The second most popular free agent? Everyone wants a bench defender who can shoot. Posey may have made his case in the NBA Finals this year with his stellar defense, hardnosed plays, and overall hustle.
Is he a starter? Maybe—but not for the whole season. He is best played off the bench and in crunch time.
Who is interested? Well the Lakers were a James Posey away from winning the championship. They only have a mid-level exception to offer, though—will three years and $20 million be enough? It may take a larger number than that.
(Note that teams over the cap can use the mid-level exception, and extend a long term deal using yearly increases that would be about a million dollars per year each year.)
Posey's agent says that Boston and San Antonio are the finalists, but they both are in the same situation as the Lakers. Posey has to be ready to settle down, and stop moving around. Boston is where he wants to be—but they will have to lock him up for a couple years and may not be willing to do so.
Josh Smith
He is a restricted free agent, and the Atlanta Hawks have been saying that they will match anything that is thrown his way. The only teams that could take them out would be the 76ers and the Warriors, but they will not throw that much at him. Smith may not be a big enough post player for those teams to sacrifice their whole cap allowance.
Andre Iguodala
He is in the same boat as Smith. Iguodala will not get a ton of money anywhere but Philly—but they will not overspend to sign him.
Andre turned down a five-year, $60 million deal last year, then underperformed in the playoffs in leading the Sixers to a first-round exit. In doing so, he did not bulk up his resume.
Golden State is said to be cornering both Iguodala and Smith. Sixers could lose out on both or overpay on Andre, due to the Warriors upping his price.
The other option would be a sign-and-trade of Iguodala for Al Harrington, filling the Sixers' need at the power forward for one year. Harrington makes about what Golden State would pay Andre at $9.22 million, and is in his last year. The Sixers would then be free to pursue other options next summer in a bigger free agency year.
But first, they would have to sell the fans on this, and that could be tricky. Word around Philadelphia is very sour when his name is mentioned, but Andre can play. He works hard, does everything he can do to keep getting better, so he deserves a long-term deal. The best bet for Andre may be a short deal, around the mid-level, so he can promote himself for a larger future contract.
Point Guards
Monta Ellis, Raymond Felton, and Shaun Livingston will all get good deals in some area of the MLE.
Livingston is an unknown. He may be NBA-ready or may not be—only a physical will tell. Livingston will be the most underpaid of the three.
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