The Pistons picked up both Ben Gordon and Charlie Villaneva
There is lots of hype this offseason, but mostly it's just for the better teams who can contend for a championship. Such as Boston, Cleveland, LA, etc. I'll talk about some of those teams in this post and who they might pick up this offseason.
DETROIT PISTONS
They have already made moves by offering Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva, who were teammates at UConn for a year, today. Gordon agreed to a 5 year- $55 million deal, and Villanueva al! so accepted a 5 year deal, worth around $35-$40 million. The Pistons are also pushing to re-sign forward Antonio McDyess. They are losing both Rasheed Wallace and Allen Iverson this year to free agency, so it looks like they are going to fill in those cracks as best as they can, though Iverson didn't do much for Detroit in his 1 year stint. But the signing of Gordon could also mean that shooting guard Rip Hamilton could be parting ways with the Pistons. They might trade him to a team like Utah for Carlos Boozer, or they could try and get center Ty Chandler from New Orleans, or Chris Kaman from the Clippers. They need a low post presence, and each of those guys could fill it.
BOSTON CELTICS
They sent the Big Three and coach Doc Rivers to meet with Rasheed Wallace, because they think he can be the guy that helps get them championship #18. They are also targeting veteran Grant Hill as a guy they might get. It looks like Boston will be paying a whole lot ! of luxury tax, but it could pay off and Boston could run away ! with ano ther championship before the Big Three wear off. Wallace is also being pursued by Cleveland, Orlando, Dallas, and San Antonio. Everyone thinks they are going to win a championship this year. I say if the Celtics manage to pick up Wallace, 2010 is their year. Picking up both Rasheed and Hill would be even better, if they can do this, I am probably predicting Boston as 2010's champion. But, hey, LA could win it again too. ;)
HOUSTON ROCKETS
The Rockets are in trouble. Yao Ming is facing a career-threatening injury, and Tracy McGrady will miss most of next season. And if they don't pick up Ron Artest, it's going to make things a whole lot worse. He is a free agent this offseason, and they need him. They probably will take him, and then try and use their mid-level exception on Orlando backup center Marcin Gortat. It could get them to the playoffs if it works out, but if it doesn't, they get a ticket to the draft lottery next year. If they manage to snatch ! Gortat and re-sign Artest, and combine with point guard Aaron Brooks, Shane Battier, Luis Scola, and bench guys like Carl Landry and newly-acquired rookies Chase Budinger and Jermaine Taylor, it can turn out pretty well. I would like to see all those guys working with eachother next season and see what they can do.
OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER & UTAH JAZZ
They want Utah Jazz power forward Paul Millsap alot, and if they make a huge offer to him that Utah can't match, the Jazz are in trouble. But, I think they should let him go back to Utah for a while and see how Jeff Green turns out. If the Thunder do end up getting Millsap, Utah forward Carlos Boozer is the one to blame. He thinks he has to get this huge deal, and then figures out that no team would be willing to pay him as much as he wants. So he stays with Utah and now they have to pay him like $12 million next season. Come on Boozer, you suck. I'm sorry, but it is true. He does not work at all for Ut! ah anymore. He is lazy and slow. He can't play defense, even w! ith his 6-9, 266 lbs. body. Sure, he can score a little and can bang up on the boards, but seriously, if you can do that, then why not swat a couple shots?
NEW YORK KNICKS & DALLAS MAVERICKS
The Knicks and Mavericks look like the people in the front of the line to sign 36-year old point guard Jason Kidd. In my opinion, Kidd isn't the best point guard in the free agent pool this year. The Knicks, if they are expecting to get LeBron James, shouldn't be wasting time and money on Kidd. He could be out of the league pretty soon. They should be just focusing on getting David Lee and Nate Robinson to compliment one of the stars they might possibly get in 2010's offseason. Dallas is probably re-signing Kidd. They should leave it at that and not try and get him. They will regret it in the future if they do it. It was already reported that Dallas offered Kidd a 3 year deal, so New York shouldn't have put that much thought into it.
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZER! S
The Blazers could also be interested in Kidd, but shouldn't be. Jerryd Bayless looks pretty promising, and Steve Blake is one of the most underrated players in the NBA. Patrick Mills could also be successful on this roster as another back up PG. Plus, the Blazers have most of their interest in signing forward Hedo Turkoglu, but he will only work on that roster if they run the same plays that Stan Van Gundy ran with him on there. It is what makes Turkoglu as good as he is. It is what made Orlando get to the Finals. If Portland signs Turkoglu, then they are going to have to run those plays that gets him really involved. And the Blazers can be championship contenders next season.
LOS ANGELES LAKERS
Lamar Odom looks like he is going to be in a Laker uniform next season, but swingman Trevor Ariza is leaning toward signing with another team. Portland could be getting him, and Toronto also could get him, because they can pay more than the mid-leve! l exception. The Lakers won't pay any more than their $5.6 mil! lion mid -level exception to get him. I think Ariza should just take that and stay with the Lakers if he wants to continue to be successful. If Toronto is losing Shawn Marion this season, and star Chris Bosh next season, then Ariza will be in a losing hole if he does sign with the Raptors. Other teams that are interested in him include Houston, Cleveland, and the Los Angeles Clippers.
LA CLIPPERS & MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES
Zach Randolph is going to Memphis. Accourding to sources, the Clippers dealt him to Memphis for recently-acquired forward Quentin Richardson. The Clippers most likely sent him there to open up a starting spot for #1 pick Blake Griffin. Randolph was acquired from New York last November to fill the void that star power forward Elton Brand left when he signed with Philadelphia in the summer of '08. Richardson was traded from New York to Memphis on draft night for center Darko Milicic. Now he is re-joining the team that drafted him in 2000. One of h! is most successful years was with the Clippers in the 03-04 season, when he averaged 17.2 points and 6.3 rebounds, and shot .352 from the perimeter.
CHARLOTTE BOBCATS
A Larry Brown-Allen Iverson reunion could be in the making. Iverson could dramatically improve Charlotte's offense, and Brown has been successful with Iverson before. They were both part of the Philadelphia 76ers in 2001 and managed to make it to the NBA Finals before getting knocked out by the LA Lakers. If these two reunite, it could get the Bobcats alot farther than they went this past season.
