Orlando Magic Free Agency Guide (Cap Info UPDATED page 37)

[ezzzp]

This is a copy of Melvinlocker's original thread post (with some updated edits). The other thread is having formatting issues. Mods please close this if other thread is fixed.

Numbers from spotrac.
http://www.spotrac.com/nba/orlando-magic/cap/2016/

Guaranteed Contracts:

Nikola Vucevic $11,750,000
Victor Oladipo $6,552,960
C.J. Watson $5,000,000
Aaron Gordon $4,351,320
Mario Hezonja $3,909,840
Elfrid Payton $2,613,600
Shabazz Napier $1,350,120
Total: $35,527,840

Cap Holds:

• If a player's cap hold is renounced, they can never be resigned over the salary cap.
• If their cap hold is not renounced, cap hold counts against salary cap space, but team can exceed cap to resign.

Restricted Free Agents:
Evan Fournier (2,288,205 x 250%) = $5.75m
Andrew Nicholson (2,380,593 x 250%) = $5.95m
Dewayne Dedmon (947,276 x 130%) = $1.23m

Unrestricted Free Agents:
Jason Smith (4,300,00 x 120%) = $5.16m
Brandon Jennings (8,344,497 x 150%) = $12,516,645

Team Options (salary / cap hold if rejected):
Ersan Ilyasova (8,400,000 x 150%) = $12,600,000
Devyn Marble (845,059 x 120%) = $1,014,070

Draft Picks
1st Round: own
2nd Round: own + better of Chicago or Portland



[tweet]https://twitter.com/TimBontemps/status/699651460464840706[/tweet]

Based on a $92m Salary Cap:

• Max Contract for less than 7 year experience = 25% of salary cap (92 m) = $23.0 m
• Max Contract for 7-10 year experience = 30% of salary cap (92 m) = $27.6 m
• Max Contract for +10 years experience = 35% of salary cap (92 m) = $32.2.0 m

• NBA Draft 2016: June 23rd
• NBA season technically ends: June 30th
*Teams are able to again make trades upon the completion of the regular season - when eliminated from the playoffs
• Free Agency Moratorium: July 1 to July 8
* Teams can contact free agents at 12:01 July 1st, but no contracts can be signed until after the moratorium.

Top 2016 Free Agents - http://hoopshype.com/2016/01/16/nba-free-agency-2016-the-top-players/

Top 2017 Free Agents - http://hoopshype.com/2015/12/30/nba-free-agency-2017-the-top-players/

Here is an excellent piece on Basketball Insiders with all the cap information for the summer including best case and worst cases for each team:

http://www.basketballinsiders.com/post-trade-deadline-nba-2016-17-cap-projections/

The Magic are 1 of 5 teams capable of reaching >50 million in space this summer, with the vast majority of other teams looking to have well in excess of 20 million each.

[ezzzp]

I'm going to start adding player cards to this thread about some of the players that I think might be in Rob Hennigan's cross hairs. This doesn't mean I think he'll offer them a max contract, and it doesn't necessarily mean they are my picks. They are only players that are possible candidates.

Harrison Barnes

Restricted Free Agent: Eligible for the Jr. Max = $23m (25% of $92m Estimated Salary Cap)


Basketball-Reference

Barnes did well in the post but struggled attacking set defenses, especially recognizing the second line of help, often driving into crowds. This is still not a particularly strong area of the game for him; Barnes has a decent handle dribbling from side-to-side but does not attack with as much speed off the bounce when he does not have a live dribble, and has only so-so instincts passing out of dribble penetration.

Barnes is not the sort of player who can create for himself and others at this point, and he knew he was miscast in such a role, as he revealed to the Mercury News’s Marcus Thompson a couple of weeks ago. The combination of his limitations as a shot creator and the iffy talent around him resulted in Barnes shooting 27.8% in 97 shots in isolation and averaging only 0.62 points per possession on 97 pick-and-rolls, according to mysynergysports.com.

Basketball Breakdown

1-3 pick-and-rolls have also been used to get Barnes other chances to attack off the catch with a live dribble, aside from defenders running him off the three-point line. He has shot 47.8% on 38 drives so far this season, an improvement from his 38% inefficiency on 223 such attempts last season. 29.5% of his two-point baskets have been dunks, and Barnes has shot 76% at the rim overall, per basketball-reference.

Basketball Breakdown

His interior scoring has been complemented by improved outside shooting, also best explained by context....The release in his shot is not any noticeably quicker, but by playing more time with two of the league’s most respected shooters, Barnes has been open more often and his efficiency on long-range looks have increased as a result. According to NBA.com’s SportVU tracking technology, he is taking roughly 57% of his shots with no defender within four feet of him, an increase of 10% in comparison to last season. With no ball-handling responsibilities and playing alongside a bunch of high end passers, he is taking 38.1% of shots off the catch, and has hit his 48 such three-point attempts at a 43.8% clip. Barnes has taken only four three-point attempts off the bounce and only three with a defender within four feet of him. Maybe only Tony Allen could do poorly with such a recipe.

Basketball Breakdown

Barnes is an athlete with nice shooting touch. He doesn’t have the handle to consistently create off the dribble, well not in traffic against good defenses anyway. But he is better at that and he can finish. He has a nice jumper. He can run a fast break.

“It’s hard when you get the ball in an iso situation and you have a set defense in front of you,” Barnes said. “Very few players in the league can do that. You look at the best – Durant, Melo, those guys – look at what percentage they shoot. And that’s the best of the best, so you can imagine where I’m at. I’m like at 15, 20 percent on isos. To get me with the ball moving, getting me in different spots, playing off other people, that’s more of a strength for me right now. Going straight isos, that wasn’t a strength for me.”

http://blogs.mercurynews.com/thompson/2014/12/05/resurgence-harrison-barnes/

[tweet]https://twitter.com/ricbucher/status/485904923708518400[/tweet]

ESPN:

Signing Durant with cap room would cost Golden State Harrison Barnes, and at least two of Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, Andrew Bogut and Ezeli. The Warriors would have to offload two of those guys into someone else's cap space, and they are privately worried they might have to attach one or even two future first-round picks to grease the wheels.

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Al Horford

Not sure if posted but interesting article from Sean Deveney. Suggests mutual interest between the Magic and Horford. Also highlights the Magic's previous ability to recruit free agents (nice to see a national sportswriter acknowledge what some RealGMers seem unable to )

http://www.sportingnews.com/nba-news/4695496-orlando-magic-nba-trade-deadline-florida-gators-new-cap-space-free-agency-al-horford-joakim-noah-bradley-beal?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

[tweet]https://twitter.com/ZachLowe_NBA/status/700380646271799296[/tweet]

In Zach Lowe's article, he says that people close to Horford believe he will value the extra 5th year that Atlanta can offer him more than most free agents would. It's going to come down to whether they balk at paying him the $140M or whatever astronomical total it would be. So he might be out and we might need to rely on Skiles to get Vucevic to play defense. http://espn.go.com/espnradio/grantland/player?id=14808519

Part of the reason why the Celtics didn’t make the sort of overwhelming trade offer for Al Horford that the Hawks were reportedly looking for is that the C’s feel they have a legitimate chance to sign him in free agency this summer, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports says in a video report. Chris Mannix of The Vertical earlier identified Atlanta’s interest in the big man. The Vertical

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Dwight Howard

Kevin McHale on Dwight Howard:

Dwight, when he signed in Houston, my thought was this was the best decision anyone ever made. He needs to lock himself in a gym with McHale. There's a perception he hasn't worked on his offensive game.

KM: I'll tell you what, Dwight came to Houston and after we signed him, he could barely move. He had the back surgery. That limited him to what he could do a lot. He's no longer a spring chicken. He has some miles on him. Dwight didn't have a lot of time....we worked on things. Hakeem came over and we worked on things. Dwight's mobility has been hampered by the back surgery he had in LA. All the different rehabs. He's missed a ton of games. The biggest thing about getting effective in the post is a low center of gravity. He can't get low. He's very upright. That's hurt him more. Dwight is not a bad guy or chemistry killer. He competes really hard. He wants to win. The only reality is, after he loses, 5 minutes later, he's over that loss. I know when I lost, I was miserable. I wanted to be miserable. That misery made me a better coach/player. I was always amazed when guys turn the page quickly. Dwight is not the problem in Houston but also isn't the solution. He worked at it. His inability to get low, losing athleticism has hurt Dwight a great deal. He won't be the only athletic guy to get hurt and lose some effectiveness.

All those things you just said, can he go somewhere, get a max deal and be the main cog or a main cog on a championship team?

KM: You'd have to be uniquely designed around Dwight's ability to roll to the basket, draw people to the paint, he can still rebound very well. He has a hard time on PnR. He use to be able to switch PnR. Dwight can be a piece of a team that can really help you. How many teams now are playing small? How many teams are going away from big time centers and playing differently? Us playing against GS, my biggest fear was Draymond Green on Dwight and then Dwight had to chase Draymond, that really hurt us. We had no answers for that. It's so hard to say never but it would have to be a very unique situation.

Teams with possible interest in Howard this summer if he opts out:

Rockets GM Daryl Morey said he never came close to trading Dwight Howard, but Morey and agent Dan Fegan were reportedly making a strong effort to find a new team for him in the hours leading up to last week’s deadline. Houston was in touch with the Mavericks, Bulls, Hawks, Celtics,Hornets, Heat, Bucks and Raptors about Howard as it sought to engage in trade talks about the former All-Star center, according to multiple reports, but the market for him was apparently soft.

http://www.hoopsrumors.com

-------------------------


Hassan Whiteside

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/241078/Hassan-Whiteside-Wouldnt-Want-To-Be-Face-Of-Losing-Franchise

Hassan Whiteside was asked about what he might think of the opportunity to become the franchise player of a team...

"That'd be nice," Whiteside said when asked. "I feel like a lot of people want to be that. But I want to win more than anything. I don't really want to be the face of a losing franchise. You want to be a face of a winning program. And it's always easier to get people to come to Miami."

[ezzzp]

Nicolas Batum

With the possibility of Parsons opting out of his contract with the Mavericks, Harrison Barnes (restricted free agent) and Nicolas Batum are two names the Lakers are expected to pursue as well.

Lakers Nation

Ujiri has long been connected to Nicolas Batum, who will also likely command a max deal amid the unprecedented salary-cap spike. Batum isn't as explosive as DeRozan, but he can shoot 3s, he's a (slightly) better passer and he can defend more positions....

...When I reported over the summer that Batum and Toronto harbored some mutual interest, Batum emphatically expressed his desire to remain in Charlotte. Still, expect Ujiri to at least sniff around the possibility of slotting Batum into DeRozan's salary slot.

ESPN

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Mike Conley

The coach who groomed him into an NBA star, Lionel Hollins, believes the Knicks target will chase the money and financial security.“I don’t know if Michael looks elsewhere but that might end up being the best move. Mike is at that crossroads where he’s (28) years old. He’s coming up on a contract year. He wants to get paid,” Hollins, who was fired as the Brooklyn Nets coach this season, said on SiriusXM radio...

...Conley is earning about $9.7 million this year and should double his salary with the next contract. The Grizzlies own his Bird Rights and can offer him the most money, but, as Hollins noted, they’re a small market team already doling out big money to Gasol and Zach Randolph. Plus, it appears Memphis’ run with that three-man nucleus has passed its peak. They’ve failed to get out of the second round since reaching the conference finals in 2013. This season, they’re fifth in the conference and Gasol is out indefinitely with a broken foot. Conley has stated “everything is on the table” regarding his free agency...

... “It comes down to, this is your life. This is your opportunity. You have the hammer in your hand and you have to wield it because you may never get it again,” Hollins said. “The reality is you have to do what’s best for your family and the future. And if somebody comes around and offers Michael $18 million and Memphis can’t match, I think you have to make those decisions from that perspective.”

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/knicks/lionel-hollins-knicks-target-mike-conley-chase-money-article-1.2540043?cid=bitly

In addition to potentially derailing any realistic notion the team had about competing for an NBA title in 2015/16, the injury to Gasol could also spell the end of point guard Mike Conley‘s tenure in Memphis.

Conley is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer and any potential long term impact to Gasol’s health and productivity could nudge the point guard toward another franchise come July. While the Grizzlies remain publicly optimistic that Gasol will make a full recovery and be ready for the start of the 2016/17 season, a physical therapist who is well-versed in the recovery process the big man will undergo told Peter Edmiston of The Commercial Appeal that there is less than a 10% chance that the Spaniard will return to his pre-injury form. Only time will tell if Gasol will be the player we are used to seeing when he makes his way back, but this offseason will likely be Conley’s last chance at a significant long-term payday. He may decide that risking his last remaining peak seasons on the durability of Gasol’s right foot isn’t the smart play and bolt for what he perceives to be greener pastures.

http://www.hoopsrumors.com

Grizzlies executive VP of player personnel Ed Stefanski expressed confidence about the team’s ability to re-sign Mike Conley, said the team thinks Marc Gasol will have recovered from his broken foot in time for training camp and explained that the team’s belief that Courtney Lee would leave via free agency led the Grizzlies to trade him. Stefanski made his comments in an appearance on SiriusXM NBA Radio’s “The Starting Lineup” show (transcription in three Twitter links).

Hoops Rumors

Penny Hardaway on Mike Conley’s future in Memphis: “It’s not really about the money, it’s about ‘This is his team.’ The franchise has definitely told him ‘Hey, we’re behind you, we’d trade everyone else…’ They even traded Kyle Lowry, and Kyle Lowry is playing great. He’s an All-Star now. They traded everybody to keep Mike happy. They letting Mike know ‘This is your team, and we want you to be the future’. Mike probably will stay with them.”

https://soundcloud.com/siriusxmnba/penny-hardaway-on-mike-conleys-future-in-memphis

Grizzlies Ed Stefanski tells @Frank Isola & @Mitch Lawrence they didn’t try to trade Mike Conley & expect to keep him. “We love Mike Conley he’s one of the best PGs out there..we intend to do everything we can to keep him” ...“He’ll go on free agent tours but when it’s all said and done I fully expect him (Mike Conley) to be in a #Grizzlies uniform” Ed Stefanski

https://soundcloud.com/siriusxmnba/we-never-tried-to-trade-mike-conley-and-expect-him-to-stay-in-memphis-ed-stefanski

[ezzzp]

Chandler Parsons

Marc Stein sort of speculates Chandler Parsons as another target in addition to Al Horford at the end of his segment on the Lowe Post. Always felt that CP was going to find his way back to Orlando if the opportunity presented itself. Not sure if it'll be this go around, but I still anticipate him playing in pinstripes before his career is over. Just glanced at his shooting numbers and I could get behind a guy shooting 49/42/64. Free throw percentage seems like an outlier, he should be closer to 70%. TS is close to 58% this year.

http://espn.go.com/espnradio/grantland/player?id=14808519

[tweet]https://twitter.com/cigamodnalro/status/704675651387858949[/tweet]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/cigamodnalro/status/704678084981686273[/tweet]

The Magic loom as the most significant threat to the Mavericks to sign Chandler Parsons to a new contract this summer, reports Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. Parsons is a virtual lock to turn down his $16.023MM player option for next season with the salary cap moving sharply upward, and he’s expected to receive a maximum-salary contract, MacMahon writes. Sources who spoke with MacMahon anticipate an aggressive pursuit from Orlando and expect the Heat, Lakers, Nets, Knicks, Trail Blazers, Rockets and Nuggets to come after the 27-year-old, too...

...The relationship between Parsons and Carlisle is nuanced, MacMahon explains, with Parsons wary of whether Carlisle fully trusts him on the court, but Carlisle this week referred to Parsons as “a franchise-caliber player in the making” in a message to MacMahon...

The Magic opened enough cap flexibility in trades last month to sign two players to max contracts this summer, with only about $36MM in guaranteed salary on next season’s books against a projected $90MM cap. Orlando and soon-to-be free agent Al Horford reportedly have mutual interest, and Horford went to the University of Florida, just as Parsons did.

http://www.hoopsrumors.com/2016/03/magic-to-aggressively-target-chandler-parsons.html

Chandler Parsons wouldn’t rule out going back to the Rockets in free agency this summer, as he said on the “Channel 33” podcast (audio link; transcription via HoopsHype). The Mavericks small forward is almost certain to turn down his player option, and Houston is expected to pursue him, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. “Houston was home for me for three years,” Parsons said. “I definitely would never count that option out. I have great memories there. They have a great crowd, a great city to live in … I have nothing but respect and love for them. I would never count that out.”

http://www.hoopsrumors.com/2016/03/chandler-parsons-not-ruling-out-rockets-return.html

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Dallas Mavericks

http://www.basketballinsiders.com/dallas-mavericks-team-salary/

D Williams | W Mathews | C Parsons | D Nowitzki | Z Pachulia
JJ Barea | R Felton | D Harris | D Powell | D Lee

...have a maximum cap space of $57 million.

Player Option:
D Williams (5.6m or 8.4m c/h) D Nowitski (8.7 or 12.0m c/h) C Parsons (16m or 24.0m c/h)
Unrestricted Free Agent:
Z Pachulia (7.8m c/h) R Felton (6.0m c/h) C Villanueva (1.5m c/h)
Team Option:
J McGee (1.4m or 2.1m c/h) J Jenkins (1.1m or 1.6m c/h)

• Nowitzki will more than likely opt in (8.7m), that uses up least amount of cap space and he is not going anywhere.
• Williams 31 and earning 5m will almost certainly opt out to secure his last paycheck asap.
• Pachulia is having a career year and only earning $5m. He will test the market to secure his last paycheck.
• Parsons is a 50/50: if he opts in he cuts into the Dallas cap space by $16m; if he opts out his cap hold uses up $24m.

Cap Space (57.0m) less Nowitzki opt in (8.7m) = 48.3 cap space
Cap Space (57.0m) less Nowitzki opt in (8.7m) less Parsons opt in (16.0m) = 32.3 cap space

• If a player's cap hold is renounced, they can never be resigned over the salary cap.
• If their cap hold is not renounced, cap hold counts against salary cap space, but team can exceed cap to resign.

Jr Max = 21m | Mid-Tier Max = 25.3m | Vet Max = 29.5m

If Parsons opts in Dallas must decide between:

• Renounce Williams and Pachulia = 32.3m in cap space
?PG / Mathews / Parsons / Nowitzki / ?C
Barea / Harris / ?SF/ Powell / ?C

• Renounce Williams = 32.3m - Williams cap hold (8.4) = 23.9m in cap space
?PG / Mathews / Parsons / Nowitzki / Potentially Pachulia
Barea / Harris / ?SF / Powell / ?C

• Renounce Pachulia = 32.3m - Pachulia cap hold (7.8) = 24.5m in cap space
Potentially Williams / Mathews / Parsons / Nowitzki / ?C
Barea / Harris / ?SF / Powell / ?C

If Parsons opts out Dallas must decide between:

• Renounce Parsons + Williams + Pachulia's cap hold = 48.3m in cap space
?PG / Mathews / ?SF / Nowitzki / ?C
Barea / Harris / ?SF / Powell / ?C

• Renounce only Parsons = 48.3m - Williams cap hold (8.4) - Pachulia cap hold (7.8m) = 32.1m in cap space
Potentially Williams / Mathews / ?SF / Nowitzki / Potentially Pachulia
Barea / Harris / ?SF / Powell / ?C

• Renounce Parsons + Williams = 48.3m - Pachulia cap hold (7.8m) = 40.5m in cap space
?PG / Mathews / ?SF / Nowitzki / Potentially Pachulia
Barea / Harris / ?SF / Powell / ?C

• Renounce Parsons + Pachulia = 48.3m - Williams cap hold (8.4m) = 39.4m in cap space
?PG / Mathews / ?SF / Nowitzki / Potentially Pachulia
Barea / Harris / ?SF / Powell / ?C

[ezzzp]

Festus Ezeli

Nevertheless, the latest news about Festus Ezeli requiring exploratory surgery on his troublesome left knee is the first time this season when there is legitimate reason for long-term concern — if not necessarily panic — about an injury...

...the fact that the fourth-year center needed an extended period to recover from a past knee surgery — he missed the entire 2013-14 season after surgery to reinforce ligaments in his right knee — is cause for a degree of concern about both when he'll be ready to return this season and what his long-term outlook is as he looks ahead to free agency.

http://www.goldenstateofmind.com/2016/2/8/10941708/nba-2016-golden-state-warriors-news-festus-ezeli-injury-surgery-stephen-curry-draymond-green

[Incognito76]

I wish there was more realistic talk about what we could do this summer instead of talking about signing Durant. Durant could happen but chances are one in million. I mean maybe we sign Lebron too as he is free agent too, right? Durant isn't coming to 35 win team to try his luck winning championship, he is 27 and if he can't get championship in next few years he probably never will. I know we can sign 2 max deals but almost all teams can sign 1 max this summer and many teams have better core then us (look at wins for confirmation).

I hope we get active around draft and trade our pick(probably around 11) to some team that is looking to rebuild. We can use cap space to absorb big contracts and send young prospects other way.
Atalanta could look to rebuild. Teague and Millsap are obvious trade targets that would improve our starting 5 greatly. Teague will be traded somewhere this summer most likely, Millsap was Magic target last summer so it is obvious we like him.
LA Clipers Blake Griffin will be available this summer? What would it take to get Griffin? Gordon + pick + Oladipo would be enough?
Would Phoenix Suns trade Eric Bledsoe? He is 26 and Suns won't be good for few more years so it would be beneficial for Suns and Bledsoe to trade Bledsoe.

PG - Mike Conley
SF - Changler Parsons, Harrison Barnes, Nicolas Batum
PF - Mirza Teletovic, Ryan Anderson
C - Ian Mahinmi, Festus Ezeli, Hassan Whiteside,

These are all players that we could realistically get and would improve our starting 5 or would be really good bench players. Getting DeRozan and Horford could be possible too.

[UCF]

I know the Warriors make most teams look silly but nothing Horford has done tonight makes me think he's worth a max deal.

[Def Swami]

I wonder if ATL would even max Horford out. I'd assume they would if they can't replace him, but I think a chunk of teams will be wary given the age. He'll still have a plethora of suitors ready to max him (including us, Boston, Toronto, LA, etc.) just because there are so many teams with money to spend and teams are desperate for the talent.

[Xatticus]

I know the Warriors make most teams look silly but nothing Horford has done tonight makes me think he's worth a max deal.

Durant, James, Drummond, and DeRozan are the only players that I personally believe are worth a max contract this coming free agency period. It will be very interesting to see how many players actually get them.

[Bensational]

Horford really shouldn't be worth max dollars. He's not a star, and I'm not sure he's a massive difference maker as an individual, and he's had big issues with injuries in recent years, and he's going to be 30.

Yeah, he's a good player, and he'd be good as a 3rd option on a Big 3 (like in OKC with Durant and Westbrook, or in Chicago with Rose and Butler, etc), but we need to prioritize getting the Big 2 first and foremost. Adding an expensive 3rd option like that just makes it harder to obtain a legit star.

[ezzzp]

Boston Celtics

http://www.basketballinsiders.com/boston-celtics-team-salary/

Key Rotation:
Thomas | Bradley | Crowder | Johnson | Sullinger
Smart | Turner | Jerebko | Olynick

• Unrestricted Free Agent:
E Turner (5.1m cap hold)
• Restricted Free Agents:
J Sullinger (8.9m cap hold / T Zeller(7.4m cap hold)
• Team Options:
A Johnson (12m or 18m cap hold) / J Jerebko (5m or 7.5m cap hold)

Boston has $34m in guaranteed salary, so they will have a maximum of $58 million in cap space. But to have that full amount they would need to waive and renounce all their free agents and team options.

Max salary contracts are Jr: $23.0m, Mid-Tier $27.6m and Vet $32.2m.

Because of who their free agents / team options are Boston looks like they would be looking for a SG or a PF or a C.

***Jae Crowder (SF) was just signed to a great value contract and he is playing well. I doubt they chase Harrison Barnes.
***Isaah Thomas (PG) is an all-star. I find it hard to imagine they chase Conley because of that.

To add one mid-tier max (Horford, Batum, Durant) would have to renounce all but $30.4m of their free agents / team options.
To add one jr. max (Parsons, Fournier, Barnes, Whiteside) would have to renounce all but $35m of their free agents / team options.

Golden State Warriors

http://www.basketballinsiders.com/golden-state-warriors-team-salary/

Curry | Thompson | Barnes | Green | Bogut
Livingston | Iguodala | Ezeli

Golden State has $70m in guaranteed salary, with the salary cap at $92m that means they have $22m in salary cap. The very lowest Jr Max salary is $23m. Kevin Durant is eligible for the mid tier max which is $27.6 million.

For GSW to sign Durant they have to convince him to take a big pay cut....and that's before you even start talking about those free agent/team options which you say they can easily renounce. In that group are several key players:

Shaun Livingston - Team Option (5.8m) Livingston is a very key back up point guard and the 7th most used player on the roster. If GSW waive him, immediately other teams will make him offers - certainly higher than anything he has been payed before. GSW can not sign him over the salary cap.

Festus Ezeli - Restricted Free Agent (6.6m cap hold) Ezeli is GSW's key back up big, who has been a major factor every time Bogut gets hurt - which is often and played huge in the playoffs. 31 year old Bogut's contract ends next year, putting more pressure on GSW to match offer sheets for Ezeli, who will likely get max (or near max) offers from several teams looking for a young defensive anchor. Again if GSW renounce his cap hold, they lose the right to match and the ability to resign him over the salary cap.

Harrison Barnes - Restricted Free Agent (10.4m cap hold) Barnes is GSW's starting SF, and is one of the most intriguing forwards in the free agency market. He will likely get max (or near max) offers from several teams. Again if GSW renounce his cap hold, they lose the right to match and the ability to resign him over the salary cap.

...on top of those key players there will also be cap holds on free agents: M Speights, L Barbosa, and A Verajao.

[ezzzp]

I know the Warriors make most teams look silly but nothing Horford has done tonight makes me think he's worth a max deal.

Durant, James, Drummond, and DeRozan are the only players that I personally believe are worth a max contract this coming free agency period. It will be very interesting to see how many players actually get them.

Worth rarely correlates with skill level. What a player is worth is what one team will pay at a very specific moment ant context.

Talking heads and numerous people on this board said no way would Tristan Thompson would get paid max, yet here he is with a 5/y$92m contract. Meanwhile Steph Curry is making $12m this year and next.

[Skin]

Right or Wrong.... If I were the GM of the Magic, I'd take ya'll on a wild ride this offseason!

First thing I do is recruit the hell out of Whiteside starting at 12:01 midnight and offer him the max. I know this is not a popular decision, but I'm willing to take the risk. His talent is too rare. Vucevic starts to play a little more PF depending on the match up.



Next, I offer Brandon Jennings a contract between $10-12M per year for 4 years.

Then, I exercise the Team Option on Ersan Ilyasova at $8M.

Happily match whatever contract Evan Fournier receives. At this point the Magic are over the cap

Draft Ivan Rabb, currently #13 at DX.

PG Brandon Jennings / Elfrid Payton / CJ Watson
SG Victor Oladipo / Mario Hezonja / CJ Watson
SF Evan Fournier / Aaron Gordon / Mario Hezonja
PF Aaron Gordon / Nikola Vucevic / Ersan Ilyasova / Ivan Rabb
C Hassan Whiteside / Nikola Vucevic

Still loaded with youth in a model that is built for long term sustainability.

[pepe1991]

We picked worst offseason to have money ever. Half of teams will have cap space, from FA list you have 2 guys worth max deal ( Drummond, Durant ) and maybe Beal and DeRozan, after them you have huge drop in talent.

I have no hope in Whiteside, i can see him being new Morris twin as soon as he leaves Riley (offcourt problems, oncourtproblems...)
Barnes is extreamly overrated if you ask me,he is listed 3# in league in widest open look he gets when he shoots. Curry-Klay effect . he is 5th best player on Warriors and wants to be max deal player? How?

Batum is underrated, Teletovic would be great pick, Ezili is really good for what he does.

[Xatticus]

Worth rarely correlates with skill level. What a player is worth is what one team will pay at a very specific moment ant context.

Talking heads and numerous people on this board said no way would Tristan Thompson would get paid max, yet here he is with a 5/y$92m contract. Meanwhile Steph Curry is making $12m this year and next.

I simply meant to say that they will provide on court value over the duration of the deal that warrants a contract occupying such a high percentage of a team's payroll. Otherwise a player's worth would easily be measured in terms of their paycheck. That Thompson contract is horrendous. And credit to Golden St. for giving Curry that deal when his career was still in jeopardy from recurring ankle issues.

[drsd]

Right or Wrong.... If I were the GM of the Magic, I'd take ya'll on a wild ride this offseason!

First thing I do is recruit the hell out of Whiteside starting at 12:01 midnight and offer him the max.
PG Brandon Jennings / Elfrid Payton / CJ Watson
SG Victor Oladipo / Mario Hezonja / CJ Watson
SF Evan Fournier / Aaron Gordon / Mario Hezonja
PF Aaron Gordon / Nikola Vucevic / Ersan Ilyasova / Ivan Rabb
C Hassan Whiteside / Nikola Vucevic

Still loaded with youth in a model that is built for long term sustainability.

There are real reasons Whiteside as a PER north of 24. Does his play complement the Magic roster: yes. Can Orlando hide his clear and obvious deficiencies: yes.

The roster you have generated might be something like what the 2016/17 roster looks like, but I do not agree with the depth chart.

For me it would look like:

Payton/Jennings/Watson
Oladipo/Hezonja
Gordon/Fournier
Vučević/İlyasova/Rabb
Whiteside/Smith/Dedmon

This is a huge roster and is exactly the opposite of the current NBA trend to play small ball. In that it would work because opponent teams could not guard at any position, and the Magic have enough athleticism to be disruptive on defense.

Frankly, to quote former-GM-Smith, "I like this team." It has huge risks of fit, but risks worth taking.



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