Everything You Need to Know from Day 2 of 2015 NBA Free Agency
Day 1 of the NBA's free-agency period was utter chaos, with deals flying left and right.
Trades were made, billions of dollars were spent and the basketball world struggled to keep up with the breakneck pace. That's not even remotely hyperbolic, with SI.com's Rob Mahoney revealing that $1.4 billion dollars was handed out in first-day deals.
Quite predictably, the sequel wasn't quite as exciting as the original, but Day 2 still fundamentally altered how the league will stack up heading into the 2015-16 campaign. More players moved from one location to another, and while the news-breaking pace slowed, it didn't exactly throttle down by much.
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Before moving into our recap, it's worth going over the new context of free-agency deals one more time. And it's hard to do that more effectively than Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes did while summarizing the craziness of Day 1:
"First, it seems the rising salary cap has, for now, rendered bad contracts extinct.
Paying $15 million per year for a non-star feels crazy with the cap around $67 million, but those types of deals will be bargains in 2017 when the cap zooms past the $100 million mark.
So that's the first thing: We live in an age of salary-cap relativism. Get used to it.
"
The age continued in Day 2.
Let's recap.
LaMarcus Aldridge Making Waves...Still
Keeping track of LaMarcus Aldridge's free-agency schedule is exhausting. Take a deep breath before proceeding.
Here's a recap of those in play for his services, courtesy of USA Today's Sam Amick:
"Aldridge is hardly the first free agent to think long and hard about such a key decision, but this is clearly a drastic change in script for the 29-year-old who has visited with the Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs, Phoenix Suns, Toronto Raptors and Dallas Mavericks. According to the Wasserman Media Group that represents him, even the incumbent Portland Trailblazers aren't – as so many have suspected – out of the mix.
"
Even the Miami Heat wedged their way into the discussion for a hot minute, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports:
Bleacher Report's Jared Zwerling handicapped the Aldridge sweepstakes, though, and the Heat just didn't make the cut:
Now, as far as the Los Angeles Lakers being out of it, that's not yet the case. Aldridge is apparently in the business of giving second chances...to Hollywood-based teams...whose team colors are purple and gold.
After failing to impress Aldridge during their first schmooze-fest, the Lakers earned themselves a mulligan, per Wojnarowski:
Will they get it right this time around? Who knows. But they've now landed two sit-downs with one of this summer's top free agents—the same free agent who, per NBA.com's David Aldridge, wouldn't even give the Knicks one meeting.
Here's to progress(?).
Phoenix Rolling the Dice
The Suns would like you to know that they're free-agency players too, and they're willing to travel great lengths for you to remember.
According to Wojnarowski, they've agreed to a cap-clearing trade with the Detroit Pistons that involves some serious asset dump-age:
While the exact numbers are still unclear, the Suns have or will soon have enough spending power to dole out the financial feel goodz.
Ken Berger of CBS Sports breaks it down:
Should the Suns inevitably whiff on Aldridge, they can still funnel that cash into someone else (Tobias Harris) who can fill a need (Tobias Harris) and help expedite their rebuilding process (Tobias Harris).
Meanwhile, Pistons coach and president Stan Van Gundy is hoarding all the assets.
Marcus Morris and Reggie Bullock provide additional floor spacing, and there's a chance Van Gundy's shooters-friendly offense will revive the corpse of Danny Granger.
Dwyane Wade Pulls a Dwyane Wade
LeBron James left the Miami Heat in free agency last summer, and for a while it looked as if Dwyane Wade might follow his lead. But then he and the Heat did what they always do: Work it out.
Per Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press:
To commemorate the occasion, Wade took to Instagram:
Signing a one-year deal allows Wade to re-explore free agency next summer, when the salary cap explodes. It also gives him a large one-off payday, mitigating any need for himself and the Heat to haggle over how much he's worth annually.
That's a conversation they can have next summer, as the Heat are chasing other big-name free agents. Wade may be more inclined to accept a pay cut if the Heat can reel in superstars, and/or Miami will feel more comfortable dangling a larger average salary once it understands the full ramifications of a rising cap.
Knicks Finally Get Busy
The first day of free agency was filled with patience and inactivity for the New York Knicks, who failed to make a single move while notable players flew off the shelves. But the Madison Square Garden residents kicked off Day 2 of the offseason period by making the morning's first move.
As Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com reported, they inked Arron Afflalo to a two-year deal:
Given the exorbitant contracts that came through the pipes on Wednesday, this actually seems—gasp—reasonable. The Knicks have oodles of cap space, and Afflalo will only be eating up a minor portion of it. Plus, it's a short-term commitment, as he can opt out in 2016 to pursue a new contract, which potentially allows this franchise to maintain some of its financial flexibility.
Basically, like the Wall Street Journal's Chris Herring underscores, The Knicks done did good:
Actually, they done did really good.
Robin Lopez has conditionally agreed to join Phil Jackson's pet project—emphasis on "conditionally," per ESPN.com's Marc Stein:
New York's urge to wait on DeAndre Jordan's decision is borne from what the Los Angeles Times' Brad Turner leads us to believe was a productive confab:
Three hours? What could they have possibly done for three hours?
Fret not. Yahoo Sports' Eric Freeman is all over this one:
To sum up: RoLo is waiting on the Knicks, who are waiting on Jordan, who is waiting on no one but himself.
More on Jordan
If you're hoping Jordan will make his decision in the next 10 seconds, Turner has some bad news:
Major decisions loom for Jordan, and each of his four primary suitors is in play:
Wojnarowski, a man of the people, whittles that pool of options down even further:
There you have it. Jordan is choosing between two teams.
Or three.
Maybe four.
RoLo's not going to be happy.
Greg Monroe's Gamble Pays Off
Last offseason, Greg Monroe went down an unorthodox path, declining everything set in front of him except for the qualifying offer. He decided to play out one more season with the Detroit Pistons while making only $5.5 million, simply because it would allow him to hit the market in 2015 as an unrestricted free agent.
The risk? He could suffer an injury or fail to impress on the court, and that would significantly decrease his earning potential.
But now, the reward is quite obviously trumping the risk, per Wojnarowski:
Monroe is getting all the money from the Milwaukee Bucks, who now have a go-to scorer in the frontcourt. According to USA Today's Jeff Zillgitt, that three-year deal will come out to approximately $49.4 million, though the figure is subject to change as the cap shifts.
Milwaukee's new big man doesn't exactly fit in with Jason Kidd's defensive mentality on the sidelines, but there are enough strong defenders in front of him to mitigate that negative impact, and the offensive boost should be quite substantial.
As Ethan Skolnick put it:
The days of solely relying on limited offensive contributions from Miles Plumlee, John Henson and Zaza Pachulia are over, which should have Brewtown celebrating. Monroe is coming off a strong final season in the Motor City, one in which he averaged 15.9 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists while shooting 49.6 percent from the field.
He was also a post-up fiend, per Synergy Sports:
Will this encourage more players to take the qualifying offer and gain more control over their future in this league? Possibly, but the convergence of factors—a crowded frontcourt in Detroit, playing as a young veteran and waiting on the cap jump from the television deal—isn't likely to repeat particularly often.
Either way, Monroe needs to send his agent a thank-you note.
Guess Who's Back?
Tim Duncan.
The 39-year-old Duncan, who has allegedly kidnapped Father Time, announced that he would be eschewing retirement for at least one more season, per the San Antonio Express-News' Mike Monroe:
No bells and whistles, no nationally televised special, no heartfelt, subtly shady essay. Just straight to the point. Perfect.
Official contract details have yet to trickle out, but as the Spurs' pursuit of Aldridge continues, you can bet your entire Pogs collection Duncan will sign a below-market deal.
Monta Ellis Living that Hoosier Life
Following a day-long dalliance, Monta Ellis and the Indiana Pacers are officially an item.
ESPN.com's Chris Broussard and Stein provided the details on their budding relationship:
Landing Ellis does a bunch of things for the Pacers.
It fills a void in the backcourt, where George Hill is pretty much on his own. Ellis cannot play off the ball well, but Hill can, and having that extra perimeter body in the starting five will make it easier for head coach Frank Vogel to slot Paul George at power forward.
Bonus benefit: Coming to terms with Ellis might help the Pacers shed Roy Hibbert's $15.5 million expiring contract, according to the all-knowing Woj:
Scoring, playmaking, salary-dump-buffering—Ellis does it all.
(We're not counting defense.)
Paul Pierce Who?
Losing Paul Pierce to the Clippers still stings for the Washington Wizards, but the process of moving on is already underway.
Jared Dudley is coming to the rescue, per Stein:
"Wizards obviously have a huge void on the wing and in terms of vet leadership now after Paul Pierce's decision to go home and sign w/Clips
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) July 2, 2015"
Between Dudley, Otto Porter and Martell Webster, the Wizards should have their small forward and small-ball power forward rotation set.
And though they'll miss Pierce come playoff time, Dudley's expiring deal preserves maximum financial flexibility for next summer, when a certain Maryland native who currently plays for the Oklahoma City Thunder reaches free agency.
Damian Lillard Is Still Richer Than You
Well, it's official: Drinks are on Damian Lillard.
Portland's franchise point guard—and perhaps lone cornerstone with Aldridge taking free-agency meetings galore—has agreed to a five-year extension worth around $125 million, according to Yahoo Sports' Marc. J. Spears.
His first order of business after securing all those zeros? Setting Aldridge straight, per Amick:
Good call by Lillard. Sales pitches always mean more when coming from a nine-figure man.
Wesley Matthews' Bank Account Boon
Wesley Matthews is a member of the Mavericks, according to Aldridge:
Exact numbers aren't necessary in this situation. We already have a rough idea of the amount: a lot.
Not even an Achilles injury curbed Matthews' market value. Prior to accepting the Mavericks' offer, he entertained a lucrative proposal from the Sacramento Kings—one Stein revealed Matthews wasn't inclined to accept:
This is not a good look for the Kings, who moved heaven and earth—aka Carl Landry, Jason Thompson, Nik Stauskas and first-round goodies—to create cap space and become free-agency players.
One of their primary targets is already off the board. What's next? Maxing out Rajon Rondo?
Matthews, meanwhile, is a great replacement for Ellis at the 2-guard position. The Mavericks can now trot out him, Dirk Nowitzki, Chandler Parsons and Devin Harris in the starting lineup, spacing the floor like crazy.
All they need is a center.
Hawks Getting Taller and Taller
After trading for Tiago Splitter and re-signing Paul Millsap, the Atlanta Hawks already figured to boast a strong frontcourt for the 2015-16 season. Al Horford, Mike Muscala and Mike Scott remained in place as well, so that made five capable bodies who could all play interchangeably.
Make it six, per Spears:
The No. 43 pick in the 2014 NBA draft, Tavares is quite intriguing because of his sheer size. He's a 7'3" center with a whopping 7'9" wingspan, and he's still learning how to make the most of those physical attributes. After all, the 23-year-old from Cape Verde literally didn't play basketball until November 2009, when scouts discovered him.
Here's what Jonathan Givony had to say for DraftExpress.com before he was selected:
"Tavares was discovered by a German tourist in 2009 in his home country of Cape Verde, a small island [nation] located about 600 miles off the coast of Senegal. The then 7-feet tall 17 year old was working at his mother's convenience store, and the German tourist, amazed at his height, decided to recommend him to his friends in Gran Canaria, an ACB team with a strong tradition based in the Canary Islands, off the coast of Morocco. After travelling to Cape Verde for inspection, Gran Canaria decided to bring Tavares over in November of 2009 and try to teach him the game of basketball from scratch. He had never touched a basketball prior to that.
"
He's improved a lot since then. During his last season with Gran Canaria, the big man averaged 8.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, 0.4 assists, 0.6 steals and 1.8 blocks in only 22.1 minutes per game. According to RealGM.com, his PER was a strong 21.6.
Tavares won't eat up many minutes for the Hawks, but his immense upside and the attribute that would excite Jay Bilas sure make him intriguing.
Hey! These Guys Got Paid Too
Per the official day-to-day free-agency recap handbook—which, just so we're clear, doesn't actually exist—not every transaction can have its own subhead. Thus, a few select moves have been asked to share face time.
Employing Al-Farouq Aminu, Chris Kaman, Meyers Leonard, Mason Plumlee and Noah Vonleh apparently doesn't slake the Blazers' insatiable appetite for power forwards and centers.
So, naturally, they did the only thing they could do, per Wojnarowski: sign Ed Davis.
For those who aren't quite familiar with what Davis brings to the table, we'll defer to the $20 million man himself (via the Oregonian's Joe Freeman):
Fellow big man Aron Baynes, formerly of the Spurs, also got paid, according to Stein:
And by "paid," we mean "really, really, really paid:"
Baynes is a necessity for the Pistons after losing Monroe. He can back up Andre Drummond and is mobile enough to defend any bigs who attack off the dribble.
In what was clearly the signing to end all signings, though, James Anderson came to terms with the Kings, according to Spears.
The 26-year-old didn't play in the NBA last season and instead spent time with Basketball Club Zalgiris in Lithuania. But he still has four NBA seasons under his belt, a career that has spanned stints with the Philadelphia 76ers, Rockets and Spurs.
Rumor Has It...
Lakers fans needn't panic over their team's lack of free-agency success. Unless they relent and seek out Rondo, everything is going to be fine.
Important: Everything reportedly isn't fine.
From ESPN.com's Ramona Shelburne:
Since this is now getting awkward, let's move along and get to the moment for which everyone is obviously waiting.
Stein has a David West update:
Seeing West join the Wizards would be weird. They gravitated toward small ball at the end of last season, and he doesn't space the floor. He only makes sense as a center, in the event they've given up any hope of Nene making actual contributions.
Joining the Spurs makes perfect sense. They need another big(ish) guy after trading Tiago Splitter.
After all, you wouldn't want them to overwork Duncan and—*half-serious font*—Aldridge, would you?
Final Note
We started from the bottom on Day 1, at zero dollars invested in free agents, now we're here after Day 2, north of $1.5 billion, as Chris Palmer noted:
By the end of Day 3, we may inhabit a world in which the NBA has shelled out more than $2 billion over the course of 72 hours.
Think about that, and we'll see you on the other side.
Adam Fromal contributed to this roundup. He got game.
Stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com unless otherwise cited.
Dan Favale covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @danfavale.
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