2010 NBA Free Agency: Top Five Winners and Losers During Day One
The Miami Heat became the big winners during the NBA Free Agency period when Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh and LeBron James announced that they were committed to bringing multiple championships to South Beach.
Conversely, the Cleveland Cavaliers became the big losers of this free agency period last night when the face of their franchise decided that he could no longer wait until the Cavaliers built a team around him that was capable of winning a championship.
Of course, there were many more winners and losers during this free agency period than just the Heat and Cavaliers.
Quick first impressions of the winners and losers of the first day that free agents could sign during the NBA free agency period.
Winner, Joe Johnson—Johnson signed a six year, $124 million dollar contract to stay with the Atlanta Hawks. Johnson is a top tier player but the Hawks overpaid for his services and have compromised their ability to sign additional players.
Losers, the NBA Owners—The Owners have been crying poverty over the past couple of years yet during this free agency period several owners were willing to spend big money. The Owners are going to have a very hard time justifying a lock-out of the players next year and as a result may have compromised their bargaining position for the next collective bargaining agreement.
Winner, Memphis Grizzlies—Rudy Gay signed a five year, $84 million dollar contract to stay with the Memphis Grizzlies. The Grizzlies at 40-42 last year were in a difficult position because they could ill afford to lose Gay as he could not replaced in the free agent market at a similar price. Gay appears to have the right mindset to take the Grizzlies to the next level stating that “We’re done rebuilding. We’re ready to compete in the playoffs.”
Losers, New Jersey Nets—The Nets felt so confident about their chances that they put an impressive billboard right across from Madison Square Garden. The Nets also believed, and justifiably so, that their young nucleus of Devin Harris, Brooke Lopez and Derrick Favors would attract high level free agents. Despite their marketing efforts and young talent, no big fish were landed. The star power of Jay-Z definitely took a hit; I would feel sorry for him except for the fact that Beyonce will be there to comfort him.
Winner, David Lee—Lee is a very good young player who may turn into a perennial all-star but it is hard to imagine that he could have leveraged a 6 year $80 million dollar contract from the Golden State Warriors without James, Bosh and Wade influencing the free agent marketplace.
Loser, Derek Fisher—Fisher has won five championships as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers yet he appears to have lost his job to free agent Steve Blake or at the very least he is going to have to swallow his pride and accept a 50% pay cut to keep his job.
Winners, Oklahoma City Thunder and Kevin Durant—The Thunder and Durant agreed to a five-year contract extension in which Durant will earn somewhere between $88-90 million dollars. The Thunder with Durant under contract through the 2015-2016 and a ton of young talent around him will be in the hunt for an NBA championship for several years. The best part of the signing by the Thunder and Durant is that Durant and the Thunder kept the negotiation a private matter and did not tweet or leak status updates on the hour.
Losers, ESPN and LeBron James—What was ESPN thinking by agreeing to do an infomercial on James and giving him one free of television advertising for his brand ? How is ESPN any different than Entertainment Tonight? Will Mary Hart get an anchor position? As for James, he had to realize how much of a negative impact it would be for the City of Cleveland to be told that he would be leaving for Miami on ESPN. Instead of sending a tweet with the news that would have little lasting impact, the moment in which James twisted the knife in the hearts of Cavalier fans is now permanently captured for all time in a one-hour ESPN special.
Winners—NBA fans that love dynasties. The Miami Heat has taken steps to establish a team capable of winning multiple titles during this decade. The Los Angeles Lakers, as back-to-back champions, however are not going to roll-over as they rightfully believe that they will be the team of the decade. The Boston Celtics quietly have added Jermaine O’Neal and may be looking to add some more talent to their roster to maintain their supremacy as the NBA franchise with the most NBA Championships. There will be other NBA teams that challenge the Heat, Lakers and Celtics but for now these three teams have separated themselves from the rest of the pack.
Losers—Cleveland Cavalier fans. If James had returned there is no guarantee that the Cavaliers would have won a title but losing him without getting anything in return with the prospect of having to rebuild is painful to watch even if you typically root against the Cavaliers during the season. All NBA fans feel the pain in Cleveland.
