I know Gainesville is a football town. I know people will be tailgating on campus long before Vince Carter makes his debut with the Orlando Magic. And I know my favorite pro sports league has trailed the NFL in popularity for a while now.
But that doesn't matter to me. With the 2009 free agency season kicking off Wednesday, the NBA off-season, the most exciting of any sport, is upon us. And I couldn't be any happier.
I'll admit I'm a little biased about this. Basketball has always been my favorite sport. I grew up around it, following my brother's AAU teams and idolizing the likes of Michael Jordan and Penny Hardaway when I was younger, and I understand the complexities of the game more than any other sport.
With that in mind, the NBA off-season is the only one that can hold my attention. From the draft to free agency and all the way up to the opening tip, David Stern's league has the most consistently interesting downtime.
I understand that people get really into the recruiting process and previewing the upcoming NCAA football season, but college football's atmosphere is what makes it so great. With the NFL, the buildup during the seemingly endless break between the Pro Bowl and the opening kickoff is perhaps too overwhelming - and that's just the coverage of Brett Favre.
But something about the NBA off-season is easier to follow and get involved in. Free agency, which started with a bang when the Detroit Pistons reportedly signed Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva, becomes like solving a puzzle. Teams need to fill certain holes with their remaining cap space, and unsigned players are looking for their best chance to either 1) win a championship or 2) get a desperate team to sign them to a ridiculous contract. (What's up, Grant Hill? He earned $93 million over seven years with the Magic, during which time he played 200 games due to injury.)
The NBA is especially exciting this off-season thanks to, ironically, the struggling economy. Teams are taking risks on players they wouldn't have a few years ago, all for the sake of saving money or taking advantage of another team's poor financial standing. They're making blockbuster trades and looking to improve their teams with savvy free-agent signings.
Just look at some of the marquee players who will be wearing new jerseys next year: Vince Carter (Magic), Richard Jefferson (Spurs) and the Big Sidekick himself, Shaquille O'Neal (Cavaliers). Two of these teams - the Magic and the Cavs, who played each other in the Eastern Conference Finals this year - were willing to give up young talent in an effort to improve next year. The Spurs, who drafted all of their big three - Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker - made a multi-player trade for Jefferson, then returned to their old ways by lucking into DeJuan Blair, a first-round talent, in the second round of the draft.
In a time when companies are taking fewer risks and playing it safe, the NBA has become as exciting as it has been in years. And with a far superior draft class and superstars like LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh becoming free agents in the summer of 2010, it's only going to get better next year.
