Post by Akomplice on Jan 27, 2011 0:29:42 GMT -5
Gone are the days of the 76ers GM overpaying everyone and fending off the inquires as to how he can sign the players to those contracts, but never fear as we have the newcomer of the Hawks to answer these same questions. The 76ers have proved that you can overpay and their is usually always a buyer, let's see if it works for the Hawks. Now with that addressed lets take a look at some of the contracts.
The No Brainers:
Celtics Sign C Shaquille O'Neal for $138,292,652 over 7 years.
Supersonics Sign SG Jerry Stackhouse for $148,119,731 over 7 years.
Magic Sign SF Predrag Stojakovic for $36,048,896 over 4 years.
Trailblazers Sign C Theo Ratliff for $4,500,000 over one year
When you have LeBron James, Allen Iverson and Ben Wallace on the team you usually want to keep Shaq around as he can make any team a perennial contender. Many weren't sure if the Celtics would look to resign Shaq since Antonio Burks is one training camp away from being LEGEN-Wait For It-DARY. In all seriousness there is no way that you can let Shaq walk. The Celtics now just have to worry about competing this year with LeBron James staring at free agency. One has to wonder if he would have any incentive to leave Boston since he is in such a great position but the hard cap can make people do crazy things.
When you have a former MVP player on your team your usually one move away from contending or one move away from rebuilding. Well in one move the Sonics proclaimed that their willing to do both. They resigned Jerry Stackhouse to a seven year deal and immediately are letting it be known through the back channels that their willing to move him. However if Stackhouse plays his entire contract he will be making 27 million when he is 37. That's not exactly something that allows you to sleep at night easy, however it had to be done. Stackhouse has gotten better every single year since entering the league and is in his prime. You don't take a dynamic player like that away from Kobe.
Not many teams in the league have been able to get Peja to produce, but the Magic are one of them. With this resigning the Magic are going to make at least one more run to the finals. Webber is 33 years old and is still bitching about having to play 91 games last year, but with Peja back in town he will shut up finally. The Magic have been known to overachieve and looking at the roster it will need to be done again this year.
The Blazers last year were upset in the playoffs by the Rockets, however that didn't slow them down. They bring back Theo Ratliff one of the leagues best shot blockers to make another run while the big three is still intact for the Blazers. Keith Van Horn will be a free agent at the end of the year so the Blazers might have to do everything they can to make that run count this year. With Theo Ratliff protecting the rim, that's something were sure that they can do.
The trade bait:
Kings Sign C Alonzo Mourning for $14,700,000 over one year.
Bulls Sign C Marcus Camby for $12,487,570 over one year.
The Kings are one of the youngest teams in the league, so signing the 36 year old center to me is a signal. We are looking into acquiring more youth and picks for all those teams looking to contend. Alonzo Mourning might not be the player that he once was, however he has won a championship before and still plays lock down defense. Id look for the Kings to showcase Zo to prove he can still play and then make a move.
The Bulls go as Carmelo goes it seems, no matter what he does it seems that the Bulls remain the same. Even with league leader Ray Allen on the roster, I'm not buying the were planning to keep Camby act. They only signed him to a one year deal where they could have locked him up. The Bulls have a lot of youth on that team that needs to be developed, Id imagine a trade in which they receive a lot of cash in return could be horizon.
The You got a lot to prove contracts:
Raptors Sign PG Paccelis Morlende for $84,259,203 over 7 years.
Hawks Sign SF Antoine Walker for $91,875,000 over 5 years
The Raptors have always been super high on Pac Man and we believe that it finally got the best of him. While Pac Man has proven he can be a solid contributor to the team, we now have to wonder what is going to do to justify this contract? Wade will be a free agent at the end of this year and will require a max to bring back. Last I checked they still had Jason Kidd on the roster. To me it spells that either they're open to trading Kidd, but why? Or that they're hoping that Kidd retires soon.
The contract that was most discussed has been the one that Walker got from the Hawks. Coming off a 24/9/3 season Walker has proved that he can still play at a high level, however most of the general managers around the league believed that this was the typical case of a contract year. Walker has been declining over the past few years, but still produces when an option. The Hawks have to be hoping that Walker don't take a dip or else this will be one of if not the worse contracts in the league.
My favorite signing:
Jazz Sign PG Dajuan Wagner for $48,840,800 over 5 years.
The Jazz have been dealt some bad cards, but they're making the most out of what they can. After being jobbed in the lottery, the Jazz are still making moves to improve the roster. The Jazz steal Wagner who has quietly averaged 19/6/6 over the past four years for the defending Western Conference champs. Wagner is only 23 years old and never has been camped before. To get him for an average of ten million over the course of five years seems pretty good to me. I like this signing a lot for the young Jazz, it gives them a go to scorer.
The No Brainers:
Celtics Sign C Shaquille O'Neal for $138,292,652 over 7 years.
Supersonics Sign SG Jerry Stackhouse for $148,119,731 over 7 years.
Magic Sign SF Predrag Stojakovic for $36,048,896 over 4 years.
Trailblazers Sign C Theo Ratliff for $4,500,000 over one year
When you have LeBron James, Allen Iverson and Ben Wallace on the team you usually want to keep Shaq around as he can make any team a perennial contender. Many weren't sure if the Celtics would look to resign Shaq since Antonio Burks is one training camp away from being LEGEN-Wait For It-DARY. In all seriousness there is no way that you can let Shaq walk. The Celtics now just have to worry about competing this year with LeBron James staring at free agency. One has to wonder if he would have any incentive to leave Boston since he is in such a great position but the hard cap can make people do crazy things.
When you have a former MVP player on your team your usually one move away from contending or one move away from rebuilding. Well in one move the Sonics proclaimed that their willing to do both. They resigned Jerry Stackhouse to a seven year deal and immediately are letting it be known through the back channels that their willing to move him. However if Stackhouse plays his entire contract he will be making 27 million when he is 37. That's not exactly something that allows you to sleep at night easy, however it had to be done. Stackhouse has gotten better every single year since entering the league and is in his prime. You don't take a dynamic player like that away from Kobe.
Not many teams in the league have been able to get Peja to produce, but the Magic are one of them. With this resigning the Magic are going to make at least one more run to the finals. Webber is 33 years old and is still bitching about having to play 91 games last year, but with Peja back in town he will shut up finally. The Magic have been known to overachieve and looking at the roster it will need to be done again this year.
The Blazers last year were upset in the playoffs by the Rockets, however that didn't slow them down. They bring back Theo Ratliff one of the leagues best shot blockers to make another run while the big three is still intact for the Blazers. Keith Van Horn will be a free agent at the end of the year so the Blazers might have to do everything they can to make that run count this year. With Theo Ratliff protecting the rim, that's something were sure that they can do.
The trade bait:
Kings Sign C Alonzo Mourning for $14,700,000 over one year.
Bulls Sign C Marcus Camby for $12,487,570 over one year.
The Kings are one of the youngest teams in the league, so signing the 36 year old center to me is a signal. We are looking into acquiring more youth and picks for all those teams looking to contend. Alonzo Mourning might not be the player that he once was, however he has won a championship before and still plays lock down defense. Id look for the Kings to showcase Zo to prove he can still play and then make a move.
The Bulls go as Carmelo goes it seems, no matter what he does it seems that the Bulls remain the same. Even with league leader Ray Allen on the roster, I'm not buying the were planning to keep Camby act. They only signed him to a one year deal where they could have locked him up. The Bulls have a lot of youth on that team that needs to be developed, Id imagine a trade in which they receive a lot of cash in return could be horizon.
The You got a lot to prove contracts:
Raptors Sign PG Paccelis Morlende for $84,259,203 over 7 years.
Hawks Sign SF Antoine Walker for $91,875,000 over 5 years
The Raptors have always been super high on Pac Man and we believe that it finally got the best of him. While Pac Man has proven he can be a solid contributor to the team, we now have to wonder what is going to do to justify this contract? Wade will be a free agent at the end of this year and will require a max to bring back. Last I checked they still had Jason Kidd on the roster. To me it spells that either they're open to trading Kidd, but why? Or that they're hoping that Kidd retires soon.
The contract that was most discussed has been the one that Walker got from the Hawks. Coming off a 24/9/3 season Walker has proved that he can still play at a high level, however most of the general managers around the league believed that this was the typical case of a contract year. Walker has been declining over the past few years, but still produces when an option. The Hawks have to be hoping that Walker don't take a dip or else this will be one of if not the worse contracts in the league.
My favorite signing:
Jazz Sign PG Dajuan Wagner for $48,840,800 over 5 years.
The Jazz have been dealt some bad cards, but they're making the most out of what they can. After being jobbed in the lottery, the Jazz are still making moves to improve the roster. The Jazz steal Wagner who has quietly averaged 19/6/6 over the past four years for the defending Western Conference champs. Wagner is only 23 years old and never has been camped before. To get him for an average of ten million over the course of five years seems pretty good to me. I like this signing a lot for the young Jazz, it gives them a go to scorer.
lol.. 
