Forget frenzy, starting July 1st, the NBA is looking at a circus of attention, unlike anything seen in a sports’ free agency period before

SCOTT JACOBS

The post-season has come and gone.  The draft has passed.  On July 1st, the event the NBA has been waiting for finally kicks off.

NBA Free agency.

Where amazing ceases to happen.  And something finally does.

All those NBA teams jockeying to sell off spare parts for cap space, finally will find out if annihilating their rosters was worth it.   The Knicks two year plan of not trying– merely trying to get as much cap space as possible for a run at this free agent class– will alas find out if all that purging was worth it.  Does New York really still sell it self?  Or does the media capitol of the U.S. not have enough pull to lure big time talent, if the rest of the team’s cupboard is bare.

Starting July 1st teams like the Bulls find out whether having a young nucleus of quality players and a great city is enough to land the mega star combo they dream of.  Is trying to supplant Michael Jordan in his own city, something someone like LeBron or D-Wade is interested in?  Is all that dis-loyalty that we’ve been hearing about in terms of Bulls ownership towards former Bulls players, going to catch up to the team that absolutely flat out owned the 90’s?

Starting July 1st we will begin to find out if anyone has any interest in playing for a potentially dangerous Clippers team.  The question of course is: does any superstar want to play in Kobe’s shadow?  Or can the Clippers make L.A. a true two team town like the Jets and Giants do with the New York/New Jersey area?

Starting July 1st we’ll begin to uncover whether a Russian billionaire with more money than god, can lure great talent to an unstable franchise, coming off of the NBA’s worst record.

And starting July 1st, we’ll alas begin to see if the Heat can convince free agents that their bare-bones roster can be filled with toy parts and wily veterans if you too sign on to play sidekick with superstar D-Wade.

So many questions have littered the NBA landscape, particularly this past season, and finally, finally we’re about to get some answers.

Will a team not previously mentioned in the great Free Agent chase, stun the sports world and do a sign and trade?  Will a guy like Chris Bosh, long assumed gone from Toronto shock the world and stay with the Raptors? Will D-Wade bolt Miami for another opportunity elsewhere?  Will Amare make nice in Phoenix and get the max contract he wants?

Will Joe Johnson be given the keys to an NBA franchise?  Or is he looking to hop on Wade or LeBron’s coat-tails to success and glory, while not being option numero uno?  Will Dirk spurn the Mavs to go to Phoenix to play with his buddy Steve Nash, leaving Mark Cuban shark bitten by two former stars gone west? Will Ray Allen stick with the team that has sent him to the Finals in two of the last three years, or will he too, look for another opportunity with another title contender?

Word has it that LeBron isn’t interested in just winning titles.  He wants to re-invent the sport.  Create rivalries that scintillate the masses in the same way that Bird-Magic captivated sports fans in the 80’s and into the 90’s.

It’s amazing when you read that sentence.  You play to win the game, yet LeBron who wants a mega-legacy that makes him a billionaire, may turn his back on a possible mega-pairing with Wade in Miami or some other star elsewhere.

So what is it?  If it’s money maybe LeBron stays in Cleveland where he can get a 6th year.  If it’s global icon status, maybe he goes to Chicago or New York.  If he and Bosh are interested in forming a super Big 3 with Wade in Miami it seems unfathomable that Heat-Lakers wouldn’t become the NBA’s next big rivalry.

What’s intriguing is that much of this offseason’s NBA facelift will most likely take place in the East.  Sans the Clippers, the other teams with big time bills to burn all reside in the East.  Trades aside, the West looks a lot more stable right now than the frenetic East.

What’s more intriguing is after the dust settles.  Say LeBron signs with Bosh in Chicago.  Just how good can that team be?  Can Joe Johnson and Amar’e Stoudemire flourish with a guy like Mike D’Antonio in New York, whom they had great success with in Phoenix?  Carlos Boozer who has had a history of injury troubles is another piece.  And lest us forget the mid-level caliber players who may seek greener pastures if their odds of winning a title seem secure.

So many questions.  So many articles written.  So much posturing and woo-ing and talking.

Finally this week we countdown to truth.

The NBA’s bally-hooed class of 2010 finally makes up their mind.  And if not this week the next.  Probably.

In a time of unprecedented NBA player movement, it’s hard to be sure of anything, except that it’s here.

Drink it in.

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