Elsewhere, Paul Millsap goes to the Hawks for two years and $19 million. The Mavs get Jose Calderon for four years and $29 million, so I guess they don’t think Rajon Rondo is an option. Those both seem like nice pickups. Matt Barnes stays with the Clippers for three more years. The Bucks are getting O.J. Mayo for three years and $24 million. The Knicks are keeping Pablo Prigioni on a three-year deal worth about $6 million, which is cheap but kind of long since he’s 36. Chris Copeland is going to the Pacers for two years and about $6 million.
Which…huh? My first thought was that Smith must be from Detroit or nearby, but he’s not, he’s from Georgia. Were other teams’ offers substantially lower (which would surprise me), or is Smith that eager to win 35 games next year?
The Cavs have reportedly come to terms with Jarrett Jack, the next step on their road to respectability. He’s only 6’ 3" and will struggle defensively guarding 2-guards, so I don’t know if they plan to use him as a third guard or as a starting 2, as that’s their weakest position.
The Kings sign Carl Landry…that’s two nice pieces gone for Golden State. Maybe Landry can teach DeMarcus Cousins some post moves.
I don’t know how much money Houston could offer Smith and I can imagine if Atlanta drew a line with him and wouldn’t go over it - they hadn’t gone very far with him and they do have some other pieces that are worth building around.
I’m sure Jack is going to come off the bench for Cleveland. They’re putting together a good team over there.
Surely he had more offers than that, though, right? If only three teams were interested, that’d be a shock. Smith’s not All-NBA or anything, but he is a very nice player, if he’s your #2 guy you’re in very good shape.
It depends on Dion Waiters, really. I wouldn’t start Daniel Gibson or Wayne Ellington over Jack, but I might start Waiters if he shows development in training camp.
Yeah, I found their huge entourage at the draft lottery and celebration at winning it again more than a little obnoxious, but they are trying to win games now, so I salute them for that. Hope Varejao stays healthy.
The East is going to be crazy top-heavy, won’t see Miami win the conference by 12 games again, but might see that kind of gap between the #4 and #5 seeds. Or #5 and #6, depending on how Chicago does.
Odd how Milwaukee’s bringing the band back together, first Zaza Pachulia, now Carlos Delfino.
Houston’s reportedly keeping Omer Asik, which is pretty savvy, considering that his salary is $5 million this year, and $15 million next. Keep him while he’s cheap, then once he’s an expiring contract, trade him away. Meantime, he’s Dwight insurance.
Asik wants to be traded, but I agree Houston is smart to say ‘no dice’ at least for now. I don’t see any reason they can’t play both of them. Two free agent PG deals: the Mavs bring back Devin Harris (3 years/$9 million) and the Clippers will sign Darren Collison (2 years/$1.9 million).
There are still some very interesting free agents out there and it’s hard to tell what might happen with them. The Cavaliers and Mavericks are both supposed to be interested in Andrew Bynum. According to reports the Cavs might offer him a big one-year deal and the Mavs will kick the tires very hard but might be willing to go longer. Ellis and Jennings are also still out there.
A big one year offer from the Cavs is a very savvy move. They have the cap space, so why not take a short-term gamble and try and get into the playoffs. Bynum’s choice will give us a window into his psyche. If he takes the Cavs offer, then he’s confident in his own health and will want one season to prove it so he can get a big multi-year deal. If he takes a longer term deal from the Mavs or whoever for less money per season, then he’s not as confident. So in a way, the Mavs almost don’t want him to accept an offer from them.
The Mavs are in kind of a weirdly desperate position here. They let Tyson Chandler walk two years ago in the hope they could land a big name free agent to pair with Dirk, but it hasn’t panned out. They should still have a few quality years of Nowitzki and they don’t want to waste them, and there is another big free agent class coming next year even though I don’t think LeBron and Carmelo and Wade are going anywhere. So I can see where it’s tempting to take a risk on Bynum even though Nowitzki plus Bynum plus these other pieces is not a top-tier team in the West. And I agree this is a great chance for Cleveland to take a flyer.
Atlanta, well really Ferry the GM, never made any real effort to keep Smith. He needed to go. It was so frustrating to watch someone with the raw talent he possesses constantly make bad decisions. His shot selection, ahem, leaves a little to be desired.
I was a J-Smoove fan for years, but for the past couple of years, he induced far more cringes than cheers.
The Lakers have signed Chris Kaman to a one-year deal for $3.2 million, and as everyone has long speculated, then plan to use the amnesty provision on Metta World Peace. From what I read he has one year and about $7.3 million left on his contract.
I guess they’ve decided it wouldn’t make that much difference for them. If they amnestied him they could use the midlevel exception, but that’s all the difference it would make salary-cap wise.
The Warriors sign Marreese Speights to replace Carl Landry.
As most of the marquee free agents are off the table, it’s now possible to step back and try to gauge how the landscape of the league has shifted.
Eastern Conference playoff teams, '12-13:
Miami
New York
Indiana
Brooklyn
Chicago
Atlanta
Boston
Milwaukee
For next year, I predict the following:
Miami - The king stays the king.
Indiana - signed Chris Copeland, kept David West. If they hang on to Danny Granger, then their biggest weakness, an awful bench, has been (imperfectly, Jonny Flynn is involved) addressed. Paul George and Roy Hibbert continue to improve, and their defense is top-2.
Brooklyn - found a way to improve despite being capped out, now have a nasty-on-paper potential starting 5 of Williams-Johnson-Pierce-Garnett-Lopez. If they stay healthy and Jason Kidd can coach, they should have about two years to contend for a title.
New York - Meh. Andrea Bargnani, really?
Chicago - best record in the league just two years ago, but by standing still, other teams have passed them. Unless Jimmy Butler goes from good to great, or Carlos Boozer regains his Utah form or is amnestied, I think they’re stuck as a fringe contender.
Cleveland - 8 teams have to make the playoffs, after all.
Washington - my fun pick, Wall and Beal emerge as a top-5 backcourt and take advantage of a top-heavy East to sneak into the playoffs.
Boston - Rondo and Gerald Wallace drag the Celts to the playoffs, probably with a 35-47 record. Or worse.
The West is substantially tougher to predict, especially the #1 seed.
For next year, I predict the following:
Oklahoma City - Tough call, but playing in the weaker division will help them clinch #1. Barely.
LA Clippers - With a competent coach at the helm for once, the Clippers can be called contenders. I expect their biggest weakness, defense, to improve as Rivers implements the Thibodeau scheme and overloads the strong side of the floor.
San Antonio - Didn’t improve in the off-season so far, and Father Time is undefeated.
Golden State - Hardest team to predict, so I stuck them at #4. So much depends on what they get out of Bogut and Iguodala.
Houston - Dwight Howard plays middling ball, and the team has a middling performance.
Memphis - Stood still and got passed. I think last year was pretty much their ceiling with this roster. Have to see what the coaching change brings.
Minnesota - That plague of injuries can’t happen twice, can it?
I think I’d put Portland and Dallas and maybe New Orleans ahead of Denver. I’d like to think that Chicago hasn’t really stood still since they’ll be getting Rose back and may wind up making some moves with Boozer or Deng.
All of these moves can become official tomorrow. The Lakers supposedly haven’t made a decision on World Peace and we know Kobe is against it just like he’s always against the team letting go of older, overpaid guys he is friendly with. But he’s making plenty of money and reports say the Lakers could save $30 million in tax and penalty payments by letting him go, so that seems like a pretty easy call.
The toughest picks were #1 in the West, and #8 in the West. There at at least 4 teams with a good shot at it, I went with Denver because they made the playoffs with an Iguodala-free roster similar to this on in '11-'12, and they have a distinct identity (run, get to the rim, run, shoots 3’s, run) (assuming it survives the coaching change), which seems to help.
I’m suspicious of the Pelicans because their starting center will either be Davis, who needs to bulk up first, or rookie Jeff Withey. If they still had Lopez I’d be more bullish. Plus, who the hell knows what Tyreke Evans will give them?
Portland radically improved their depth, but their starting five remains underwhelming.
Dallas doesn’t make the playoffs without a big acquisition.
Rose will help, sure, but when I compare their roster to Miami, Indiana, and Brooklyn, it looks pretty paltry. Maybe they pass New York and get the #4. Further moves would change things; you know how I feel about Boozer.
The amnesty is an asset in itself. It can only be used on guys who were on the roster when the current CBA was enacted, so it loses value over time as players move around. So, no sense in holding onto it unless you’re a team that’s hurting for revenue, and the Lakers are not that.
Cleveland’s offer to Bynum is reported to be 2 years, $24 million. He’s also meeting with Atlanta.
