Well, two teams are very happy today and they honestly haven't done much. The Lakers and the Heat continue to have a brilliant offseason as they retained two key role players in their quests for gold. Both these resigning are huge. The Heat wanted D-Fish and let's not kid ourselves, Fish was thinking about it. At the end of the day, I think loyalty to his team, the organization and the city of LA kept the vet PG there. Here's what Fish had to say on Twitter: " I have decided to continue with Kobe, continue with our teammates and the fans of Los Angeles." In one of the best statements I've heard all off season, Fish brought us a very personal look into his decision and showed us why it's not always about money in the L. "At the end of the day, there's one person I could not turn away from. Kobe Bryant asked me to stay but supported whatever decision I made."
Kobe always seems to help sway players one way or the other. Remember Lamar Odom last season? LO was exploring options and guess what? Kobe didn't like the fact that the Lalers' X-Factor could leave. So what did Kobe tell Mr. Kardashian? "If you leave, I'll kill you." Haha, I do like Kobe's control over the Lakers. Say what you want about him, but he is a true leader. Much like Jordan did with the Bulls, Kobe is very vocal, always strategizing and telling people where they should be; giving death stares and whatnot. All this wouldn't work, though, without D-Fish. Because much like Scottie Pippen with the Bulls, D-Fish is the guy to walk over to a teammate right after they were yelled at by Kobe and say, look, here's how to fix this. D-Fish knows the Lakers' intricate Triangle offense extremely well. He does make clutch shots and he rarely makes ballhandling mistakes. He might not be a sexy pick for a point guard, but for his role in that offense, he is perfect. I'm a fan of the Lakers. I wanted them to win everything this year and they did. But you don't know how many times I had to yell, "D FISH NOOOOOOO!" or "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" when D-Fish threw up an errant shot or decided to drive right into the heart of a defense like he was LBJ6. Welcome back D-Fish. Let's get another ring.
On the other hand, we have another key player re-signing. Udonis Haslem has been a key role player for the Heat for over 7 years. With the Heat making major moves this offseason, there were questions about bringing the big U back and whether Miami could afford him. Well, in another good move for basketball, the undersized PF has come back to Wade County after considering offers from Dallas and Denver. Here's what Lebron had to tweet: "Happy UD is staying put in Miami. Wouldn't have felt right if he wasn't apart of this. Congrats fam." Don't know why he went with "UD" instead of UH, but hey let's face it, it's LeBron; he hasn't done anything good off the court for at least 3 years.
Haslem is great for the Heat. He has a ring already and has been a very reliable player alongside D-Wade. It will be interesting to see how he is used now that Bosh is there. Bosh should not be matching up with guys like Bynum, Howard and Perkins at the center position, so Haslem might have to be first man off the bench. Either way, we're looking at a solid rebounder and a guy that can contribute on offense.
Now I'd like to move on to trades. Some teams are scrambling to make things work, while others are staying content and watching the T'Wolves comically run a team. The Suns are going to aquire Hedo Turkoglu in a trade with the Toronto Raptors, and not only that, they are going to pick up Josh Childress. All this for Leandro Barbosa and Dwayne Jones. Needless to say, the Suns are slowly recovering from the Amare hole. Childress is going to be good in the Alvin Gentry offense and if Turkoglu actually tries, he will be dangerous for a year or two. Well done PHX.
The other players moving around that were involved somehow with this trade are pretty boring and I really don't care about them. Check back soon as I analyze the Nets and how they are reeling, yet recovering from this years' FA debacle.
