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What was the biggest move for the 2009 offseason? By John Nguyen
08.6.2009 - Updated on 08.6.2009
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During the offseason, things usually shake up to make adjustments to teams. There were notable ones and ones where we just go “meh.” Whatever the case, moves were still made. Some acquisitions look great. Other moves just make you go, “WTF?”
Detroit: Joe Dumars went out and spent some serious stacks to buy Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva – 2 UCONN products. The total price for their services is roughly around $90 million. Once again, Gordon steps on a squad that has a crowded backcourt. This raises other questions about Dumars’ vision for the Pistons. Is Ben Gordon a Vinnie Johnson clone? $11 million per season for someone like that should be a starter. What will the backcourt look like? A Rodney Stuckey/Gordon duo leaves many complaints because of defense and lack of height. A Stuckey/RIP Hamilton pairing has run its’ course. What to do?
Charlie Villanueva adds more scoring punch and three-point shooting, but nothing else. The defensive toughness that Detroit once had is all gone. Dumars understands that it is rebuilding time and he’s doing it as fast as he possibly can. Twitter about that, CV31.
San Antonio: They got Richard Jefferson for cheap. They know Tim Duncan’s time is slowly coming to an end. One last push for that NBA title before Gregg Popovich rides off into the sunset. Bruce Bowen might come back as a defensive specialist off the bench. Currently, his services are available for anyone to grab. Obtaining Jefferson was a wise move especially with this aging core that is wholly capable of winning one more.
Orlando: They got Vince Carter to ensure another trip to the Finals, but they lost a good young prospect in Courtney Lee. Then they lost Hedo Turkoglu. The trip to the Finals seems out of reach knowing that Carter hasn’t been able to stay healthy. Does it matter that they got Vinsanity? Losing Turkoglu was a huge blow.
Los Angeles Lakers: Ron Artest is back in the building. The same championship core will be back with a new weapon. Andrew Bynum should be 100 percent healthy. Lamar Odom did not go anywhere else either. Just like Kobe, they appear unstoppable.
Boston: Here’s another dangerous team with the same personnel returning. The addition of Rasheed Wallace adds another dimension to a defensive minded ball club. If they can stay healthy, they are the best threat to dethrone the Lakers. I’m just waiting for many memorable quotes from this bunch.
Cleveland: The Shaq Attaq teams up with Lebron. They also grabbed Anthony Parker and Jamario Moon. Is this all enough to inflict major damage? They can get past Orlando if Shaq stays healthy, but what about Boston? Cavs versus Celtics would be a great Eastern Conference Finals series.
New Orleans: They got Emeka Okafor, which is a huge upgrade over Tyson Chandler. Chris Paul should be happy, but it’s not enough to beat the Lakers, Spurs, and Nuggets. Unless all of the three teams suffer significant setbacks, this squad will probably not do much. A second round knockout is in the future.
Which team made the biggest move? Which one will have the greatest impact?
[image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vedia/20042196/] |
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Posted by
men’s shoes
on 08.13.2009 | I have been reading through your site, finding it very interesting.Thanks for sharing this Article. . | Posted by
The end is near.
on 08.12.2009 | I was about to insult this garbage writer so hopefully he would leave but everyone beatme to it. YOU are the next J.Kelly fool. People talk. You next!!!!!!!! . | Posted by
on 08.8.2009 | as usual, your lame a-------article always mentions more negatives than the positives. . | Posted by
RealSplitters
on 08.7.2009 | Rasheed wallace has NOT had a memorable season since 05-06 so i just see him doing what he does every postseason after their finals vs the spurs... crumble. he did it against an 05-06 shaq(who btw isn’t even better than an 08-09 shaq), an 06-07 ilgauskus (and obviously lebron james), an 07-08 perkins and as i will forcast either an 08-09 dwight or shaq. sheed is the BULLET in the celtics coffin... they sacrificed their future for 1 championship. good luck with that. i see cleveland vs orlando or boston in the conf finals and winning against any of them. . | Posted by
ronh
on 08.7.2009 | The lakers by far had the best offseason they lost ariza and got artest for cheap. Everybody else stayed, with kobe in his prime don’t be surprised if the lakers win 2 to 3 more titles. . | Posted by
Billy
on 08.7.2009 | It seems like not many ppl are fans of u john....but also rightfully so....where is Toronto (even tho i feel that many ppl are overrating them, nonetheless did make headline moves), Atlanta, Houston, and most of all Dallas? I kno u said toronto didn’t make the playoffs and not a threat which i i agree with, but u put in detroit which is very unlikely to make the playoffs this year, so y not include toronto with prolly a bigger acquisition than detroit. also no excuse not to put in Atlanta and def. not puttin in Dallas. Dalls with their moves prolly became a top four team in the west and will compete. . | Posted by
Anonymous
on 08.7.2009 | Mr. Nguyen, you said "what was the biggest move for the 2009 offseason?" and yet you only include your, shall i say "favorite teams", are there only 6 teams in the NBA who makes big moves Mr. Nguyen? how about toronto adding a lot of depth? how about houston’s move when they lost artest, and when yao and t-mac were down due to injuries and acquired david andersen and trevor ariza and 3 draft picks as replacements? other teams can’t make a move easily and quickly when their stars went down or when a star goes. Dallas and Portland makes a big move either. Can’t you say that extending Roy’s contract and signing andre miller a big move? How about signing the matrix, drew gooden and tim thomas on dallas? Atlanta’s re-signing of mike bibby should also be considered a big move!! can you imagine atlanta with no mike bibby? plus, put jamaal crawford in the atlanta’s bench. How about wizardz transaction with minesota? trading for mike miller and the young randy foye for 2 bench warmers and an average role player? AND LASTLY TO MR. SNIKA, How do you define comment? You’re the one who has no comment on the article and yet your telling us that our comments are NOT about the article? How lame... . | Posted by
Snika
on 08.6.2009 | Why can’t ya’ll just comment on the article... 7 out of 9 posts are just trying to dog the author. Put in your two cents about the discussion or don’t post. . | Posted by
on 08.6.2009 | Lakers arent necessarily the same team just because they replaced Ariza with Artest. Lets not forget Ariza had two clutch steals in the Denver-LA series which saves the Lakers in two games. Ron Artest is still an excellent player, but who knows if he can still provide quality and consistent defence next season? . | Posted by
Magic
on 08.6.2009 | What was the biggest move for the 2009 offseason? Thought that was the title.. Not What playoff team made the biggest move for the 2009 off season..Big Winner This Off Season = RaptorsBC put together a very strong and pretty young team, great work . | Posted by
lololol
on 08.6.2009 | LOLLOLOLOLOLNguyen gets owned in his articles all the time, but this one is lyk a record.soooo funny how he tried to justify by "rounding up" to 20 LOOOL wooooow john, TWENTY....thats soooo not being able to stay healthy thru 4 years. . | Posted by
Lol?Gtfo.
on 08.6.2009 | And btw, 1. Emeka Okafar is not a HUGE upgrade from Chandler. Ones more athletic, ones a slightly better scorer. 2. Chris Paul should be happy? Do you watch or read about the NBA? He said losing Chandler was like ’losing a BROTHER.’ YEAH, THE STREAMERS ARE ALL AROUND THE PAUL HOUSEHOLD!You really DO need to do your research pal. . | Posted by
Lol?Gtfo.
on 08.6.2009 | Hey, John Nyguen, was this about which contender set themselves up better, or which team made the biggest move for the 2009 offseason? Cuz in the title your advertising one thing, and in your comments your advertising another. . | Posted by
J. Nguyen
on 08.6.2009 | Bobbo. You know what I mean (I hope)..Vince Carter missed 16 games in 4 seasons. That’s great, but that still doesn’t change the stigma that he usually gets injured somewhere especially when you really need him. Also, he still missed 16 games. If you round up, its 20 games. Point being, he STILL missed games. Because of injuries.
Anyway, I didn’t mention Toronto because they didn’t make the playoffs last season. They’re no threat compared to the other squads I mentioned. . | Posted by
on 08.6.2009 | Raptors made the biggest and possibly most significant moves.. and yet again not even a mention. Bobbo is right, some research is needed here. You add Turkgolu, Jack, Evans, Belinelli, Nesterovic, Wright. When you already have Calderon, Bosh, Bargnani, and Derozan.. That’s a huge improvement and a very deep team . | Posted by
Bobbo
on 08.6.2009 | Vince Carter cant stay healthy?He’s missed 16 games in four years!Your piece is bullshit. Stop being lazy. Do some research before posting crap. . | Posted by
Snika
on 08.6.2009 | SHAQ, no question... both answers. New Orleans won’t be any better. Orlando won’t succeed anymore than last year. The Lakers won it, how much more can they improve? The Celtics will have a healthy KG back, so not all the credit could go to Rasheed. The Spurs will have a healthy Manu back, so not all the credit could go to RJ. AND Detroit.... is 10 lengths behind all these other teams. Plus, Shaq is a huge deal... and this is DEFINITELY his last stint. So, one last push will really boost his legacy into new heights... . |
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