2016 NBA Free Agency: Everything You Need to Know from Day 3
With Kevin Durant's series of courtship rituals completed and deals closing all around the league on the third day of NBA free agency, the Golden State Warriors went to their closer.
But let's back up a bit.
Durant, alpha-prime free agent, finished his meetings Sunday. A decision is coming Monday, according to NBA.com's David Aldridge.
The Oklahoma City Thunder bookended the meeting slate, getting first and last words in with their franchise cornerstone. In between, the Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Clippers, Boston Celtics and Miami Heat all made their cases.
Royce Young of ESPN.com says it's a two-team race:
We learned Sunday that the Warriors' pitch included a phone call from legendary deal-sealer, team executive and iconic logo Jerry West.
According to ESPN's Chris Broussard,ย "West, a member of the Warriors' Executive Board, did not try to tell Durant which team to choose. West did, however, share several reasons why he believes Golden State would be the ideal fit for the superstar forward."
Among the points West highlighted, per Broussard, were easier shotsย and the opportunity to be appreciated as a complete player on a championship stage. He also explained the lingering heartache of his own careerโone marked by a 1-8 record in the Finals.
If you're Durant, you can connect the dots there: Joining the Warriors, theoretically, could help the nine-year veteran make sure his trophy case ends up at least as full as West's. Granted, if you're Durant, you also might raise an eyebrow at West's perspective.
Remember, The Logo played every one of his 14 seasons with the Lakers. He could have left, but he never did.
West has a history ofย getting his man. He built a dynasty 20 years ago when he lured Shaquille O'Neal to the Lakers, and his legend as a personnel mastermind hasn't diminished in the intervening two decades.
If his conversation with Durant factors significantly in KD choosing the Warriors, we could see some new banners hanging in Oakland, as Daniel Leroux of RealGM suggested:
Durant could easily return to the Thunder anyway. Financially, that's always seemed like the most realistic outcome.
We won't have to wait much longer to find out.
We're on the precipice of a potential landscape shift, people. Get excited.
The Clippers Are Running It Back...Mostly
The Los Angeles Clippers must have gotten comfortable with the hard cap last year, because they've subjected themselves to it once again this summer.
Signing Jamal Crawford to a three-year, $42 million contract, as Sam Amick ofย USA Today first reported, swelled L.A.'s payroll. Austin Rivers came back on a three-year, $35 million pact, according to ESPN.com's Ramona Shelburne, and then Wesley Johnson got the mid-level exception (three years and $18 million), per Shams Charania of The Vertical.
Crawford, per usual, was classy and cool about coming back:
But that last bit about Johnson is the real issue. Because the Clips used the full mid-level on Johnson, they're now hard-capped at the apron, a figure $4 million above the tax line. In this case, that'll be $117.3 million, based on the $113.3 million luxury-tax line for the 2016-17 season, according toย Chris Mannix of The Vertical.
Being hard-capped significantly impinges on a team's flexibility, per Larry Coon's invaluable CBA FAQ:ย
"If a team is hard-capped, it cannot exceed the apron under any circumstance. If the team subsequently needs to sign a player (for example, to replace injured players) it must first create room under the apron by waiving player(s) with non-guaranteed salary, waiving player(s) with guaranteed salary and utilizing the stretch provision, trading downward in salary, etc.
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In other words, the Clips are essentially stuck with their current rosterโwhich looks virtually identical to last year's, with the exception of Cole Aldrich's departure (bad) and Jeff Green's exit (perhaps good?).
The only other difference is the cost; Rivers, Johnson and Crawford are each now making a heck of a lot more than they did in 2015-16.
The Clips had little choice here. Because they lacked sufficient cap space to chase outside free agents of consequence, they had to do what they could (via Bird rights) to retain their own.
That's a weak bargaining positionโjust watch what J.R. Smith eventually gets from the Cleveland Cavaliers for the same reasonโand it gives free agents like Crawford leverage, as Amick noted:
There's a case to be made for keeping this Clippers group together. The alternative course of action was blowing up the core by trading Blake Griffin and/or Chris Paul, which may have been a mistake. Griffin's value has never been lower, and there's no certainty that a drastic overhaul would put the Clippers in a better position to win than the one they're already in.
Embracing another year of hard-cap pain may have been the only way to keep L.A. in the fringe-contender category.
The Bulls Replaced Derrick Rose in the Strangest Way
Look, the Chicago Bulls needed somebody to capably handle point guard duties. With an existing rotation of Jose Calderon, Jerian Grant and Spencer Dinwiddie, it was going to be difficult to get league-average production from that spot.
So Rajon Rondo makes some sense from that position-of-desperate-need angle. He agreed to a two-year, $28 million contract with Chicago on Sunday, according to Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated.
But it's awfully hard to imagine him fitting in as part of head coach Fred Hoiberg's preferred uptempo, pass-heavy attack.
Vincent Goodwill of CSN Chicago had some concerns:
Meanwhile,ย Ben Golliver ofย Sports Illustrated ripped the signing:
"Defenders of this move will point to the fact that the Bulls can simply part ways with Rondo next summer. As the Kings discovered during their circus of a season, itโs never quite that simple, is it?ย SI.com gave Sacramento an โFโ last summerย for its decision to ink Rondo, and nothing that has happened since then indicates Chicago deserves more favorable treatment.
The occasional breathtaking assist simply comes at too high of a cost. Even Vlade Divac managed to figure that out.
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If the Bulls hoped to get Jimmy Butler more time as a ball-handler and decision-maker, this wasn't the way to do it. If they wanted a smoother, more versatile offense, Rondo won't give them that, either.
The terms aren't disastrous, with ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst reporting the second year is only partially guaranteed. But Rondo is a poor fit for the Bulls' style, and it's been a long time since he proved he could do more than pile up empty numbers.
The Mavs Are Almost Out of Time
The Dallas Mavericks did some things in free agency Sunday, some of which were pretty good!
Getting Deron Williams back on a one-year deal for just $10 million, asย Steinย first reported, was a heck of a value. Which makes the somewhat surprising outlay of four years and $37 million for Dwight Powell, per Charania, a little easier to take.
With the Mavs losing Chandler Parsons to the Memphis Grizzlies and (yet again) whiffing on all of their biggest free-agent targets, the Williams signing will be a small consolation.
For anyone expecting Harrison Barnes to offer greater solace (on a potentialย max deal, per Stein), please kindly refer to the 24-year-old's Finals disappearance and demonstrated inability to create shots for himself or anyone else.
Barnes is a role player whose position was more than adequately filled for 16 games last year by minimum-salaried Brandon Rush. Golden State went 14-2 in the span Rush replaced an injured Barnes in the starting lineup, and ESPN.com's Kevin Pelton noted the Warriors were better on offenseย andย defense with Rush playing in Barnes' place.
There was always going to be a point where the Mavs ran out of offseasons to give Dirk Nowitzki the contending roster he deserves. Despite the quality of Williams' contract, that point may have just arrived.
Full Recap of Day 3 Deals
Every Day 3 signing sorted from largest payout to smallest (with some non-signing tidbits thrown in):
- Tyler Johnson agreed on a four-year, $50 million offer sheet with the Brooklyn Nets, perย Adrian Wojnarowskiย of The Vertical.ย The Miami Heat will have three days to match once the July moratorium ends.
- Jamal Crawford agreed to a three-year, $42 million contract with the Clippers, per Amick. The third year is partially guaranteed.
- Dwight Powell agreed on a four-year, $37 million contract with the Mavericks, per Charania.
- Rajon Rondo agreed to a two-year, $28 million deal with the Chicago Bulls, per Spears.
- Andrew Nicholson agreed with the Washington Wizards on a four-year, $26 million deal, per Wojnarowski.
- Garrett Temple agreed with the Sacramento Kings on a three-year, $24 million contract. Wojnarowski had it first, and Amick relayed the contract parameters, which include a player option for the third year.
- Cole Aldrich agreed with the Minnesota Timberwolves on a three-year, $22 million deal, per Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
- Matt Barnes agreed on a two-year, $12 million contract with the Sacramento Kings, per James Ham of CSNCalifornia.com.
- Deron Williams agreed to return to the Mavericks on a one-year, $10 million contract, per Stein.
- Tomas Satoransky agreed to a three-year, $9 million deal with the Washington Wizards, per Wojnarowski and Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.
- The Atlanta Hawks signed Malcolm Delaney to a two-year contract, per Charania.
- Manu Ginobili announced he will return for another season, as confirmed per Stein.
- The Utah Jazz traded Trey Burke to the Wizards for a 2021 second-round pick, per Wojnarowski.
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