I'm going to try to update the OP throughout free agency as signings happen.
My thoughts on what will happen:
-Clint Capela and Luc Mbah a Moute both resign with Houston. Houston desperately needs both of them, especially Luc with Ariza gone now, and I see no team willing to pay what Houston won't match for either of them. I could see Luc getting looks at other places like NOP for the full MLE.
-Nurkic stays in Portland for similar reason.
-Brook Lopez stays in LAL as they are desperately thin at Center and they interestingly renounced Randle instead of Lopez to bring in Rondo, so they do still have Lopez' bird rights.
-Avery Bradley I think stays in LAC since they only have the MLE to work with otherwise and might be able to get him at a fair deal (I think he's worth $18-20M/yr). A one-year deal like JJ Redick's last season wouldn't surprise me. Also Doc loves him and they just traded away Austin. I could see Philly making him an enticing offer though and I think he makes a lot of sense there. I don't think Sac or Atlanta go after him, but maybe Chicago if they lose Zach Lavine to Atlanta.
-Zach Lavine... I think Atlanta makes a run at him. Will probably require all of their cap space for Chicago not to match. I don't think Sac or Philly or Indy will have much interest.
-Jabari Parker I think will fairly strong draw interest from Sacramento, Atlanta, Indiana, and Chicago. I don't think Milwaukee matches.
-Marcus Smart I think will find the most interest from Philly and Sacramento. Sacramento is big right now on trying to create a winning culture which is one of Smart's best potential attributes. If Philly is wise, they should offer Smart a 3-year deal at just enough $ to put Boston in the luxury tax. If they get him, then thats they gain while Boston loses. If they do not get him, they get a small victory by forcing their future rival into the tax and into repeater rates one season sooner. I'd say 60% chance he's a Celtic, 20% chance a King, 20% chance a 76er, Pacer, Hawk, or Bull.
-I think IT signs a 2 year full MLE deal with a player option in year 2 with a team like Milwaukee, Detroit, NYK, or Orlando.
-Tyreke I have no clue.
-D Wade I see most likely staying in Miami. I don't see him tagging along with Lebron again. OKC maybe though with their taxpayer MLE? Or maybe Philly, NOP or Minnesota for more? Or Houston? I feel like he probably either wants to play with friends and win or stay in the East.
-With how far down the list Kyle Anderson will be as a FA target for teams with cap space, I don't see a scenario that SA doesn't match any offer sheet he signs.
-Same goes for Rodney Hood, I see Cleveland matching any offer for him as the offers won't likely be very large and he's a youngish guy with some potential and they have a ton of minutes open at SF to let him build some value.
-Lastly, I unlikely see Indy making any big signing. They have a nice thing going right now and I don't see anybody obtainable that moves the needle much. On the other hand, they have a ton of cap space flexibility opening up next offseason, even more if they just let Big Al's dead money sit rather than stretch, and having available cap space could open up some opportunities to acquire draft picks by taking some cash off of luxury tax paying teams.
Topic: Cap Space and Free Agents Around the League (Read 1818 times)