A lot of NBA stuff has happened over the past few weeks. The Jefferson to the Spurs move, the Carter to Orlando move, the Shaq to LeBronville move, the Artest/Ariza flop between the Rockets and Lakers, the supposed Hedo to the Blazers move and all the other garbage that is floating out there.
Of the 4 big moves that were made, I would rank them in the following order.
Artest to the Lakers is ridiculous. The team is now far more stacked then any team in the league (not that they weren't close to it before). The Celtics could have beaten them with a healthy Garnett, not anymore. Pierce and LeBron are shooting only a combined 41% from the field against Artest over the past 2 seasons. With good help defense from Odom, Gasol and Bynum, those numbers will sink further. He is also a legit 2nd option and here he is 3rd or 4th.
Jefferson plays a very similar game to Manu. Both guys run the floor and can shoot. I think the Spurs have fears about Manu's continuing health and are looking for other options. The Duncan window is closing and Jefferson can push them close to the top.
The Hedo deal may not be official yet; however, he could have a similar leadership role to the one he had in Orlando. The Blazers have a lot of talent and should make the second round of the playoffs with Hedo next year.
Carter is essentially a worse replacement for Hedo in Orlando in terms of scoring. He is going to try to do too much (as usual) and will take zillions of bad shots. Hedo is what made that team go and he will be sorely missed. From the Nets perspective, the deal was great because he was not the future and the team got out of a bad contract. Getting Courtney Lee in a salary dump is not too bad either.
Shaq to the Cavs is just plain pulling straws. He may have a little left in the tank, but something fundamental went wrong in the playoffs for the Cavs and I expect them to struggle to play to the same level they did last year. They are a one man show - period. Mo Williams is NO SCOTTIE PIPPEN!
Yaros
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