Wednesday marked the official opening of the 2012 NBA free agency period, and several players finalized their plans to move.
The much discussed Dwight Howard trade to the Brooklyn Nets officially fell apart when the Nets signed their restricted free agent center Brook Lopez to a four-year, $60 million deal. The contract was the maximum for Lopez. The 24-year-old Lopez averaged 19.2 points and 3.6 rebounds in five games last season. Lopez broke his right ankle at the beginning of the season and twisted the same ankle five games after his return. Nothing like throwing a max-contract at hobbled 7-footer. But, hey, he’s 7-feet and does average 17 and 7.5 per game careerwise. In other news, the Nets signed shooting guard Jerry Stackhouse to a 1-year, $1.3 million contract. The 17-year-veteran has not played more than 40 games in a season since 2009-2010.
The Miami Heat inked both shooting guard Ray Allen and small forward Rashard Lewis. The 36-year-old Allen shot 46% last season and will likely take the roll of NBA Finals Game 5 hero Mike Miller. Lewis, 31, has not been healthy in three seasons. Lewis did average 22 points on 46% shooting in 2006-2007 for the Seattle SuperSonics but has averaged 28 games played over his last three years. Miami looks like they will only be better next year.
After watching shooting guard Jason Terry leave for the Boston Celtics and missing out on the Deron Williams sweepstakes, the Dallas Mavericks agreed to a one-year, $8 million deal with center Chris Kaman. Captain Caveman averaged 13.1 points and 7.7 rebounds per game for the New Orleans Hornets last season. The signing suggests an impending departure of 25-year-old center Ian Mahinmi. Considering the money that Kaman signed for compared to his output, it could be possible that the Chicago Bulls pursue Mahinmi (5.8 PPG, 4.7 RPG in 2011-2012) for something in the $3-4 million per year range. The developing player would be a solid replacement for Omer Asik in the backup center role.
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