The 2013 NBA Free Agency Thread

[Dat2U]

Cole Aldrich??? I don't need to read a scouting report to tell me he's a stiff.

I told folks he was a stiff and a career 4 & 4 player at best before he was drafted.

Is he worth the veteran's minimum? Sure, but not much else.

[Deeptu McPullup]

Interesting snippet from Chris Mannix:

West won't come cheap, not after a season where he averaged 17.1 points and 7.7 rebounds in 73 games. An Eastern Conference executive suggested West could draw a three-year, $36 million deal on the open market, a contract that he would finish at age 35. But West doesn't rely on brute strength or athleticism, and his feathery 15-foot jump shot suggests he will age better than most.

Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nba/ne ... z2VFBaEx3P

It's not gospel, but it's quite specific and maybe we could figure something out about the market for Millsap from that quote.

Maybe Millsap at a bit less per year but for four years? What do people think?

[Ruzious]

Interesting snippet from Chris Mannix:

West won't come cheap, not after a season where he averaged 17.1 points and 7.7 rebounds in 73 games. An Eastern Conference executive suggested West could draw a three-year, $36 million deal on the open market, a contract that he would finish at age 35. But West doesn't rely on brute strength or athleticism, and his feathery 15-foot jump shot suggests he will age better than most.

Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nba/ne ... z2VFBaEx3P

It's not gospel, but it's quite specific and maybe we could figure something out about the market for Millsap from that quote.

Maybe Millsap at a bit less per year but for four years? What do people think?

I think that's a good comparison - though Millsap's standing reach is significantly less than West's - which might mean less ability to defend on the interior. Millsap's not a stretch 4 or a dominant rebounder, but he'd be a big upgrade at the 4. The facts that the Wiz'd have to give up significant assets to get him in a sign and trade and likely lose the max cap space that would otherwise be available next offseason - wouldn't make me happy about trying to get him.

[Upper Decker]

A couple of back up FA guards that have piqued my interest are Wayne Ellington and Beno Udrih. I have a feeling both will be relatively undervalued this off-season and might be had for the vet minimum, however, they'd be significant upgrades over the current back up PG or SG.

Quick question for cap guys. Suppose a team is out of cap space and used their MLE and LLE, could they still sign minimum players if they're below the lux tax?

[Dat2U]

Before this year I would have said Wayne Ellington is simply terrible but he had a decent run with the Cavs last year after being traded. Ellington is passable as a 4th guard.

Udrih would probably be like my 5th option as far as 3rd guards go. His play has slipped a bit the past few seasons but if all else fails he's still likely a better option than resigning A.J. Price.

[Upper Decker]

All of that is true dat, however, with the constrained resources Washington has if they resign Webster, the best they can do is vet minimum guys and I'd take Ellington and Udrih over Price and Temple, easily.

[verbal8]

A couple of back up FA guards that have piqued my interest are Wayne Ellington and Beno Udrih. I have a feeling both will be relatively undervalued this off-season and might be had for the vet minimum, however, they'd be significant upgrades over the current back up PG or SG.

I think they might take the LLE, but not bad options.

Quick question for cap guys. Suppose a team is out of cap space and used their MLE and LLE, could they still sign minimum players if they're below the lux tax?

Yes a team can always sign, or trade for minimum salary players.

[Dat2U]

All of that is true dat, however, with the constrained resources Washington has if they resign Webster, the best they can do is vet minimum guys and I'd take Ellington and Udrih over Price and Temple, easily.

Which is exactly why re-signing Webster when you already have Ariza and likely Porter makes absolutely no sense. I know people love the guy, but the reality is that circumstances change and the opportunity he got in DC last year will not likely be available this coming year.

[fishercob]

All of that is true dat, however, with the constrained resources Washington has if they resign Webster, the best they can do is vet minimum guys and I'd take Ellington and Udrih over Price and Temple, easily.

Which is exactly why re-signing Webster when you already have Ariza and likely Porter makes absolutely no sense. I know people love the guy, but the reality is that circumstances change and the opportunity he got in DC last year will not likely be available this coming year.

I disagree. Not only does it make sense because Webster will cost less than half of what Ariza will this year, but it also allows you to trade Ariza. The alternative is letting Webster walk -- and getting nothing in return for him -- and then having Ariza do the same in a year.

The Pacers just lost their series to the Heat in no small part due to the fact that they had no reliable depth of any kind. Having more good players as opposed to less -- even if the pieces don't appear to fit perfectly on paper -- is the way to go.

Re-sign Webster. Shop Ariza, and jump on the right opportunity if it's there. I think Webster wants to be here long term and the Ariza does not. I think that matters too.

[Ruzious]

Also, I think Webster's end of season injury and back injury history severely diminishes the market for him - making him a potentially cheap signing. I think it's probably 50/50 him coming back if they pick ottO (oops, I spelled it backwards) - depending on other free agent options the Wiz might have.

[Dat2U]

All of that is true dat, however, with the constrained resources Washington has if they resign Webster, the best they can do is vet minimum guys and I'd take Ellington and Udrih over Price and Temple, easily.

Which is exactly why re-signing Webster when you already have Ariza and likely Porter makes absolutely no sense. I know people love the guy, but the reality is that circumstances change and the opportunity he got in DC last year will not likely be available this coming year.

I disagree. Not only does it make sense because Webster will cost less than half of what Ariza will this year, but it also allows you to trade Ariza. The alternative is letting Webster walk -- and getting nothing in return for him -- and then having Ariza do the same in a year.

The Pacers just lost their series to the Heat in no small part due to the fact that they had no reliable depth of any kind. Having more good players as opposed to less -- even if the pieces don't appear to fit perfectly on paper -- is the way to go.

Re-sign Webster. Shop Ariza, and jump on the right opportunity if it's there. I think Webster wants to be here long term and the Ariza does not. I think that matters too.

You don't think Porter's presence would change things? And would Webster agree to sign if an Ariza trade isn't already lined up? Also, why wouldn't you consider PF & 3rd guard to be bigger priorities? Are you okay with minimum type siginings (i.e. A.J. Price or Jason Smith) if Webster's deal eats up the majority of the MLE?

[jivelikenice]

Martell has indicated that he doesn't necessarily have to be a starter. I also think that with Porter's length, its possible to play small ball and get Otto and Webster on the floor together with Otto playing a stretch 4. That being said, I don't think it makes any sense to have Webster, Ariza, and Porter all on the roster together. if an Ariza trade isn't agreed upon prior to FA, I don't see Webster coming back. If the FO is of the mindset that Martell is too important, then they have to get a deal in place to trade Ariza by the draft. After the draft they will either lose leverage or lose Martell.

[deneem4]

Wizards landed the 3rd pick...we getting porter for a position we actually was ok with...witht hat being said...
we resign webster, he can easily BE 6TH MAN OFF THE BENCH AND PLAY SG AND SF AS WELL GUARD BOTH.. he was a top 5 shooting sf this yr and can play defense..

Now the pf position is the problem...nene has to go...he's a great player but him being in and out knocks off our starters chemistry...him starting on and off cuts away our younger pf time to develop with the starters...I mean how can u develop vvesley or seraphin with price at pg and temple at sg????


trade nene to whoever wants him for a solid guard and forward
or guard and picks
Then sign jj hickson at pf
Hickson lacks on defense (bennet)but we have okafor...
Hickson can post shoot the mid and long range and attack the basket (bennet?)
Hickson also avg a dbl dbl

[LyricalRico]

^ I'm not sold on Hickson, but I do agree that re-signing Webster and somehow turning Nene+Ariza into a PF is the best way to go. Even if Webster starts out as just our backup SG, for $3-4M per season that's still not bad. Even if it lasts all season if we can't move Ariza, I'd be fine with that for this year and then Webster goes back to full 6th man mode in 2014 and becomes one of the best bargains in the league.

[deneem4]

^Alot of people wan bennett out the draft (including me)...jj hickson sound exactly like what people expect bennet to be...jeff green evil twin

[fishercob]

Which is exactly why re-signing Webster when you already have Ariza and likely Porter makes absolutely no sense. I know people love the guy, but the reality is that circumstances change and the opportunity he got in DC last year will not likely be available this coming year.

I disagree. Not only does it make sense because Webster will cost less than half of what Ariza will this year, but it also allows you to trade Ariza. The alternative is letting Webster walk -- and getting nothing in return for him -- and then having Ariza do the same in a year.

The Pacers just lost their series to the Heat in no small part due to the fact that they had no reliable depth of any kind. Having more good players as opposed to less -- even if the pieces don't appear to fit perfectly on paper -- is the way to go.

Re-sign Webster. Shop Ariza, and jump on the right opportunity if it's there. I think Webster wants to be here long term and the Ariza does not. I think that matters too.

You don't think Porter's presence would change things? And would Webster agree to sign if an Ariza trade isn't already lined up? Also, why wouldn't you consider PF & 3rd guard to be bigger priorities? Are you okay with minimum type siginings (i.e. A.J. Price or Jason Smith) if Webster's deal eats up the majority of the MLE?

I don't think Porter changes things for Webster. Webster just had the best season of his career with Ariza playing 26 minutes a night. I think he sees the big picture. There's plenty of a role him for here, even if the roster is a bit cluttered in the short term.

I agree that a young big and a third guard a big priorities. But I don't think it pays to address them first if we cannot address them properly. If we keep Ariza, let Webster walk, and then use the MLE for a PF, we end up with a middling PF who likely doesn;t have much room to improve and still likely lose Ariza in a year. Not to mention the fact that Webster is a much better offensive player than Ariza.

But if we re-sign Webster, we can trade Ariza at the deadline or use our cap room next summer to find much better long term solutions for guard depth and a young big.

My concern is that focusing too much on roster balance in the short term will hurt our long term flexibility.

Sign Webster. Use Ariza to trade for a PF or guard depth if the right player/deal is there. If not, just keep Ariza.

Nene and Okafor can play together against physical teams like Chicago and Memphis. But use the surplus of long wings to experiment with the floor spread for Wall and Beal.

Wall/Beal/Webster/Ariza/Nene
Wall/Webster/Ariza/Porter/Okafor
Wall/Beal/Porter/Ariza/Nene

You get the point. Those lineups can do plenty of damage against teams that dont have a PF with a refined post game and passing skills.

We're gonna be good!

[jivelikenice]

I don't think you can have Porter/Ariza/Webster on the roster.
1.You need chemistry and I don't think you'll have a happy camper in Ariza knowing he's sharing time with two guys in a contract year.
2. It's too much invested into one position in terms of salary and dollars
3. We have holes in the backcourt and up front. Ether Ariza is moved to address one of these or we don't re- sign Webster and use the MLE elsewhere.

The key is timing. Ernie has to do a deal before they're forced into a decision.

[Deeptu McPullup]

I don't think you can have Porter/Ariza/Webster on the roster.
1.You need chemistry and I don't think you'll have a happy camper in Ariza knowing he's sharing time with two guys in a contract year.
2. It's too much invested into one position in terms of salary and dollars
3. We have holes in the backcourt and up front. Ether Ariza is moved to address one of these or we don't re- sign Webster and use the MLE elsewhere.

The key is timing. Ernie has to do a deal before they're forced into a decision.

I believe that Ariza's deadline to opt in is June 30th, so that could potentially mess up a trade opportunity on draft night if he decides to wait.

[jivelikenice]

I don't think you can have Porter/Ariza/Webster on the roster.
1.You need chemistry and I don't think you'll have a happy camper in Ariza knowing he's sharing time with two guys in a contract year.
2. It's too much invested into one position in terms of salary and dollars
3. We have holes in the backcourt and up front. Ether Ariza is moved to address one of these or we don't re- sign Webster and use the MLE elsewhere.

The key is timing. Ernie has to do a deal before they're forced into a decision.

I believe that Ariza's deadline to opt in is June 30th, so that could potentially mess up a trade opportunity on draft night if he decides to wait.

He's already indicated he's opting in due to the $. If he knows a deal is In place they can probably get hm to opt in sooner, or can agree to a trade and make I official after the opt in.

[nate33]

I don't think Porter changes things for Webster. Webster just had the best season of his career with Ariza playing 26 minutes a night. I think he sees the big picture. There's plenty of a role him for here, even if the roster is a bit cluttered in the short term.

I agree that a young big and a third guard a big priorities. But I don't think it pays to address them first if we cannot address them properly. If we keep Ariza, let Webster walk, and then use the MLE for a PF, we end up with a middling PF who likely doesn;t have much room to improve and still likely lose Ariza in a year. Not to mention the fact that Webster is a much better offensive player than Ariza.

But if we re-sign Webster, we can trade Ariza at the deadline or use our cap room next summer to find much better long term solutions for guard depth and a young big.

My concern is that focusing too much on roster balance in the short term will hurt our long term flexibility.

Sign Webster. Use Ariza to trade for a PF or guard depth if the right player/deal is there. If not, just keep Ariza.

Nene and Okafor can play together against physical teams like Chicago and Memphis. But use the surplus of long wings to experiment with the floor spread for Wall and Beal.

Wall/Beal/Webster/Ariza/Nene
Wall/Webster/Ariza/Porter/Okafor
Wall/Beal/Porter/Ariza/Nene

You get the point. Those lineups can do plenty of damage against teams that dont have a PF with a refined post game and passing skills.

We're gonna be good!

Well said.