2007 Free Agency Headlines: Days 1 and 2

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For some teams, they were fortunate that their superstars decided to accept 7-year max deal instead of leaving to go elsewhere for a 6-year deal. Whether this is due to the fact they wanted more money or they are happy where they were at is a question that could be debated.

We will start in Toronto where superstar Dwayne Wade decided to return to a very talented Raptors team for a seven-year deal worth over $104 million, the maximum contract allowed. In coming back to the Raptors, the team is able to keep the core of their team together from last year that won over 50 games and has title hopes. This signing means that Wade will remain in the shooting guard role and start along side other superstars in Kobe Bryant and Yao Ming with Scot Pollard, Derek Anderson, and Penny Hardaway serving as key contributors as well. While this signing puts the Raptors over $75 million in salary, this is a team that won't be seeing below the cap for the distant future anyways so this is not much of a concern. Even with this being the case, the team has been able to pick up some young players over the last few seasons to provide depth and to try to develop via the D-League with this year's primary D-League designee likely being 20-year old Brandan Wright.

Staying in the Central Division, the Detroit Pistons were able to resign their star point guard Leandro Barbosa to a maximum contract over 7-years, the same as Dwayne Wade. Coming off a season in which he put up big time numbers (23.2 points, 9.0 assists, and 2.6 steals), Barbosa is looking to be the team's leader for years to come as the team continues to add pieces to it's frontcourt. This offseason was no different as the team used the number two pick to draft Greg Oden to give the team it's likely point guard/center combination for years to come. Even though the Pistons do not have a lot of cap space left to make any big time moves in this year's free agency class, they have some expiring contracts that could be used to acquire any misses pieces via trade or possibly make a run at a big free agent next offseason.

Moving out of the Central Division, we head out west to Los Angeles where the Lakers were able to resign star big man Tim Duncan to a 7-year deal worth a total of $146.5 million. Some around the league wondered if the Lakers front office would give the 31-year old star a seven year deal since the final year of the contract (if it's still in effect) will be worth $26.6 million when Duncan is 38 years of age. In addition to Duncan, the team has some other aging superstars but has the benefit of two big expiring contracts on the books this year in Kenyon Martin and Michael Finley that can be used for trade assets to pick up needed parts or to provide some salary relief. It should be noted that the Lakers actually have a third big expiring contract. However, this one belongs to Dirk Nowitzki and if the team offered up the max to Duncan one would assume the Lakers will make a very similar offer to Nowitzki this offseason if it is needed. Similar to the Raptors, the Lakers are in a situation where they are trying to keep their high priced superstars together while gradually adding some youth to the picture to avoid a significant decline in the team's win total as the years progress. This year it would appear the team's best pickup in this category was in the draft as they selected Rodney Stuckey, who will likely be bound for the D-League to work on his game with the hope he can step into the starting lineup in a year or two.

...Other Big Names Leaving[/b][/u]

While the Raptors, Pistons, Lakers, and other teams not mentioned above could breathe a sigh of relief, others were not so lucky as their respective superstars left town. Even though there are changes that occur during free agency each offseason, there were two changes this offseason that will have a great deal on the respective teams involved, and one, I would argue, that will have a big impact on the entire league moving forward.

We'll start in Vancouver where superstar guard Gilbert Arenas decided to leave the Valley of the Sun and travel north for a new challenge. While it is uncertain, it is highly likely Arenas passed up a seven year deal worth the maximum from Phoenix to make this move to the Grizzlies. At just 25 years of age, Arenas is coming off his fourth straight season in which he averaged over 20 points per game and has become the face of the franchise for the Grizzlies, a team that has a rich history of winning championships. Based on the money paid to Arenas, look for there to be a great deal of pressure on him to bring a title back to Vancouver during the time he is there. As for the team Arenas left, the Phoenix Suns, there is no question that they will miss his talent. However, it remains to be seen what type of affect this will have on the Suns front office going forward since many of their key players (Chris Duhon, Mike Bibby, Dwight Howard, and Ha Seung Jin) have expiring contracts and Danny Granger's deal expires after next year. One has to wonder if the Arenas decision will lead Phoenix to make deals to avoid a situation like this or if they will stay the course and hope their players return.

Perhaps the biggest move this offseason, and could turn into one of the biggest moves in free agency history, was the decision of Carmelo Anthony to leave Chicago. By doing so, Anthony leaves behind a lot of disappointed fans and a very disappointed front office that offered him the maximum deal allowed under the SSBL collective bargaining agreement. It was not just the fact that Anthony left but it was the fact he went to a team within the same division, the Milwaukee Bucks. By doing this, the Bucks just moved from a very solid team to a very scary team to deal with for any team in the league. At just age 23, Anthony brings his close to 23 points per game from last year to Milwaukee and moves into the starting small forward position. This might give Milwaukee the best pair of young forwards in the league as they have 22-year old Andrea Bargnani at the power forward position and he is coming off a very impressive rookie season in which he averaged 18.2 points and 8.5 rebounds. Along with these pair of young stars, Milwaukee has some other key young guys in center Sergei Karaulov, Kevin Martin, and T.J. Ford. While there is no question that the Bucks will put up points, there could be some concerns about playing championship calibur defense when it matters in the clutch based purely on ratings. It will be interesting to see what Anthony's signing means for Luol Deng, the team's starting forward from last year, that is entering the final year of his rookie contract this year.

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