Recap: Free Agency Fallout (or, Unfinished Business)
2018-07-01
The theme of the NBA’s annual mad free agent dash this year was equal parts fast… and, “hey, not so fast.” News unsurprisingly started to leak out as much as an hour leading up to midnight… however, surprisingly (well, at least to Brian Windhorst and the folks on ESPN’s The Jump) the first big domino of the night not only decided to stay where he was, but did so with a lengthy commitment.
Anyone who still thought Paul George was leaving Oklahoma City for the bright lights of Los Angeles, should have been quickly dissuaded from that notion by the size of the party being thrown at Russell Westbrook’s crib. Shortly after midnight, PG13 made the rumors official… but, it was the number of years he re-signed for that stood out. Four years (the fourth being a player option) for a maximum $137M from the Thunder, who took a gamble that they could entice George to stick around.
As the man himself wrote on his Instagram post… Unfinished business…
Paul George celebrating his decision to re-sign with the Thunder with Russell Westbrook. pic.twitter.com/XxvD3Rb823
— RealGM (@RealGM) July 1, 2018
Word was that George didn’t even set a meeting with the Lakers, as he was convinced early on to finish what he started last year in OKC… how refreshing.
Speaking of unfinished business, the next big name to drop was Chris Paul, who agreed to a four year, $160M deal to run it back with James Harden and the Houston Rockets. It was one year less than CP3 had been rumored to have sought with the previous ownership regime, yet it was still a max deal that makes him the second highest paid point guard in the league.
The breakdown of the $160M Chris Paul contract is: $35.6M, $38.5M, $41.4M and $44.2M. Paul is now the second highest paid point guard, only behind Steph Curry at $37.5M.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) July 1, 2018
Granted, the Rockets really didn’t have much choice but to bring back the guy that helped them get within shouting distance of The Finals… although $44M for a guy at age 38 who has been historically injury prone might be a really tough pill to swallow…
Kevin Durant also wasted no time agreeing to take another small haircut on a 1+1 $65M deal with the Warriors. Though odds are that he’ll opt out of the second year to take full advantage of a five year max deal next summer. In taking less, he not only preserved his flexibility, but also created a potential mid-level salary slot for Golden State to sign another vet contributor. The rich get richer…
The Denver Nuggets weren’t joking around about keeping their young core together at all costs… and they committed more than $200M in salaries shortly after midnight. Nikola Jokic agreed to a five year, $148M maximum deal… and Will Barton got locked into a four year, $54M deal. Like the Thunder (who also retained Jerami Grant to a three year, $27M deal), the Nuggets look to be capped out… although they do still have a few moveable contracts…
With Paul George and Jerami Grant on board, Oklahoma City now has a payroll of $156M with 11 players under contract. Because of the repeater tax penalty, the Thunder currently have a tax bill of $130M. The tax bill would be the largest in NBA history.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) July 1, 2018
Ownership in Denver has stepped up to the plate with the Nikola Jokic and Will Barton contract. The Nuggets now project to have $146M in salary, $23M over the tax line. The Nuggets do have $33M in expiring contracts of Kenneth Faried, Wilson Chandler and Darrell Arthur.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) July 1, 2018
Other guys staying put in the early going included:
- Rudy Gay with the Spurs: 1 year/$10M
- Joe Harris with the Nets: 2 years/$16M
- Aaron Baynes with the Celtics: 2 years/$11M
- Gerald Green with the Rockets: 1 year/$2.4M
- and, yes… even Derrick Rose with the Timberwolves: 1 year/$2.1M
The biggest name to switch teams once the clock struck 12, was a dude who had infamously already been through this scenario once before. Yes, Mark Cuban finally got his DJ (DeAndre Jordan)… and just two summers after the big man was kidnapped by then Clipper teammates CP3 and Blake Griffin. Jordan and the Mavericks agreed to a one year, $24.1M deal… then DJ hilariously Tweeted his own callback emoji…
🤠
— DeAndre Jordan 🐺 (@DeAndre) July 1, 2018
The two veteran shooters the Philadelphia 76ers picked up for their playoff run last year each bolted for their respective past glory… with Irsan Illyasova returning to the Milwaukee Bucks on a three year, $21M deal, and Marco Belinelli returning to the San Antonio Spurs on a two year, $12M deal. Both deals create some interesting salary cap implications for these teams however…
The Ersan Ilyasova $21M contract projects to put Milwaukee at $110M in salary and would hard cap the Bucks at $129.8M. The hard cap is a result of Ilyasova signing for part of the midlevel exception that exceeds $5.3M. The Bucks still have restricted free agent Jabari Parker.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) July 1, 2018
The Spurs with Rudy Gay and now Marco Belinelli project to have $107M in committed salary. The Belinelli contract will hard cap the Spurs at $129M based on the guard using more than the $5.3M midlevel exception. https://t.co/65RVO8MEwS
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) July 1, 2018
Meanwhile, a few other opportunistic free agents who apparently read the tea leaves about the shortage of available money this summer, jumped at quick paydays…
- Trevor Ariza, fresh off of his 0-12 display in his last game, gambled on a one year/$15M scratch off deal with the Suns
- Doug McDermott went all Dougie McDuckets, scoring a three year/$22M deal from the Pacers
- Ed Davis rebounded with a one year/$4.4M deal with the Nets
- Omri Casspi got freed for a one year deal with the Grizzlies
- Nik Stauskas sauced a one year deal with the Blazers
- and, Mareesse Speights was reportedly nearing a “lucrative deal” with the Guangzhou Long-Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association
This next thing was fake news of the worst kind… which I am glad Nate was not awake to be tormented by…
Matthew Dellavedova has committed to the Cavs on the vets MLE after a buyout from the Bucks, sources tell ESPN.
— #LetEmKnow 1-2 (15) (@Believeland1994) July 1, 2018
This could potentially still happen… but, best not to get anyone’s hopes up…
Speaking of the Cavs… and unfinished business… all was eerily quiet in the King’s court. There was nary a rumor for most of the night about any moves the team was making, or whether or not there had been any sort of communication between Koby Altman and LeBron or his camp.
First, there was this from Joe Vardon…
LeBron’s agent Rich Paul expects to speak with Cavs GM Koby Altman right around now as free agency begins. They spoke yesterday when Paul informed him LeBron was declining his option
— Joe Vardon (@joevardon) July 1, 2018
Two hours later, there was this confirmation that the call indeed happened from Dave McMenamin…
Cavs general manager Koby Altman spoke to both Rich Paul and LeBron James over the phone at 12:01 a.m., sources tell ESPN.
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) July 1, 2018
Yet, even though there have been reports and indications that LeBron has no plans to drag his decision out this time around, it will still likely be early next week before he divulges his plan of action. Will he continue in Cleveland and get back to unfinished business… or, will he opt for the new frontier of Los Angeles (or another less likely location)?
Regardless of where he chooses, one thing is for sure… it won’t be alongside Paul George. It also doesn’t seem like it will be alongside Kawhi Leonard in the immediate future (at least if the Spurs have their way)…
https://twitter.com/hmfaigen/status/1013280244210397184
Who knows… maybe Los Angeles itself is enough of a draw for LeBron and his family. Or, maybe all it will take is a few months of Boogie once his achilles heals…
New Orleans Pelicans All-Star free agent center DeMarcus Cousins received calls from the Pelicans and Los Angeles Lakers tonight once free agency began and is expected to have meetings scheduled with both teams soon, a source told ESPN's The Undefeated.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) July 1, 2018
In any event… things should all become clear in the next few days. Until then, it’s just unfinished business…
Stay tuned…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8h8lpGoDWCA
https://twitter.com/oldseaminer/status/1013584344655564800?s=19
Great run. I really wonder how everything shakes out if The Usurper Kevin Durant doesnt go to Golden State
Alas, good luck cavs and fans. Being in oracle for game 7 2016 will likely always be my best sports moment
I can’t wait for Lavar Ball to call out LeBron for not playing D.
Lonzo probably gets shipped.
I get LeBron leaving. He probably saw the Cavs as not even the best team in the East, and if he’s going to miss out going to the finals, he would rather do it against the Dubs, and not the Kyrie led Celtics.
Sorry he’s gone, but I will not miss all the nonsense which surrounds Lebron 24/7. Hope the Lakers enjoy Maverick Carter.
I’ll miss all the subtweets /s
Just don’t really understand it from a legacy or basketball standpoint… obviously a big part of his decision was his family. I never thought he would go West either.
Quite incredible that KLove is the last man standing, Kyrie & LBJ in the wind. Wow.
For real. Never a bad word out of his mouth either despite all the rumors.
I don’t wish LeBron well, I hope the Lakers are terrible. Go Cavs!
I’m with you :)
Thanks for ’16, now GTFO.
Agreed. So much for championship mode.
Hope they completely implode.
Very sad for the Cavs, but interesting how little pull LBJ has now – I think Kyrie started it by realizing how suffocating it is to play with him, both the man and the legend. Great on court, but brutal off of it. Hard to lose the 2nd best (yes 2nd best) athlete in Cleveland history twice . At least Jim Brown (the greatest football player ever, the greatest lacrosse player ever and an outstanding basketball player) just retired and didn’t go anywhere else. I know the Cavs are left with nothing, but this is how they had to do… Read more »
Summer of Corby Part Deux
Thanks for the title Lebron. Thanks for sticking us with garbage and checkin out
2-way street. And he never had to come back. I hope there is not Jersey Burning part 2 going on. Makes the city unattractive to future FAs
Ditto. But just to be clear, I am a Cavs fan not a Bron fan.
I didn’t fanboy worship him when he wore a Cavs jersey or a Heat one. Arguably top 5 all-time on the court, but others did much more for their franchises (Bird, Duncan, Kobe, Magic, Shaq, Havlicek).
As a fan, I would much rather have had one of those guys on my team than Bron.
At least he ain’t ring chasing.
I wouldn’t. We still wouldn’t have a championship.
I hate Coach Lue even more now.
I’m not angry that he left, I mean, after the JR/Lue fiasco of G1, I can’t blame him. The annoying part is not doing a sign/trade so that the Cavs can get some talent/picks from the Lakers.
Once more he leaves Cleveland stranded with the bag of poop. We still have JR, TT, Hold and Lue. This blows.
Yeah, sucks, but he did it to Heat, too. Basketball vampirism. Really sucks that he gives a long term deal to the Lakers, who have proven nothing of late as an organization. God, I hope they sign IT.
I somehow told myself I would root for him with whatever team he ended up with but nah, F the Lakers too.
I hope it turns into a disaster for them. Laker fans feel entitled to star players. Screw them.
You know who will sign IT to a mid level exception? Us.
Not sure I really want any of the Lakers young talent… none of them scream all-stars to me. Picks would be nice, but if they get other pieces around LeBron, Lakers own pick likely wont be a lottery pick.
I would gladly take Kuzma over anyone on our team.
Bittersweet for sure… Sucks to lose the best player in the NBA TWICE in his prime, but will always cherish the memories and 2016. Wish him well and hope he’s happy with his decision but sure as hell won’t be rooting for the Lakers.
I’ll probably cancel my cable at this point. No need watching rebuilding garbage for the next decade.
i don’t mind watching young players who have a work ethic.. but those are far and few between.. perhaps sexton can set the standard.. looks like he’s driven to reach the top of his potential, at least according to some who have more insight than me
and we even have a 2020 1st rounder! please enlighten me.. the cavs have the worst record next year, but with no 1st rounder.. no way to be in the lottery, correct?
It’s top 10 protected
ok.. that’s not so bad.. we suck (and we likely will big time).. then we can add another “piece”.. gotta “trust the process”.. isn’t that the mantra?
I don’t get the move by LeBron unless they get Kawhi.
I think at this point SAS won’t get much of a package from any other team. So the Lakers can afford to limit their offer.
Bummer but let’s move on to the next phase.
I wish LeBron well. Hope his new team can knock off the Warriors, though I very much doubt it. He can enjoy some longer summers.
Durant’s 1and1 smells like a noncommittal. Leonard is undecided. While I can’t see Lebron getting LAL to the Finals next year even with them, they could definitely get there in 4 and be in position to win it.
I think for whatever reason he didn’t see that in CLE. IMO he should have bit the bullet and said to Gilbert/Altman in January “I can’t win with these guys”, blown it up at the break, and shot for a super team in 2019. Instead, the Cavs will rebuild which was inevitable one of these years with Lebron.
It’s true that the deal with the Lakers was not great, but they would have found somebody to clear space for LBJ with.
And pretty righteous of Lebron to sign a 4 year deal. Who knows, the Cavs may have even been able to sustain a team around him if he had done that in Cleveland.
Yeah that irks me.
It’s 100% Dan Gilbert, I’m sure. It’s kind of amazing he ever returned at all after that Comic Sans masterstroke…
Yep.
That’s what being 33 will do to ya
Not surprised but sad to see the end of the second era.
Trade anyone not named Cedi, Zizik, Sexton, and Nance.
u can’t even give the garbage away..
JR, Love, and Hill are expiring. TT will be an expiring next year.
Time to get under the salary cap and rebuild
At least they didn’t get PG. Can’t wait till Lavar criticizes Lebron in the media.
They’ll get Leonard eventually, and probably a hobbled Cousins.
Lebron would lurrrrrve playing with Boogie.
The expiring guys will get more in return once the season starts. Teams that realize they suck will start clearing space for FAs next summer.
But almost everyone thinks they will be good post draft.
TT and JR, without LBJ.. these are the 2 options i see.. unplayable, and on the other hand, unwatchable
i doubt whether you see either of those guys ever break a sweat again..
oh, forgot the other “un” adjective.. untradeable
J.R. is an expiring
Could be a good time to start developing TTs 3-point shot.
is alonzo gee still available? perhaps the cavs can sign him
This is not insignificant…
https://twitter.com/WindhorstESPN/status/1013520030527606785
Yep. He has a very Spursian game.
Rumor has the Lakers chasing Gordon now. That makes no sense.
Best review headline ever.
Haha.
Probably pretty accurate…
Man, if OKC had any assets, trading Hill for Melo and then stretching melo would be a great move for both squads.
(Assuming LeBron leaves)
all in for getting delly back right nate
Fo shizzle.
The day after, I wonder whether PG has any regrets. Well, other than the dog breath from smoking those celebratory cigars.
I think PG realizes that he doesn’t really want to be “the man” and is fine with his decision. He’d have so much more scrutiny going to the Lakers, even if LeBron showed up. He’s the perfect off-ball complement to Russ, has no pressure, and can potentially make almost $300M over the next 7 years if he so chooses…
Regardless of how this free agent period turns out….I really think that this is all going to blow up in Lebron’s face eventually. I know he does these one-and-ones to maintain flexibility….but he’s starting to get to an age where NO ONE is going to give him a five year max contract. I know he continues to defy the laws of physics and biology with his durability, but that simply cannot continue indefinitely. I’d bet that sometime in the next 18 months, Lebron will have his first serious injury….and then he’ll be on the wrong side of 35 coming off… Read more »
This is the extent of his max window… he’s 33 and the max deals can’t be given to a player who will be older than 38 at the end of the five year max…
no matter what the decision–can’t wait until this “media circus ” is over and cavs can make plans with or without LeBron ———-I am now leading towards the 76er’s
Can someone hack Lee Jenkins’ computer and see if there’s anything there? Although LeBron’s team has such good operational security, they’ll probably use a new venue this time.
If LeBron goes to Philly, I wonder if they will continue to pass the ball as much as they did this past year on offense…. didn’t they lead the NBA in passes?
My feelings on the three teams most obviously vying for LeBron is 50% for the Lakers, 35% for Philly and 15% for the Cavs. The Cavs roster just doesn’t have enough flexibility. So many of the new players not ready for prime time and too many aging vets past their prime. Hope I am wrong and James stays. More than not resigning David Griffin, the disastrous Irving trade will be viewed in hindsight as the primary reason for James’ departure. If the Cavs had gotten the right pieces for Irving, James I believe would have stayed, and of course wanted… Read more »
The media circus surrounding Lebron is just hilarious. These are supposed adults reporting all this crap.
Doesn’t mean they didn’t have drinks. Seems like a Clintonian dodge.
https://twitter.com/Schultz_Report/status/1013485248292716551
If he goes to Philly that whole talk about his family is BS.
Wow. Philly. That’s be a merc move.
Why would it be anymore than la?
man i thought when pg didint go lakers we were good, but now philly emerges.
so its gonna be boston and philly and a bunch of d-league teams in the east
Maybe. Barring LA getting Kawhi, my completely speculative guess is that the odds are 40-60 cavs/philly. I still think there is a decent chance of him resigning at least a one and one here.
It seems like whoever gets Leonard, gets LeBron.
I think that means Simmons and filler for Kawhi. Can’t imagine they get that done with Saric and Covington and a pick. Especially not when the lake show could offer Ingram or Kuzma plus a better pick. Or when Boston could offer J Brown and Rozier and/or a pick.
Kev for Dev if LBJ bolts?
https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1013469290845089794
Booker is an inefficient gunner that plays absolutely zero d and can’t make up for it with rebounding like Kevin. Or have I mischaracterized him? Dunno. Don’t follow the suns much, but what I have watched makes him seem like all inefficient scoring on bad teams and no substance. He has age on his side compared to Love which is very appealing. However he will be up for a max soon and I am not sure he will ever be worth that kind of money unless other franchise players are already in place and locked up. Right now he certainly… Read more »
It’s moot, since Suns aren’t trading him. It’d have to get Kawhi level bad before they’d look into that.
Good point.
Interesting from the above article…
Paul also represents young Sixers star Ben Simmons. Philadelphia is among the teams that could trade for Kawhi Leonard, which could entice James.
If the two main goals are:
1) Signing a max contract (1+1, 4 or 5 yr)
2) Having a shot to beat GSW
Then Philly makes the most sense. We have no way to compete with GSW and he would have to take a haircut to go to Hou or OKC or SA. Lakers are not competitive as it stands now.
Bronny don’t wanna live in Philly tho…
Maybe he does a 1 plus 1 with Philly then goes to the LAL with Leonard the following year.
someone tell me quick why you call the cavs at 12:01, but then take a meeting with Philly the next day?
Well it certainly doesn’t bode well. Courtesy goodbye? Maybe philly is back in play since LA seems to have fallen through in getting another star. Still I would rather see him go to philly over LA if he is leaving.
Me too. Plus, he can beat Kyrie this way.
Maybe it’s a “hey, I’m gonna sign with you on Tuesday… I just gotta make it look good with these other teams…”
Hopefully….but why does he need to make it look good with other teams?
A lineup of:
Sexton/Hill
Hill/Cedi
Bron
Love
Nance
Could get plenty done.
Sure but Lue wont play that lineup
So could:
Simmons
Redick
Bron
Saric
Embiid
Plus Covington, Smith, and a shiny Suns first next year. If they add some shooting they are golden.
They won’t have much money to add shooting…
So if LBJ goes to La for primarily bball reasons, he is basically banking on Kuzma, Ingram, Ball, and maybe Randle if they resign him improving a ton. Is that enough? Maybe if Ingram and Kuzma prove to be the real deal. With Lonzo’s meniscus tear he won’t have a full summer to work on his shot which will likely seriously set back any improvements he could make. Unsure if they can resign Pope and Lopez and sign James. Not sure if they have to renounce them prior to signing James. If they did those guys would have to come… Read more »
gah Philly
A post from the Laker board on PG from one of their typically classy fans:
“What a moron!
Unbelievably stupid move by PG. Enjoy never winning a ring and getting knocked out in the 1st round every year. Don’t want players with no heart who just want money anyway…this was a blessing in disguise. Like Kobe said, we shouldn’t have to woo anyone to come here, PG ain’t a winner plain and simple.”
Yeah, he could have gone to LA to get knocked out in the first round every year!
Rather than bolting to maybe team up with LBJ for what could be greener pastures a la Durant, I would think that riding with the Thunder long term and trying to build something organic is the definition of heart.
Talk about salty.
https://mobile.twitter.com/wojespn/status/1013440590686687233
I think he will stay, which would obviously be so amazing. But kinda sucks that no one is going to beat the warriors, at least as is. I don’t know what we can do to improve our roster.
Hope that Sexton becomes an all star, that Nance becomes a nearly all defensive caliber player, and that Cedi becomes a decent two way starter.
Also if he resigns we buyout the non-fully guaranteed (Smith, Hill, Korver) of some of the bloated contracts by 2019 free agency, we should have some cap space.
Cedi going to be the best out of all of them if given the opportunity
I don’t see that yet. But I think he could be a good starter. I am banking on Sexton improving his shot a lot though. If Sexton can’t shoot and Nance doesn’t improve much, then yeah Cedi could end up being the most valuable out of those guys.
Would appear on the surface to be favorable from a bball standpoint for the cavs and as such one would expect James to lean that way. However, if the glitz, glam, marketing possibilities, and Savannah, Gloria, and the kids all want the Hollywood lifestyle bball may be completely irrelevant. Since we didn’t get an answer last night even after everything that fell the cavs way, I am worried glitz, glam, and the fam may be winning.
All of this would be a lot more interesting if the If You Cant Beat Them Join Them Warriors didnt exist, led by The Usurper Kevin Durant
Yeah it all seems kind of irrelevant in the grand scheme of things doesn’t. None of it will change the end result. Blah. Would be nice to win the east a few more times though, so hopefully LBJ stays.
That move by PG was refreshing.
Hopefully, Koby said the following.
Bron, you have the best basketball mind out there, we are committed to getting you minds that can compete with GSW.
In your opinion, where do we need to upgrade our minds (coach, PG, SG, etc) and who are the guts that have it.
Then go about jettisoning to dead weight & bringing in new pieces, or at least put the dead weight on the bench.
https://twitter.com/WayneEmbrysKids/status/1013400941729599488
No OT tonight!!
yes, crowd may have left early before the pizza joints closed.
If I were a betting man, I still wouldn’t know where to put my money with respect to Lebron (team or length of contract).
I don’t understand why the Mavs would want to waste $24m on DJ.
I’m also not sure why Ariza would want to waste a year in Phoenix. Isn’t he worth $24×2 or $33×3 years with a contender? I guess not.
I don’t see LeBron leaving for LA now that PG and CP are staying put. Why go to LA and get bounced in the 1-2 round of the playoffs for the next 3 years?
Stay in Cleveland and ask for Lue to be fired. That should help you against GS, Boston/Philly.
What I would give to have been able to listen to the 12:01AM phone call. We know Koby would have been talking a lot, but what LBJ had to say back would be everything. Who knows – maybe he DID say he’s happy to stay and help develop young talent provided a good coach is brought to the team.
Like most things in life, it’s the waiting that kills you the most.
Regarding Ariza, money is going to dry up quick this off season for the guys who aren’t superstar level. Probably just taking the money and running while he can. Why the Suns do that is a good question.
You don’t think Ariza could had gotten a better/longer deal from someone else?
There is not a lot of money around. Next summer should be more cash available, so he’s taking the one year deal and probably looking to get a longer deal next summer. Evidently Ariza’s agent didn’t think they could get a better deal right now.
Great summary, EG. Thanks
It’s not insignificant that Koby Altman spoke with Rich Paul and LeBron at 12:01 AM.
A double negative eh… so it was significant 😉
I see the conversation as ” I wanna come back, but we suck….”
Also, the PG news makes it more important than ever that the Lakers lock up IT. I know a legend like Magic can get this done. Godspeed.
Thanks EG. The PG thing makes me even more bummed that the deal fell through at the last minute last summer. Probably could have signed him long term after a year with Lebron. Although Lebron still probably wouldn’t have committed to anything, so who knows. Lebron is well within his rights, but that crap makes it very difficult to try to put together a team around him.
Regarding Lebron, who knows…I still think he’s going to the Lakers. Cavs would need to add a significant piece, and I don’t see how.
Comprehensive report, EG – thank you.