Bleacher Report - Articles by Ian Edery

Wheelin' and Dealin': NBA Free Agents Hit the Jackpot

Ian Edery — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 15:42:14 -0400

While the summer sports lull drags on and the baseball highlights play on repeat, many fans tend to tune out until September, when the NFL comes back, or at least tone down their rabid fandom to appease the hordes of wives and girlfriends constantly complaining about sports overload.

Unfortunately for our women, however, there are many of us who are drawn to the offseason by reports of free agent signings, training camp rumors, and "wheelin and dealin" all around the sports world.

For my purposes, I will focus on the recent plethora of NBA free agent signings, and while the available talent does not compare to next year's free agent bonanza, there were a good number of significant moves made to spark interest in the NBA offseason.

Let's begin things with the almighty New York Knickerbockers and their blockbuster headline trade of Quentin Richardson to Memphis (who was quickly unloaded by Memphis to the Clippers for another former Knick Zach Randolph...so Q Rich to the Clippers, Z Bo to the Grizz...both are sure to catapult their respective teams into the pantheon of all-time great NBA teams...or not) for the much maligned Darko Milicic.

While many fans may be skeptical of this move, I was rather pleased that Donnie Walsh managed to unload one of our many shoot-first, pass-later guards, as well as my personal least-favorite Knick.

Darko will most likely never live up to his draft pick status (mainly due to the incredible success of the rest of that draft class, which of course also included Lebron James), but he has been showing signs of improvement and is a definite upgrade to the Knicks front court clusterfuck featuring the likes of the immortal Jared Jeffries, Chris Wilcox, and Eddy Curry.

In keeping with the orange and blue, many recent talks had indicated that Jason Kidd was high on the Knicks target list and would have been a great veteran addition to the team, but at last they could not match Mark Cuban's enticing offer of three years/$25 million for the 36 year old Kidd and he has since decided to stay put in Dallas.

Now that we have discussed the Knicks...let's move on to one of the bigger free agent signings so far this summer. I am talking of course about Shaq going to the Cavs to potentially end his career playing with Lebron and bringing a title to Cleveland (or so they hope).

The 37 year old Diesel certainly has some stuff left in the tank and will provide a much needed front court boost for the Cavs (who had an awfully hard time defending Dwight Howard this past postseason).

This deal also sent Sasha Pavlovic and Ben Wallace to Phoenix (clearly a salary dump move for the Suns, for they will likely waive Pavlovic and Wallace has said he will retire).

I certainly feel for Suns fans lately, it is clear that GM Steve Kerr believes their window to win a championship with this current squad has closed and they have begun the rebuilding process (a long, slow, and painful process for any fan to endure) and as well as sending Shaq packing, they have also been looking to deal both Amare Stoudemire and Steve Nash.

The next major move to take place (actually happened before the Shaq deal, but disregard that for now) was the Bucks sending Richard Jefferson to the Spurs in another similar salary dump deal, while acquiring Kurt Thomas, Bruce Bowen, and Fabricio Oberto.

This deal is a serious winner for the Spurs, who add the dynamic scorer Richard Jefferson to the deadly threesome of Parker, Ginobili, and Duncan. The Spurs believe their window is closing quickly to win another championship with this core and they certainly made the necessary moves to give them as good a shot as anyone this year. Watch out for San Antonio.

Staying with the Bucks, who have seemingly gutted their roster, they also lost Charlie Villanueva via free agency to the Pistons. The Pistons made another big acquisition by signing free agent Ben Gordon from the Bulls, but did also lose Rasheed Wallace to the Celtics, and are likely to lose Allen Iverson as well. All in all, the Pistons have come out on top and should be optimistic about their new potential starting five of Rodney Stuckey, Ben Gordon, Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, and Jason Maxiell.

Let's stop for a second and reflect on Boston's recent signing of Rasheed Wallace. If this had happened five years ago, the Celtics may have been unbeatable—picture this starting lineup when all players were in their prime—Stephon Marbury, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Rasheed Wallace, and Kevin Garnett.

At one point that was a bonafide All-Star team, and currently ain't too shabby either. However, all reports point to Marbury leaving town (which is a good thing for Boston) as Rondo has clearly established himself as the Celtics point guard of the future.

As the balance of power slowly shifts back to the Eastern Conference, the Orlando Magic had to make their move to stay competitive with Boston and Cleveland and pulled off a blockbuster deal with the Nets by landing Vince Carter.

This is certainly a "swing for the fences" deal because they did lose their best young guard (Courtney Lee) for an aging, albeit effective, veteran in VC. This deal would have been even sweeter for the Magic had they been able to hold on to Turkoglu, but alas they could not afford him and Hedo opted to spend his days in the international friendly city of Toronto, giving the Raptors an impressive starting five consisting of Jose Calderon, Shawn Marion, Hedo Turkoglu, Chris Bosh, and Andrea Bargnani.

As if winning the NBA championship and retaining Kobe Bryant in the offseason wasn't enough, the Lakers have gone ahead and added Ron Artest to an already scary good Lakers team that at this point has to be the clear cut favorite to repeat as champions.

Although they did lose Trevor Ariza (a vital part of their championship run), who signed with the Rockets, they replaced him with the more than capable Artest. Not only did they sign Artest, they also got Jackson to agree to stay on as head coach for at least one more year, showing that they aren't done yet.

The only question with Artest will be whether or not he will fit in on this Lakers team, as Kobe and Ron-Ron have had some well documented altercations in the past, but I believe he will tone it down and be a real asset to the Lakers.

Some more minor moves occurred around the NBA as well:

Jamal Crawford to the Hawks (Speedy Claxton and Acie Law going to the Warriors)
Randy Foye and Mile Miller to the Wizards (Etan Thomas, Darius Songaila, and Oleksiy Pecherov to the Timberwolves)

Some other notable free agents, such as Carlos Boozer, Lamar Odom, and Jason Kidd, decided to stay put and wait a few more years before testing out the free agency waters again. Others, such as David Lee, Allen Iverson, and Nate Robinson are still waiting for the July 15th deadline to see where they will end up next season.

Now that we have gone over all of the major moves to this point in the NBA free agency, I will rank the best starting five in the league ON PAPER and include my incredibly premature predictions for the 2009-2010 season.

Keep in mind, the following are only MY PROJECTED STARTING LINEUPS (using the five best players on a team, and many will probably change because as we know, NBA coaches love messing around with their starters), and of course I am assuming that everyone will stay healthy, which we also know will never happen, but it makes this more fun.

1. Lakers—Derek Fisher, Kobe Bryant, Ron Artest, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum
2. Spurs—Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Richard Jefferson, Tim Duncan, Matt Bonner
3. Celtics—Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Rasheed Wallace, Kevin Garnett
4. Magic—Jameer Nelson, Vince Carter, Mickael Pietrus, Rashard Lewis, Dwight Howard
5. Cavaliers—Mo Williams, Delonte West, Lebron James, Anderson Varejao, SHAQ
6. Nuggets—Chauncey Billups, JR Smith, Carmelo Anthony, Kenyon Martin, Nene
7. Mavericks—Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, Josh Howard, Dirk Nowitzki, Erick Dampier
8. Raptors—Jose Calderon, Shawn Marion, Hedo Turkoglu, Chris Bosh, Andrea Bargnani
9. Jazz—Deron Williams, Ronnie Brewer, Andrei Kirilenko, Carlos Boozer, Mehmet Okur
10. Pistons—Rodney Stuckey, Ben Gordon, Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Jason Maxiell
11. Heat—Mario Chalmers, Dwayne Wade, Michael Beasley, Jermaine O'Neal, Udonis Haslem
12. Hawks—Mike Bibby, Joe Johnson, Jamal Crawford, Josh Smith, Al Horford
13. Hornets—Chris Paul, Peja Stojakovic, Mo Peterson, David West, Tyson Chandler
14. Thunder—Russel Westrbook, James Harden, Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, Nenad Krstic
15. Blazers—Steve Blake, Brandon Roy, Travis Outlaw, Lamarcus Aldridge, Greg Oden
16. Wizards—Gilbert Arenas, Caron Butler, Mike Miller, Antawn Jamison, Brendan Haywood
17. Bulls—Derrick Rose, Kirk Hinrich, John Salmons, Luol Deng, Joakim Noah
18. Clippers—Eric Gordon, Baron Davis, Blake Griffin, Marcus Camby, Chris Kaman
19. Knicks—Chris Duhon, Nate Robinson, Wilson Chandler, Al Harrington, David Lee
20. Rockets—Aaron Brooks, Trevor Ariza, Tracy McGrady, Shane Battier, Luis Scola
21. Suns—Steve Nash, Leandro Barbosa, Jason Richardson, Amare Stoudemire, Robin Lopez
22. Warriors—Monta Ellis, Stephen Curry, Corey Maggete, Anthony Randolph, Andris Biedrins
23. Bobcats—Raymond Felton, Raja Bell, Gerald Wallace, Boris Diaw, Emeka Okafor
24. Grizzlies—Mike Conley, OJ Mayo, Rudy Gay, Zach Randolph, Hasheem Thabeet
25. 76ers—Andre Miller, Willie Green, Andre Iguodala, Thaddeus Young, Samuel Dalembert
26. Nets—Devin Harris, Courtney Lee, Keyon Dooling, Yi Jianlian, Brook Lopez
27. Bucks—Ramon Sessions, Brandon Jennings, Michael Redd, Bruce Bowen, Andrew Bogut
28. Pacers—TJ Ford, Danny Granger, Jarrett Jack, Troy Murphy, Jeff Foster
29. Timberwolves—Ricky Rubio, Johnny Flynn, Ryan Gomes, Kevin Love, Al Jefferson
30. Kings—Bobby Jackson, Kevin Martin, Tyreke Evans, Andres Nocioni, Spencer Hawes

PREDICTIONS:
Western Conference Finals: Lakers over Spurs in seven
Eastern Conference Finals: Cavs over Celtics in six
Finals: Cavs over Lakers in seven

Rookie of the Year: Blake Griffin
MVP: Lebron James

There was no reason or rhyme to those predictions, I just have some sort of gut feeling in July that this year Lebron will prove to Cleveland that he can in fact win a title, and then move on and bring his glory to New York (wishful thinking, I know...but a fan can dream!).

The 2008 NBA Draft: A Look Back

Ian Edery — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 12:03:00 -0400

So, as the 2009 NBA Draft looms, I will take a look back at the some of the high and low points of last years draft—the best picks, the worst picks, the most surprising rookies, the biggest busts, etc. Here's a little refresher of the 2008 NBA Draft Results for all my fellow short term memory loss heads out there:

1. Bulls - Derrick Rose
2. Heat - Michael Beasley
3. Wolves - O.J. Mayo (traded to Grizzlies)
4. Thunder - Russell Westbrook
5. Grizzlies - Kevin Love (traded to Wolves)
6. Knicks - Danilo Gallinari
7. Clippers - Eric Gordon
8. Bucks - Joe Alexander
9. Bobcats - DJ Augustin
10. Nets - Brook Lopez
11. Pacers - Jerryd Bayless
12. Kings - Jason Thompson
13. Blazers - Brandon Rush
14. Warriors - Anthony Randolph
15. Suns - Robin Lopez
16. 76ers - Marreese Speights
17. Pacers - Roy Hibbert
18. Wizards - Javale McGee
19. Cavs - JJ Hickson
20. Bobcats - Alexis Ajinca
21. Nets - Ryan Anderson
22. Magic - Courtney Lee
23. Jazz - Kosta Koufos
24. Thunder - Serge Ibaka
25. Rockets - Nicholas Batum (traded to Blazers)
26. Spurs - George Hill
27. Blazers - Darrell Arthur
28. Grizzlies - Donte Green (* this was the pick the Grizz got in return from the Lakers in the atrocious Pau Gasol trade... Donte Green, Kwame Brown, Aaron McKie, Javaris Crittenton or Pau Gasol? Who would you rather have?)
29. Pistons - DJ White
30. Celtics - JR Giddens

NOTABLE 2ND ROUND PICKS: Mario Chalmers, Bill Walker, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Chris Douglas Roberts

Now, obviously. it is much easier to look back in hindsight and criticize/praise teams for making good or bad draft picks. So, as I sit at my computer and bash organizations for making stupid draft picks, I do it all while respecting the pressure and stress that goes into the NBA draft and all the talented people involved in scouting and finding the next NBA superstars. Without further ado:

Best Pick of the 2008 Draft: TIE - Chicago Bulls and Orlando Magic

While Derrick Rose is clearly a franchise point guard and superstar in the making, he was not the obvious choice for the No. 1 pick in the 2009 draft. Beasley's incredible college numbers made it more interesting, but in the end the Bulls clearly made the right decision.

The real steal in the first round of the 2008 draft came courtesy of the Orlando Magic, drafting the Western Kentucky guard Courtney Lee with the 22nd pick.
While it's not that surprising that Lee fell this far, a good number of teams are kicking themselves for not believing in this guy. We found out this year that Lee is an elite defensive guard, a substantial scoring threat, and an overall great teammate. I'm sure any Knicks fan would be thrilled to have Courtney Lee on our roster instead of the injury-plagued (albeit quite talented Danilo Gallinari).

Worst Pick of the 2008 Draft: Wolves (Pacers a close second)

Add another blunder to the Timberwolves management's resume. Sure they drafted OJ Mayo, but immediately shipped him away for Kevin Love (a solid player, but by no means will he ever make as much as an impact on an NBA team as Mayo).

No disrespect to K Love, I think he will be a good player for years to come, but it was certainly questionable to pass on a talent like Mayo; something the Wolves will be regretting for a long time to come.

Most Surprising Rookie Season: Brook Lopez

I don't think anybody, including the Nets, thought Brook Lopez was going to blossom into the dynamic low post force that he has become so quickly. As a ROOKIE, Lopez averaged 13 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 1.8 blocks, shot 53 percent from the field, and 79 percent from the free throw line. Impressive. Also not to mention his wide array of post moves resembles that of a seasoned veteran—not a rookie. At this point, I'd take Lopez over the likes of Greg Oden in a heartbeat.

Least Impressive Rookie Season: Danilo Gallinari

Yes I am being extra hard on Vanilla Danilo being a Knicks fan. He did have a legitimate excuse for sucking this year, with his back injury and all, and he did show some promising signs in the limited minutes he did play. But all that being said, with the No. 6 pick in the draft, by all measures he had a very disappointing rookie year.

Most Untapped Potential: Anthony Randolph

This 6'10" athletic phenom from LSU unfortunately spent a large portion of this season wasting away on the Warriors bench due to Don Nelson's rigid unwillingness to give his rookies substantial playing time (that is until the Warriors decided to tank last season... but that's a whole other story). Anyways, this guy could be special if given the right circumstances, he's a dynamic scorer down low, a shot blocking presence and freakishly athletic. Look out for Randolph in the coming years, whether with the Warriors or not.

As the draft day approaches we can only speculate as to who will emerge into a bonafide NBA superstar and who will go the way of the Kwame Brown's of the world. Anything can happen, I just pray the Knicks make a worthwhile pick with their ONE draft pick (thanks Isiah), or turn it into some valuable assets for the 2010 season. The draft airs tomorrow, June 25 at 7 PM on ESPN.

The 10 Most Despised Athletes - New York Style

Ian Edery — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 15:56:00 -0400

Now that I've got my favorite NYC athletes out of the way it's time to move on to the more interesting ones - the most despised athletes in NYC. Earning the "despised" label in NYC is not very hard to do, with our rabid media base and passionate fans, one botched play could result in hoards of New Yorkers "despising" you for the rest of your career. These are not the type of players I'm looking for. Sure Knicks fans despise Charles Smith for getting his layup blocked four times in a row in a must-win playoff situation, or Giants fans despise Plaxico Burress for ruining the team chemistry last year after poppin a cap in his thigh. Although these two make strong cases to make the list, I am excluding them and focusing mainly on our rivals and their least likeable players who make a habit of torturing New York fans... if you know your history I'm sure you can guess who #1 on this list will be, but come along for the ride anyways. (that's the Boston skyline FYI)

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Top Ten NYC Athletes

Ian Edery — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 14:52:36 -0400

The following is a list of MY PERSONAL TOP 10 favorite NYC athletes. Being that I was born in 1988 I am only including athletes that I got to see play (obviously no disrespect to the all time greats a la Babe Ruth, Joe Dimaggio, Walt Frazier, Willis Reed, Earl Monroe, Bernard King, Joe Namath, all the great old-time Yankees etc... *this list is not based solely on career achievements or individual skills, I am taking into account crowd favorites, odd/memorable plays, off-court/field behavior etc etc... And without further ado...

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