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Tuesday July 8, 2008 3:13 PM

The Art of the Deal: Big Name Hunting


Value is the name of the game

Jason Friedman
Rockets.com Staff WriterHOUSTON - Everybody wants the big splash.

Fans and media alike spend countless hours pining for their team to bring that big name into the fold as the final piece of its championship puzzle. That’s the goal, right?

There’s just one problem: All too often, hindsight reveals that “big splash” to be little more than a ripple in the league’s big picture. When Macbeth uttered the famous line “full of sound and fury, signifying nothing,” he probably wasn’t talking about front page trades and free agent signings, but he certainly could have been; because, far more often than not, that’s the end result.

For every team like Boston, which sizzled after acquiring Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett via trade, there are clubs such as Phoenix, Dallas, and Charlotte whose big moves seem to have fizzled; leaving their squads no better off or worse than they were before their respective deals went through. Notice the latter list doesn’t even include the New York Knicks, a franchise so tragically obsessed with star power that its ineptitude deserves a category all its own.

The key to any acquisition is value; a concept which goes far beyond a player’s worth on the floor. Yes, you need skilled athletes whose talents make their team better, but that’s merely one piece of the equation. When a sage NBA general manager contemplates making a move he must always ask himself questions like: How much talent do I have to give up in return, and how will the new player’s contract work within the constraints of the salary cap; both now, and in the future? It’s no different than a game of chess: The true masters are always thinking three or four steps ahead, while those who employ a more myopic viewpoint leave themselves open to an ambush which can sabotage a team’s fortunes for years to come.

When one applies that sort of perspective to this year’s free agent class, a distinct picture begins to emerge; one which is decidedly different than the more mainstream image. Take, for instance, Corey Maggette and James Posey. Both are highly-coveted players who clearly are two of the best available unrestricted free agents on the market. Nearly every team with a realistic hope of contending for a title is interested in their services. Yet it’s precisely that demand which will drive up the price of doing business with either player; potentially resulting in a team overpaying by offering too many dollars, too many years, or both. And when that occurs, a player can quickly go from being the final piece of the championship puzzle, to an anchor dragging his club into the murky depths of mediocrity.

So, fans, feel free to clamor for your team to add the Maggettes and Poseys of the world. Just be sure that when you do, you do so with both eyes firmly fixed on the big picture. And keep in mind that even the splashy Celtics had to supplement their big moves with a handful of savvy, below the radar, bargain basement acquisitions in order to make it to the top of the mountain.

Because the goal should never be about acquiring big names, but rather rings, trophies and banners. And while that line won’t remind anyone of Shakespeare, its message promises to be just timeless.