NBA Off-season thread

Orlando gets Matt Barnes. Another solid move. They're going all-out this summer.

Chicago and Miami look like the frontrunners for Boozer.

 

Dunno if getting Matt Barnes is going all out, but Orlando is definitely trying to build that team to win. I'm curious to see who people think is the favorite in the East. I like Cleveland slightly ahead of Boston and Orlando probably a few games back in third. But I'm an unabashed homer. If Boozer goes to Miami, pencil them in as the fourth seed.

 

Cavs will definitely have a different look, especially if they can get Moon in as another bench player. But until they can win a road game or two against elite competition, I'm skeptical. I like the luxury of being able to bring Z off the bench, which hasn't really been mentioned much. That guy has been a solid, above-average starting center with 20-foot range for the better part of a decade.

Boston signing Rasheed Wallace gives me another reason to despise the Mass-holes, so that's a fine signing. I don't see him helping that much, though. When was the last time Rasheed Wallace was relevant?

Orlando had the benefit of flying under the radar all season in the background of the Cleveland-Boston hype, especially once Jameer Nelson went down and everyone assumed they were finished. Let's see how they do with the spotlight on all year. Not sure how I feel about the Carter trade, but the free agent signings have a lot of upside, so the Magic should be loaded again.

 

I didn't mean that signing is going "all out" but, as a team, they've gone all out in terms of building and desperately trying to get back to the Finals. They've done extremely well this summer.

Carter.
Bass.
Barnes.

I may be missing someone, and I do know they're interested in C.J. Watson, which would be another solid pickup for backcourt depth.

Still, Boston, if healthy, is my East favorite.

 

Lamar Odom apparently found the whole "winning the NBA championship" experience distasteful.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=Avedn8AWZyg0GUq7rxl2dqW8vLYF?slug=aw-odomheat072509&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

 

Taking that big of a pay cut to prove a point seems stupid, but I can't help but laugh because it's the Lakers. He probably doesn't want to go back because Kobe's such a good teammate.

 

Wouldn't he also start for the Heat, as opposed to continuing to come off the bench for the Lakers? I never got the impression that Odom was at the Bill Walton stage of his career, so he might also want to go to a place where he'd play more.

 

I assume he would start, and his numbers might increase significantly. Good coup for Miami if this ends up happening. A core of Beasley, Odom and Wade, with some decent support in J.O, Chalmers and Cook would be a nice team. If they get Boozer, I can easily see them challenging for home-court advantage in the playoffs.

 

Even if he starts, will his numbers be much better than 11 and 8?

 

Odom, Lakers agree. 3 years plus an option year, total potential value $33M.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?num=0&id=4367213

 

I could see him getting 16-17 ppg and 9 rpg with Miami, though that obviously won't happen now.

Interesting choice by Odom in that it didn't appear LA cared to sign him. Miami, however, did.

 

Sheed as your fifth or sixth scorer is pretty damn good.