Top Five Best Acquisitions in the NBA Offseason

When the clock struck midnight on July 1, 2009, madness erupted.

With economic doom and gloom swirling around the NBA, pundits predicted a downturn in free agent salaries this year, citing the diminishing salary cap (dropping from last year’s $58.7 million to $57.7 million; next year’s cap is projected to be between $50.4 million and $53.6 million).

Yet the offseason began with a flurry of high-impact players packing their bags and heading to new surroundings with high-profile trades and free-agent signings. 

The madness actually first struck a week before the free-agency period opened, with the Milwaukee Bucks giving Richard Jefferson to the San Antonio Spurs for 40 cents on the dollar on June 23, getting a washed-up combination of forwards Bruce Bowen and Kurt Thomas and center Fabricio Oberto in return. 

And you may have heard something about a Big Cactus heading East to Cleveland…?

While the traditional NBA offseason spending-spree may have been curtailed earlier than usual (leaving players like David Lee, Nate Robinson and Allen Iverson high-and-dry so far), a number of players (Hedo Turkoglu, Anderson Varejao and Trevor Ariza) managed to cash in a bloated paycheck this offseason. 

And Andre Miller still continues the good fight for $10 million/yr for the next three years. 

Keep your dreams alive, Andre.

The economy undoubtedly did affect the rationale behind a number of players and teams this season. 

Steve Nash, Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur all decided to not opt out of their contracts (despite Boozer’s insistence that he would earlier in the season), realizing their current deals were far better than anything they could get on the free market. 

A number of teams have siphoned spending and remain committed to paying a player based on career value, not on one playoff/season’s success

With impact players trading teams left and right, changing the entire NBA landscape for the upcoming season, I’m here to go through the five biggest impact transactions in the offseason. 

I’m only counting free agency and trades—skipping the draft for now until the rookies play some meaningful regular season minutes.

I’m ranking these on terms of value of player vs. value of contract.  That’s why Hedo Turkoglu, despite being an impact player on the NBA Finals-bound Orlando Magic last season, can find himself nowhere on this list. The Raptors paid second fiddle money to a third fiddle (at best) player

1. Richard Jefferson (San Antonio Spurs)

Salary for 2009: $13,200,000

How he’s there: Acquired June 23 in a trade with Milwaukee Bucks for Bruce Bowen, Kurt Thomas and Fabricio Oberto

Why he’s there: Injuries last year proved the Spurs were still one major cog away from being a championship contender year-in and year-out and with Duncan not getting any younger, they could see their window starting to close. 

Jefferson provides the Spurs with one more star-quality player to team with their core of Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker and Tim Duncan.

Why he’s ranked here: Depending on how Coach Popovich uses Jefferson, he has the potential to easily win the Sixth Man of the Year award back for San Antonio—or even better. 

A lineup of Parker and Roger Mason at guard, Ginobili/Jefferson at small forward (with the other as sixth man), recently-signed Antonio McDyess as power forward and Tim Duncan at center is enough to grab the attention of any team in the NBA.

2. Ron Artest (Los Angeles Lakers)

Salary for 2009: $5,854,000

How he’s there: Acquired in free agency from the Houston Rockets

Why he’s there: The Lakers were faced with the free agency of Trevor Ariza, a SF who keyed some huge plays in their most recent championship run; steals on two separate inbounds passes in the playoffs catalyzed two wins for the Lakers. 

Naturally, a championship-winning player expected championship-caliber money after last season and the Lakers didn’t plan on budging past the midlevel exception for Ariza, spurning him to eventually sign with the Rockets. 

What the Rockets couldn’t have expected (besides more bad news about Yao Ming) was Artest’s impending departure, as the two teams basically swapped players at the same position. Artest fills the gap Ariza left and more. 

Renowned league-wide as a defensive stopper, Artest provides some meat and backbones to the “soft” Lakers who the Celtics trampled all over in the NBA Finals two years ago. Artest, unlike Ariza, found a three-year mid-level exception deal to be his most inviting offer.

Why he’s ranked here: A core of Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom (assuming he re-signs with the Lakers), Derek Fisher and Artest.  That’s about the only thing scarier than the Spurs lineup mentioned above. 

He falls below Jefferson only because the Lakers proved themselves more than capable of winning a championship without Artest—the upgrade from Ariza to Artest isn’t as huge of a jump as the one Jefferson provides the Spurs. 

There's also the inherent risk involved in a long deal for Artest—a five-year deal for one of the league’s most eccentric players could come back to haunt the Lakers, if some of the stories coming from the Rockets’ camp lately have some truth to them.

3. Vince Carter (Orlando Magic)

Salary for 2009: $16,123,250

How he’s here: Acquired in a trade with New Jersey; traded guards Rafer Alston and Courtney Lee along with center Tony Battie for Carter and forward Ryan Anderson.

Why he’s here: The Magic had one glaring hole with the impending free-agency of Hedo “Fourth Quarter Superstar” Turkoglu.  The addition of Carter eases that pain, as they add a player who averaged 23.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game throughout his career.  An oversized SG at 6'6'', Carter can slide into Courtney Lee’s vacant starting SG role or play a bit of SF if coach Stan Van Gundy goes small-ball.

Why he’s ranked here: The addition of Carter (and former Mavericks’ PF Brandon Bass) gives the already dangerous Magic a new level of versatility. 

With All-Star Jameer Nelson running the point, All-Star Rasheed Lewis filling a forward slot and All-Star center Dwight Howard manning the post, Bass can serve as a legitimate power forward option (as Lewis tends to play more like a SF in a PF’s body, preferring the 3-point line to the foul-line) and Carter fills in the starting SG gap. 

Despite the loss of Turkoglu, the Magic had a great offseason and put themselves in a fantastic position to be back in the Eastern Conference Finals.

4. Shaquille O’Neal (Cleveland Cavaliers)

Salary for 2009: $21,000,000

How he’s here: Acquired on June 26 in trade with Phoenix Suns for center Ben Wallace, guard-forward Sasha Pavlovic, a 2010 second-round draft pick and cash.

Why he’s here: Dwight Howard. The Cavs, still reeling from their Eastern Conference Finals defeat at the hands of the Magic, needed any kind of answer for Dwight Howard lest they wanted to see Zydrunas Ilgauskas tossed around for another six games in the playoffs.

Why he’s ranked here: While a number of writers/TV commentators seem to consider this trade an afterthought in the offseason-of-plenty, Cavs GM Danny Ferry made it obvious to the rest of the league that he will do whatever it takes to keep LeBron James in Cleveland past 2010—even if it means trading for a 37-year-old for one year and $21 million. 

Orlando exploited their size and height advantage in the playoffs, using pick and rolls with Dwight Howard a countless number of times in their series with the Cavs. 

With only Ilgauskas and the undersized Anderson Varejao, the Cavs found themselves on the receiving end of a vicious beatdown that not even LeBron could have saved them from. 

The addition of Shaq to this 66-win team from last year can only pay dividends down the road in the playoffs (if both big men stay healthy), as Shaq and Big Z should have stayed fresh for D-Howard throughout the regular season. 

While the Magic still could match up well with the Cavs (Rashard Lewis will give Varejao fits), the Cavs brought Shaq in explicitly to contend with Dwight Howard, the Magic center desperately trying to earn Shaq’s old Superman moniker. 

Shaq and the Cavs will both hope D-Howard doesn’t see Shaq’s arrival in Cleveland as an invitation to take that Superman title away forever.

5. Rasheed Wallace (Boston Celtics)

Salary for 2009: $5,854,000

How he’s here: Acquired via free agency from the Detroit Pistons

Why he’s here: Much like the Spurs’ realizing the weaknesses in relying too heavily on their Big Three, the Celtics went through a post-championship letdown season once Kevin Garnett’s knee issues sidelined him during the second half of the season. 

Rasheed gives the C’s an insurance policy for KG and center Kendrick Perkins.

Why he’s ranked here: Coach Doc Rivers remains tight-lipped about how much he’ll be using Wallace, but at 34, 'Sheed still has a few more productive years ahead of him before his age becomes an issue. 

He should make an immediate impact on the Celtics, anchoring their second line with role players like Eddie House and Glen Davis (assuming Davis returns to the Celtics).

Do you agree?  Who would you rank as the top five acquisitions in the offseason?