Summer 2012 Free Agents Thread - Part II

[Rafael122]

Per the Tap

Nicolas Batum, who will be a restricted free agent this summer, will not delay free agency negotiations to help the Trail Blazers, who hope to spend their cap space prior to re-signing him.

“The first good offer we get, we're going with that,” Batum’s agent, Bouna Ndiaye, said. “We're not waiting for anything.”

The Trail Blazers are expected to have as much as $15-20 million in cap space, while Batum could command as much as $10-11 million per year from another team.

Love the agents attitude

Q: How much would you pay for Batum? (Assuming no MKG)

Um....maybe $8 to $9 million...topping out at $12 million.

[Nivek]

My salary formula suggests that Batum's total numbers last year were worth about $8.6 million. His per 36 numbers were worth about $11.4 million.

[theboomking]

My salary formula suggests that Batum's total numbers last year were worth about $8.6 million. His per 36 numbers were worth about $11.4 million.

Batum could have a lot of value for a team like the Wizards, that need shooting, have a distributor, play at a fast pace, and value defense. Batum would help us in the half court set with his shooting. He would help us on the break with his athleticism. Our defense was pretty good towards the end of the year. Imagine how good it would be with Batum. My only hesitancy is the desire to be a major player for Harden next year.

Looking at Hoopshype, if we amnesty Blatche, our 2013/2014 cap number is currently $32,966,875, but includes only 7 players and not our 2012 draft pick.
http://hoopshype.com/salaries/washington.htm
Derrick Williams made 4.75 million this year as the number 2 pick. Assuming that stays steady, if we hold our draft position, we will have 8 players at $37,716,877. If the cap goes up 1 million from the 2011/2012 cap of 58million, before 2013/14, we have about 22 million dollars to spend to fill out the rest of our roster.

Unless we find some way to cut a lot of costs, we aren't goint to be able to bring in Batum and Harden. Probably doesn't matter, as neither OKC nor Portland are likely to let those players walk.

Assuming we can't land either Harden or Batum, how would you guys spend that 22 million to fill out the rest of the roster?

[Dat2U]

I don't see Portland letting Batum go. I think they'd match any offer since it would be a 4 year deal only.

Same with Orlando & Ryan Anderson.

If we miss on Davis, Ilyasova might be the most realistic big name target as a unrestricted free agent. He'll be looking for the biggest offer as well.

[queridiculo]

If Harden hasn't made the case for holding out for a chance to sign him as a restricted free agent by now I don't know what else to say.

Harden is the truth and exactly the type of player we could use as a backcourt mate to Wall.

Unreal performance down the stretch against the Lakers tonight, wow.

[Dat2U]

Question is why in the world would OKC not keep Harden at this point???

Harden in a Wizards uni is about as unrealistic as Deron Williams or Dwight Howard in one.

[queridiculo]

The real question is whether OKC can afford to sign Harden to a max deal (~$14 million) and pay Ibaka ~$12 million at the same time.

[Nivek]

The real question is whether OKC can afford to sign Harden to a max deal (~$14 million) and pay Ibaka ~$12 million at the same time.

I don't know whether OKC's ownership is willing to go into luxury tax territory, but the Thunder have room to operate like a big market team because a) OKC is going through a HUGE energy boom -- there's a river of corporate money flowing through that town; b) the Thunder are ludicrously popular in that town -- EVERYONE is a fan, going to the games is an event and EVERYONE wants to go; and c) they're the only pro team in town. It's a unique situation.

As for Ibaka and Harden -- they clearly have room for at least one at that salary level. If they can pay luxury tax, they could do both. If not, my guess is that Presti will be able to find a lower cost replacement for one of them.

[nate33]

The real question is whether OKC can afford to sign Harden to a max deal (~$14 million) and pay Ibaka ~$12 million at the same time.

Yup. And the second question is, if they have to make a choice, which guy do they keep?

A third question is, will Ibaka and Harden give a "home team discount" in order to stay together on a championship contender, recognizing that OKC is not exactly a great market for off-the-court income generation.

[Nivek]

The real question is whether OKC can afford to sign Harden to a max deal (~$14 million) and pay Ibaka ~$12 million at the same time.

Yup. And the second question is, if they have to make a choice, which guy do they keep?

A third question is, will Ibaka and Harden give a "home team discount" in order to stay together on a championship contender, recognizing that OKC is not exactly a great market for off-the-court income generation.

See my post above. I was in OKC earlier this year, and off-court opportunities for the players are good. The team is hugely popular, there's a TON of money coming in because of the energy boom they're having, and the players are borderline worshiped. It's probably not enough to make up for leaving $3-4 million per year in salary on the table. But, there would be additional opportunities that come if they win a title or two. It's an interesting question.

[Rafael122]

Question is why in the world would OKC not keep Harden at this point???

Harden in a Wizards uni is about as unrealistic as Deron Williams or Dwight Howard in one.

Ibaka is just as important as Harden is. I still stand by my thinking that they will keep 1 but not both.

Edit: Ibaka becomes even more important if Perk continues to break down physically. I think Harden is the one that bolts.

[nate33]

The real question is whether OKC can afford to sign Harden to a max deal (~$14 million) and pay Ibaka ~$12 million at the same time.

Yup. And the second question is, if they have to make a choice, which guy do they keep?

A third question is, will Ibaka and Harden give a "home team discount" in order to stay together on a championship contender, recognizing that OKC is not exactly a great market for off-the-court income generation.

See my post above. I was in OKC earlier this year, and off-court opportunities for the players are good. The team is hugely popular, there's a TON of money coming in because of the energy boom they're having, and the players are borderline worshiped. It's probably not enough to make up for leaving $3-4 million per year in salary on the table. But, there would be additional opportunities that come if they win a title or two. It's an interesting question.

I could be wrong, but I figure any kind of local endorsement deal they would get in OKC as the 3rd or 4th best player on the team is small change compared to the type of national endorsement deal they could get if they played in a larger media market as the first or second-best player on their team.

I'm not saying it's the clinching argument or anything. I'm just saying it's a bit different from Lebron, Wade and Bosh taking less money to go to Miami. At their level of stardom, any reduction in player salary pales in comparison to the endorsement opportunities.

[dobrojim]

hopefully the Rockets like Dragic for 8 mil because if they spend on him maybe they won't have enough left over for Courtney Lee, who has become my #1 SG target this off-season.

I'd be very careful about overpaying Lee. His numbers are only slightly better than Cartier Martin's and they're basically the same age.

Why Lee and not Danny Green?

edit -I screwed this up...this was meant to be directed to whoever it
was that said Lee was high on their radar.

[dobrojim]

The real question is whether OKC can afford to sign Harden to a max deal (~$14 million) and pay Ibaka ~$12 million at the same time.

I don't know whether OKC's ownership is willing to go into luxury tax territory, but the Thunder have room to operate like a big market team because a) OKC is going through a HUGE energy boom -- there's a river of corporate money flowing through that town; b) the Thunder are ludicrously popular in that town -- EVERYONE is a fan, going to the games is an event and EVERYONE wants to go; and c) they're the only pro team in town. It's a unique situation.

As for Ibaka and Harden -- they clearly have room for at least one at that salary level. If they can pay luxury tax, they could do both. If not, my guess is that Presti will be able to find a lower cost replacement for one of them.

Side note -
Chesapeake Energy, an OKC company, just got in the news for all the wrong reasons

http://tinyurl.com/85qgles

That said, there is probably still plenty of money for the hugely locally popular
Thunder to re-sign Harden as much as we all would love him here.

[fishercob]

I really enjoy watching The Thunder play -- and yet, I wish bad things upon their owner Clay Bennett because he is a carpetbagging liar. For anyone who has not watched the uncut Sonicsgate documentary, it is a worthy use of two hours. If you hated David Stern before this, you'll be apoplectic afterwards.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9Dp20ydm1E

[dobrojim]

I'm not a big fan of the DeVos folks running the magic

1. Richard ‘Dick’ DeVos

The 85-year-old multi-billionaire, Richard DeVos, is the 62nd richest person in America and 254th wealthiest in the world, according to Forbes. He amassed much of his $4.2 billion fortune as co-founder of the Amway Corporation. Along the way, he purchased the [National Basketball Associations’s] Orlando Magic for $85 million. That was back in 1991. Today, Forbes values the team at $385 million, a number that could rise now that the team’s brand new Amway Center is complete and expected to host the NBA All-Star game in 2012.

DeVos spent years insisting that Florida’s residents build him a new arena, even threatening, as most owners do, to uproot the team if Orlando didn’t heed his demands. Ultimately, his request was granted and last October the Orlando Magic’s new home was unveiled along with a $480 million price tag. State and local taxpayers picked up most of the tab, while the team pitched in a puny 12 percent, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

But DeVos is more than just a billionaire owner soaked in hundreds of millions of dollars in corporate welfare. David Zirin has dubbed him “the top chef of every religious-right cause on Pat Robertson’s buffet table.” DeVos funnels millions of dollars through his nonprofit Richard and Helen DeVos Foundation to fund conservative Christian groups championing such causes as discredited reparative gay therapy designed to turn gay and lesbian people into heterosexuals, the teaching of creationism in schools, and the privatization of all things public, to name just a few.

Among his favorite funding projects are Focus on the Family, the Family Research Council, and the Traditional Values Coalition, all of which made it onto the Southern Poverty Law Center’s list of groups that “help drive the religious right’s anti-gay crusade.” DeVos has also backed the Christian Dominionist movement, which believes in instituting a Christian theocracy governed by Biblical law in place of the constitution. He is also a member of the Council for National Policy (CNP), a secretive group created by the radical John Birch Society in the early 1980s.

what a hypocrite - extorted millions from the taxpayers to build the arena but
wants to privatize everything in sight.

[nate33]

Hmmm. Just kicking around ideas here. Assuming we cut Lewis and amnesty Blatche, we should have around $12M in cap room. What about a Nick Collison type of contract for Batum? Offer him a contract that pays $12M and $12.5M over the next two years respectively, but then drops down to $8M a year or so in the following two years? The idea is to spend money that we're not going to use anyway, but then get his contract under control by the time it's time to resign Wall and Seraphin.

Would a 4-year, $40M contract frontloaded like that be enough to scare Portland away?

[Doctor Bombay]

Hmmm. Just kicking around ideas here. Assuming we cut Lewis and amnesty Blatche, we should have around $12M in cap room. What about a Nick Collison type of contract for Batum? Offer him a contract that pays $12M and $12.5M over the next two years respectively, but then drops down to $8M a year or so in the following two years? The idea is to spend money that we're not going to use anyway, but then get his contract under control by the time it's time to resign Wall and Seraphin.

Would a 4-year, $40M contract frontloaded like that be enough to scare Portland away?

I like Batum, and especially like the idea of frontloading his contract offer. It seems like this should happen more often when teams have significant cap room.

[Ruzious]

Hmmm. Just kicking around ideas here. Assuming we cut Lewis and amnesty Blatche, we should have around $12M in cap room. What about a Nick Collison type of contract for Batum? Offer him a contract that pays $12M and $12.5M over the next two years respectively, but then drops down to $8M a year or so in the following two years? The idea is to spend money that we're not going to use anyway, but then get his contract under control by the time it's time to resign Wall and Seraphin.

Would a 4-year, $40M contract frontloaded like that be enough to scare Portland away?

I like Batum, and especially like the idea of frontloading his contract offer. It seems like this should happen more often when teams have significant cap room.

Yeah, ya gotta wonder why it's such a rare thing. It has been done, so it doesn't take thinking outside of the box to do - but, maybe teams led by folks like EG - are so entrenched in their ways and so... lazy... that they don't do these kinds of things.

[Ruzious]

Question is why in the world would OKC not keep Harden at this point???

Harden in a Wizards uni is about as unrealistic as Deron Williams or Dwight Howard in one.

Ibaka is just as important as Harden is. I still stand by my thinking that they will keep 1 but not both.

Edit: Ibaka becomes even more important if Perk continues to break down physically. I think Harden is the one that bolts.

I think the answer is - if they need to stay out of lux tax territory, trade Westbrook. He's needed less than the other 3. Harden is the guy who penetrates at will when they need someone to do that - not Westbrook or Durant. They really don't need a multi-talented player at the point. Btw, what's up with Maynor?