Free Agent Time!

The biggest time of the year in the NBA world other than playoff time is when free agency starts, and what a better way to enter the free agency times than some A+ grade point guards, the biggest man in the league and the most dominate big man in the league wanting to call it quits with the team he just signed an option with last season.  All of these free agents have a good chance to go to many different teams, some of which would be MUCH more beneficial to them than other teams, and this will be one hell of an offseason...

Deron Williams
Best Choices:
Dallas: If D-Will goes to Dallas, he will be surrounded with great role players that have age, but also have the experience to go out there and win a title, especially if they are led by a young point guard who is arguably the #1 free agent in this off season, not to mention that he would also have a weapon to pass the ball to in the freak of nature, sharpshooting 7 foot monster in Dirk Nowitzki.  Deron would obviously fit here in Dallas, and especially more if Jason Kidd (who will turn 40 in March) decides to call it quits after a sensational career with the New Jersey Nets, Phoenix Suns, and Dallas Mavericks.  Plus he has a solid back-up to play behind him in the speedy, youthful Frenchman in Rodrigue Beaubois, who averaged 8.9 PPG and 2.9 APG in 53 games last season, and also playing possibly with the new member of the Mavs, Jared Cunningham, who was drafted 24th overall by Cleveland and traded to Dallas, who is a fiery young off guard from Oregon State that could shake up the back court on this team.

Brooklyn: However, if D-Will decides to sign with Brooklyn again, he will have many more weapons and a strong base for a team that in the future could be a threatening force in the Eastern conference and in the league, with swing man Gerald Wallace having signed a 4-yr $40 million deal back with Brooklyn and big man Dwight Howard stating he wants to be traded to Brooklyn, Deron could be looking at a young and potential filled big three form with Wallace and Howard, with role players who will keep progressing even more in Marshon Brooks and Anthony Morrow, and I guess you can even call Kris Humphries an important role player as well, no matter how big an asshole he is.  Brooklyn has its great benefits to playing here if he decides to go back, and may be more beneficial to him and the team than going to Dallas, who in a couple years may be at an unstoppable decline because of age.

Steve Nash
Best Choices:
Toronto: I mention the Raptors first because they were the first ones to strike a proposed deal to Nash yesterday, for 3 years and $36 million.  Nash playing here wouldn't be that bad of a decision, but I don't see the Raptors winning any titles before Nash retires with the lack of star power that they do not have (unless you count Andrea Bargnani, which I don't) and that's Nash's main goal at this stage of his career.  He would make this team rise in standings and record percentage by a good margin, but I don't know if Toronto has the caliber of players that they need yet to even make the playoffs, even with Nash making them all play better.

Dallas: This would also be a good home for Steve Nash, since he is a great point guard as is D-Will, though has had a much greater career and is much older than Williams, turning 39 in February.  Nash along with DIrk Nowitzki may even be more threatening than with Williams, because Nash is such a great passer, arguably the best (10.7 career APG), and can make space for himself and Dirk, who is not a very physical player (actually, he hates contact) and both are deadly from the field and in the paint.  Nash also played here from 1998-2004, so he knows this team well and has played with Dirk before, giving them chemistry and more fluidity on the court and makes this duo more formidable.

Brooklyn: Nash going to Brooklyn may be a longshot, since if D-Will signs back, they both would be at a fight for ball control and the playmaker, but if he does and Williams is willing to move to the 2 spot and can play there consistently, look out. Nash added in with the thought of the big three of Williams, Wallace, and Howard or even without Williams is frightening.  Matching one of the league's best passers with the league's best big man and swing man can be VERY fun to watch for Brooklyn fans, and add D-Will to the mix here and this team starts looking like the Dream Team from back in the day (but not quite that caliber)

New York: Yes, I said it..I had the boldness to mention New York in the mix of the hunt for Steve Nash, mostly because of their huge need for a point guard with Jeremy Lin not giving them good signs about coming back next season and their need for someone to run the plays other than Carmelo Anthony and his "one man team" philosophy.  Here he would have many great role players and defensive presence, and another reason that New York (in my eyes) is a great home for Nash other than fitting in as the point guard they have been looking for is that he would be playing with a dismal Amare Stoudemire again.  Who better to help Amare get out of this slump and revitalize his career than the man who helped him begin it?

Ray Allen
Best Choices:
Miami: The point of the Miami Heat's creation two seasons ago was to make a team around three superstars and surround them with shooters and great role players, such as Mario Chalmers and Shane Battier, to beat every team in the league and get to the top, which they achieved this year after a great year to help them forget the heartbreak against Dallas in last season's finals.  With this in mind, what better of a shooter to pursue in the offseason than the best three point shooter the league has ever seen and the holder of the most three pointers made in history?  If Ray wants another ring in his days before he retires after a legendary season, Miami is one of his best bets to go, but I don't know if his heart is totally set on Miami or not.

Memphis: The Grizzlies are also reported to be pursuing Ray as a new member of their fiery youthful team, centered around the big three of Marc Gasol, Zach Randolph and Rudy Gay, and the addition of Allen would just make their role players and bench even more dangerous to other teams, since the roster already consists of Mike Conley, Tony Allen, and OJ Mayo in the back court, where all of them are deadly shooters (Tony Allen actually played with Ray in Boston for the 2008 title).  The only question for Ray before he decides if he will go to Memphis would be, "Are they ready yet for a real title run?" and "Can they compete with teams like Miami and Oklahoma City over time?"

Boston: Ray's almost home, the team that he has been with since 2008, after a season where most of it was with the Seattle Supersonics, who made one title run during the 1996 season where they lost in the finals, he had never even come close to a title other than that in Seattle, but when they brought him to Boston, he won one with Garnett and Pierce in the first year of the original Big Three.  And now Garnett is returning to the Celtics to most likely finish out his career and with two good picks in the NBA Draft in getting Jared Sullinger and Fab Melo consecutively, does Ray have enough to leave, or is his heart going to be in Boston until he retires?  He may have one last shot at a title run with the big three and these youthful role players that make up the rest of the Celtics, and he may know this.

Roy Hibbert
Best Choices;
Portland: The Trailblazers have offered Roy Hibbert a max deal, 4-yr, $58 million contract and if he agrees, Indiana would have 3 days to match the offer if they want to keep him.  Portland is desperate for a big man down low to be a one-two punch with star LaMarcus Aldridge, since their hopes in Greg Oden turned out to be empty with Oden's trouble with injuries.  If Roy goes to Portland, he would be a dominate force down low with Aldridge, who is 6'10" and Hibbert being 7'3", but the role players in Portland are not what they used to be.  Raymond Felton did not have the most sensational year for the Blazers, and Marcus Camby did not turn out to be the defensive presence down low they expected him to be.  The best role players are Jamal Crawford off the bench and Nicholas Batum, who stepped up very nicely with the loss of Gerald Wallace in the trade to New Jersey (now Brooklyn).  If Hibbert wants titles, he needs to look towards if he has enough talent surrounding him to win one here.

Indiana: Hibbert's home in the NBA since the Pacers traded to get him after the Raptors drafted him 17th overall in the 2008 NBA Draft.  He has grown here as a dominant big man and a great shot blocker and post player, and he has learned to play around this great atmosphere of role players and sharpshooters, including Danny Granger, Darren Collison, George Hill, and has formed almost a big three with David West and Danny Granger.  Last season, the Pacers were third in the Eastern conference standings when the playoffs started, and they made a great run through the playoffs, even turning some heads and doubting Miami and making themselves known after the Game 3 blowout they had over the Heat, though they lost the series in 6, Hibbert led the way for them in this playoff run, and next season they will only grow more from last season.  If Hibbert stays in Indiana, he knows he is already surrounded by a lot of talent and can still be considered one of the best big men in the league and one of the stars on this team.