Tag: NBA free agency (Page 4 of 22)

      Kleiza headed to Greece

      August 10, 2009 /

      Olympiakos has plucked another young NBA player in his prime. Denver’s Linas Kleiza is headed to Greece.

      Per Yahoo Sports…

      Denver Nuggets restricted free-agent forward Linas Kleiza(notes) has agreed to a two-year, $12.2 million contract with Greek team Olympiakos, his agent Bill Duffy told Yahoo! Sports on Monday.

      The contract has an opt-out clause, which allows Kleiza to again become a restricted free agent next summer.

      Duffy said that while Kleiza attracted interest from other NBA teams, his client’s restricted free-agency status limited his options.

      I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — the NBA needs to do away with restricted free agency. Most RFAs are left in limbo for a year, and instead of playing the season for peanuts, guys like Josh Childress and Linas Kleiza are bolting for Europe. If they were unrestricted, they would have probably stayed in the NBA.

      NBA, News

      Celtics re-sign Glen Davis

      August 10, 2009 /



      The Associated Press is reporting that the Celtics have re-signed Glen “Big Baby” Davis to a two-year deal.

      Davis had a PER of 10.77 for the season, which is well below average. But without Kevin Garnett in the lineup, he raised his game in the playoffs, averaging 15.8 points and 5.6 rebounds in 36.4 minutes per game.

      ESPN is reporting that the deal is worth $6.3 million over two seasons.

      Over the years, there have been more than a few players who have been able to parlay a strong playoff performance into a bloated contract — just ask Knicks fans about Jerome James — but it looks like teams showed restraint given Davis’ mediocre regular season performance. This contract seems reasonable, though minutes are going to be hard to come by with Garnett’s return and the C’s decision to sign Rasheed Wallace and Shelden Williams.

      NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

      Who will have cap space in 2010?

      August 8, 2009 /

      ESPN’s Chad Ford lists nine teams that will have significant cap space next summer. [Insider subscription required.]

      1. Nets ($25-$27 million)
      2. Knicks ($24 million, assuming they don’t sign anyone for longer than a year)
      3. Heat ($20-$22 million)
      4. Timberwolves ($16-$18 million)
      5. Bulls ($13-$15 million minus whatever they give Tyrus Thomas)
      6. Thunder ($14-$15 million)
      7. Rockets ($12-$14 million minus whatever they give to Carl Landry and Chuck Hayes)
      8. Clippers ($10-$11 million)
      9. Kings ($9-$10 million)

      This assumes a cap of $53.6 million, which is an optimistic view. The cap could drop below $50 million.

      It takes about $14 million of space to sign a max-contract player, so even under these optimistic circumstances, there really are only five teams — the Nets, Knicks, Heat, T-Wolves and Thunder — that will have that kind of space. (The Bulls are likely to keep Thomas and the Rockets are likely to retain Landry and Hayes, though they could make another move here or there to put them in position to add a superstar.)

      Of these five teams, the Heat look to be in the best overall shape. Their projected payroll already includes Dwyane Wade, so they have enough to woo another superstar (LeBron, Bosh, Amare, Boozer?) to Miami. They also have a few good young players (Michael Beasley, Daequan Cook and Mario Chalmers) under contract, and the city boasts a great climate and nightlife. But the real draw is playing with Wade, who has already proven that he can win a championship if he has a little help.

      Continue reading »

      NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

      LeBron James will not sign an extension this summer

      August 7, 2009 /

      It was kind of a pipe dream anyway, but LeBron isn’t going to sign the extension that the Cavs have offered, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

      “I signed a contract in 2006 with an option,” he said. “It would make no sense for me to sign that contract if I didn’t keep my options open. I’ll let you fill in the blanks.”

      James is playing this one the right way. If he re-ups now, then he loses the leverage necessary to keep GM Danny Ferry’s feet to the fire in terms of bringing in some long-term help. Shaquille O’Neal is fine for a year or two, but he’s most definitely a short-term fix.

      The bad news is that with the long-term commitment the team made to Anderson Varejao, the Cavs aren’t projected to have any cap space next summer if they’re lucky enough to re-sign LeBron. It looks like Ferry sees the writing on the wall — with the salary cap likely dropping to $50-$51 million next season, he wasn’t going to have enough money to sign LeBron and another superstar, so he re-signed Varejao to make this year’s Cavs team as good as possible in the hopes that a Finals appearance or a championship would be enough to keep LeBron in Cleveland.

      NBA, News

      Hawks sign Marvin Williams

      August 7, 2009 /

      Per ESPN…

      Williams is expected to sign a five year, $37.5 million contract as early as Friday, according to the source. The deal also has some hard to reach incentives that could boost the value of the contract to $43 million.

      I estimated Williams’s value to be in the $7-$8 million per year range, and it looks like the contract will be worth somewhere in the range of $7.5 million to $8.6 million per season, depending on those incentives.

      Last season, the 23-year-old forward averaged 13.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, and improved his three-point accuracy from 10% to 36% year over year. I think the sense is that Williams is a bit of a disappointment since he was picked #2 overall in 2005 ahead of Chris Paul and Deron Williams, and isn’t on the same level as those guys. But he’s still very young and has improved his PER every year that he’s been in the league. He is also a very solid defender, which is an underrated characteristic in today’s NBA.

      NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

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