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.
4 comments Last one added about 1 year ago — Leave a Comment
Jason McDonald about 1 year ago
More great stuff, thanks for updating, A day in NBA free agency will out date all your info... hahaha
good update tho, I think Brand is a Clip, Maggette is a sixer or Orlando Magic, Smith is a Hawk, Hinrich will be traded.
Looking forward to seeing what Philly will do, they are a big WILD CARD
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Smush Higgins about 1 year ago
Nice
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Kurt Wachowski about 1 year ago
I don't know what kind of massive head injury the Spurs are suffering from if they are seriously considering Ben Gordon. To quote my favorite TV sports personality, Sir Charles Barkley, Ben Gordon "is like a black hole. Once the ball gets passed to him, ain't nobody seeing it again for the rest of the posession. He need to pass the ball more." I couldn't agree more, and I pity the team that overpays for him.
Also, I hope its not too early for wild predictions. Try this one on....neither the Warriors nor the Clippers are playoff bound next year. The Lakers, Spurs, Suns, Mavericks, Hornets, Jazz, Blazers and Nuggets are all better teams.
Finally, I love what free agency brings to the NBA. I didn't know that you could garner a max contract simply because you can create a nickname for yourself, promote your own blog and get knocked out of the playoffs in the first round every year (see Gilbert Arenas). Keep up the good work, Mike. You already have the two-thirds of the credentials to get a nine-figure contract in the NBA.
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Michael McGowan about 1 year ago
Maybe I can get signed to one of those 10 day contracts, when the Magic go down 3-0 to the sixers next year in the playoffs. It will all be over but the screamig and kicking, and BM can get his CHEESE!
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