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Right after the NBA Draft, a long, drawn out, calculated affair, the world rushes into NBA Free Agency. Prodigal Punk explains part of the absurdity here, in his Downbeat. But just because some people are whining about a guy not making a huge, franchise and legacy changing move quickly enough (btw, that's a good look). I guess I'm a LeBron James supporter because I recognize that he would get killed no matter what he does. He's trying to stay out of the headlines now, but imagine the hate he'd get if he instead went the route of "The Decision 2.0". A dude that notable can't win. Unless, of course, we're talking about championships. He has two already, which equals the total number of championships the New York Knicks franchise has. And we all know how hyped up the Knicks are . . .
The world doesn't have to wait for LeBron, and NBA teams aren't. Some moves are being made. Because you deserve to have all of this information handy, I've decided to monitor this situation for those of you who aren't glued to the internet.
Let's start with the Western Conference. (Eastern Conference post can be found here.)
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North West Division:
Only four teams have made any moves so far (c'mon Minnesota Timberwolves, time to step up, especially with that whole Kevin Love thing!), and the most have been made by Denver so far. The only move that means anything so far has been made by Portland.
| Denver Nuggets | |||||
| Player | Situation | Total | Yr | Avg | |
| 1 | Darrell Arthur | Opts In | $3.46 | 1 | $3.46 |
| 2 | Nate Robinson | Opts In | $2.11 | 1 | $2.11 |
| 3 | Arron Afflalo | Trade In | $15.00 | 2 | $7.50 |
| Evan Fournier | Trade Out | $3.77 | 2 | $1.89 | |
| "Picks" | Trade Out | ||||
| Oklahoma City Thunder | |||||
| Player | Situation | Total | Yr | Avg | |
| 1 | Sebastian Telfair | UFA | Min | 1 | Min |
| Portland Trail Blazers | |||||
| Player | Situation | Total | Yr | Avg | |
| 1 | Chris Kaman | UFA | $10.00 | 2 | $5.00 |
| Utah Jazz | |||||
| Player | Situation | Total | Yr | Avg | |
| 1 | Steve Novak | Trade In | $7.20 | 2 | $3.60 |
| Diante Garrett | Trade Out | $0.92 | 1 | $0.92 | |
It's easy to see why Darrell Arthur and Nate Robinson opted in. It's super easy to see why the Nuggets also traded for Arron Afflalo, a legit All-Star snub last year, and got him for a song. The Jazz did the whole Steve Novak / Diante Garrett deal which will have little impact on the rest of the league. OKC got Sebastian Telfair, who has made a career out of hype. And the Blazers upgraded their front court rotation by getting Chris Kaman for cheap. Sadly for them, that move isn't going to get them over San Antonio or OKC anytime soon.
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South West Division:
Stability is the key word in this division, with big name players staying put.
| Dallas Mavericks | |||||
| Player | Situation | Total | Yr | Avg | |
| 1 | Dirk Nowitzki | Re-signed | $30.00 | 10 | $3.00 |
| 2 | Tyson Chandler | Trade In | $14.85 | 1 | $14.85 |
| 3 | Raymond Felton | Trade In | $7.74 | 2 | $3.87 |
| Jose Calderon | Trade Out | $22.21 | 3 | $7.40 | |
| Samuel Dalembert | Trade Out | $4.05 | 1 | $4.05 | |
| Wayne Ellington | Trade Out | $2.75 | 1 | $2.75 | |
| Shane Larkin | Trade Out | $5.86 | 3 | $1.95 | |
| Houston Rockets | |||||
| Player | Situation | Total | Yr | Avg | |
| 1 | 1st round pick | Trade In | |||
| Omer Asik | Trade Out | $8.37 | 1 | $8.37 | |
| Memphis Grizzlies | |||||
| Player | Situation | Total | Yr | Avg | |
| 1 | Zach Randolph | Extended | $20.00 | 2 | $10.00 |
| New Orleans Pelicans | |||||
| Player | Situation | Total | Yr | Avg | |
| 1 | Omer Asik | Trade In | $8.37 | 1 | $8.37 |
| 1st Round Pick | Trade Out | ||||
| San Antonio Spurs | |||||
| Player | Situation | Total | Yr | Avg | |
| 1 | Boris Diaw | UFA | $22.00 | 3 | $7.33 |
| 2 | Patty Mills | Re-signed | $12.00 | 3 | $4.00 |
Memphis gets Zach Randolph back. San Antone gets Boris Diaw and Patty Mills back. And Dallas gets Dirk Nowitzki back. Dallas did also made a huge, six player trade (bringing back guys like Tyson Chandler and Raymond Felton). So maybe it's not all be about stability here. After all who can forget the earth shattering Omer Asik trade? Oh, you already forgot about that? Moving on . . .
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Pacific Division:
So far this is the much-ado-about-nothing division. Or more precisely, the nothing-ado-about-nothing division. Two teams, the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns, have yet to make any moves.
| Golden State Warriors | |||||
| Player | Situation | Total | Yr | Avg | |
| 1 | Shaun Livingston | UFA | $16.00 | 3 | $5.33 |
| Los Angeles Clippers | |||||
| Player | Situation | Total | Yr | Avg | |
| 1 | Spencer Hawes | UFA | $23.00 | 4 | $5.75 |
| 2 | Jordan Farmar | UFA | BAE | 2 | ??? |
| Sacramento Kings | |||||
| Player | Situation | Total | Yr | Avg | |
| 1 | Rudy Gay | Opts In | $19.32 | 1 | $19.32 |
| 2 | Darren Collison | UFA | $16.00 | 3 | $5.33 |
Sacramento seems intent on being a bad team that can't quite make it into the playoffs. What else can you expect when they have Rudy Gay coming back, and Darren Collison coming in to replace under-rated Isaiah Thomas? The Dubs are bringing in Shaun Livingston, so hooray. LAC seems to be interesting in doing something. Spencer Hawes, the opposite at the FT line from DeAndre Jordan, signed on. And Jordan Farmar will sign on for the Bi-annual exception for two years. Exciting, right?
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These free agency round up posts will be more useful in the future when actual moves are being made. I get it. But I will still report on what actually happens. You guys deserve at least that.