NBA Free Agents 2012: Teams That Made Biggest Day 1 Splash
A handful of homeless 2012 NBA free agents found a home today.
Plenty of action has been going on behind closed doors over the past 10 days. On Wednesday, signings have been made official. Here are the teams that made the biggest splashes on Day 1.
3. Indiana Pacers
Ken Berger of CBS Sports reported that Roy Hibbert isn’t going anywhere. He tweeted.
"As expected, the Pacers will agree with Roy Hibbert to the same four-year, $58M offer Portland was going to make, league source says.
— Ken Berger (@KBergCBS) July 11, 2012"
As the anchor of the Pacers defense, it would’ve been a disaster to lose Hibbert to the Portland Trail Blazers. He isn’t worth a max contract, but compared to other players receiving similar offers, he’s still solid value for Indiana. Expect the Pacers to continue to contend with the top teams in the East and the Blazers to continue to look for a starting-caliber center.
2. Brooklyn Nets
Berger also reported that Deron Williams made his contract extension with the Brooklyn Nets official today. He tweeted:
"Deron Williams is with Nets GM Billy King in Las Vegas, signing his five-year, $98.75 million deal as we tweet, source says.
— Ken Berger (@KBergCBS) July 11, 2012"
Brooklyn will remain relevant (sort of) after signing Williams. It must counter with a trade for Dwight Howard, though, if it truly wants to contend for a title. In the meantime, you can find Mark Cuban sulking after he blew up a championship team to sign Williams, only to watch him stay with the Nets.
1. New York Knicks
Mark Berman of the New York Post reported that the Knicks will officially extend Jeremy Lin’s contract when the NBA moratorium concludes.
Not only did the Knicks need Lin to fill their major need at point guard, they needed him to continue to bring in the Benjamins. This was a no-brainer conclusion all along.
Sam Amick of Sports Illustrated reported that the Knicks also officially re-signed J.R. Smith. He tweeted:
"Source says JR Smith has signed his deal with New York. First year $2.8 million, player option 2nd
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) July 11, 2012"
With Iman Shumpert rehabbing his knee injury and Landry Fields headed to the Toronto Raptors, New York was in desperate need for a shooting guard. It’s debatable whether the trigger-happy Smith is a snug fit alongside Lin, Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudamire, but it didn’t have many other options.
Finally, Al Iannazone of New York Newsday reported that the Knicks have announced their completion of a sign-and-trade for Marcus Camby. He tweeted:
"Knicks announce the acquisition of Marcus Camby in a sign and trade.
— Al Iannazzone (@Al_Iannazzone) July 11, 2012"
Marcus Camby is ancient, but he’s still a major upgrade to anything the Knicks had down low on the second unit last year. His presence alone will take their defense to another level.
David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.
