NBA Moves

A couple of NBA "pre-draft" trades went down the past 24 hours. The one getting the most headlines is clearly the Phoenix Suns sending Shaq to the Cavs for Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic. My initial reaction to this is 'boring.' I'm not sure the Shaq the Cavs are getting today is enough to get them over the hump in the East, let alone win an NBA title.

I understand the Cavs thought process. Their two biggest competitors in the East feature guys named Garnett and Howard, so yes, it was imperative to improve their front court this summer. However, this move almost comes off as desperate. The Cavs know that LeBron is a free agent next summer so their "knee jerk reaction" was to go after Shaq with hopes he still has some "diesel" left in his tank. This will certainly allow them to change their offense to a more "inside-out" style. However, it's critical that LeBron improves his outside shot for this style to be effective.

If the Cavs can turn this into a title run, Shaquille O'Neal will have won championships with arguably the 3 best players in the game today: Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, and LeBron James.


The other move made late yesterday afternoon was the Atlanta Hawks acquiring 'gunner' Jamal Crawford from the Golden State Warriors for Craig (I refuse to call him Speedy) Claxton and Acie Law.

As an unabashed die hard Hawks fan, I like this move. If anything, I like it because of the 'addition by subtraction' philosophy. The Hawks found a team to take Craig Claxton and his $5 million dollar salary off their hands. They also got rid of another Billy Knight Lottery Bust Special - Acie Law. Acie, for whatever reason, never gained his confidence under Mike Woodson. Even in his second year, he would go into games and play tentative on the floor.

Now, Jamal Crawford is a guy who certainly doesn't lack confidence. He's what you call a "pure scorer." He has no problem dropping 20 points per night and occasionally will burn you with a 40 point outing. Is he a savior for the Hawks? Absolutely not. Is he a piece for the Hawks? Definitely. He is going to a team with a reluctant star in Joe Johnson. Joe is a guy who doesn't command the ball and at times appears to shy away from big moments. Jamal Crawford is the exact opposite. With the game on the line, Crawford will want the ball and can create better off the dribble than Joe. Joe should like this move, as it should decrease the amount of double teams he typically sees throughout a game.

The reality is the Hawks were not going to resign Mike Bibby. He (and his agent) probably wanted a longer contract than the Hawks were willing to give him, at this stage in his career. I still think the Hawks may draft a point guard in tonight's draft. This allows them to look at a player like Jeff Teague and not have to enter next season with the pressure to start him right away. The Hawks are a playoff team. They don't have the luxury of trotting out a rookie point guard and saying, "we're rebuilding this year." This franchise had been rebuilding since the Omni was demolished in 1997.

The draft is tonight. While it may lack star power, I think we may see some creative moves by teams tonight. Many teams will start planning for next summer's free agent class, and some will acquire 'pieces' to solidify their playoff strength for the upcoming season.

Look for draft reaction tomorrow right here on Monday Morning PG.