These Boys are talking about Money! Go and get your Money boys. That is right, it is NBA Free Agency time, and we all know what that means! It's time to collect. Some major players in the NBA such as Corey Maggette, Baron Davis, Gilbert Arenas, and Elton Brand have decided to opt out of their contracts. They are ready to go and get some more cash, maybe with the same team or maybe with another.
There is one big problem, THERE IS NO MONEY! Well there was no money. Every year players opt out to get money, and with the soft NBA cap, money always creates itself. This year the Warriors, Clippers, Grizz, Sixers, and maybe the Supersonics have cash. On top of cap space, the NBA also supplies each team with veteran exceptions and one mid level exception (which is the NBA average salary around 5.8 million).
Baron Davis surprised everyone including the Warriors by leaving 17.8 million dollars while people like Shawn Marion and Ron Artest know that sticking around for one more year may make a bigger pay day next year. Maybe these guys aren't about money then, maybe they just want to win? Well lets talk about some major free agents and where they have gone, could go, or who is interested.
Elton Brand and Baron Davis: There is alot of talk in the West now because Golden State and the LA Clippers could actually have money. With Maggette gone and Brand opting out, the Clipps signed Baron Davis first, then are trying to get Elton Brand locked up since he is a returning player and they could go over the cap to sign him. Both will be taking pay decreases in 08/09, but in the end would be making alot of money with raises each year.
Brand will get attention until July 9th when he is allowed to sign from Philadelphia and Golden State who may not have enough money to pull Josh Smith from Atlanta. He could be that power post up player they are looking for. Brand could be using both teams to get a larger contract from the Clippers. Word is that Brand is close to being done with LA but the years seem to be the hold up.
James Posey: The second most popular free agent? He may be, everyone wants a bench defender who can shoot. Posey may have made his case in the NBA finals this year by his stellar play and hustle. Is he a starter? Maybe, but not for the whole season, he is best played off the bench and in crunch time.
Who is interested? Well the Lakers were a James Posey away from winning the championship. They only have a mid-level exception to offer though, will 3 years 20 million be enough? It may be a little larger than that. (Note that teams over the cap can use that mid-level and extend a long term deal using yearly increases that would be about a million dollar a year raise each year.) Posey's agent says that Boston and San Antonio are the finalists, but they both are in the same situation as the Lakers. Posey has to be ready to settle down, and stop moving around. Boston is where he wants to be, but they have to lock him up.
Josh Smith: He is a restricted free agent, and the Atlanta Hawks have been saying that they will match anything that is thrown his way. The only teams that could take them out would be the 76ers and the Warriors, but they will not throw that much at him. Smith may not be big enough and is too little of a post player for them to give their whole cap allowance too.
Andre Iguadola: He is in the same boat as Smith, he will not get a ton of money anywhere but Philly, but they will not overspend to sign him. Andre turned down a 5 year 60 million dollar deal last year with the Sixers and then under performed in the playoffs leading the Sixers to a first round exit. He did not bulk up his resume. Golden State is said to be cornering both Iguadola and Smith. Sixers could lose out on both or over pay on Andre due to the Warriors uping his price.
Word around Philadelphia is very sour when his name is mentioned, but Andre can play. He works hard, does everything he can do to keep getting better, so he deserves a long term deal. The best bet for Andre may be a short deal, around the mid level, so he can promote himself for a larger future contract.
Point Guards; Monta Ellis, Raymond Felton, and Shaun Livingston will all get good deals in some area of the MLE. Livingston is an unknown. He may be NBA ready or may not be, only a physical will tell. Ellis is a great talent, should go back to the Warriors unless a sign and trade is done.
Mikael Pietrus and Matt Barnes: Both of these guys are available and are right in that mid-level exception area. They are both restricted, but will probably not be matched by Golden State. Pietrus may be a poor mans James Posey, teams who miss out on him will get Mikael.
Kurt Thomas: He is available and should be a solid defensive addition to a team with front court need. He will get a 3 year around 9-12 million dollars and it will probably be late in the summer.
Corey Maggette: He is restricted, but with the now signing of Baron Davis, he will be gone. The Magic are said to be the team that will sign him, but they do not have a dollar. Sign and trade? maybe, but they don't have the pieces to do it. Teams with money could court Maggette, but it just does not match up. Memphis, yes, if Corey is ready to be terrible. They have young pieces who play his position. Philadelphia?
Yes, if the Sixers choose to let Iguodola go, and have to trade for a big man. Then they could use the extra cap room on Maggette. Golden State? They don't know what to do with their own free agents at this point. Maybe not your best move Corey, but thanks to you the Clippers are headed to the playoffs. The latest has Maggette going wherever posey does not, which means Boston or San Antonio. Maggette may have to settle for the MLE, but he will wait as long as possible to see if Golden State, Memphis, or Philadelphia will use their cap on him.
LA Clippers: Are they trying to be this years Boston Celtics? They could be trying, but they only have two pieces. Kamen is a good big man but Mobley, Rookie Eric Gordon and the disapointing Tim Thomas just do not add up. They will be playoff bound, and that is huge for you Clipper fans.
Miami Heat: Right now the heat are pretty happy with the draft. But they are a couple pieces short of a full team. Lacking real starters at center and point guard, the Heat are poised to go after Monta Ellis. They are also trying to add Diop, the former Maverick and Net. The Heat may have to ask the nets to sign and trade him, because he wants to go to Dallas. Ellis wants to play in Miami, and the Heat may try and get him for more than the Warriors can afford. Miami is trying to clear room for the 09/10 off season, so they can sign Chris Bosh then max out Wade while they already would have Michael Beasley and maybe Monta Ellis. Or they are trying to Get Boozer next offseason. Carlos is said to be interested in Miami, and the heat are interested too. They will have money next year at the rate they are going. While the Heat sit back and wait while players are being signed, one thing is for sure, they are doing more than nothing. Kirk Hinrich, Andre Miller, and Monta Ellis are all within the Heats reach with a trade of Udonis Haslem or Shawn Marion. The Heat could be in the works of remaking this team from top to bottom.
For right now though, they may start Haslem, Marion, Beasley, Wade, and then with the signing of Ellis, him. They have a Marcus Banks who they want to send away, Mark Blount, who they will pay to get rid of, then promising young Dorell Wright and rookie guard Mario Chalmers who could turn into a big minute player off the bench. The Heat's goal is to not start Chalmers or Banks at the point.
Chicago Bulls: Let's not forget about them. Duhon is free and a knick, but Hinrich (trade), Tyrus Thomas(trade), Ben Gordon who is restricted and Deng is also Restricted. Deng will stay. Hinrich will be traded. Duhon will go to the highest point guard bidder. Thomas is a wild card. But right now the most interesting rumor is Ben Gordon to the Spurs. This would change them dramatically, well not really, but he is sure better than Michael Finley. The Spurs could then try and sign a couple guys with Veteran minimums like Robert Horry. Going back to the Bulls, Nocioni is being talked about by New Jersey. They are looking to get him with a trade. That is in the Preliminary talks.
Nets are also looking to sign and trade Nenad Kristic. The very under performing Kristic has been playing with pain. He once has so much potential, now is a big question. The Sixers are interested.
The Returns to Sender: Jose Calderon of the Raptors, Gilbert Arenas and Antwan Jamison of the Wizards, Beno Udrih or the Kings, Eddie Jones with the Mavs, Ron Artest decided not to opt out with the Kings, and the Bobcats are hoping to keep Okafor and Dave Hollins and started by making qualifying offers.
Contracts can not be signed until July 9th, but negotiations can take place between now and then.
Well hoop fans, this is the best time of year so sit back enjoy, and here is to your team pulling a free agent prize.
Original Story:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/34142....
There is one big problem, THERE IS NO MONEY! Well there was no money. Every year players opt out to get money, and with the soft NBA cap, money always creates itself. This year the Warriors, Clippers, Grizz, Sixers, and maybe the Supersonics have cash. On top of cap space, the NBA also supplies each team with veteran exceptions and one mid level exception (which is the NBA average salary around 5.8 million).
Baron Davis surprised everyone including the Warriors by leaving 17.8 million dollars while people like Shawn Marion and Ron Artest know that sticking around for one more year may make a bigger pay day next year. Maybe these guys aren't about money then, maybe they just want to win? Well lets talk about some major free agents and where they have gone, could go, or who is interested.
Elton Brand and Baron Davis: There is alot of talk in the West now because Golden State and the LA Clippers could actually have money. With Maggette gone and Brand opting out, the Clipps signed Baron Davis first, then are trying to get Elton Brand locked up since he is a returning player and they could go over the cap to sign him. Both will be taking pay decreases in 08/09, but in the end would be making alot of money with raises each year.
Brand will get attention until July 9th when he is allowed to sign from Philadelphia and Golden State who may not have enough money to pull Josh Smith from Atlanta. He could be that power post up player they are looking for. Brand could be using both teams to get a larger contract from the Clippers. Word is that Brand is close to being done with LA but the years seem to be the hold up.
James Posey: The second most popular free agent? He may be, everyone wants a bench defender who can shoot. Posey may have made his case in the NBA finals this year by his stellar play and hustle. Is he a starter? Maybe, but not for the whole season, he is best played off the bench and in crunch time.
Who is interested? Well the Lakers were a James Posey away from winning the championship. They only have a mid-level exception to offer though, will 3 years 20 million be enough? It may be a little larger than that. (Note that teams over the cap can use that mid-level and extend a long term deal using yearly increases that would be about a million dollar a year raise each year.) Posey's agent says that Boston and San Antonio are the finalists, but they both are in the same situation as the Lakers. Posey has to be ready to settle down, and stop moving around. Boston is where he wants to be, but they have to lock him up.
Josh Smith: He is a restricted free agent, and the Atlanta Hawks have been saying that they will match anything that is thrown his way. The only teams that could take them out would be the 76ers and the Warriors, but they will not throw that much at him. Smith may not be big enough and is too little of a post player for them to give their whole cap allowance too.
Andre Iguadola: He is in the same boat as Smith, he will not get a ton of money anywhere but Philly, but they will not overspend to sign him. Andre turned down a 5 year 60 million dollar deal last year with the Sixers and then under performed in the playoffs leading the Sixers to a first round exit. He did not bulk up his resume. Golden State is said to be cornering both Iguadola and Smith. Sixers could lose out on both or over pay on Andre due to the Warriors uping his price.
Word around Philadelphia is very sour when his name is mentioned, but Andre can play. He works hard, does everything he can do to keep getting better, so he deserves a long term deal. The best bet for Andre may be a short deal, around the mid level, so he can promote himself for a larger future contract.
Point Guards; Monta Ellis, Raymond Felton, and Shaun Livingston will all get good deals in some area of the MLE. Livingston is an unknown. He may be NBA ready or may not be, only a physical will tell. Ellis is a great talent, should go back to the Warriors unless a sign and trade is done.
Mikael Pietrus and Matt Barnes: Both of these guys are available and are right in that mid-level exception area. They are both restricted, but will probably not be matched by Golden State. Pietrus may be a poor mans James Posey, teams who miss out on him will get Mikael.
Kurt Thomas: He is available and should be a solid defensive addition to a team with front court need. He will get a 3 year around 9-12 million dollars and it will probably be late in the summer.
Corey Maggette: He is restricted, but with the now signing of Baron Davis, he will be gone. The Magic are said to be the team that will sign him, but they do not have a dollar. Sign and trade? maybe, but they don't have the pieces to do it. Teams with money could court Maggette, but it just does not match up. Memphis, yes, if Corey is ready to be terrible. They have young pieces who play his position. Philadelphia?
Yes, if the Sixers choose to let Iguodola go, and have to trade for a big man. Then they could use the extra cap room on Maggette. Golden State? They don't know what to do with their own free agents at this point. Maybe not your best move Corey, but thanks to you the Clippers are headed to the playoffs. The latest has Maggette going wherever posey does not, which means Boston or San Antonio. Maggette may have to settle for the MLE, but he will wait as long as possible to see if Golden State, Memphis, or Philadelphia will use their cap on him.
LA Clippers: Are they trying to be this years Boston Celtics? They could be trying, but they only have two pieces. Kamen is a good big man but Mobley, Rookie Eric Gordon and the disapointing Tim Thomas just do not add up. They will be playoff bound, and that is huge for you Clipper fans.
Miami Heat: Right now the heat are pretty happy with the draft. But they are a couple pieces short of a full team. Lacking real starters at center and point guard, the Heat are poised to go after Monta Ellis. They are also trying to add Diop, the former Maverick and Net. The Heat may have to ask the nets to sign and trade him, because he wants to go to Dallas. Ellis wants to play in Miami, and the Heat may try and get him for more than the Warriors can afford. Miami is trying to clear room for the 09/10 off season, so they can sign Chris Bosh then max out Wade while they already would have Michael Beasley and maybe Monta Ellis. Or they are trying to Get Boozer next offseason. Carlos is said to be interested in Miami, and the heat are interested too. They will have money next year at the rate they are going. While the Heat sit back and wait while players are being signed, one thing is for sure, they are doing more than nothing. Kirk Hinrich, Andre Miller, and Monta Ellis are all within the Heats reach with a trade of Udonis Haslem or Shawn Marion. The Heat could be in the works of remaking this team from top to bottom.
For right now though, they may start Haslem, Marion, Beasley, Wade, and then with the signing of Ellis, him. They have a Marcus Banks who they want to send away, Mark Blount, who they will pay to get rid of, then promising young Dorell Wright and rookie guard Mario Chalmers who could turn into a big minute player off the bench. The Heat's goal is to not start Chalmers or Banks at the point.
Chicago Bulls: Let's not forget about them. Duhon is free and a knick, but Hinrich (trade), Tyrus Thomas(trade), Ben Gordon who is restricted and Deng is also Restricted. Deng will stay. Hinrich will be traded. Duhon will go to the highest point guard bidder. Thomas is a wild card. But right now the most interesting rumor is Ben Gordon to the Spurs. This would change them dramatically, well not really, but he is sure better than Michael Finley. The Spurs could then try and sign a couple guys with Veteran minimums like Robert Horry. Going back to the Bulls, Nocioni is being talked about by New Jersey. They are looking to get him with a trade. That is in the Preliminary talks.
Nets are also looking to sign and trade Nenad Kristic. The very under performing Kristic has been playing with pain. He once has so much potential, now is a big question. The Sixers are interested.
The Returns to Sender: Jose Calderon of the Raptors, Gilbert Arenas and Antwan Jamison of the Wizards, Beno Udrih or the Kings, Eddie Jones with the Mavs, Ron Artest decided not to opt out with the Kings, and the Bobcats are hoping to keep Okafor and Dave Hollins and started by making qualifying offers.
Contracts can not be signed until July 9th, but negotiations can take place between now and then.
Well hoop fans, this is the best time of year so sit back enjoy, and here is to your team pulling a free agent prize.
Original Story:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/34142....
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