1. Baron Davis, Warriors:
Signed With Clippers 5-years, $65 million
We now know that the Baron has flown to the Clippers. This team all of the sudden is relevant again. Brand will surely stay now. Davis said that he was inspired by the Celtics to join a group of hungry veterans. Well, he is going to get what he wants. I like this move a lot. The Warriors weren’t improving and they made it very clear that Monta Ellis could replace him. So it’s best for both parties.
2. Gilbert Arenas, Wizards:
Re-signed with Wizards 6 years, $111 million
Aside from having an entertaining blog Agent Zero seemed ready to cash in on the on the court talent he displayed. Then the knee injury and 2008 playoff performance versus the Cavs happened. Arenas says he wants to stay with Washington but the dude is, how do we say, maybe a bit unstable. The bigger question is who will be willing to spend max dollars for a guy who hasn’t played as well since he hurt his knee. Clippers, you know you want to. Arenas has already stated that unless the Wizards sign Antawn Jamison also he is taking off. No pressure, Washington.
I am not as sold on Arenas as I was two years ago but I don’t see how Washington can let him go. With him they still aren’t a championship contender, without him they are even worse. But the Hibachi-meter is at a low right now. Still, 100 million is a HELL of a lot of money for a guy who played 13 games last season.
3. Elton Brand, Clippers:
Signed with 76ers 5 years, $82 million
Brand isn’t going anywhere now that Baron Davis has come to town. I said last night that Brand was doomed if he stays with L.A. I would now like to take back that statement. If they can keep Corey Maggette (which is HIGHLY unlikely) then this team emerges as one of the top 4 teams in the Western Conference.
Brand ranks as my favorite player to ever come out of Duke. I hate Duke. Shane Battier falls into second place because he plays hard defense and cut out the flopping crap he was famous for at Duke. I am happy for Brand, a quiet and hard working player, that he will get to play on a contender.
4. Antawn Jamison, Wizards:
Re-signed with Wizards 4 years, $50 million
Imagine this, outside of Rasheed Wallace the truth is that Jamison is probably the North Carolina player who has most lived up to his potential. (Sorry, Eric Montross, you get no love.) There’s a long line of studs from Chapel Hill who have yet to live up to the hype. Marvin Williams, Raymond Felton, Shawn May, Rayshawn Terry, Jerry Stackhouse, and yes, even Vince Carter falls into the category. (You can’t be quoted as saying “I could be the best player in the league if I really wanted to be” and get my respect.)
Jamison may be 32 but he can still play at an All-Star level. Lucky for the Wizards that so many teams are maxed out in cap space. He’ll come back to Washington. Who else has the money to grab him?
5. Corey Maggette, Clippers:
Signs with Warriors 5 years, $50 million
I have to admit a few years ago I was pumped about the Clippers. They had Darius Miles and Quentin Richardson doing the head tap thing, then they had Cassell and Cuttino (Who was never as good as he was with Lamar Odom at Rhode Island), and they were oh so close (allegedly) to getting Kobe. Then the wheels came off. Q and Darius took off, Kobe stayed in LaLa Land, and Shaun Livingston made me nearly vomit with the worst knee injury in the NBA ever. Where were we? Right, Maggette.
It seems like Maggette has been in every trade rumor this side of George Mikan and he’s only making 7 million a year. He will want to get paid. Corey, hate to break it to you but it probably won’t happen outside of L.A. The Suns may try a sign and trade with Leandro Barbosa that would make sense for both teams.
Maggette has expressed interest in playing for the Magic. I think he should stay put and improve the Clippers. Is it about money or winning for Maggette? We will see.
6. Andre Iguodala, Sixers:
Iguodala stands out as one of the best young players in the league. He bombed in the playoffs but that shouldn’t stop Philly from signing him. Will the Grizzlies actually make a smart move and grab him? We will see. I like Iguodala. Aside from getting robbed in the Slam Dunk Contest a few years back versus Nate Robinson (If you have to dunk 17 times to get one in your ass should be kicked out) he plays the game the right way.
7. Josh Smith, Hawks:
Offer Sheet Matched by Hawks 5 years, $58 million
The Sixers and Pistons stand as the top teams outside of the ATL to grab Smith. In terms of talent and youth there is nobody on the list as good. But Smith has, how do you say, a little bit of diva to him. If he could keep his head on straight he could emerge as one of the best players in the league.
I don’t see how Atlanta can let him go though. He benefits from being second chair to the underrated Joe Johnson. And he will get better, believe that.
8. 
Monta Ellis, Warriors:
Re-signed with Warriors 6 years, $67 million
He's young and he can score. But his restricted status is going to hurt him. No team has the money to offer him more than the midlevel, and he probably feels as though he's worth considerably more than that. He's a player who may be better off taking the one-year tender from the Warriors so that he can be an unrestricted free agent in 2009.
9. Emeka Okafor, Bobcats:
Re-signed with Bobcats 6 years, $71 million
Okafor is ready to take off. Can you blame him? 13 million isn’t enough to make me want to stay on Charlotte either. He isn’t a franchise player but he would help out any team he joins. Okafor will always have a special place in my heart for taking down Duke. He is a workhorse and could put a team in playoff contention. Plus, he is young. You can’t find many young talented centers these days. Josh Boone also stands as his girlfriend in terms of UConn big men.
10. Luol Deng, Bulls:
Re-signed with Bulls 6 years, $71 million
Deng is one of the most talented post players in the game. But he has more injury bugs than Grant Hill. Okay, that’s a stretch but sitting the bench has definitely hurt his value. I still would keep him over Kirk Hinrich and Ben Gordon. It’s easier to replace guards.
The Bulls would be wise to make him take a pay cut after he turned down a 57.5 million dollar extension. What are we learning, players? Take the money and run. You just may end up on a crappy team of young underachievers.
11. James Posey, Celtics:
Signed with Hornets 4 years, $25 million
Up until the 2008 playoffs Posey stood as an overrated player that still had some polish. Then he went off against the Lakers and is making it very hard for the Celtics to let him go. They should re-sign him. He plays D almost better than anyone on the team, he is a great backup, and he will still be hungry to win another title.
12. Andris Biedrins, Warriors:
Re-signed with Warriors 6 years, $63 million
The Warriors need D and a leader now that Baron is gone. Biedrins falls into that category. He’s young and full of potential. He also represents a group of international players that is living up to their hype. That trend is fading quicker than Lindsay Lohan’s beauty.
13. Beno Udrih, Kings:
Re-signed with Kings 5 years, $33 million
Thanks to Chris Paul’s MVP caliber performance everyone wants a point guard now. It’s the NBA equivalent of the defensive line rush that has taken placed after the New York Giants won the Super Bowl. This could mean good things for Udrih, who the Kings believed in enough to let Mike Bibby jet to the ATL. Udrih isn’t a top 5 talent but he’s the best unrestricted point guard out there. Teams will make a run at him but I look for the Clippers to be the frontrunner. When Sam Cassell was your man for a while last year then you’re more desperate than Teri Hatcher…both on and offscreen.
14. Ben Gordon, Bulls:
Gordon’s refusal of a 5 year, 50 million dollar deal goes down as one of the dumbest decisions outside of casting Halle Berry in Catwoman. Now Gentle Ben is in trouble. Larry Hughes is on the team and starting and after how poorly the Bulls played there is no justifying paying that much for a bench player.
15. Kurt Thomas, Spurs:
Re-signed with Spurs 2 years, $8 million
The guy was a flat out steal for the Spurs. The Suns are gripping right now at the fact that they let him go. I think the Spurs will lock him up until he retires. He fits their system perfectly.
16. Josh Childress, Hawks:
Signed with Greek team 3 years, $20 million
I would take Childress all day if only to make him wear that bad ass fro. Aside from that he is maybe the best Stanford player to come out of college. That isn’t saying much but it helps that he is a great 6th man. Will the Hawks keep him? Will he switch to a jheri curl? We can only hope.
17. Ricky Davis, Heat:
Signed with Clippers 2 years, $4.7 million
I can’t think of a team who would want this headcase on their plate. But someone will sign him, believe that. Pat Riley tried to turn him into a reliable player. Yeah, that worked out well.
18. Desagiana Diop, Nets:
Signed with Mavericks 5 years, $33 million
Every once in a while a player comes along that teams get high on, and that player inevitably bombs like they were in the Middle East. Manute Bol is arguably the greatest example but for my money I have always loved Wang Zhizhi. The 42 point performance I dropped with him in 2001 on NBA Live, combined with seeing the DJ for Ludacris wearing his jersey that simply said “Wang” on the back, rank as one of the best moments of my life. Desagiana Diop doesn’t have the humor value of Wang, unless he starts yelling “I Dioped a deuce on your ass” every time he dunks, but he qualifies as a player teams love that doesn’t come through in terms of production.
Chad Ford of ESPN.com has Diop ranked 4th in unrestricted free agents, but there’s no way in hell I can put a guy who is a 5 point, 5 rebound guy there. Seriously, the highlight of his career is his overtime play of Tim Duncan in Game 7 of the 2006 playoffs. Diop can speak 5 languages, one being mid-level exception, which the Mavericks will likely give him in an attempt to apologize to fans for the Jason Kidd trade. Ewwww.
19. Mickael Pietrus, Warriors:
Signs with Magic 3 years, $16 million
Pietrus fits the James Posey mold, a great 3 point shooter who busts his butt on defense. Will the Warriors keep him now that Baron is gone? They should. They will need all the D they can get.
20. Kwame Brown, Grizzlies:
Signed with Pistons 2 years, $8 million
Okay, this one is a joke. But I just want to see the player formerly known as Stripe from the Gremlins Movie get paid. The guy makes Daunte Culpepper look like he has big hands. I can just see Kwame going off like the Rock in The Never Ending Story. “They look like such big strong hands.”
Has there ever been a bigger bust? I am still floored by how awful the Pau Gasol trade was. If I was Chris Wallace I would have made Jerry Buss throw in a lapdance from his daughter Jeanie for taking such a bad deal.
Guys who get honorable mention but frankly aren’t as good: Nenad Krstic, Nets (signed in Russia): Ronny Turiaf, Lakers (signed with Warriors); Sasha Vujacic, Lakers (re-signed with Lakers); Daniel Gibson, Cavaliers (re-signed with Cavs); Ryan Gomes, Timberwolves (re-signed with Wolves); Carlos Delfino, Raptors; Carl Landry, Rockets; Delonte West, Cavs; Shaun Livingston, Clippers; Brent Barry, Spurs (signed with Rockets); Bostjan Nachbar, Nets (signed in Russia); Carlos Arroyo, Magic (signed in Israel); Chris Duhon, Bulls (signed with Knicks); Eduardo Najera, Nuggets (signed with Nets); Matt Barnes, Warriors (signed with Suns); Alonzo Mourning, Heat; Gerald Green, Rockets (signed with Mavericks); Patrick O'Bryant, Warriors (signed with Celtics); Jason Williams, Heat (signed with Clippers); Jannero Pargo, Hornets; Theo Ratliff, Pistons; Adonal Foyle, Magic; Sebastian Telfair, Timberwolves (re-signed with Wolves); Kirk Snyder, Timberwolves.
Submit Your Comments About This Article