Now that we’ve had a little time to watch free agency unfold, along with the usual accompaniment of trades, let’s look at some of the key moves and how they impact the teams involved.
The Boom Dizzle era is over, and the Warriors quickly recovered by signing two nice pieces to complement their young core.
Reliving Eight Years Of Jermaine
Regardless of how happy he is to be out of Indiana, there will always be a part of Indiana in Jermaine O'Neal's 6’11” frame.
Iguodala Remains Key To Sixers' Success
When Brand scribbled is name on an $82 million dollar deal Wednesday, that all ended. Iguodala's short reign as "Batman" in Philadelphia was mercifully over.
$10 Million For Five Players?
The Orlando Magic will be limited by the NBA's Luxury Tax in terms of filling the remaining spots on their roster. It is also possible it could cost them Keyon Dooling or Maurice Evans.
Welcome to the inaugural edition of the McCready Malarkey. It’ll hopefully be a bi-monthly sort of gig but being a single mother while waiting tables in a small diner by the Chicago airport is time consuming*.
The Shaq/Marion trade
Phoenix Suns General Manager Steve Kerr continued his championship building strategy of plucking away the best players of the nineties from Florida - Grant Hill from Orlando being the other - by picking up arguably the best player of all time, Shaquille O’Neal from the Miami Heat. This immediately changed the entire complexion of the team. They traded one of the league’s most athletic players for one of the slowest.
This really helps the chemistry of the Suns. Marion has been unhappy ever since… well the team started to become successful really and Amare Stoudamire has never enjoyed playing center. With his move to power forward, this trade undoubtedly gives Phoenix the most powerful (in terms of brute strength) frontcourt in the NBA and I can see it being a success. Unlike the plodding, overweight frontcourt of the New York Knicks (Eddy Curry and Zach Randolph aka ‘The Big AppleSauce’), Amare Stoudamire’s mix of speed and athleticism should compliment Shaq well. They’re hoping that Shaq will give the team the extra dimension it needs to battle the big boys of the Western Conference playoffs, San Antonio (Tim Duncan), LA Lakers (Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum)and Dallas (Dirk Nowitzki, Erick Dampier).
Shaq himself must be in heaven. Not only is he joining the best power forward he’s ever played with in Stoudamire, he’s joining the best point guard he’s ever played with in Steve Nash (all due respect for Penny).
The aforementioned addition of Grant Hill must’ve made Kerr feel that Marion was expendable. That is a biiiig risk for the Suns. Marion fit the Suns’ system perfectly and was the team’s best and most versatile defender, not to mention that relying on the health of Hill’s ankles - which sometimes seem to be held together by elbow macaroni and potato salad – is riskier than trusting this guy with your finances. This trade will be a success if O’Neal stays healthy and the team can acclimatize itself into taking advantage of a unique talent. Otherwise, this is the end of Phoenix’s run and gun empire.
From the Miami Heat’s perspective, this is a slam dunk as it was obvious that Shaq days with Miami were done. The Heartbreak Kid Dwayne Wade and the Matrix will form one of the league’s most athletic duos. Should Marion decide to opt out of his contract at the end of the year and investigate free agent opportunities, the Heat will be a player in the free agent market this offseason.
As is the case with his career, playing style and life in general, Marcus Banks is not worth mentioning.
The main reason the Western leading Suns were looking to shake up the roster was the soap opera involving Marion not getting the ‘respect’ he deserves on the team, feeling that Nash and Stoudamire were getting all the credit. Well, he finally gets one half of the spotlight in Miami, the worst team in the league. The former ‘SlamBall’ colour commentator should ask his former teammate Joe Johnson how he’s working out in Atlanta.
Pau Gasol accidentally traded for his younger brother, two first round picks and his aunt. ‘Whoops!’ says Memphis General Manager Chris Wallace as he shrugs his shoulders
This trade of Pau Gasol to the Los Angeles Lakers is a bit old so I won't go into the specific details but Memphis was absolutely hosed out of one of the 10 best big men in the NBA. Say what you will about Pau and his team never winning in the NBA, but the guy can sure lead a team to a dominating record in the European and World Championships.
Also, one has to look at the fact that in all the years he’s been in Memphis, the best player he’s ever played with is Shane Battier.
Gasol will thrive in the triangle offense, if the Lakers win the Championship this year or next this trade will go down as one of the greatest thieveries in the history of the Association.
The All Jason Kidd Team
It's more likely than ever that Jason Kidd gets dealt to a new team. Will it be Dallas? Cleveland? Maybe even Atlanta?
One could easily argue that Jason Kidd is one of the top five point guards of all time (in your FACE Lenny Wilkens). He's the best rebounding point of his generation and possessed the physical and mental tools to dominate games without even scoring the ball. He also has the girliest free throw stroke since Rick Barry’s underhand lob. Kidd is in his mid thirties now and past his prime, but he's still a top five point guard who could desperately use a big man to work with.
Now with Kidd's unique skillset, who would be the ideal foursome to compliment him? Attributes that would have to be considered are speed - to take advantage of his unmatched fast break skills. Let's see if a starting five can be built that would put the Boston Celtics to shame…
The Devious Talents of Jason Kidd
Center - Dwight Howard
This is the easiest choice of the bunch. I remember watching Vince Carter toss an alley-oop pass to Dwight at the All-Star game last year and mouthing 'that was too easy'. Dwight has one of the craziest vertical leaps in the game, which is criminal seeing the dude is almost seven feet tall. If Carter (who isn't a bad passer by any stretch) could Currently Dwight is being fed by a combination of Jameer Nelson and Carlos Arroyo, which is too bad because being fed by Jameer Nelson is almost as bad as trying to share a pizza with Tractor Traylor and Sofoklis Schortsianitis.
PF - Kevin Garnett
Garnett is one the most complete players in the league and also possibly the league’s most intense. His ability to get up and down the court to aid in the fast break attack as well as contribute in the half court would make him a valuable asset to the team. He’ll help the front court IQ (admittedly, Dwight’s isn’t too great) and he’ll bring his usual shutdown defense.
Others under consideration - Shawn Marion, Chris Bosh, Dirk Nowitzki
SF - LeBron James
Could it be anybody else?
Others under consideration - Josh Smith, Caron Butler, Andre Igoudala
SG – Kevin Martin
Hate on me for not selecting Kobe all you want, but Martin is the new-age Reggie Miller. Martin just seems to be a pure scorer without having to handle the ball for significant amounts of time. He also has more range and better accuracy with his shooting than Kobe, shooting a better percentage from the line and field while hitting more three pointers per game. With J-Kidd creating his shots he’d be deadly.
Others under consideration – Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade, Paul Pierce
Well that’s it for the inaugural edition of the McCready Malarkey. I hope you enjoyed it!
*Note: Matt is currently unemployed and has a barren barren womb.
