Glen

Sports contracts include all sorts of bonuses in order to incentivize behavior, but this one caught my attention:

The Boston Celtics are bringing back Glen "Big Baby" Davis, who agreed to a two-year deal that could pay $6 million . . . Davis will receive $5 million in base salary and can earn an additional 500,000 per season for meeting certain weight clauses, a source told ESPN.com's Chad Ford.

Davis, of course, has a history of weight problems, which may partly explain why he fell out of the first round in the 2007 NBA Draft and also why he struggled to attract much interest as a free agent this off-season (another reason is his height relative to position -- 6'6 power forwards usually aren't coveted).

The incentives in his contract suggest that Davis believes his weight woes are his own fault, or at least primarily his fault, rather than the fault of unusual metabolism or something else that would be beyond his control. After-all, if he thought his weight problems were beyond his control, then he presumably wouldn't ascribe much value to the incentive.

With obesity rates soaring in the U.S., it will be interesting to see if more athletes encounter weight woes and if, correspond! ingly, t eams turn to $$ as a way of discouraging players from putting on the pounds.

Celtics Get A Steal With Marquis Daniels and His Tattoos

Whenever this silly sign in trade is done, the Celtics will already have a better squad then the championship team. The players from what I hear ranges from Tony Allen, Billy Walker, Brian Scalabrine, and Gabe Pruitt. None of those guys are or have been any impact on the team since joining. If anyone wants to argue than, yes, Scal logged some solid minutes in the playoffs and what have you, but the guy was and will continue to be a joke.

With the addition of Wallace and now Daniels that gives us already one hell of a bench. Daniels is a very verastile player, who can play the 1-3 positions. Gets about a fifth of his offensive from each of fast break opportunities, pick and rolls, and spot ups. Shows solid one-on-one skills as well. Decent jump shot. Doesn’t show ideal follow through. Won’t hit many three pointers, but he’ll take them when he is open. As for his defense he an guard the 1-3 positions, but is best matched up against 2s, or smaller small forwards. Is excellent out on the perimeter and has a great motor.

As much as I loved Bill Walker and Tony Allen, I will take Daniels in a second over them. He is the real deal and although Boston fans know that they are getting a stud in Daniels, this will be one of the most overlooked deals by the rest of the NBA, until you know, playoff time.

Orlando Magic Sign Brandon Bass

With Hedo Turkoglu opening up the small forward spot with his departure, the Orlando Magic have been in search of a body to plug in to the starting lineup. It now looks like the open position will be filled by one of their own â€" Rashard Lewis. After signing former Dallas Maverick Brandon Bass, Lewis will shift over with Bass most likely becoming the starting power forward.

Bass is a four-year veteran who is only 24 years old. After seeing his minutes increase when he came to the Mavericks two years ago, Bass has become a much better all-around player. In only around 19 minutes per game the past two seasons, he has averaged about 8.5 points per game. Bass has also become a good free throw shooter and can provide the Magic with a big body to battle for rebounds down low. Overall, a good pickup for Orlando at $18 million over four years.

NBA Weekly: Ron Artest Signs With Lakers, Zach Randolph Traded To Grizzlies, Celtics Make Offer To Rasheed Wallace, Allen Iverson, Pistons, & More

Ron Artest Signs With Lakers

The Lakers made a huge splash this week by signing Ron Artest instead of re-signing Trevor Ariza. This move caught many by surprise including myself, since it looked like the Lakers were going to re-sign Lamar Odom and Trevor Ariza and keep this year's championship team together. The move to sign Artest shows that the Lakers are in a win now mode and are trying to build a dynasty around Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, Andrew Bynum, and now Ron Artest. There's no doubt that while order than Ariza, Artest is a better offensive player than Ariza is. Defensively I'm not sure Artest is still head and shoulders above Ariza, so there might not be an upgrade there, but he will definitely provide more consistency to the SF position for the Lakers. I also think this move was specifically made with the Celtics and Paul Pierce in mind. Pierce has notoriously struggled mightily when squaring off against Artest and with the Celtics healthy again next season it's very much possible that we could be seeing another Celtics/Lakers finals. I think Artest could give the Lakers some added toughness to match up against the Celtics.

Boston Celtics Offer Rasheed Wallace Contract

Speaking of the Celtics, if they do face off against the Lakers in the NBA Finals next season, not only wi! ll Ron A rtest be on the court, but it's possible that Rasheed Wallace may be as well. The Celtics have offered Rasheed Wallace the mid-level exception in hopes of luring him to Boston. I am personally drooling over the entertainment value of Rasheed Wallace and KG playing on the same team along with Kendrick Perkins. That would be one tough front court with a ton of attitude and nastiness. Not only that, but a Celtics/Lakers series with KG, Pierce, Allen, Rondo, Kobe, Pau, Odom and now possibly Artest and Rasheed would most definitely be a classic and a true matchup of titans. If Rasheed does sign with the Celtics, he would actually be coming off the bench and would probably see a lot of minutes subbing for Perkins. He would also probably see minutes at the 3 and 4. The Celtics wouldn't need much scoring from Wallace, which is perfect because he's never excelled at being one of the main guys, and he could then focus on defense, rebounding, and knocking down open three's. Think of him as a bigger version of James Posey.

In other Celtics news, Big Baby has the Pistons, Spurs, and Knicks interested in him and it looks like it's possible that Big Baby, Leon Powe, and Stephon Marbury may all not be back with them. That would probably leave some room for the Celtics to make a few other moves. A backup point guard would definitely be high on that list if they lose Marbury who just declined their latest offer and has said that he has three other teams interested in him.

Zach Randolph Traded To Memphis Grizzlies

So the Clippers did the right thing by moving Zach Randolph and creating more playing time for Blake Griffin. This is the major impact of this move, but I also think the Grizzlies will do alright by having Randolph on their team. His weakness is defensively, but that might not hurt the Grizzlies as much if Hasheem Thabeet is able to be a force on the defensive end in the paint. I don't expect the Grizzlies to be a winning team ! next sea son, but they definitely have a decent group of young players. I do have a few issues with their squad though. The first is that I don't really think Zach Randolph is going to help them in their rebuilding process, but I think since his contract expires after the 2011 season, then the Grizzlies will probably just hang onto him for this season and then flip him and his expiring contract next year.

The second problem I have with the Grizzlies is that while they have a decent group of young players in O.J. Mayo, Rudy Gay, Mike Conley, & Hasheem Thabeet; I don't feel like any of those guys is a superstar type player that can win you a championship. Mayo should improve, but he is probably a 2nd option at best and Gay is probably a 3rd option. I think Conley is going to be good enough to be a solid PG on a championship caliber team and Thabeet if he's solid defensively is a nice part to have as well. However, at some point it may make sense for the Grizzlies to try and flip Mayo or Gay or maybe even both for a superstar type player who could help them win a championship. That of course would be a few years down the line, but if that doesn't happen then I could see this team peaking as perennial 4 or 5 seed that just doesn't have enough to win it all.

Houston Rockets

A rough week for the Houston Rockets, who found out that they most likely may be without Yao Ming next season and possibly forever if his injury is indeed career ending. They also lost one of their better players in Ron Artest to the Lakers and replaced him with a less consistent offensive player in Trevor Ariza. I know we all severely underrated this team last season, especially in the playoffs against the Lakers, but they just keep losing more and more scoring and at some point you have to figure they won't be able to sustain their success. Certainly a healthy Tracy McGrady would improve the offense, but there are no guarantees that McGrady will be healthy for ! a full s eason. I have to wonder what direction this franchise is heading in and if they are just trying to make the playoffs instead of shooting for an NBA title. It's great to find all these bargins and sleeper players like Aaron Brooks and Carl Landry, but if you don't surround them with superstars then it really doesn't accomplish anything.

Allen Iverson

There has been talk that Iverson may be forced into retirement because no team is going to be willing to pay him what he probably want. Iverson will probably be forced to take somebodies mid-level exception and I think that is what will eventually happen instead of AI retiring. The Bulls and Heat are two teams that are said to be interested in Iverson, who you would imagine might prefer to play in Miami next to Dwyane Wade. However, it's been reported that Iverson wants to play for the Grizzlies next season, which makes no sense to me for either Iverson or the Grizzlies.

Detroit Pistons

The Pistons wasted no time in free agency signing two former UConn Huskies, Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva. Both of them are solid offensively and can score in bunches, but they also are not the best defensive players, and I think that hurts their value to their team. I don't really think they are a good fit for what what Detroit already has on their roster as well, so I would expect the Pistons to be making a few more moves during the offseason. Rip Hamilton and Tashaun Prince could definitely be changing teams in the near future.

Other NBA News

- Marcin Gortat reached an agreement with the Dallas Mavericks and should be an excellent addition to their squad. Gortat really played well off the bench for the Magic last season and he should give the Mavs some more toughness downlow. This could also allow the Mavericks to package the expiring salaries of! Erick D ampier and Jerry Stackhouse in a trade.

- Josh Childress is back on the NBA free agent scene and has visited with the Milwaukee Bucks this week. He could be a decent pickup for a playoff caliber team, but I don't see him making much sense for the Bucks.

- The Raptors have been trying to acquire David Lee, so that's something to keep an eye on. The Grizzlies were interested in Lee too, but decided to trade for Zach Randolph instead after they found out how much money Lee was looking for.

- Jason Kidd is a hot commodity right now as both the Mavs and Knicks are looking to offer him 3-year deals, which seems insane considering he's at least 3 years past his prime already. It's even more insane for the Knicks, who should be in rebuilding/save money for Lebron mode.

- Cleveland has some interest in Shawn Marion and also Anthony Parker and Linas Kleiza, who would all be solid additions to the Cavs.

More: NBA Weekly

Bill Simmons: NBA GM?

I recently wrote an article over at Gunaxin.com about Bill Simmons, "The Sports Guy," possibly becoming an NBA GM. It's more of a "What could happen if he ever landed his supreme gig." It deals with some of his "theories" and his obsession with things like "The Real World" and "Teen Wolf."

If you're interested in reading it, Clck Here for "Bill Simmons: NBA GM?

Kobe Bryant to Stay with the Los Angeles Lakers

No one will be surprised if LeBron James is playing somewhere other than Cleveland in a couple of years. And no one should be surprised at all by the announcement that Kobe Bryant will remain with the Los Angeles Lakers. Because, honestly, why would he leave?

Bryant can opt out of the final two years of his current contract on July 1. And he probably will. Or at least, he probably should. But as for actually signing elsewhere…no sir.

Kobe has everything going for him at the moment. He’s on top of the world after finally winning a title without Shaquille O’Neal. In 13 years, Bryant has won four championships and played in the NBA Finals six times. In the! last 13 years, I’ve attended three NBA games and almost caught a headband thrown into the crowd by then Los Angeles Clipper James Singleton. We’re basically the same person. Anywho…even if Bryant opts out, don’t expect him to realistically even flirt with any other teams. He’s a Laker and will continue to be one.

Lakers Win

After the Lakers blew away the Magic in the first game I wanted to write a post announcing that the series was over. No way the Magic beat the Lakers. I resisted because, as Yogi says, it ain't over till it's over. I also resisted crowing when the Lakers won the second game and went up 2-0. It's hard for a team to come back after losing the first two games.

The fourth game was pivotal. The Lakers went into it with a two games to one edge. If the Magic win that game, the series is tied, 2-2. But the Lakers won in overtime, making it 3-1. The difference between 3-1 and 2-2 is immense. At 2-2, it's a best two out of three series. At 3-1, the team with one win is facing elimination and has to win the next three in a row. But I kept my quiet after game four because of what Yogi says.

Okay, now it's over. Hollywood beat Disneyworld. It took the Lakers five games to beat the Magic. The Magic lived by the three-point shot and died by it.

Dwight Howard, the Magic's center, is the best center in the game, but he has never shown that he deserves to be ranked among the best of all time. Sometimes he disappears in games. He has a million dollar smile -- he really should try acting -- but it's still a question whether he has the toughness and will to be a champion. His Superman dunk in last year's all star game was, as the kids say, sick. At best he might end up basketball's Ted Williams -- a great player whose best moment was in an all star game. (Or in the slam dunk contest on all star game weekend.)

Kobe Bryant proved he has what it takes to be a champion. He will be considered one of the very best that ever played the game when his career is all over. If he stays healthy and productive for another five years, his points total will approach Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's 38,000 and some.

Phil Jackson won his 10th ring as a head coach. Derek Fisher was asked what makes Jackson a great coach. He said someth! ing to t he effect that he's not a dictator. He leaves you free to be you and make your own choices. Oddly enough, that's exactly what I like in a stage director. I hate the directors who have all my blocking plotted out before the first read-through.

The Lakers got a little lucky this year. Both Yao Ming of Houston and Kevin Garnett of Boston were injured in the playoffs. A healthy Boston is a much harder team to beat than Orlando. It would be great to see the Lakers beat the Celtics for the championship next year.

The Lakers also got a little lucky when they picked up Trevor Ariza. I think they made that trade mostly because they wanted to dump Maurice Evans and Brian Cook. Ariza looked like he would be a guy who comes off the bench in defensive situations. He played so well that he became a starter. He defends well, he can shoot the three as well as drive to the basket and dunk, and he is the most talented thief in the game. I've never seen anyone steal the ball as well as Ariza.

Maybe the Lakers also got a little bit lucky when they picked up Pau Gasol, the most skilled seven-footer in the league, for, like, nothing. But as either Branch Rickey or Winston Churchill once said -- I've seen the quote attributed to both -- luck is the residue of design. Give General Manager Mitch Kupchak his due.

It's amazing where the Lakers are today, considering the disarray they were in just two years ago, with Kobe demanding a trade.

Next year the Lakers are the team to beat. Every place they go on the road will sell out their seating all the way to those nose bleed seats next to the air conditioning ducts. The opposing teams will play at their adrenaline-fueled best against the champs. The 2009-2010 season will be a gauntlet that will leave the Lakers lean and mean for the playoffs.

The dynasty began tonight.