Although it may seem as though LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh left the free agent landscape barren with nothing else worthy of discussion, we would be remiss if we did not mention some other teams that did well for themselves in the initial rush of free agent activity.
New York Knicks: Many fans in the Big Apple may be buying excess rope and heading for the Chrysler Building now that LeBron has spurned them, but in all the Knicks are an improved team. Amare Stoudemire is a guy that as the main star will average twenty-five points and ten boards a night. They dealt David Lee, who became obsolete once Amare arrived, for Anthony Randolph, Kelina Azubuike, and Ronny Turiaf. Randolph has elite talent and produced solidly last year. He is an athletic big that will likely play multiple positions in New York. Azubuike is a prototype sixth man and a perfect fit for Mike D’Antoni’s system. He is athletic, can run, and shoots the three. Turiaf has more energy than the dorky guy at a college party who isn’t adding any alcohol to his Red Bull. He is a solid rebounder and defender. In this trade the Knicks get three solid complementary players for the slightly overrated Lee. They add these affordable pieces around Amare, and then wait for next year and hope to add free agents-to-be Tony Parker, Carmelo Anthony, or both.
Chicago Bulls: Adding Carlos Boozer was supposed to be the domino that led to either Wade or James joining the fold, but even so, the Bulls are in much better shape than they were last year. Letting Kurt Hinrich go hurts in retrospect because the Bulls did not get two max contract players, but they will have cap space moving forward with a very nice roster already in place. Derrick Rose, Luol Deng, Taj Gibson, Joakim Noah, and Carlos Boozer form a very nice foundation that has the flexibility to accommodate changes. Boozer is not a super star but he is a consistent scorer and rebounder that should work well with Rose, a talent not far removed from his previous running mate in Utah, Deron Williams.
Memphis Grizzlies: All indication were that Rudy Gay was on his way out of town, but Memphis retained him, and with that keeps together a young and improving core of Gay, OJ Mayo, Marc Gasol, Mike Conley, and Zach Randolph.
Boston Celtics: Ray Allen and Paul Pierce come back, as does Doc Rivers. This team will be healthy heading into next year, but their championship window is closing, if not already closed.
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