Well folks, the offseason's officially in full effect. As teams scramble like madmen to clear cap space for the impeding superstar exodus of 2010 and leap across the immense canyon separating the league's elite from its commoners, many high-profile names are checking distant propety listings. We've already seen four premiere players (...well...if you're inclined to give Jamal Crawford and Richard Jefferson that much credit) switch area codes, with no shortage of musings about moves yet to come. Certainly some of the moves made early in Thursday's draft would suggest that there's a blockbuster or two in the works, but regardless of what the rest of the NBA plans to do to catch up, its strongest contenders took decisive steps toward the title they crave .
The Spurs went out and grabbed a fourth wheel to balance their offensive attack; adding a physical slasher who can give you 20/game, while giving up a bottle of Pine Sol and some Burger King coupons, never hurt anyone. Jefferson definitely won't fill Bowen's shoes as a defender, but he's a major upgrade, giving the Spurs more size and athleticism, not to mention more than a Steve Kerr-equse offensive presence. As this team becomes less and less Timmy D's, they need talent around him to contend, and they just traded two washed-up big contracts and a big man they can easily replace via free agency. Even if I don't see Jefferson thriving like he did with J-Kidd in Jersey, it's hard not to like this move. Way to take perfect advantage of the Milwaukee Bucks' never-ending implosion. If their injury-prone Big 3 are hurt again next year, the blow won't be as severe; they're probably closer to the title than any team the fucking Mavs ever just put out in the first round.
Meanwhile, out East, the two titans learned the hard way that the Lakers are much better than they are (I still think the Cavs would've fared better, but I digress..), and bodied up; both lowballing rebuilding squads for All-Star calibre players at ten cents on the dollar. Orlando prepped for the Turkish Michael Jordan's departure (..man...that still cracks me up to this day. I still don't know what I find more offensive, the fact that he'd compare himself to His Airness, or how, upon brief contemplation, it's completely true) by adding some Vinsanity to the mix. I like it for many reasons; Vince is a better scorer, better ballhandler and rebounder, not necessarily a worse passer and gives them a second marquee name. I can only pray that Carter's learned a lesson about leadership and humility since his child's antics in T-Dot; all indications are positive but this will be his first time playing for a legit contender; it'll be interesting to see how it plays out.
The Cavs, however made the biggest splash (pun completely intended), luring The Big _______ to his first non-vacation-magnet NBA city and pairing the League's most most dynamic talent with its most imposing persona. Cleveland knows they very well might need to win a title this year to keep Lebron, and rolled the dice for all the marbles. I think this was the best trade, not because of my sworn allegiance to King James, but because the Cavs gave up the least and addressed their glaring weakness. They now have a post presence on both end of the floor; one who finishes much better than Anderson Varejao and won't be tossed to the curb like last week's garbage by Dwight Howard. Big Z won't have to play as much and Lebron will average another 2-3 assists per game by default. Not only does this make basketball sense, but blesses Cleveland with the presence of the most playoff-tested warrior left; one who's won four titles, taken three teams to the Finals, and can be the ultimate locker room catalyst. His co-existence with LBJ will be fascinating; Cleveland was already my favorite team to watch, but now I'm openly going to question the sanity of anyone who sees it differently...and let's not even get excited about the oh-so possible Kobe - Shaq/Lebron 2010 Finals...in fact nobody even mention it until next June, it can't be jinxed.
No comments:
Post a Comment