Last time on The New Millennium, the Houston Rockets were crowned NBA Champions for the first time since 1995, as the Indiana Pacers suffered their third Finals defeat since the turn of the millennium. Now, the offseason is upon us and changes are coming.
Player Retirements
This year, we bid farewell to the likes of Karl Malone, Vlade Divac, Elden Campbell, Glen Rice, Derrick Coleman, Nick Anderson, Antonio Davis and Christian Laettner. Malone was inducted into the Hall of Fame again, for some reason.
Draft Lottery
With the best odds, the Kings would take the first pick, which will likely be Chris Paul. The Trail Blazers, via a trade from Charlotte, got the second pick, with the Clippers again in the top three. The Heat and SuperSonics will round out the top five.
2005 NBA Draft
1. PG Chris Paul, Sacramento Kings
2. SF Lothar Meier, Portland Trail Blazers(generated player)
3. PF Marvin Williams, Los Angeles Clippers
4. PG Raymond Felton, Miami Heat
5. C Dan Buckner, Seattle SuperSonics(generated player)
6. SG Gerald Green, Vancouver Grizzlies
7. SF Danny Granger, Cleveland Cavaliers
8. C Jesse Wilks, New Orleans Pelicans(generated player)
9. SF Nelson Cassell, San Antonio Spurs(generated player)
10. SF Robin Sheridan, Boston Celtics(generated player)
11. PF Ed Rice, Washington Wizards(generated player)
12. PG George Roberts, Orlando Magic(generated player)
13. C Leroy Person, Dallas Mavericks(generated player)
14. SG Uwe Lindemann, New York Knicks(generated player)
15. PF O.J. Delk, Utah Jazz(generated player)
19. PG Jarrett Jack, Phoenix Suns
21. SG Lou Williams, Philadelphia 76ers
27. PF Jason Maxiell, New Jersey Nets
30. C Ronny Turiaf, Houston Rockets
31. PF Channing Frye, Sacramento Kings
35. C Marcin Gortat, Seattle SuperSonics
39. SF C.J. Miles, San Antonio Spurs
46. PF Amir Johnson, Cleveland Cavaliers
50. PF Ersan Ilyasova, Portland Trail Blazers
52. C Ian Mahinmi, Philadelphia 76ers
Free Agency
(Henry's Note- I've now started listing overall numbers with every signing, to help you know where certain players are at right now)
SF Barney Haynes(85 OVR), Portland Trail Blazers, 4 years, 142 million dollars
C Zydrunas Ilgauskas(84 OVR), Utah Jazz, 3 years, 70 million dollars
SF Jayden Stafford(84 OVR), New Orleans Pelicans, 4 years, 105 million dollars
SG Leo Henderson(83 OVR), New York Knicks, 3 years, 69 million dollars
SF Corey Maggette(83 OVR), New York Knicks, 3 years, 69 million dollars
PG Kris Leach(81 OVR), Cleveland Cavaliers, 3 years, 46 million dollars
PF Tim Thomas(81 OVR), Detroit Pistons, 3 years, 43 million dollars
C Kenneth Levingston(80 OVR), Philadelphia 76ers, 3 years, 44 million dollars
SG Anthony Johnson(80 OVR), Cleveland Cavaliers, 3 years, 33 million dollars
SG Eddie Jones(80 OVR), Boston Celtics, 2 years, 30 million dollars
C Marc Jackson(80 OVR), Boston Celtics, 3 years, 39 million dollars
PF Lee Nailon(80 OVR), Cleveland Cavaliers, 3 years, 25 million dollars
PG Rafer Alston(80 OVR), Seattle SuperSonics, 3 years, 33 million dollars
PG Eddie House(80 OVR), Seattle SuperSonics, 3 years, 26 million dollars
PF Kurt Thomas(79 OVR), Houston Rockets, 3 years, 29 million dollars
PG Troy Hudson(78 OVR), Cleveland Cavaliers, 2 years, 19 million dollars
C Emeka Okafor(78 OVR), Charlotte Hornets, 3 years, 41 million dollars
PG Tyronn Lue(78 OVR), Utah Jazz, 2 years, 10 million dollars
Way Too Early Predictions
We've apparently got some change upcoming, as Orlando, San Antonio and Golden State top NBA.com's power rankings for next season. Young teams like the Kings and Pelicans are expected to do well, and the Clippers are still in the top fifteen. The Cavaliers, Celtics and Jazz are not predicted to succeed despite big spending sprees, and especially not Seattle, who are projected to be the worst team in basketball.
2006 Draft Preview
Finishing off today's post, let's take a look at next year's draft class, which features two two point guards in Kyle Lowry and Rajon Rondo. If you want a big man, LaMarcus Aldridge and Paul Millsap offer different skillsets inside. If you want a wing scorer, there's also Rudy Gay and J.J. Redick, so this draft should offer a lot of options to any team.
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