SportsBoner.com

The confetti had barely touched the ground after celebrations commenced for crowning the Los Angeles Lakers the 2009 NBA Champions, when potential usurpers sprung into action and started making moves to keep up with the “Kobes”. If this offseason is any indication, we are in for a very top-heavy action-packed season come October.

Several factors come into play that contribute to the hectic arms race thus seen this summer. The obvious economic recession that has also affected the NBA monetarily has also in turn caused smaller market teams to unload contracts and keep their salary under the luxury tax threshold. Some may simply be clearing space for the infamous summer of 2010 when a smorgasbord of elite free agents are to be had. However some indications and my “expert” opinion all point to the former, that a bad economy ultimately induces teams who are not as financially sound to trim the proverbial fat.

Interestingly enough, teams like San Antonio, Boston and even Los Angeles who are laden with grizzled veterans, and All-Star-first-ballot-Hall-of-Famers on the downswing of their prime are adopting the mentality to go for it now, rather than long term plans. The Spur’s acquisition of Richard Jefferson fills many needs from a third scoring option, to athleticism on the wing to counter the likes of Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Josh Howard to name a few. Even though they took on a significant salary for a talented but just-short-of-elite player, this effectively threw them out of the 2010 free agent free-for-all, and into luxury tax territory. A rarity for the cost conservative Spurs who rely on Tim Duncan, cheap but valuable role players, Tim Duncan, draft steals, and Tim Duncan to win consistently. Perhaps just simply a sign that Duncan’s window of dominance is closing and the Spurs are doing whatever it takes to bring more trophies home to the Riverwalk. The move I think that made as much if not more of an impact than Jefferson’s trade was signing power forward Antonio McDyess. Although personally I would have loved to sign Rasheed Wallace, feeling that he would have been a perfect fit for San Antonio. By stretching the floor with his 3s, and bringing solid defense to the post alongside Duncan would mirror the days of the twin towers when the Admiral roamed the floor. However in spite of the Spur’s efforts, Wallace signed with Boston leaving San Antonio with a plan B in McDyess the former All-Star that drops off a bit in terms of talent but a boon in locker room presence/chemistry that the Spurs are so blandly famous for. If this year’s 2nd round draft pick DeJuan Blair pans out and does what he is supposed to do which is cleaning the glass, the Spurs will be the Laker’s biggest obstacle for a repeat.

The aforementioned former-defending champs Boston Celtics will hope for Kevin Garnett’s sound health and psychotic-hyperactive-head-pounding-leadership to reign in Wallace’s antics and lead the Celts back to the promised land. With Ray Allen and Paul Pierce a year older, and the possibility of both bench-warming big men, Leon Powe and Glen Davis walking via free agency, Boston’s front court will suddenly consist of only Garnett’s questionable knees, defensive dynamo Kendrick Perkins, and recently signed yet also another grizzled vet Rasheed Wallace. The Celtics aside from Rajon Rondo (who was surprisingly dangled around as trade bait this offseason), are a very very old group who will be looking at a 2 year window at best to win another ring.

Then you have the Orlando Magic who after a cinderella playoff run only to lose 2 overtime games in the Finals, left to either be content with what got them there, or make a subtle move to get them over the hump. Acquiring Vince Carter is far from a subtle move, but as they lost a good player in Courtney Lee coming off a solid rookie season, and scoring specialist Hedo Turkoglu to the Toronto Raptors, Carter’s superb offensive skills (if he’s able to stay healthy) will fill the void. The return of the walking mismatch, Rashard Lewis, will make for a very talented wing combo alongside Vinsanity. In turn, this will allow superstar center Dwight Howard to roam more freely around the paint.

In truth, the biggest trade in terms of headlining hype, Shaquille O’Neal to the Cleveland Cavaliers doesn’t convince me of any potential positive impact he would have on his team compared to the other blockbuster trades/free agent signings. Aside from his surprising statistical burst last season at this late stage in his career, in my unqualified opinion this trade reeks more of flash than substance. At age 37, O’Neal would be more of a downgrade than say, Tyson Chandler or Marcus Camby whom were dangled as trade bait shortly before the draft last month. His age, motivation and game shape are always a concern, the latter two more worrisome even during his prime. Motivation shouldn’t be too much of a trouble as he always makes a splash his first season with his new team. Los Angeles, Miami, and Phoenix can attest to this. If history holds, his welcome will soon sour as classic psychological cases of sibling rivalry and ego trips will eventually surface. Penny Hardaway, Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade, and Amare Stoudemire can attest to this. A silver lining to all this negative speculation on my part is that LeBron James as talented a scorer/player/alpha dog as he is, seemingly embodies the true unselfish teammate. He would be just as happy if not even more so to feed the big man and rack up the assists if it means a title will be brought to Cleveland. Of course there is always the possibility that Shaq will be content to be Robin instead of the 300 lb Batman on the team. Then again that’s what he said when he first arrived in Miami and Phoenix… The one year experiment will make for some good sound bytes, SportsCenter highlights, and headline news. After the season is over, whatever happens, O’Neal’s contract will come off the books whilst he joins that vaunted class of 2010 free agents, and the Cavaliers can still join the fray in signing a major free agent in addition to trying to woo King James back to Cleveland.

When all is said and done, every move made this summer was made to keep up with the champs. The Lakers made the trade that had the combination of all the star power of Shaq to Cleveland, and the strategic sense of Richard Jefferson to San Antonio. Ron Artest’s addition to Los Angeles’s roster already has brought out the cameras and media spotlight to Hollywood. The volatile Artest running with the Black Mamba has all the makings of the 2nd coming of Jordan/Pippen in terms of the pure combo of defensive prowess and scoring acumen. However both are on the slight decline of their prime and while Bryant’s talent on the court is as constant as the North Star, Artest’s reliability is more questionable than Dane Cook’s comedy. There can no be denying that Ron Artest’s presence will upgrade the Laker’s toughness and overall defensive abilities. Although last season’s starter, Trevor Ariza is younger, Los Angeles opted to let him sign with the Houston Rockets in essentially swapping small forwards when Artest in turn signed for less money to be with an elite contender. The key to all of this for the Lakers would unravel should they be unable to resign backup forward, Lamar Odom. As of press time, they have withdrawn their offer to Odom, and teams who could hurt the Lakers and help themselves at the same time such as the Portland Blazers have yet to make an offer to him.

October can’t come soon enough, but when the dust settles, who will be left standing? With the Los Angeles Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs leading the pack in the West, the Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic, and the Boston Celtics are all deadlocked out East. There are other teams with formidable rosters in the league, but none are as stacked with talent and playoff experience as the previous 5, all thanks to shrewd and not so shrewd trades/free agent signings. Of course just my luck, all this hype means I’ve effectively jinxed every team mentioned above and the Los Angeles Clippers will win the Finals.