Top 5 Free Agent Signings

Now that the dust has almost completely settled on what ended up being a rather lackluster free agency period, now is the time to do every blogger's favorite thing; declare winners and losers. While I'll put off a full free agency analysis until I get back home from my current trip, here is a look at the top five signings of the free agency period;

5. Jacque Vaughn
No, that is not a typo. The fact that Vaughn makes this list is an indictment of the ridiculous amount of fiscal irresponsibility that was exhibited during the free agency period. Between teams bidding against themselves, overvaluing players, and making just plain stupid deals, the Spurs showed why they have won four championships in nine years. They knew they needed a backup PG, they knew Vaughn fit into their system, and they paid very little in order to get him. (2 years, $2.5 million) In the current NBA landscape, with so many teams languishing in salary cap hell, moves such as getting a solid backup PG for near the league minimum can be much better than throwing a max contract at a so so talent. (See; Lewis, Rashard)

4. Darko Milicic
This is not to say that Darko is going to be some sort of star in Memphis; he likely won't be. The Grizzlies did make a good signing with Milicic on a number of levels. First, they filled a need. Everyone in the NBA knew that Memphis was looking to find a big man to compliment Pau Gasol, and the Grizzlies went hard after both Anderson Varejao and Andres Nocioni. They were able to get Milicic, who in spite of all of the criticism levied against him is actually turning into a pretty serviceable 7 footer. So the Grizzlies filled a need, added a young talent, and most importantly were able to do it without breaking the bank. The Darko deal was for three years and somewhere between $18-$21 million. When you realize that Darko was originally seeking about $9 million a season, this deal looks that much better.

3. Grant Hill
This was a signing that was great for both sides. For the Suns, they were able to add a veteran leader who also filled a need (are you that crazy about Boris Diaw or Raja Bell?) for a low price. (2 years, $3.8 million) For Hill, going to the Suns gives him a chance to play for a championship, play in an exciting system, and to play a significant number of minutes at an age(34) where many teams would have wanted to put him out to pasture. The deal was a steal for the Suns, and adding Hill may well put them over the hump and into the Finals next season. Now, if they could just get rid of Marcus Banks...

2. Jamaal Magloire
When I first saw news of this signing my initial reaction was "Oooph". For those of you unfamiliar with what "Oooph" is, it's the sound that you make when you see something particularly nasty. A six foot blond walking down the street? "Oooph". Sean Taylor knocking a wide receiver head over heels? "Oooph". Coming home and seeing a big fat steak already sitting on the table? "Oooph". The prospect of the Nets starting Jason Kidd, Vince Carter, Richard Jefferson, Nenad Kristic, and Jamaal Magloire next season? "Oooph". That does not even take into account the fact that signing Magloire for one year and only $4 million is both cheap and low risk, and that signing Magloire also prevented them from throwing away money on Mikki Moore. This signing was ridiculously good.

1. Gerald Wallace
Did you see the contract that Rashard Lewis got from the Magic? Now imagine a player that is five years younger, plays the same position as Lewis, has an offensive game that is fast developing to match Lewis', is one of the top five defenders in the NBA, and is just generally better than Lewis in every single way other than perimeter shooting. Now imagine that you just signed him for half as much as the Magic signed Lewis. That is the kind of dream that the Charlotte Bobcats have been having ever since they signed Gerald Wallace to a six year, $57 million deal. Wallace is a star in the making, and if you have watched him at all in the past few years you know that he has been making quantum leaps in his game every single season. The Bobcats easily made the best signing of the year getting Wallace for the money they did.

A Lesson Easily Forgotten

In the weeks leading up to the NBA Draft debates raged about which top prospect the Portland Trailblazers should've selected with the first overall pick. Oden or Durant. Center or swingman. Scoring or defense. It was a debate that was philosophical at its core. What is more important in basketball? A dominant scorer or a dominant defender? Does the age old axiom, "Defense wins championships" really hold true? Should the NBA game resemble the Suns or the Spurs? In the end the Blazers seemed to settle the issue, opting for the stalwart post player Oden over the scoring dynamo Durant.

It seems however, that in spite of the widely lauded choice by the Blazers to take Oden the NBA as a whole is not neccessarily backing that choice's logic with their actions in free agency. How so you might ask? Just listen. Who is the most talked about free agent this year? Rashard Lewis. Lewis is a fantastic offensive talent. Simply put, there are very few basketball players on this earth that are 6-10 and can shoot the ball the way that he does. Whenever Lewis steps foot on the court he is an instant matchup problem for the opposing defense. The trade-off in Lewis' case however, is that his defensive game, or lack thereof, also creates an instant mismatch when the Sonics are on defense. Lewis' defense is so bad that after the 2005-2006 season John Hollinger described it thusly:

"The Sonics were the worst defensive team of all time, and Lewis was a big reason why. He has never been the most interested defender, but like a lot of teammates he suffered a noticeable drop in intensity last season. While Seattle had myriad problems and Lewis was only a part of them, it's simply shocking to look at his defensive numbers from a year ago.

As bad as the Sonics were defensively, they were worse with Lewis on the floor. A LOT worse. Seattle gave up 6.6 points per 100 possessions more when Lewis played -- and keep in mind, his replacement most times was Vladimir Radmanovic, who won't be appearing on an All-Defense team any time soon. Additionally, Lewis' man was doing most of the damage -- he surrendered an 18.6 opponent PER from the small forward spot, and a staggering 23.5 at power forward."

This isn't to say that Rashard Lewis is a bad player. That just wouldn't be true. What is shocking about the Lewis situation is not that he is a desireable free agent; it is that he is the most desireable free agent of this entire class, even though there is another free agent at Lewis' very own position who is younger, cheaper, and an elite defender. Where is the love for Gerald Wallace? If defense wins championships, don't you want one of the three players in NBA history to average at least 2 blocks and 2 steals in an NBA season on your team? (The other two were David Robinson and Hakeem Olajuwon by the way) Alas, despite his defensive prowess Wallace is likely to either re-sign with Charlotte or go to the runner up in the Rashard Lewis sweepstakes. I will guarantee you this though; the team that gets Wallace will be much better off than the team that gets Lewis. I mean for goodness sakes, Wallace is only 24 years old. An elite defender in his prime is on the market and all everyone can talk about is a 6-10 jump shooter that is too slow to defend on the perimeter and too weak to defend on the block? Obviously people did not read the memo about Oden, or see the Spurs win the title on the strength of a suffocating defense.

It isn't just isolated to the Lewis/Wallace situation either. Take a look out West in the Arizona dessert. The Suns are pressed up against the lottery tax, and are trying to deal Shawn Marion to get cap relief. That's right, Shawn Marion, the man who is arguably the best defensive player in basketball. The Matrix is a defensive freak, and like Wallace also has a pretty good offensive game to go with his lockdown D. So why on earth would the Suns be looking to get rid of him? To guard Amare Stoudemire of course. Amare, who only scored 3 more points per game than Marion even though Marion scored the vast majority of his points in transition and on broken plays. Amare is sexy though, Marion is not.

You know who else is being ignored in free agency right now? A former All-Star center, Jamaal Magloire. Right now rumor has it that he is being looked at for mid level exception money by a few teams. They should pull the trigger. And they should play him. Again, Magloire does not play a sexy game. He is a big man that gets position down low on offense and defense and is hard to move. He is still one of the best defensive rebounders in the game. Yet nobody seems to be making a serious play at him. Last year his own team didn't even give him a serious look, as Magloire found himself behind both Joel Pryzbilla and LaMarcus Aldridge in Portland. Do you want to know what happened when Magloire did get some serious PT though? In the 12 games last year where he played at least 30 minutes last year Magloire averaged 11.4 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks. Yet, you don't hear a peep about this center that could be a double double machine somewhere if he got the playing time. Because he isn't sexy. He doesn't run the floor or shoot three pointers. He just plays a tough defensive game and puts the ball in the hoop effectively on offense. It really is too bad that a league that seemed so close to understanding what winning basketball is all about with the Oden pick is ignoring it so quickly. Some teams do get it though, and those teams will be the ones that sign up Gerald Wallace, trade for Shawn Marion, and snap up Magloire for the mid level exception. And those teams will be winners.

The G(m) Spot: Dallas Mavericks

You know something is wrong with your favorite team. It's right there, plain as day, for everyone and their mom to see. So why can't your team's GM fix it? In the "G(m) Spot" column we will examine how teams can go about fixing their roster problems for the upcoming season. If you want to see your team get the G(m) Spot treatment, please send suggestions to kiduterus@gmail.com

In the aftermath of the Maverick's loss to the Warriors much has been made of the Maverick's inabilty to slow down the tempo of the game consistently. More specifically, the glaring weakness of the Maverick's roster was exposed: They do not have a scoring option in the low post. Without the ability to slow down the game with teams such as the Warriors and Suns, the Mavs are going to continue seeing these types of failures in the postseason unlees something is done. The low post is not Dirk's game, and for all of the lip service being paid to him working on developing a better low post game over the summer, forget about it. That is not what Dirk's skill set dictates, and although perhaps you can teach an old dog new tricks, would you really pick Dirk over a Mike Vick trained Mastiff that has been lurking in the post for years? (Too soon?) The other low post options on the Mavs roster include Erick Dampier and DeSagana Diop, and for all of the rebounding and shot blocking help they provide neither could be said to be an offensive threat.

What the Mavs do have however, is a decently sized expiring contract for next season in Shawn Bradley's $5.2 million deal, which could help them acquire some veteran help in a trade with a cap strapped team. So now the question looms, where are the Mavs going to be able to get some help for Dirk in the low post? Barring any crazy, roster demolishing trades, here are some targets the Mavs should be looking at going into the offseason:


Anderson Varejao:
The Cav's rising young star is hitting the free agent market this summer, and would be the ideal remedy for what is ailing the Mavs. Varejao possesses the strong post game on offense that would benefit the Mavs against up temp0 teams, while still being athletic enough to get up and down the floor if the Mavs choose to go into a transition offense themselves. Varejao would probably be hard to acquire given the Mavs current cap situation ($62 million on the books already for next season), so the Mavs best option might be a sign and trade deal with the Cavs. And the other shoe that would have to drop in that scenario.....would be Jason Terry heading to the PG needy Cavs, who already have Drew Gooden and Ilgauskas to soften the front court hit of losing Varejao.

Jamaal Magloire:
It would seem that Magloire's time is up in Portland, with his contract expiring and the Blazers having acquired LaMarcus Aldridge in last year's draft. Though Magloire has had two somewhat sub par seasons the last two years, it is important to recall that he averaged double figures in scoring in all three of his seasons with the Hornets. Also to his credit, Magloire is only 28 years old. With his stock down after only starting 21 games this year and losing time to the likes of Aldridge and Joel Przybilla the Mavs might be able to sign Magloire to a contract much smaller than what it would take to bring in Varejao.

Corliss Williamson:
Sometimes, you just need offense. And in those situations, when rebounding and defense might not be of the highest priority for the Mavs, would be when Corliss Williamson would be most effective for them. Say what you will about Williamson's all around game, but there is no denying the fact that the man can put the ball in the hoop when he is in the game. And most importantly for the Mav's needs, he can put it in from the paint. Williamson, who will be a free agent this summer, would probably be the most affordable option for the Mavs, while perhaps also being the most situational.


Kendrick Perkins:
Let's just call this one the Greg Oden option for the Mavs. If the ping pong balls fall the right way for the Celtics to draft Oden, Boston would find itself in a predicament with Oden and Al Jefferson (whose second contract will be looming) sharing the frontcourt space with the raw talents of Perkins and Ryan Gomes. Why is this a bad thing? Well, for a team like the Celtics, it isn't very good to be paying $4 million plus to your 2nd or 3rd string PF when you have such an uncertain situation at PG. So remember Shawn Bradley's expiring contract I was talking about earlier? The Mavs could ship it along with a few draft picks to the Celtics for Perkins, giving Boston some added cap flexibility for the 2008 offseason which could see Baron Davis, Jason Kidd, Jameer Nelson, Chris Duhon, and Brevin Knight on the free agent market.