NBA Pieces Beginning to Land

The NBA free agency period is now six days old and the dominoes are beginning to fall. Free agents cannot officially sign with their new teams until July 8th, that is the day in which the salary cap will be revealed, but players can agree to deals anytime after July 1st leading up to the 8th and obviously anytime after that. Three of the four major deals announced so far have been veteran stars remaining with their current teams; Paul Pierce with Boston, Dirk Nowitzki with Dallas and Joe Johnson with Atlanta.

Pierce and Nowitzki were no-brainers as they are the faces of their respective franchises. Both players took slightly less money than they could have made under the NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement in order to give their teams some financial flexibility to pursue that ever elusive title. Both players are now seasoned vets on their way to the Hall of Fame who have made loads of money in their career. It is no surprise that winning, as well as their legacy in one city, were very high on their list of priorities. Johnson’s deal was a little shocking as it appears to me like the Hawks have committed $120 million over the next six years to ensure second round playoff exits. Johnson is a nice player, a borderline all-star, but giving a max deal to a 28-year-old borderline all-star is no way to build a contender. I have no doubt that Atlanta will be regretting this move in the next 2-3 years.

Those three signings, however, were somewhat expected. The first big shake-up came when Amar’e Stoudemire agreed to a contract with the New York Knicks. Stoudemire’s contract is for five years and around $100 million. Stoudemire, unlike Johnson, is a franchise-type player. At the very least, he makes the Knickerbockers relevant once again, and potentially makes them very serious players in the competition to sign another star. Even if the Knicks were to strikeout in the LeBron James-Dwyane Wade race, the rumblings have already begun that the Knicks could land Carmelo Anthony and/or Tony Parker, both of whom become free agents next year.

In the end, though, this summer ultimately comes back to where James and Wade, and to a lesser extent, Chris Bosh end up. All three of their situations are still very much up in the air. It is impossible to evaluate the winners and losers of the “Summer of LeBron” until we find out where everyone lands. That is something we should know in the next few days.