Spur of the Moment

Look for the San Antonio Spurs to be the early title favorite in 2010 after acquiring Richard Jefferson from the Bucks on Tuesday.

From a winning standpoint the Spurs trade for Richard Jefferson looks brilliant (They gave up Bruce Bowen, Kurt Thomas, & Fabricio Oberto). But from an economics standpoint, it may not be the best.

The Bucks gave up Jefferson to clear some much needed cap. It would clear $15 million for the Bucks in 2010-11 and give them more options for next season. They're also expected to release Bowen and Oberto (Look for the Spurs to pick Bowen back up on a minimum contract).

In my opinion, they gave up Jefferson so they could re-sign likely both Charlie Villanueva and Ramon Sessions, plus I am sure they want to start developing Joe Alexander.

As for the Spurs, if they wanted to be a title contender again this was the right move. They've lacked a big-time threat out on the wing. Jefferson will provide that. He's averaged 21 ppg the past two seasons and looked very impressive towards the end of 2009. He's also a big threat from the arc, averaging about 40%; which is something the Spurs have lacked.

San Antonio also got rid of some unneeded veterans. It was time to bring in another scoring threat to help compliment Duncan, Parker, and Ginobli.

Financially, it may not be the best for the Spurs, but I still think it was necessary. They are now over the cap by 4.5 million this year and have no room for the 2010-2011 season. They may have to trade Matt Bonner now to save cap, which will hurt the bench. But I still think this trade was worth it.

Duncan, Parker, Ginolbi and most of the team are not getting any younger and it was now or never for San Antonio. The Spurs will be a title threat for at least the next couple of years and this trade could put them over the top. They might as well of done it because in a few years the Spurs will need to start bringing in some young and fresh blood anyways. The Spurs are my early 2010 title favorite.

My NBA Draft Winners and Losers

WINNERS

Portland Trailblazers

So obviously they are huge winners in getting Oden but they really took it a step further. I absolutely love the deal they swung with the Knicks sending Zack Randolph out East for Steve Francis (once dubbed "Franchise") and Channing Frye. Francis will start at PG while Frye adds depth to the front court. Even though Randolph is a great player he was going to get logjammed with Aldridge and Oden so that was a great move. Portland's starting 5 will be young and tremendous next year and for years to come. This is what I'm looking at for their starting 5: Francis, Roy, Aldridge, Oden, and maybe Frye or Jack. Plus they'll have great youth on the bench with (like I said either Frye or Jack) plus Rudy Fernandez (like him), Taurian Green, and McRoberts. Basically I want to know if it is too late to be a Trailblazers fan?

Seattle Super Sonics

Once again they would be winners for the sole fact of just getting Durant. However, they got much much more. How they were able to ditch an aging and overpaid star in Ray Allen for Jeff Green, Wally Szerbiak, and Delante West is news to me. Durant and Green will be a great 1-2 punch and I think both will be stars. They've got a young, developing duo in Robert Swift and Chris Wilcox in the paint. Hopefully Green and Durant can get out in front and help Luke Ridnour push the tempo. Now that is an exciting team! There's going to be a lot of young and exciting things happening in the Pacific Northwest over the next 5 years as far as the NBA is concerned.

Minnesota Twolves

I think Brewer will wind up being the bets of the Florida bunch. I really wanted the Bucks to get him. He's going to be good. Now they need to figure out what they're going to do with KG... but for now they're winners.

Atlanta Hawks

Obviously it's tough to be a loser when you have the 3rd and 11th picks. I wasn't real high on the Hawks' picks but I thought they came out winners. Horford is a great player and would be a great pick for anyone at 3. The problem is that due to recent picks (Sheldon Williams and Josh Smith) the Hawks have a bit of a logjam. I also think Acie Law is a solid player, but won’t produce the same in the NBA as he did in college. If I’m the Hawks, I would have drafted Mike Conley Jr. at 3 -because they really need a solid PG-and Julian Wright at 11. Then I would play uptempo, like the Suns, and try to win the weak East by playing faster than everyone else.

LOSERS

Boston Celtics

Where to start... You are losers for losing so much last season. You are losers for not getting the first pick in the draft. For some reason you threw away the 5th pick in Jeff Green (a player who I think will be a star) and some fairly decent spare parts away for an aging and overpaid Ray Allen. You need to be building for the future. While Paul Pierce and Ray Allen are an above average duo they are not the long-term answer. Good luck making the playoffs next year. Terrible draft.

Milwaukee Bucks

I'm ranking my Bucks as losers because I am a pessimist. I wanted the Bucks to address young talent at the 1 and the 3....instead they went with a 7footer. Yi might end up being great who knows? But, I didn't want them to take him. It's high risk and high reward. Now I find myself wondering what they're going to do. Yi's representatives are saying that he won't play in Milwaukee and will try to force a trade. The Bucks know it's an uphill battle, but felt he was the best talent left on the board and say they want to keep him. If they can find a way to keep him around and if he starts then they probably have Bogut, Villanueva, and Yi all in their starting 5. They'd certainly be tall I guess!

Philadelphia 76ers

Their draft sucked. Thaddeus Young is a ways from being NBA ready. The kid from Finland looked terrible and the announcers were even saying that he'll probably continue to play overseas for a while. Basically all they got was Josh Smith and even though he's 7'0 I'm not sold on him at all.

Chicago Bulls

Their draft wasn't bad. I'm about 50/50 on it. I think they are draft day losers for one reason and one reason only: They took Joakim Noah with their 1st pick. I never once thought that he was top10 pick material. He brings energy (screams like a retard) and knows how to win but I dont' really think he's that good and the Bulls need low post scoring. - Noah is not that.

Questions, comments and criticisms are welcome. Add a winner or a loser of your own.