The 2013 NBA Free Agency Thread

Post #861 » by **Ruzious** » Sun Jul 21, 2013 11:23 pm

Nivek wrote:
Ruzious wrote:His only 2 other years were his first 2 years in the NBA. A lot of good NBA PG's stunk in their 1st 2 years. I'd treat this like his 3rd year.

No question. And for the record, I think he's worth bringing to see. But, they could have brought him in at the minimum instead of using the BAE. Bygones, I guess.

When I ran his 2nd season through my statistical doppleganger machine, his comps were pretty nondescript. The only name I really remember is Doug Overton.

I totally agree in that there was no rush to sign him, and it was amateurishly done. Well, actually most amateurs would have done a better job of it.

gwizz · Post #862 » by **gwizz** » Sun Jul 21, 2013 11:52 pm

Mavs just cut Josh Akognon, Ive always LOVED his game, wish Wizzie would grab him, I know we need bigs..

Nivek · Post #863 » by **Nivek** » Mon Jul 22, 2013 12:11 am

The more interesting player Dallas just released is Bernard James. He'd be an immediate upgrade as a backup center. Big, physical guy. Not much offensive game, but he defends and rebounds. Was significantly more productive than the Grunfeld Three.

Post #864 » by **Ruzious** » Mon Jul 22, 2013 12:47 am

Nivek wrote:The more interesting player Dallas just released is Bernard James. He'd be an immediate upgrade as a backup center. Big, physical guy. Not much offensive game, but he defends and rebounds. Was significantly more productive than the Grunfeld Three.

Yeah, he was the anchor of the outstanding Florida State defense when Chris Singleton was there. He's a poor man's Ben Wallace - complete with the muscles. The best thing about his offense is he plays within his limitations.

sfam · Post #865 » by **sfam** » Mon Jul 22, 2013 12:56 am

Nivek wrote:If you've been a Wizards fan for any length of time, you're familiar with rooting for guys that you think were...hmm...less than optimal acquisitions. So, I'm pulling for Maynor, and hoping he'll be able to reverse his previous form and become a good NBA player. The analytic side of my brain can't help but point out that he was pretty bad before he tore his ACL, which means the injury isn't much of a reason for him not being good. But, I've been a Wizards fan for 35 years, so...go Maynor!

This is totally the right attitude! No, he's not who we wanted, but, um, go team! I'm sure Maynor will have a massive jump in productivity this year...

stevemcqueen1 · Post #866 » by **stevemcqueen1** » Mon Jul 22, 2013 6:04 am

Maynor was looking really good in 2011, and actually steadied Westbrook a lot back then when Westbrook would start chucking and have his decision making tank. In fact, in some important late game situations, OKC used at PG and moved Westbrook off the ball and into a more complimentary role. He was a big blow to OKC when he got hurt the next season and it kind of hung over them as they made a title push. He can be a very useful guard off the bench.

I also followed him at VCU, where he was fantastic. He's a pretty effective back up classic playmaking PG.

FAH1223 · Post #867 » by **FAH1223** » Mon Jul 22, 2013 6:10 am

Nivek wrote:The more interesting player Dallas just released is Bernard James. He'd be an immediate upgrade as a backup center. Big, physical guy. Not much offensive game, but he defends and rebounds. Was significantly more productive than the Grunfeld Three.

Mavs will probably re-sign him once he clears waivers. If they have him and Brandon Wright, they'll have decent size on the front court with Dalembert and of course Dirk is still Dirk.

verbal8 · Post #868 » by **verbal8** » Mon Jul 22, 2013 10:18 am

nate33 wrote:
hands11 wrote:Mark down 2016 on your calender.

TOR doesn't seem to be able to hold onto players very well.

That when Jonas Valananciunas comes free.

Shouldn't we be marking down 2015? That's when he becomes a restricted free agent. Yeah, he could take the qualifying option and become unrestricted in 2016, but that doesn't typically happen with high draft picks. If Valanciunas makes it known that he doesn't want to play in Toronto, they would trade him at the trade deadline in February 2015, or they would sign-and-trade him in the Summer of 2015.

Toronto looks like they are among the tank for Wiggins competition. Wiggins has said he wants to play for the Raptors, I wonder if they consider dealing Jonas V and their pick(assuming it isn't #1) for the number 1.

verbal8 · Post #869 » by **verbal8** » Mon Jul 22, 2013 10:27 am

Nivek wrote:The more interesting player Dallas just released is Bernard James. He'd be an immediate upgrade as a backup center. Big, physical guy. Not much offensive game, but he defends and rebounds. Was significantly more productive than the Grunfeld Three.

If the Wizards add James and Blair the front-court depth and IMHO the whole off season would look a lot better. I would probably mean carrying 15 player on the roster or waiving a guy on his rookie deal(Singleton would be the most logical). Other than PG, the Wizards would be at least 3 deep at every position.

verbal8 · Post #870 » by **verbal8** » Mon Jul 22, 2013 10:33 am

FAH1223 wrote:
Nivek wrote:The more interesting player Dallas just released is Bernard James. He'd be an immediate upgrade as a backup center. Big, physical guy. Not much offensive game, but he defends and rebounds. Was significantly more productive than the Grunfeld Three.

Mavs will probably re-sign him once he clears waivers. If they have him and Brandon Wright, they'll have decent size on the front court with Dalembert and of course Dirk is still Dirk.

You don't often see players get claimed on waivers. However I don't see any reason why a team would not claim him. Unlike most players on waviers, he could be claimed by any team since he is on minimum contract.

Post #871 » by **Ruzious** » Mon Jul 22, 2013 10:55 am

FAH1223 wrote:
Nivek wrote:The more interesting player Dallas just released is Bernard James. He'd be an immediate upgrade as a backup center. Big, physical guy. Not much offensive game, but he defends and rebounds. Was significantly more productive than the Grunfeld Three.

Mavs will probably re-sign him once he clears waivers. If they have him and Brandon Wright, they'll have decent size on the front court with Dalembert and of course Dirk is still Dirk.

Then why did they release him? He couldn't have been making much - if any - more than the minimum.

verbal8 · Post #872 » by **verbal8** » Mon Jul 22, 2013 11:39 am

Ruzious wrote:
FAH1223 wrote:
Nivek wrote:The more interesting player Dallas just released is Bernard James. He'd be an immediate upgrade as a backup center. Big, physical guy. Not much offensive game, but he defends and rebounds. Was significantly more productive than the Grunfeld Three.

Mavs will probably re-sign him once he clears waivers. If they have him and Brandon Wright, they'll have decent size on the front court with Dalembert and of course Dirk is still Dirk.

Then why did they release him? He couldn't have been making much - if any - more than the minimum.

Apparently Bernard James cleared waivers:

http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2013/7/21/4 ... ews-rumors

Speaking of James, he has officially cleared waivers, which leaves him free to go back to the Mavs at the minimum. ESPN's Marc Stein says that Dallas fully intends to bring back the 28-year-old, who would probably see a bigger role than last season.

I guess I am not the only one suprised that he did:

http://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2013/7/21/ ... -in-dallas

This was a risky gamble for Dallas because James is a functional big man capable of playing 10-15 minutes a game. He blocks shots, he rebounds, and generally plays hard. There's really not more you can ask out of a minimum salary player. I'm very surprised an under the cap team didn't pick him up.

It didn't even have to be an under the cap team that claimed him:

http://www.cbafaq.com/salarycap.htm#Q63

A team can claim a waived player before he clears waivers only if one of the following is true:

The team is far enough under the salary cap to fit the player's entire salary.
The team has a Disabled Player exception for at least the player's salary (see question number 25), and the player is on the last season of his contract.
The team has a trade exception for at least the player's salary (see question number 83).
The player has a minimum salary contract.

So any team could have claimed Bernard James. I realize he is a limited player, but there are a lot of NBA players being paid a lot more to do a lot less.

Post #873 » by **LyricalRico** » Mon Jul 22, 2013 12:09 pm

Hmmm...so if Dallas intends to bring him back, they must have needed every ounce of cap space for another move. And then once they have used all their cap space, they can exceed the cap to bring him back on another minimum contract.

Dat2U · Post #874 » by **Dat2U** » Mon Jul 22, 2013 12:41 pm

The Wizards obviously didn't need Bernard James since were so stacked at the 4 & 5.

verbal8 · Post #875 » by **verbal8** » Mon Jul 22, 2013 12:49 pm

LyricalRico wrote:Hmmm...so if Dallas intends to bring him back, they must have needed every ounce of cap space for another move. And then once they have used all their cap space, they can exceed the cap to bring him back on another minimum contract.

They needed the cap space to sign Ellis.

Post #876 » by **Ruzious** » Mon Jul 22, 2013 1:53 pm

Dat2U wrote:The Wizards obviously didn't need Bernard James since were so stacked at the 4 & 5.

Yes, we have a veritable LOGJAM up front.

Post #877 » by **Ruzious** » Mon Jul 22, 2013 1:58 pm

verbal8 wrote:
LyricalRico wrote:Hmmm...so if Dallas intends to bring him back, they must have needed every ounce of cap space for another move. And then once they have used all their cap space, they can exceed the cap to bring him back on another minimum contract.

They needed the cap space to sign Ellis.

Interesting that no team made them pay for it. Maybe teams are afraid of angering Cuban. I'd be tempted to call it cap circumvention, but since every team had an opportunity to claim him, I wouldn't go that far.

fishercob · Post #878 » by **fishercob** » Mon Jul 22, 2013 2:11 pm

Ruzious wrote:
Dat2U wrote:The Wizards obviously didn't need Bernard James since were so stacked at the 4 & 5.

Yes, we have a veritable LOGJAM up front.

Nivek · Post #879 » by **Nivek** » Mon Jul 22, 2013 2:26 pm

That a minimum-salary big man who would be a more than adequate backup center for any team could clear waivers would seem like the latest exhibit in what a crappy job NBA teams do when it comes to player evaluation and asset allocation. James is better, for example, than Kendrick Perkins, who's likely to remain the starter in OKC at a salary ~$8 million higher.

The Wizards could definitely use James.

The age thing is irrelevant because they shouldn't view James as a long-term developmental asset. He's a guy you sign to be a backup for a year or two until you can find someone better. If he's a good guy, maybe you keep him around even further down the bench for longer.

The only reason not to pick up a cheap and reasonably productive big man like James (especially at the minimum) is if there's some off-court issue that makes him not worth the trouble. Especially if you're a team like the Wizards and you need some frontcourt help.

Right now, it looks like they're relying on Booker plus at least one of the Vesely, Singleton and Seraphin to break through next season. I think they should be pushing those guys to develop this summer, but that they shouldn't be planning for any of them to make a major leap. If they do, it's gravy. And, if they do, a guy like James can simply be pushed further down the bench. Or released -- it's only a minimum salary.

Really, any team in the league could use a player like James on their bench at the league minimum.

FAH1223 · Post #880 » by **FAH1223** » Mon Jul 22, 2013 2:27 pm

Ruzious wrote:Then why did they release him? He couldn't have been making much - if any - more than the minimum.

Room under the cap for Monta Ellis contract I think.