NBA Free Agents 2010: Ten Non-Free Agents Affected By Moves

Though basketball is a game that can be played year-round, the NBA has always been a fall-winter-spring league. Never before has basketball dominated sports pages across the country as it has this summer, during the rather aptly-named "Summer of LeBron."

Of course, LeBron wasn't the only free-agent who made waves this summer.

Chris Bosh decided to move to Miami before "The King" did, Carlos Boozer switched lakes—from Great Salt to Michigan—and Amar'e Stoudemire traded in the Grand Canyon for the Big Apple, just to name a few.

Plenty of others—Wade, Joe Johnson, Dirk Nowitzki, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce—decided to stick with their old clubs.

With all these big names flying around, it's easy to forget about all the players in the league, non-free agents in particular, who were affected by the flood of player movement that restructured the NBA landscape in a matter of weeks in July. Some have benefited, with new talent around them or a new opportunity with a different franchise. Some have endured significant setbacks, while still others have seen their careers turned upside down by the Summer of '10.

Here are the 10 players–in no particular order–most affected, whether positively or negatively, by this year's NBA free agent season. 

Delonte West

The last month has been a whirlwind for Delonte West, to say the least.

Even before LeBron decided Cleveland was no longer the place for him, rumors had been swirling around the league that West had been "involved" with The King's mom.

Once LeBron left town, Delonte's problems only got worse.

First, he pleaded guilty to traffic and weapons charges stemming from an incident in 2009, when he was pulled over while on a motorcycle and found to have a guitar case full of automatic weapons. Then, the Cavaliers traded West to the Timberwolves in a deal for Ramon Sessions and Ryan Hollins.

A week later, the T-Wolves waived West, making him a free agent, which he still is as I write this. Where he lands is anyone's guess.

At this point, it would seem as though the man who is arguably the league's craziest player has as good a chance of ending up on a contender as in a padded cell somewhere.

Michael Beasley

As one of two players left on the Miami Heat's roster following the 2010 NBA Draft, Michael Beasley likely began the summer with hopes and dreams of playing with a championship contender come fall.

My, how things change.

Like Delonte West, Michael Beasley was shipped out to Minnesota, though to make room under the cap for other free agent signings in Miami rather than to directly upgrade the roster as was the case with Cleveland.

Now, rather than strengthening his fingers to support gigantic rings, Beasley will have to prep himself for the bitter cold of Minneapolis winter, and the 20 wins that come with it.

On the bright side, Beasley will now have a shot at more playing time and a chance to shine on a T-Wolves team that may be among the worst in the NBA this upcoming season, granting him plenty of leeway to improve his game.

Though it's tough to imagine that he wouldn't rather still be in South Beach, chasing rings with D-Wade and the King.

Anthony Randolph

Speaking of young, gifted players traded in the free agent frenzy of the summer, Anthony Randolph now finds himself in the Big Apple with Amar'e Stoudemire and Raymond Felton, after toiling in virtual anonymity during his first two pro years with the Golden State Warriors.

Under Don Nelson, the legendary coach who's well-known for severely restricting the minutes of young players, Randolph had few chances to showcase the raw athleticism and tremendous skill set that intrigued Golden State enough to draft him with the 14th overall pick, with just one year of college ball under his belt.

Thanks to David Lee, who the Warriors acquired in a sign-and-trade with the New York Knicks, Randolph will likely have ample opportunity to put his talents on display.

Especially under coach Mike D'Antoni's run-and-gun transition offense. 

Scouts have long compared Randolph's game to that of fellow tall-and-skinny forwards like Kevin Garnett and Lamar Odom. Now that he's made his way to the "concrete jungle," Randolph will be able to show the basketball world what he's really made of, though under far brighter and hotter lights than he ever saw while playing in the Bay Area.

Derrick Rose

Arguably the greatest non-free-agent benefactor of the offseason, Derrick Rose has a lot to look forward to as the NBA season inches closer and closer.

While Rose's game improved from his rookie season to his sophomore campaign, his team's performance remained fairly stagnant overall, with the Bulls' offseason frenzy beginning with the firing of their coach Vinny Del Negro (now with the Clippers) following a first-round playoff defeat at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

With the moves made by Chicago's front office this summer, Rose will now have a much-improved team around him to complement and enhance his own development into a superstar point guard.

Having the likes of Carlos Boozer, Kyle Korver, and Ronnie Brewer around should boost Rose's assist numbers—now that he has teammates who can actually convert some of his passes into buckets—as well as his scoring, as Rose should have more room to operate now that opposing defenses will have to account for more than just one threat on the floor.

Though the Bulls weren't able to land any of the biggest free agent fish (i.e. LeBron, Wade, Bosh), GM Gar Forman and Co. were able to lure in plenty of talent to surround Rose with exceptional role players, which should transform Chicago from a borderline playoff team to a contender in the East.

Deron Williams

Of course, for every Derrick Rose, who gains a valuable teammate (or three), there's a Deron Williams, who loses a valuable teammate (or three).

This is certainly no exaggeration, as the Bulls' three biggest offseason additions—Boozer, Korver, and Brewer—are all former members of the Utah Jazz and teammates of D-Will.

With those stalwarts gone, Williams and coach Jerry Sloan are left with the unenviable task of retooling the team to compete in the West with a new cast of characters.

Then again, if any organization knows how to deal with player turnover, it's the Utah Jazz. And they're certainly well-equipped to do so.

For one, Williams is arguably the best point guard in the NBA and is almost Steve-Nashian in his ability to maximize the talents and abilities of his teammates. He'll have the likes of Paul Millsap, Al Jefferson, and Gordon Hayward around to fill the shoes left by the players the Jazz lost to free agency. Expect a drop-off for Utah this season, though not as far a fall as some may expect. 

Ultimately, as long as D-Will is healthy, the Jazz should still be a playoff team in the West, even without the contingent that left for Chicago and Wesley Matthews, who went for the money in Portland.

Antawn Jamison

Perhaps no player will see a more dramatic increase in his role and responsibilities on a team than Antawn Jamison.

Thanks to the once-and-former King of Cleveland bolting for Miami, Jamison now falls into the unenviable position of being the best player on a mediocre Cavaliers squad.

You want big shoes? How about trying to fill the shiny kicks left behind by LeBron?

That's not to say that Jamison is unfamiliar with this position. He played through some tough times in Washington when he was the lone star left on a Wizards team that's missed the likes of Caron Butler and Gilbert Arenas in previous seasons, due to injuries and well-publicized off-court issues.

Nonetheless, it's hard not to feel bad for Antawn, a talented role player who too often has been thrust into a spotlight for which his game just isn't fit.

Ed Davis

Then again, at least Jamison is a proven veteran and a two-time NBA All-Star.

A fellow North Carolina Tar Heel, Ed Davis walks onto a Toronto Raptors team in relative turmoil, searching desperately for someone to replace their former franchise star, Chris Bosh.

In many ways, Davis resembles a younger Bosh—a tall, lanky forward from the ACC. Unfortunately, at this point, Davis' offensive skills lag far behind those of Bosh at the same point in his career, though Davis sports a more impressive defensive game and an NCAA championship ring.

Whether Davis' wrist, which he broke in February and effectively ended his second and final college season, can support his winning jewelry, much less the burden of replacing a front-court superstar, remains to be seen.

D.J. Augustin

Speaking of young players in bigger roles than previously expected, D.J. Augustin has an important season in his young NBA career to look forward to this fall.

With Raymond Felton moving to the Big Apple, Larry Brown and the Charlotte Bobcats will turn to Augustin, the former lottery pick out of the University of Texas, to fulfill the promise he displayed in college and for which he was drafted so highly. 

And they'll be expecting him to do so in a hurry, with the Bobcats coming off their first-ever playoff appearance and Larry Brown's status as coach always in question, regardless of where he is. There is little doubt that Augustin will have plenty of minutes thrown his way, though he'll have to capitalize on his new-found opportunities if MJ's 'Cats are to stave off the lottery.

Chris Paul

While D.J. Augustin may be a New Orleans-native, it's the superstar point guard of his hometown team—Chris Paul—who's seen his fair share of time in the headlines during a summer season in which Paul is anything but a free agent.

However, thanks to LeBron's much-maligned management team, LRMR, it wouldn't be a surprise if plenty of NBA fans mistook CP3 for being another superstar shopping for a new team.

And in a way, he has.

With the SuperFriends converging in Miami and his Hornets, with a new GM and a new head coach under the same-old penny-pinching ownership, looking to be far from contention in the West, Paul has seemingly (and understandably) grown envious of chip-chasing chums, wanting not to spend even his pre-prime years toiling with a mediocre team.

Following his meeting with the new management team and a trade for Trevor Ariza, CP3 has put his trade demands on hold for now, though don't be surprised if he starts whining to the media again once the Hornets fall farther and farther behind in the standings.

Carmelo Anthony

Perhaps the most interesting non-free agent storyline of the summer belongs to Carmelo Anthony.

Since being drafted with the third-overall pick by the Nuggets in the 2003 draft, 'Melo has seen his game improve along with his team, establishing himself as a franchise superstar on a perennial contender in the West, especially since the return of Chauncey Billups to his old stomping grounds in Denver. Add to this winning mix a three-year, $65 million extension offered up by Nuggets management this summer, and it seems like a no-brainer that Anthony will remain in the Mile-High City for the long haul, right?

Not so fast.

Like Chris Paul, 'Melo has developed a case of free agent envy after seeing the other most prominent members of his draft class take their collective talents to South Beach, leaving a lucrative extension on the table for now with his eyes reportedly toward the Big Apple, to team up with Amar'e Stoudemire on the Knicks.

On the one hand, it makes some sense.

'Melo is an East Coast guy from Baltimore who played his college 'ball at Syracuse, which falls solidly within the New York market. Also, the core of the NBA's top talent is undoubtedly shifting to the Eastern Conference, and chances are that Anthony doesn't want to be the one left to carry the mantle for the West in the years to come.

On the other hand, the Nuggets should be competitive in the West for some years to come, assuming coach George Karl makes a clean recovery from his bout with cancer and Ty Lawson turns out to be an able successor to Billups as Denver's point guard of the future.  Financially-speaking, with the league's collective bargaining agreement up for review, chances are that 'Melo will have have considerable difficulty garnering anything close to the 22-million-per-year the Nuggets are currently offering should he opt for free agency next summer.

Regardless of what happens, there's no doubt that this year's free agent season has wreaked havoc on the lives and professional careers of innumerable NBA players, Carmelo included.