NBA Free Agency 2013: Latest Buzz Surrounding Top Targets
With another NBA offseason fast approaching, there are a number of potential free agents generating quite a lot of rumors about potential landing spots.
While nothing will likely reach the level of LeBron James and Chris Bosh heading to the Miami Heat, this offseason still features a few superstars that have opportunities to find new teams where they can try to win championships.
There’s still some pretty important basketball left to be played, but we can go ahead and look at some potential free agents who are already preparing for next season.
Andre Iguodala
At 29 years old, Iguodala still has a number of years left in the tank for his NBA career. His ability to create shots and put up big numbers will make him a highly sought-after asset this offseason.
A recent report by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports stated that AI plans to opt out of his contract with the Denver Nuggets and enter free agency. The report goes on to say this:
"Iguodala has until June 25 to exercise the early termination clause on his contract, and virtually all players wait until the deadline to file the necessary paperwork. Without triggering the opt-out cause, Iguodala could only sign a three-year extension with Denver.
After superstars Dwight Howard and Chris Paul, Iguodala will be a target for several teams, including the Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, Detroit Pistons and New Orleans Pelicans, league sources said.
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Iguodala may not be the biggest star in free agency this year, but he will certainly garner a lot of interest from a number of teams.
It was a great regular season for Smith last season, putting up some of the best numbers of his career. He averaged 18.1 points and 5.3 rebounds per game coming off of the bench on his way to earning the sixth man award.
Even though Smith had a strong season with the New York Knicks, it appears that he will not opt in with the team and will become a free agent, according to Jared Zwerling of ESPN.com:
"Smith will officially announce the decision before June 30, making him an unrestricted free agent.
It was reported by the New York Post last month that Smith was "expected" to opt out. The Knicks can re-sign Smith for $4.9 million using the Early Bird exception, with standard raises over four years.
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Even though Smith struggled in the playoffs this year, he’s an extremely talented player that will likely earn a pretty solid contract this offseason, from either the Knicks or another team.
Chris Paul/Dwight Howard
The biggest rumor of the offseason has been Howard and Paul potentially playing together in an effort to topple the Heat’s superstar power.
Well, the rumors keep coming.
According to Chris Broussard of ESPN, the two players do have interest in working together. Broussard claims that the Atlanta Hawks are a potential landing spot for the two players, but it looks like they would rather both play for the Clippers:
"The preference for both players would be to play together for the Clippers, according to the sources. Because the Clippers don't have enough cap room to sign Howard as a free agent, it would take a sign-and-trade deal with the Lakers to make it happen.
The Clippers would be open to working out a deal, but they fear the Lakers would never trade Howard to them, according to the sources.
But while trading Howard to a team in their own building seems unthinkable, the Lakers are not likely to get a better trade package elsewhere than say, Blake Griffin and Eric Bledsoe.
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If these two somehow end up playing together, it very well could be a tandem that’s capable of toppling the Heat and making a run at the NBA Finals.
Beating the Heat is the biggest goal for some of these superstars, and teaming up may be their best bet to do so.
