2009 free agency

[is1531]

In 2009 teams like OKC, Indiana, Portland and possibly Miami could be big players in free agency. Here is why.



http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/s ... AHeadlines

[Sandalf42]

OMG YES. KYLE KORVER IS AN ETO. HE'S COMING BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[The Guilty Party]

One sentence.
One crazy emoticon.
One link.
No opinions.

Got it.

[geiger]

Hey, not for nothing, but if Korver opts out, I would be all for giving him the full MLE to come back. He would be a perfect back up on this team. With Brand in the post, he would shoot well over 40% on 3's. Bring back the sniper! If the team gels and Miller looks good, extend him by 2 seasons during the season, then spend the first round pick on the best player available irrespective of position (but preferably a center) and sign Korver to the MLE to back up Young and Iggy.

[ankle420breaker]

Hey, not for nothing, but if Korver opts out, I would be all for giving him the full MLE to come back. He would be a perfect back up on this team. With Brand in the post, he would shoot well over 40% on 3's. Bring back the sniper! If the team gels and Miller looks good, extend him by 2 seasons during the season, then spend the first round pick on the best player available irrespective of position (but preferably a center) and sign Korver to the MLE to back up Young and Iggy.

Put me on board. We'd have one hell of a bench in Lou, Korver, and Evans to back up a solid starting 5.

[ProcessDoctor]

Bring Kyle back? How about bringing AI back? But really, that would be nice if it happened. If only chemistry wasn't a concern. His talents fit what this team needs, but Miller brings such a positive attitude and good chemistry to this team that it would be mean to disrupt it. Korver would definitley be nice though.

Miller/Williams
Iguodala/Korver
Young/Iguodala
Brand/Evans/Speights
Dalembert/Ratliff

2009 NBA Champions

Awesome 10 man rotation right there. Korver would put us over the top.

[geiger]

Korver disrupting the chemistry? You have to be joking. AI, a definite possibility and probability of disrupting chemistry. Korver? Not a chance. And for all the AI coming back talk - AI wants big bucks. Only on this board do I hear people say that he'll take a $50 million pay cut because he loves Philly so much. This is all not to mention that he probably isn't the ideal fit with the current team.

[ProcessDoctor]

Korver disrupting the chemistry? You have to be joking. AI, a definite possibility and probability of disrupting chemistry. Korver? Not a chance. And for all the AI coming back talk - AI wants big bucks. Only on this board do I hear people say that he'll take a $50 million pay cut because he loves Philly so much. This is all not to mention that he probably isn't the ideal fit with the current team.

Sorry if it was unclear. Iverson was who I was referring to about the chemistry issues. Korver wouldn't disrupt anything at all.

[The Guilty Party]

I would be for bringing Kyle back as well but I just don't know if it'll happen. He's making right around the MLE and probably won't get above that so the only motivation for him to opt-out is to throw a couple more guaranteed years on his deal. Hopefully he doesn't have any harsh feelings towards Ed after he was traded fairly quickly by our new GM.

[Court_visioN]

korver basically got traded with Carney and Booth and a 1st for Elton Brand, why would there be any hard feelings? lol

I agree though, I doubt Korver would opt out from his deal.

[geiger]

I actually think it's almost guaranteed Korver will opt out of his deal. He would be insane not to. He would have 2 years and $10.6 million left on his deal. If he opts out, he is almost guaranteed to get a full MLE deal from someone for 5 years at about $33 million. That means if he doesn't opt out, he would be walking away from about $23 million dollars which he would never be able to recoup since by waiting another two years, he would get into his 30's and would never get another huge contract again. Actually, looking at that, he would be insane not to opt out. And once he does opt out, a team like Utah, whose owner absolutely refuses to pay the luxury tax and will either have to re-sign Boozer or re-make their entire team, isn't likely to go after him. There will be a few teams that want Korver for the full MLE, but there is no reason to think that the Sixers wouldn't be at the top of his list. He has a great relationship with Cheeks. Willie Green and Andre Iguodala are close friends. He got along with everyone on the team. He loved Philly. He could come back and get decent minutes off the bench and have a true low post player to play with like he does in Utah now, but even better because his defense wouldn't be as much of a drag in Philly with Brand and Dalembert guarding the post.

[The Guilty Party]

Your logic is ok but as it is right now, the Jazz are scheduled to pay Korver right around the MLE for next the 3 years. If he opts out and re-signs for the MLE, it's not as though his year to year salary would go up so I don't believe the Jazz are going to tell him that they aren't interested in re-signing him. As for the tax and what not, most people believe Boozer is headed to Miami and if that happens, the Jazz won't be having tax concerns.

I'm not saying he won't come back, but I'm saying that the odds are against it happening.

[geiger]

He would be opting out after next season, so he would be waling away from $10.6 to get $33. Jazz would not be concerned so much with the per year salary - it's the duration of the contract. And if Boozer leaves, they will need to replace Boozer by signing a star or giving a big deal to Paul Millsap, who will also be a free agent and adding another impact player. Re-signing Korver should not be a huge priority for them - especially considering that without Boozer's inside scoring and in their offensive system, predicated on the low post offense and motion, Korver all of a sudden doesn't become such a great fit.

I don't so much think it's a matter of Jazz being interested or not. It's a matter of pure dollars and cents. If you had a deal for $10.6 that you could turn into $33, why wouldn't you do it? Especially knowing that you likely will never be able to recoup that money again because in 3 years, the 27 year old Korver will be the 30 year old Korver, and while getting a 5 year deal at 28 will be easy, getting one at 30 won't be much tougher. Jason Kapono got the full MLE and Korver won't have a problem doing the same. Jazz might be interested in bringing him back for that amount, but they will be pre-occupied with more important issues in the beginning of free agency and a guy like Korver, who can't expect to command more than the MLE, will want to act fast. The last few years of free agency have shown that the money goes quickly for unrestricted free agents and those who make a quick decision, usually come out ahead.

Now, is it guaranteed he would come back here? Not at all. He's one of the top shooters in the leeague. While money offered will essentially be the same, there will be a number of teams who will want to bring in a guy like Korver. Lakers, Suns, Jazz, Portland, etc. But I do believe that he will opt out and I do think that the odds are more favorable to him leaving the Jazz than to his staying in Utah. Now, will that translate to him coming to Philly? Not necessarily. But I think we'll have as good a shot as a number of teams do and I do think that his familiarity with the city, the coach, and the system, as well as having a few very close friends on the team will help us if Stefanski choses to go that way.