The Association

Grading Trades and Acquisitions... So Far

By Craig Kwasniewski

 
Why bother wasting time talking about the impacts of all the summer trades and free agent signings? After all LeBron, Wade and especially Bosh are all mortal locks for the next 6 NBA championships, a World Cup title in 2014, finding the cure for AIDS and solving the "Is the Hills real or not?" crises. There's no competition these three guys will win EVERYTHING. Pack it up fellas, you're either with the Heat or against mankind.

Okay let's keep the defense honest and pretend that there's actually a season to be played and actual competition out there. One week into the free agent signing period, here are my thoughts so far:

Drew Gooden and John Salmons signing 5-year contracts with Milwaukee: One guy's been on nine teams in nine years, the other is a ballhog. N-I-N-E! Maybe Drew's a great guy and maybe he finally gets it, but something tells me that if he's anything decent one of the other eight (E-I-G-H-T) teams would have kept him. John Salmons is your prototypical ball stopper. Yes he had a good run in the 2009 playoff with Chicago, but he wasn't good enough to stick around. People suddenly made Milwaukee an instant contender. Why? And why five years for these guys? F-I-V-E! Who's else wants them for even two? Grade: D

Steve Blake signs with the Lakers: Three words: I LOVE IT! The money's good at $16 mil over four years, he's a good defender, a good spot-up shooter (perfect for the Triangle) and a willing learner (he said he's coming off the bench behind Fisher). The Lakers were chasing several mid-level point guards and landed their number one option. His age is the only downfall but Jerry Buss is going all in on the Kobe Bryant era so why not. Grade: A

Randy Foye, Ryan Gomes & Brian Cook sign with the Clippers: First off, I like Gomes.  He has a decent baseline jumper and plays hard every night.  Foye?  Ehhhh... DC took a chance on him after being a bust in Miny and he really hasn't panned out.  His claim to fame is NOT being Brandon Roy.  But as a backup not much will be expected and maybe he'll fit.  BUT... Brian Cook for two years?  T-W-O???  What the hell?  This guy shouldn't be in the league and really he wouldn't be if the Clippers didn't sign him.  But why the two years? Who else is offering more than a 10-day contract?  Grade: F (sorry but the stink of Brian Cook knocks a B- down to a solid F... HE SUCKS!)

Golden State trades for David Lee:  Turiaf, Randolph and Azubuike for Lee? The blogosphere LOVES Randolph! I keep hearing (for what feels like decades) that he's a sick talent waiting to break out. To me, the Dubs (BTW - are they still that? can you really have a cool nickname if your team is annually back in lottery-land?) gave up very little to get what is a slightly upgraded version of Andris Biedrins, an active offense-first C/F. He'll fit Nellie's No Defense, No Problem system perfectly and put up some sick offensive numbers. It's just that Golden State won't stop anyone on D.... EVER. Grade: B

Jermaine O'Neal signs with the Celtics:  Make no mistake, this is a great deal for the Celtics! (And yes, I was just looking to utter my second most favorite ex-athlete-on-TV cliches.)  People are knocking O'Neal's playoff numbers against the C's this year, but they're not acquiring him to put up #2 or #3 option numbers.  His job is to fill in for Perkins until he returns and then play 10 to 15 minutes as the first C/F off the bench.  Plus, the hope is that one last shot at a title and KG's leadership will be enough to motivate the guy.  Mix this deal with Ray Allen returning and IN MY OPINION the Celtics are still the top team in the east.  I know that's just crazy to think the defending Eastern Conference Champions actually have a shot despite having veteran leadership, a great defense, team chemistry and quality size up front.  I feel guilty for actually thinking they're better than the Heat, should I go into hiding like Salmon Rushdie?  Grade: A-

Phoenix trades for Hedo Turkoglu, Josh Childress and Hakim Warrick: Lose Amar'e to free agency and get back LENGTH.  Not a bad deal for a team that lost their marquee players for absolutely nothing. Wait, who knocked out the Suns in the playoffs?  The taller and longer Lakers.  So the Suns counter with length and handles.  Hedu has something to prove after the Toronto disaster and with Nash and co. he'll get a lot of healthy looks.  Childress was a little overrated this summer, the Suns basically got Joe Smith 2.0.  Still that's not a bad thing with this system.  The best part about Hakim Warrick will be listening to Lakers PA guy Lawrence Tanter botch his name.  Warrick is his albatross... It's unfair to compare these guys directly to Stat's impact in 2009-10, given the situation I think the Suns did a hell of a job here. Grade: B+

Dallas extends Brendan Haywood and trades for Tyson Chandler:  I see what Dallas is doing here and it may work, but in reality they're probably going to end up like the 2000 Portland Trailblazers.  They went for height to counter the Lakers but in the end they may have too many players to choose from.  Kidd, Terry, Haywood, Chandler, Marion, Butler and Nowitzki... that's a talented top 7 but can Carlisle find the right rotation?  He didn't last spring and they fell to the Spurs in the first round.  Still, I like the effort by the Mavs and can't fault them for what I think might happen.  Grade: B

Al Jefferson to the Jazz:  Here's another blogoshpere favorite.  The Jazz did what they needed to do, find a replacement for Boozer and continue on with the 50+ wins and second round elimination gameplan (which actually isn't bad for a small market team).  Jefferson is a slight upgrade but not as dramatic an improvement as others claim.  His overall winning percentage is LOW, he's injury prone and his defense is suspect.  The low winning percentage is one that I can't let go.  If he's as good as people claim, shouldn't he have some kind of impact on the overall team record?  Is he possibly one of those good-guy-on-a-bad-team type of players?  Anyway, Utah did EXACTLY what they needed to do and for that... Grade: A-

Bulls sign Carlos Boozer and Kyle Korver: As of now, rumors are the Magic will match the offer sheet to JJ Redick, so we're only talking about the ex-Jazz guys. The Bulls were shooting for LeBron or Wade and ended up with Boozer.  Funny how the joke was that the Knicks would probably end up with Rudy Gay and Boozer after missing out on LeBron. Now that the Bulls got Boozer, people forgot the joke and instantly made them a top 3 contender in the east. You gotta love July hype!  I do think Boozer is a good signing and as long as he's not facing the Lakers he'll be fine.  His health has been a concern the past few years, but maybe playing in the #3 market with a strong up-and-coming team will keep him on the floor.  Redick would have been a better signing than Korver, who's clearly lost a step last year, but it never hurts to get a few quality outside shooters.  Plus the REAL key acquisition for the Bulls was Tom Thibodeau.  Grade: B-

Jordan Farmar to the Nets:  Farmar asked for a starting role with an offence that caters to his talents. Instead he gets to back up Devin Harris for the Clippers East who just hired NBA retread Billy King as their GM.  Have fun big guy! Two years ago the Lakers basically structured their roster for Farmar to take over and start after the 2010 season.  Fisher's contract was expiring, Farmar needed an extension... the keys to a fine tuned Lamborghini were his. Instead he regressed and both parties went their own ways. Sad... Grade: D

Amar'e Stoudemire to the Knicks:  Quite simply the NBA is a better league with the Knicks as playoff contenders.  It's basketball mecca... nuff said.  Mix in all the other pieces from the David Lee trade and the Raymond Felton signing and you might have enough for a playoff run.  If anything Amar'e has created a buzz not felt since the Ewing era (they sold out season tickets for the 2010-11 season).  God I hope the Isiah Thomas rumors are just BS, because there's actually hope for the Knicks, not band aid work with a bunch of overrated veterans but actual hope with potential down the rode hope.  Grade A-

Did I miss anything?

LeBron, Wade, Bosh, Miller and Ilgauskus to the Heat:  Message to the blogosphere:  can't you just let things organically happen?  Seriously... as soon as this deal went down all you talked about were multiple titles and legacy.  Sprinkle in the anti-hate "unique" point of view (which wasn't unique at all)... you know, the whole, hey LeBron is NOT a bad guy here and I'm tired of the hate (BTW - all two hours of hate, because HOW DARE WE actually criticize THE KING!!!!) angle and I'm already tired of reading about this deal.  Can't we just enjoy the experience before calling them the greatest ever?  As Phil Jackson has always said, it's all about the journey not the destination.  Before handing over the next 25 NBA titles, let's enjoy watching this team grow together,  work together through tough situations and experience two superstars combining for one cause.

That said, Bosh is an All-Star not a superstar, Miller is on the downside of his career and Ilgauskus averaged less that 2 points and 2 rebounds in the 2010 playoffs.  (That was the most disturbing thing of them all, Z was brought back to the Cavs after the Jamison trade as a final piece to an eventual NBA title.  He was lost and didn't contribute a damn thing.  So how is it now literally months later, he's back to becoming an All-Star?) There's still work to do roster-wise and even though everyone not named LeBron or Wade will get clean looks, they still have to ALL play defense. And they still have to get by the Celtics and Lakers.  People completely forgot the concept of veteran experience, defensive continuity, team chemistry and in the case of both the Lakers and Celtics, quality size.  You gotta stop KG, Perkins, Bynum, Gasol and Odom... and that won't happen in 2010.  Grade A+ but they're not winning a title next year!

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Thoughts On a Crazy Day/Night of Trading

By Craig Kwasniewski 

Can we replace the dunk contest with a live feed into the board rooms of the 30 GM's at trading deadline? Seriously, how much more entertaining would it be to see a desparate Donnie Walsh nervously work his poker face with Daryl Morey, who holds all the Mac's I mean cards.

Anyway, trading deadline is still hours away yet the last 24-hours have been very crazy as several title contenders and not-even-pretenders hoped to improve their chances at dethroning the Lakers. Here are my thoughts on the recent trades (including the crazy T-Mac to Sacramento??? trade that happened in the early hours, which by the way interrupted my Olympic Curling viewing in HD.): 

The Cleveland Cavaliers acquire Antawn Jamison. In a three team deal Jamison and Sebastian Telfair go to Cleveland; Zydrunas Ilgauskas, the Cavs 2010 first-round draft pick, the rights to Emir Preldzic and Al Thornton go to Washington; and Drew Gooden goes to the Clippers. 

First thoughts? Whew! The Cavs could have had a younger more athletic Amar'e Stoudemire filling the lane and reigning terror a-la Shawn Kemp from 1992 to 1997. They could have gotten bigger, younger and more athletic and completely whiffed because they didn't want to part with JJ Hickson?!?  Whew!  LeBron would have been hoisting a trophy for the next FIVE years.... WHEW!

Lemme get this straight, the Cavs have been rolling over every opponent (including the defending champs) with size and defense so they trade size and defense away for smaller and offense (who's also a little long in the tooth at 33 years old). I attended the Lakers-Cavs game on Xmas Day and the Lakers had no answer when Mike Brown put both Shaq and Ilgauskas on the floor at the same time. Gasol and Bynum never had to face a frontline bigger and stronger than them and they backed off as Cleveland blew out the Lakers.  Weeks later the same thing happened in Cleveland as the Cavs size especially threw Gasol off his game. 

How is a smaller mid-range guy with no defensive skills going to help? He's only made it out of the first round once in the playoffs, he struggled when on a contending team (2003-04 Dallas Mavericks) and he can't play a lick of defense. I can't stress this enough, Mike Brown made his bones as a defensive coach, he's quite possibly the least creative offensive coach in the history of the NBA yet he's still LeBron's coach because he calls a hell of a defensie game. How is a guy who played his entire career on offense-first ZERO-defense teams going to blend with the Cavs? Yeah maybe he'll be a 20 and 8 guy every night, but everyone who plays with LeBron is capable of that. Why? Because freakin' LeBron James is there and he'll create more easy baskets than you can imagine. But really, offensive stats aside the Cavs got worse in this deal on the most important end of their floor: defense and size. 

BTW - oh and what about Shaq? Is he capable of splitting Z's minutes with Varajao? Does he have the energy to play out the season with the extra minutes? He's no longer with the chemical brothers (Phoenix's training staff) to help squeeze every last bit of energy out of him. I'm real curious to see how the Cavs front line reacts on the floor now that Z is gone. 

The Clippers found a way to dump salary and are expected to buy out Gooden right away, leaving them a major player in the summer... well except that their owner hates black people, which may chase away like every single free agent.

The Wizards... I haven't seen a team blown up this fast since the Lakers in the summer of 2004 when they traded away Shaq, Rick Fox and Gary Payton and let Karl Malone, Derek Fisher and Phil Jackson go. I feel for ya D.C.!  I'm just curious how Ernie Grunfeld still has a job.  

The Rockets send Tracy McGrady to Sacramento for Kevin Martin.  The full deal has the Rockets sending McGrady, Carl Landry and Joey Dorsey to the Kings for Martin, Sergio Rodriguez, Hilton Armstrong and Kenny Thomas. 

Okay this trade went down late last night and completely took me by surprise.  All week we were hearing T-Mac to the Knicks is imminent, it's happening, the Knicks will be serious players this summer now that they can shed T-Mac's huge expiring contract.... (insert crashing car noise here)... BAM!

Daryl Morey got tired of negotiating over draft protections with Donnie Walsh and found a better deal in Sacto.  When healthy Kevin Martin is a very good shooting guard that knows how to get to the freethrow line.  (He once scored 20 points while going 1 of 8 from the field!)  It doesn't hurt to have a guy who can get to the freethow line anytime, especially in the postseason.

But what DOES hurt is that he's injury-prone (he missed 84 games the past three seasons) and of any team in the NBA, the Rockets are the last franchise that needs yet another injury-prone player.  But given a choice between the stink that the Knicks were offering and this deal, it's safe to say Morey came out ahead... and Donnie Walsh is left staring at his phone hoping someone, anyone will take Jared Jeffries contract.  I'm starting to understand why the blogosphere loves Morey.  

The Kings get a hockey player trapped in the body of an NBA player, Carl Landry.  I love pairing him up with Nocioni, a pair of balls-out grinders who don't give a damn about stats.  Good guys to have on your team. Oh and they get massive cap relief in T-Mac's expiring contract.  The downside is that they lose Martin, but he wasn't working out well with Tyreke so something had to be done and this deal ain't all that bad for Sacto.

Will they give T-Mac some minutes to prove that he's worthy of a contract this summer... who knows?

The biggest question of all: did Ainge acquire the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders in the deal? 

Celtics trade Eddie House to the Knicks for Nate Robinson.  The Celtics need to throw in another player to complete the deal, possibly J.R. Giddens. As of last night this was a done deal.

Like Cleveland, the Celtics needed size and defense.  So they go out and grab 5'-9" Nate Robinson for instant offense off the bench.  Yeah I get it that the C's go though these excruciatingly long scoring droughts late in games and Robinson seems to be the right type of energy off the bench.  HOWEVER... does this deal make a difference against the Lakers, Magic or Cavs?  The C's need more big bodies to deal with those three teams.  But maybe the worry is more about getting a top three seed than actually competing for a title.

The Knicks... they're reeling bigtime after failing to get T-Mac.  D'Antoni supposedly wanted Eddie House, so there you go Mike.  Enjoy getting a decent three point shooter who talks serious smack while the Knicks lose 65 games and lose any chance of getting LeBron, Wade, Bosh or Joe Johnson because of the failed T-Mac deal. 

As a Lakers fan, the two deals by Cleveland and Boston don't worry me at all.  Both teams got smaller and worse on defense.  But most importantly of all, A'mare does not go to Cleveland where he would have been a monster for the next 5 to 6 years.  WHEW!

The Clippers Get Baron Davis, Let's Sing About It

by Brett Edwards

Wow, that escalated quickly. Turns out the picture I put up yesterday was a bit prophetic, as it looks like Baron Davis and Elton Brand will be teammates in Clipper-land. The Clippers get Baron Davis, and the Warriors get ... absolutely nothing in return. Nice job, Dubs. Anyway, while Warrior fans are likely singing the blues today, Clipper fans are rejoicing, as is evidenced by this video. By the way, this guy's some kind of songwriting genius to have put this together so quickly.

[via FanHouse]

Free Agency Begins With Elton Brand and Baron Davis Opting Out

by Brett Edwards

As of midnight on July 1, the NBA's free agency (negotiating) period began, and did so with a couple of big names unexpectedly opting out of the final year of their deals. Elton Brand and Baron Davis both walked away from big money, a little over $16M and $17M respectively. Brand might very well remain a Clipper; he just wants to make sure the team signs some other pieces so they can compete for a playoff spot. Baron staying in the Bay area? That seems a lot less likely.

The other big name in question is Gilbert Arenas. He's expected to stay with the Wizards (for less than a max deal), but it seems his status may remain unresolved for a few weeks yet. Stay tuned.

Player Movement - Week 1

By Craig Kwasniewski

One week into July and there's been a flurry of player movement... okay not really a flurry more like a trickle. (Outside of the first 10 picks of the draft has there been a more boring off-season?) Anyway, here's my thoughts on some of the hot stove action in the NBA:

Zach Randolph to the New York Knicks: Z-Bo to the Knicks... Let me just say this, come February or March the New York tabloids will be looking for headlines for the back pages and they'll all be waiting earnestly for Randolph's third or fourth misstep (they'll already be a few by then). Basketball-wise, did the NBA change the rules and widen the key to 47 feet? Unless Eddy Curry developed a sick mid-range game (and drops 50 lbs.) I can't see both Curry and Z-Bo meshing on the floor. This will not end well in Gotham.

Ray Allen to the C's: Like I wrote last week, I love this deal.

Luke Walton re-signs with the Lakers: Six years at $30 million for a starting small forward seems like a good deal. The only problem I see in this is the length of the contract. First, he's a Walton and we all know the health record of Bill Walton (Dare I say horrrrribbblllleee terrrrribble!). Also, Walton is a great fit in the Triangle Offense, but I can't see Phil Jackson sticking around longer than 3 years. So what happens with the new coach? Will a new system hide his lack of athleticism or will he be relegated to the pine? The upside is the extremely high basketball I.Q., but how does that stop a Kevin Durant from slicing down the lane for a thunderous dunk?

Kapono reaches agreement with Raptors: I'm not too sure about this one. Because Bryan Colangelo's one of the best GM's in the NBA I'll give him a pass. But in reality, the Raps got a one-dimensional jump shooter who had a career year simply because opposing defenses doubled off him to guard Shaq. He can't create his own shot, he's not really a smart player and he's can't play defense... other than that 4 years at $24 million is a steal. Again, Bryan Colangelo gets a pass because of what he's done in Toronto.

Rashard Lewis signs with Orlando: A potentially third-best player on a team for a max contract? I'd say it was a good deal if the Magic got Lewis for $10 mil., but he's not worth a max. contract. A 6-10 guy with range who prefers to play behind the three-point line... don't they already have that for a lot cheaper in Hedo Turkoglu? Obviously, the Magic are looking to spread out the defense for Dwight Howard in the pivot by loading up on players with range. But why not sign someone like Kapono and save the dough for a quality point guard? Plus, the Magic sould be worried about Lewis' disappearing act in the 2005 playoffs with some random injuries.

Grant Hill signs with Phoenix: This looks more like a deal done to prevent other Western Conference contenders from signing Grant Hill. I can't see him fitting with the fast-paced style of the Suns. He's not a great jump shooter and he's got more of a slow-it-up-and-check-the-defense-before-slashing-to-the-hole type of offensive game. I really thought he'd fit well with the Lakers and the Triangle Offense or possibly with Dallas or San Antonio. Otherwise, I see him playing the role of the 2006-07 Jalen Rose and having AWESOME courtside seats.

Stackhouse agrees to stay with Mavericks: I had to finish with a deal that I loved (see... I'm not cracking on every single off-season move!). Stack's the only Mav with a pair and they needed to re-sign him. Now if only he could toughen up Dirk this off-season.

Player Movement, Part 2

By Craig Kwasniewski

Last week I wrote about some early transactions that happened before the Isaiah Thomas Corollary kicked in (Player Movement, Part 1). July 12th passed and now rumors become reality. So here's a look at what has happened in the past week:

Toronto signs Tony Parker: Let the "no not THAT Tony Parker" jokes begin. So Toronto signs the Maccabi Tel Aviv point guard Anthony Parker to a multi-year contract. Is Chad Ford the GM for the Raptors? How many more Euro stars are they going to get? A few years ago Parker was a quality young point guard for Maccabi, but now he's 31-years old! (???) Is Parker going to start dating some Canadian tramp whore actress preening for the TSN cameras during Raptor games?

Timberwolves sign G Mike James: This move is frickin' brilliant!!! Kevin McHale must have called in sick when this deal went down. James is a straight-up gamer! Dude runs smack and backs it up with a good perimeter game. Suddenly Minnesota looks like a playoff team again, which kills me because they were one more lottery-bound season from trading Garnett to the Lakers.

Lakers Sign Shammond Williams: What does Mitch Kupchak see in a 6'1" point guard that the six previous teams that cut him didn't? Well according to his NBA bio, Shammond "always says a prayer and puts on the 'infamous' headband before a game." Well shit, how can you NOT sign the guy with the "infamous" headband? It's not like 3,453 other players have them, Shammond somehow got the "infamous" one. Once again, fuck you Mitch Kupchak!!! Kobe has two ungodly seasons left in him and you blow his prime years signing on washed up, short and old point guard! Fuck you, my man!

Jazz acquire Derek Fisher from Warriors: This is more of a loss to Golden State than a gain for Utah. They give up a great lockeroom guy in Fisher for Devin Brown and Keith McLeod and forward Andre Owens. Inner turmoil killed Golden State's playoff chances and they trade off one of the few players that was respected by everyone there. Now Barron Davis will be completely out of controll and will likely get Montgomery fired by November. Whatever. Utah gets a player coming off a career season who'll will be a great leader for their Illini backcourt.

Pacers acquire Daniels from Mavs for Croshere: So Dallas now has Dirk Nowitzki, Keith Van Horn (a poor man's Dirk) and Austin Croshere (a poor man's Van Horn). I believe Christian Laettner is available. I know this is some sort of cap move, but when did Cuban get cheap? Daniels is 85% of Josh Howard and since Howard is good for 10-15 missed games for vaginal irritation, Daniels would have been a capable replacement. This is a good move for Indy. This could lead to a Stephen Jackson sell-off.

The Rest:

Mavericks sign Greg Buckner: I'm not a Mavs fans like Brett, but can someone tell me the difference between Greg Buckner and Adrian Griffin? Is Greg Buckner a stage name for Adrian Griffin?

Magic sign Keith Bogans: Orlando gets yet another player who will eat up J.J. Redick in practice.

Spurs sign Jacque Vaughn: Signed as insurance just in case Nick Van Exel's rotting corpse starts to smell.

Chris Wilcox - Still Available: And finally, will someone please trade for this guy? Seattle doesn't want to sign him to a long term contract so they are offering him up for a sign-and-trade. I saw him play for the Clippers and he is a beast. He put up good numbers after he was shipped to Seattle and would be a good athletic power forward that a team like Cleveland would love to have.

Yet I'm here saddled with Mitch Kupchak claiming that the Lakers can contend with the likes of Dallas after acquiring Shammond Williams. Fuck you Mitch!

Player Movement, Part 1

By Craig Kwasniewski

Not even one week into the negotiation period and there has been plenty of player movement. Free agent negotiations began on July 1 however contracts cannot be signed until July 12. I never understood the 11 day delay. Maybe this prevents GM's from getting buyer's remorse after some crappy deals. We'll call it the Isaiah Thomas Corollary (or coronary for you Knick fans).

So let's take a look at a few of the early player movement. Barring any Carlos Boozer back-stabbing situation, we'll assume that the verbal agreements are final.

Ben Wallace to Chicago: Pretty much this has been beaten to death by all the NBA "experts". I just recall reading a Sam Smith piece back in 04-05 predicting that the Bulls were mimicking the Detroit Pistons in their roster moves. While this is a good move, this is not going to make the Bulls an immediate contender. They still lack a low post scorer and that clutch swingman that you need for the playoffs (Kobe, Wade, LeBron, Ginobili, etc.). They were headed in the right direction, but then they brought in Jim Paxson as a consultant. (???) Nothing beats some good old fashioned nepotism! Why not consult your flunky older brother? What type of "consulting" can a former GM who's record was 185-307 and zero NBA playoff appearances in six years do?

Nazr Mohammed to Detroit: Not a bad pick-up for a 4-year deal for $25 million. Losing Wallace was big for team chemistry (was mostly satisfied with take little or no shots), defense (one of the top help defenders in the game) and rebounding. Getting Mohammed is a smart move, Detroit gets a decent big who'll come off the bench and they didn't have to move any key players. Still Detroit is no longer one of the top four teams in the league.

Vladimir Radmanovic to the Lakers: If Lamar Odom is considered a poor man's Pippen and Kobe is Jordan, then Radmanovic is Toni Kukoc. Outside shooting and satisfactory handles off the bench over the next few years. This signals the end to the Lakers preposterous notion to freeze all summer transactions and clear cap space for 2008 (all key free agents will be gone by then). I'm still shocked that the bulk of Laker fans bought into this. "Hey Jerry Buss led us to 8 titles, he knows what he's doing!" But Mitch Kupchak DOES NOT!!!!

Tim Thomas to the Clippers: Suckers!!! Sure he had an awesome 2006 playoff run, but that may have something to do with Steve Nash and the Phoenix system. Just ask Philadelphia, Milwaukee, New York and Chicago about Tim Thomas. Nice to see Elgin return to 2002 form, we all missed you. Still, re-signing Cassell may convince Thomas to play a full 82 in 2006-07. I doubt it.

Milwaukee gets Villanueva from Raptors for Ford: So Toronto couldn't keep two good bigs on their roster? Which is more intimidating, Villanueva and Bosh coming at ya or Andrea Bargnani and Rasho Nesterovic? Golly, that's a toughy! Andrea needs to get a hard-ass nickname, something veryyy Sopranos if you know what I mean. Andy "Two Balls" Bargnani or something mafia-like. Anyway, Ford is injury-prone and Villanueva was improving with a serious chip on his shoulder (which now will definitely grow). Couldn't Toronto keep Villanueva and re-sign Mike James?

Eric Piatkowski to the Suns: Wow! I guess the Colangelo's were the real geniuses in Phoenix. Sans Brian Colangelo, Phoenix trades off two first round picks for movie passes to Pirates of the Caribbean and now they sign Piatkowski. Let's see, slow white guy who couldn't crack the lineup for the 8th seeded Bulls (check); guy who had career lows in games played, minutes played and three point shooting percentage-his specialty (check); the guy is 35 years old and is entering his 13th season (check). With all that upside, how can you NOT sign him?

The rest:

Sebastian Telfair to Boston: He's waaay overrated! His lone move is the cross-over and predictably he spends every possession setting up for it. (The glazed look in this pic tells it all!)

Speedy Claxton to Atlanta: Only good if it means that Tyronne Lue (the WORST point guard in the NBA!) is cut.

Tyson Chandler to NOOCH: Good in the fact that they got rid of J.R. Smith, who did not get along with coach Scott. Bad in the fact that they still haven't addressed the lack of a low post offensive player.

Bobby Jackson and Peja Stojakovic to NOOCH: Jackson is injury prone and Stojakovic is a pussy in the playoffs. However, they will improve NOOCH in the regular season. They STILL need a low post scorer!

Check in later next week for Player Movement, Part 2. There will be a lot of activity this summer, hopefully we'll see a superstar or two get traded and Chris Wilcox will be a Laker (Do your job just once Kupchak!).