Lower-Tier Free Agent PF Options

[ecuhus1981]

For those of you who don't know, the New Jersey Nets have an unique opportunity to bolster their lineup significantly in free agency this summer.

It can get complicated to project capspace, especially with buyouts and player and team options. For simplicity's sake, let's assume these three things:

1) the Nets buy out Dooling ($500K guaranteed)
2) Kris Humphries opts IN for the final year of his contract ($3.2mil; no one will give him that on the open market); and
3) the Nets keep CDR (he may or may not be our FO's problem child, but $900K with his talents is a real bargain. AT LEAST we can use him as trade filler later, as other teams do like him...)

With those moves in mind, a projected cap of $56mil, and after accounting for roster holds and the cap holds of our two 1st-round picks, our remaining capspace should be $22mil. Max contracts for veterans with 7-10 years of NBA experience (like Bosh, Wade, LeBron etc.) will be 30% of the cap, or $16.8mil. That leaves us with $5.2mil under the cap to attract another FA, which is about the same as the MLE.

I feel confident that this summer we will pick up a swingman who will help our team immensely. Whether it's LeBron, Wade, Johnson, Gay or someone else, our large amount of capspace should aid our quick transition in contender territory.

The only thing I think we would then lack is a solid two-way PF. Yi is developing, albeit slowly; we just can't afford to wait on him. Many Nets fans are enamored with some of the upper-echelon PFs this offseason, like Bosh, Amar'e, Boozer and Lee, and feel that this is the bigger priority. If we pursue any of these guys, it will have to be our major acquisition of the offseason. For my money (even though it's not my money! :p ), the top swingmen are a better value for what we spend than their PF counterparts, except for Lee vs. Gay. I.E., I'd rather spend max money on the Chosen One or D-Wade than CB4 or STAT, and I'd rather spend near-max on JJ than on Booz.

Furthermore, the talent pool drops off considerably after upper tiers of FA swingmen. Guys who will be available in the range of the money we'll have left to spend, like Ronnie Brewer, JJ Redick and Anthony Morrow, aren't going to contribute more to our perimeter than T-Will, Lee and CDR already do. BUT, I think we can get a starting-caliber veteran PF for $5.2mil or less. Here is my breakdown of four sub-MLE bigmen, and you tell me who you'd prefer (or, tell me to screw my plans and settle for David Lee and Mike Miller!):

DREW GOODEN - 6'10, 250lbs - 28yo - more mobile than the average full-sized PF; strong defender; gets overly infatuated with finesse game and midrange J at times; averaged 15/9 in 30mpg after being traded to the Clippers, has proven a bigtime producer when given PT.

TYRUS THOMAS - 6'10 (?), 225lbs - 24yo - measured 6'8.25" at pre-draft camp, listed at 6'8 on NBA records before this season (probable contract-year height inflation); regardless, active body and 7'3" wingspan make him a valuable help defender and shot-blocker; has yet to harness his fullest potential, tends to force offense when it is outside of his ability; maddeningly inefficient for a player who should get plenty of put-back and alley-oop opportunities; still young with Josh Smith upside; without the right tutelage (ahem, Tom Thibodeau, ahem) he may become a Stromile-esque lost cause. The quintessential boom-or-bust FA pickup.

UDONIS HASLEM - 6'8, 235lbs - 29yo - prototypical rugged cleanup guy every contender covets; might be wooed by above-MLE offers; undersized, but who cares? He defends well, runs the floor, attacks the glass and brings winning intangibles; works well around a true C, should aid Brook's development.

AL HARRINGTON - 6'9, 250lbs - 30yo - burly, skilled "hometown" combo forward who our FO has coveted for some time; gaudy but inefficient producer in D'Antoni's stat-friendly offense; unmotivated defender.


So, who would you choose, and why?

[Preludepunk27]

To tell you the truth,

I know you said these are Lower-Tier options, but to be brutally honestly, I'd throw a brick their the Nets front office window if they sign any of these guys. I'd rather draft a PF at Dallas's pick and in the 2nd round and just throw a large amount of young bodies at teams defensively than have any of those guys. Unless they're signing for less than 4 million a year (even in Al's case), I'm not touching them with a 200 foot pole.

[vincecarter4pres]

I mainly agree with you Lude, but I wouldn't be opposed to Haslem if he were signed for something like 4 years at about 20 mill total with yearly pay increases if we blew our load on a wing.

[vincecarter4pres]

BTW, even assuming 1st overall pick salary, Humphries picking up his option, picking up CDR's option and all necessary capholds, we should have almost 26 million in cap space with a cap set at 56 and change, which is what it is currently projected at.

Another thing I have been mulling on lately is Humphries. I have a strong feeling he is going to opt out. He's young, still has some limited potential and has shown himself this year to have some value as a limited minute bench big that hustles, rebounds, runs the floor and plays defense(at least he's 6 valuable fouls). With guys like Chris Wilcox, Chuck Hayes, Darius Songaile, Amir Johnson and even Eduardo Najera getting multi year deals for similar money, it certainly is within the realm of possibility that he can get a deal for 2.5 to 3 mill a year for 3 or 4 years.

[NJ To BK]

out of your choices.... Gooden... I dont think hes the best player out of those 4 but I think he would be the best compliment to Lopez which is far more significant.

[jeff1624]

I don't want ANY of those guys. There's a reason Drew Gooden has been on 8 teams thru out his career. Dude sucks.. sure he's a great rebounder but that's it.. he plays no defense, he takes some of the stupidest shots ever and has the IQ of a paper clip.

Al Harrington is a talented player but the definition of a ballhog. He'd rather shoot over 4 guys then pass the ball, we don't need that here.

Tyrus thomas sucks too.. ok shot blocker and rebounder but that's it. Seeing as how Chicago traded him away despite having a glaring hole at the 4, it's pretty safe to say that Thomas isn't a starter in this league.

Udonis Haslem is a nice player. Solid mid range shot, is a team player and brings toughness but I don't think he's a starter anymore. He'd be perfect as the backup 4 but I doubt he'd leave miami to sign with us.

[NetsForce]

I actually think Tyrus Thomas has Josh Smith potential... He suffers from same of the same problems Smith did early on in his career (too many jumpers / not playing close enough to the basket)...

With some bulk and common sense he could be a good player, I personally wouldn't mind signing him...

[vincecarter4pres]

I actually think Tyrus Thomas has Josh Smith potential... He suffers from same of the same problems Smith did early on in his career (too many jumpers / not playing close enough to the basket)...

With some bulk and common sense he could be a good player, I personally wouldn't mind signing him...

Puke.

[jeff1624]

I actually think Tyrus Thomas has Josh Smith potential... He suffers from same of the same problems Smith did early on in his career (too many jumpers / not playing close enough to the basket)...

With some bulk and common sense he could be a good player, I personally wouldn't mind signing him...

Uhh no..

Josh Smith has always shown to be a good player. His rookie year was hampered by an idiot coach who for the first half of the season only played him sparingly, despite Smith showing some freakish athleticism and incredible shot blocking abilites.

Thomas will never be as good of a ball handler OR passer as Smith. So that comparison is dead..

[deviljets7]

All I know is barring MAX signings at other positions, I wouldn't give any of these guys more than 1 year. If cap space in 2011 is a likely scenario, I'm not wasting any of it on these guys.

[NetsForce]

He might not have Smith's passing or ball-handling abilities but he's a superior rebounder, and is very similar in terms of his shot-blocking and stealing abilities.

Another area where the two also have similarities whether you want to admit it or not is that they suffered from an identity crisis early on in their careers what's important to note however is that even though Tyrus is prone to playing away from the basket and taking jumpers that he can't hit just like Smith did early on in his career (it actually wasn't until this year, Smith's SIXTH year in the league that he wizened up and took the 3PT shot out of his game), Tyrus was never as inefficient as Smith was on the offensive end...

So long story short if Lee is a no-go I still say go after Thomas.

Throw him a 3 year deal in the mold of what Ramon Sessions got, you'll probably have to up the ante a bit since Tyrus is a relatively young big, but there really is no harm in giving the guy solid backup money (unlike in 2k10 etc. no one is going to pay Tyrus $8 miillion+) and then trying him out as a starter IF the Nets don't draft a PF with their own draft pick.

[enetric]

here is the problem. This gets back to filling positions. I have always said...dontbuild your NBA team that way. This isnt baseball. It isnt...hey...what is the best guy we can get for the spots we want to fill. Especially now when we are NO WHERE NEAR ready to do anything with this group.

If we land Lebron...then you can think about round the roster out moves. But if not...if we are going to fail to attract top tier talent...guys that are part of the picture for the next 5 years...then dont do a damn thing. Draft the best talent available at every pick...position needs BE DAMNED.

And keep developing the talent you have. Trust Rod to spend down the road on guys that make sense and realize that he will make trades to get better players than waste cap space by overpaying for mediocrity during a rebuild era. Just stay crappy...get picks...and all will work itself out.

This really should be a Lebron or bust mentality with regard to the cap room. Sure...there are some decent exceptions...but not many.

I wouldnt be surprised to see Lebron sign a new 3 year deal with the Cavs...3rd year as an opt out and we get another shot the year we move to Brooklyn. I would hate to see us lose our flexibility for a shot at him or anyone else that is big picture thinking because we were impatient and starting filling positions with bad contracts.

Patience, patience, patience....so my poll vote...NONE OF THE ABOVE

[ecuhus1981]

BTW, even assuming 1st overall pick salary, Humphries picking up his option, picking up CDR's option and all necessary capholds, we should have almost 26 million in cap space with a cap set at 56 and change, which is what it is currently projected at.

The truth is probably somewhere between your figure and mine.

Harris = $9mil
#1 pick = $5mil
Yi = $4mil
Humphries = $3.2mil
Lopez = $2.4mil
Williams = $2.2mil
Lee = $1.3mil
#27 pick = 1mil
Roberts = $0.9mil

That's $29mil. Then you have Dooling's buyout carcass ($500K), and the 3 roster holds under 12 ($500K each), and that makes $31mil. With a projected cap of $56mil, that'd be $25mil in capspace, closer to your figure. Thanks for clearing up that issue. We could sign a max FA, and possibly make a strong run at David Lee, with a 5-year deal starting at $8mil. It's certainly not the most he would command in FA, but he'd be a star on a great team... At least we might be able to execute a TPE deal for David West or Paul Millsap ( ).

Another thing I have been mulling on lately is Humphries. I have a strong feeling he is going to opt out.

I know what you're saying, and one of the local NJ newspapers quoted Kris as saying he still wasn't sure whether or not he'd opt out. I'd LOVE LIFE if he did. Personally, I think he'll have a tough time getting the vet's min on the open market, just because there are about 20 PFs in this year's FA that are as good as or better than Hump.

All I know is barring MAX signings at other positions, I wouldn't give any of these guys more than 1 year. If cap space in 2011 is a likely scenario, I'm not wasting any of it on these guys.

I know 2011 is a goal for alot of Nets fans, but let's get real. We're talking about $5mil. That's not a make-or-break amount, and we won't be players in 2011 unless 2010 goes horribly awry anyway.

[vincecarter4pres]

I don't know that 2011 is a good goal. The only realistic big time player is Melo, unless you can convince Durant to leave OKC and then we are going to have to ship the farm back to them as compensation because he is restricted.

I think the obvious point is to keep cap space for blockbuster trades. We have all seen how insanely valuable that expirings and a chump change asset can be over the last 2 or 3 seasons, a real asset or two combined with pure cap space(aka a TPE) would be the ultimate to a team looking to cut long term salary, get under the luxury tax and rebuild.

[deviljets7]

I don't know that 2011 is a good goal. The only realistic big time player is Melo, unless you can convince Durant to leave OKC and then we are going to have to ship the farm back to them as compensation because he is restricted.

I'm not saying screw 2010 if you can't get LeBron. I haven't seen a full list of 2011 free agents and I know the odds at a Melo or any other superstar is a long shot, but I sure as heck am not blowing that chance (however small) on guys like Drew Gooden.

[vincecarter4pres]

I don't know that 2011 is a good goal. The only realistic big time player is Melo, unless you can convince Durant to leave OKC and then we are going to have to ship the farm back to them as compensation because he is restricted.

I'm not saying screw 2010 if you can't get LeBron. I haven't seen a full list of 2011 free agents and I know the odds at a Melo or any other superstar is a long shot, but I sure as heck am not blowing that chance (however small) on guys like Drew Gooden.

Yeah, I agree, I was just trying to set up my second point about the caproom for trades.

[deviljets7]

^^^

Totally understand. It might cost a little more in terms of $$$, but I like the chances of getting a superior forward (compared to the poll options) on a 1-year deal virtually for free with a TPE.

Also as a general FYI for the entire forum. I found this list of 2010 and 2011 free agents. All of the 2010 RFAs can conceivably be unrestricted in 2011.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/stor ... ents-10-11

[ecuhus1981]

I meant to mention earlier, but possibly an even more affordable option would be Amir Johnson (3 years, $11mil?). He brings alot of the positives of Tyrus Thomas: shot-blocking (not quite as elite) and finishing the fast break. And at just 22yo, has already "put it together" better than TT, in terms of understanding his role.

He's a UFA this offseason. If Toronto loses Bosh, though, they will probably fight tooth and nail to keep Amir. They have Johnson's Bird Rights, so they can match any offer. But unlike RFA, there are no offer sheets; it's just a matter of where Amir chooses to sign.

[vincecarter4pres]

None of these dudes are really starters or long term answers. If we are going to blow caproom on guys like these we might as well have gone after a guy like Bass last season, or even Chris Wilcox for that matter. Like Devils said, there are better guys out there that can likely be had for nothing more then a TPE and a 2nd rounder. There are also other much better guys likely available for a TPE and a real asset like a future pick and CDR.

[deviljets7]

I'm not a fan of Yi/Humphries either, but man some of these names aren't even better than what we already have.

Amir Johnson, really? The grass isn't always greener on the other side.

Obviously this is like Plan D, but hell, I bet you can get a guy like Murphy for Hump straight up right now. Murphy has his flaws, but he had the perimeter shooting and rebounding that we've been praying Yi could develop the past two years.