NBA: Free Agency First Day
First day of Free Agency period has finally kicked in, only 15 hours have passed since 12am and NBA fans are left trembling. Some of the free have signed some have verbally agreed according to the league. Till 8th of July basketball fans will be driven crazy with an influx of gossip.
LeBron James was bombarded with surprise gifts, presentation programs more over top executives of New Jersey Nets and New York Nets came down to Ohio to meet with him personally.
These 15 hours seem like the longest in Basketball history as there is so much commotion and to say it’s been crazy would be an understatement, it’s more like a festival where no one knows what is going on.
One could not even begin to contemplate, what drama the NBA free agency will bring the following days.
On that note, let us examine all the action that occurred on the first day up until now.
Drew Gooden from Los Angeles Clippers has reportedly accepted a 5 year contract for $32M from Milwaukee Bucks, if the deal goes well that would probably be the longest contract Gooden has signed in his career. With Gooden being the first one to board the ship, for the time being has stolen the headlines from King LeBron, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. This is the 10th time the player has changed his franchise in just a decade.
Gooden might not be the most exhilarating player to watch this season but he certainly brings a smooth shooter who is a machine when it comes to rebounds for the Milwaukee Bucks which was much needed for the underprivileged team.
Rudy g*y has also signed on to an astounding contract, with singing of to a $80M deal for 5 years to Memphis Grizzlies. It was truly a surprise when Grizzlies offered a maximum contract of $16M to 23 year small forward. Rudy has come off to prove over years that he is a solid NBA player by averaging 17 PPG last season but still the fact Memphis Grizzlies offering him a maximum contract is ludicrous. Experts say the team made a hasty decision because other franchises such as, N.Y Knicks, N.J Nets showed an interest in him.
Did the Atlanta Hawks managed to get Joe Johnson back onto their roster? After their elimination from the playoffs this season his fans reckoned he wouldn’t stick to the team. However like said before every man has its price, being offered $119M by the Hawks certainly put him into re-thinking his decision. The Hawks have offered Joe a 6 year maximum contract of $119M and it is being said he will accept it. On the other hand NBA insiders claimed that Johnson will most certainly be heading either to Los Angeles Lakers or New York Knicks.
The entire buzz that has been circulating about Portland Trail Blazers trying to trade off their young players with the Hornets is true. The Blazers want to trade Joel, Pryzbill, Jared Bayless and Andre Miller to the New Orleans Hornets for their key players, Chris Paul and Emeka Okafor.
Hornet’s fans would certainly not be happy about the trade off as, Chris Paul is the star player for the Orleans and with him gone the team would certainly be nothing. However Hornets is looking forward to the deal is because they would save up to $25M by next season. As of now the deal hasn’t taken place and the question on every Hornet’s fans mind: will Chris be traded to the Blazers? The question shall be answered hopefully in a day’s time.
Even though it seems like the Free Agency period is going extremely slow and no progress is being made, there have been a few things that have happened in the league that left the fans and franchises quite satisfied. It has been reported that the Cleveland Cavaliers have signed coaching veteran Bryan Scott for a 4 year deal. While on the other side L.A. Lakers have received their former coach Phil Jackson back.
While Jackson and Bryan filling in, the Los Angeles Clippers are the only team exclusive of a head coach in NBA.
While things had stirred somewhat in day 1, let us hope we hear something big by tomorrow.
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