The free agents available were good, but not really great. Most teams didn’t have more than the mid-level exception to spend on free agents in any case. Most top players were expected to re-sign with their current team.

Big trades break GMs much more often than they make them, so they are not often willing to pull the trigger on them.

The draft was so deep that most GMs wanted to see how well their draft picks did, and hope that they might be better than any possible player they can get in Free Agency. It’s rare indeed when the biggest talk after the trade moratorium is lifted is how well your rookies are playing in the Summer Leagues.

All of this provided for a rather bland off-season acquisition and trade season thus far, but lets look at the highlights as of early today, July 18.

July 11, 2007 – Free Agents Can Actually Be Signed

Jason Kapono signs with Toronto – Toronto spent way too much money on this one dimensional player, even though he is VERY good at his one dimension. Of course, it forced the hands of many other teams to spend their WHOLE mid-level exception on signing a player as well, so maybe it was a savvy move. He was definitely one of the better of the mid-level exception guys available. You’ve got to think, though, that they could have gotten a few players for the money they spent on this one.

Steve Francis is released by Portland – Portland didn’t want him. Nobody else really wants him either. There are rumored to be four teams after him. The Clippers seem like the only team who REALLY ought to take a shot at him. Their point guard is out for the year. They aren’t going anywhere anyway. Why not take a flying leap at Francis? I think teams like Dallas, Phoenix, and Miami are just going to mess up their teams if they pick him up.

Grant Hill is signed by Phoenix – Does this make Phoenix any better? Not really. Does he take up a roster spot? Yes. They got him on the cheap, but you’ve got to think that bringing up a young player in the system would have been a better move. In a couple of years, Phoenix is suddenly going to be VERY bad with the way they are ONLY picking up veterans and not developing up-and-coming talent.

Rashard Lewis is signed by Orlando – I don’t think this is quite as bad a move as most other people did, and they obviously paid way too much (which every GM signing a player from another team knows) for a guy who the Seattle fans themselves were only lukewarm on. The thing I REALLY don’t understand, though, is why they did the sign-and-trade. Why tack on the extra year when the extra year is what every GM absolutely DOES NOT WANT? Even if they have a team exception on the last year, they might hurt the player’s feelings by using it and trying to sign him on the cheap. In addition, they are giving Seattle something. Why give Seattle anything? He agreed to the 5 year deal. You do the 5 year deal. You don’t do a sign-and-trade for a 6 year deal.

Detroit re-signs Chauncey Billups – The only way this would have made news is if the Lakers managed to sign him.

July 12, 2007

Lakers re-sign Luke Walton – I like Walton, but the current team is not supposed to have to pay this much for a contract for their own player. I guess it’s good that the Lakers have money to burn. Probably not the move that Kobe was hoping for, but it isn’t a bad move. Just a bit too pricey for signing their own player.

Dallas re-signs Devean George – There wasn’t any money available, so he signed a one year deal so that he can try the market next year. Probably not a bad move on his part, and obviously a one year deal for George doesn’t hurt the Mavericks.

July 13, 2007

New Jersey re-signs Vince Carter – The deal is longer, but unless the first year of the contract is front-loaded, Vince would have made more money this year if he had NOT opted out. There may be some serious money available next year in Free Agency as teams clamber to shed salary in the hopes of luring Tim Duncan or Kevin Garnett (among others), so you’ve got to wonder if he might have gotten a sweet deal from one of the teams that couldn’t lure a player away with all of their salary cap space. Oh, well. What’s done is done. New Jersey doesn’t gain anything with this move. They’re still the same team they were, and now they have a long salary on an aging player.

Dallas re-signs Jerry Stackhouse – Jerry played pretty well in the playoffs. Why not bring him back for a little longer! So Dallas is. Not sure if any other teams really had interest in him, except for maybe teams such as Phoenix and Miami who seem like they haven’t seen a veteran they didn’t like.

Portland signs Steve Blake – I don’t know that he was really the player for Denver. Not sure if Portland really needed him with all of the good young talent they have brought to the team in the last two years, but they did it.

Sacramento signs Mikki Moore – Moore made himself a name in the playoffs and went to the bank with it. Sacramento needs all sorts of help, and I’m not sure that giving Moore a long-term contract at the mid-level exception was the wisest move. Moore is quite the worker, though, so he certainly isn’t a bad acquisition. You’ve got to wonder if Sacramento is looking around for some good trades, too. Bibby, anyone?

Memphis signs Darko Milicic – Memphis had money so spend, and they spent it. Nobody, it seems, has lost faith with Darko, even though he has yet to do anything. Memphis rewarded the big man with a big contract to put him alongside Pau Gasol. That could be a good front line, or it might just be nothing. Hard to tell at this point. With the way Memphis has played since they became a franchise, can they really get much worse? They haven’t even won a playoff game yet. Either way, Memphis ends up with the 2nd player in the draft that should have been theirs anyway (except that maybe they would have made a better pick and gone for Carmelo, Bosh, or Wade with that pick).

Utah signs Jason Hart – When they learned that Morris Peterson was going to take the max mid-level contract with New Orleans instead of signing their lesser deal, Utah turned to Jason Hart to replace the departure of Derek Fisher, who was released for family reasons and is expected to re-sign with the Los Angeles Lakers. With that move, the Jazz shed about $4.5 million and they get a guy who can be a good backup point guard and a decent backup shooting guard. (If I’m not mistaken, that was all Fisher really was, too.) They’ll miss Fisher’s leadership, but Hart might turn out to be a much better deal in the long run, anyway.

July 16, 2007

Denver signs Chucky Atkins – I’m not sure that Chucky Atkins is the answer as the starting point guard, so maybe the Nuggets have a deal in the works, but Atkins could certainly be valuable as a backup point guard and shooting guard (for the brief minutes that A.I. isn’t playing.) He certainly came at a reasonable price, and this should be a good pick up for Denver who is a little thin at point guard, especially with recent trades and the departure of Steve Blake to Portland.

Washington re-signs DeShawn Stevenson – The Wizards were pretty good last year until they all got injured. Why not give it another go and hope for everyone to stay healthy this year? That’s just what Washington has decided to do with re-signing Stevenson to a multi-year deal. Stevenson wanted more, but in the end he had to settle for more than he was worth but less than he wanted. Probably not bad for either party.

July 17, 2007

New Jersey signs Jamaal Magloire – Nobody had much money. Nobody was offering him much money. So Magloire (not unlike Devean George) settled for a short deal, signing for a $4 million one year contract. For their part, New Jersey signed him mostly to replace Mikki Moore’s exodus. Other teams were rumored to have interest, but New Jersey’s was the only offer on the table, and it wasn’t likely he would see any better. Maybe next year!

Chicago signs Joe Smith – Not sure Chicago needed him, but I imagine they just wanted to replace P.J. Brown, who they probably won’t re-sign. Along with the Nocioni signing (below), they should be set for another deep run in the playoffs.

Chicago re-signs Andres Nocioni – Chicago shores up a very good young team with this signing.

Charlotte re-signs Matt Carroll – Charlotte is thin anyway, and can ill-afford to lose any of its talent. After the rumored deal with Gerald Wallace was completed, this was the next step, and it was actually completed first.

July 18, 2007
 
San Antonio re-signs Fabricio Oberto – He did well alongside Tim Duncan. He probably wouldn’t do quite so well anywhere else. He probably did well to just re-up with the Spurs.
 
Other Rumored Deals yet to be Finalized
 
Gerald Wallace re-signing with the Charlotte Bobcats for a large, long-term deal – Good for the Bobcats. Are they going to finally start being relevant? The contract seems a little high for a guy who does everything BUT score, but maybe re-signing a couple of key free agents AND the trade for Jason Richardson will make this team into a playoff caliber team in the East. Being the East, it shouldn’t be THAT difficult.
 
Derek Fisher re-signing with the Lakers for a multi-year deal just below the mid-level exception – Another move by the Lakers that probably isn’t what Kobe Bryant hoped for as the answer to the team’s mediocrity.
 
Morris Peterson signing with the New Orleans Hornets for a multi-year deal at the mid-level exception – Utah was rumored to be interested, but not for the full mid-level exception. New Orleans adds another long contract to an already bloated set of contracts from last year. Is Chris Paul really going to be able to mold this selection of cast-offs from other teams into a playoff contender? He better because the Hornets are out of money.