Amar’e’s Going To New York (And Other NBA Free Agency Thoughts)

This year’s NBA free agency class has pretty much overshadowed the season itself – which is not that surprising when you consider that the next five to eight years’ worth of championships may be up for grabs depending on where two-time regular season MVP LeBron James (Cleveland), 2006 Finals MVP Dwyane Wade (Miami), and all-stars Chris Bosh (Toronto), Joe Johnson (Atlanta), Amar’e Stoudemire (Phoenix), Carlos Boozer (Utah) and David Lee (New York) decide to call home. Today the news was that Stoudemire, one of the few star big men in the NBA, will sign a 5-year, $100 million deal with the very much star-starved New York Knicks. While Stoudemire was quick to claim that ‘the Knicks were back’, the worth of this deal will only be able to assessed weeks down the track, when all of this chaos should (hopefully) be over. If Stoudemire’s arrival can convince James or Wade to jump ship, then the deal will go down as a landmark in NY hoops history. However, if not, it’s hard to see it as much more of an upgrade over current Knicks all-star David Lee, who will presumably sign elsewhere now that Amar’e has taken his starting spot. And given Amar’e’s history of injuries, the euphoria in Madison Square Garden may be short-lived.

Apart from Stoudemire, Joe Johnson has already committed to a team, returning to Atlanta for a deal that one ESPN columnist described as ‘the winner’s curse’. While Johnson is a handy player, Atlanta is now paying him like a superstar, which they may very well come to regret. This leaves James, Wade, Bosh, Boozer and Lee as the only major free agents yet to sign. Not long ago, Wade looked a certainty to return to Miami, the only major question being whether he could convince James and/or Bosh to join him. But reports have surfaced that Wade is taking a keen interest in his hometown of Chicago, which is a surprise to those who thought that the Bulls were focusing their efforts on the duo of James and Bosh. Bosh, meanwhile, seems to be the key player in all this, as it is believed that both James and Wade would like to play with one of the NBA’s few other star big men (and one who is younger and reportedly more congenial that Stoudemire). I think it’s a fair bet that Bosh will end up with one or both of the two. As for James, who knows? My heart hopes he stays in Cleveland, but if I were LBJ the prospect of teaming up with Bosh, and young stars Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah (who took the Bulls to the playoffs last season) in Chicago would be very hard to resist.

So, with all that said, here are my predictions: Wade and Boozer to Miami, James and Bosh to Chicago (as much as it pains me to think of it) and Lee to sign with Utah or New Jersey. But all it takes is one player to make an unexpected move for the whole landscape to change. Meanwhile, I’m still crying over the fact my beloved Detroit Pistons spent all of their cap space last season on Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva…