April 15, 2012; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Hornets shooting guard Eric Gordon (10) shoots over Memphis Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley (11) during the first quarter of a game at the New Orleans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

Eric Gordon, New Orleans Hornets — four-years, $58 million

Phoenix attempted to rectify their previous mistakes by signing one of the most talented 2-guards in the NBA to a maximum contract. But, in reality, New Orleans was going to match any conceivable offer. Gordon is simply too valuable of a cog in New Orleans’ rotation to let go.

For all the acclaim of Austin Rivers’ potentially dominating scoring presence, Gordon is a proven commodity. In his last two seasons — he played nine games in his abbreviated 2011-12 campaign — Gordon scored nearly one point per possession as a the pick-and-roll ball handler. For reference, Steve Nash scored 0.92 PPP last season (and he’s pretty darn good at pick-and-rolls you know?). Gordon is also dangerously efficient as he will likely convert on 60% of his total shots in the near future.

Young players like that don’t come very often. He’ll be a nice addition next to Anthony Davis.

Spencer Hawes, Philadelphia 76ers — two-years, $13.1 million

This may seem like an overpay, and it just might be, but it’s not as egregious as some make it seem. Centers typically earn more money than the average player because length is an important quality to have as a basketball player. You can’t teach height so, when someone has it, NBA teams are more willing to shell out the extra cash. Besides, Hawes can make a mid-range shot and he’s an above-average finisher in pick-and-rolls. He also defends the pick-and-roll pretty well. Yes, he’s soft and he doesn’t have a ton of lateral quickness but at $6.55 million per year? It’s not that bad.

Michael Beasley, Phoenix Suns — three-years, $18 million

I’m not sure I like this one. Beasley is awfully inefficient as his true shooting percentage has steadily declined since his rookie season — and even then it wasn’t high either. Beasley isn’t a good defender as his overall PPP of 0.87 ranked 257th in the league. Why acquire a player to a three-year contract that won’t create for others and, when he creates for himself, doesn’t score effectively?

Hasheem Thabeet, Oklahoma City Thunder — two-years, unspecified

Another low-risk/high reward move from Oklahoma City. Who does this Sam Presti guy think he is, again? What gives him the right to make moves that actually make sense?

Jan 10, 2012, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash (13), left, talks with film actor Jack Nicholson during the game against the Los Angeles Lakers at the Staples Center. The Lakers defeated the Suns 99-83. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

Phoenix sent Steve Nash to Los Angeles for their 2013 and 2015 first-round picks and 2013 and 2014 second-round picks

In the biggest deal of the night, Los Angeles acquired Nash in a sign-and-trade. They flipped four picks for Nash’s perspicacious passing ability. Nash fits into the trade exception acquired in their Lamar Odom trade last year, worth approximately $9 million.

There are some questions on how Nash will fit in Los Angeles. The Lakers rely extensively on Kobe Bryant isolations and Andrew Bynum post-ups, which represented 16% of their total offense. How will they fit Nash, the league’s most proficient passer the last three years from a percentage standpoint, without affecting their other players? Spotting him up from the perimeter will highlight Nash’s premier shooting ability but his primary asset, his passing, will be devalued in the context of Los Angeles’ offense. That’s a tough predicament. The fact of the matter is: The Lakers find this problem preferable to a noticeable absence at the point guard position. Can you deny that they made themselves a more potent team?

Goran Dragic, Phoenix Suns — four-years, $34 million

Dragic is a crafty pick-and-roll threat that also converted on 64% of his 219 attempts inside the restricted area last season. I’m a tad worried in whether he can sustain his numbers with more playing time. Phoenix took a dramatic fall with the news of Nash’s trade and adding Dragic will alleviate their shortcomings for the time being. Houston will reportedly not match Phoenix’ offer on their restricted free agent (AAV: $8.5 million).

(Contractual caveat: The deal is technically worth four-years, $30 million, with Dragic earning $1 million extra for every All-Star appearance. The last year of the contract is a player option. H/T Paul Coro.)

***

Other free agency tidbits

– Former Washington Wizard Rashard Lewis is on San Antonio’s radar according to Trevor Zickgraf of Project Spurs. Miami, the Lakers, Atlanta and New York are also interested.

– Milwaukee offered unrestricted free agent Ersan Ilyasova a five-year, $40 million contract (AAV: $8 million). It’s a substantial offer but Ilyasova is keeping his options open.

– Houston also offered Jeremy Lin a multiyear deal designed to make it more damaging to New York’s financial flexibility. New York seemed to intent in adding either Deron Williams or Nash and they whiffed on both. They may choose to swallow this “poison pill” contract for the sake of their point guard position.

– Philadelphia is No. 1 in the NBA with 10.8 turnovers per game. The Spurs flustered them all night and forced them into 14 turnovers. The Spurs converted those turnovers into 19 points. Elton Brand and Evan Turner, themselves, combined for nine. Not exactly an efficient night for Philly. This was just the ninth time all year they totaled 14-plus turnovers.

– The Sixers developed some nice rhythm late in the first quarter and carried that into the second quarter. At one point, Philadelphia was on a 14-0 run while the Spurs fumbled away possession six times in that span. After three consecutive possessions that ended in turnovers, Stephen Jackson broke the ice by drawing a foul on Jrue Holiday. He mercifully ended the run after making 1-of-2 from the line.

Mar 25, 2012; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili (20) shoots against Philadelphia 76ers center Nikola Vucevic (8) and forward Sam Young (7) during the second quarter at the AT

– Manu Ginobili was 5-of-8 from inside the 3-point line and 0-for-5 behind the arc. Manu was providing his usual dosage of energy, help defense, brilliant pick-and-roll decisions and creating turnovers. He totaled 11 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals.

– While Manu isn’t scoring at the same efficiency that we’re accustomed to, he has made an impact in every game. With the depth we have, Manu doesn’t necessarily need 20-plus every night to secure a victory. His role has changed on this team (for now) and he seems to relish creating havoc and playing intelligent basketball. This role might be even more beneficial because his impact can be measured in more ways than one.

– Who else loved the last play of the second quarter? The Spurs utilized the Manu-Diaw pick-and-roll in an unconventional part of the court. Given the distance between Manu and the rim, Spencer Hawes didn’t hedge, trap or switch the screen. Instead he maintained his ground about 17-feet away from the basket, ready at a moment’s notice to help Lou Williams. Well, he was there to help. But Manu swerved and actually turned Hawes head on route to a very satisfying dunk that put the Spurs up three, 52-49, with 8.9 seconds left.

– Kawhi Leonard posted his fourth double-double of his career — 11 points and 10 rebounds — and led the team with 32:23 of action. Pop has been leaning heavily on the 20-year-old rookie and, considering his penchant for not playing rookies significant minutes, that is especially impressive. I can’t tell you enough how much I genuinely appreciate his defense, energy, cutting ability and improving perimeter game. Plus, who’s better at following his own shot with multiple offensive rebounds than Kawhi? He has a knack for the ball.

– Andre Iguodala’s absence was quite fortuitous, right? The Sixers definitely could’ve used his elite defense and energy. Tonight was the first start he’s missed all year. Iguodala has proven to be quite durable in his eight year career. He averages 2.75 missed games per year.

– The Spurs did a good job limiting leading-scorer Lou Williams to nine points on 4-of-14 shooting in 28:19. Williams is usually a capable 3-point shooter but he went 0-for-3 behind the arc.

– Yeah, Tony Parker seems really hurt. Only 21 points and seven assists? Come on, TP.

– Justin Dentmon’s shaky shot selection seems to frustrate Pop. He didn’t seemed too happy after a couple of ill-advised midrange jumpers. Dentmon finished with two points on 1-of-4 shooting in 12:08.

– After toiling through a mini-drought from 3-point land, Danny Green connected on 3-of-5 for a total of 10 points.

Mar 25, 2012; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward DeJuan Blair (45) goes up for a dunk against the Philadelphia 76ers during the second quarter at the AT

– I have no idea why I took so long to mention Blair’s solid performance. DeJuan struggled defensively but he was more than strong enough offensively. His game seamlessly complements Manu’s pick-and-roll passing ability and it showed. He scored 19 points and grabbed six rebounds. Tony isn’t known for his passing but he, too, made a couple of nifty pass to a rolling Blair. The Sixers No. 1 defense didn’t have answers for the Spurs pick-and-roll. I mentally counted a couple of times where Brand was unsure of whether he should hedge and disrupt the ball handler or whether to pick up Blair on his cut to the hoop. He was usually wrong.

– Jackson struggled tonight in what should be considered his worst as a Spur (second tenure). He shot 2-for-6 from the field and was responsible for five turnovers.

– I cannot wait to see the Spurs fully healthy. I want to see how well we play (and I’ll be expecting a lot from them) when Patrick Mills joins the team and when Tiago, Gary, Manu, Tony and Tim finally get healthy and when Jackson and Boris Diaw are comfortable in the system. It’d be nice to see what we have before the playoffs start next month (can you believe it’s already here?).

– The victory was definitely more satisfying than usual. I was at the game with a friend of mine who is a 76ers fan (he’s from Philly so cut him some slack). I managed to win every bet and enjoyed excessively yelling into his eardrums after every beautiful display of ball movement. Well done, Spurs.

– The Spurs next game will be Tuesday at Phoenix. Game time is 9:00 CST.

It was definitely nice to sweep the back-to-back-to-back but, damn, do they take a toil on your mental psyche. I’m ready for a much deserved one day hiatus, aren’t you?