complete idiots. Logically, then below is a list of the 10
best moves of the past few months. And
while these moves do show not all GMs are idiots, I still know I could do a
better job running the ship than all but a handful of them. But that's neither here nor there.
10. Miami
acquiring Ricky Davis & Mark Blount for Antoine Walker and change.
Last week
I put Miami's offseason in my list of 10 worst, and they deserved to be
there. Then, Pat Riley goes out and
gets exactly what his team needs, giving up his biggest basket case in the
process. Ricky Davis will have a big
season starting at the SF position for the Heat, once Wade gets healthy. He is a prolific scorer, and there will be
plenty of shots to be had on this sinking ship. Losing Walker is almost addition by subtraction.
9. Phoenix
signing of free agents on Wednesday, July 11.
On Wednesday,
July 11, Phoenix made a big free agent splash, signing Sean Marks. Marks' combination of post presence, big
game experience and being from New Zealand will vastly improve the Suns. A move that could finally get them over the
metaphorical "hump" and into the NBA Finals .... wait, oh no, that's
the other free agent they signed that Wednesday, Grant Hill.
8. Seattle
Acquiring Kurt Thomas and Two First-Round Picks for...
For
essentially nothing - cash and a conditional 2nd round pick - the Sonics pick
up a veteran leader for their young team, and two extra first round picks to
help the rebuilding effort. This was an
all around awesome move for the Sonics, even if most fans won't appreciate
it.
7. New
Jersey re-signing guard Vince Carter
Let me
compare some numbers: eight-time All Star to one-time, been deep in the
playoffs three times to once, and the most shocking: four-year $60 million
contract to six years, $110 million. If
you hadn't guessed, the first group of numbers correspond to Vince Carter and
the second group to Rashard Lewis.
While I don't really like Carter as a player, his deal is an insane
steal compared to what Lewis got. Plus,
without Carter the Nets would challenge Philadelphia for worst record.6. Golden
State Acquiring the rights to Brandan Wright for Jason Richardson
This is an
example of a team not resting on its laurels, and making moves for the sake of
the franchise. Excellent case of
trading a player when his perceived value is higher than his real value. Yes, Jason Richardson was a solid, popular
player who had been with the Warriors his whole career. He was also overpaid, a liability on defense
and had a tendency to disappear in big moments. Getting arguably the third best player in the draft and shedding
JRich's salary, make this a win-win for the Warriors. 5. Houston
Acquiring Luis Scola and Jackie Butler.
I really
like deals where one team gives up basically nothing, and gets a lot in
return. Houston was able to acquire
what may be the key to their championship hopes. If Scola lives up to the hype, and thats a big if, he is the
perfect complement to Yao in the post, and lifts the Rockets up to one of the
top 3-4 teams in the conference.
Really, a team with Yao & Tracy should contend for a title every
year. With Scola, they might actually
do it this time. Plus, I think Jackie
Butler can develop into a legit starting NBA center, though not on this
team. By the way, they gave up Vassilis
Spanoulis, a 2009 second-round pick and future considerations.
4.
Portland trading Zach Randolph for Channing Frye and Steve Francis' Contract
Savant
move by Portland GM Kevin Pritchard.
Offloaded his worst contract and biggest head case, creating room for
his #2 overall draft pick, LaMarcus Alrdridge.
At the same time, picked up another excellent young big man in Channing
Frye. Even though he had to buy out
Steve Francis, this was a really important move in guiding the development of
his young roster.
3. Memphis Signing forward Darko Milicic
Memphis
quietly had an off-season which should, in theory, get them back to the
playoffs. People forget that Memphis
made the postseason three years in a row from '03 - '04 to '05 - 06, before
faltering steeply last season following Pau Gasol's injury. Milicic could end up being the best free
agent signed this offseason, and is the best player Pau Gasol has ever played
with at the center position. Look for
Milicic finally to start putting up the kind of numbers Joe Dumars expected
when he drafted him ahead of Carmelo Anthony and Dwayne Wade.
2. Seattle
drafting Kevin Durant at #2
Easily the
hardest draft pick in NBA history. GM
Sam Presti gets a lot of credit for getting this one right.
1. Boston
NOT trading Rajon Rondo
According
to the Sports Illustrated cover
story from their NBA preview issue, Danny Ainge only agreed to trade for Ray
Allen, after Seattle GM Sam Presti relented from his demands for Rajon
Rondo. Ainge refused to give in, and
gave up Delonte West instead. Acquiring
Allen led to Boston being an acceptable destination for Kevin Garnett. The Garnett trade never happens without the
Allen trade. Still, it has been proven
time and again you can't just win with stars in this league. Whatever success Boston has this year will
be determined by how good a job Rondo does navigating. Delonte West would have been a horrible fit
for this new team, but the pass-first Rondo gives the big three exactly what
they need.
Honorable
Mention
Chicago
drafting Noah at #9.
Milwaukee
signing guard Desmond Mason.
Los
Angeles Lakers signing guard Derek Fisher.
Houston
trading forward Juwan Howard to Minnesota for guard Mike James.
Golden
State re-signing coach Don Nelson.
Charlie is a young writer with naive, ignorant, idealistic dreams and