Will Wyc?: Wednesday's The Week That Was
The question of Will Wyc? still remains because while the Celtics did sign Rasheed Wallace, they were able to do it while lowballing him in terms of years (only a two year deal). It remains to be seen if Wyc will be willing to spend the bi-annual exception and also agree to a trade that deals Tony Allen and Brian Scalabrine's expiring contracts for a player on a longer deal.
Still, the Rasheed Wallace deal is a great one. Wallace is a perfect backup to both Perkins and Kevin Garnett and singlehandedly replaces Big Baby Davis and Mikki Moore. (Although, a cardboard cutout of Rasheed Wallace with a Bob Marley wig could probably have replace Mikki). However Danny's job is only a third of the way done. The Celtics still need a backup PG (Eddie House is nice but they need someone who can bring the ball up against pressure) and, more importantly, they need a legit swingman to spell Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. The Celtics simply can't expect those two to play the minutes they did last year. Even with the 'Sheed signing, if Boston goes into the season with Tony Allen and Bill Walker backing up the swing spots, it will have been a disappointing offseason for the Celtics.
As for the other NBA news...
The Pis-done-s: Joe Dumars admitted that the team isn't contending for anything right now, which is why he said he didn't feel the need to hire an expensive coach. He opted for a guy with no head coaching experience whatsoever. Maybe former Cavs assistant John Kuester knows what he's doing but I really don't think an owner can be thrilled to watch his team lose in the Conference Finals three years straight, then see Chauncey help the One That Got Away get to the Western Conference Finals while the 'Dones imploded, and now they've spent 90 million dollars on two guys who are probably backups on a contending team (and neither can play much defense). Next year is basically a waiting game until 2010 and I wouldn't be stunned if the Pistons were eclipsed by a team like Toronto, Washington, or even Charlotte.
Turk 180: Despite his great play in the playoffs, part of me is skeptical about Hedo Turkoglu. I didn't love him on the Blazers and when he made an about face and signed with the Raptors, I wasn't sure that he was worth it. He strikes me as a guy who won't be worth his contract in a couple years. Making matters worse, word from ESPN is that the Raptors are also tossing 50 million dollars at #1 overall disappointment Andrea Bargnani. The Raptors might be better next season but I don't think they'll be anything more than first round fodder and I really don't see these moves as helping them keep Chris Bosh from fleeing south in 2010.
Artest and Ariza: I love the Artest signing for the Lakers because, at the very least, he won't let them just sit around and be complacent. The only reason I'd opt for Ariza over him is because Trevor should be cheaper but since he was expecting the same amount as Ron-Ron, it only makes sense to opt for Artest. Ariza is supposedly hedging on his decision to go to Houston but I'm not sure why he'd go to Cleveland unless the team is planning on using him as a Rashard Lewis-type PF.
Marcin the Maverick: Everyone's favorite backup center is going to where backups always go to get paid: Dallas. It's a solid move but I'm not sure about the Jason Kidd re-signing. The Mavs squeaked into the playoffs last year and it's not like Gortat is going to make them that much better. The team still needs to move Erick Dampier's expiring deal and maybe swing a trade with Josh Howard before I can see them really being a contender.
David Ain't Goliath: David Lee might be a monster statistically but I really don't think he's worth 12 million dollars or even 10 million dollars. Granted, people get overpaid all the time in the NBA but to expect it seems a bit silly. Lee is solid but what he brings to a team is pretty replaceable. It's a real shame that Leon Powe got hurt again because he could have earned himself some hard earned dough this offseason as a sensible alternative to these other good-but-not-great power forwards.
As for the next big targets, it will be interesting to see where Grant Hill, Antonio McDyess, and Lamar Odom end up. Also, Andre Miller is still floating around out there and the Sixers still need to figure out there PG problem. Could they make a run at Raymond Felton or Jarrett Jack?
