Even More Updates on Free Agency

Brand signs 5-year, $84 million contract with 76ers

I'm surprised.

I thought it was a lock that Elton Brand would re-sign with the Clippers and team up with newly-acquired Baron Davis.

But this isn't a bad fit for Brand, either. Philadelphia was surprisingly good last season (even beat Detroit in Game 1 of their playoff series), and with Brand plugged in at the starting power forward spot along with a steady Andre Miller at point guard, underrated Andre Iguodala at shooting guard, up-and-coming Thadeus Young at small forward, and shot-swatting Samuel Dalembert at center, the Sixers can definitely compete for 2nd place in the Atlantic Division next year. They can be really good.

The only thing I'd worry about it Brand's Achilles injury. He had to sit out all of last season after rupturing it, so I'm curious to see how much mobility and lift he's lost (if any). Assuming he's all healed up and ready to go, he'll get his usual 22 points and 10 rebounds a game, easy.

Warriors ink Maggette to 5-year, $50 million contract

Eh, I don't think is such a big deal. It doesn't make the Golden State Warriors any worse, but it really doesn't make them any better. It's just kind of a lateral move -- a lateral move worth $50 million bones. Maggette's a good player -- bigger and stronger than most opposing shooting guards, great isolation scorer, goes to the free throw line a lot, very athletic in the open court -- but he ultimately won't make much of a difference on the Warriors' win-loss total. They'll be more of the same.

Basically, this was damage control on Golden State's part. They allowed Baron Davis to skip town without any compensation, so they rush out and spend their newfound spending money on the first free agent they can find. They're just trying to save face. But whatever, like I said, this move won't hurt their team at all. Maggette will score a lot of points in their open, free-flowing offense. He just won't score enough points to help them make the playoffs.

Ronny Turiaf agrees to terms with Warriors for 4-year, $17 million contract

Ok, so this is a move by Golden State that I do really like. Even before scoring a single basket or grabbing a single rebound, Turiaf is already worth at least half of his contract. He's the consummate team player; every time I watch the Lakers on TV, Turiaf is cheering from the bench, giving teammates high fives, showing lots of energy. It's obvious he's a great locker room guy, a great glue guy. He just has good juju, keeps the team's morale high. So the fact that he's able to score a little, board a little, defend a little, and hustle a lot is just an added bonus. I'm sure he'll be a great fit on that team.

And to think, going into the 2006 NBA Draft, the player Turiaf was most compared to was Wayne Simien. Both were seen as hard-nosed, tough-willed do-the-dirty-work kind of power forwards. It was almost impossible to decide who was the better of the two, they were nearly identical in ability. When the Miami Heat's pick came up at No. 29, we went with Simien. At pick No. 37, the Lakers chose Turiaf. Simien is currently out of the league and Turiaf is still going strong -- we made a mistake.

And to make matters worse, we also passed up on David Lee, Brandon Bass, and Monta Ellis. All were picked after Simien.

Jones signs 5-year, $23 million deal with hometown Heat

Great pick up for Miami. I'm all for this deal. We desperately need players who can shoot straight from long range and capitalize when defenders double-team D-Wade and Michael Beasley -- James Jones can definitely do this. He shoots 3's as if they were lay-ups. He shot a staggering 44% from behind the arc last season, that's off the charts. He's one-dimensional, but he can do that one thing really well. Jones can come right off the bench, shoot some corner jumpers, and then sit right back down. He'll know his role and he'll be able to fill it without complaint. I'm sure he'll become a fast fan favorite here.

And it's always nice to see a former Miami Hurricane (and former local American High alum) succeed. There aren't too many Hurricanes in the NBA -- we drafted Tim James, but he didn't amount to much; we auditioned Darius Rice a few times in summer league, but never worked out; John Salmons is playing with the Kings all the way out on the left coast; and I have no idea what Guerillmo Diaz is up to -- so I'm glad a local kid is getting a chance to play for the hometown team.

Orlando Magic signs Pietrus

Decent addition for the Magic, but nothing earth-shattering. Mickael Pietrus is athletic and a solid one-on-defender, but he's never been able to make a name for himself after being a lottery pick in his draft. I've watched him play a lot and he's the type of player that relies solely on athleticism and fast twitch muscles -- he's not cerebral at all, he's not a student of the game, doesn't understand X's and O's, isn't aware of what's going on around him. He's a great physical specimen, but he's also a slow, dim-witted physical specimen. He makes a lot of mistakes and mental errors, so he can actually be a very frustrating player to watch.

And for someone who was nicknamed "Air France" -- he's of French nationality -- going into the 2003 draft, I really don't remember seeing him dunk all that much.