General NBA Free Agent News Thread

[Blackjack]

In other words, they need the Richard Jefferson they thought they were trading for.

Or probably who they hoped they could help him become in their system and under their guidance -- they had to know his defensive limitations and history as a scorer and not a shooter, he was just about the best that could be had.

It was worth it to them to give it a shot. He seemed to at least have the talent and be a decent fit in the locker room, but it was pretty apparent before he even came aboard that'd he'd be less than an ideal fit.

But that's water over the bridge, the Spurs still need what they needed last year and they're not going to get where they need to be unless fill that void, IMO.

The question is, is that guy out there and capable of being acquired?

I'd say yes to the former and I'm pessimistic about the latter.

[lurker23]

@gswscribe

Warriors close to shipping Randolph to Knicks for Lee. Waiting on LeBron decision - http://bit.ly/c7hIu7

http://twitter.com/gswscribe

[Bruno]

lol GSW.

[DesignatedT]

Id take Lee>Randolph. that came out of nowhere.

[Cane]

Lee for Randolph? I thought the Knicks would be more interested in Monta but I suppose they can go after Raymond Felton...

Or maybe this is some crazy 3-way deal to get another player

[DPG21920]

Salary Cap at 58M per Mark Stein

[DPG21920]

70.3M Tax Line.

[Mel_13]

Salary Cap at 58M per Mark Stein

That's actually a slight increase from last season. Lux tax line should be around 70M. Spurs now about 18M under the tax instead of 16M. 2M is nice amount of extra breathing room for Splitter negotiations and the ability to use the LLE.

[HarlemHeat37]

Wasn't everybody expecting it to be lower?..

[Mel_13]

Wasn't everybody expecting it to be lower?..

Yep. Owners are gonna have a hard time claiming poverty.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

All I know is that I'm glad it doesn't look like Wade/LBJ/Bosh will play together in Miami, and nor does it look like LBJ/Bosh/Rose/Noah will materialise in Chicago. Those are the two teams that would irrevocably shift the balance of power in the NBA for years to come.

As an off-the-top-of-my-head-potshot exercise, I say:
(Johnson - re-signed with Hawks
Pierce - re-signed with Celtics)
LBJ - Chicago or Cleveland (depends whether loyalty+cash beats wanting to win... if he wants the latter he grabs Bosh as well, and they take the paycut necessary, but I doubt that happens)
Wade/Bosh - Miami
Amare - NY
Boozer - NJ
Lee - Houston

Got another one right, although Boozer to Chicago is a surprise. Looks like the Bulls might be the big losers out of this FA, unless they pull out LBJ at the last moment...

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

I would have gambled on Bell on the last trade deadline and see if he could come back from his injury for the playoffs. I'm not really sold on him at this stage. I much rather try for a Mike Miller or a Korver if possible at all.

There is more than one Mike Miller? More than one Korver?

Sorry, nothing personal, just one of my pet hates in sports writing... the 'a' is redundant and confusing unless you are referring to a kind of player. In fact, the widespread use of this phrasing came about as a shorthand of "a XXXX kind of player" eg. "a Mike Miller kind of player"

[ElNono]

There is more than one Mike Miller? More than one Korver?

Sorry, nothing personal, just one of my pet hates in sports writing... the 'a' is redundant and confusing unless you are referring to a kind of player. In fact, the widespread use of this phrasing came about as a shorthand of "a XXXX kind of player" eg. "a Mike Miller kind of player"

Thanks for the correction. My native language is not english, so it's a constant learning process. I probably picked it up from said sports writing

[Blackjack]

Thanks for the correction. My native language is not english, so it's a constant learning process. I probably picked it up from said sports writing

And I've been learning from you -- my native tongue is Texan not English.

[ElNono]

And I've been learning from you -- my native tongue is Texan not English.

good, you don't want to learn my New Joisey accent...

[Spurs Brazil]

WojYahooNBA
Jermaine O'Neal is leaning toward signing with Boston, but still considering Denver, league sources tell Y! Decision will come soon.

[Spurs Brazil]

STEIN_LINE_HQ Allen and Celts have agreed on two-year deal worth $10 million annually that includes player option in Year 2. ESPN.com link coming
5 minutes ago via TweetDeck
STEIN_LINE_HQ Ray Allen is going back to the Celtics, according to his agent Lon Babby

[DesignatedT]

only 2 years for ray huh? and a player option. I expected something a little longer than that. looks like he might be thinking about hangin em up after next season

[Mel_13]

STEIN_LINE_HQ Allen and Celts have agreed on two-year deal worth $10 million annually that includes player option in Year 2. ESPN.com link coming
5 minutes ago via TweetDeck
STEIN_LINE_HQ Ray Allen is going back to the Celtics, according to his agent Lon Babby

Sounds about right for Ray. Once Sheed drops the retirement talk, Celts will be bringing everyone back.

[EricB]

Ray has just enough left for two seasons.

Makes sense.

[AFBlue]

Does anyone question $10M/yr for Allen? He had one good game in the finals, but he was mostly a dog for them. He's old and I don't see how he gets any offers above MLE if he starts looking...certainly not almost double it. I get it that the Celtics can absorb lux tax because of their market, but this just jumped out at me as another crazy contract.

Am I nuts?

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

Does anyone question $10M/yr for Allen? He had one good game in the finals, but he was mostly a dog for them. He's old and I don't see how he gets any offers above MLE if he starts looking...certainly not almost double it. I get it that the Celtics can absorb lux tax because of their market, but this just jumped out at me as another crazy contract.

Am I nuts?

I was thinking the same thing. Only players who have spent their whole careers with that team should a contract like that when he's as ty as Ray Allen was in the playoffs. $10M for both years makes more sense to me.

[MannyIsGod]

Holy I read that as 10m for 2 years not 10m annually. Major overpay there. I guess I was wrong about no one overpaying for Allen. Jesus.

[Blackjack]

Is it more than he's worth at this stage? Yes.

Is it crazy to think someone might offer him a similar offer for two or three year? Probably not.

I just think this is a case of locking up your own -- even if it costs you a little more -- because he means more to your team than he would anyone else and losing him when they're in such a win-now mode would hurt them more than a few million extra they had to dish out.

Their Big 3 got them a championship and I think they -- a lot like the Spurs --feel like they owe it to them and themselves to see if they can grab one more before it's all said and done -- Spurs fans should know now just how hard it is to replace integral parts to a championship team. It's not solely about on-court ability.

I think it was probably the right move in the end for them.

[Kindergarten Cop]

$10M for both years makes more sense to me.

Holy I read that as 10m for 2 years not 10m annually. Major overpay there. I guess I was wrong about no one overpaying for Allen. Jesus.

I completely agree with the both of you. In fact, I made the mistake in the le of the thread started in the NBA forum stating that it was 2 yr/$10M and thinking that it sounded reasonable. I had to go back and correct it after someone pointed out that it was actually $10M/yr. I think that Boston overpaid, but I think they are hoping that they can make one last run and are "rewarding" Allen for helping them win a Championship (just as BlackJack points out in the post above).