The NBA Free Agency period is upon us. Going into the free agency period, many experts said that there would not be money out there for teams to spend.
Some major players in the NBA such as Corey Maggette, Baron Davis, and Elton Brand, have decided to opt out of their contracts. They are ready to go and get some more cash—maybe with the same team, or maybe with another.
Now that the Big Three of the free-agency period chose to go this path, there is actually more money available than people thought. Golden State is sitting out there with some cap room, along with Philadelphia and Memphis, who were already listed as spenders. The Clippers had cap room, but that was spent on Baron Davis and the rest will soon be going to Elton Brand.
On top of cap space, the NBA also supplies each team with veteran exceptions and one mid-level exception (which is the NBA-average salary, around $5.8 million). Baron Davis surprised everyone—including the Warriors—by leaving $17.8 million dollars on the table, while people like Shawn Marion and Ron Artest know that sticking around for one more year may make for a bigger payday next year.
Maybe these guys who opted out aren't about money, then. Maybe they just want to win? Let's talk about some major free agents and where they have gone or could go, and who is interested:
The LA Clippers could be the place where everyone wants to go to win this summer. With Maggette gone and Brand opting out, the Clips signed Baron Davis first, and now are trying to get Elton Brand locked up.
Since Brand is a returning player, the Clippers can go over the cap to sign him. Both will be taking pay decreases in '08-'09, but will be making a lot of money by the end of their contracts, with raises each year.
It is going to take alot more than Brand, Davis, Gordon, Kamen, and the other non-mentionables to win the West. The Clippers are not ready to even get a home playoff series with the additions thus far. They will be trying to talk veterans into taking a minimum, and playing for a winner.
Brand will get attention until July 9 from Philadelphia and Golden State, two teams who may not have enough money to pull Josh Smith from Atlanta. He could be that power postup player they are looking for. Brand could be using both teams to get a larger contract from the Clippers. Word is that Brand is close to being signed with LA but the amount of years seem to be the hold up.
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