Official NBA Off-Season Thread. New 2012-2013 Thread Has Been Made. Please Post In There

[solarius49]

The Blazers can have him. 20 minutes after he signs he'll be out for the season anyways

 

[essential1]

Nash getting Offered I think $36mil over 3 years by Toronto

 

[buc em]

The Lakers have to trade Gasol at this point, right? They've tried trading him to every team in the league.

 

[japanair21]

CJ Miles being courted by Rick Carlisle, gotta think he signs on with Dallas this year. He's wanted to, and there's mutual interest.

 

[vc3fan]

Good friends with DWill too Japan.

 

[Peep Game]

Originally Posted by jmause3

Originally Posted by franchise3

Originally Posted by DubA169

That's a stupid amount of money. The lockout did what?

Rockets beat writer tweeted its a 4 year deal. So I guess it's either 6M and some change or 8M and some change, per year. I wonder if it makes a difference on whether Chicago matches.

I've read from one of the Bulls writer the first 2 years have to be for 5 mil per. I dont think we match due to Derrick's extension kicking in and we still have to sign Taj. If you guys get him, you are getting one of the best defensive bigs in the NBA

I really hope you're right on that.

 

[Peep Game]

Originally Posted by Kevin Cleveland

Marcus Camby has narrowed his choices to the Knicks, Heat, Spurs, Celtics, and Mavericks, a league source told Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com. 

Damn, wanted him to stay in Houston. If he doesn't come back, I'd like him to go to the Heat.

 

[addict4sneakers]

Originally Posted by JapanAir21

CJ Miles being courted by Rick Carlisle, gotta think he signs on with Dallas this year. He's wanted to, and there's mutual interest.

Mavs are bringing dee brown to the d league affiliate

 

[dman14]

Originally Posted by JapanAir21

CJ Miles being courted by Rick Carlisle, gotta think he signs on with Dallas this year. He's wanted to, and there's mutual interest.

isnt he from that area? so whats dallas backup plan if deron resigns with brooklyn

 

[N41D]

My dude coming home

 

[franchise3]

Asik is definitely a Rocket, after reading Hollinger's article. Maybe P can post it.

 

[japanair21]

Originally Posted by DMan14

Originally Posted by JapanAir21

CJ Miles being courted by Rick Carlisle, gotta think he signs on with Dallas this year. He's wanted to, and there's mutual interest.

isnt he from that area? so whats dallas backup plan if deron resigns with brooklyn

CJ Miles and Deron are also both from the Dallas area, and are pretty good friends, and played from 05-10 together.

If Mavs strike out on Deron, move to Nash, if they strike out there, then they SHOULD save their money and just glide by hoping for FA next year. Can't go handing out big deals to mediocre players that won't make us contend.

 

[Bend_The_Knee]

I don't see us matching Houston's offer foe Asik.

We go with Boozer this year, then amnesty him next offseason.


Anyone have a list of the '13 free agent class?

 

[buc em]

Mavs should put together a team of Nash-Grant Hill-Marion-Dirk-Camby with Kidd, VC and T-Mac off the bench. Early 2000's All-Stars FTW.

 

[acidicality]

Where does it say Warriors won't give Curry an extension?
That makes zero sense given they chose to keep Curry over Monta. Of course, if he gets hurt again this season then maybe there's something up with that...

 

[Bend_The_Knee]

Originally Posted by acidicality

Where does it say Warriors won't give Curry an extension?
That makes zero sense given they chose to keep Curry over Monta. Of course, if he gets hurt again this season then maybe there's something up with that...

Stephen Curry is eligible for a contract extension with the Warriors.

But with Curry coming off an injury plagued season with several ankle issues, a source says an extension with the Warriors "will not happen this year."

http://basketball.realgm...._Sign_Curry_To_Extension

 

[dat dude chris]

Damn Marcus Camby, he woulda been a good fit for the Sixers smh. Give us Pryzsbilla for the low then lol n hopefully Spence doesnt try to rape our remaining cap space so we can sign another guard

 

[Peep Game]

Originally Posted by franchise3

Camby tweeted recently Houston is still in the mix. I think Morey ends up going after Gasol again. Asik is the perfect C to play alongside Pau, and Pau can be the focal point of the offense. Pau has two years left. Asik has a three year deal. Three year window to compete, or start to blow things up with Pau's expiring, and you can dangle Asik's big expiring deal as well, down the road. Dwight really is a lost cause at this point for Houston. What's the point of signing Omer, unless you seriously make some moves to shake things up. Even with Dalembert and Camby last year, formidable C's, the Rockets weren't really gonna make any noise.

I felt like we were gonna make some noise until that awful last stretch of 10-12 games near the end of the season. We had everything going for us, then the bottom fell out. With or without the
injuries to Martin & Lowry, the mental breakdown is what really did us in.

 

[mgrand15]

Originally Posted by Peep Game

Originally Posted by jmause3

Originally Posted by franchise3

Rockets beat writer tweeted its a 4 year deal. So I guess it's either 6M and some change or 8M and some change, per year. I wonder if it makes a difference on whether Chicago matches.

I've read from one of the Bulls writer the first 2 years have to be for 5 mil per. I dont think we match due to Derrick's extension kicking in and we still have to sign Taj. If you guys get him, you are getting one of the best defensive bigs in the NBA

I really hope you're right on that.

The Bulls second unit is the most underrated reason they've been winning these past two years. The combination of Gibson and Asik shut EVERYTHING down in the paint. Teams don't really score on their 2nd unit. It's why when Rose won the MVP, some stat people were saying that the team wasn't much worse with CJ Watson on the floor. (IMO) I think it's a pretty damn good signing. Not a move for the media but a move that'll help them win games.

 

[addict4sneakers]

Originally Posted by Buc Em

Mavs should put together a team of Nash-Grant Hill-Marion-Dirk-Camby with Kidd, VC and T-Mac off the bench. Early 2000's All-Stars FTW.

team icy hot

 

[pmatic]

For franchise3 and anyone else:

Winning this match game

In the current collective bargaining agreement, it's known as the Gilbert Arenas rule. In the next CBA, it might be known as the Daryl Morey rule, because the Houston Rockets GM just drove a Mack truck through every one of the provision's current loopholes in agreeing to a three-year, $24.3 million offer sheet with restricted free agent Omer Asik, formerly of the Chicago Bulls.

Let's set aside whether Asik is actually worth $24 million over three years for a moment -- we'll tackle that later -- and just ponder the evil genius of the structuring of the contract and how it gives the Rockets a huge advantage in prying him away from the Bulls.

Under the "Gilbert Arenas" provision of the league's collective bargaining agreement, a player such as Asik -- a second-round draft pick coming off his second season -- can be offered only a maximum of the midlevel exception in free agency for the first two seasons but can be offered any amount up to the maximum in years after that.

Houston took advantage of this provision by limiting his offer to three years, rather than the maximum of four, and offering the maximum eligible salary in Year 3.

It's so damaging because of how the league assigns the salary cap and luxury tax hits for the respective sides. In Houston's case, the amounts are averaged over the three seasons, requiring the Rockets to have a little more than $8 million in cap room to consummate the deal.

No biggie for Houston; they would happen to have exactly $8 million lying around if they renounce their rights to Marcus Camby, cut Shaun Livingston, Greg Smith, Courtney Fortson and Diamon Simpson, and either waive Jon Leuer or use the stretch provision on Jon Brockman. Houston could also get there by renouncing its rights to restricted free agent Courtney Lee, but that seems more unlikely.

And looking ahead, the Rockets are still in pristine shape going forward. An $8 million cap charge for Asik in 2013-14 and 2014-15 simply isn't going to hurt them.

But Chicago? Holy hell, this is going to hurt. The league calculates the cap charge differently for a team matching the offer sheet, using actual salaries instead of the average. So the Bulls get off easy in the short term; a $5 million cap charge for Asik this year and next should have been in their budget to start.

But then in 2014-15, it jumps up to about $14.1 million. And it's not clear how the Bulls are supposed to handle that, especially given their aversion to the luxury tax and the fact they may be subject to the repeater penalty by then. Between Asik, Derrick Rose, Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah, they have $61.6 million committed and that's without paying Taj Gibson, retaining Luol Deng, or adding any free agent or draft picks.

They're almost certainly a tax team, in other words, and in fact they're likely to be deep into the tax, even if the league's tax level rises a few ducats by then. Which makes the effective cost of keeping Asik that season closer to $30 million than $15 million. And as much as I may admire his defense and rebounding, it's inconceivable that Asik is worth anywhere near $30 million.

Are there ways around this? Yes, but the medicine is worse than the disease. If in 2014 the Bulls were to use the amnesty clause on Carlos Boozer, who would be on the final year of his deal, that would cut $15 million from their cap number (and likely from their luxury tax bill) that season, but they would still have to pay Boozer, which would still make Asik's effective cost $30 million -- except in that case, it's $30 million and a starting power forward.

Alternatively, Chicago could use the stretch provision on Asik prior to Year 3. That would cost them $5 million each in 2014-15, 2015-16, and 2016-17, possibly saving them from a luxury tax in all three seasons.

But doing so would give them only two years of Asik, while still paying the entirety of the deal, which means they'll have signed him to a two-year deal for $24 million. Which is about as bad as the effective cost of three years, $39 million that we're presenting as the alternative. (You can also count the tax hits in Years 1 and 2, but they're the same in both alternatives so we'll ignore them for now.)

Basically, there's no easy way out for Chicago, which is why they're unlikely to match Houston's offer sheet. They still have Gibson, who is an absolute defensive beast and is extension-eligible this summer -- presumably on far better terms than Asik's deal. Meanwhile, Chicago can shorten its frontcourt rotation to three men -- Boozer, Noah and Gibson -- while using Luol Deng as a small-ball 4 in stretches.

Thus, in all likelihood, Houston is going to end up with Asik. I have to admire their cleverness in pulling this off, but I also have to shake my head that this was allowed under the CBA.

When they get around to the next one, maybe they'll realize that it's unfair to count the tax and cap hit in the season it hits for the matching team, while allowing the offering team to offer only one season at the higher level. Houston drove a truck through this loophole, but in the future requiring four-year deals for Arenas contracts will at least require teams to offer a more genuine maximum deal. Doing so in this case would have made it a four-year, $39 million deal from the Rockets, required nearly $10 million in cap space (and requisite harder decisions from the Rockets), and likely pushed them to a different alternative.

So congratulations, Houston -- it looks like Chef Linguini is likely all yours.

On to the next question: Is he worth it?

That's a bit of an eye-of-the-beholder question. Asik's advanced stats support the subjective viewpoint that he's one of the five or 10 best defensive players in basketball, and defense in general tends to be wildly underrated in the free-agent market (although weirdly, not in the draft). He is also, objectively, a monstrous rebounder, with his 20.1 rebound rate ranking sixth in the NBA last season.

Asik is a terrible offensive player, however, with bad hands, poor touch and a proclivity for illegal screens. Advanced stats seem to indicate that he takes away almost as much with his offense as he does with his defense -- but that overall he's a plus, even compared to the league average.

And that, in the big picture, makes him a second-tier starting center. And you know how much those are worth? About $8 million a year. Houston should know; they just paid nearly the same amount to the departed Samuel Dalembert.

Houston will hope Asik can improve on that prognosis by upping his offensive production to slightly less pathetic levels, with the tutelage of Kevin McHale, but even so his defense justifies the contract.

It also helps that Houston gets somebody under lock and key before re-signing its own free agents. The cap holds for Lee and Goran Dragic are low enough that it behooves the Rockets to use the cap space first, and then rebuild their backcourt.

From there, Houston can go in any number of directions, depending on Dwight Howard's availability and the market for Kyle Lowry. But first they took care of the most urgent need; if the Bulls don't match, the Rockets will have a real starting center this year, and they won't be overpaying for him.

The season of the pen

It's been an exciting opening day of free agency, and the Portland Trail Blazers have been at the forefront. The Blazers factored into all four major deals that were fully or nearly consummated on Sunday, and it's time to take stock of just what happened and where it's headed.

First and foremost, the Brooklyn Nets signed Gerald Wallace -- after trading the sixth overall pick to Portland for him and his Bird Rights in the spring -- to a four-year, $40 million deal that appears to be fully guaranteed. It's still not quite clear why the Nets felt the need to trade a high lottery pick for Wallace when they had more than enough cap space to sign him to this deal and still keep the sixth pick.

Even after allowing for this contract, a max deal for Deron Williams (if he returns) and cap holds for Brook Lopez and Gerald Green, the Nets would still have $8 million left over to re-sign Kris Humphries or pursue another free agent, such as Steve Nash. They'd also have the under-cap midlevel exception to use after that, presumably on Jason Kidd in their dream scenario.

However, it seems that New Jersey is also exploring an above-cap scenario, where they trade assorted flotsam to Atlanta for Joe Johnson, use their midlevel exception on Bosnian forward Mirza Teletovic (15.41 translated PER this past season for Caja Laboral Vitoria), and re-sign all their own free agents.

Does that justify the Wallace trade? Hardly. At that point it basically becomes the No. 6 pick for the right to overpay Gerald Wallace, possibly the right to egregiously overpay Joe Johnson, and access to the midlevel exception.

Meanwhile, $40 million for four years for Wallace seems, if not quite outrageous, certainly optimistic. Generally this is the death zone in free agency -- more than the midlevel, less than $12 million a year -- where a preponderance of the worst contracts can be found. Wallace is a typical example, a former All-Star dependent on declining athleticism as he gets into his 30s. He's probably not worth $10 million a year now, and has virtually no chance of being worth that much by 2015-16.

One also wonders whom exactly the Nets thought they were bidding against, and how much this deal was merely a face-saving gesture after what appeared to be a trade-deadline panic move once Dwight Howard pulled the rug on them.

Meanwhile, two restricted free agents with Portland connections are the other big news. Minnesota seems set to offer Nicolas Batum a four-year, $44 million offer sheet, and it's one I have mixed feelings about. On the one hand, signing a young, tall wing who can shoot is almost always worth it, and in restricted free agency you pretty much have to overbid to pry a player loose -- especially when your average temperature is 12 Kelvin.

On the other hand, I like Minnesota a lot better with a true shooting guard rather than all those 6-8 to 6-10 players they're asking to play the guard positions. Either Batum or Chase Budinger would have to play the 2 given their present lineup, at least if they want a real NBA player there, so unless the Wolves have another trade cooking that we don't know about, this is a weird fit.

Additionally, Batum's on-court off-court data suggests he may be wildly overrated. While lauded for his defensive potential, there is little-to-no evidence that he's been an impactful defender in the actual games; in fact, there's mounting evidence that he may be lousy at defense. It's possible he becomes an $11 million player, but he certainly hasn't been one up 'til now.

To clear up one piece of confusion on Batum, his cap hold will not change before the Blazers make a decision on matching any offer sheet from Minnesota. The Wolves can't sign him until July 11, and the Blazers will have three days to match once they've received the contract.

I would lean toward matching if I were Portland, but this is not a clear call. If they don't want to, their best move might be to involve Minnesota in sign-and-trade talks between now and the 11th -- say, for Luke Ridnour, given the Blazers' point guard needs -- which would also allow them to time the deal when it suits them given their other cap plans.

The cap hold for Batum is important because the Blazers plan to use their own hoard of cap space -- one that includes a below-market cap hold for Batum -- to provide a max offer sheet for Indiana center Roy Hibbert. The Blazers have $16.8 million in cap room and Hibbert's max deal starts at $13.7 million; they would have to renounce their rights to J.J. Hickson, Jamal Crawford and Raymond Felton to do this, but that's not an issue.

One presumes Indiana will match the Blazers' offer sheet, pushing the question down the line of which centers the Blazers pursue next. With Omer Asik -- another Portland Day 1 target, and the fourth deal of the day, which I wrote about here -- off the list, it appears the next in line would be Philadelphia center Spencer Hawes. He's an unrestricted free agent who hails from Seattle, and the Sixers' luxury tax concerns may make them skittish about rivaling a competitive offer from the Blazers.

Again, it would behoove the Blazers to get this done before they match an offer for Batum, which presumably would be about July 14.

Also around the league:

Philly reached a two-year, $6 million deal with Lavoy Allen necessitated entirely because their front office was asleep at the wheel a year ago and didn't ink him to non-guaranteed second and third years on his rookie deal, as is customary with rookie contracts.

Look at Houston with Chandler Parsons and Chase Budinger, for instance; they got those guys for four years at the minimum. Philly instead will be paying Allen $3 million a pop each of the next two years, which will hurt them on two fronts: First, the money had to come out of their midlevel exception and this dilutes other possibilities to improve the roster, and second, they pushed themselves $2.2 million closer to the luxury tax than they'd be otherwise, a situation that may ultimately cost them the services of Spencer Hawes or Lou Williams.

 

[elpablo21]

[h2] [/h2]

[h2]Clippers in Advanced Talks With Crawford [/h2]
By Alex Kennedy
NBA Writer

Email Print4 Comments

The Los Angeles Clippers are in advanced talks with unrestricted free agent Jamal Crawford, according to sources close to the situation.

The Clippers are aggressively pursuing Crawford, and are hoping to fly the 32-year-old guard out to Los Angeles later this week for a face-to-face meeting. No deal is imminent, but the talks are ongoing.

Crawford has also drawn interest from the Boston Celtics, Minnesota Timberwolves, Phoenix Suns, Philadelphia 76ers and Indiana Pacers. All six teams contacted Crawford last night. Crawford opted out of the final year of his contract with the Portland Trail Blazers last Wednesday. Last season, Crawford averaged 14.0 points in 60 games with the Trail Blazers.

 

[essential1]

Originally Posted by GotHolesInMySocks

I don't see us matching Houston's offer foe Asik.

We go with Boozer this year, then amnesty him next offseason.


Anyone have a list of the '13 free agent class?

http://www.hoopsworld.com/2013-nba-free-agents

Power Forward
Taj Gibson, Chicago Bulls – $2.2 million – Restricted ($3.2 million Qualifying Offer)
David West, Indiana Pacers – $10.0 million – Unrestricted
DeJuan Blair, San Antonio Spurs – $1.1 million – Unrestricted
Serge Ibaka, Oklahoma City Thunder – $2.2 million – Restricted ($3.2 million Qualifying Offer)
Paul Millsap, Utah Jazz – $8.6 million – Unrestricted
Al Jefferson, Utah Jazz – $15.0 million – Unrestricted
Derrick Favors, Utah Jazz – $4.8 million – Team Option ($6.0 million)
Kenneth Faried, Denver Nuggets – $1.3 million – Team Option ($1.4 million)


Center
Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic – $19.5 million – Unrestricted
Andrew Bynum, L.A. Lakers – $16.1 million – Unrestricted
DeMarcus Cousins, Sacramento Kings – $3.9 million – Team Option ($4.9 million)
Greg Monroe, Detroit Pistons – $3.2 million – Team Option ($4.1 million)
Samuel Dalembert, Houston Rockets – $6.7 million – Unrestricted
Nikola Pekovic, Minnesota Timberwolves – $4.8 million – Unrestricted*
Nikola Vucevic, Philadelphia 76ers – $1.7 million – Team Option ($1.8 million)
Ekpe Udoh, Milwaukee Bucks – $3.5 million – Team Option ($4.5 million)
Emeka Okafor, New Orleans Hornets – $13.5 million – Early Termination Option ($14.5 million)


  

 

[kevin cleveland]

The Bulls second unit is the most underrated reason they've been winning these past two years. The combination of Gibson and Asik shut EVERYTHING down in the paint. Teams don't really score on their 2nd unit. It's why when Rose won the MVP, some stat people were saying that the team wasn't much worse with CJ Watson on the floor. (IMO) I think it's a pretty damn good signing. Not a move for the media but a move that'll help them win games.
Agreed.

I think the number I heard was that the Bulls gave up 10 less points per 100 defensive possessions with Asik on the floor, as opposed to not. Gibson factors in, and so does the fact that Asik was mostly in against other reserves, but I'm willing to guess that that is still really impressive, in comparison to other players in that situation. And keep in mind that 100 defensive possessions is pretty much one game, so that kind of adds up.

 

[executive76]

Originally Posted by mogzz04

I can see not offering Steph the extension from GSW point of view...perhaps, theyre really not confident at all in Steph's ankle/health. Rather gamble that commit money to him...think about it. Steph's issue with that ankle dates back to his college days if im remembering correctly.

I don't recall him having any ankle injuries in college and I'm pretty sure they started during his 2nd NBA season. I agree with the rest it's going to be interesting to see how it unfolds

Marc J. Spears