NBA Free Agency

[RonSpringsdaman20]

Marc Stein "ESPN sources say Shawn Marion is in Cleveland today on recruiting visit with Cavaliers"

Yes ESPN sucks monkey hazelnuts (subtract hazel) .... but if this is true, and it gets done. I look forward to seeing Varejao,Brewer, Ray Allen, James jones, Thompson,Marion,Waiters, Kyrie, Love, & James. If it shakes out that way. And according to other reports, Cleveland will maintain one of it's 3 first round picks it has in the upcoming draft, so they can make a solid move sometime during the season. Say what you want... but the season has yet to begin..... nobody wins a championship before the season begins... and injuries, and end of the year chemistry will be a major determining factor in who wins the trophy......


Wow I never knew those folks by the riverwalk were so darn cocky.....
looks like I have a new unexpected enemy!


Free Agents who may have an impact left on the board:

Greg Monroe
Eric Bledsoe
Andray Blatche
Leonardo Barbosa
Micheal Beasley
Elton Brand
Jermaine O'Neal
Marshon Brooks
Jordan Crawford
Jae Crowder
Dante Cunningham
Francisco Garcia
CDR
Keyon Martin
Emeka Okafor
Ekpe Udoh (steal of a big man, for dirty work, defense and screens if you ask me)
Tony Douglas
E'twan Moore
Ramon Sessions
Chris Singleton
Ayon Gustavo

 

[Manwiththeplan]

Those players are about equal to what the heat had. Bench? No bench. Lebron will have to carry the team. Again.

delusional as usual. Ignoring the inability to match salaries, with the Heat's roster from last year, they wouldn't have the assets to trade for Dion Waiters or Tristan Thompson while keeping the big three intact. They could possibly get Anderson Varejao, if Cleveland just wanted to unload his contract, but even then, there would be better offers.

 

[Manwiththeplan]

Even after missing all of last season, Brendan Haywood is still not that much of a downgrade from Chris Andersen, who the heat used a lot more than the cavs will use Haywood

 

[RonSpringsdaman20]

E'twan Moore signed with Olimpia Milano.... off the board...

 

[jterrell]

Crowder is a Mav.

 

[jterrell]

Marc Stein "ESPN sources say Shawn Marion is in Cleveland today on recruiting visit with Cavaliers"

Yes ESPN sucks monkey hazelnuts (subtract hazel) .... but if this is true, and it gets done. I look forward to seeing Varejao,Brewer, Ray Allen, James jones, Thompson,Marion,Waiters, Kyrie, Love, & James. If it shakes out that way. And according to other reports, Cleveland will maintain one of it's 3 first round picks it has in the upcoming draft, so they can make a solid move sometime during the season. Say what you want... but the season has yet to begin..... nobody wins a championship before the season begins... and injuries, and end of the year chemistry will be a major determining factor in who wins the trophy......


Wow I never knew those folks by the riverwalk were so darn cocky.....
looks like I have a new unexpected enemy!


Free Agents who may have an impact left on the board:

Greg Monroe
Eric Bledsoe
Andray Blatche
Leonardo Barbosa
Micheal Beasley
Elton Brand
Jermaine O'Neal
Marshon Brooks
Jordan Crawford
Jae Crowder
Dante Cunningham
Francisco Garcia
CDR
Keyon Martin
Emeka Okafor
Ekpe Udoh (steal of a big man, for dirty work, defense and screens if you ask me)
Tony Douglas
E'twan Moore
Ramon Sessions
Chris Singleton
Ayon Gustavo

More than even that once the season gets going, CLE can trade up to 3 first round picks, Thompson or Irving in some combination for ready to win now vets. Waiters and others as well tho with less value.

They literally can go get just about any player on the trade block.
Something crazy like Teague and Millsap from ATL is possible.
Most title chasers have nothing to offer anyone but expensive vets or totally unproven rookies they drafted late.
CLE still has 3 or 4 young very high draft picks around and a ton of draft pick ammunition to use.
They'll give up a lot for Love but also become a title favorite and every vets minimum wage destination of choice while maintaining solid trade pieces.

 

[RonSpringsdaman20]

More than even that once the season gets going, CLE can trade up to 3 first round picks, Thompson or Irving in some combination for ready to win now vets. Waiters and others as well tho with less value.

They literally can go get just about any player on the trade block.
Something crazy like Teague and Millsap from ATL is possible.
Most title chasers have nothing to offer anyone but expensive vets or totally unproven rookies they drafted late.
CLE still has 3 or 4 young very high draft picks around and a ton of draft pick ammunition to use.
They'll give up a lot for Love but also become a title favorite and every vets minimum wage destination of choice while maintaining solid trade pieces.

Yeh, but two of those three 1st picks are reported going for love (philly & minny), if not all of them. Most likely they retain 1 of the 3 first rounders....
btw, how did i forget..... they got mike miller....
Yeh, at this point i think spurs fans are trying to speak them into not being a threat, more than that actually being the case.
Should be fun. Bargain basement at the trade deadline should yield some interesting players... Hibbert Illasova, Monroe if he signs his one year tender... comes quickly to mind

Irving is going nowhere, teams would have a hard time matching his salary, he's one of the best at his position.... and LBJ will make him better.

 

[bounce]

Any non Spurs homers?


Cleveland added the best player in the league in the prime of his career and didn't have to give up anybody to get him. They went from bottom feeders to contenders in the East. I'd call that one heck of a free agency. That doesn't mean they're better than the Spurs. But they easily made the most out of free agency. And there are other teams that improved a lot.

Don't group us all. I think the Spurs had a good off-season in that they did what they had to do. They got Duncan back, extended Parker and Pop, and re-signed some pretty important parts. Health, as has been pointed out, will be the huge issue. I wouldn't say they had the best one, though.

Cleveland far and away has, because they got the best player in his prime. Dallas got really nice pieces in Parsons and Chandler. The Bulls got Gasol. All those are better off-seasons, but I'm happy with the Spurs. Gasol would have been a nice get, though.

 

[RonSpringsdaman20]

Don't group us all. I think the Spurs had a good off-season in that they did what they had to do. They got Duncan back, extended Parker and Pop, and re-signed some pretty important parts. Health, as has been pointed out, will be the huge issue. I wouldn't say they had the best one, though.

Cleveland far and away has, because they got the best player in his prime. Dallas got really nice pieces in Parsons and Chandler. The Bulls got Gasol. All those are better off-seasons, but I'm happy with the Spurs. Gasol would have been a nice get, though.

finally.... man... I thought i was going to have to start hating the spurs and their fans.... you talked me off of the ledge!

And yes the spurs did have very good offseason. But they are fine tuning, other are trying to find the answer.

 

[bounce]

finally.... man... I thought i was going to have to start hating the spurs and their fans.... you talked me off of the ledge!

And yes the spurs did have very good offseason. But they are fine tuning, other are trying to find the answer.

It's a funny balance with Spurs fans. They're so used to being dismissed and downplayed that it does get old, and the defense for it is to homer out. But, anytime you defend the team or talk them up it's just you being a homer. There are definitely extremes both ways (read this thread), but it's a constant beat down. Case in point, fans of other teams try to put an arbitrary asterisk on ever Spurs championship for whatever reason. Strike shortened season, injuries to opponents, injuries to non-opponents, AC failure, swarms of locusts, humidity, traffic in the parking lot, etc etc etc. Ultimately nothing matters but the scoreboard, though.

They're a good team, a championship contender every year, but they're not infallible or shoo-ins.

 

[jterrell]

Yeh, but two of those three 1st picks are reported going for love (philly & minny), if not all of them. Most likely they retain 1 of the 3 first rounders....
btw, how did i forget..... they got mike miller....
Yeh, at this point i think spurs fans are trying to speak them into not being a threat, more than that actually being the case.
Should be fun. Bargain basement at the trade deadline should yield some interesting players... Hibbert Illasova, Monroe if he signs his one year tender... comes quickly to mind

Irving is going nowhere, teams would have a hard time matching his salary, he's one of the best at his position.... and LBJ will make him better.

Right. Assume they trade Wiggins and 2 first rounders. OR they trade Wiggins, Randolph, 2 first rounders.

They are basically sitting STILL with a normal full complement of draft picks. All of which can be traded away(every other year) for a team in win now top 5 mode.
PLUS any number of young high picks from the past 4 years.

Kyrie is a very appealing player to a losing team but the Cavs could certainly trade him and that salary for virtually anyone they wanted and get a more efficient PG to mesh with James. Not that they will mind you, but they could. If James' doesn't like Kyrie's work ethic or play it very well could happen. And again you are talking about bringing in another star in that scenario. Kyrie hasn't won anything in CLE so the fans/owner et al don't have some type of overwhelming loyalty that makes him untouchable. CLE really has so many pieces they can move around if need be.

The Cavs are perhaps the most motivated team in the history of basketball to go win a title.
They have not only to appease LeBron but also the sting of being the worst team in basketball during his exodus.
They are rebuilding the brand as a winner and that sells.
This is a true partnership with Gilbert and James with both wanting nothing more than to win.
And again the difference from other places where that exists like in Dallas with Dirk and Cuban or SA with Pop and Duncan is the number of young ascending athletes as trade bait.

 

[jterrell]

It's a funny balance with Spurs fans. They're so used to being dismissed and downplayed that it does get old, and the defense for it is to homer out. But, anytime you defend the team or talk them up it's just you being a homer. There are definitely extremes both ways (read this thread), but it's a constant beat down. Case in point, fans of other teams try to put an arbitrary asterisk on ever Spurs championship for whatever reason. Strike shortened season, injuries to opponents, injuries to non-opponents, AC failure, swarms of locusts, humidity, traffic in the parking lot, etc etc etc. Ultimately nothing matters but the scoreboard, though.

They're a good team, a championship contender every year, but they're not infallible or shoo-ins.

To a certain extent that is true.
But just about universally Pop is regarded as the best coach in the league and one of the best in history.
Duncan regarded as one of the games 50 best players EVER and also among the most professional and unselfish to ever play the game.
Everyone credits the Spurs with being the best team in basketball last year.
The have the best on court bball IQ in the world and that is hard to beat.

That's as much praise as ANY org gets outside the home fan base.
Expecting more than that is just silly.

 

[bounce]

To a certain extent that is true.
But just about universally Pop is regarded as the best coach in the league and one of the best in history.
Duncan regarded as one of the games 50 best players EVER and also among the most professional and unselfish to ever play the game.
Everyone credits the Spurs with being the best team in basketball last year.
The have the best on court bball IQ in the world and that is hard to beat.

That's as much praise as ANY org gets outside the home fan base.
Expecting more than that is just silly.

By and large, this last year was the first year they've really gotten national respect. It's a superstar league, and the Spurs don't have marketable superstars. This year they got respect for sure, but the previous teams were very overlooked. I'm not salty about it - it's sports and I get that, I'm just saying that the mentality of a lot of Spurs fans is to overcompensate in their defense of the team.

This past year, though, I totally agree with you. The Spurs were very well praised throughout.

 

[Rockport]

Yeh, but two of those three 1st picks are reported going for love (philly & minny), if not all of them. Most likely they retain 1 of the 3 first rounders....
btw, how did i forget..... they got mike miller....
Yeh, at this point i think spurs fans are trying to speak them into not being a threat, more than that actually being the case.
Should be fun. Bargain basement at the trade deadline should yield some interesting players... Hibbert Illasova, Monroe if he signs his one year tender... comes quickly to mind

Irving is going nowhere, teams would have a hard time matching his salary, he's one of the best at his position.... and LBJ will make him better.

Bring on the Cavs. I'm not worried about that team whatsoever. There's many teams in the West that are better than they will be. We beat em once with LeMe.

 

[RonSpringsdaman20]

Bring on the Cavs. I'm not worried about that team whatsoever. There's many teams in the West that are better than they will be. We beat em once with LeMe.

Nor you should be. You play the best ball, you win the championship. But fans tend to discount things that make seasons phenomenal........
You can ask the patriots about that.

 

[RonSpringsdaman20]

MarShon Brooks.
off the board.
Olimpia Milano

Him and E'wtan Moore should create a pretty dynamic backcourt

 

[jterrell]

The George injury rather holds up the end of the off-season.
Indy should get the disabled player exception and 5.3m to spend.
Now the question is do they want to spend it (because they are only 2m from the tax bracket and any player they add is a 1 year deal) and if they choose spend it as part of a trade.
Trading off Scola for someone in the last year of a 5-7m deal may be the best possible bet for them.

But it likely holds up Marion a bit. Shawn would be sacrificing quite a lot to take the min in CLE with a possible 5.3M in Indy staring at him.

The top free agents:
Bledsoe ---Indy is trying to make some headway there but it seems a tough row to hoe. But if Blesdoe really wants out PHX should get the best deal it can. --See HOU w Asik.
Greg Monroe ---Detroit values him and has a right to match but how hard do they want to work to keep a guy if he is disgruntled? See above. ---Indy could add a quality big and move Hibbert but would need scoring.
Marion ---Easy peasy if Indy decides to go this route. Offer him the 5.3 and he is likely theirs. He plays excellent wing defense without blowing in ears. Just not sure where the Pacers find offense tho and the chase of Bledsoe indicates they realize that is a likely issue with PG out and Lance gone.
Blatche ---Mediocre big man but well over a min type guy. A solid backup C. If Indy wants to move Hibbert as the Blesdoe offer indicates adding a big could be real useful.
Ramon Sessions ---Offensive threat with marginal overall game. Could be a solid back up long term. Might take 3-4M allowing you ot merely cut a spare and stay below the tax threshold and offers some offense.
Jordan Crawford ---Best pure offensive game of anyone available. Can flat out score if you get out of his way and ignore team offense. Highest upside on this list and probably most fun for fans provided you aren't counting wins closely.

Probably a good handful of trade options out there.
Monta Ellis? Ellis is interesting in that he has a player option for the following season that he is 99.99% likely to use. He is an exceptional offensive threat going to the basket. But Dallas might offer him up as opposed to pay him 12+ m per year or lose him for nothing. But I'm guessing the deal with Dallas would have to include a fair amount of trade assets.
Jeremy Lin Another scoring Guard who can be had for the right price. Lakers need some draft picks badly given their current talent level.

 

[Biggems]

I'm a Spurs homer and I will not apologize for it. If you don't like it, I don't give a rats. I have proven my knowledge of my team with respects to the overall history of the league. I know the greatness of my team, then and now.

As for Cleveland, they have improved quite a bit, that is an absolute given. In the weak and feeble East, they will definitely be a top contender to make the Finals. In the West, they would be a middle of the pack team. I can see why fans in Cleveland are very optimistic, and they should be. They have a nice 4-8 year window where their team is a legit Championship contender......cherish it and enjoy it.

Philly, Toronto, and Washington fans should all be excited to follow their teams in the next several years.

I know for myself, I will cherish this upcoming season, as it will likely be Duncan and Manu's last. Hopefully we can woo Aldridge to SA next summer, and continue to be a Championship contender for years to come.

 

[MC KAos]

Can't believe Bledsoe still isn't signed. Probably a combination of his injury history and the glut of quality point guards in the nba.

 

[jterrell]

Can't believe Bledsoe still isn't signed. Probably a combination of his injury history and the glut of quality point guards in the nba.

really more about money.
he wants star money but anyone who bid that for him would have risked a match.
he had to agree to the deal so he needed to like the team and the deal all the while expecting PHX to just match.

when they fix the CBA that should be a part of it. how they handle RFA status.


i suspect PHX wants to sign him to a one year deal and then trade him later in the year.
insure they get assets back but aren't spending a fortune for him as they are loaded in the back court.

greg monroe is another interesting one.
not sure how DET feels about him but young bigs have always been overpaid in free agency.