Now that the opening stages of the 2010 NBA Free Agency are over, who do you think came out as the biggest winners of the free agency period?
The most talked about free agency move this summer is the “Super Team” formed in South Beach by basketball genius Pat Riley.
But if you know anything about the NBA, then you know that it will take more than 3 guys to win an NBA championship.
Pat Riley has assembled a fine team around the 3 superstars, who have their sights set on championships for years to come.
While Miami is now the most hated team in the NBA, they do some good basketball as every team looks to beat them.
Although Miami caused the biggest buzz in free agency, there were a couple of teams that outdid themselves, most notably in the Eastern Conference.
These are the teams that I felt were winners and will be much better than the year before:
Chicago Bulls
A team that was already playoff material just got a lot better. Chicago’s first big free-agent signing was Carlos Boozer, who gives them the low-post presence they’ve been missing for years.
With Boozer in the frontcourt alongside Joakim Noah, the league’s leading rebounding team will no doubt bring even more pain on the glass with the addition of Boozer.
They not only added Boozer, but they also added sharpshooter Kyle Korver and defensive back Ronnie Brewer.
Those are 3 guys that played a huge role for the Utah Jazz last year and are now on the Chicago Bulls.
Other strong acquisitions for Chicago included the acquisition of CJ Watson and Wiley veteran Kurt Thomas. This put Chicago as the fourth-best team in the East, even ahead of last year’s fourth-place Atlanta Hawks.
Boston Celts
With Kendrick Perkins falling in Game 6 of the NBA Finals, he will most likely miss the start of the 2010-2011 NBA season. But that didn’t stop Boston from making some big free-agent signings.
First off, they re-sign Paul Pierce to a 4-year deal, which appears to be his last run with the Celtics. Shortly after that, they re-signed Ray Allen for another 2 years, which will keep their “Big 3” together for at least another 2 years.
They also signed veteran Jermaine O’Neal, to give them a legitimate center to start for the injured Perkins. As of today, August 4, 2010, many sources have said that Shaquille O’Neal will sign in Boston, for the veteran’s minimum as an endorsement for the first time in his career.
They also added a good bench player in Von Wafer who should pair well with second unit Nate Robison and Glen Davis. Also not to be forgotten is the return of Doc Rivers, he is the glue that holds that team together.
New York Knicks
Even though they lost their best player, David Lee, the New York Knicks still had a good free agency stretch even without the signing of LeBron James.
They added the next best free agent, power forward Amare Stoudamire. Amare knows what it’s like to be in coach Mike D’Antoni’s fast-paced offense, so he won’t have a problem adjusting.
They finally landed a very good point guard in Raymond Felton, who can now showcase his incredible speed on D’Antoni’s offense. Not only that, they got some great pieces with the David Lee trade.
New York acquired Ronny Turiaf, Kelenna Azubuike and the very talented Anthony Randolph, who demolished their Summer League competition a year ago. If he plays at the level he’s capable of, the fans in New York will be very happy.
These are the 3 teams that I think had the best free agency period, after the Miami Heat. This should be a very interesting upcoming NBA season as the Eastern Conference has gotten a lot stronger which makes for better basketball.
