It is looking more and more like Elton Brand will be headed East to join the 76ers. That unexpected move could knock down a number of dominos and open doors that looked closed just a few days ago. Some off the top of my head:
- Sixers become contenders in the East. Will compete with the Celtics on the court and off (for win-now trades and free agents over the next few years).
- LA Clippers now stuck with a high priced point guard and no franchise big man to pair him with. Do they get in the Josh Smith running? Do they have a choice?
- Warriors still stuck with nothing after losing Baron Davis.
- That's two teams with a lot of extra cash to use. May decide to give more than the MLE to Maggette.
- The Hawks have said all along that they'll match any offer for Josh Smith but can they afford to? Here's a guess that they'll sign and trade him to one of these teams with cap space and take back some kind of minor compensation in exchange for playing nice and giving Smith an extra year on his deal.
- If all else fails, one of these teams under the cap can toss a second rounder at New Jersey for Vince Carter or Detroit for Rasheed Wallace.