Best Moves of the Year (Author - Merv)
Posted: February 10th, 2024, 12:11 am
I call it a bit of a 5x5. All of this discussion over GMOTY made me think, what actually were some of the best moves and who deserves some props. I'm sure everyone will disagree with me or say that I'm overrating my own moves. We want DISCUSSION!
5 Best FA Signings
1. Manu Ginobili - $169M over 7 years to the Bullets
a. We will see how this ages but Manu is probably the 2nd best player in the league and securing him is pretty important. He’ll be amazing for the majority of this deal is my guess
2. Chris Bosh - $151.5M over 7 years to the Knicks
a. When the alternative is the potential death of the Knicks, this was pretty huge. Also, Bosh responded by having the best year of his career becoming a top 2-3 big man in SLN. The length won’t be too concerning as Bosh will be 33 when it ends, perfect timing for the exit
3. Jason Richardson - $16M over 2 years to the Knicks via TWolves S&T
a. If you thought Jason Richardson was going go for .515/.509/.914 on pretty serious volume, I’d call you a liar. JRich was probably the real 6th man of the year over Ron Artest.
4. Zydrunas Ilgauskas - $5M over 1 year to the Mavericks via TWolves S&T
a. Everyone though Hoff would struggle to rebound with his ratings but Big Z carried the load until the deadline helping guide the Mavs into the playoffs. After that, he got traded to the Bullets and played some serious minutes for a contender.
5. Cuttino Mobley - $6.5M over 1 year to the Blazers via Nuggets S&T
a. He arguably had the 2nd best season of these 5, but his expectations were already generally high in comparison to scrapheap guys like JRich and Z. Cuttino was the ultimate shooter for Portland and maybe even too much of a shooter come playoff time
5 Best Leftover FA
1. Jason Terry – Orlando
a. Leftover FA turned starting PG of a playoff team. The JET turned back the clock to his Raptor days with 13.6/3.5/5.8 on .479/.427/.955. The .955 FT% led SLN. Maybe he’s aging like a fine wine.
2. Ron Mercer – Houston
a. He may have been Nolan’s second choice after James White but Mercer crushed a reserve role for the Rockets this season. He shot an incredible 53.4% from the field while averaging 6.9 PPG in 18.9 MPG with a positive Stock:TO
3. Brian Cardinal – San Antonio
4. Hakim Warrick – Boston
5. Reggie Evans – Portland
a. After Mercer it was super slim pickings. Honestly, no one deserved to get mentioned
5 Best MLE's
1. Johan Petro – Knicks
a. Pretty big bet on a guy who essentially had never played and it paid off for Nav. He’s been a solid rotation big
2. David Lee – Rockets
a. Eventually eclipsed by Drew Gooden but a very ho-hum season overall for a good team
3. Michael Finley – Nets
a. Reports of his demise were exaggerated. He could’ve been nice bench help for a contender. Slashed .463/.472/.826
4. Delonte West – Jazz
a. Got a lot of hype off of 1 sim. The definition of fine. Emergency backup PG type
5. Troy Murphy – Nuggets
a. Yeah, it got bad
5 Best LLE's
1. Mo Williams – Blazers
a. What a season for a former Magician! 12.2/3.2/2.7 on .486/.484/.883. A backup PG season we all dream for. Magnificent signing by Sam
2. Melvin Ely – Bucks
a. More or less off the scrapheap, Ely averaged 1.9 blocks per game in 22.2 MPG to go with 7.8 RPG. His performance benched Pryzbilla and Hansbrough
3. Michael Dunkin Penberthy – Spurs
a. Adequate MDP season in limited minutes
4. Eduardo Najera – Bullets
a. A very bit part role but played it well
5. Tyrus Thomas – Heat
a. He sorta put up numbers on horrific efficiency for a horrendous team?
5 Best Trades
1. Jermaine O’Neal – Elton Brand
a. At the time, I thought Jermaine was a lot better than Elton Brand, but boy was I wrong. Elton proceeded to be absolutely insane with near career highs across the board and finishing about 11th in SLN in blocks per game. The cherry on top was 2 firsts and some RP
2. Chauncey Billups to the Knicks
a. This would normally be #1 because he traded a bad salary and fake salary along with a protected ’13 1st for a stud PG that unlocked a new element to the Knicks
3. Al Jefferson and Dahntay Jones to the Jazz
a. A rare win-win. I walked away with some picks, interesting young guys, and AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE. Ralph has to quote Josh, “maybe the best big in SLN” fresh off his first All SLN appearance and All Star appearance. Not to mention, Dahntay Jones isn’t too shabby but he didn’t offer to resign which is dicey.
4. Hedo Turkoglu for Flotsam
a. Weston gets paid to acquire a 3rd scorer, which is something you don’t see very often. Luckily for Joe, I paid him for Thabo. Hedo found the perfect environment and had a tremendous season.
5. Brandon Roy-Mehmet Okur
a. Another win-win. BRoy is currently helping power the Zombie Sonics through the playoffs and Okur had an insane season that helped bring the Kings into the playoffs.
HM:
1. Ron Artest to Spurs
i. Steven signed Ron Artest away from Utah, taking away their only ability to add salary then flipped it for the Spurs 16 1st, RP, Diamondtitties (who became RP), Tony Allen (who became a 1st), and 800 RP in a tight market
2. Al Thornton for a 1st
i. Al Thornton somehow fetched a 1st. Good dealing from Kipke. Fortunately Al resigned for the minimum
5 Best FA Signings
1. Manu Ginobili - $169M over 7 years to the Bullets
a. We will see how this ages but Manu is probably the 2nd best player in the league and securing him is pretty important. He’ll be amazing for the majority of this deal is my guess
2. Chris Bosh - $151.5M over 7 years to the Knicks
a. When the alternative is the potential death of the Knicks, this was pretty huge. Also, Bosh responded by having the best year of his career becoming a top 2-3 big man in SLN. The length won’t be too concerning as Bosh will be 33 when it ends, perfect timing for the exit
3. Jason Richardson - $16M over 2 years to the Knicks via TWolves S&T
a. If you thought Jason Richardson was going go for .515/.509/.914 on pretty serious volume, I’d call you a liar. JRich was probably the real 6th man of the year over Ron Artest.
4. Zydrunas Ilgauskas - $5M over 1 year to the Mavericks via TWolves S&T
a. Everyone though Hoff would struggle to rebound with his ratings but Big Z carried the load until the deadline helping guide the Mavs into the playoffs. After that, he got traded to the Bullets and played some serious minutes for a contender.
5. Cuttino Mobley - $6.5M over 1 year to the Blazers via Nuggets S&T
a. He arguably had the 2nd best season of these 5, but his expectations were already generally high in comparison to scrapheap guys like JRich and Z. Cuttino was the ultimate shooter for Portland and maybe even too much of a shooter come playoff time
5 Best Leftover FA
1. Jason Terry – Orlando
a. Leftover FA turned starting PG of a playoff team. The JET turned back the clock to his Raptor days with 13.6/3.5/5.8 on .479/.427/.955. The .955 FT% led SLN. Maybe he’s aging like a fine wine.
2. Ron Mercer – Houston
a. He may have been Nolan’s second choice after James White but Mercer crushed a reserve role for the Rockets this season. He shot an incredible 53.4% from the field while averaging 6.9 PPG in 18.9 MPG with a positive Stock:TO
3. Brian Cardinal – San Antonio
4. Hakim Warrick – Boston
5. Reggie Evans – Portland
a. After Mercer it was super slim pickings. Honestly, no one deserved to get mentioned
5 Best MLE's
1. Johan Petro – Knicks
a. Pretty big bet on a guy who essentially had never played and it paid off for Nav. He’s been a solid rotation big
2. David Lee – Rockets
a. Eventually eclipsed by Drew Gooden but a very ho-hum season overall for a good team
3. Michael Finley – Nets
a. Reports of his demise were exaggerated. He could’ve been nice bench help for a contender. Slashed .463/.472/.826
4. Delonte West – Jazz
a. Got a lot of hype off of 1 sim. The definition of fine. Emergency backup PG type
5. Troy Murphy – Nuggets
a. Yeah, it got bad
5 Best LLE's
1. Mo Williams – Blazers
a. What a season for a former Magician! 12.2/3.2/2.7 on .486/.484/.883. A backup PG season we all dream for. Magnificent signing by Sam
2. Melvin Ely – Bucks
a. More or less off the scrapheap, Ely averaged 1.9 blocks per game in 22.2 MPG to go with 7.8 RPG. His performance benched Pryzbilla and Hansbrough
3. Michael Dunkin Penberthy – Spurs
a. Adequate MDP season in limited minutes
4. Eduardo Najera – Bullets
a. A very bit part role but played it well
5. Tyrus Thomas – Heat
a. He sorta put up numbers on horrific efficiency for a horrendous team?
5 Best Trades
1. Jermaine O’Neal – Elton Brand
a. At the time, I thought Jermaine was a lot better than Elton Brand, but boy was I wrong. Elton proceeded to be absolutely insane with near career highs across the board and finishing about 11th in SLN in blocks per game. The cherry on top was 2 firsts and some RP
2. Chauncey Billups to the Knicks
a. This would normally be #1 because he traded a bad salary and fake salary along with a protected ’13 1st for a stud PG that unlocked a new element to the Knicks
3. Al Jefferson and Dahntay Jones to the Jazz
a. A rare win-win. I walked away with some picks, interesting young guys, and AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE. Ralph has to quote Josh, “maybe the best big in SLN” fresh off his first All SLN appearance and All Star appearance. Not to mention, Dahntay Jones isn’t too shabby but he didn’t offer to resign which is dicey.
4. Hedo Turkoglu for Flotsam
a. Weston gets paid to acquire a 3rd scorer, which is something you don’t see very often. Luckily for Joe, I paid him for Thabo. Hedo found the perfect environment and had a tremendous season.
5. Brandon Roy-Mehmet Okur
a. Another win-win. BRoy is currently helping power the Zombie Sonics through the playoffs and Okur had an insane season that helped bring the Kings into the playoffs.
HM:
1. Ron Artest to Spurs
i. Steven signed Ron Artest away from Utah, taking away their only ability to add salary then flipped it for the Spurs 16 1st, RP, Diamondtitties (who became RP), Tony Allen (who became a 1st), and 800 RP in a tight market
2. Al Thornton for a 1st
i. Al Thornton somehow fetched a 1st. Good dealing from Kipke. Fortunately Al resigned for the minimum