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Take a break from the mathematical push and pull of the NBA’s late-season playoff races.
Free-agency speculation is in the air.
Weeks ago, such conjecture could have been deemed premature overkill. But not anymore. Free agency is right around the corner, and every team—both lottery- and playoff-bound alike—should be eyeing its top prizes.
Consider this your man-made peephole into every front office’s free-agency war room.
Prospective targets must be realistic. They can be long shots, but we’re not in the business of wasting time on LeBron James’ offseason exploits. He isn’t going anywhere. Teams must also have the cap space necessary to sign these players. In a few instances, they’ll need to manufacture extra room. Proposed finagling will be kept to a minimum, though.
Repetition is allowed, but variety is way cooler, so only one name appears twice. Incumbent free agents are only listed in special situations; outside names take priority everywhere else.
Parameters in hand, let us now engage in some free-agency palm reading.
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Even if the Atlanta Hawks re-sign Paul Millsap, they should have ample flexibility to make another splash.
Arron Afflalo is worthy of being that splash.
His entire skill set fits seamlessly into Atlanta’s system. He can score off the catch, create his own shots and defend both the 2 and 3 slots.
Inserting him into a rotation that already includes Jeff Teague, Kyle Korver, Dennis Schroder and possibly DeMarre Carroll gives the Hawks a five-headed mutant at the point guard, shooting guard and small forward positions. A tandem of Afflalo and Korver would be enough to make even the staunchest perimeter defenses quake with fear.
Pretty much everyone on the Portland Trail Blazers’ roster and their second cousin is a free agent this summer, so flight risks abound. If the already formidable Hawks are interested in getting even deeper and, thus, even scarier, Afflalo is their guy.
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Opening up max-contract cap space is well within the Boston Celtics’ realm of possibilities this summer.
That brings us to the ever-durable DeAndre Jordan—or as he shall now be known, everything the boys in green need: an interior titan who owns the glass and sends back shots like he’s a human gift receipt.
Although the Celtics are surviving—as in, posting mediocre numbers—in the rebounding department, they’re the NBA’s worst shot-blocking squad. Plus, no team is beyond needing Jordan’s rebounding totals. Dennis Rodman is the only other player to grab at least 24 percent of all available boards when on the floor while averaging more than 25 minutes per game.
Jordan can function within the faster-paced system head coach Brad Stevens is installing and pairs nicely with the floor-spacing Kelly Olynyk and Jared Sullinger. The pick-and-rolls he can run with Isaiah Thomas and Marcus Smart would also be the stuff of legend.
Barren of steel-framed size, the Celtics are in no position to close the door on a 26-year-old rebounding and shot-swatting machine. They’re a fringe playoff team as currently constructed, and Jordan is not only their ticket into next year’s Big Dance but also out of the first round.
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Capped out to the teeth, the Brooklyn Nets are in line to do only one of two things: retain their own free agents or fall in love with players like Darrell Arthur.
Re-signing Thaddeus Young sounds great given the alternative. That he’s also playing Brooklyn into the playoffs makes this sound even better.
It’s not just the offensive outbursts like the one he had against the Toronto Raptors on April 3. It’s also the way he’s able to affect the game on both ends of the floor, whether he’s bombing atomically on offense or not. He rebounds, forces turnovers, blocks the occasional shot and personifies end-to-end hustle.
Oh, and he’s quickly wedging his way into Brooklyn’s oft-sorry excuse for a Big Three.
When Young shares the floor with Deron Williams and Brook Lopez, Brooklyn is scoring with the potency of the Association’s best offense and posting a net rating worthy of title contention. So while Young will command a long-term commitment, he’s proving he belongs—provided the Nets are dead set on staving off irrelevance.
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Wesley Matthews’ season-ending Achilles injury is bound to scare off some potential suitors. The Charlotte Hornets should not be one of them.
First things first: This is one of the few instances in which financial maneuvering is required. The Hornets have Al Jefferson’s and Bismack Biyombo’s free agencies to address, so they’ll need to find a new home for at least one of Marvin Williams and Lance Stephenson to nab a star-quality asset. Lucky for them, then, both are essentially on expiring deals. That should make dumping them—either outright or for cheaper players—fairly easy.
And again, that’s good. The Hornets need someone to help fix their broken offense. They rank in the bottom three of efficiency, have the league’s worst effective field-goal percentage and remain short on shooters who adequately complement the ball-dominant Kemba Walker.
Adding Matthews qualifies as a solution. He was putting in more than 38 percent of his standstill long balls prior to injury and doesn’t compromise the team’s defensive fortitude.
Landing him drastically increases the likelihood of Charlotte sniffing playoff air once again next season.
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Call Mo Williams insurance. Call him a backup. Call him a defensive liability. Call him whatever you like. The Chicago Bulls need him.
Derrick Rose is still recovering from surgery on a torn right meniscus, and though he’s expected to return soon, he has appeared in just 56 games since tearing his ACL in 2012 after winning the MVP award the prior year. He cannot be counted on to last an entire season, and the Bulls’ serially shifting standards reflect as much.
“We don’t expect him to be playing 35 minutes a night or scoring a ton of points,” head coach Tom Thibodeau explained, per the Chicago Tribune‘s K.C. Johnson. “Just go out there and give us what you have, and that’s good enough because when he plays he makes the game easy for everybody.”
Strapped for cap space, the Bulls still need to plan for what Rose may not have. Kirk Hinrich and Aaron Brooks won’t steer them toward contention if he misses significant time next season.
Nor will Williams for that matter. But he promises instant offense and is able to find nylon off the catch, allowing him to play beside Rose. Best of all, at 32, he comes cheap. And with Jimmy Butler due for a max deal, cheap (yet serviceable) labor is something the Bulls must be in the market for.
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Iman Shumpert is officially a necessity for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
With three superstars already on the roster and Tristan Thompson approaching restricted free agency himself, the Cavaliers aren’t going to be major free-agency players. Even if, by some longer-than-long shot, Kevin Love leaves, they still won’t be in a position to spend on outside talent.
That increases the importance of investing in who they already employ. And that, in turn, demands they hold on to Shumpert.
Offensively, he’s still a project. His shooting percentages are blah, and he’s yet to recapture the explosion he showcased upon first entering the league. But he’s emerging as a valuable off-ball weapon on Kyrie Irving’s and James’ dribble drives, and his defensive intensity is returning to its former glory.
Impressive still, Shumpert owns the team’s second-highest net rating through 800-plus minutes of action. The Cavaliers’ eyes needn’t drift beyond their own locker room once the offseason begins.
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Interior protection may not be the Dallas Mavericks’ priority at the moment. Not with Rajon Rondo’s and Monta Ellis’ free agencies looming large. But Tyson Chandler isn’t getting younger and will be a free agent himself. It’s time the Mavericks formulated a Plan B.
Plan Biyombo, to be more precise.
Now, the Hornets can match any offer Biyombo fields. But they also need to overhaul their core to a certain degree. Letting Biyombo walk may be the price they pay for change.
Of the 113 players who face at least four shots at the rim per game, Biyombo is tied for 11th in opponent field-goal percentage…with Dwight Howard. He’s also been a more consistent presence on the glass than he was last season.
And because Biyombo is used to receiving limited minutes, playing behind Chandler shouldn’t be an issue. He is still very much a project at 22, and having a 32-year-old, title-toting mentor would do his defensive stock some good.
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This is me, sitting at a make-believe crystal ball, planning for the Denver Nuggets’ Mike D’Antoni era.
Seriously, though, Millsap is a good fit for what Denver is trying to do. He runs the floor, stretches defenses with his three-point shooting, passes out of the post and works tirelessly to protect the house.
Not surprisingly, his per-game stat lines are among the most versatile out there. DeMarcus Cousins is the only other player clearing 16.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, three assists and 1.5 steals.
Making a play for Millsap may inevitably demand the Nuggets create more cap space. Trading JaVale McGee’s pricey pact has left them with some wiggle room, but Millsap is a two-time All-Star who’ll command well into eight figures per year.
Good thing the Nuggets are just one J.J. Hickson salary dump away from money being no object.
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Let the Draymond Green pipe dream go. Board the Luol Deng bandwagon instead.
The Detroit Pistons are being killed on the perimeter this season. They’re averaging collective player efficiency ratings south of 11 at the shooting guard and small forward slots, per 82games.com, and their roster doesn’t yet include enough two-way talent. They’re a team of specialists.
Signing an over-30 wingman with more than 27,000 regular-season and playoff minutes on his treads won’t solve everything. But Deng is the pesky defender they don’t have, and he fits into head coach Stan Van Gundy’s floor-spacing offense.
Cost will be the primary hurdle both parties need to clear. Deng could command more than $ 10 million annually, and the Pistons need to figure out what’s happening with Greg Monroe and Reggie Jackson before they go courting other starting-caliber players.
Still, they need a small forward. Bad. And Deng is better than anyone else they’re playing now.
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If it ain’t broke, leave it the heck alone.
Inside five games to play, the Golden State Warriors already own the eighth-best total point differential in league history, and they have a real chance of moving into sixth or seventh. Breaking them up, championship or not, would be absurd. And that’s what we’re reinforcing here.
Green is going to have suitors this summer. He defends all five positions, is in the Defensive Player of the Year discussion, passes with purpose and continues to improve his three-point stroke. There isn’t a team in existence that wouldn’t love his all-everything skill set.
But it’s the Warriors who have final say. They can match any offer he receives, so the only thing standing between them and Green’s return is, well, them.
Are they willing to hand Green more than $ 10 million per year? Even if it means dipping into the luxury tax?
You better believe they are—if only because giving Green a raise is their one and only responsibility this summer.
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Step out on this ledge with me. Parachutes are optional.
Statistically speaking, the Houston Rockets are being hammered in the frontcourt. Opponents are outperforming them in player efficiency rating at small forward, power forward and center, according to 82games.com. At full strength, though, the combination of Corey Brewer, Josh Smith, Terrence Jones and Dwight Howard should eliminate those deficits.
Point guard is a different story. The injured Patrick Beverley isn’t a particularly sound playmaker, and at 37, Pablo Prigioni is too old to be playing 20-plus minutes every night. The Rockets need another floor general to offset the elephantine-sized offensive burden that James Harden is bearing.
Cory Joseph, while a slight unknown, fits the bill. He’s cracked 1,000 single-season minutes just once in four years, but his per-36-minutes splits are, well, they’re sexy.
Just 12 other players are clearing 13 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and one steal per 36 minutes, pinning Joseph to some proven company: John Wall, Damian Lillard, Chris Paul, Tyreke Evans, Stephen Curry, Michael Carter-Williams, Eric Bledsoe, Kyle Lowry, Russell Westbrook, Manu Ginobili, Harden and LeBron James.
The Rockets will take it.
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Danny Green is the Indiana Pacers’ free-agency ceiling.
There’s no way for them to make substantial upgrades without exceeding the luxury-tax threshold through trades, which they won’t do. And there’s no way for them to create significant cap room without selling off expensive deals, which, short of auctioning off David West and Roy Hibbert for nothing, they can’t do.
Someone like Green may even be ambitious. Assuming West and Hibbert exercise their player options (they will), the Pacers will have close to $ 64 million in guaranteed salary on the books for 2015-16. Green is earning just over $ 4 million this season, but it’ll take serious scratch to pry him from the forever-contending San Antonio Spurs.
In the event Green falls within the Pacers’ price range, they should strike. Paul George’s return alone won’t cure their offensive warts, so they need another passer and shooter who doesn’t threaten their defensive livelihood. Green is banging in more than 44 percent of his standalone treys and contributing to one of the NBA’s premier defenses.
Normally, he wouldn’t even make this list. Players who thrive in San Antonio don’t leave. It’s in the Bible or something. But the Spurs may be approaching a summer of transition themselves (more on this later), thus opening the floodgates for atypical movement to the gain of teams like Indiana.
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Here’s hoping the Los Angeles Clippers are in love with their roster, because it isn’t going to change much.
This is all assuming the Clippers re-sign DeAndre Jordan, who will have plenty of admirers knocking down his door (Boston! Please. Maybe?). But it’s Doc Rivers and friends who can offer him the most money. It’s also Doc Rivers and friends who cannot be choosy. They’re on the hook for $ 56.2 million in salary before factoring in Jordan’s return.
Any additions they make, barring blockbuster trades, will be subtle. DeMarre Carroll might even price himself out of their league. If he doesn’t, the Clippers need to be all over him. Their defense is careening toward implosive, and they’re getting hammered at the small forward position.
Carroll, meanwhile, is blossoming on the Hawks. He’s moving the ball like a point guard, making life difficult for every opposing wing imaginable—even guys like LeBron James—and drilling nearly 42 percent of his catch-and-shoot threes.
Basically, he’s doing everything the Clippers need at the position in which they’re most needy—for almost half as much as Matt Barnes, which means Rivers and friends better cross their fingers in the name of Carroll testing the market.
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Before taking to the comments section with pitchfork emoticons, please remember these are not predictions. No one is saying Kevin Love will leave the Cavaliers. The rumor mill has just been so hot that his situation is worth keeping an eye on.
Especially for the star-starved Los Angeles Lakers.
Bringing in another superhuman is a pivotal part of both their present-day and post-Kobe Bryant plans, and few stars can fill the box score like Love. His numbers are down in Cleveland, but he’s one season removed from averaging 26.1 points, 12.5 rebounds and 4.4 assists as a No. 1 option.
If you’re a general manager in need of a rebuilding focal point and Love becomes available, you pounce. It’s not even a question. His availability is the question, because as SI.com’s Rob Mahoney writes, Love’s future in Cleveland varies by the month, week, game and quarter:
Framing is everything. When the Cavaliers spent their nights searching, Love’s five-year lows in points and rebounds per game were cast as a burden on a should-be superteam. Now that Cleveland has found both style and balance—largely through LeBron James‘ personal renaissance and a few midseason trades—Love’s play becomes a pivot point to transcendence. It’s through his contextual underperformance that one of the best teams in the league now finds itself with headroom.
What makes Love stand out in the Lakers’ case is his impact on the bigger picture. Julius Randle’s presence would seem to diminish Love’s value, but the latter is someone who can pitch other stars on adorning themselves in purple and gold for years to come.
There’s no guarantee Randle ever reaches that point, let alone reaches it by 2017, when Love’s former UCLA running mate Russell Westbrook hits free agency. Just saying.
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Welcome to the official step-by-step guide on how to passive-aggressively tell the Memphis Grizzlies to shoot more threes.
Step 1: Suggest they pursue Marco Belinelli in free agency.
Step 2: Wait.
Only one of the last 10 NBA champions (2011-12 Miami Heat) attempted fewer than 16 three-pointers per game during the regular season. The overall average for ring-wranglers since 2004-05 is 19. The Grizzlies are throwing up 15.3.
All of which would be fine if they were still fielding a top-10 offense, but they’re not. Belinelli is converting nearly 38 percent of his threes on the season and shooting 39.3 percent from deep for his career, making him an ideal long-range gunner for a team with very few.
Unless, of course, Marc Gasol jumps ship, in which case the Grizzlies are free to think bigger. (Hi, Paul Millsap.)
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Take no chances.
Of course the Heat need to bring in some outside help. But their chief concern is still retaining Goran Dragic. Pat Riley unloaded two first-rounders to get him, and despite the point guard’s public plaudits for all things Miami, the Heat still have no guarantee he’ll return.
Recent follies have also left them on the outside looking in at the East’s playoff bubble. Failing to re-enter the picture won’t necessarily hurt their plans, but it might.
Missing the postseason could prompt Dragic to test the open market more thoroughly. It could also lead the Heat to curb their contract offer. They are a net minus with him on the floor, after all.
More likely than not, it’s the Heat who will end up waiting on Dragic. They don’t have the funds to go shopping and spend that money elsewhere, even if Dwyane Wade and Luol Deng both opt out. Not only would they still need to pay one or both of them, but Hassan Whiteside will inevitably command a new deal as well.
Their future, for better or worse, is tightly tethered to Dragic’s return.
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Enes Kanter seems perfectly content with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Actually, he seems downright ecstatic.
“I love it,” Kanter said of the midseason switch, per ESPN.com’s Royce Young. “It’s a team I’ve never experienced before and I actually like playing basketball there. I’m just so comfortable and everything is in the right place. I’m just really happy to be there.”
Here’s the thing: Kanter might not be in Oklahoma City for long. The Thunder have more than $ 76.4 million on their ledger for next season already, likely depriving them of the financial wherewithal necessary to re-sign him.
Ending up with the Milwaukee Bucks would be the next best thing for him. They are more than equipped to cover up for him defensively and need the post scoring he brings; they’re among the six-worst teams at back-to-the-basket offense.
Money, like always, is the caveat. Although the Bucks have enough flexibility to be active, they also have a high-profile restricted free agent of their own to think about (Khris Middleton). But as they try to balance their Eastern Conference ascension with building for the future, they need to be on the lookout for players who can facilitate both.
Players like Kanter.
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Free agency poses a number of problems for the Minnesota Timberwolves. For starters, they’re in no position to sign veterans who take playing time away from their cornucopia of youngsters. They have enough of those in their employ, from Kevin Garnett to Kevin Martin to Nikola Pekovic.
Coach and president Flip Saunders isn’t working with unlimited resources, either. The Timberwolves have roughly $ 56.1 million on next season’s payroll, a number that will only increase once they (presumably) re-sign Garnett and ink their first-round draft pick.
Some of their cap-clogging deals also aren’t readily movable, handcuffing them even further. Martin is certainly an asset, but they’ll be hard pressed to move Chase Budinger’s expiring deal or the four years and $ 35.8 million remaining on Pekovic’s contract.
None of which marks the end of the world. The Timberwolves have a core in place with which to move forward. They don’t need to think too big. Jonas Jerebko is big enough. He’s a floor-spacing forward with enough outside juice to bolster a bottom-six three-point attack and not much more. And that’s fine.
Leave the rescue missions to Andrew Wiggins, Gorgui Dieng, Ricky Rubio, Zach LaVine and Shabazz Muhammad.
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Full disclosure: The New Orleans Pelicans have my permission to offer Omer Asik, Tyreke Evans and Ryan Anderson in a sign-and-trade for DeAndre Jordan and salary fodder. Just so you know.
Beyond brokering a blockbuster deal, the Pelicans’ hands are tied. Once Eric Gordon picks up his player option, they’ll have around $ 56.2 million committed to six players. That bill will approach $ 60 million if they keep Norris Cole. Not one of those scenarios includes the money it will take to re-sign Asik.
K.J. McDaniels is an affordable option for the Pelicans to chase without mortgaging the farm. He doesn’t play much in Houston, but he was an everyday defensive plus for the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Pelicans already have all of the offense they’ll ever need. (It’s called playing home to Anthony Davis.) But they rank in the bottom 10 of defensive efficiency, and their bench is among the NBA’s worst, per HoopsStats.com.
Deepening the second unit without jeopardizing their affluence for 2016 has to be the priority. Young, long and defensively aware, McDaniels is as promising as it gets.
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Another obligatory disclosure: Gasol may be the exact kind of player Phil Jackson and the New York Knicks no longer want.
“The Knicks will make their pass at Marc Gasol and LaMarcus Aldridge, and likely at Rajon Rondo and/or Goran Dragic, too, but expect them to be aggressive in pursuing as many young free agents as possible,” the Sporting News’ Sean Deveney wrote. “Jackson does not want to build a team around players in their early 30s.”
Kudos to Jackson and the Knicks for not wanting to pay dinosaurs. But depending on how serious they are about getting younger, Gasol has to be an exception.
Tying the next four years of the future to a center on the wrong side of 30 is well worth any risks involved when that center is Gasol. He’s a former Defensive Player of the Year who does everything the Knicks need. Sure, they need everything, but he personifies statistical balance.
If Gasol’s numbers hold, he’ll become just the seventh player age 30 or older to average at least 17.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 blocks. The other six—Hakeem Olajuwon, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Julius Erving, Karl Malone, Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan—are Hall of Famers and future Hall of Famers.
“Hello, Marc? Yeah, hi. This is Carmelo Anthony. I have future Phil Jackson on Line 1 for you.”
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Truth time: There is no such thing as too many shooters for the Thunder. Their greatest pitfall over the years, in fact, has been trying to pack too many ball-dominant scorers into one rotation.
Indeed, it worked with James Harden. But Reggie Jackson isn’t Harden, and neither is Dion Waiters. The Thunder need more Anthony Morrow-types: nylon-nuking snipers with passable defensive chops.
Hey there, Mike Dunleavy.
It’s not even a little surprising that the 34-year-old Dunleavy owns the Chicago Bulls’ third-best net rating. He can play and defend three positions, and he’s automatic from beyond the arc, hitting on 41.5 percent of his deep balls overall, including 39.9 percent in spot-up situations and 51.9 percent on pull-ups.
Other than Morrow—and a healthy Kevin Durant—the Thunder have no such weapons now. They’re among the worst standstill shooting teams in the league, and their sub-32 percent clip on pull-up threes could certainly use a boon.
Russell Westbrook and Durant should be able to drive-and-kick at will and with confidence that they have enough shooters to depend on. Giving them another marksman in Dunleavy would do wonders for a team that needs to make a splash next season, lest Durant’s free agency incite incurable angst.
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Meet the Eastern Conference’s Timberwolves. Sort of.
Unlike Minnesota, the Orlando Magic have plenty of cap to burn through. Like Minnesota, they shouldn’t be in the market for veteran stars. They have too many young players who need developing.
Gerald Green checks in as a nice middle ground. He’s a good defender when engaged—which, admittedly, he hasn’t been this season—and can function as an on- or off-ball offensive threat. His familiarity with fast-paced systems is especially valuable because the Magic, despite not running, are built to run.
Green is also must-have insurance if Tobias Harris ends up leaving in restricted free agency. He’s cheaper and comparably effective on both ends of the floor.
If Harris stays, the Magic are simply deeper at the 2 and 3 spots—two areas in which they’re overwhelmingly shallow outside of Victor Oladipo, Evan Fournier and Harris himself.
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Relax, peeps. This is less about Butler being obtainable and more about the Sixers having all the cap space.
Yes, the Sixers could certainly use an All-Star shooting guard to help expedite their rebuild, and Butler is still in the thick of a breakout campaign. He leads the Bulls in win shares, has become more of a playmaker, is sporting a much-improved outside touch and is officially Chicago’s most valuable cornerstone this side of Derrick Rose’s latest injury.
Does that mean he’s untouchable? Well, yes. The Bulls aren’t about to let him walk in restricted free agency. But the Sixers aren’t about to invest in free agents, either. Their defense is closing in on top-10 status, but they’re still a faction of unknowns.
Until they stop swapping out players for picks (see: Michael Carter-Williams) and know what they have in future and past selections (Joel Embiid, Dario Saric, etc.), they’re still more likely to holster any and all cap space.
Butler is one of the few potential exceptions. He’s good enough to make an immediate impact, yet young enough (25) to headline a rebuild. The Sixers might as well throw him max money and see whether the Bulls are feeling cheap or falling madly in love with Tony Snell.
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Moving Isaiah Thomas and Goran Dragic has done little to remedy the Phoenix Suns’ standing. They’re still in the middle, too good to play for ping-pong balls, too bad for playoff contention.
Armed with enough cap space to get freaky in free agency, their habitual journeys down beaten paths can actually pay off. They now have the means to travel either direction, signing free agents who will help contend for that No. 8 seed next season, or investing in projects who can grow beside Eric Bledsoe, Alex Len and maybe Brandon Knight.
Harris poses a nice fit on both fronts. He keeps in theme with Phoenix’s small-ball lineups and, at 6’8″, defends a vast array of positions, from shooting guard to small forward to power forward.
The Suns even project as a better fit for him than the Magic. They play with more pace and don’t need Harris to be the No. 1 perimeter option every night. He would be part of a three-prong threat with Markieff Morris and Bledsoe while also giving Phoenix’s offense that back-to-the-basket scorer Len is still trying to become.
Investing tens of millions of dollars in the injured Knight, who is also a restricted free agent, will cost the Suns much of their financial flexibility. But Harris is one of the few restricted free-agent flight risks and certainly worth a look for a rebuilding Suns team that needs to remodel its core after an active trade deadline.
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Wesley Johnson is not a fortunes-turner. He is all Portland can afford.
LaMarcus Aldridge, Robin Lopez, Wesley Matthews and Arron Afflalo will all hit the open market in July, at which point the Blazers need to decide who’s coming back. Aldridge is a no-brainer, but the rest are up for grabs. And while the Blazers will have an inclination to keep everyone, they’re not at a point where treading water equates to winning.
As J.A. Adande previously wrote for ESPN.com:
Winning would be a reward, not an obligation. In that sense, this might be the right team at the right time. It has potential but isn’t heavily hyped; there’s a better chance it could exceed expectations than become a bust. It has a touch of postseason experience, coming off the franchise’s first playoff series victory since 2000 and absorbing a second-round lesson from the Spurs that showed the Blazers that “to get on their level, we have to lock in more,” according to LaMarcus Aldridge.
Clinching the Northwest division title assures the Blazers of a No. 4 playoff seed. But they’re forfeiting home-court advantage as of now, and if not for Oklahoma City’s injury-infested campaign, they would probably finish with the West’s seventh-best record. And seventh isn’t good enough.
At the same time, the Blazers aren’t able to let proven talent walk away. Their preferred starting five is 24-8 together, and re-signing Aldridge alone will ensure they clear $ 50 million in commitments without blinking.
Cheap, under-the-radar targets are their best bet. Johnson is athletic, can defend multiple positions, has been more consistent from the outside since last season and, most importantly, gives the Blazers a capable body behind Nicolas Batum.
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George Karl needs to get the Sacramento Kings a new power forward.
Since taking the reins, he has the Kings playing at a top-five pace. As he tries to impart the same run-and-gun style he championed in Denver, Karl is already pushing his luck with DeMarcus Cousins jumping center. The 24-year-old, while mobile, isn’t a chiseled engine like the Dwight Howard of five years ago.
To really give his system and offense a chance at working, Karl needs an athletic 4 to play beside Cousins. So, not Carl Landry or Jason Thompson.
Jeff Green isn’t much of a floor-spacer, but he’s knocking down more than 38 percent of his treys since joining the Grizzlies and posting a PER north of 25 at power forward, according to 82games.com. He’s also interchangeable with Rudy Gay. The two can swap defensive assignments and offensive positioning.
Plug Green into a starting five with Darren Collison, Ben McLemore, Gay and Cousins, and the Kings have a legit infrastructure on their hands. Prior to Collison going down, the latter four were outscoring opponents by 11.9 points per 100 possessions when sharing the floor—a better net rating than that of the league-leading Warriors.
Potential cap snafus in mind, going after Green makes Sacramento’s Core Four seem that much more dangerous.
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Always fear the Spurs—unless they have cap space, in which case run for your life.
Delaying Kawhi Leonard’s extension leaves them with a ton of flexibility this summer. If everything falls into place, they can theoretically re-sign Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan to discounted deals and still have room enough to add a top-tier free agent—like, say, Gasol.
Reports of the Spurs’ interest in Gasol began surfacing early in the season and have yet to stop. He is still expected to be their top free-agent target, per Sean Deveney. And rightfully so. He’s basically a stockier version of Duncan. That doesn’t just mean he’ll contribute on both ends; it also means his game will age just as well.
Creating the necessary cap space to tender Gasol a competitive offer will, at the very least, entail the Spurs finding a new home for Tiago Splitter. It could also mean bidding adieu to Danny Green, Marco Belinelli and Cory Joseph (see how things come full circle?).
Any scenario in which the Spurs end up with Gasol, though, will be worth the collateral damage.
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Yeah, this needs to happen.
Middleton is going to get paid this summer—probably by the upstart Bucks themselves. But the Toronto Raptors should take a flier nonetheless.
Finding consistent production at power forward has been a season-long issue for the Raptors. They aren’t versatile enough to defend opposing stretch 4s and lack the size needed to dominate the glass.
Middleton is their dream signing. He’s a consummate stretch 4, able to create his own shot or score off the catch. He’s also a lockdown defender for one of the league’s best defensive teams. The Raptors could put him on the most dangerous wing scorers nightly, regardless of whether said players are shooting guards, small forwards or power forwards.
More convenient still, Landry Fields, Amir Johnson, Chuck Hayes, Tyler Hansbrough and Lou Williams are all coming off the books, giving the Raptors enough financial clout to field Middleton an offer that, at minimum, forces the Bucks to think twice before matching.
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On some level, it’s weird limiting the free-agency options of a lottery lock with max-contract(ish) cap maneuverability. The Utah Jazz, however, are a weird lottery lock.
Most of their big-picture pieces are already in place. Rudy Gobert, Gordon Hayward, Rodney Hood, Alec Burks, Derrick Favors and at least one, if not both, of Trey Burke and Dante Exum project as long-term solutions. The Jazz also have one of the NBA’s six-best records since the trade deadline.
All they need are some finishing touches, and Mirza Teletovic provides the right amount of polish. Think of him as the player rookie head coach Quin Snyder tried turning Enes Kanter into: a floor-spacing forward who can create his own shot without killing ball movement.
Blood clots will keep Teletovic sidelined for the rest of this season, and he was shooting just 32.1 percent from deep before being chained to the sidelines. But he drilled 39.0 percent of his treys in 2013-14, and the Jazz actually pass the ball, so he’ll get better looks.
Ergo, he and Utah are a fit for one another.
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How does that time-tattered adage go again? Oh, right.
Financially inflexible Kevin Durant pipe-dreamers cannot be choosers.
Assuming Paul Pierce and Garrett Temple exercise their player options for 2015-16, the Washington Wizards will enter free agency with nearly $ 70.3 million in player salaries to their name. Even if they want to, they cannot swing for the fences. And even if they could, they wouldn’t. Not with the Washington-born Durant reaching free agency in 2016.
That leaves the defensively sound, offensively challenged Wizards to shop on a beggar’s dime.
Marcus Thornton is a more conscientious version of Nick Young. He can be erratic, but he scores. The Wizards need scoring. They also need a new offensive system, but that’s a topic for another coach time.
Pushing 28, Thornton will come cheap, commanding nowhere near the $ 8-plus million he’s earning this season. Translation: He’ll do.
Unless otherwise cited, stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference and NBA.com and are accurate heading into games on April 7. Salary information via HoopsHype.
The One 2015 Free Agent Each NBA Team Should Already Be Eyeing - Bleacher Report
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