Post by pedro el guapo on Apr 16, 2018 22:02:33 GMT
2001 FA 10 Winners and Losers
Winner: Los Angeles Clippers
Major Additions: Jon Pierce
Major Losses: Karim Shabazz
The Clippers came into FA on the heels of a 62 win season and were already in great shape with Jake, PYT and McDermott locked in for the next couple years. Still, Fason managed his cap well and was able to preserve enough cap space to go after a big name FA, while risking the loss of two key contributors in Clarence Withers and Karim Shabazz. The gamble paid off as Fason was not only able to retain the services of Coffee Black, but also sign 1st team all-league player Jon Pierce to replace the departed Shabazz. This starting lineup is stacked at each position, and the Clippers are on the short list of title contenders for as long as Jake and Pierce continue to play at a high level. They also snagged a really intriguing prospect in Rui Hachimura, who probably should've gotten more run for the Heat last year. The normal caveats about small sample sizes are there, but this is Hachimura is the ideal MLE signing. A low risk signing with high upside.
Loser: Everyone without cap space
Major addition: MLEs
Major Loss: Everyone worth more than an MLE
This was an unfortunate free agency period for everyone that lacked cap space, as there were a ton of good players who were ineligible for bird rights extensions and only a handful of teams capable of taking advantage. Unfortunately for the league, the vast majority of teams with cap space this offseason were actually the ones coming off playoff seasons. Due to the large number of big money deals given out to developing players, many teams were left with few options on who to amnesty and several were unable to participate even if they used their amnesty. The good news is that they should be in slightly better shape next offseason, as they'll have a full TC and another season to determine which youngsters are worth hanging onto, and in a lot of cases should be able to decline 3rd year options for several of the players drafted who had their contracts converted to 3 year deals. So while this FA was enjoyed by a select few, I expect there will be a lot more teams with at least some cap space after next season.
Winner: Harlem Globetrotters
Major additions: Elvis Delle Donne, Jock Landale
Major losses: Paul Wight
Like Fason, Ward clearly planned his draft strategy around preserving cap space for this FA and next, when he'll be looking at resigning Dolph. It paid off in a big way when he was able to pry Elvis Delle Donne away from the Hawks, forming the best forward tandem of any team outside of Los Angeles. On day 3, he landed a major steal inking Jock Landale to a 3 year, 6.4 mil deal. Landale might not be a household name yet but he was incredibly efficient for the Knicks as their 3rd big last year and gives the Globetrotters a really strong lineup. The only area still to address is point guard, where McLaughlin is merely passable. One thing to keep an eye on is the impending FA for Dolph Schayes. Similar to this year's FA class, Dolph will be entering free agency with less than 3 bird years, meaning that Ward will need to have at least 12.5 mil in soft cap space to offer a max contract next year. After the Landale signing, they're currently projected to have a little over $12 mil. I'm confident Ward has a plan in place to clear room, most likely a trade or buyout of Kevin Huerter. However, in the short term, this FA has ensured that the road through the Eastern Conference will go through the borough of Manhattan in one way or another.
Loser: Seattle SuperSonics
Major Additions: none
Major Losses: Jon Pierce, Guy Beahm
The Sonics are probably the biggest losers of this free agency, although that shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. The lack of bird years for Jon Pierce combined with his experience meant that Duc was never going to be able to offer a competitive offer against a team with max level cap space. In hindsight, Duc may have been better served trading Pierce during the season to get some value for him since he knew it was a one year rental, but the Sonics were one of the better teams last year so I can't fault him for trying for the title. Still, if that was the goal, I'm puzzled why Duc would've left Beahm in the G-League all season rather than calling him up to the big show.
Winner: Minnesota Timberwolves
Major Additions: Leonard Leslie
Major Losses: none
Going into the season, the Timberwolves did not appear to have the cap space to make any major noise in FA this season. They greatly benefitted from the amnesty, which provided the ability to remove Sim Dump's $10 mil salary and still fit in a buyout for 4.5 mil of Paul Paulicap. Suddenly, the Timberwolves were poised with 9 mil in cap space and a very team-friendly market for below-max level talent. This was a strategy that more teams should've taken advantage of, because although they failed to land a max contract player, the Timberwolves greatly improved their lineup by adding Leslie. Even better, they were able to bring back Camacho and shore up their back-up depth with quality players like Ed Monix and Timo Cruz. This team was a defensive juggernaut last year but lacked much scoring pop beyond their all-league rookie Collin Sexton. The addition of Leslie should give them a legit #2 option with little defensive drop-off and makes the Timberwolves a sleeper contender in the West this year.
Loser: Miami Heat
Major Addition: None
Major Loss: Rui Hachimura
Admittedly, I may be stretching a little by putting the Heat here. After all, they didn't lose any max level players between this year and last year and they've got a couple very good building blocks with Zion and Maten. Furthermore, they didn't have any cap space beyond an MLE to improve their existing roster, which was not ready for prime time last year. But coming out of free agency with a roster of 7 bigs and 3 point guards is gonna be an L any way you slice it. They spent all season letting Rui Hachimura toil away in obscurity despite a very promising sample size and no better options, and failed to retain him despite the opportunity 2 year deal starting at $5.4 mil that would at least have been more money than the MLE he signed with the Clippers. The Heat wouldn't be a playoff team either way, but Hachimura could've easily started at SG in a jumbo lineup with Maten at the 3 and Zion at the 4. Now, they're poised to break their own record for turnovers in a season with a starting backcourt of Prince and either Newell or Winston.
Winner: Houston Rockets
Major Addition: Guy Beahm
Major Losses: Leonard Leslie
Coming off a disappointing finals loss last season, the Rockets were in a very precarious position, as the reigning MVP and best PG in the league Brain Winter hit the open market and the Rockets could only offer a standard max deal. However, much like the Timberwolves, the Rockets took advantage of the amnesty as well as a contract buyout to carve out enough space for two max deals. They were lucky enough to hang onto Brain and offset the loss of Leonard Leslie with the addition of G-League wunderkind Guy Beahm. Some strong offseasons by other Western foes and the loss of Leslie means the Rockets will be in a fight to stay on top, but Brain and Beahm along with the great Harry Gallatin should be enough to keep the Rockets on the short list of title contenders this season and beyond.
Loser: Atlanta Hawks
Major Addition: None
Major Loss: Elvis Delle Donne, Roy Devyn White
Ladies and gentlemen of Atlanta, Elvis has left the building! The Hawks are all shook up after watching their first round creation draft pick bolt for Harlem and leaving the rest of the squad in limbo. The Hawks made perhaps the biggest misstep this season by taking on additional salary and choosing not to amnesty Terrence Catchings. Had they amnestied Catchings when Odin first made the announcement, they would've had exactly $15 mil in soft cap space, which coincidentally was the exact maximum they could've offered Delle Donne on a six year deal if they only had the soft cap space. The Hawks were able to retain their next biggest name, as Scoonie Saperstein rejoined the fold. A strong preseason gives some hope that the Hawks may survive the loss of Delle Donne alright, but there's no question that the roster is lacking compared to last season.
Winner: Los Angeles Lakers
Major Addition: Laurence Jackson, Paul Wight
Major Loss: None
After punting on most of their picks in the creation draft to stockpile future picks, the Lakers continued to execute their moneyball strategy this offseason. While they were one of the only teams with max level cap space that failed to sign a max level player, they nonetheless were able to scoop up a difference maker on Day 1 by stealing Laurence Jackson away from the Spurs on a ludicrous 3 year 5 mil per year deal. Jackson was a bit under the radar last season but was a major reason why the Spurs won 60 games, and Jackson is one of the better two-way bigs in the league not named Stephon Templeton. To snag such a player on a $5 mil per year cap hit was a major coup, and should help Buster to fight for a playoff seed while continuing to collect young and develop the young talent brought in the fold from his creation draft trades. Paul Wight was a similarly overlooked big that Buster was able to sign later in the FA period thanks to very few other teams capable of matching the 8.3 mil salary. Ad the best news is that they're still well positioned for another bite at the max player market next offseason, when big names like Mikan and Dolph should be on the market.
Loser: Indiana Pacers
Major Additions: Karim Shabazz, Keita Bates-Diop
Major Losses: None
Heebs made some major moves this season to clear enough cap space for a shot at all the max level talent available this FA, and he was rewarded with the first signing on Day 1. Unfortunately for the Pacers faithful, that signing was for Karim Shabazz. Don't get me wrong, Shabazz is a good player. He's already an elite rebounder and with some investment will be one of the top no-shoot bigs in the league. He's clearly got some underlying attributes that the software loves as well. But when you're looking at a class full of all-league caliber FAs and you come away with a no-shoot big on a 12.5 mil contract, that's far from an ideal outcome. This move was a net gain for the Pacers but given that it took them out of the running for the bigger fish, this was a disappointing FA. The jury is still out on his day 2 signing of Bates-Diop, but I agre with Eric in that I don't see a whole lot to get excited for such a long-term commitment. Heebs was one of the best at developing players in 4.0 and betting against him turning Bates-Diop into a plus offensive player would be unwise, but if it were another GM who made the signing, he'd probably be getting killed for it.
