While some are getting ready to bet on college football, the NBA season was turned on its head by a wild free-agent period which saw a number of stars switch teams, nowhere more than in Miami.
Winners
Miami – Who else were you expecting? While the rest of the league was trying to clear cap space to land one big free agent, maybe two, the Heat were preparing for one of the biggest coups in NBA history. Even NFL betting fans had to stand up and appreciate what Pat Riley did in Miami, luring LeBron James and Chris Bosh to South Beach, while retaining Dwyane Wade, and the best part? He got them all to take less money than they could have gotten anywhere else. How it was handled wasn’t really good, especially James’ hour-long “Decision” massagefest, but Heat fans won’t care. All they know is that their team is now the NBA betting favorite for the 2010-11 season.
Losers
Chicago – The Bulls managed to persuade Carlos Boozer to sign with them, but it has to be considered a loss as they were probably the best place for James to go. With a young nucleus led by blossoming star Derrick Rose, the Bulls have all the pieces, but James decided not to be a leader and instead, went to Miami.
New Jersey/New York – Again, a pair of teams in the LeBron sweepstakes who came up short. The Nets ended up playing Travis Outlaw $7 million a season, and $4 million per for Jordan Farmar. The Knicks actually picked up Amare Stoudamire, but when reports came out that they were actually considering rehiring Isiah Thomas for the GM role, they had to go in the loss category.
Utah – Placing an online sports bet on Utah is usually a good thing as they’re extremely consistent, but after losing Boozer, Deron Williams was reportedly upset. The Jazz did manage to pick up Al Jefferson from Minnesota, but was he just the best player on a bad team? We’ll see in 2010-11.
Toronto/Cleveland – Bosh leaving Toronto hurt, but they managed to resign Amir Johnson, and they picked up Leandro Barbosa. That was nothing compared to what James did to Cleveland, taking out an hour-long block on ESPN to say that he was leaving for Miami. There were jersey burnings and a scathing letter from owner Dan Gilbert as the highlights of this whole fiasco, and it made Toronto fans feel better about the Bosh situation. Cleveland is pretty much done now, but we’re still thinking that Miami’s first trip to Cleveland this year could be the most entertaining game of the year. If we had to lay an online betting wager on it, we’d say this will be the most boos you’ll hear all season at any game.
