The Chicago Bulls lock up Derrick Rose to a long-term deal, Kim Kardashian‘s Ex, Kris Humphries re-signs with the Nets while the Rockets and Clippers each add a big man to provide some depth inside. I break it all down in our latest NBA Free Agent signing analysis.
Chicago Bulls sign PG Derrick Rose to 5-year, $94.8 million extension
This is easily the best signing of the off-season. Rose is obviously the face of the franchise in Chicago, the hometown kid, reigning league MVP, and at only 23 years old will only get better and better. I also like the fact that under the new CBA, MVP’s in their rookie contract are allowed to sign a larger than the max deal. That actually makes a ton of sense. See, something good did come out of the NBA Lockout. (Click here for more on the Rose deal.)
New Jersey Nets re-sign PF Kris Humphries to one-year, $8 million contract
The Nets were on the verge of entering the regular season with Shelden Williams as their starting power forward and either rookie Jordan Williams or Dennis Horner as the main reserve. Ish. Humphries is coming off a breakout season with the Nets in which he averaged a double-double and is definitely an up-grade from Shelden Williams who will return to his more suited role of coming off the bench. He was seeking a multi-year deal but instead, will get another year to prove that last season wasn’t a fluke and that he is deserving of a long-term contract. (See what I did there… I made through an entire analysis of Humphries’ signing without mentioning the disaster that was his brief marriage to Kim Kardashian.)
Houston Rockets sign C Samuel Dalembert to 2-year, $13.7 million contract
Dalembert patiently waited his turn as the center dominoes fell with bigger names like Tyson Chandler, Marc Gasol, and Nene finding their landing spots first. Hasheem Thabeet was the only true big man on a Rockets’ roster with five power forwards so Dalembert brings some needed size, experience, defense, and shot blocking abilities which the Rockets were obviously coveting based on their interest in trying to acquire Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum in the Chris Paul trade proposal.
Los Angeles Clippers sign PF Reggie Evans to one-year worth league minimum
Considering the Clips were entering the regular season with Brian Cook and Trey Thompkins as their main back-ups for Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, they sorely needed to add depth up-front. He will add physicality, toughness, and rebounding inside as he averaged 11.5 boards in 30 games for the Raptors last season. This is a great deal for the Clippers and a steal at the league minimum.
David Kay is a senior feature NBA Draft, NBA, and college basketball writer for the Sports Bank. He also heads up the NBA and college basketball material at Walter Football.com and is a former contributor at The Washington Times Communities. David has appeared on numerous national radio programs spanning from Cleveland to New Orleans to Honolulu. He also had the most accurate 2011 NBA Mock Draft on the web.
You can follow him on Twitter at DavidKay_TSB.