The Offseason: When the Rich Get Richer

The wait is finally over. Today is the day when free agents can ‘officially’ sign contracts with teams. Yes only the first week has past, but that does not mean that there has not been any movement. There has been a flurry of transactions since the draft: numerous trades and not to mention, the majority of stars moving around in free agency. Here are my top 5 moves this offseason that will greatly impact next season:

1) Ron Artest to the Lakers, 3 years, $18M
First of all, wow, what a bargain. As negotiations with Trevor Ariza started to turn sour, the Lakers essentially found the perfect replacement in Artest. Sure he’s turning 30, which is 5 years older than Ariza, but he brings the same amount of intensity (if not, even more) than Ariza does. He is a pest on the defensive end. Opposing stars will gripe every game knowing that they will have to deal with Artest’s extremely physical defense and trash talk. To top it all off, he can easily score 20 points a game, which will allow Kobe to rest even more during the regular season. This match made in heaven can only work if he behaves, but this is Kobe and Phil Jackson’s Lakers you’re talking about so expect no misbehavior. Plus, Artest wants to win a championship. Who better to win it with than the defending champs?

I’m sure we’ll be seeing more conversations between the two, with more love, of course.

2) Richard Jefferson to the Spurs for Bruce Bowen, Fabricio Oberto, and Kurt Thomas
I am digging this move for the Spurs because they add another dynamic player to the Spurs three-pronged attack. True the loss of Bowen hurts, but Jefferson isn’t bad at defense himself, and his presence on the offensive end will more than make up for the loss of defense. In addition, the Spurs got him for practically nothing. Great job on R.C. Buford’s part for getting this deal done. The arrival of Jefferson immediately places the Spurs as serious challengers to the Lakers.

3) Rasheed Wallace to the Celtics, 2 years, ~$11M
Another contender adds another big name. The 34 year old Wallace still has some swagger from his Blazer and Piston days: a double-double machine, solid defender, and a 3-point bomber. He will come off the bench, but still expect him to get much more playing time than Kendrick Perkins (which tough guy would u rather have on the floor?) at center. He will also mesh extremely well with KG down low: KG’s intensity will definitely rub off to Rasheed. A lineup of Rondo-Allen-Pierce-Garnett-Wallace will be an extreme nightmare for opponents night in and night out.

Double the intensity, double the trouble.

4) Vince Carter to the Magic (and Ryan Anderson) for Rafer Alston, Courtney Lee, and Tony Battie
With the all but certain departure of Hedo Turkoglu, the Magic needed to acquire another star wing player as a replacement. Many will say that the Magic are worse now with the loss of Turkoglu, the 3 players in the deal, and potentially Gortat, but the Magic actually in better shape now than they were during the playoffs. Sure a lineup featuring the returning starting lineup and Carter would have likely put them over the top, but let’s not focus on what could have been. Carter is the guard that the Magic have been lacking: he is still has some bounce left in those legs and can practically score at will. In addition, the reference to Carter as a quitter will not suit well to him, especially in his homecoming, and will prove skeptics wrong. Note that Carter’s performance does actually improve in the first couple of seasons with a new team. With an ever-improving Superman and a completely healthy Jameer Nelson, it is not out of the question for the Magic to march back into the NBA finals (though probably resulting in losing again).

5) Shaquille O’Neal to the Cavaliers for Sasha Pavlovic, Ben Wallace, cash, and a draft pick
The Diesel fuels the Cavaliers for a championship run. Shaq proved to the world that he still has it by averaging 18 points and 9 rebounds and an all-star appearance. He will provide the Cavs with a presence in the post that Zydrunas Ilgauskas could never achieve even if he played in a league of midgets. Shaq helped Dwyane Wade win a championship and now it is possibly Lebron’s turn. The only catch to Shaq is his health. Can his body take the rigors of another full NBA season? Probably not. If not, how many games will he miss? Will this be a problem in the playoffs? Hopefully not. Regardless of how the Cavs manage Shaq, they will most likely challenge the Celtics to come out of the East.

Bonus: Hedo Turkoglu to the Raptors, 5 years, $53M
Before you say that this is a completely biased choice, listen to what I have to say: YES! IT IS COMPLETELY BIASED AND THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT! All joking aside, I do believe that the Raptors can rise from the ashes and become the contenders that they once were. I consider last season as a failed experiment (Jermaine O’Neal). But the Raptors showed signs of life at the end of the season winning 10 of their last 15 games. Hedo is the missing piece to the Raptors’ puzzle. He provides a huge mismatch for teams and fits perfectly into Toronto’s system (and city). He will make Chris Bosh’s life so much easier on the offensive end and will immediately give Toronto one of the biggest frontcourts in the NBA with Andrea Bargnani filling in at center. Expect a top 6 finish in the East at the very least.

With all five transactions involving championship contending teams, it is clear that the schism between the elite and the rest of the pack is increasing. The Lakers upgraded in the small forward position by swapping Trevor Ariza for Ron Artest; the Spurs now possessing a deadly foursome; the Magic adding the former Air Canada to fly alongside Superman; and the Celtics bolstering their bench singlehandedly with a former All-Star.

If I had to make any predictions though, I would probably have to go with the defending champ Lakers over the Celtics in a rematch of the 2007-2008 finals (should they resign Lamar Odom). Lakers in 7.