Wednesday, March 14, 2012

NBA Trade Deadline and NFL Free Agent Frenzy

Over the last 24 hours, there have been more moves made by Bay Area teams than I can talk about in one post, but the Warriors and 49ers, especially, have been under a microscope lately with the moves they've made.

The Warriors made a trade Tuesday that really shook up their franchise and had just as many fans scratching their heads then were happy with it. I think this move was made by the Warriors with 2012-13 and beyond, and not so much this season, in mind. I mean, the player they got in return is a center they've needed for years, but he's also the Steph Curry of centers in terms of fragility. Andrew Bogut religiously misses time annually with nagging injuries and can never seem to keep it together for a full season. When he did though, two years ago, he showed what he can do by putting up 16 points, 10 boards and 2 assists per night in 69 games. He only missed 13 that season, but has played in more than 69 games only twice in his 7-year career. At the same time, Bogut will have had nearly a year off by the time next season rolls around, and should be in optimal shape, plus the Warriors are now discussing the possibility of sitting Stephen Curry the rest of the year to ensure no more damage to those ankles. This move was obviously a move made with next year and beyond in mind and one that signifies the Warriors basically giving up on this season. The problem I do have with it, is why they couldn't do it sooner if this was their plan all along? If they would have done this trade 2-3 weeks ago, they would have accumulated more losses and would have been in much better draft position than they are know.

While the Warriors are making moves for the 2012-13 season and trying to lose out this season and get their top-7 draft pick, across the bay, the 49ers have hiked up their efforts in free agency and are too making moves to improve their 2012 squad. They've been so active lately that I haven't even been able to take a day off from posting here, it just seems like rumors or deals have just kept popping up over the last few days, starting with the signing of Randy Moss. Tuesday night though, the 49ers ensured that all 11 starters of their 3rd ranked defense will be returning by retaining all-pro corner Carlos Rogers, to a 4 year deal. The deal is in the $25M neighborhood, which isn't bad for a #1 corner when you look at what Cortland Finnegan just got from St. Louis ($50 million over 6 years). And after the signing of Perrish Cox, Carlos Rogers and Randy Moss in the last 2 days, the 49ers appear to just be getting started. They're apparently still going hard after a wide receiver and have a few coming up to Northern California for a visit. Former Raider, injury-prone but skilled receiver, Chaz Shillins will be heading to Santa Clara to meet with 49ers front office, but the biggest name and perhaps the most impacting of the guys they're now discussing is former 49er, Brandon Lloyd. The former 49er left San Francisco and turned into one of the better wideouts in the NFL, and it's not like he had Aaron Rogers or Tom Brady throwing him the ball either.

Of the remaining free agent receivers, I really like Lloyd for this team, the thing is though, a lot of teams will be perusing Lloyd, so it's not like they'll get him on a Randy Moss or Braylon Edwards type deal. They'd need to give him some guaranteed cash and probably a substantial amount, being that Lloyd's value is raising each time a receiver comes off the free agent board, and their have been a lot lately. Among those deals was a 5 year, $55 million deal Tampa Bay gave Vincent Jackson. After seeing that money, it made me like the Moss signing even more. Jackson has a similar reputation to Randy's, as he quit on his team last season, much like Randy did with the Raiders a few years back, but I'm hoping and the 49ers are banking that those days are behind Moss. The two spots needing the most depth heading into the offseason for the Niners were WR and CB, and they're making solid progress in both areas! You add Brandon Lloyd to that mix, and you really have revamped that receiving core that accounted for just 4 yards in the NFC Championship game.

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