The 2013 NBA Free Agency Thread

[dckingsfan]

What sucks is...we are by definition a sucky team and we have no cap space...all the toher non playoff teams do...ezcept us....tht sht is irritating...

Those other teams won't have cap space for long, though. Just look at the money being thrown around so far. We're actually looking good cap-wise after this season, when other teams will be regretting a lot of the money they just spent.

yes but the 2014 FA class sucks.

We have to wait to 2015

Hmmm... I think there are a lot of opt out contracts in '14, no?

[Nivek]

Here's a low-risk, low-cost, high-potential payoff move the Wizards could make: sign Greg Oden. When he's been on the floor, he's been good. He's also been Mr. Glass. Might have been worth the BAE with an option.

[Ruzious]

Here's a low-risk, low-cost, high-potential payoff move the Wizards could make: sign Greg Oden. When he's been on the floor, he's been good. He's also been Mr. Glass. Might have been worth the BAE with an option.

I'd be very willing to do that. Of course, if EG signed him, it'd be for 1 year and without the team option.

[nate33]

Here's a low-risk, low-cost, high-potential payoff move the Wizards could make: sign Greg Oden. When he's been on the floor, he's been good. He's also been Mr. Glass. Might have been worth the BAE with an option.

I don't see Oden signing here for the BAE when he could go to someplace like Miami or OKC.

[Nivek]

Here's a low-risk, low-cost, high-potential payoff move the Wizards could make: sign Greg Oden. When he's been on the floor, he's been good. He's also been Mr. Glass. Might have been worth the BAE with an option.

I don't see Oden signing here for the BAE when he could go to someplace like Miami or OKC.

You're probably right, but I would have at least made the offer. There's an opportunity to play in Washington because there's nothing behind Nene and Okafor. I'd have taken the risk that Maynor might sign elsewhere to take a BAE shot with Oden. My guess is that Maynor would have been right where I'd left him -- waiting for someone to make him an offer.

[fishercob]

Here's a low-risk, low-cost, high-potential payoff move the Wizards could make: sign Greg Oden. When he's been on the floor, he's been good. He's also been Mr. Glass. Might have been worth the BAE with an option.

I don't see Oden signing here for the BAE when he could go to someplace like Miami or OKC.

You're probably right, but I would have at least made the offer. There's an opportunity to play in Washington because there's nothing behind Nene and Okafor. I'd have taken the risk that Maynor might sign elsewhere to take a BAE shot with Oden. My guess is that Maynor would have been right where I'd left him -- waiting for someone to make him an offer.

A couple of things working against the Wizards -- money and situation. I think Oden will get bigger offers from teams with cap space or the MLE. Larry Coon explained that teams can protect themselves using a specific type of contract for Oden and Bynum who have pre-existing conditions:

I think Andrew is a candidate for a contract with an Exhibit 3, which is a prior injury exclusion. It’s the same thing Brandon Roy got with Minnesota. It says that if you can’t play skilled basketball due to your pre-existing injury and we waive you, we don’t have to pay you. I think a team would be willing to give him a big offer as long as they’re protected that way.
So if you are Andrew’s agent, how much salary are you willing to give up in order to increase the guarantee? Somewhere in the middle between the actual salary and the guaranteed salary is a middle figure that he & a team will be able to live with.

Read more at http://www.hoopsworld.com/nba-salary-ca ... xdIC3dM.99

In terms of situation, maybe DC is attractive b/c the Wizards front court depth is so thin. But I think Oden would gravitate to someplace where not only could he play, but the team has a reputation of extending guys; careers -- Phoenix, San Antonio, Germany, etc. WHo knows the state of the Wiz medical staff these days, but I highly doubt Oden says "THOSE are the guys I want tasked with rebuilding my career."

[Nivek]

Yeah, fish -- I understand all those factors. I have two basic points -- 1) even with the odds against the Wizards, it's still worth making an offer. At worst he says no and goes somewhere else. And, 2) it would certainly have been worth waiting to sign Maynor to see if I could score something potentially more significant than the next Doug Overton with the BAE.

Players like Maynor can ALWAYS be signed later.

[verbal8]

Yeah, fish -- I understand all those factors. I have two basic points -- 1) even with the odds against the Wizards, it's still worth making an offer. At worst he says no and goes somewhere else. And, 2) it would certainly have been worth waiting to sign Maynor to see if I could score something potentially more significant than the next Doug Overton with the BAE.

Players like Maynor can ALWAYS be signed later.

Even if AJ Price was a downgrade from Maynor, the difference is not nearly as significant as the potential upside of Oden.
The Wizards could make it more attractive and tell Oden, "If we won't be in the play-offs we will ship you to a contender". It seems that is a factor in a lot of the deadline deals that the Wizards have done. A couple of them, it seems that was the only return.

[fishercob]

Yeah, fish -- I understand all those factors. I have two basic points -- 1) even with the odds against the Wizards, it's still worth making an offer. At worst he says no and goes somewhere else. And, 2) it would certainly have been worth waiting to sign Maynor to see if I could score something potentially more significant than the next Doug Overton with the BAE.

Players like Maynor can ALWAYS be signed later.

I do not disagree. The Wiz could have made an intelligent pitch to Oden based on the prospect of cap room next summer.

We could have pitched him on the opportunity to play with a young core he can grow with and where he'll have plenty of opportunity to play. And if this year went well, we could pay him a boatload of cash next year.

[fishercob]

That said, it would be a good thing if Oden and Bynum signed one year contracts so that they hit the FA market again next summer when we have cap room to sign them to market deals. If we have a good season it could make DC a desirable landing spot for either.

[dckingsfan]

Interesting that the Wolves are still trying to trade Barea Or Ridnour. Originally, they were trying to get someone to bite on Williams and either Barea Or Ridnour to move up in the draft - but alas, no takers.

I guess any of Vesely, Booker or Singleton for Ridnour (since his contract is also expiring) or if you want some continuity, then for Barea who has two years left on his deal. You look at a move like this and wonder if the Maynor deal needed to be done... then again, EG was left holding the bag last year in regards to back PGs when Wall went down.

[dckingsfan]

And I personally think you can stick a fork in Oden - he is done.

[Rafael122]

Interesting nugget from Zach Lowe:

And so they tried, and they came close to winning. Other teams could and should have done the same; the media mocked Danny Ainge when it leaked that Boston had called Howard’s camp to gauge his interest in a sign-and-trade there, but that is absolutely the right approach. Take the Wizards, with two large expiring contracts (Emeka Okafor, Trevor Ariza), two very intriguing young assets (Bradley Beal, Otto Porter), a biggish market, and a star-level point guard still below Howard in the NBA’s pecking order — an important thing for Howard’s sensitive ego. What’s to lose in reaching out to Howard as the Warriors did?

My educated guess, after digging around a bit, is that Washington put out some initial Howard feelers.

http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-trian ... ncy-so-far

If I read this right, it would have taken Okafor/Ariza/Beal or Porter for Howard.

[LyricalRico]

Oh, no! Cheap Ted turned down Dwight Howard just like he turned down Harden! See, the media confirmed it! Woe is us!

(Not directed at you, Raf. )

[Rafael122]

A deal like that would be very hard to pass up. I guess in this scenario, I'd trade Porter before I trade Beal.

PG - Wall
SG - Beal
SF - Webster
PF - Nene
C - Howard

The MLE would still go to Webster.

Bench: Vesely, Singleton, Seraphin, Rice, Booker

Probably trade one of Booker/Singleton/Vesely for a 2 guard, sign a back up point guard with the BAE, and fill out the roster with vet minimum guys.

Point is, I still don't know if that's a 50 win team in the East. Every guy in our starting lineup would have injury question marks.

[Nivek]

Oh, no! Cheap Ted turned down Dwight Howard just like he turned down Harden! See, the media confirmed it! Woe is us!

(Not directed at you, Raf. )

Nah, Ted didn't turn it down because no one in the front office thought they had a chance and therefore never gave it a serious attempt. They spent their major player acquisition resources on Okafor and Ariza. Maybe they'll attempt a significant move next summer. More likely, they'll re-sign Okafor.

[W. Unseld]

Looking at some of these moves from other teams it really looks like the home town discount has 180'd and if you aren't a top 3 contender or a destination city (or better yet both) you have to overpay to get free agents. I'm hoping Pekovich at 12 M per for Minnesota is sheer rumor.

[nate33]

A deal like that would be very hard to pass up. I guess in this scenario, I'd trade Porter before I trade Beal.

PG - Wall
SG - Beal
SF - Webster
PF - Nene
C - Howard

The MLE would still go to Webster.

Bench: Vesely, Singleton, Seraphin, Rice, Booker

Probably trade one of Booker/Singleton/Vesely for a 2 guard, sign a back up point guard with the BAE, and fill out the roster with vet minimum guys.

Point is, I still don't know if that's a 50 win team in the East. Every guy in our starting lineup would have injury question marks.

That's a great team if healthy:

PG Wall/Maynor
SG Beal/Rice
SF Webster/Rice
PF Nene/Booker/Singleton
C Howard/Seraphin

Trade Vesely for a competent wing on a bad contract, and we'd be in business. If not, we'd probably sputter for one more year due to lack of depth but set ourselves up for a title run starting next year once we've added one more MLE vet and one more draft pick.

[dckingsfan]

Wait, what? Wasn't Howard a UFR - wouldn't he have to agree to come here?

[Ruzious]

Yeah, with good health and minor tweaking, I think that's a team that could contend for a championship. Well, if we can find the next best thing to Howard next offseason, who knows?