No Magic for Darko?
The free agent season is upon us so I thought I'd take a look at the names floating around who could end up with new teams next season. Even though the free agency period started Sunday at midnight, a few players have already locked in verbal agreements that they'll make official on July 11.
Vince Carter will return to the Nets,
Jason Kapono will join the Raptors and
Luke Walton will remain with the Lakers.
Free Agents
1.
Rashard Lewis - Forward - Seattle
The Sonics will have first crack at re-signing him and are in the driver's seat because they can offer a six-year deal, while other teams can only offer five years. He's a candidate for a sign-and-trade so he can get the six-year deal and there's already speculation that something may be in the works with Orlando. The Magic haven't even contacted their own free agent,
Darko Milicic, which is a surprise, and it's not likely that he'll return to the Magic at this point. And the fact the Magic are very interested in Lewis has led us to believe the two teams are having a discussion about Lewis joining the Magic and Darko going to the Sonics. Lewis is probably going to end up with one or the other, but the Rockets are going after him heavily as well. And the fact he's from Houston could play a major role in his signing. Also on Sunday,
Ray Allen pointed out that now that he's no longer with the Sonics, Lewis may not want to return. The more I think about it, the more it looks like he is going to force the Sonics into a sign-and-trade and try to go to a contender. Hello, Houston?
2.
Chauncey Billups - Point Guard - Detroit
All indications are that Billups will return to the Pistons, and the fact the Raptors came to an agreement with Kapono should mean Billups returns to Detroit. The Grizzlies answered their point guard issues when they drafted
Mike Conley, and the Bucks, who are also thought to be highly interested in Billups, will probably try to re-sign
Mo Williams instead. Especially given the fact they didn't contact Billups on Sunday. And the Raptors are probably out of the picture after coming to an agreement with Kapono.
3.
Vince Carter - Shooting Guard – New Jersey
Carter and the Nets agreed to a four-year, $61.8 million contract with a club option for a fifth season on Sunday. Needless to say, he's staying in Jersey and it sounds like there's a decent chance that
Richard Jefferson will be coming back too, keeping
Jason Kidd and his two running mates together again next year. Then again, Jefferson could easily end up being traded and it's believed that the Pacers are discussing him as part of a Jermaine O'Neal-to-the-Nets deal.
4.
Gerald Wallace Forward - Charlotte
Rumors are circulating that Wallace has put his home up for sale in Charlotte, driving speculation that he is leaving. Wallace averaged 21.6 points and had 14 double-doubles over his last 45 games, which also helped my team in League Freak make a late-season push for the championship. The fact the Cats traded for
Jason Richardson and his big contract is not going to help them in their quest to keep Wallace, but they still have a shot. The Bobcats' playoff dreams would be a lot more realistic if they keep Wallace. In addition to the Bobcats, he's been contacted by Dallas, Orlando, Milwaukee, Detroit, Miami, Portland and Golden State. And the Bobcats hands are further tied by the fact they still need to extend
Emeka Okafor's contract.
5.
Mo Williams - Point Guard - Milwaukee
Everyone seems to believe the Bucks will re-sign
Mo Williams and the fact that they didn't contact Billups on Sunday seems to support that. Williams could still get offers that could pull him out of Milwaukee, or he could be part of a sign-and-trade, being sent out of town with
Yi Jianlian. The Bucks are likely going to have to try to trade Yi, and if they can get a point guard back, Williams could become expendable. The Hawks and Grizzlies were said to initially be interested in MoWill, but they each drafted a point guard, squashing that idea. It's believed the Bucks have offered Williams a five-year, $40 million deal, which might be enough to keep him Milwaukee.
6.
Darko Milicic - Forward/Center - Orlando
In the biggest surprise of Day 1 of the free agency period, the Magic supposedly have not even contacted Darko. This is shocking, as they have said all along they were going to try to keep him. It's common courtesy to contact players you're interested in (especially your own) when the bargaining window opens, so the move comes as a slap in the face to Milicic. I think that makes him a long shot to return to the Magic, and as I mentioned above, there could be a sign-and-trade deal between the Sonics and Magic in the works. I was excited to see what Darko and
Dwight Howard could do alongside each other, but that's not looking likely to happen now.
7.
Grant Hill - Guard/Forward - Orlando
Hill has said he wants to stay in Orlando, but he's also said he would love to play for the Suns. I'm betting he's willing to take a pay cut to have a shot at a title and my money is on him going to Phoenix. There's also talk of him returning to the Pistons or going to San Antonio. But if I had to guess, I'd say Phoenix is his most likely destination.
8.
Steve Blake - Point Guard - Denver
With many teams strengthening their position at point guard through the draft, Blake's value may not be as high as originally thought. However, teams like Memphis, Atlanta and the Clippers could use some veteran leadership at the position, and Blake has proven he's a competent NBA 1. Portland, where Blake owns a home, looks like a decent candidate for his services, as well as the Lakers. It doesn't look like there's much chance he will be back in Denver next season.
9.
Anderson Varejao - Power Forward - Cleveland
The Grizzlies are said to be interested in Varejao, along with several other big men, but the fact the Cavs made a qualifying offer to him suggests they want to keep him around. However, they have some luxury tax issues looming, so they are going to have to pay more than most other teams would to keep Varejao and
Sasha Pavlovic, who is also a restricted free agent.
10.
Andres Nocioni - Forward - Chicago
The Bulls are likely to match any offer Nocioni gets and the fact he had that serious foot problem for most of last season isn't going to help him make any more money.
11.
Andray Blatche - Forward - Washington
Blatche is all upside and will likely get a full midlevel offer sheet, but early indications are that the Wizards will match it. Then again, they just made a nice offer to
DeShawn Stevenson, have to find a second center and still have to sign rookie
Nick Young. Call him 50-50 to return to the Wiz.
12.
Jason Kapono - Guard/Forward - Miami
Kapono agreed to a four-year, $24 million deal with Toronto on Sunday. He's off the market.
13.
Mikki Moore - Forward/Center – New Jersey
Moore led the league in field goal percentage last season and will likely be going elsewhere for the cost of a two- or three-year deal from somebody's midlevel exception.
14.
Jerry Stackhouse - Guard/Forward - Dallas
Speaking of old knees, Stack isn't getting any younger and will likely have to take a pay cut ($9.3 million last year) to stay in Dallas. But both the player and team want that to happen.
15.
Chris Webber - Forward/Center - Detroit
Webber hasn't decided what he wants to do and there isn't likely to be a long line of suitors waiting for him. He has bad knees, is 34 years old and disappeared in the playoffs last month. I think he'll return to the Pistons.
Other free agents who may have some value on the fantasy landscape this season include
Sasha Pavlovic (Cavs),
Mickael Pietrus (Warriors),
Matt Barnes (Warriors),
Desmond Mason (Hornets),
Earl Boykins (Bucks),
DeShawn Stevenson (Wizards),
Fabricio Oberto (Spurs) and
Matt Carroll (Bobcats).