Heart, Head and Wallet Destinations for NBA's Top 2015 Free Agents
NBA free agency presents players with serious internal battles, as competing concerns of the head, heart and wallet pull them in different directions.
That struggle will play out with some big names this summer.
We'll focus on a specific group of unrestricted free agents here—not necessarily the absolute top-ranked stars but the marquee names with the best chance of changing locales.
We'll exclude restricted free agents such as Draymond Green, Kawhi Leonard and Jimmy Butler because their teams retain such a strong measure of control over them with their rights of first refusal. What the head, heart and wallet want don't matter much when a player's current team can just match any offer sheet.
In addition, LeBron James won't appear. Though he can become an unrestricted free agent by declining his player option (and almost certainly will), LBJ's head, heart and wallet are all best served in Cleveland. He's committed to that team now, and he's not going anywhere.
Some quick guidelines...
The heart destination is the one that just feels right. Maybe it's the pull of a player's hometown. Maybe it's the lure of playing with friends or familiar coaches. Sentiment controls here.
The head destination is the one that, emotions and other desires aside, makes the most strategic sense. What team best positions a player to succeed?
The wallet destination is the simplest: Who's going to pay this guy the most? Often, that will be the player's current club, which, thanks to Bird rights, can exceed the salary cap and offer larger annual raises to its own players. Sometimes, though, another squad, perhaps one with more desperation and cap space, swoops in with the biggest offer.
Those are the rules. Let's go.
Kevin Love
1 of 5
Heart: Los Angeles Lakers
Bleacher Report's Kevin Ding reported in April that there was a "great possibility" the Los Angeles Lakers could attract Kevin Love this summer, and it's easy to understand why.
Ding explained that Love's girlfriend lives in L.A., and deep family ties (Love was born in Southern California) might pull the power forward back there, assuming he opts out of the final year of his deal.
Plus, the appeal of eventually succeeding Kobe Bryant as the Lakers' franchise cornerstone would be significant.
If Love's emotions get the best of him, he could wind up in Los Angeles.
Head: Boston Celtics
Love will have to switch off his feelings to join the Boston Celtics after claiming Kelly Olynyk's purposeful "bush league play" resulted in a season-ending shoulder dislocation. That might be tough to forgive.
But if Love lets his feelings cool, he'll see a Celtics team with tons of assets, a brilliant young coach and a system that seems perfectly designed to feature him as a focal point.
Getting in on the ground floor with Boston—especially if the Celtics are willing to max him out—might be the smartest move.
Wallet: Cleveland Cavaliers
It's tough to know how much the Cavaliers value Love. He has seemed unhappy for most of the year. He didn't have a leading role in the offense, and there's a decent argument to be made that the Cavs could replace a large percentage of Love's production at a fraction of the cost.
There isn't another big man with all of Love's skills as a shooter, rebounder and passer. But because the Cavaliers system doesn't take full advantage of all of those weapons, maybe it would make more sense to save some money and replace Love (again, if he opts out) with a cheaper shooter.
That said, the Cavs can offer Love more than any other team, and with the cap set to rise over the next couple of years, maxing him out now won't seem like a big deal down the road.
If it's cash Love wants, there's a good chance the Cavaliers offer him the most.
LaMarcus Aldridge
2 of 5
Heart: Dallas Mavericks/San Antonio Spurs
We'll call this a Texas tie, which is probably a euphemism for something else but one best left uninvestigated.
Aldridge is from the Lone Star State, and the appeal of returning to either supplant Dirk Nowitzki or carry on the legacy of Tim Duncan has to be a sentimental factor.
Both roles would be intimidating, and staying in the West would mean Aldridge's path to a championship would remain fraught with challenges. But the possible glory of bringing success to teams he grew up appreciating might have some pull.
Head: Cleveland Cavaliers
Wait, what?
ESPN.com's Marc Stein reported that in addition to the San Antonio Spurs and Mavericks, the Cavaliers might be a possible destination for Aldridge if Love doesn't return.
If you're Aldridge, nothing makes more sense than signing on with LeBron James and Kyrie Irving—especially at an age (30) when a secondary role starts to become more of a realistic possibility.
This feels like a long shot, but if Aldridge wants title chances, he'll find the easiest ones alongside two superstars in the soft Eastern Conference.
Wallet: Portland Trail Blazers
Don't discount the appeal of the heart here, either. Aldridge has shown consistent affinity for his current team, and we can't overlook his past comments about becoming the "best Blazer ever."
Along with the draw of staying home, though, Aldridge must also consider the five-year maximum deal that only Portland can offer him. At his age, an extra year of security and larger annual salaries might be hard to pass up.
DeAndre Jordan
3 of 5
Heart: Dallas Mavericks
The Houston Rockets would have been the better fit here, as DeAndre Jordan's entire pre-professional basketball life took place there. He was born in Houston, attended high school in nearby Humble, Texas, and spent his college days at Texas A&M.
It would have been easy to imagine Jordan heading home.
But Dwight Howard is still the man in the middle for the Rockets, so maybe Jordan can sign up with Dallas and call it close enough.
Tyson Chandler is a free agent, and the Mavs need somebody to protect the rim. If his Texas roots tug at his heartstrings, Jordan could wind up in Dallas.
Head: Los Angeles Clippers
If you're a one-trick offensive pony who only scores when spoon-fed, sticking with Chris Paul and Blake Griffin—tremendous passers both—is the only sensible move.
Plus, Clips coach Doc Rivers spent all year shouting Jordan's praises to anyone who would listen...to the point of ridiculous hyperbole in some cases.
Jordan is loved, needed and best-utilized right where he's at.
Wallet: Los Angeles Clippers
Our first double dip!
L.A. is the place for Jordan's head and wallet.
A max salary and the resultant luxury tax shouldn't bother billionaire owner Steve Ballmer. And even if Jordan isn't quite worth a max deal with today's cap, his salary will look a lot more manageable when the TV deal kicks in and teams have more to spend.
The Clippers might well decide they can replace Jordan, but if they determine he's a keeper, the market may force them to pay up big.
Marc Gasol
4 of 5
Heart: Memphis Grizzlies
It's hard to think of a player with stronger emotional ties to a city than Marc Gasol has with Memphis.
He went to high school there, has grown into the team's most iconic figure and has shown absolutely no indications of a desire to leave.
If he leaves as a free agent, it'll be the biggest stunner of the offseason.
Head: San Antonio Spurs
Nobody is better equipped to take over for Duncan than Gasol.
Everything about the big Spaniard's game fits perfectly in San Antonio: the passing, the unselfish play, the defense, the international pedigree. It's all there.
Not only that, but the allure of playing with Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker would be immense.
After spending his whole career in an outdated, grind-it-out offense with no shooters to space the floor, nothing could be better than operating in the Spurs' perfect pace-and-space attack. We could see a new level of offensive brilliance from both Gasol and the Spurs if the two got together.
Wallet: New York Knicks/Los Angeles Lakers
Everyone loves Gasol in Memphis, and small-market support like that is hard to beat in its own way. But if Gasol wants to really cash in as an international star, he could seek out a bigger market.
This feels like a long shot because we have no indications Gasol wants to be any sort of every-other-commercial pitch man, but the endorsements and extra streams of income he could get in New York or Los Angeles would dwarf the ones available to him in Memphis.
It'll be tough for the wallet to win this one, but we should expect the Lakers and Knicks to make their plays for Gasol on financial grounds that include a huge contract and endorsement opportunities galore.
Paul Millsap
5 of 5
Heart: New Orleans Pelicans
This is a shameless ploy—sustained by the small kernel of Paul Millsap's Louisiana roots—to get Anthony Davis yet another floor-spacing running mate in the frontcourt.
The New Orleans Pelicans are cap-strapped and would have to make major moves to bring in Millsap. But just imagine the possibilities of using Davis as a stretch 5, Millsap as a stretch 4 and three other guard/wing types as, well, guards/wings.
The spacing would be ridiculous on offense, and with both Millsap and Davis, you wouldn't have to sacrifice anything on defense or the glass.
Wishful thinking, I know.
Head: Atlanta Hawks
Thanks to logic like this, from USA Today's Sam Amick, the heart's desires (even if they're just mine) probably won't be met:
"His only two All-Star appearances came in a Hawks jersey, and he was a major part of this current group that won a franchise-record 60 games this season. Considering most of the Hawks' roster is returning, it's hard to imagine him wanting to leave this kind of successful situation.
"
The Hawks have every reason to keep the band together. And shaking things up by letting Millsap go would risk upsetting a fanbase that got its first real reason to care this year.
Besides, few offensive systems out there would make better use of Millsap's talents. It makes sense for him to stay.
Wallet: Anybody's Guess
Millsap may not quite be a max player in the Hawks' eyes, even in the current cap environment that incentivizes locking in rates now.
He's already 30, which means there's not a great likelihood of improvement in his future. Atlanta values Millsap a ton, but maybe not to the maximum extent allowed by the collective bargaining agreement.
That's where some desperate team with cap space and a need to make a splash could come in high with a big offer. If the Lakers or Knicks want to throw big bucks at Millsap, he might be persuaded to take an above-market deal.
And what if a younger team in need of a stable star (like the Philadelphia 76ers, Orlando Magic or Milwaukee Bucks) decides it's time to bring in a vet to fast-track the growth process?
Millsap is unrestricted, so the Hawks don't have the option to match. But it's not crazy to imagine a scenario where whatever they're willing to offer doesn't measure up.
