The NBA offseason has been moving along at a quick pace and with a number of the top names already being signed to contracts and trade deals going through, a number of those deals and moves rank above the rest, including the Lakers ditching Metta World Peace, the Pelicans trading for both Tyreke Evans and Jrue Holiday, the sign and trade of Andre Iguodala as well as the Suns picking up Eric Bledsoe from the Clippers.
The Rockets signing Dwight Howard will likely be looked at as one of the best deals of the offseason, while the Miami Heat may end up getting better after getting rid of Mike Miller. The most interesting deals were for Holiday and Evans, as those moves could make the Pelicans a playoff team quickly with names on the roster like Anthony Davis and Austin Rivers and now Monty Williams will have plenty to work with off the bench.
There were a number of teams that didn't do much that still should be good, like the Thunder, while a team like the Bucks made over its roster after losing Monta Ellis by trading Luke Ridnour and signing Carlos Delfino and Zaza Pachulia. Many teams will have different looks next season and many could be making playoff appearances after missing out last year. The Bucks officially signed Delfino and Pachulia on Wednesday after agreeing to deals earlier in the offseason and it comes as the team is still working on a deal or a trade with restricted free agent point guard Brandon Jennings. Delfino previously played for the Bucks and now returns after spending last season with the Houston Rockets, averaging over 10 points in 67 games. Delfino will make $6.5 million guaranteed in the first two years of the deal at $3.25 million and the contract includes a team option in the third year that brings the contract to $9 million.
The Suns franchise feels ready to turn things around and general manager Ryan McDonough thinks the team has made the right moves to get it done, including in the draft when they selected Alex Len as well as Kentucky guard Archie Goodwin and Missouri power forward Alex Oriakhi. The roster now is much younger and after trading away Steve Nash to the Lakers, there is a vacuum for another star to step up as the face of the franchise, including someone like Len or Goodwin. The Suns went just 25-57 last season and struggled with consistency on both sides of the court and with the additions of Bledsoe and Butler, their scoring is expected to improve drastically. Last season the team ranked 21st in the league in scoring and 26th in points allowed per game and Hornacek sees great improvement already on the roster and that should translate into more scoring.
Howard signed a four-year deal with the Rockets after being unable to pull off a sign and trade and now he starts off on another team as he tries to prove that he is not locker room poison, a whiner and a player than can lead a team to a championship. A small number of Hall of Fame players have played for three teams before they are 27, and now Howard could join that group one day. Andrea Bargnani was traded from the Toronto Raptors to the Knicks, while other deals that were made can also go through, including the ESPN reported one between the Los Angeles Clippers, Phoenix Suns and Milwaukee Bucks for six players. According to reports, the Clippers will trade Caron Butler and Eric Bledsoe to the Suns, and J.J. Redick and Jared Dudley have been dealt to the Clippers. After Redick is moved, he will sign a four-year, $27 million deal to give Paul a solid shooting guard to play with.
The Suns now will get Bledsoe after he was mentioned repeatedly in the previous Boston deals with the Clippers that never went through and he joins a roster that already has Goran Dragic and Kendall Marshall as well as Archie Goodwin. Dudley played three seasons with the Suns and now the team will add him to a roster that has Alex Len after he averaged a career high 10 point last season.
