2010 NBA Free Agency, what yall thinking.... Options

[Guzman]

its starting to get old....but nonetheless still interesting. Where do you think they'll end up and best scenario??

as a Bulls fan, I was hoping for Dwyane Wade then a sign and trade for Chris Bosh but Wade seems stern on staying in Miami. Too much hype on Lebron going to Chicago, NY, or NJ, at first I wasnt crazy about that. But if he ends up in Chicago Ill be good. Either way my hunch tells my he'll stay in Cleveland or New Jersey. The Nets new owner is mysterious with a lot of tricks up his sleeve and not to mention is mad rich and has a lot of power.

Ideal starting line up for my squad:

PG Derrick Rose
SG Luol Deng
SF Lebron James
PF Chris Bosh
C Joakim Noah

or

PG Derrick Rose
SG Dwyane Wade
SF Luol Deng
PF Chris Bosh
C Joakim Noah

too many posibilities, but too much hype, yet still interesting....what yall thinkin?

[OrtizThaDBBomber]

I honestly think the Bulls best chance at getting anyone from the Free Agency is through Lebron...Dwayne Wade has professed his loyalty to the Heat and I'm almost positive he's going to recruit Chris Bosh to the Heat.

[LEX718]

I highly doubt the Bulls are getting more than one superstar to add to their roster. There may be a possibilty of swinging a second big name, but it would have to be a next level down player like Boozer or Johnson (which are both great). There are so many players on the market this offseason, its ridiculous.. Dudes are forgetting that cats like Dirk Novitzsky and Amare Stoudamire are out there. As a Lakers fan, I wish there were more PGs on the market tho. I want Phil Jackson to retire and LA to get back to run & gun basketball like they played with Magic & Worthy, but they'd need a great point guard for that.

[LEX718]

If anyone has a chance at signing 2 big names, I think it'll be New York or New Jersey because they have the salary room and the market. Also, don't sleep on a team like Oklahoma City from making a nice acquisition. If they can get Bosh, Stoudamire or Boozer they will be very strong.

[OrtizThaDBBomber]

If the Knicks don't get two superstars, I might have to submit an application to become a Thunder fan next season...I don't know if I can take another 10 years of the Knicks not making the playoffs

[Guzman]

If the Knicks don't get two superstars, I might have to submit an application to become a Thunder fan next season...I don't know if I can take another 10 years of the Knicks not making the playoffs

I feel that dogg....


I got that feeling Bosh going to MIA also. Him and Wade are mad cool and Wade sticks with staying in the 305 and adding some quality help. So if miami can land Amare, Boozer, Bosh, or any of the other guys expect Miami to cause some damage next year but somethign tells me they still wont be a title contender...just yet. But def a playoff team that wont finish lower than the 3rd seed.

Lex i feel you there are other quality names available. Dirk I think will stay in Dallas but something tells me someone is going surprise everyone and it could easily be Dirk shipping out. Too much speculating going on like one of my guys in Chicago, sis is a real estate agent who does real estate for the higher priced market and their office has a rumor Lebrons woman was in Chicago looking at houses. But I guarantee you thats the rumor in every city.

so much anticipation as to whats going down and it can very well be that the elite in the free agency pool stay with their home teams ie. Lebron or Dwyane. But I guess we wont know until after July 1st, just watch how much more hyped up its going to be after July 1

[OrtizThaDBBomber]

My predictions is that Bosh goes to Miami and D-Wade stays. Lebron, I'm really not sure what he's going to do...I definitely think that New York is his top choice if he leaves. I think with Chicago, they have a bad reputation as far as the front office goes...that's why D-Wade said what he said about them. That's going to be a major factor considering how Lebron has it made with Cleveland's front office. He'd be under the same circumstances in NY. Donnie Walsh already hinted that if Lebron wants a new coach, and that's what he has to do to get major FAs...he'll do it.

I think D'Antoni is the only thing preventing us from getting Lebron and another superstar. His style of play isn't effective in the NBA. We saw how the Suns put up over 100 points in almost each game against the Lakers and still couldn't win the series. They're still playing to D'Antoni's style with a little better spark on D. There's no way to have a run and gun offense work in the NBA right now without a dramatic emphasis on defense.

[Guzman]

Bron, Bosh, and D Wade in the 305...hmmmmmmmmmm

its def a power house but who will their surrounding cast be and will they be enough? I guess we'll see...

Im content with who the Bulls brought in in Boozer, Korver and hopefully Reddick. Not enough for a championship team but still a top 5 east team who has a few years to get to that title status....but then again Coach Thibedeau is a defensive mind set so I do see the Bulls being a defensive beast and giving teams like Boston and Miami a run for their money...but too weak on the 2 guard side so no hopes in defending Bron or Bryant.

The Knicks got shut out bad, but it could be worse. The Nets looks like they will win maybe 24 games next season.

Knicks overpaid for Amare so they better hope for Tony Parker and somethign to lure Melo to the Garden next season....

Overall its good to see power shift back to the East for a good minute....Bron's legacy is tarnished but then again does he really want to go down as the greatest? maybe not as he took a step back for personal legacy and a step forward to win, I just dont think he did it the right way. He is a drama queen who craves attention and had his own one hour reality TV show to make his decision. Now its, Lebron, Kourtney, and Khloe Take Miami type of ish....

Should be an interesting upcoming season....

[OrtizThaDBBomber]

I don't think we got shut out bad...Amare is a very good fit along with Raymond Felton, Wilson Chandler, Gallinari, and Randolph. Not a championship team but very possible .500/8th seed playoff team...huge improvement from last year. Career stats of 21.4 PPG, 8.9 RPG, 1.4 BPG, 54% FG%....and his playoff numbers are even better--52 GP in postseason, 24.2 PPG, 1.8 BPG, 9.2 RPG. I don't want to hear how "overpaid" he is because he's the only guy out of the free agent crew to step up and be ready to be a leader and picked his team first. Compared to the other big named Power Forwards he was best available. Most playoff experience and best stats outta all them...and it wasn't even like he was playing on a team that he was the only superstar, because he definitely wasn't.

Chris Bosh is the one who's overrated and overpaid if you ask me. He called himself a "winner" when him and Wade announced Miami plans...where's the proof? 11 GP in the post season, ONLY TWO playoff appearances in his seven year career with Toronto, and has never made it out the first round either. Career averages of 20.2 PPG, 1.2 BPG, 9.4 RPG, 49% FG%. I personally think that Carlos Boozer would've been a cheaper/better fit in Miami than Bosh is.

Here's an article written on CBS Sports regarding the myth of Amare not being a great defender as opposed to Bosh

Now that the signing of Amar'e Stoudemire by the Knicks has been agreed upon (though it can't be finalized until Thursday), we have to look at several angles. But how Stoudemire will fit on the Knicks is a question that has yet to be answered, because there are other max free agents in play for the Knicks. We can't look at the impact for Amar'e without knowing who could really be playing next to him (KB has some info on a possible sign-and-trade for a Knicks point guard ).

But what we can look at is if the Knicks made the right decision, committing close to $100 million towards Stoudemire. Amar'e comes with tremendous explosiveness and top-level scoring ability. But he also comes with significant questions as to whether he can play elite level defense, or even acceptable defense, and if he's a good enough player when he's not on offense. So the question is, would the Knicks have been better off if they'd managed to get Chris Bosh?

I took a look at the numbers on each player defensively via Synergy Sports . Synergy Sports tracks every moment of every NBA game and brings you an in-depth look, possession by possession, on how players do not only overall, but in certain situations. For example, their key stat is PPP, points-per-possession. It factors how many points are scored with a player as the primary defender, and then divides by the number of instances a player was in that certain play scenario. It factors turnovers, free throws, and points to bring you how many points per each possession a player gave up overall, and in certain possessions.

I looked at four specific play types breakdowns for Bosh and Amar'e in comparison: overall, pick-and-roll man (guarding the player providing the pick and rolling (as opposed to the ball-handler), isolation (pretty simple, one-on-one defense), in the post, and spot-up (off a pass in a catch-and-shoot situation). The results were pretty surprising.


Play Type Amar'e PPP Bosh PPP

Overall .86 .89

Pick-and-roll man .76 1.13

ISO .95 .65

Post-up .89 .84

Spot-up .84 1.03


Right off the bat, Amar'e Stoudemire allowed fewer points per possession last season than Bosh did. The first thing that you'll say is that the Raptors' defense was a crime against basketball. And you're absolutely right. It's certain that Bosh's defense was impacted by how terrible the rest of his team defended. But the individual play types are kind of startling in terms of where he was good and where he was bad. The same can be said for Stoudemire. Pick and roll being the biggest alarm bell if you're a team out there still looking at Bosh as your signature big. Stoudemire, despite being known as a terrible help defender, was ranked 18th in the league overall as a pick and roll defender, one of the more complex defensive sets requiring combination and knowledge of where your teammates are.

But Stoudemire certainly struggled in ISO situations. If you put him straight up on a player, he gave up .96 points per possession, a far cry from Bosh's .65. And there were nearly twice as many instances of ISO defense versus pick-and-roll man situations. At the same time, help defense is something you can account for, and switching assignments is something Mike D'Antoni can do to alleviate a situation where Amar'e is getting taken repeatedly straight up.

How about the post-up numbers? I had anticipated a huge advantage for Bosh in this area, with a more physical reputation and Amar'e's notorious softness. Yet Amar'e is still allowing less than .89 in the post, and Bosh is at .84. A difference of .05 points per possessions? Not exactly what I would have expected.

Finally, spot-up, which deals with recovery, is probably the most affected by the Raptors' terrible defense. Bosh was repeatedly having to overcompensate to help his teammates, meaning his man was open for jumpers as he tried to cover too much defense to recover. It's a terrible mark for Bosh at 1.03 while .84 is reasonable for Stoudemire.

The big takeaway here is that Bosh is a better defender, no doubt. But the separation is not one where you would feel the Knicks made a horrific mistake in getting Stoudemire. Stoudemire's defensive numbers match up favorably with Bosh, both play in high-possession systems last year, and both have issues in various defensive sets.

Many will claim that the Knicks got the rough end of this choice between Bosh and Amar'e. But if the evidence from last year is any indication, the Knicks may have gotten a better deal than the consensus believes.