The Football Fan Spot

With all of the biggest names off the free agent market for now, I think I can officially pick some winners and losers for free agency 2010.

LeBron James- Loser

Yeah, he gets a better shot to win a title, but at what cost? The city of Cleveland absolutely hates him for the unclassy way he went out. Other fans hate his selfishness. Others see him as a cop out who doesn’t want the pressure in the last two minutes. Plus, are the Heat even favorites next year? Yeah, the 4 players they have on their roster now (James, Bosh, Wade, Mario Chalmers) plus the 4 2nd round picks they have and 4 random fans out of the stands could win 60 games next year, but to win in the playoffs, you need role players. You can argue the Celtics don’t win in 2008 without James Posey. Plus, what if one of the big three get hurt? What if there are chemistry issues? A lot can go wrong.

Miami Heat- Winner

This team won 47 games last year. They’re winning a whole lot more than that this year. My estimate is somewhere between 61-67 wins depending on what they do to fill out their roster. This team wasn’t going to win a title with just Wade and a supporting cast led by Michael Beasley. They can certainly win one with this supporting cast.

Dwayne Wade- Winner

He wanted help and he got help and tons of it. Plus, this is still his team. He is going to get the most credit if they win and he still is going to be the guy in the last 2 minutes for this team.

Chris Bosh- Winner

He wasn’t going anywhere in Toronto. Bosh is not the type of player who can win 45 games with no help or win a title with a strong supporting cast. He was always destined to be the 2nd best player on a championship team. Now he’s the 3rd best player on a team that could very well win the championship. Not a bad deal.

Cleveland Cavaliers- Loser

This team, in their current state, is not going to win 40 games next year. Antawn Jamison and Maurice Williams are not the type of players who can be the best players on playoff teams. Plus, their management was essentially broken up with over Facebook or answering machine message when LeBron went on national television to announce his decision, without telling his former team first.

The city of Cleveland- Loser

They can’t catch a break can they? Well, at least there’s baseball season…oh wait. Well, at least there’s football season…oh wait. Actually, the Cavs might still be the best team in Cleveland. That’s not good.

New York Knicks- Loser

They gutted their roster and gave up countless lottery picks and took on countless seasons of losing just for this offseason. They figured if they couldn’t get LeBron, they could get Wade, and if not Wade than Bosh, and if none of those three than Joe Johnson. Bron, Wade, and Bosh all went to Miami, Johnson resigned in Atlanta, so they had to settle with plan F, overpaying Amare Stoudamire. Amare is not the #1 player on a championship team. Hell, I’m not even sure he’s the #2 player on a championship team after what we saw with him and Nash in Phoenix over the past few years. Plus, what was with them trading David Lee to Golden State for spare parts? Was that their best offer for him? If Carmelo Anthony is not a Knick sometime in the next 12 months, the last 5 or so years of this franchise will have been a complete fail with a capital F a capital A a capital I and a capital L.

Chicago Bulls- Winner

They didn’t get LeBron, but unlike the Knicks they didn’t gut their entire roster trying to get him. They simply had the cap space. They made the playoffs last year so adding Carlos Boozer to the mix is hardly a failed offseason. They have some cap space left over, but they can use it to add role players (they need a shooting guard) and now they can give Derrick Rose an extension, in a year or so, without hitting the luxury tax.

New Jersey Nets- Loser

This team won 12 games last season. So far this offseason they’ve overpaid Travis Outlaw, drafted Derrick Favors, and adding Avery Johnson as coach. Not bad, but they’re trying to build a “dynasty” in New Jersey. I don’t think they’ll win more than 30 games next year. Favors is a good player, but he’s a bit raw and won’t help them a ton right away and even if he fulfills his potential, he’s not going to be the type of player who can lead this team to a championship, let alone a dynasty.

Toronto Raptors- Loser

What’s the over/under for this team next year, 15 wins?

Boston Celtics- Winner

There was a lot of uncertainty for team following their Finals loss. Would Doc Rivers be back? Would Paul Pierce be back? Would Ray Allen be back? Who is going to replace Rasheed Wallace. Those three are all back, and they got Jermaine O’Neal to fill Wallace’s void. O’Neal is a younger and better version of Wallace. They may be old, but this team was just 6 minutes away from an NBA Championship. You could even argue that they would have won it if it wasn’t for an injury to Kendrick Perkins. Their window of opportunity is closing, but it’s not quite closed and that’s a win in my book.

Utah Jazz- Loser

Always tough to lose a player like Carlos Boozer.

Phoenix Suns- Loser

Always tough to lose a player like Amare Stoudamire.

Golden State Warriors- Winner

This team didn’t look in the mix for a big name free agent at all, but they were able to convince New York to send them David Lee in a sign and trade for spare parts. Anthony Randolph is paper thin, Ronny Turiaf is a solid role player, and Kelenna Azubuike is a solid starter, but nothing else.

ESPN- Winner

Can't blame ESPN for taking on LeBron's show. As egotistical as it was for LeBron, it was a shrewd business move for ESPN. The LeBron show was the highest rated program on television last night. That's a lot of $$$.

NBA- Winner

People are talking about the NBA again. People are going to tune in to see Miami play next year. In otherwords, basketball is once again very relevant in America.

Me- Loser

Unless Shaq signs in Oklahoma City (still a possibility) I will have only gotten 5 out of 11 free agency predictions right, Wade to Miami, Pierce to Boston, Allen to Boston, Dirk to Dallas, and Amare to New York. And only one of those was a player going to a new team.