Free Agency Circus: Decision 2010

Rudy Gay - Memphis Grizzlies
Gay re-signs with a promising young team that has potential to develop and has learned to play very well together. It is hard to fault him for choosing what he knows over signing with a potentially volatile team team such as the Clippers. The Grizzlies are a familiar place where he knows his role, and this team will only get better.

Joe Johnson - Atlanta Hawks
Show me the money. Thats what Johnson told the Hawks, and they listened. He stays on a team that was the 3 seed in the east last year, but got swept in the second round (partly because of an atrocious series by Johnson). I can’t help but feel that he would have been better off joining the Bulls. Chicago needs a scoring 2 guard who can shoot, the overall ceiling of the team is higher, and Johnson would have other reliable scorers to take the load off of him in crunch time.

Carlos Boozer - Chicago Bulls
I love this move. The biggest need for Chicago was post scoring, and Boozer provides that in bunches. Boozer will also be paired in the frontcourt with a defensive, shot-blocking center, a luxury he never had in Utah.

Dirk Nowitzki - Dallas Mavericks
Dirk is the man in Dallas, and everybody knew that he wasn’t seriously considering leaving. Re-signing keeps him on a very competitive team, but an aging one. The window for this squad is closing within the next two seasons, if it isn’t shut already.

Paul Pierce & Ray Allen - Boston Celtics
Both re-signed to make one or two more runs at another title. It seems that if this years playoff run didn’t happen, at the very least Allen would have bolted town, because many teams could use his services. As it stands, this team could make another run to the title game, but with new east powers in Chicago and Miami along with an aging roster, that seems unlikely.

Amare Stoudemire - New York Knicks
Amare got left hanging by the rest of this free agent class. With all the glitz and glamour of the big city, ultimately the lack of faith in the Knick’s program kept other stars far away. There is hope: D’Antoni is a good coach, Gallinari is a shooter, Wilson Chandler is solid, Anthony Randolph and Tony Douglas have potential, and the team still has cap space for the future. On the down side, there is not much hope to win in a suddenly top-heavy east without another all-star. Unless the Carmelo and Tony Parker are joining him, as Stoudemire suggests, this team will continue to be stuck in mediocrity.

David Lee - Golden State Warriors
Seems like a perfect match: one of the worst defenders in the league joins one of the worst defensive teams. This worked out well for Lee, he will certainly thrive and post huge numbers in this system, but he won’t add much to the win column. Golden State definitely overpaid for his services, and lost out on a couple promising young talents too.

Kevin Durant - Oklahoma City Thunder
Durant signed a max contract extension to remain with the Thunder, which is a great move. He is the focal point of an up and coming young team with a GM that is going about building a contender the right way. By not taking on large contracts and building this team through the draft and bargain role players, the Thunder have created a good young team with options to get better in the future, something the Cavs failed at when trying to keep LeBron.

Dwayne Wade - Miami Heat
The ultimate winner of this offseason. Not only does Wade gets to stay on HIS team in the city he loves (and loves him back because he brought them a championship), but he convinced two other all-stars to join him, included a two-time MVP. His decision makes the most sense and was also the least in doubt of all the stars.

Chris Bosh - Miami Heat
Another big winner, it was evident very quickly that Bosh wanted to play next to another star, preferably Wade or James, and he ended up with both. Whether he was tired of subpar supporting casts or if he knew that he would never win a championship being the #1 option on a team, Bosh went into free agency looking for help, and he got it. In a BIG way.

LeBron James - Miami Heat
The initial reaction to LeBron signing with Miami is that his legacy will take a hit. Regardless of what happens, LeBron will always be subject to criticism that he couldn’t take a team to a championship by himself, any titles won will be the result of world class teammates in Wade and Bosh. It is refreshing, however, to see multiple stars take a pay cut for the good of the team. What people are also forgetting is that these guys are all friends; wouldn’t you want a chance to spend the next 5 years of your life playing basketball (and winning championships) with your friends? James has already taken quite a beating back in his home state of Ohio. People have already been seen burning LeBron Cavs jerseys, and Cavs owner Dan Gilbert appears to have gone off the deep end with comments he made on the team’s website shortly following the announcement (claiming that the Cavs would win a championship before the self proclaimed ‘king’ and his new team). While I think these reactions are harsh (as a person LeBron deserves to decide where he wants to go in his life), LeBron did not show much class by stringing out everybody involved in this decision, culminating in a giant one hour tv special that seemed to exist mostly to stroke his own ego. Ultimately I think LeBron would have been better served signing with Chicago, where he still could have won championships, but be ‘the man’ while doing it.