In the prelude to free agency 2010, which I'm now calling "Armageddon Free Agency 2010", there are teams that are trying to win NOW (i.e. Cavs, Magic, Lakers, Spurs, etc.) and there are teams preparing for Armageddon Free Agency trying to win in summer 2010 (i.e. Nets, Knicks), and there are teams that are just trying to survive financially and selling off everything at low, low prices (i.e. Bucks, Suns, etc.)
With this summary, we have had a number of moves from the teams trying to win now taking players from the teams waiting for LATER. I'll try to give my winners and losers on draft day and on the trades...
Trades
Winners - Nets - The Nets are my absolute #1 winners right now. They not only dumped out Vince Carter's long-term contract, but they got back Courtney Lee. I know Courtney Lee may be known more for his blown layup in game 2 of the NBA Finals, but he is only a rookie, and he averaged who after the all-star break averaged 10.3ppg on almost 40% shooting from 3-point land and who received all the tough defensive matchups in the playoffs (including LeBron and Kobe). He's not a superstar, but for a rookie SG to do all this is quite impressive. The Nets are now in the BEST position for 2010, with only Devin Harris (approx. $10 mill), a team option on Brook Lopez ($2.5), a team option on C. Lee ($1.3) and $6.6 for two random players for a grand total of only $20 mill, meaning they will have about $40 million to spend. I think if I'm a free agent in 2010, and I want to win, I'd much rather go to New Jersey where they have a great young PG, a great young Center, and a very solid SG. In addition, they got the best supposed "lock down defender" in the draft in SG Terrence Williams. Nice pick.
Winners - Knicks - they got Darko in exchange for Quentin Richardson! Darko lives!!!!
Losers - Magic - I think the Vince Carter acquisition screws them up long-term, and is a signal that Turkoglu will not be re-signed. Obviously, if the Magic are somehow able to sign Turkoglu then adding Vince Carter looks a lot better. I just don't think that's the case. The defensive drop-off from Lee to Carter is immense. Turkoglu is the #1 sought-after free agent and his destination will alter the fortunes of at least the Magic.
Undetermined - Did Amare get traded to the Golden State in exchange for Biedrins and S. Curry? I guess we'll find out. It's hard to evaluate the trade when you consider that Amare is still a free agent in 2010.
The actual draft
Note: It's hard to pick many winners, when picks 8-23 were all of the same caliber player.
Winners - Tyler Hansbrough - During his college career, he's gone from sure-fire lottery pick, to 2nd round pick, to supposed NBA failure, to lottery pick. Congrats to Tyler!
Winner - Denver - Acquiring Ty Lawson for future 1st round pick. He can learn from Chauncey. I think that's a great plan.
Winner - San Antonio - Taking a 2nd round (non-guaranteed) gamble on Dejuan Blair? Supposedly his knees are a train wreck, but his numbers are awesome. The Spurs always seem to be doing something smart. This is a low-risk, HIGH-reward pick being made by the Spurs. Seems like another great move by the Spurs.
Unclear - Grizzlies - I don't understand why they went after Thabeet. They already have Marc Gasol at center who posted 11.9ppg, 7.4 rebs. I guess you can never have too few 7 footers? I guess they didn't want to deal with Rubio's buyout?
Unclear - T-wolves - Selected 2 players who will be overseas next year (Calathes, Norel) and 3 players who will be on the T-Wolves: Rubio still doesn't know if he will be in the NBA or not. Make that 2 players! Jonny Flynn could be the PG, or Telfair could start at first. Wayne Ellington is an undersized SG though was fantastic at the college level. Obviously, having Rubio (eventually) is the key.
Losers - Ok City - chose James Harden with the #3 pick, probably to avoid contract negotiations with Rubio. I'm not big on Harden. Plus, this SI article rips him apart as a good candidate for being overvalued, as he is a "subpar contested shooter" and has a lack of "shot efficiency in one-on-one situations." Then, just to make sure the Ok City Thundercats had the worst draft, they went out and traded for Center BJ Mullens, from Ohio State. I've never seen a dumber player, who didn't seem to learn anything during the college season, who also has a poor work ethic. Good luck with that project.
2nd round picks I like
Milwaukee - SG Jodie Meeks - Can really shoot, which is a nice skill to have.
San Antonio - G Jack McClinton - An absolute scoring machine. Saw him play a couple of times on the Miami Hurricanes and thought he was pretty impressive, though he is very small.
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