NBA News, Notes, & Observations: July 17, 2008

What many people thought would be a pretty exciting offseason of player movement has, for the most part, been dull and unexciting.

With the exception of Elton Brand, Baron Davis, and James Posey, the only names that have changed teams via free agency are guys like Corey Maggette, Eduardo Najera, and Ronny Turiaf.

Some big names, like Richard Jefferson, Jermaine O'Neal, and Marcus Camby,  have been traded but I fully expect the dominoes to start falling on the rest of the free agents now that Posey has a found a new home.

That being said, here is my first News, Notes and Observations column of the offseason:

1) Ron Artest, Kirk Hinrich, and the Lakers

I wrote an article yesterday about the possibility of Ron Artest coming to the Lakers and what people should pay attention to in the coming weeks.

The gist of the article is about Kenny Thomas' contract, Sasha Vujacic's inability to get an offer sheet from another team, and what Artest's looming contract extension would mean for both the short-term and long-term future of the Lakers.

HoopsWorld has a more likely scenario, in which Kirk Hinrich could end up with the Lakers in exchange for Lamar Odom.

The Lakers could trade Odom for Hinrich and the expiring contract of Cedric Simmons, or they could try to swing a three-way deal in which they get Artest and Hinrich, the Bulls get Odom, Kenny Thomas, and Jordan Farmar, and the Kings get Drew Gooden and Tyrus Thomas.

For the Lakers this makes sense, because it would lengthen Derek Fisher's career by bringing him off the bench as he approaches 35.

The Bulls would get the power forward they've needed in Lamar Odom, a backup to Derrick Rose in Farmar and only two years of Kenny Thomas' deal in exchange for the four remaining years of Hinrich's deal.

The Kings would rid themselves of Kenny Thomas' deal and get back the expiring contract of Drew Gooden and a promising young big in Tyrus Thomas. If they traded for Odom straight up then they'd have to re-sign him, and lose any cap space they gained by ridding themselves of Kenny Thomas. If they traded for Tyrus Thomas, they would have a young power forward as well as cap space next summer.

2) How one player made three teams worse

Elton Brand's signing with the 76ers essentially made three teams worse: the Clippers (obviously), the Warriors, and the Nuggets.

The Clippers lost their best low-post presence and their best swing-man, and replaced them with an oft-injured point guard and an oft-injured center. Getting Marcus Camby from the Nuggets for the right to swap second-round picks was a no-brainer, but all it does is make the Clippers a .500 team—it doesn't make them a better team then they would be with Brand, Maggette, and Davis.

The Warriors' inability to sign Brand forced them to spend some of their cap space on Corey Maggette and Ronny Turiaf, and that also doesn't make them a better team than they were a year ago.

The Nuggets got worse by trading Camby for nothing to the only team that could have absorbed Camby's contract without having to give the Nuggets any salaries to take back.

Don't get me wrong. The Clippers made a great deal by acquiring the two years left on Camby's deal for nothing. They tried to trade a second-round pick to the Knicks for the three remaining years on Zach Randolph's deal and the Knicks turned them down.

Their only other options were to overpay Josh Smith, Emeka Okafor, or Andre Igoudala. All three of those guys would have wanted at least four years (probably five) and all three could have had their offer sheets matched by their current clubs.

What the Clippers have done by acquiring Camby is made themselves huge players in 2010. They now have a nucleus of Davis, Chris Kaman, Al Thornton, and Eric Gordon and plenty of cap space in two years to make a run at Amare Stoudamire, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, or Chris Bosh.

Sure, the Clippers are Los Angeles' other team—but that doesn't detract from the fact that they play in the NBA's second-largest media market and will have boat-loads of money to offer a big name free agent. Had they re-signed Brand they wouldn't be in that position.

On a side note, Brand has become this year's Carlos Boozer. A few years back, Boozer had reneged on a verbal agreement he'd made with the Cavs to sign a lucrative offer with the Jazz. Just another reason for people to hate Duke basketball.

If you're a Nuggets fan and you can't wrap your head around the Camby trade, you have to be patient. The trade exception the Nuggets got from the Clippers is good for one year from the date of the trade. With so many teams angling for cap space in 2010, the Nuggets could find a great player fall into their lap.

The Nuggets financial situation is so bleak that even if they were to let Allen Iverson walk in free agency next year, they still wouldn't have much cap room to sign anyone significant.

The Camby trade exception could bring them Jamal Crawford, Devin Harris, Kirk Hinrich, Chauncey Billups, Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Gerald Wallace, Josh Howard, Shane Battier—or even Ron Artest.

3) The East vs. the West

The gap between the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference is slowly closing.

The Blazers and Sonics widened the divide last year by winning the top two picks in the draft lottery. The East returned the favor this year, when the top two picks went to two Eastern Conference teams who were more underachievers than horrible teams.

In the free agency department, the biggest names to go from the West to the East were Elton Brand, Mikael Pietrus, and Eduardo Najera. The biggest names to go from the East to the West were James Posey, DeSagana Diop, and Roger Mason. Advantage: Eastern Conference.

Combine that with the facts that the Bulls and Heat both look like playoff teams again, and the Eastern Conference has won three of the last five NBA Finals.

Perhaps people will finally shut up about re-seeding teams in the playoffs by overall record instead of by conference.

4) With Posey gone, is House next?

The loss of James Posey will certainly hurt the Celtics. But at the same time, it increases the likelihood that the team will be able to re-sign Eddie House and Tony Allen.

Should House bolt in free agency, look for the Celtics to make a run at Stephon Marbury once the Knicks finally set him free. Why else would Paul Pierce be urging the Knicks to release him?

Contrary to popular belief, Marbury and Kevin Garnett are still friends, and Garnett would love to further stick it to Wolves' owner Glen Taylor by getting Marbury a ring as well.

I also wouldn't be surprised if the Celtics made an offer to Alonzo Mourning to replace P.J. Brown. Mourning has suffered a setback in his comeback from knee surgery, and probably won't be available until midseason. He might be better off waiting until he's healthy, then picking the team that best suits him at that time.

5) Who the f*$# is Jeff Bower?

I'll tell you who he is. He's the NBA's best GM you've never heard of. Bower is the Hornets' GM, and has made great move after great move since replacing Allan Bristow in New Orleans in 2005.

Since 2006, Bower has signed Peja Stojakovic, Bobby Jackson, Jannero Pargo,  Morris Peterson, Melvin Ely, and James Posey. He's traded P.J. Brown's expiring contract for Tyson Chandler, dealt Bobby Jackson for Mike James and Bonzi Wells, drafted Hilton Armstrong and Julian Wright and re-signed David West and Rasual Butler for well-below market value.

Did Bower overpay for Stojakovic and Posey? Absolutely. But he signed Stojakovic at a time when the Hornets needed to prove that they were an attractive destination in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and signed Posey at a time when his team needed a veteran to add toughness, depth, and experience to a group lacking in all three departments.

Don't be surprised if P.J. Brown decides to join his hometown team midseason if they are serious contenders.

It's about time people learned his name.

6) Can the Suns catch a break?

The latest free agent to spurn the Suns this off-season was Tyronn Lue, who agreed to join the Milwaukee Bucks. Lue was rumored to be headed to either Phoenix or Boston and seemed to be leaning toward Phoenix when he surprisingly decided to sign with the Bucks.

The Suns are now still searching for a back-up to Steve Nash. The East Valley Tribune mentioned Sam Cassell, Shaun Livingston, and Jason Williams as potential targets. The Arizona Republic adds Damon Stoudemire to that list.

The Suns can also try to lure draft pick Goran Dragic, but they can only contribute $500,000 of his $2 million buyout. The remainder of the buyout would have to be paid by Dragic—but as a second-round pick, Dragic wouldn't even make enough to cover his amount owed on the buyout.

No team had to have enjoyed the way the Elton Brand situation affected the Western Conference as much as the Suns probably did. With the Blazers on the rise, Denver has to be considered the playoff team from last season most likely to not make the playoffs next year.

Had the Clippers managed to hang on to Brand and Maggette and add Baron Davis they would have been a serious threat to replace either the Suns or Mavericks. Now neither team has much to be worried about. The Clippers look like a 40-win team on paper. The Suns and Mavs both look like 45-win teams.

7) Miles from his past potential

Ian Thomsen of Sports Illustrated wrote an article today about Darius Miles and his attempt to comeback from microfracture surgery. Miles was recently released by the Blazers after an independent, third-party doctor declared Miles' knee unfit to resume his basketball career.

Even though the Blazers still have to pay the remainder of Miles' contract, it would have been cleared from their cap if Miles decided to retire. Instead, Miles has decided to try and play.

The Celtics, Mavericks, Suns, and Nets have all expressed interest in signing Miles. This is a huge deal if you're a Blazers fan. With Miles' injured knee and Raef LaFrentz and Steve Francis' giant expiring contracts, the Blazers would have a ton of money to spend next summer. But if Miles plays in only ten games next season then the Blazers would not get the additional $9 million in cap space that his injured knee would have afforded them.

That has to be the first piece of bad news the Blazers have received in three years.

If I'm the Lakers, Spurs, Suns, Hornets, or Rockets, I would sign Miles to a minimum deal and let him play a garbage minute in ten games just to prevent the Blazers from getting any better.

By the way, with the additions of Jerryd Bayless and Ike Diogu, the Blazers now have ten players on their roster who were drafted in the top 11 of the NBA Draft.

As much as I like the Blazers, I still think they need a veteran or two to make them complete. It shouldn't be difficult to get one with so many young studs to offer teams.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. If the Cavs know that they have no chance of retaining LeBron James and they decide to trade him, there is no team that has more to offer the Cavs than the Blazers.

I know that Portland is a small market, but I think they are the lone exception considering their billionaire owner and proximity to Nike's Beaverton headquarters.

The Blazers could offer LaMarcus Aldridge, Jerryd Bayless, Martell Webster, and Channing Frye and they'd still have Brandon Roy, Greg Oden, Ike Diogu, Rudy Fernandez, and the rights to Petteri Koponen and Joel Freeland.

Wow.

8) The biggest losers

The biggest losers of this year's free agency class are Luol Deng, Emeka Okafor, Andre Igoudala, and Josh Smith. All four were hoping that they would get huge contract extensions this summer, but all four might end up having to take qualifying offers and testing the market again next year.

No teams, other than Memphis, have the ability to sign them to an offer sheet, so they'll all most likely stay put.

If you're a fan of any of those teams, don't get too excited about keeping them. All four will be unrestricted free agents, and teams like the Blazers, Grizzlies, and Cavs will have plenty of money to offer them without their current teams having the opportunity to match.

Of course, all of those guys could make more money by signing with their current teams. But all four might decide to go elsewhere to spite their current employers for they way they handled their restricted free agency.

9) Brandon Jennings -- who cares?

There aren't a lot of athletes who I openly root against. But I can tell you right now that I hate Brandon Jennings. It started when he verbally committed to USC. I'm a Bruin, so it wasn't like my hate for him was personal back then.

Then Jennings backed out of his commitment to USC and decided to attend Arizona. So a little of my hate for him went away. I dislike Arizona but I don't hate them. I'm a big fan of Lute Olsen and I wouldn't blame any recruit for choosing to play for him.

But when Jennings was interviewed last year, he was quoted as saying:

“Having former pros teaching you is real exciting, but to be honest, I’ve had my way with everyone at this camp so far. Nobody here has really been any competition for me. I think I’m the king of [high school] point guards right now.

I don’t respect West Coast point guards; they’re too Hollywood for me. I’m more of an East Coast, flashy-type point guard. Someone like Jrue Holiday (a UCLA-bound point guard), he’s real smooth, goes to work in the first three quarters–but he’s not a killer yet. Me, I’m a killer."

So when Jennings was forced to take his college entrance exams for a third time, I was delighted. If you don't know, the reason why Jennings had to take the test a third time was because of the huge disparity in test scores between the first and second time he took it. There was something fishy about the jump in his score that raised flags.

As if he didn't sound like enough of a d-bag already, Jennings decided to play in Europe next year instead of attending Arizona. But he didn't just decide to go.  He set forth conditions that he required from whichever team in Europe was interested in him. He told ESPN:

"It would take a perfect situation," Jennings said. "I need a team that needs a point guard, a coach who would take the time to work with me, an American on the team who could show me the ropes and playing time to show off my game."

Who does this guy think he is?

It was announced today that Jennings will sign on to play with Pallacanestro Virtus Roma in Italy.

While some people believe that Jennings will become a trendsetter and that other prep stars will follow him to Europe rather than spend the year after high school playing in the NCAA, I couldn't disagree more.

For starters, the NCAA will always be the best place for an amateur athlete to showcase his talent. Besides that, adjusting to college life can be a bit overwhelming for a college freshman being away from home for the first time.

What's it going to be like adjusting to a new country with a different language, a different style of play, and teammates who don't think it's their job to make you look good for NBA scouts?

Even if Jennings has success, I can't imagine that many others will follow in his footsteps.

Jennings and Sonny Vaccaro would like for you to think that he is some sort of a maverick who will force the NBA to revert back to allowing prep stars to jump straight from high school. If that were the case, then Vaccaro should have chosen someone who doesn't sound like an imbecile every time he opens his mouth.

On the flipside, Kevin Durant is attending classes at the University of Texas this summer. Here's what he told the Associated Press:

"Ever since I was young, my mom always wanted me to finish school and I promised her that I would."

In a perfect world, Jennings would go undrafted next June and be forced into playing for Sioux Falls or Bakersfield of the NBDL.

Good riddance.

10) Summer League basketball means nothing

Nothing kills me more than seeing all of the articles on Bleacher Report or anywhere else pertaining to summer league basketball. If any of you have ever been to a summer league game then you'll know what I'm talking about. The fact that they even keep score is funny. I went to a summer league game in Long Beach in 2005 for free and I still felt ripped off.

Whether or not someone looks good or bad in a summer league game is meaningless. Marco Bellinelli scored more points in the summer league last year than he did in the entire NBA season.

How can you take these performances seriously when 95 percent of summer league rosters are made up of guys you hadn't heard about since 2004?

They might as well rename the league the "I Didn't Know He Was Still Alive Classic".

Take a look at the list of players from this year's Vegas League. We're talking about guys like Nick Caner-Medley, Ndudi Ebi, Aaron Miles, Wayne Simien, and Curtis Sumpter.

So please spare us all of your summer league analyses. I don't need "Joe Crawford Watch 2008". I'm never going to be impressed that your boy dunked on Curtis Borchardt, picked Steve Logan's pocket, or swatted Chris Taft.