Post by Orlando Magic on Aug 8, 2008 15:58:19 GMT -5
Welcome back everyone to NBA Legends Off-season. As always, I appreciate the support and it is great to see all GMs back and ready for some intense off-season action!
This time around, I will be putting on the Free Agency pants and taking a whack at the way I see things playing out. The cap is up to 70 million and I must declare that this will be the biggest bull market to date. We have GMs with million of dollars burning holes in their pockets and a batch of promising free agents salivating at this thought.
I intend to make this into a four-part series where first, I break down each team’s situation, who they should sign and what kind of money they are talking about when the dust settles. Second, I will break down the most likely candidates for free agency and assess which teams can satisfy both their monetary and athletic needs. So let’s begin shall we?
The Duds:
– 0 cap space
With only 11 players on roster and salary hogs like Agent 0, KG, Nazr Mohammed and Cuttino Mobley using up 50 million of cap space; the 76ers will be dipping into the MLE just to meet the league minimum roster.
– 0 cap space
The Cavs are also over the cap and the four main reasons for this are the bench warming foursome of Eric Snow, Troy Hudson, Dan Gadzuric and Antonie Walker. These tubs of lard are responsible for almost 29 million dollars, ouch!
– 0 cap space
The Indiana Pacers at least have 14 players to show for their $71,960,251 dollars of salaries. However, when the only player worth mentioning is D-Wade and you have Devin Harris escaping to the magical land of free agency, things start to look pretty grim.
– 0 cap space
Perhaps the most atrocious salary situation comes from the fellas of the Staples Center. Kobe Bryant, Shaq, AI and Dalembert…and you are already over the cap! And the worst part of it all; Mardy Collins, Ian Mahinimi, Cheik Samb and Voshen Lenard are poised to get some quality PT this season if nothing changes!
– 0 cap space
It would be one thing if you had 4 players making almost your entire salary allotment and you had a championship ring or even a division title to show for it, but when you are the Dallas Mavericks, all you have is an accountant’s nightmare.
– 0 cap space
Now, if I thought it would make any difference what-so-ever that the Hornets needed to sign two scrubs with the MLE to complete their roster then I’d be tearing into their GM right now. But it won’t, because all he needs to do is send their starting five out with lonely little Turkoglu on the bench as their 6th man and they’d still win a championship. This team could sign 6 more pee-wee league rejects and still win it all. God I hate Tim Duncan!
– $2.5 million cap (Michael Finley) Estimated: 0 cap space
We have arrived at our faithful leader. Unlike the previous teams, Seattle has managed to eek out a couple million to try and re-sign some of his players. If I were him I’d try my best at getting back Finley as their veteran presence and sign some scrubs at the league minimum to keep the end of the bench nice and toasty.
– $3.5 million cap (Brent Barry) Estimated: 0 cap space
The wiz are in a very similar position to Seattle as their $3.5 million should be enough to keep veteran Barry in blue and gold and then finish out the roster with some D-League all stars.
– $4 million cap (Rumors for 17 cap, Dwight Howard) Estimated: 0 cap space
Oh the poor Pistons. I remember a certain scientist being in a similar position in the previous off-season, scrambling and ripping off the heads of his closest staff members to find any shred of cash to pay VC. Now it is the Pistons who find themselves in a pit of despair, having nightmares of their shining star in Chicago red or purchasing a one way ticket to the west coast to play for LA’s other team. Many sleepless nights await but desperate times call for desperate measures and I think Howard will be back in Mo-Town for tipoff. (But at what price?)
– $4.5 million cap (Antonio McDyess) Estimated: 0 cap space
Bobcats are under new management and this off-season should be quite momentous for them. Not sure what plans are in the works for trades that may or may not clear cap space, but as they stand currently, priority one appears to be resigning veteran McDyess.
– $6 million cap (Alonzo Mourning) Estimated: 0 cap space
They have six mill and they appear to be at a crossroads concerning FA. They could choose to take the road of youth, resign Vujacic for a cheap contract and try and spend their extra money elsewhere, or (as I might suggest) sign Zo back for a few more years to help fellow veteran Odom keep these whipper-snappers in line.
– $12 million cap (Ben Gordon) Estimated: 0 cap space
The T-Wolves are going to have to let some people go, plain and simple. I think their most obvious choice will be spending most/if not all their cap space to keep Gordon in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. Assuming this is their mode of attack, we should see JR Smith and Dooling collect some cool cash this summer from teams with money to burn.
– $20 million cap (Josh Smith and Delonte West) Estimated: 0 cap space
Houston’s two big free agents are Smith and West and I think the smart option is to lock both of these fellas up. Smith is the anchor for this team and they would desperately need a new face of the franchise if Josh walks. Delonte is also a solid player for this squad and I believe it could be possible for Houston to sign both…although this may be out of his hands if the player agent says otherwise.
– $22.5 million cap (8 FA; Andre Iguodala, Monta Ellis, Robert Horry) Estimated: 0 cap space
San Antonio is one team that will be hurting bad this off-season. With 8 players leaving for free agency this year, the Spurs must sign at least one of their two stars back for next season. With only $22.5 million in cap, I think SA might not be big enough for both Monta and Andre. Especially since they both could fetch hefty prices this summer in the free agency pool.
– $23 million cap (Al Jefferson and Jameer Nelson) Estimated: 0 cap space
One year ago, things in Orlando were far more chaotic. VC was threatening to leave and all the Mad Scientist had was pocket change. With some crafty maneuvering and last second antics, VC stayed but the lessons learned from this incident carried on. This summer we find the Magic with a fair amount of cap space, one big name FA and one mid-level FA on the radar. Reports have already indicated that signing Big Al is the first item on the list, but never count out the infamous sign-and-trade with either of them.
– $37 million cap (Kevin Martin and Emeka Okafor) Estimated: 0 cap space
Finally, the last of our Duds this off-season is Milwaukee. The previous GM purposely shifted around salaries to allow for the resigning of both headliner FAs Okafor and Martin and unless I hear otherwise, I would only assume that the new management will make full use of their 37 million in bringing these two back. If this is the case, don’t expect much cash left over in Wisconsin.
This has been my analysis of the Duds this off-season. Look out in the coming days for the next installment as I lay out some of the Wanna-be’s for this summer’s FA action.
Midway Monster
This time around, I will be putting on the Free Agency pants and taking a whack at the way I see things playing out. The cap is up to 70 million and I must declare that this will be the biggest bull market to date. We have GMs with million of dollars burning holes in their pockets and a batch of promising free agents salivating at this thought.
I intend to make this into a four-part series where first, I break down each team’s situation, who they should sign and what kind of money they are talking about when the dust settles. Second, I will break down the most likely candidates for free agency and assess which teams can satisfy both their monetary and athletic needs. So let’s begin shall we?
The Duds:
– 0 cap space
With only 11 players on roster and salary hogs like Agent 0, KG, Nazr Mohammed and Cuttino Mobley using up 50 million of cap space; the 76ers will be dipping into the MLE just to meet the league minimum roster.
– 0 cap space
The Cavs are also over the cap and the four main reasons for this are the bench warming foursome of Eric Snow, Troy Hudson, Dan Gadzuric and Antonie Walker. These tubs of lard are responsible for almost 29 million dollars, ouch!
– 0 cap space
The Indiana Pacers at least have 14 players to show for their $71,960,251 dollars of salaries. However, when the only player worth mentioning is D-Wade and you have Devin Harris escaping to the magical land of free agency, things start to look pretty grim.
– 0 cap space
Perhaps the most atrocious salary situation comes from the fellas of the Staples Center. Kobe Bryant, Shaq, AI and Dalembert…and you are already over the cap! And the worst part of it all; Mardy Collins, Ian Mahinimi, Cheik Samb and Voshen Lenard are poised to get some quality PT this season if nothing changes!
– 0 cap space
It would be one thing if you had 4 players making almost your entire salary allotment and you had a championship ring or even a division title to show for it, but when you are the Dallas Mavericks, all you have is an accountant’s nightmare.
– 0 cap space
Now, if I thought it would make any difference what-so-ever that the Hornets needed to sign two scrubs with the MLE to complete their roster then I’d be tearing into their GM right now. But it won’t, because all he needs to do is send their starting five out with lonely little Turkoglu on the bench as their 6th man and they’d still win a championship. This team could sign 6 more pee-wee league rejects and still win it all. God I hate Tim Duncan!
– $2.5 million cap (Michael Finley) Estimated: 0 cap space
We have arrived at our faithful leader. Unlike the previous teams, Seattle has managed to eek out a couple million to try and re-sign some of his players. If I were him I’d try my best at getting back Finley as their veteran presence and sign some scrubs at the league minimum to keep the end of the bench nice and toasty.
– $3.5 million cap (Brent Barry) Estimated: 0 cap space
The wiz are in a very similar position to Seattle as their $3.5 million should be enough to keep veteran Barry in blue and gold and then finish out the roster with some D-League all stars.
– $4 million cap (Rumors for 17 cap, Dwight Howard) Estimated: 0 cap space
Oh the poor Pistons. I remember a certain scientist being in a similar position in the previous off-season, scrambling and ripping off the heads of his closest staff members to find any shred of cash to pay VC. Now it is the Pistons who find themselves in a pit of despair, having nightmares of their shining star in Chicago red or purchasing a one way ticket to the west coast to play for LA’s other team. Many sleepless nights await but desperate times call for desperate measures and I think Howard will be back in Mo-Town for tipoff. (But at what price?)
– $4.5 million cap (Antonio McDyess) Estimated: 0 cap space
Bobcats are under new management and this off-season should be quite momentous for them. Not sure what plans are in the works for trades that may or may not clear cap space, but as they stand currently, priority one appears to be resigning veteran McDyess.
– $6 million cap (Alonzo Mourning) Estimated: 0 cap space
They have six mill and they appear to be at a crossroads concerning FA. They could choose to take the road of youth, resign Vujacic for a cheap contract and try and spend their extra money elsewhere, or (as I might suggest) sign Zo back for a few more years to help fellow veteran Odom keep these whipper-snappers in line.
– $12 million cap (Ben Gordon) Estimated: 0 cap space
The T-Wolves are going to have to let some people go, plain and simple. I think their most obvious choice will be spending most/if not all their cap space to keep Gordon in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. Assuming this is their mode of attack, we should see JR Smith and Dooling collect some cool cash this summer from teams with money to burn.
– $20 million cap (Josh Smith and Delonte West) Estimated: 0 cap space
Houston’s two big free agents are Smith and West and I think the smart option is to lock both of these fellas up. Smith is the anchor for this team and they would desperately need a new face of the franchise if Josh walks. Delonte is also a solid player for this squad and I believe it could be possible for Houston to sign both…although this may be out of his hands if the player agent says otherwise.
– $22.5 million cap (8 FA; Andre Iguodala, Monta Ellis, Robert Horry) Estimated: 0 cap space
San Antonio is one team that will be hurting bad this off-season. With 8 players leaving for free agency this year, the Spurs must sign at least one of their two stars back for next season. With only $22.5 million in cap, I think SA might not be big enough for both Monta and Andre. Especially since they both could fetch hefty prices this summer in the free agency pool.
– $23 million cap (Al Jefferson and Jameer Nelson) Estimated: 0 cap space
One year ago, things in Orlando were far more chaotic. VC was threatening to leave and all the Mad Scientist had was pocket change. With some crafty maneuvering and last second antics, VC stayed but the lessons learned from this incident carried on. This summer we find the Magic with a fair amount of cap space, one big name FA and one mid-level FA on the radar. Reports have already indicated that signing Big Al is the first item on the list, but never count out the infamous sign-and-trade with either of them.
– $37 million cap (Kevin Martin and Emeka Okafor) Estimated: 0 cap space
Finally, the last of our Duds this off-season is Milwaukee. The previous GM purposely shifted around salaries to allow for the resigning of both headliner FAs Okafor and Martin and unless I hear otherwise, I would only assume that the new management will make full use of their 37 million in bringing these two back. If this is the case, don’t expect much cash left over in Wisconsin.
This has been my analysis of the Duds this off-season. Look out in the coming days for the next installment as I lay out some of the Wanna-be’s for this summer’s FA action.
Midway Monster