Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Top 5 Winners

#1. -- Miami Heat
The Heat obviously had the best offseason by being able to get LeBron James and Chris Bosh to pair up with Dwyane Wade. The question then was, "Is Pat Riley going to be able to complete the rest of their roster with the small amount of money the Heat have left to spend? And I have to say Pat Riley did a great job. He got veteran players by signing Zydrunas Ilgauskas and re-signing Udonis Haslem and he added long range shooters in Mike Miller and Eddie House. But in the end Miami is the top winner in free agency because they were able to do one thing that no other team could. They were able to get LeBron James come to South Beach.

#2. -- Chicago Bulls
The Bulls did not end up with the big prize, LeBron James, in free agency, but they did add many pieces to make them a better basketball team. The Bulls addressed their need of a post presence by signing power forward Carlos Boozer. The Bulls were already a top rebounding team and Boozer just makes them better. He also give them what they haven't had for a long time, a true low-post presence. The Bulls then signed sharpshooter Kyle Korver and defensive specialist Ronnie Brewer. CJ Watson was also acquired by the Bulls via trade to backup All-Star point guard Derrick Rose. The Bulls did lose veterans Kirk Hinrich and Brad Miller, but replaced them with veterans Kurt Thomas and Keith Bogans.

#3. -- Utah Jazz
The Jazz did lose All-Star power forward Carlos Boozer to the Chicago Bulls, but they countered by trading for F/C Al Jefferson. Jefferson has never been on a winning team and now that he's with the Jazz he will be able to play his best basketball. He fits into their system better than Boozer did. He is a hard worker and he will give the Jazz some size and defense, something they never had. The Jazz did lose G/F Wesley Matthews to the Trailblazers, but they acquired a Jerry Sloan type player in Raja Bell. They also drafted Gordon Hayward to replace Kyle Korver who signed with the Bulls.

#4. -- Los Angeles Lakers
Yes, the NBA champs had a great summer. The first thing they did was re-sign legendary coach Phil Jackson. They were also able to retain their starting point guard Derek Fisher as well as reserve Shannon Brown. They did lose Jordan Farmar and Josh Powell, but quickly replaced them with Steve Blake and Theo Ratliff. The Lakers also got much tougher by signing veteran F Matt Barnes. He will make the Lakers tougher than they already are and will help them compete for another championship.

#5. -- Milwaukee Bucks
The Bucks made most of their moves early in free agency. They started by trading for F Corey Maggette. Then they quickly re-signed John Salmons who was a key player for them in the playoffs. By adding Maggette and keeping Salmons, the Bucks created more depth for their injury prone team. Kurt Thomas and Luke Ridnour were lost in free agency but Drew Gooden and Keyon Dooling were added to replace them.


Top 5 Losers

#1. -- Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavs were the biggest losers in this year's free agency. They lost one of the top players in the league if not the top player. The Cavs will be a whole different team without LeBron James. They have become a lottery team and may not see the playoffs for a long time. The Cavs also lost their center Zydrunas Ilgauskas to the Heat and now they don't have a starting center. They traded for G Ramon Sessions and C Ryan Hollins, but how much will that help. They signed F Joey Graham, but can he even do half of what LeBron did. They even missed out on Matt Barnes who signed with the Lakers. The Cavs really had no positives this summer, other than the hiring of Byron Scott.

#2. -- New Orleans Hornets
The only thing the Hornets did all summer was re-sign C Aaron Gray. Is that really the best they can do when their star player says he wants out if the team is not ready to fight? I don't think so.





#3 -- Toronto Raptors
The Raptors lost their best player, Chris Bosh, in free agency to the Miami Heat. They didn't solve their point guard problem by trading either Calderon or Jack. They traded Hedo Turkoglu to the Phoenix Suns for Leandro Barbosa, another guard. This team was one of the worst defensive teams last season and they go out and sign Linas Kleiza, another offensive player, to replace Chris Bosh. The Raptors better make some smart moves before Bargnani decides to leave this team too.

#4 -- Detroit Pistons
The Pistons re-signed G Will Bynum and C Ben Wallace, but those would be their only moves in free agency. They have a logjam at the wing position and they haven't done anything about it. Instead they are now looking to possibly sign Tracy McGrady.



#5 -- Los Angeles Clippers
The Clippers had a lot of money to spend when free agency started, but they saw all the big names pass right in front of them. They have a hole at the small forward position, but every other position is set. They had a lot of money and only spent it on Ryan Gomes, Randy Foye and to re-sign Butler.

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