NBA Free Agency: Grading the Deals from Day 1
December 9, 2011 1 Comment
Written by
David S. Grant
As the NBA sorts out the Lakers/Hornets situation let’s review the deals that actually went down and were not vetoed by the NBA.
CARON BUTLER (3 years, 24 million) Clippers
Their reluctance to move Eric Gordon is understandable, but with all the coveted pieces and available salary the Clippers posses this should not have been their focus. This type of player will be there tomorrow and next week and next month (for less money). THIS was a perfect place for the NBA to flex their veto power.
Grade: F
TAYSHAUN PRINCE (4 years, 27 million) Pistons
Every team had a need for Prince at this price. Nice job by the Pistons locking him down. Now they can focus on the Rip Hamilton situation.
Grade: A-
SHANE BATTIER (somewhere in the 2-3 million dollar range) Heat
Two big wins for the Miami Heat yesterday. This subtle move to improve overall team chemistry and the NBA owners attempt to take the role of villain away from the Heat. The majority of comments when it looked like the Chris Paul deal (and expected Dwight Howard deal to follow) went down : “it’s still not as bad as LeBron and the Heat.” That’s rough and shows the Heat are still ‘most hated’, but based on yesterday’s performance, it appears the owners are up for the challenge.
Grade: A
GREG ODEN (1 year, 8.9 million) Trail Blazers
Given the mental energy spent the past couple years with their big man, one of those ‘why not?’ moves.
Grade: Incomplete (let’s see if he makes it through pre-season first)
MIKE DUNLEAVY JR. (2 years, 7.5 million) Bucks
Good shooter, good value. Nice pick-up for the Bucks. They are now three deep at the 1-2-3-4 positions. The question is: How many are legit starters? To be continued…
Grade: B
EDDY CURRY (1 year, veteran minimum) Heat
If Pat Riley is able to motivate Eddy Curry to utilize 50% of his talent then he should be given his own television channel. Call it PAT, non-stop 24/7 motivational speeches from Pat Riley. It goes without saying it will be buried somewhere in the 310-330 channel range after the FOOD channel, but before TOON.
Grade: Who Cares
This article written by David S. Grant. For more please follow him on twitter @David_S_Grant
