Today's links:
- The Nets and Hawks made a big trade for Joe Johnson, and I wrote about why I like it for Brooklyn despite Johnson's gargantuan contract. (The tl;dr version: East's second tier is vulnerable, a Johnson/Deron Williams combo will work out pretty well, there's no escaping Miami in the next four years anyway and the Nets still have all their cap exceptions to make more moves). I'm sure people are wondering why I like the Nets' move and am more lukewarm on the Wizards' trade for Emeka Okafor and Trevor Ariza. We can discuss further in the comments. [SB Nation]
- Of course, the Hawks also made a great move to get out of Johnson's contract. Ziller covers that side of things. [SB Nation]
- Could Dwight Howard be the next move? Both sides seem to be trying, but the Magic are in no rush to make a deal. A trade that sends Howard to Brooklyn is technically possible, but it requires a ton of salary-cap quirks, sign-and-trades and other complicated CBA stuff even if you assume the Magic think they're getting enough on-court value back. [CBS Sports]
- While divisions in the NBA mean nothing, it's nice to at least say that the Wizards have a legitimate shot at being the second-best team in the Southeast behind Miami. [CSN Washington]
- Ted Leonsis blogged yesterday about his philosophy with using cap space on free agents. Today, he blogged about it again. I agree with what he's blogging, though I'm not sure about the application of it to the trade with the Hornets.
- It looks like the Wizards are prioritizing re-signing Cartier Martin and James Singleton, which is music to my ears. [Truth About It]
- Yesterday, it came out that Tomas Satoransky would rather not play summer league with the Wizards. The reason? He wants to play for the Czech national team as they try to qualify for the 2013 Eurobasket. Jan Vesely, meanwhile, is much less committed to the national club. [@Luke_Mellow]
- Bradley Beal could maybe sorta possibly be considered for Team USA in the future. [Us]
- Old, but I enjoyed Beal's birthday cake. [DC Sports Bog]
- It looks like the Celtics will be keeping Jeff Green. [Boston Globe]
- The Bulls, meanwhile, seem to want to bring Kirk Hinrich back. [SBN Chicago]
- The Bobcats are looking at Antawn Jamison, per reports. While I respect Jamison's potential desire to return home and make a living for himself, I find it a bit weird that a guy who hung a picture of the Larry O'Brien trophy in his locker for years now is considering signing with a 7-59 club.
- The Wizards' expectations are growing, so we could see a very different starting lineup. [CSN Washington]