Free Agency Preview
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jwoo
- General Manager
- Posts: 3801
- Joined: December 30th, 2023, 3:58 pm
- Location: French Canada
- Contact:
Free Agency Preview
Sup fellas,
I am about to burn through RP like Heath Ledger's Joker trying to develop all these young guys so I'm here to maximize my content output and preview everyone's favorite thing, free agency.
Gonna go team by team and do a quick little breakdown of what's going on.
ATLANTIC DIVISION
Boston Celtics
The C's don't have cap space but my sources are saying they have a deal lined up for a star player, so watch Boston on the sign and trade market as Joe looks to get back to the playoffs. They have a key free agent in young butt DeAndre Jordan who could be primed for a big offer from another team. Also another butt in Jermareo Davidson that Joe would prob like to keep. After flipping Michael Beasley's contract and preserving a precious RFA tag for PG13, Boston looks to be in good shape moving forward.
Miami Heat
Big off-season for Scoops after pulling amazing lotto luck. He then got aggressive in trading for Kevin Garnett and completely torching his cap space in the process (but just for one season). I would guess Miami looks to pull off another move or two via sign-and trade (they need a center) but the rebuild here is promising, and they can be a bit patient if they want.
New Jersey Nets
Steven figures to have a decent chunk of cap space even after making all these picks, so maybe he can go snag a useful guy or two, or he can punt that cap space to next year and be patient. Having Anthony Davis must be nice. Armed with many assets, Steven can kick this into gear whenever he feels like it, but it isn't urgent.
New York Knicks
Nav is currently hard capped and needs to maneuver out of it, so while I don't think anyone thinks he's actually about to trade Bosh, he is going to have to do something, presumably to split up one of his big contracts (Granger, Crawford, Hamilton) and fill out a roster. Interesting off-season for these guys.
Orlando Magic
Retaining Elton Brand and Joe Johnson presumably will be a priority for the Magicians, who are coming off an awesome season but are headed into a contract year for Deron Williams and CJ Miles. Merv also has his picks back now, so he can go whichever way the wind blows. Most of the core is rolling over to next season, but Elton and Iso were huge parts of the team and both had great years, so keeping them around will be interesting.
Philadelphia 76ers
I'm sure you guys never thought anyone would say this but it's really important that CARLOS BOOZER stays in Philly now that he seems to be good. I wonder if DMo wishes he extended Magically Good Baron Davis on the MLE also. Lot of career revivals going on around LeBron. What adjustments can DMo make to get to the promised land, we'll see. LeBron is a free agent in two years!
Washington Bullets
Weston decided not to opt in on OJ Mayo, so there are a few interesting free agents (or stray Bullets) out there, with OJ, Turkey Glue and Mihm all out there in the void. Will the Bullets pay up for depth this season? Anyone's guess. But this is kind of a big off-season for them potentially.
CENTRAL DIVISION
Atlanta Hawks
Heimer has a good chunk of cap space to play with, but most of it is likely to go toward retaining RFA Russ and the Man of Hump. Kenyon Martin and Josh Smith also interesting free agents here. Big off-season for the Hawks but seems like a team that is close to making the leap into competing with another good TC.
Charlotte Hornets
One of the most important offseasons belongs to the Hornets, who have Dragic and Primoz in the FA pool after AI's retirement. If Jack can get them back, he should be competitive as usual, but if he doesn't, the Hornets might be headed for the lottery in Yao's contract year. Feels like an organizational crossroads for the two-time champ. He gets his picks back in 2014, so the tank might be the move.
Chicago Bulls
Tony Parker already re-signed but there's an actual important free agency looming for the one-time champ with Jason Richardson testing the free agency waters. Otherwise not a ton else to worry about with most of the core returning.
Cleveland Cavs
The Cavs are rebuilding but have the ability to sign and trade Ben Gordon and Adam Morrison, so we'll see what type of deals he can bring them back on. Not a ton else to speak of, but should be a fresh start in Cleveland.
Detroit Pistons
Pistons struck via trade bringing in Dirk and Diop, so free agency is probably just the MLE here unless RB just can't get enough of David West. And who among us?
Indiana Pacers
Tonger has cap space for the first time and can offer the low-level max (I think), so will be interested to see if there are any guys he can add to his young squad. Similarly, I wonder if someone else comes to get Amare who I am at least tangentially curious about in an optimal DC situation.
Milwaukee Bucks
Bucks mostly have bench guys hitting the market and not a ton of financial wiggle room, so this feels like a situation where he promotes internally and maybe snags a depth piece or two for cheap. Oberto is the main notable.
Toronto Raptors
We don't have that many free agents we need back tbh but would be nice to bring back Eric Gordon and others. Go Raptors lol.
MIDWEST DIVISION
Dallas Mavericks
I told some of you this once but I have started pronouncing "Roy Hibbert" like "Bon Iver" and it's fucking me up lol. Right now Hoff can't pay to keep him and is trying to get out of the hard cap, so he looks like a potential man in search of a new home.
Denver Nuggets
Antawn's retirement kind of screwed Kipke out of having a bird rights guy (as well as a good player) so the Nugs are probably looking at the MLE and trades to increase their current salary total in building out the roster.
Houston Rockets
ZBo is the main free agent of note here, and he's a solid fit in Houston, so I presume Nolan will try and bring him back. This is kind of a boring free agency I realize, the more words I type? Alas.
Minnesota Timberwolves
Bad news in Minnesota: because that Jared Dudley trade got vetoed and Rasheed and Augustin re-signed, Pankin again does not have any bird rights players, so that's annoying for him — gonna have to try and do what he can with his cap space and the MLE to create salary. At least he has his pick this year.
San Antonio Spurs
Jordo has put together a cool team so far and figures to be a major cap space player, with some solid younger free agents on the market that can help round out his core. Spurs in a sneaky fun position depending on how quick his youngsters develop.
Utah Jazz
Ralph is among the basically-hard-capped GMs, so he's going to have to find a pathway into hard cap room and then offer some cheapo deals.
Vancouver Grizzlies
Josh doesn't have enough cash to pay Pau right now after accepting a max for Jay Williams, so this is a situation most of the league is watching carefully. He'll have to try and find a way to dump salary to get Pau back, or just not get Pau back (probably). The vultures are circling!!!
PACIFIC DIVISION
Golden State Warriors
Clint hasn't texted me back in literally a month so I don't know what the Warriors are doing these days.
LA Clippers
Bobby has cap space but has to keep D-Rose, so it'll be interesting to see if he can sneak in a signing slash generally how he plays this situation. The Clippers have a cool core and shouldn't be too far away from competing if this goes smoothly.
LA Lakers
These guys don't have cap space and seem to be going in the tank. Check back later.
Phoenix Suns
Huge FA for these guys with K-Love, Ray Allen and Gortits all in the pool right now. If they can bring everyone back it's a really fun squad that canm make some noise.
Portland Trail Blazers
Blazers are basically at the hard cap also which means free agency won't be a big factor for them this offseason. David Lee and Mike Dunleavy should be hard to retain and could be good budget targets for contenders.
Sacramento Kings
Am told Jesse took Pau Gasol out for dinner last night in Stockton at a fine winery. We'll see what happens. Kings are armed with tons of cap space but also have some interesting FAs to retain (Ryan Anderson, Metta, etc), so it's a big week for them.
Seattle Supersonics
No Dirk and I'm not sure off the top if the Sonics are taking in or saving cash in that transaction, but they are close to the hard cap right now so Nick will need to make some deals. Whether or not he can get his picks back is the question. New era in Seattle regardless.
I am about to burn through RP like Heath Ledger's Joker trying to develop all these young guys so I'm here to maximize my content output and preview everyone's favorite thing, free agency.
Gonna go team by team and do a quick little breakdown of what's going on.
ATLANTIC DIVISION
Boston Celtics
The C's don't have cap space but my sources are saying they have a deal lined up for a star player, so watch Boston on the sign and trade market as Joe looks to get back to the playoffs. They have a key free agent in young butt DeAndre Jordan who could be primed for a big offer from another team. Also another butt in Jermareo Davidson that Joe would prob like to keep. After flipping Michael Beasley's contract and preserving a precious RFA tag for PG13, Boston looks to be in good shape moving forward.
Miami Heat
Big off-season for Scoops after pulling amazing lotto luck. He then got aggressive in trading for Kevin Garnett and completely torching his cap space in the process (but just for one season). I would guess Miami looks to pull off another move or two via sign-and trade (they need a center) but the rebuild here is promising, and they can be a bit patient if they want.
New Jersey Nets
Steven figures to have a decent chunk of cap space even after making all these picks, so maybe he can go snag a useful guy or two, or he can punt that cap space to next year and be patient. Having Anthony Davis must be nice. Armed with many assets, Steven can kick this into gear whenever he feels like it, but it isn't urgent.
New York Knicks
Nav is currently hard capped and needs to maneuver out of it, so while I don't think anyone thinks he's actually about to trade Bosh, he is going to have to do something, presumably to split up one of his big contracts (Granger, Crawford, Hamilton) and fill out a roster. Interesting off-season for these guys.
Orlando Magic
Retaining Elton Brand and Joe Johnson presumably will be a priority for the Magicians, who are coming off an awesome season but are headed into a contract year for Deron Williams and CJ Miles. Merv also has his picks back now, so he can go whichever way the wind blows. Most of the core is rolling over to next season, but Elton and Iso were huge parts of the team and both had great years, so keeping them around will be interesting.
Philadelphia 76ers
I'm sure you guys never thought anyone would say this but it's really important that CARLOS BOOZER stays in Philly now that he seems to be good. I wonder if DMo wishes he extended Magically Good Baron Davis on the MLE also. Lot of career revivals going on around LeBron. What adjustments can DMo make to get to the promised land, we'll see. LeBron is a free agent in two years!
Washington Bullets
Weston decided not to opt in on OJ Mayo, so there are a few interesting free agents (or stray Bullets) out there, with OJ, Turkey Glue and Mihm all out there in the void. Will the Bullets pay up for depth this season? Anyone's guess. But this is kind of a big off-season for them potentially.
CENTRAL DIVISION
Atlanta Hawks
Heimer has a good chunk of cap space to play with, but most of it is likely to go toward retaining RFA Russ and the Man of Hump. Kenyon Martin and Josh Smith also interesting free agents here. Big off-season for the Hawks but seems like a team that is close to making the leap into competing with another good TC.
Charlotte Hornets
One of the most important offseasons belongs to the Hornets, who have Dragic and Primoz in the FA pool after AI's retirement. If Jack can get them back, he should be competitive as usual, but if he doesn't, the Hornets might be headed for the lottery in Yao's contract year. Feels like an organizational crossroads for the two-time champ. He gets his picks back in 2014, so the tank might be the move.
Chicago Bulls
Tony Parker already re-signed but there's an actual important free agency looming for the one-time champ with Jason Richardson testing the free agency waters. Otherwise not a ton else to worry about with most of the core returning.
Cleveland Cavs
The Cavs are rebuilding but have the ability to sign and trade Ben Gordon and Adam Morrison, so we'll see what type of deals he can bring them back on. Not a ton else to speak of, but should be a fresh start in Cleveland.
Detroit Pistons
Pistons struck via trade bringing in Dirk and Diop, so free agency is probably just the MLE here unless RB just can't get enough of David West. And who among us?
Indiana Pacers
Tonger has cap space for the first time and can offer the low-level max (I think), so will be interested to see if there are any guys he can add to his young squad. Similarly, I wonder if someone else comes to get Amare who I am at least tangentially curious about in an optimal DC situation.
Milwaukee Bucks
Bucks mostly have bench guys hitting the market and not a ton of financial wiggle room, so this feels like a situation where he promotes internally and maybe snags a depth piece or two for cheap. Oberto is the main notable.
Toronto Raptors
We don't have that many free agents we need back tbh but would be nice to bring back Eric Gordon and others. Go Raptors lol.
MIDWEST DIVISION
Dallas Mavericks
I told some of you this once but I have started pronouncing "Roy Hibbert" like "Bon Iver" and it's fucking me up lol. Right now Hoff can't pay to keep him and is trying to get out of the hard cap, so he looks like a potential man in search of a new home.
Denver Nuggets
Antawn's retirement kind of screwed Kipke out of having a bird rights guy (as well as a good player) so the Nugs are probably looking at the MLE and trades to increase their current salary total in building out the roster.
Houston Rockets
ZBo is the main free agent of note here, and he's a solid fit in Houston, so I presume Nolan will try and bring him back. This is kind of a boring free agency I realize, the more words I type? Alas.
Minnesota Timberwolves
Bad news in Minnesota: because that Jared Dudley trade got vetoed and Rasheed and Augustin re-signed, Pankin again does not have any bird rights players, so that's annoying for him — gonna have to try and do what he can with his cap space and the MLE to create salary. At least he has his pick this year.
San Antonio Spurs
Jordo has put together a cool team so far and figures to be a major cap space player, with some solid younger free agents on the market that can help round out his core. Spurs in a sneaky fun position depending on how quick his youngsters develop.
Utah Jazz
Ralph is among the basically-hard-capped GMs, so he's going to have to find a pathway into hard cap room and then offer some cheapo deals.
Vancouver Grizzlies
Josh doesn't have enough cash to pay Pau right now after accepting a max for Jay Williams, so this is a situation most of the league is watching carefully. He'll have to try and find a way to dump salary to get Pau back, or just not get Pau back (probably). The vultures are circling!!!
PACIFIC DIVISION
Golden State Warriors
Clint hasn't texted me back in literally a month so I don't know what the Warriors are doing these days.
LA Clippers
Bobby has cap space but has to keep D-Rose, so it'll be interesting to see if he can sneak in a signing slash generally how he plays this situation. The Clippers have a cool core and shouldn't be too far away from competing if this goes smoothly.
LA Lakers
These guys don't have cap space and seem to be going in the tank. Check back later.
Phoenix Suns
Huge FA for these guys with K-Love, Ray Allen and Gortits all in the pool right now. If they can bring everyone back it's a really fun squad that canm make some noise.
Portland Trail Blazers
Blazers are basically at the hard cap also which means free agency won't be a big factor for them this offseason. David Lee and Mike Dunleavy should be hard to retain and could be good budget targets for contenders.
Sacramento Kings
Am told Jesse took Pau Gasol out for dinner last night in Stockton at a fine winery. We'll see what happens. Kings are armed with tons of cap space but also have some interesting FAs to retain (Ryan Anderson, Metta, etc), so it's a big week for them.
Seattle Supersonics
No Dirk and I'm not sure off the top if the Sonics are taking in or saving cash in that transaction, but they are close to the hard cap right now so Nick will need to make some deals. Whether or not he can get his picks back is the question. New era in Seattle regardless.
free healthcare has never been more important
-
jwoo
- General Manager
- Posts: 3801
- Joined: December 30th, 2023, 3:58 pm
- Location: French Canada
- Contact:
Free Agency Preview
Can I get a grade on this as well pls
free healthcare has never been more important
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