NBA Musical Chairs - Part 3 of 3

In this final installment of my series on the NBA offseason, I'm going to discuss some of the biggest trades of the offseason so far:

Bucks trade Yi Jianlian and Bobby Simmons to Nets for Richard Jefferson:
This trade appears to be decent for both teams, as New Jersey signals it is clearly in rebuilding mode by trading one of their remaining assets (Vince Carter giving a crap half the time being the other) for a young talent with lots of potential (and a demonstrable ability to take on a team of folding chairs all by himself). Milwaukee picks up a good scorer with okay rebounding and assist numbers and adds another piece to a team looking to make a playoff run this year. However, this deal raises questions on both sides. Bobby Simmons signed an absolutely ludicrous contract and the Nets will be stuck paying for it to get a mediocre player at best. Yi Jianlian, though he'll obviously be happier to play in northern New Jersey (and Brooklyn soon, presumably) than he was in the frozen tundra of Milwaukee, has a lot left to prove that he was worth the high selection the Bucks used on him in last year's draft. Jefferson has a big ego, and Milwaukee will have to find a way to share the wall between a PG who likes to shoot (Mo Williams), an elite gunner in Michael Redd and the post presence of Andrew Bogut along with Jefferson. It will be interesting to see how this trade pans out for both teams in a couple of years.

Raptors trade T.J. Ford, Rasho Nesterovic, Maceo Baston and rights to Roy Hibbert to Pacers for Jermaine O'Neal and rights to Nathan Jawai:
Both teams were jettisoning players who no longer fit into their plans in this trade and hoping the central player they received would be able to deliver for them this year. Jermaine O'Neal still has the potential to be a top post player at his best, but he's beginning to get older and is always an injury risk. However, pairing him with Chris Bosh down low will make for a dangerous tandem for Toronto and if O'Neal pans out will be a great pickup for them. The Pacers were in the market for a point guard as Jamaal Tinsley, between his off-the-court issues and his failure to live up to his billing, has not been the player the Pacers were hoping for. Ford is a decent, if unimpressive PG, and, like O'Neal, is a constant threat to be injured. I'm not really sure what the Pacers are trying to do, between the pickups of Ford (who, although decent, is a bit pricey) and Hibbert (an NBA-ready player, but much more suited to a supporting role on a contender) and the trading away of Jerryd Bayless (who has looked very impressive in summer league play - yes I know they mean as much as the NFL preseason, if not less). I don't see this trade helping the Pacers much, but it does take O'Neal's big contract off the books, leaving them free to make bigger and better acquisitions down the line.

Nuggets trade Marcus Camby to the Clippers for the right to swap second-round picks and cash considerations:
This is the type of trade that makes me absolutely hate the financial structure of the NBA. Despite all the rules about trades having to be an even value and whatnot, the Nuggets managed to give away Camby, a fantastic defensive center and a guy who can put up absolutely ridiculous stat lines (seriously, my friends and I sometimes play this game where one person will read off all his numbers of the line and we have to try and guess what stat corresponds with which number- look up his game logs sometime!) simply to free up cap space. I like the move for the Clips, who responded to losing Elton Brand and Corey Maggette quickly by shoring up their frontcourt with a proven defender and low-post presence, which gives the Clippers a surprisingly solid starting line-up (assuming Eric Gordon pans out and can make a good impact this year), albeit little depth behind that lineup. I originally was angry at how cheaply the Nuggets gave away such a strong big man, but after reading Jim Armstrong's article on the subject, I have to say I agree. The Nuggets aren't a contender despite their star-studded lineup and won't be with this group of players. It's best to throw in the towel and start rebuilding sooner rather than later by dumping some of these big contracts so they can work with a new group of guys who will hopefully complement one another better than the chaos and chemistry problems of the past couple seasons.

Blazers trade Jarrett Jack and Brandon Rush to the Pacers for Jerryd Bayless and Ike Diogu:
Due to the fact that most of the players involved in this trade haven't logged time in the NBA, I really don't know if I can comment effectively on the ramifications of this trade, though I will say that I like Bayless a lot and if his performance in the summer league is any indication (I realize relying on summer league play is dubious- after all even Donte' Greene is doing well) he'll be a very good NBA player if he can find a role that suits him. Given that the Pacers appear to be rebuilding, I can't help but feel they're the losers of this trade. Brandon Rush had a great year at Kansas and recovered well from a major injury prior to that, but I can't see him as more than a role player in the Association. Jarrett Jack has put up some decent numbers, but he also seems like a role player, and now with the Ford trade, the Pacers have a rather crowded backcourt situation. I don't know a goddamned thing about Ike Diogu, so I'm not commenting on him.

NBA Musical Chairs - Part 1 of 3

I know I'm a bit late in chiming in on these moves, but since I DID just start this little blog a couple days ago, I figured I should give my impressions of the big offseason moves made so far in the NBA. This first part will focus on the big free-agent signings of the offseason thus far:

Signings:

Baron Davis to the Clips:
B-Diddy is a proven asset, and served quite well as the leader of Golden State's uptempo "NellieBall" offense. Davis should bring some leadership and scoring capability to a Clippers team that has needed both in recent years. If he can stay healthy (always a concern with him) and avoid the distractions of L.A. (especially given his Hollywood aspirations), he should prove to be a great acquisition for the Clippers

Elton Brand to the Sixers:
Obviously, as a Philly boy, I'm very excited by this signing. Brand is one of the elite power forwards in the NBA and as everyone on earth has mentioned by now, is in elite company in the group of active players who've averaged 20/10 in their career (KG, Shaq, Duncan). He brings a needed post presence and another rebounder to a Sixers team with high hopes for the coming year. Brand is a class act and a very marketable star and should help the Sixers revitalize their disillusioned fan base tired of years of mediocrity and front-office misfires by former GM Billy King. It should also be noted that the unloading of unproductive Calvin Booth and the young, raw Rodney Carney to the Timberwolves was an excellent front-office move by Sixers GM Ed Stefanski, the type of move that Billy King would've been on the opposite end of.

Corey Maggette to the Warriors:
Maggette is a proven scorer and a solid fit in the high-speed offense of the Warriors. He is improving his 3-point shot and put up a very respectable 38.4% from the arc last season, a career high. However, the losses of Baron Davis and Mickael Pietrus will be big losses for a team that was already a fringe playoff team, and I'm not sure Maggette is enough to put them back over the top in the loaded Western Conference.

Mickael Pietrus to the Magic:
Pietrus was the type of acquisition the Magic, a team who appears only a piece or two away from contending for a conference or league title, needed. Pietrus was a solid contributor off the bench for the Warriors last year, and though he's probably not a starting-caliber talent, but his scoring and boards off the bench should help the Magic when their starters need a rest. It should also be noted that Pietrus averaged a steal per game last season, the best mark of his career- that ball-savvy defense should be an asset to the Magic if he can match that total.

James Posey to the Hornets:
James Posey was one of the key reserves for last season's Celtics team, which as Bill Simmons will remind us for seven or eight years, won the NBA championship in dominating fashion (even if they barely eked out series wins over the underachieving Hawks and mediocre Cavs). Posey brings solid shooting, GREAT defense and the ability to make big shots in the clutch to a Hornets team looking to contend for the title next year. I love this signing and think it will help New Orleans erase any doubt that last year was a fluke.

In the next installment of this post I will discuss the major re-signings of this offseason thus far.