Part 2 of 6 Summer Plans - What will YOU take to south beach?

New Jersey 24-58 (I heard once they had a Russian owner or something?)

Notable free agents - Dan Gadzuric's &7.2 million dollar contract, Sasha Vujacic, Kris Humphries
Core players still on contract - Deron Williams, Brook Lopez, Anthony Morrow, Travis Outlaw, Jordan Farmar

Recap: Well they improved from their historic 13 win season last year, but did make some questionable signings. After they missed out on LeBron, Bosh, Wade, and Stoudemire, they felt the next best thing was getting Travis Outlaw, Jordan Farmar and Anthony Morrow. All three's contracts are about the same as a max contract that they would have signed those big names for. So they have that core which isn't very nice.

But in the middle of the season, after they lost out on Carmelo, they traded for Deron Williams who's on contract for one more year, and then has a player option NEXT summer. So they have one season to convince Deron Williams to stay.

Another trade was a 3-team deal that got them Houston's first round pick (lotto protected), and LA Lakers' first round pick. They also got Sasha Vujacic's expiring contract.

Expect them to: 1. Re-sign Kris Humphries. 2. Not Re-sign Sasha Vujacic. 3. Build depth with the draft. 4. Make a play for Dwight Howard.

Yes. There are rumors that the Nets want Dwight Howard (who doesn't?) and a trade they'd have to do would be their big men of Kris Humphries and Brook Lopez. So that's two reasons they'd re-sign Kris Humphries, he's a great rebounder who had a break out year, and he's a trade asset for Dwight.

Sasha will not be re-signed. He was the catch in the trade that netted them 2 first rounders with the Lakers and Rockets. It should be noted that the Jazz have the Nets' first round pick.

Check out the article regarding the Nets going for Dwight Howard here.

Detroit Pistons 30-52 (I remember when everyone was jumping all up on the Detroit bandwagon when they signed Charlie V and Ben Gordon a couple summers ago...)

Notable free agents - TAYSHAUN PRINCE, Tracy McGrady, Chris Wilcox
Core players still on contract - Rodney Stuckey, Greg Monroe, Richard Hamilton, Ben Gordon, Charlie Villanueva, Jason Maxiell, Ben Wallace,

Recap: The Pistons had high hopes after Greg Monroe fell to them in the 2010 draft, but this team went nowhere fast. Included in this season was the benching of Richard Hamilton, a player revolt where T-Mac, Chris Wilcox, Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince didn't show up for a shootaround because they were unhappy with coach Kuester. Needless to say, the team only won 30 games.

Expect them to: 1. Not re-sign Tracy McGrady. 2. Try and fail to re-sign Tayshaun Prince (leading them to put . 3. Trade Richard Hamilton. 4. Sign Rodney Stuckey to an extension. 5. Draft high and build around Rodney Stuckey and Greg Monroe.

They gave Tracy a chance and it didn't quite work out. It was only a one year contract so they'll move their separate ways. Tayshaun Prince has no reason to stay. He's a veteran now and a great defender/all around player that a championship contending team could offer some good money to (Heat comes to mind-speculation). I fully expect Tayshaun to skip town. And with that I expect them to trade Richard Hamilton (2 more years on contract for about 12.5 mil) for expiring contracts so they can re-sign Rodney Stuckey.

I also expect them to shop Charlie V. and/or Ben Gordon but will have a lot of trouble doing so because they are not that good and they are being paid way too much (both for 3 more years - BG for 11.5, 12 and 13 million, CV for 7.5, 8, 8.5 million - WOW!) But other teams would watch Richard Hamilton, he's still a good defender with a great shot.

This team is all about Greg Monroe and Rodney Stuckey now and they will build around them through said trades and draft. These aren't the best players but it's all they have to work with.

Los Angeles Clippers 32-50 (I thought this team would make the playoffs this year- LOL)

Notable free agents - DeAndre Jordan
Core players still on contract - Blake Griffin, Eric Gordon, Mo Williams, Chris Kaman, Al-Farouq Aminu, Eric Bledsoe

Recap: New Coach Vinny Del Negro had a team that wasn't ready in the beginning of the season but started coming together near the end. Blake Griffin finally had a rookie season and won himself Rookie Of The Year. Eric Gordon improved his stats but did little to improve his ball handling skills after helping Team USA win gold in Turkey. Baron Davis started the year hurt, and ended the year a Cavalier. In return the Clippers got less a play maker, but a better shooter in Mo Williams and athletic dude Jamario Moon. Chris Kaman also started the year hurt, which gave DeAndre Jordan playing time and he shine shine shined his way into an upcoming big pay day this summer.

Expect them to: (Check out my previous post where I got to hear Donald Sterling divulge some goods about what the Clippers plans are) 1. Re-Sign DeAndre Jordan. 2. Trade Chris Kaman. 3. Decide whether or not they want to sign Jamario Moon his team option (if they can trade Kaman for a SF, then no). 4. NOT draft (Cleveland has their pick through Baron trade).

No huge changes here, unless Chris Kaman can get the Clippers a nice player. The Clippers are the first lottery team I've talked about that has a not only a really good player, but a really good core (Wizards have John Wall and Rashard Lewis, not much to really build around). A starting lineup of Mo Williams, Eric Gordon, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan and some SF that Chris Kaman could yield (if not, Jamario Moon or Ryan Gomes) is a potentially lethal starting lineup. Could THIS be the year that the Clippers finally put it together? They better because I just got another season's worth of tickets.

It will be very interesting to see what they can get for Chris Kaman though.

Charlotte Bobcats 34-48 (Team blown up, let's see where the bits fall)

Notable free agents - Joel Przybilla's 7.5 mil contract, Morris Peterson's 6.5 mil contract, Kwame Brown
Core players still on contract - Boris Diaw, Stephen Jackson, DJ Augustin, Tyrus Thomas

Recap: They. Traded. Gerald. Wallace. They also traded Nazr Mohammed. For expiring contracts of course. Michael Jordan the owner decided this team wasn't gonna get it done with Gerald Wallace as the best player so to Portland he went. And the team played out the season. And that's pretty much it.

Expect them to: 1. Draft twice (their pick and New Orleans'). 2. Potentially trade Boris Diaw's expiring 9 mil contract. 3. Play with free agency and try and sign a top talent.

And that's pretty much it. They don't have a lot of pieces except for DJ Augustin to build around so they're gonna have to see where they end up in the draft and then go from there. This team will lose a lot of games next season if they don't sign a top talent and go strictly with young draftees.

Milwaukee Bucks 35-47 (The Michael Redd era is ova)

Notable free agents - Michael Redd, Luc Mbah a Moute
Core players still on contract - Andrew Bogut, Brandon Jennings, Corey Maggette, John Salmons, Drew Gooden

Recap: If the Milwaukee Bucks plays a game but no one is around to hear it, do they make a noise? The crazy thing is that they were only 2 games behind in the east to make the playoffs! The thing is, this core group of guys is on contract for a lot of years and they're just not that good. I mean Corey Maggette? He's a bench player these days. John Salmons is good and Drew Gooden is solid but as for starting lineup quality in the East? Which all of a sudden is the dominant conference almost over night? Not gonna get much done.

As all star quality as Andrew Bogut can be and as flashy as Brandon Jennings is, this team is still a couple pieces away from being a borderline 8th seed to a solid 7th seed.

Expect them to: 1. Not re-sign Michael Redd. 2. Use that $18 mil from Michael Redd's contract to sign a big name or two tier 2 or 3 guys. 3. Draft near the middle of the draft for some OK talent at best.

Like I said, they can use that $18 mil to really bolster this lineup with some solid offensive punch. Unfortunately, Milwaukee isn't a big name city, but this is an attractive lineup for the right player. Great center who can play defense and a scoring point guard with John Salmons on the wing? See who they can sign...

Corey Maggette Trade has MAJOR IMPLICATIONS ON WARRIORS FUTURE

The Trade:

Milwaukee trades Dan Gadzuric and Charlie Bell to the Golden State Warriors for Corey Maggette and the 44th pick in the draft.

The Contracts:

Dan Gadzuric - 1 more year (2010-2011 season) for $7.2 million
Charlie Bell - 2 more years for $3.8 million, then $4.0 million

Corey Maggette - 3 more years for $9.6, $10.2, $10.9 million

What Milwaukee is receiving

This is a good trade for Milwaukee. Why? Corey Maggette can score. His career with the Clippers was as a player who was a first or second option behind Elton Brand. These Clipper teams sucked and he was not re-signed and left to Golden State. Golden State simply is not a good team. They have had a lot of internal problems that start from the coach and management who feel that even if they lose 70% of their games, if the team scores a lot and it's fun, we'll still make money. This team saw Corey Maggette as just another SG/SF who if he's open, will shoot just like anyone else on the team (Monta, Curry, Stephen Jackson, Jamal Crawford, etc.) These past two years, he averaged 18 and 20 points but the team had no success.

As a Milwaukee Buck, he'll be a third option behind Andrew Bogut and Brandon Jennings. With John Salmons likely opting out of the last year of his contract to get a healthy contract elsewhere, Maggette will fill that role of a scoring swingman to run alongside Jennings. Another 8th seed or above is not so inconceivable depending on how the rest of free agency shapes out.

All it cost them was PF/C Gadzuric who barely played and an aging Charlie Bell who can still hit a 3 pointer.

What Golden State is receiving

Trash. Like I said, Gadzuric barely plays and Charlie Bell is a third stringer maybe 2nd stringer on the Warriors. What the Warriors are REALLY receiving is a flexible future.

With this trade, they'll still pay the $10 million that was owed to Maggette with the combined salaries of Gadzuric and Bell. But next summer, and the summer after that when Gadzuric and Bell's contracts come off the books respectively, they can use that money to sign some depth players or a bigger name FA.

What else does this trade say about the Warriors future? It says they're looking to build the team around Stephen Curry and/or Monta Ellis. Ellis is signed until the 2014 season and Curry until the 2013 season. Having two small starting guards is a predicament all itself and I'm still not sure if they can win with not just two small starting guards but THESE two small starting guards who are almost exactly the same player. But the known future is without Corey Maggette and if you're keeping count, that's the fourth SG/SF they've gotten rid of in recent memory (Stephen Jackson, Jamal Crawford, Jason Richardson, and now Corey Maggette).

The trade offers some flexibility in the near future: Gadzuric is a $7 million dollar expiring contract and if recent history has taught us anything (Kwame Brown for Pau Gasol), it's that expiring contracts, regardless of who the player is, are valuable. Some team out there will be looking for a new home for a disgruntled/not-working-out-so-well Mid Level Exception player with a couple years left on contract that might tickle the fancy of the Warriors front office. Flexibility. Options.

Flexibility for next summer: The Warriors have the same payroll as they did before the trade (matching contract dollar amounts) for this upcoming year. They still have enough money to spend on a not so max contract kind of player (not LeBron, Wade or Bosh, but maybe Boozer, David Lee or Brad Miller).

With the Maggette trade, they can sign one of those latter three names (or a player to their level of talent) and then sign ANOTHER such player, or even better than said players, next year as well as Gadzuric's $7 million will come off the books. As I said before, they can also use this money to sign some bench players for depth and maybe use it on a Mid Level Exception type player. Flexible future!

To make that easier to understand:

• GS Payroll this summer before AND after the trade: $55 million.
• GS Payroll next summer before trade: Around $34 million. After trade: Around $28 million.
  

With the Salary cap likely to be around the mid $70 million range, the Golden State Warriors have more money to play with/more options to look at.

If you're a Warriors fan: you are hoping to the basketball gods above that the Warriors aren't done making moves. You're hoping they sign a top FA this summer and continue to make cap space either for depth or another top name FA next summer. They've got the money, let's hope they don't eff it all up like they did with the Maggette signing two summers ago!

Some other things they have to deal with:

1. Andris Biedrins' $9 million a year contract until the 2014 season. Ughh. This guy is not a good Center and is crippling the Warriors roster. A Center with no post moves, no free throw shooting, no killer instinct, no decent hair cut who barely plays and is only suited for the run-n-gun style the Warriors play, which is a terrible way to play as proven by the last 3-4 years of no basketball success besides the taking out the fraud Mavericks number 1 seed.
2. Brandan Wright and Anthony Randolph: both signed at least for the next couple of years yet they barely play. Wright is a PF and Randolph an SF. With Corey leaving, they'll be looking for a PF/C player so perhaps Randolph will finally get some decent playing time. The Warriors will have to make a decision on what to do with Wright. Either ship him for a draft pick or some kind of package deal or let him play!

Overall, I'm very proud of the Warriors making this move as they strive for a better future and take out the trash they seem to have subtly admitted overpaid for. Again, this better be the first of at least two or three they do this summer.

Contract info from HoopsHype