The Five Best Moves Of The NBA Offseason

In no particular order, here at the five best moves that have been made so far this offseason by front offices across the league:

- The Los Angeles Lakers adding Steve Nash and Dwight Howard AND keeping Pau Gasol: The basketball gods must heavily favor the purple and gold because it seems they ALWAYS come out of trades looking like thieves.

Most recently, prior to this summer, it was the Pau Gasol robbery from Memphis (although that deal looks much better now with Marc Gasol's emergence with the Grizzlies than it did when it actually went down back in 2008).

This summer, they somehow made off like bandits not once, but twice, in separate trades that could alter the championship picture for years to come.

First, they were able to land Steve Nash from their division rival, the Phoenix Suns, for a total of four draft picks (two in each round) that will almost certainly be near the bottom of each round. Two of those picks (their first and second rounders for 2013) are coming in one of the weakest drafts since 2000 and will likely fall at the tail end of each round, making them virtually useless.

While the offer was absolutely horrendous from Phoenix's end, they did the right thing for Steve Nash after everything he gave the franchise, which is something of a rarity for teams in today's sports landscape. Nash, even as he approaches the end of his career, instantly becomes the best point guard Kobe Bryant has played with in the NBA.

Then, for some ridiculous reason that will never make sense to me, the Orlando Magic finally caved in and decided to part with Dwight Howard, only somehow they managed to fail to even get Pau Gasol out of the deal. Other than Andrew Bynum, Josh McRoberts and Christian Eyenga were the only other players Los Angeles had to part with to ADD THE BEST CENTER IN THE NBA.

Instead of potentially landing Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol, while shedding most, if not all, of their horrendous contracts in the inevitable trade of Dwight Howard, the Magic decided to take back a package that didn't include either player and left the Lakers with a starting five of Nash-Bryant-World Peace-Gasol-Howard.

I'll never know how Los Angeles Laker's GM Mitch Kupchak managed to swing those deals, but I'm going out on a limb here and declaring him the NBA Executive of the Year. Heck, the NBA might as well go ahead and give him the real award now, it's not like anyone is topping his moves this offseason.

- The Denver Nuggets acquiring Andre Iguodala in the Dwight Howard mega-deal: The Nuggets found a way to sneak themselves into the Dwight Howard mega-deal as one of the two teams that helped facilitate D-12's move to the City of Angels and they made out quite well for their troubles.

Denver added one of the most well-rounded players in the league in Iguodala and all it cost them was Aaron Afflalo, Al Harrington, and the lower of their 2014 first round draft picks.

Afflalo is a great young talent at point guard, however, the Nuggets will be just fine with Ty Lawson and Andre Miller still manning the back court. Lawson is also two years younger than Afflalo, and his 19.4 PER (Player Efficiency Rating) crushed Afflalo's 14.7 PER this past season, so I think it's safe to say Denver kept the better of the two.

Iguodala is still on the right side of 30, at only 28 years old, and is coming off a pretty solid run with the USA's Olympic squad that earned their second consecutive gold medal. Through his first eight seasons in the league, all with the 76ers, Iguodala averaged 15.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 1.7  steals per game.

His critics have always hammered him for not being able to be "that guy" who carries a team on his back. However, Denver doesn't need him to fill that type of role, making him the perfect fit for their system.

Iggy's addition could push Denver from a borderline playoff squad all the way up the ladder in the West to the upper rungs, just below the Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder, but as good or better than anyone else in their conference.

-  The Brooklyn Nets walking away from negotiations for Dwight Howard with the Orlando Magic: The Nets and Howard had their eyes set on each other for nearly a year, dreaming of a pairing they felt would be perfect both for the franchise and the player.

However, in mid-July, after months and months of negotiations that had gone no where, Nets GM Billy King gave the Orlando Magic a deadline to get something done or Brooklyn was walking away from the table for good.

I'm not sure if the Magic and/or their new GM Rob Henenigan thought King was bluffing when he told them of the deadline, however, we are sure of how it turned out now.

King wasn't bluffing, as the Nets walked away from negotiations for Howard and almost immediately swung a deal with the Atlanta Hawks to bring Joe Johnson to Brooklyn to pair with Deron Williams in the backcourt.

They re-signed Williams and Gerald Wallace to long-term deals, signed Brook Lopez to an extension, kept Kris Humphries on a two-year deal, and added several other complementary pieces as well.

While the pairing of Williams and Howard might have been nice for Nets fans, their supporting cast would have been somewhere between pretty bad and "Seriously, THIS is why we wanted to team up in Brooklyn?" bad for the duo.

Think about it. They would have had to part with Lopez, Humphries, MarShon Brooks, and several decent draft picks just to land Howard and bring back some of Orlando's collection of horrible contracts, which in turn, would have kept them from signing role players like C.J. Watson, Jerry Stackhouse, and Mirza Teletovic.

I'd much rather have Williams-Johnson-Wallace-Humphries-Lopez and a decent bench instead of Williams-Jason Richardson-Hedo Turkoglu-Earl Clark-Howard and a bunch of nobodies (with no draft picks) any day, all day, and twice on Saturday's.

- The Atlanta Hawks moving their two worst contracts (Joe Johnson and Marvin Williams) in less than 24 hours AND arguably improving in the process: New Atlanta Hawks' general manager Danny Ferry would almost certainly be the front-runner for NBA Executive of the Year if not for Mitch Kupchak's two armed robberies.

First, he traded Johnson, and the league's most expensive contract, to the Brooklyn Nets for Anthony Morrow, Jordan Farmar (since waived), Jordan Williams, DeShawn Stevenson and Johan Petro, as well as a 2017 second round pick.

Later in the day, he then shipped Marvin Williams (the team's constant reminder that the Hawks could've drafted Chris Paul to his hometown Hawks and blew it) to the Utah Jazz for Devin Harris.

On paper, the moves don't look like much of an upgrade. However, once you realize that Ferry turned Johnson's 2012-13 salary of $19.8 (and the near $70 million beyond this season) and Williams into a top ten three point shooter (Morrow, career 42.6%), a solid back-up point guard (Harris), and $20.5 million in expiring contracts (all six players they acquired have contracts expiring after this season, including Farmar, who was already waived),

After their other signings and moves, including the additions of Kyle Korver and Lou Williams, the Hawks are right back at the level they were at prior to the trade, only with approximately ten times the potential when you factor in all the new faces and the franchise-altering amount of cap space they will have next summer.

While their 2012-13 roster might not fare much better than Atlanta's recent string of first or second round playoff losses, they are primed to transform into legitimate, consistent contenders if they continue making all the right moves.

Keep an eye on the Hawks and their stockpile of expiring contracts at the trade deadline in February. With a core of Josh Smith, Al Horford, Jeff Teague, Lou Williams, Devin Harris, and Kyle Korver, Atlanta is only a player or two away from being a serious contender in the East (although they will almost certainly remain in the Miami Heat's massive shadow as they share the same division).

However, with Danny Ferry trading the most untradeable contract in the league within days of taking the Hawks' GM job, nothing he does will surprise me from now on.

- The Miami Heat stealing Ray Allen away from their biggest rival in the Eastern Conference while also adding Rashard Lewis: While many people who follow basketball thought Pat Riley would focus on adding some more size to the Heat's front court as his top priority this offseason, he went out and did almost the exact opposite.

However, when you have the opportunity to land the best three point shooter in NBA history AND one of your main rivals' best players in the same signing, you just can't pass that up, regardless of current needs.

While Miami could clearly use an upgrade at the center position, they have already shown they have what it takes to win an NBA title playing "small ball" and employing a rotation of semi-competent big men other than Chris Bosh.

While Allen lost his starting role with the Celtics last season to Avery Bradley amid lingering injuries, he won't have to play nearly as many regular season minutes for Miami and will almost certainly be used primarily as a spot up shooter lurking around the three-point line, meaning a lot less running around the floor on offense which means less wear and tear on his body.

With his ability to knock down open threes with such consistency, as well the Heat's plethora of other talented three point shooters (Mike Miller, Shane Battier, James Jones, etc.), Miami will almost certainly be one of the best three point shooting teams in the league next season.

With LeBron James and Dwayne Wade commanding double and triple teams every time they drive to the rim, I also expect more than a few of those threes will be wide-open looks.

Although Rashard Lewis might not be the legitimate big man Riley and the Heat have been searching for during the past two summers, at 6'9, he gives them another player like Chris Bosh that can shoot the ball well enough away from the basket that it forces the man covering him to leave the post and come out to guard him.

With a line-up of James-Allen-Wade-Lewis-Bosh on the court, for instance, head coach Erik Spoelstra would have an almost unlimited amount of options on the offensive side of the ball to work with.

Lewis and Bosh can either take the ball down low to the rim or spot up and shoot from 15 feet, causing nightmares for the large percentage of the league's power forwards and centers that have trouble playing defense away from the rim.

If either one of them draws their man away from the basket, it makes it all the easier for LeBron or Wade to take off and drive to the rim, scoring an easy dunk or lay-up and/or drawing a foul on someone moving off their defensive assignment to try and cover the guy with the ball.

By chance someone makes the defensive switch in time to stop whoever is driving to the rim, it will likely come at the expense of leaving Allen or another one of Miami's deadly three point shooters wide open on the perimeter.

Allen also knows Miami's chief rival in the Eastern Conference, the Boston Celtics, quite well having spent the past five seasons with them prior to deciding to take less money and playing time to chase a second (and maybe even a third or fourth) ring with the Heat.

While the Lakers clearly made some earth-shaking moves by acquiring Steve Nash and Dwight Howard this summer, Miami's addition of Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis keeps them in the pole position of the championship race as they look to repeat and build upon last season's success.

Honorable Mention:

- The Oklahoma City Thunder stealing Perry Jones with the 28th pick in the first round of the 2012 NBA Draft: Normally, teams coming of an appearance in the NBA Finals don't find themselves in a position to land a player at the NBA Draft that will have any meaningful impact on the franchise in the immediate future.

However, that's exactly where Oklahoma City found themselves during this year's draft as they were the beneficiary of Jones' tumble down the draft board after last minute medical red flags went up regarding his potential knee problems.

Jones, who was once projected as high as a top five draft pick, fell into the Thunder's lap after many teams passed on him due to concerns about the meniscus in his knee dating back to before he played at Baylor.

Standing 6'11 and talented enough to play almost position on the floor, Jones will almost certainly find decent minutes starting out as a rookie, and if he begins to live up to his sizable potential early in the season, could even find himself playing a significant role with the team come postseason time.

Even if for some reason Jones doesn't work out in the long run and fails to live up to his once towering expectations, Sam Presti and the Thunder will have lost nothing other than a late first round pick. If he does work out, Presti once again looks like a genius grabbing the guy everyone else was scared to touch. It's a win-win situation for the Thunder and there is potential here for it to be an extremely big win if Jones pans out.

John Calipari Boots Charlie Villanueva From Dominican Republic National Team

Charlie Villanueva has been informed that he won't be playing for the Dominican Republic national team this summer, as he was cut by national team head coach John Calipari for being overweight according to multiple reports.

"Charlie was not in good form when we saw him," Calipari told Deportes en la Z. "He was overweight, and unfortunately, we could not slow down the entire team and it was a decision taken collectively. Last year, Charlie behaved really well with us and his only problem was his weight."

Villanueva was listed as having a playing weight of 232 pounds last season for the Detroit Pistons, and according to a picture of him standing on a digital scale posted on his Twitter account, he is currently at 243.5 pounds.

For some reason that is beyond me, Villanueva tweeted "Lol case closed" with the picture, although he is 11.5 pounds overweight and only proving Calipari's point that the forward is out of shape.

It has been a rough start to 2012 for the Pistons forward, as he was limited to only 13 games for Detroit this season due to injuries and averaged career lows in almost every major category, including a career-worst 7.0 points per game.

The loss of Villanueva leaves the Dominican team with only two current NBA players, Al Horford of the Atlanta Hawks and Francisco Garcia of the Sacramento Kings.

Horford's younger brother Jon, who plays at the University of Michigan, is also a member of the team. Villanueva never worked out with the team this summer, despite reports saying he met with team officials in New York City, the team (and Coach Cal) were reportedly disappointed with the shape that he was in last summer, which led to the decision to drop him.

"An NBA player like him deserves respect and for respect, we have taken this decision," Calipari said. "I enjoyed coaching him a lot. He is a great player."

While he may no longer be with the team due to his weight, Villanueva used to be a major contributor for the Dominican national team.

Villanueva was drafted seventh overall in the 2005 NBA Draft by the Toronto Raptors before being traded after his rookie campaign to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for T.J. Ford.

His best season in the NBA came in 2008-09 while he was still a member of the Bucks when he averaged 16.2 points and 6.7 rebounds per game, both career highs.

Detroit signed him during the following offseason to one of the worst contracts in recent NBA history that looks worse with each passing season.

The Pistons owe Villanueva $16.6 million over the next two seasons and although reports say team officials aren't considering using their Amnesty Clause to rid themselves of his contract, they may change their minds if he doesn't show up at camp in top shape.

It's hard to justify paying a player that amount of money when his numbers have dropped off in each of his three seasons since arriving in Detroit in the summer of 2009, and there's currently no reason to believe he will significantly improve anytime soon.

Do you think Coach Cal made the right choice in dropping Villanueva or do you think they will miss him once they start playing? Should the Pistons give up on the forward and amnesty him over the summer? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

NBA Players React to Manny Pacquiao's Controversial Loss

By: Stephen Patterson

It seems like everyone has an opinion on the Manny Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley fight from Saturday night that ended with one of the most controversial split-decisions in recent boxing history.

Pacquiao, who is a huge fan of the Boston Celtics, landed nearly 100 more punches, with ringside punching statistics showing Pacquiao land 253 punches compared to only 159 by Bradley.

And while the three ringside judges had two scorecards with Bradley winning 115-113 and a third with him winning by the same margin, the Associated Press had Pacquiao winning 117-111, a pretty huge difference than what the judges scored it.

Bradley even fractured his left foot in the second round, apparently bad enough for him to hear it snap, and sprained his right ankle in the fifth.

Yet, somehow, through all of that, Bradley is the new owner of the WBO welterweight title and Pacquiao is still trying to figure out how his seven-year winning streak is now a thing of the past.

Plenty of NBA players weighed in with their opinions through their Twitter accounts, many of them angry that Pacquiao, who waited to start the fight until after the conclusion of Game 7 of the Heat/Celtics series, was blatantly "robbed".

Here is what they had to say:

• Earl Barron: Chris Paul somewhere watching the fight like I guess the NBA blocking my trade ain't so bad. #SMH

• Tyson Chandler: My Boy PAC-MaN just got robbed without a GUN!!!

• Richard Hamilton: I'm done watching boxing. WWF

• David West: This is why MMA has taken over...

• Jared Dudley: This is crazy.. Those judges n vegas need to be fired ASAP!!!! I never felt so cheated of my money in my Life!!!!

• Kyle Lowry: I'm not watching boxing ever!! Wow!! Please overturn this judgement

• Mark Jackson: I think I’m DONE with boxing!!! Manny just got ROBBED! What a JOKE!

• LaMarcus Aldridge: Pac man got robbed !

• Al Horford: Are you kidding me?? They gave the fight to this other dude. PAC-Man is the best. Terrible judges... #SMH

• Roger Mason: Where's the instrant replay when you need it? #gotitallwrong

• Deron Williams: Boxing is now the worst sport in the history of the world Im never buying a fight again

• Brandon Jennings: Welp go ahead and retire Mayweather.... No reason to fight him now!!!!

What did you think of the outcome of the fight? Did the judges make the wrong call or did Bradley deserve the win? Share your thoughts below.

Ray Allen's Future Uncertain As Free Agency Looms

By: Stephen Patterson

After the Boston Celtics fell to the Miami Heat in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the immediate question for Celtics' fans became "What's next?", as the future of the team they have fallen in love with over the past five seasons might be in store for a major shake-up this summer.

With Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett both set to hit the open market in free agency, it's extremely likely we have witnessed the end up of the "Big Three" era (really it's been the "Big Four" era, especially this season) in Boston.

While Celtics' GM Danny Ainge has said he isn't opposed to bringing back Allen and Garnett, it's hard to imagine the team being able to find the money to keep both of them while still bringing younger and more talented players in to build for the future.

"I really value having those guys around young players,'' a league source quoted Ainge as saying, according to an article on SI.com.

Garnett's status for next season is nearly impossible to predict right now, as there have been reports circulating for months that he was going to retire at the end of this season, while there have been just as many reports stating the opposite.

Head coach Doc Rivers has stated several times in recent weeks that he believes KG will play at least one more season, although there is also a decent chance he will choose to walk away on a high note, following a postseason in which he played a massive role in helping Boston make it as far as they did while Allen and Paul Pierce battled leg injuries for most of the playoffs. (For more on KG, check out this post from earlier in the week.)

Allen, who will turn 37 next month, is planning to undergo surgery as soon as possible to remove bone spurs from the ankle that bothered him throughout the postseason, causing him to miss Boston's first two playoff games against the Atlanta Hawks in the opening round.

"If I could do it tomorrow, I would do it tomorrow," he said. "That's probably my main concern right now, is taking care of that. My body feels good. That's my only issue."

Assuming everything goes well with the surgery and no other issues are discovered, Allen should return to full strength in plenty of time for the start of training camp. The only question is which teams' training camp will Allen be attending?

Contenders such as the Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks, and Memphis Grizzlies are rumored to be interested in pursuing Allen this summer according to Sports Illustrated.

According to Chris Mannox of SI, the Knicks and Miami Heat are reportedly the top two teams on Allen's wishlist of potential destinations if he leaves Boston.

The Memphis Grizzlies almost landed Allen at the trade deadline, having a deal in place with the Celtics that would have sent O.J. Mayo and a lottery pick to Boston in exchange for Allen before the Grizzlies backed out at the last second.

If Allen were to receive similar offers from Boston and a team such as the Bulls, who are on the cusp of being very serious title contenders once Derrick Rose returns from his torn ACL, it would be difficult for Allen to pass up a chance at a second title to return to the Celtics, although he does have serious respect for the organization and the players who played there prior to him.

“It’s always been somewhat intimidating,” Allen said when talking about playing in Boston. “You walk into a building every day and you see the banners and the retired jerseys in the building. It just always makes you work a little bit harder.  When [John] Havlicek is in the building, when [Bob] Cousy is around. Tommy [Heinsohn] is watching us every day. Bill Russell is at the games. Those are like our big brothers.  We knew that we had some big shoes to fill and a lot that we needed to do to try to compare to what they’ve done. We have definitely fallen short, but we’ve gone out trying to play as hard as we can every night.”

So don't completely rule out a possible return to Boston, especially if Garnett decides to retire or ends up signing with another team, which would leave a lot more salary cap flexibility for the Celtics to retain Allen while still bringing in some solid role players and young talents.

Then the Celtics could possibly make one final run at a title before fully transitioning into a new era with Rajon Rondo leading the charge and Pierce and Allen still having large roles while mentoring the younger guys in the locker room.

My personal guess is that Allen will probably end up in a new uniform after this summer, as I think he might have felt a little betrayed by the fact that Ainge almost dealt him to Memphis without even giving him a real heads up on the matter during the season.

Where he will end up signing what will likely be his final contract, I have no idea, although I'm almost positive Allen will sign with a team that has a very real chance at winning a championship next season.

Considering the fact that he pretty much carried the Celtics early in the season, along with Rondo, while Pierce and Garnett were adjusting to the condensed schedule and shot 45% from downtown during the regular season, there definitely won't be a lack of interest in the all-time leader in made three point attempts.

Which team do you think will end up signing Ray Allen this offseason? Will he return to Boston to finish out his career or will he go to a team that has a better chance of giving him another ring? Share your thoughts below.

Kevin Garnett Contemplating Retirement After the Postseason?

By: Stephen Patterson

There have been multiple reports in recent days, including one that came from NBA.com, that Kevin Garnett might retire once the Boston Celtics' postseason run comes to an end.

Garnett is finishing his 17th season in the NBA, and although he is still performing at a fairly high level, he is considering walking away from the game while he is still a solid player, not someone who stuck around a little too long and saw their game completely disappear.

In fact, a friend of Garnett's actually said that the Celtics power forward would rather walk away from the game proud and with his head held high than wait around a few more years and watch his skill set slowly dissolve.

"I think that's what we've been seeing in these playoffs," the friend of Garnett said. "The way he's been playing, it's like he wants to go out on his terms."

The Celtics' forward has had a pretty decent postseason run, including several really big games and clutch shots that have Boston in position to potentially win a second championship during his five-year run with the franchise.

For the playoffs, KG is averaging 19.7 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 37 minutes per game through the first 16 games the Celtics have played. Those are his best numbers since he left the Minnesota Timberwolves prior to the 2007-08 season.

After being called the "dirtiest player in the NBA" by Atlanta Hawks co-owner Michael Gearon Jr. following Game 5 of the Celtics first round series against his team, Garnett responded with a monster Game 6 performance that saw him score 28 points, snatch 14 rebounds, and block five shots in the deciding game that eliminated the Hawks.

Against the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round of the playoffs, Garnett came out of the gates in Game 1 with another monster showing, as he scored 29 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. He also had a solid game in the deciding seventh game of the series, dropping 18 points and and snatching 13 rebounds to help Boston knock off the Sixers and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Garnett's scoring averages have increased with each series as his team advances further and further in the postseason (he averaged 18.7 points against the Hawks, 19.7 against the Sixers, and has averaged 21.7 against the Heat through the first three games of the series).

Since head coach Doc Rivers shifted Garnett over to center back in February, KG has seemed like he is almost playing with a new found energy. He also has gained a huge offensive advantage as many big men guarding him won't come out far enough from the rim to cover Garnett and his 20 foot range.

If Garnett does decide to hang 'em up and call it a career, he is almost certainly headed for a spot in the Hall of Fame in Canton when his name comes up on the ballot.

He spent his first 12 seasons in the NBA with the Minnesota Timberwolves after they took him fifth overall in the 1995 NBA Draft, determined to turn them into a winning franchise and carry them to an NBA title despite the fact that his best supporting casts included the likes of Sam Cassell, Latrell Sprewell, Wally Szczerbiak, and a young Stephon Marbury.

Despite the horrendous supporting role players around him, KG still picked up an MVP award (2003-04), eight All-NBA team appearances, and eight NBA All-Defensive team appearances (six of which were first team selections) while he was with the Timberwolves.

Garnett finally gave up on his mission of winning a championship with the Timberwolves and was eventually traded to the Boston Celtics for Ryan Gomes, Gerald Green, Al Jefferson, Theo Ratliff, Sebastian Telfair, and a 2009 first-round draft pick.

During that same summer, Celtics general manager Danny Ainge also pulled off a trade that landed Ray Allen in Boston to form the team's "Big Three" with Paul Pierce, who was already on the roster and had spent his entire career waiting for a solid team as well.

The trio led the Celtics to a championship in their first season together, however, they have failed to pick up a second one despite coming about as close as a team can in 2008-09 when they fell to the Los Angeles Lakers in seven games in the NBA Finals after Kendrick Perkins was lost for the series in Game 6.

However, Garnett has still continued to rack up accomplishments, landing another spot on the All-NBA team in 2007-08, as well as four more NBA All-Defensive team appearances, three of which have been on the first team.

Garnett also ranks fairly high in a few major categories in career totals, including minutes played (45,779; 12th all-time), made field goals (9,729; 16th all-time), defensive rebounds (10,302; 4th all-time), total rebounds (13,313; 13th all-time), blocks (1,908; 22nd all-time), and points (24,270; 23rd all-time).

According to basketball-reference.com, Garnett's probability of making it to the Hall of Fame is 99.85 percent, which is third in the league only behind Tim Duncan (second) and Kobe Bryant (first). Both of those players obviously rank higher than KG due to their massive collections of championship bling.

I think one major factor in Garnett's decision will come down to how Boston's season ends in these playoffs. If they lose their current series against the Miami Heat or advance to the NBA Finals and fall to either the San Antonio Spurs or Oklahoma City Thunder, I believe KG will be much more tempted to make one more run at a title.

However, if the Celtics somehow manage to beat the Heat and overcome the winner of the two monster heavyweights in the Western Conference to pick up another NBA championship, I think Garnett will almost certainly walk away from the game while he is on top.

If he does decide to continue playing for at least another season, the question will become which team will he be suiting up for and chasing that second championship with?

The Boston Celtics are almost certain to break up the "Big Three" during this offseason, when Garnett and Ray Allen hit the free agent market. Most reports say Allen is the most likely to find himself playing in a different uniform next season, while Kevin Garnett's situation is much more foggy.

The Celtics might find themselves in a situation where they need KG to add depth to their front court and make a reasonable offer that suits both the franchise and Garnett. Or they could find themselves heading more toward the direction of rebuilding and pass on bringing Garnett back.

Do you think Garnett will call it a career once the Celtics' postseason run comes to an end? If not, where do you envision him playing next season? Share your thoughts below in the comment section.

Why Won't the Atlanta Hawks Commit to Josh Smith?

By: Stephen Patterson

I was browsing through the days' NBA stories and rumors on HoopsHype.com earlier and came across an article from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution about Josh Smith's contract with the Atlanta Hawks that, in the words of former NFL-player Tiki Barber, left me absolutely flabbergasted.

Josh Smith was recently approached by a reporter and asked about his contract and a potential extension and had this to say on the matter: “I can’t get extended,” Smith said. “They didn’t give me the money; I had to go get it. That’s something I have to play it out and see how it goes from there.”

When Michael Cunningham, the author of the article on the AJC website, did research on the matter, he found out that not only is Smith eligible for an extension with the Atlanta Hawks, but the team has had since August 2011 to begin talks with their star power forward and apparently haven't even mentioned it to him.

For some reason that baffles many basketball fans, myself included, the Hawks front office has never shown as much love for Smith as he probably deserves.

In 2008, as a restricted free agent, he couldn't get a contract offer from Atlanta and most other teams wouldn't offer him a contract either because they knew the Hawks would almost certainly match it. Finally, the Memphis Grizzlies made him an offer, however, as many teams had predicted, Atlanta matched the moderately low offer.

If the Grizzlies had more cap space at the time, or had they had more serious interest in snatching Smith away from the Hawks, they very possibly could have made something happen and offered him a front-loaded deal that Atlanta probably wouldn't have matched.

However, the Hawks didn't refuse to give Smith a mega-deal because they were worried about money issues, as they signed Joe Johnson to an egregiously horrible contract worth $124 million over six years in 2010.

Later in 2010, the team followed that up by also locking up Al Horford with a five-year contract extension worth $60 million dollars.

Yet, the Hawks wouldn't even offer Smith a deal back in 2008, only retaining him after the Grizzlies' moderately low contract offer of $58 million over five seasons (compared to potentially $12-15+ per season).

Since then, Smith has requested a trade on multiple occasions after it became clear that the Hawks' management was content with first round playoff eliminations and not competing for championships. However, the team has refused to accommodate his requests, leaving him stuck in Atlanta.

The franchise promised last summer that they would be more competitive this season, however, they followed that statement up by signing a bunch of players to minimum or near-minimum contracts and to the surprise of no one, were once again eliminated in the opening round of the postseason.

The only player of real value that the Hawks have that doesn't have a grossly untradeable contract (Johnson) or gets paid too little to receive fair value back in a trade (Jeff Teague), remains to be Josh Smith.

With teams like the Los Angeles Lakers and the Philadelphia 76ers likely to make some trades this summer, now is the time Atlanta should seriously consider fulfilling Smith's wish of getting dealt elsewhere.

Considering there is almost no chance Josh Smith will sign a contract extension with the Hawks after the way he has been treated over the past few seasons, this summer might be the teams' last best chance to move the disgruntled forward and receive anything of value in return.

They could potentially pry Pau Gasol from the Lakers or Andre Iguodala from the Sixers. Who knows, maybe they can even unload Marvin Williams with Smith in a potential move and land a Metta World Peace or someone else? There's nothing the Hawks have to lose at this point by making calls.