Competition in the NBA’s Southwest Division was already tight but just got a little tighter with news that Bonzi Wells signed a two-year, $5 million free agent deal with the Houston Rockets.

I’d been up and down on the Rockets’ offseason moves for most of the summer. Although I appreciate the things Shane Battier can add to a team, I thought having to trade away a scorer like Rudy Gay (who fell into the Rockets’ lap at the draft) was too high a cost, particularly with Tracy McGrady’s bad back.

Picking up a player like Bonzi Wells however, makes the Battier trade look a lot better and ensures that the Rockets will be in the mix this season. Wells gives Houston a proven scorer who can do a little both inside and outside, as well as gives McGrady another outlet scoring option besides Yao. With Battier’s proven shooting touch also added to the mix, opposing teams won’t be able to double and triple up on McGrady quite the same way. Additionally, Yao is a tremendous passer out of the post and they could run some interesting things through him.

With the Wells signing, I think the Rockets will move ahead of the Grizzlies this year (particularly with Pau Gasol’s foot injury) and contend with the Hornets for the third spot in the Southwest. Dallas and San Antonio are still the class of the Division and will battle for the 1 & 2 spots.

Wells history of team chemistry problems is well-known, but I think that the relative lack of interest he saw in this year’s free agent market will give him a little hunger to prove himself for his next contract.

In a move that was not altogether surprising, Team USA Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski announced that Bruce Bowen and the injured Gilbert Arenas had been cut from the World Championships’ roster giving Shane Battier the final spot on the team.

While I think Bowen would have been the better choice based on pure defensive stopping ability, Battier at least gives you the same type of work ethic and willingness to do the dirty work. While not as good a man-to-man defender as Bowen, Battier is a better rebounder and has a better mid-range jumper (Bowen is a superior three-point shooter, but suprisingly has troubles with shots inside the arc). The 2004 Olympic Team lacked “glue guys” and the addition of Battier and players like Brad Miller add texture to the bench.

We’ll have our complete World Championships’ Preview coming up soon with predictions for who will medal.

With the World Championships set to tipoff August 19th, Coach K has a big decision to make in regards to Team USA’s final roster. Twelve players are allowed to make the final team and 11 of the 12 slots are essentially accounted for with the sole spot left likely going to Shane Battier or Bruce Bowen. Gilbert Arenas, who had been a virtual lock to make the team in lieu of the aforementioned Battier and Bowen, was felled by injury which forced him to withdraw from the team and leaving the current predicament.

The common thread of thinking is that Bowen will be the odd man out. He’s been the lowest scoring player on the team during the exhibition run and has been getting very little playing time. On the other hand, Battier is a Blue Devil and one would expect is a member of Krzyzewski’s happy fun club.

Reality though could be different. ESPN’s Chris Sheridan wrote an “Insider” column breaking down the decision and ended up siding with keeping Bowen. Essentially Sheridan bases his decision on the type of player (lock-down defender) that the team will need in the actual World Championships. While Battier is a nice inside-outside guy who doesn’t hurt you, Bowen gives the upside of being one of the top man-up defenders in the world. He’s also got a streaky three-point shot which won’t hurt particularly with the departure of Arenas.

I hope Bowen ends up being the man, but in my heart I have my doubts as I think Krzyzewski will end up taking Battier. Whoever is chosen might not see much playing time in any event as the core of this team became pretty well-established during the exhibition games and Battier or Bowen would likely be counted on as emergency players only.