Last Friday, David Stern -- acting as some amalgam of both owner of the New Orleans Hornets and commissioner of the NBA -- put the kibosh on a trade that would’ve sent Chris Paul to the Lakers, brought Luis Scola, Kevin Martin, and Lamar Odom to the Hornets, and shipped Pau Gasol to the Rockets.
There’s no use in denying it: free agency in the NBA is kind of a blast, and particularly so when the entire period is condensed into a few hyper-active weeks of player movement.
UPDATE (12:59 AM EST): Sam Amick of SI.com to the rescue: The Lakers and Nets make sense as suitors given the assets they have at their disposal, but how the Mavericks squeezed their way into this bunch is beyond me.
Although the Miami Heat’s failure to win the NBA title made them a frequent punchline, let’s not soon forget just how quickly the Heat were able to rise to the top of the league.
The post-lockout free agency period has seen teams throw gobs of money at Caron Butler, Tyson Chandler, and Nene, but out in Sactown they’re showing some impressive restraint.
Free agency wouldn’t be free agency without a twinge of instant regret, and the Clippers may be the first buyers in this year’s market to experience it.
Teams aren’t technically allowed to come to agreements with free agents just yet, but Tracy McGrady is reportedly locked in to join the Atlanta Hawks nonetheless.
The Indiana Pacers snuck into the NBA Playoffs last season thanks to weak competition among the middling teams of the Eastern Conference, but the playoff appearance itself -- and the dogfight Indiana was able to give the Chicago Bulls in the first round -- still meant plenty to the Pacers’ young, developing core.
Tyson Chandler shocked the known basketball world yesterday with an acknowledgement that he doesn’t expect to be back with the title-winning Dallas Mavericks next season.
The NBA is currently in the process of moving the lockout into its rearview mirror, but even that development can’t bring home all of the league’s wayward sons.
We still have yet to see the NBA’s official schedule (or have approval of the tentative collective bargaining framework from the NBA’s players and owners, but who’s letting that stop them from moving on?)
For all of the emphasis on David Stern’s recent ultimatum to the members of the National Basketball Players Association, this is hardly the first time he’s issued a deadline threat against the union.
