Shawn MarionThe Mavs have been busy over the past week, re-signing Jason Kidd and bringing in Marcin Gortat, but the biggest move they made was to trade for Shawn Marion and then sign him to what will be a 5 year, $39 million contract. Yup, that's right, we now live in a world where Anderson Varejao is making more money than Shawn Marion. Either way, I don't think this move makes Dallas a title contender. Marion had the worst season of his career last year, but I think the move to Dallas will make him a more efficient player, since he can probably focus less on scoring and more on rebounding and running the floor with Jason Kidd. Marion is coming to the Mavs pretty cheap, so I don't think it's a horrible move for them, but they can't honestly think they can compete with the Lakers, Spurs, Celtics, Magic, and Cavs for an NBA title. They still only have one superstar player and he really isn't a go-to-guy.
Carlos Boozer
Sounds like Boozer could be on the move to the Bulls with Tyrus Thomas headed to Utah and Kirk Hinrich going to Portland. This would be a decent trade for the Bulls because they would finally get a strong low post scoring option that they have been looking for all these years now. It would definitely help the Bulls, but losing Ben Gordon and Kurt Hinrich is still going to hurt this team. Gordon is a solid playoff performer who can get hot at any moment and having Hinrich coming off the bench with his solid outside shooting and good defense was definitely a plus and an advantage for the Bulls. In the end, I'm not sure the Bulls will be that much better if they do get Boozer. Maybe 45 wins, but I wouldn't think any more wins than that. I do like Portland getting Hinrich, who would be an upgrade over Steve Blake. Tyrus Thomas doesn't really seem to fit in Utah to me, but he does have potential.
Hedo Turkolgu
By now you know that the Raptors have signed Hedo Turkoglu to a 5-year, $53 million deal. I don't think this move is going to make a big deal for the Raptors because with Bosh, Bargnani, Calderon, and Turkoglu; the Raptors might be one of the worst defensive teams in the league. Sure they should score a ton of points, but we've seen teams go that route before and it never works. I also think this deal could look pretty bad towards the back end of it. Turkoglu just doesn't strike me as someone who's going to age very well.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Anderson Varejao is going to 6 years, $50 million from the Cavs to play defense and stay out of Shaq's way on the offensive end. I have to wonder though if maybe the Cavs should have went after Big Baby to play PF for them next season. He's the type of PF, who would fit well next to Shaq since he can hit the mid-range jumper. The only negative is I'm not sure how strong the Cavs would be down low with Big Baby and Shaq. I don't think they would be terrible though. The Cavs also added Anthony Parker, who should help them off the bench, but this team is loaded with wing players who can shoot the three so he's kind of redundant. I still think it would have been interesting to see Big Baby or even Antonio McDyess playing PF for the Cavs next season.
Orlando Summer League
A quick look at some players performing well and not so well in the Orlando Summer League:
Ryan Anderson: The "throw-in" in the Vince Carter Deal, Anderson is averaging 25.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists through 4 summer league games. A deadly outside shooter, he has knocked down 12 of his 25 three-pointers and is shooting 54.8% from the floor overall. He should be another solid shooter off the bench for the Magic and his acquisition shouldn't be overlooked.
Tyler Hansbrough: He's actually been playing well so far through 4 summer league games averaging 21.5 points on 46.9% shooting. However, there are two things I see as negatives here. First, he has shot 44 free throws, which has helped inflate his point total. Refs in summer league call and ridiculous amount of fouls and it's not uncommon for players to rack up big scoring totals simply by getting to the line. Usually it doesn't translate over to the regular season either. The other red flag I see here is that he's only averaging 4.8 rebounds a game against players who aren't even as physically gifted as whole he'll go up against in the regular season.
Roy Hibbert: He's averaging strong 21.3 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks, while shooting 66.0% from the floor. It will be interesting to see if he improves this year in his second season. One thing he needs to work on is his turnovers as he is averaging 3.3 of those a game.
Terrence Williams: T-Will is averaging 10.0 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.8 steals, 1.3 blocks, and 3.5 turnovers; while shooting just 35.6% from the floor. He's doing a little bit of everything, but as usual some of it is good and some of it is bad.
James Harden: Harden is off to a strong start in the summer and is averaging 15.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.5 steals, while shooting 55.9% from the field and 41.7% from three. He could be the early favorite for rookie of the year.
More NBA News
- I like the Antonio McDyess move for the Spurs and at times I wondered if the Pistons underutilized him offensively. He is great at knocking down the mid-rang jumper and he also ranked 10th in the NBA in rebound rate. Between Duncan, McDyess, and DaJuan Blair, I expect a lot of backboards to be cleared by the Spurs this season. Definitely an upgrade over what the Spurs had at the PF position the past few seasons.
- One thing that hasn't been talked about with Rasheed Wallace going to Boston is that I think this is going to keep KG's minutes down and will help him stay healthy for the playoffs. I wouldn't be surprised to see his minutes in the 30-35 range per game. In other Celtics news, it looks like they are going strong after Grant Hill, who could also spell Paul Pierce and keep him fresh. Not to mention he might even be able to bring the ball up for the Celtics since they are losing Marbury as their backup PG most likely. The Celtics would be pretty damn deep with Sheed and Grant Hill coming off the bench and possibly Big Baby as well.
- The Grizzlies are interested in signing Allen Iverson, but it would just be to sell tickets and they might better off passing because he doesn't fit into their future. Miami on other hand is a much better fit in my mind and I think Iverson may actually be able to help the Heat. Hell, Pat Riley might even decide to come back and coach him. Well maybe not, but I still think Iverson ends up with the Heat.
- The Blazers are looking to sign Paul Millsap to back up LaMarcus Aldridge and if that doesn't go through then they will look to go after Brandon Bass. There was also talk of Portland going after Lamar Odom, but that has died down now and it seems like Odom will be back with the Lakers.
- I bet you didn't know Marcin Gortat was 6th in the NBA in rebound rate last season. That's definitely why teams like the Mavs were so eager to sign him and Orlando will surely miss him. They probably will be in the market for a big off the bench now, but I'm not sure who is left out there that is any decent. Whoever they do get will probably come cheap though as the market seems to only have money left for a few more players.
More: NBA Weekly
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