The Worst Offseason Moves in the NBA
Not everyone wins when it comes to free agency in the National Basketball Association. Often teams will sign average players to superstar wages, sign players based on individual talent rather than team compatibility, or simply disrupt the meshing of their current roster with new additions. Here are this summer’s worst offseason signings:
New York Knicks and Amare Stoudemire: The Knicks shelled out a whopping 5-year, $100 million deal for Stoudemire via a sign-and-trade with the Phoenix Suns. Stoudemire’s sudden garish contract was meant more so as an indicator to other top free agents, like LeBron James, as to how serious the Knicks were about paying top-dollar for top players.
Unfortunately, Stoudemire isn’t a top player, and is just a slight statistical improvement over their former power forward/centre David Lee. Lee was affordable and it is likely Stoudemire won’t be significantly different in anything other than wage.
Stoudemire’s career has also been built on running the pick-and-roll with the NBA’s best point guard, Steve Nash. On the Knicks, Raymond Felton will be the one dishing Stoudemire the ball. This means he will have to create a lot more of his own scoring rather since he won’t be fortunate enough to have the deadeye accuracy of Nash helping him out.
To top this off, Stoudemire is also coming off of microfracture surgery, which does not bode well for someone whose main strength is his leap ability. Overall, a lot of pressure is on Stoudemire and is doesn’t seem like New York and Stoudemire are a recipe for success, at least not until the rest of the roster improves.
The Toronto Raptors and Amir Johnson: One would think the Raptors have learned their lesson regarding throwing a lot of money to unproven niche players after the Hedo Torkoglu signing. Yet, the Raptors have re-signed Johnson to a five-year, $34 million deal. At just 23, Johnson is a great defender and a quality shooter. What he is not is a $34 million player.
He has been in the NBA for only five seasons and has the minute total of just one full season. Johnson is also terribly undersized for a 6-foot-10 player and not a suitable replacement for Chris Bosh. The Raptors’ other frontcourt presence, Andrea Bargnani, is also not a physical inside player. Given the Raptors current need for as much physicality as possible, giving the unproven Johnson an inflated long-term deal seems like a glaring mistake.
The Atlanta Hawks and Joe Johnson: Remember when Joe Johnson was booed off the court by Atlanta fans following the embarrassing four-game sweep of the Hawks by the Orlando Magic? The Magic averaged 25 point victories throughout the series. Hawks management seems to have forgotten when they inked Johnson to a six-year, $124 million deal.
A player with that sort of salary cannot shoot 30 percent in the playoffs and average 12.8 points per game, which are Johnson’s totals for that series.
Johnson is also 29, and thus essentially at the peak of his prime. He will not get any better, and most likely will actually get worse by the end of his deal. The Hawks have steadily improved in the weak Eastern Conference for the past few seasons, but now must contend against the improved Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, and Milwaukee Bucks.
The Hawks managed to dispatch the Bucks in last season’s playoffs due to Andrew Bogut not playing, but things won’t be so simple this year. Johnson’s signing prevents them from improving their roster, which was Atlanta’s biggest need. In fact, the Johnson contract may be the downfall of this improving franchise. There is no way that simply by bringing Johnson back the Hawks will contend. Now they are doomed with a huge contract to pay to a player who disappears in the playoffs.
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