Fast or Slow in FA pursuit?

[Brazil]

IMO we can afford to move slow. I know I post this again and again, but economic times are TOUGH for teams right now. A couple will overspend but most are hoping to dump salary--not take on more!

In fact I would even suggest considering going with what we have and filling out the roster mid year when some team makes a desperation dump. Teams are looking at _bankruptcy_ now folks. Some would probably already be bankrupt if the NBA hadn't arranged for special loans a few months back. There'll be some interesting bargains around.

too much of a bet for a team that want to win NOW. They already commit 30 M$ on RJ it's for winning now not to wait an hipothecal bankrupcy by the midle of the year.

[BlackBellamy]

You start off slow and then you go faster as it is called for, until...

[Tully365]

IMO
Teams are looking at _bankruptcy_ now folks. Some would probably already be bankrupt if the NBA hadn't arranged for special loans a few months back. There'll be some interesting bargains around.

Great point. It's kind of shocking to look at the Salaries page on Hoopshype.com now and see every team below the 80 million mark. This is the first time in many years that the NBA has had an entire league of teams seriously concerned about fiscal restraint.

[BillMc]

IMO we can afford to move slow. I know I post this again and again, but economic times are TOUGH for teams right now. A couple will overspend but most are hoping to dump salary--not take on more!

In fact I would even suggest considering going with what we have and filling out the roster mid year when some team makes a desperation dump. Teams are looking at _bankruptcy_ now folks. Some would probably already be bankrupt if the NBA hadn't arranged for special loans a few months back. There'll be some interesting bargains around.

Exactly! The SPurs, who manage their money well AND contend, will be able to take advantage of all the teams on the edge. (Sad as it is for the league as a whole). RC will find us a gem at an appropriate price.

[phyzik]

Great point. It's kind of shocking to look at the Salaries page on Hoopshype.com now and see every team below the 80 million mark. This is the first time in many years that the NBA has had an entire league of teams seriously concerned about fiscal restraint.

I think its more about 2010 FA hype than it is about fiscal responsibility. Thats just my opinion though.

[loveforthegame]

Like many have said you must move fast. I think most players will want to sign early before teams run out of money or become unwilling to use the MLE on them.

[Spursmania]

Sheed please and now.

[Tully365]

I think its more about 2010 FA hype than it is about fiscal responsibility. Thats just my opinion though.

Good point. That's a big part of it too.

[4RINGS]

Sheed please and now.

In Sheed We Trust...

[Spurtacus]

Timmy already invited Sheed over for some D&D. We're moving fast.

[MarCowMar]

Here's an interesting summary of the financial positions of the teams as of December 2008. That was the last good year. 2009 will be different. Think cheaper tickets, empty luxury boxes, slower retails sales, sagging endorsement income, oh and of course higher debt service payments.

http://www.forbes.com/lists/2008/32/...ions_Rank.html

From this:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...ine-of-credit/

..and the recent trade with the Bucks, we can probably assume that the Bucks, Grizzlies, Magic, and Kings are all teams that will probably be cost sensitive and looking for shorter or smaller contracts. With real estate problems in California, Arizona, Florida, and Georgia, I'd look for teams in those areas to suffer in general. Watch out for the Nets too--their Brooklyn move may encounter some problems.

The free agents that are out there right now--they are not building block players. Teams--if they have any sense--will not be be paying 8 million + for these guys. They are complimentary pieces and should be in the 4 to 7 million range IMO.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/s...eeagents-09-10

Out of that list the only names I could conceive of giving > $7 million to are Millsap, Gortat, Marion, Hedo, Odom, Glenn Davis, Childress, or Marvin Williams.

Anyway, I stand by "take it slow", or maybe a better way of describing it is "be cheap--don't just toss the MLE around like candy". Life will be interesting in December. Have some patience. A lot of these owners are big real estate gurus. Let CRE and ARMs collapse. There will be other "Richard Jeffersons" available then.

[fyatuk]

You go hard and fast after your top target or two. If both those fall though, you take it slow and see how things shake out and get the best overall deal.

Not going hard after your top targets means you are already out of the running.

[4RINGS]

Let's move faster... Boston is moving in fast on Sheed.... NOOOOOOOOO!!!