Written by Dylan Hunter Carter
The 2015 NBA Free Agency was full of excitement and has surely rearranged the league. With teams competing over talent, many players are signed as soon as free agency begins, whether for better or worse. These are the best and worst fits in their new homes for the 2015-2016 NBA Season.
Monta Ellis: Ellis had clearly been the most consistent Maverick over the past 2 years and was the only asset the Mavericks had for the future. While the Mavs played very well this past season, their level of play didn't reach that of the higher tier Western Conference teams. It was clear that they couldn't make a huge impact in the playoffs. For this reason, Monta Ellis sought a change of scenery and landed in Indiana. The Pacers had been a consistent force in the East until Paul George's major injury last offseason which derailed their season. Indiana slipped out of playoff contention, landing in the 9th seed after a failed late season surge led by George Hill. Monta Ellis fits greatly into the Pacers' play style with his quickness, defense, hustle, and fast paced offense which left the team along with Lance Stephenson a year ago. Ellis and George have the potential to become the best duo in the NBA as long as they stay healthy and learn to work with each other's weaknesses. As for the Pacers as a whole, they must focus on fixing their front court after the departure of David West and the imminent trade of Roy Hibbert.
Greg Monroe: It has been clear since early into the 14-15 season that both Greg Monroe and the Pistons were ready to part ways. With the prioritization of Andre Drummond in the Piston's rebuild, Monroe has been overshadowed by the younger talent of the team. This led Monroe to seek a new home in Milwaukee, who desperately needed a Center to complete their young athletic team. The Bucks have arguably the best young core of players in the NBA with Jabari Parker, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Michael Carter Williams leading the way without a clear starting center. Miles Plumlee and Zaza Pachulia haven't proven themselves to be consistent enough to battle with other starting centers across the league. With the addition of Greg Monroe, the Milwaukee Bucks add a much needed presence in the low post and on the boards that may surge them into the top tier of Eastern Conference teams. As long as they stay healthy, the Bucks have to potential to land a decent playoff position. As for Monroe, he will finally earn the stardom and contract that he has longed for since he was drafted in 2010.
Robin Lopez: Many fans were skeptical when former Blazer, Robin Lopez decided to sign with the Knicks. While he's always been an effective player, he's never quite been an all star caliber player. Many compare Robin to his twin brother, Brook, who has been a stud for the Nets over the past few years. Many may assume that Brook is the better player because of his offensive capabilities, but Robin excels much further on defense than Brook does. Robin can bring hustle, shot blocking, athleticism, and heart to a New York Knicks team that has been lacking in each of those categories over the past few years. With this change of scenery, it is very possible that we see Robin improve greatly in the low post as he adapts to the triangle offense. Lopez signing with the Knicks is extremely helpful for both parties and will provide for some great entertainment when the Knicks and Nets matchup and the Lopez brothers face off in important rivalry games.
DeMarre Carroll: After a breakout season, DeMarre Carroll sought to capitalize on his newly found stardom and signed a max contract with the Toronto Raptors. The Raptors have grown into a solid playoff team despite their first round exit to the Washington Wizards in a 4-Game sweep this May. They've focused their strategy on star player DeMar Derozen as well as point guard Kyle Lowry and shooting guard Terrence Ross, so clearly they have a young athletic core at the Point Guard, Shooting Guard, and Small Forward positions. This is why signing DeMarre Carroll makes no sense. While his defensive capabilities will be able to help the team, their rotation has been completely shifted and their lacking front-court hasn't been improved at all. Carroll doesn't fit into the team's fast and athletic play style, which will ultimately hurt the team as a whole. There have been lots of questions about the success of the Raptors in coming seasons and this boneheaded signing didn't fix the major issues at hand.
Louis Williams: The only thing more disappointing than the Raptors allowing 6th Man of the Year Louis Williams to leave Toronto is his final destination: the Los Angeles Lakers. While it can be argued that this move improved a great guard lineup in LA, it also took up cap space that could be used towards acquiring a Center in free agency. The Lakers have struggled terribly over the past few years mostly due to injury and ineffective Free Agency periods. While injury cannot be controlled, Free Agency can, and spending their money on yet another shooting guard with a scorer's mentality was not the right move. Lou Williams is primarily a shooter and an isolation scorer, which is a great asset for any team. The problem with the Lakers adding his talents to their roster is that Kobe Bryant, Nick Young, and Jordan Clarkson are all shooters and isolation scorers as well, and that style of play has landed them near the bottom of the power ranking for years. As for Lou Williams, he's the real winner of this deal. While he may be sacrificing some shots, he'll also have the opportunity to learn from one of the best players of all time in Kobe Bryant; not to mention he'll be able to enjoy the LA lifestyle. Considering he has his own Drake song about him and is known for having 2 stunning girlfriends at the same time, it'd be easy to infer that Lou Will is ready for that limelight.
Rajon Rondo: After lots of speculation about where he may land, point guard Rajon Rondo has signed a 1-year deal to play with Rudy Gay and the Sacramento Kings. The former-Celtic spent the majority of his career as a dimer-extraordinaire and an exceptional slasher until tearing his ACL in January of 2013. Rondo never quite returned to his prior level of play, leading the Celtics to trade him to the Dallas Mavericks where he failed in a short stint this season. Now, in Free Agency, Rondo found a new home with the Sacramento Kings on a one year deal. While it may be argued that Rondo's point guard play can help the struggling Kings, this also undermines the emergence of Darren Collison as their starting point guard. Collison joined the Kings last year and made an immediate impact by creating shots for teammates and scoring efficiently, so adding a hot headed point guard like Rondo to their rotation could be detrimental to Collison's development and to the Kings' growing young core.
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