Well it would appear as though the free agent frenzy is slowing down slightly, perhaps it was the weekend that brought the calm or perhaps it is because the free agent talent pool is getting shallower. Whatever the reason, the moves and trades were fewer and farther between and of less significance.
Picking up from where we left off, the Dallas Mavericks continue their quest to have every guard in the league under contract. In addition to Jose Calderon, the Mavs reached out to Devin Harris and in doing so procured his services for the next three years for the bargain price of $9 million. Harris will be a very serviceable backup to Calderon as the season progresses, but on the surface he seems unnecessary.
The Mavs have Israel guard Gal Mekel under contract as well as their 18th overall selection Shane Larkin; both of which are point guards. Now there is depth at the position and there is overkill. Harris is a nice addition but the $3 million per year could have been spent elsewhere.
Keeping with the theme of redundancy, the Milwaukee Bucks added yet another player to their already crowded front court. Zaza Pachulia was signed to a three year $15.6 million deal and he now must fit into a rotation that includes John Henson, Larry Sanders, Ekpe Udoh and Ersan Ilyasova. Apparently the Bucks really valued Zaza’s 5.9 ppg and 6.5 rpg as they overpaid considerably for a player they didn’t need in the first place.
As redundancy and crowded front courts go, the Denver Nuggets are doing their bit to keep pace. While I love J.J. Hickson and I’m excited to see what he can do outside of the Portland Trailblazers systems; I don’t understand why he didn’t get more free agency love on the open market. The Nuggets swooped in and made Hickson a $5 million offer that he just couldn’t refuse.
The Nuggets got themselves a heck of a player in Hickson, but again he is totally redundant to their rotation. Hickson is a power forward and can occasionally fill in at the five spot, he isn’t a good fit for the three spot and he in no way is capable of filling Andre Iguodala’s void. So if Hickson plays the four spot, then he is relegated to a reserve role as Kenneth Faried has a solid grasp on that starting spot. I could see Hickson parlayed into a late season trade, but to get back good value he would have to see some decent court time. i will reiterate, I love watching Hickson, but I do think he could have found a better fit and potentially a longer term deal for his services.
Now that the Los Angeles Lakers have officially lost Dwight Howard there are in need of shoring up their front line with some big bodies. To this end, in steps former Dallas Maverick Chris Kaman. While Kaman is obviously a drop-off in terms of talent from Howard, he is really all that was available and one of the few guys the Lakers could actually afford. If Kaman can stay healthy he at least provides a body to play defense on opposing centers and he is quite capable of rebounding and knocking down mid-range jumpers.
Still over in Laker-land the news broke that the Lakers have amnestied Metta World Peace, meaning that the player formerly known as Ron Artest is now free to sign with whomever wants him. Not sure who that might be at this point, but one thing’s for certain it will come at a drastically reduced salary.
Other signings from the West coast include the Golden State Warriors adding former Cleveland Cavalier / Memphis Grizzlie Marreese Speights. Speights and the Warriors have come to terms on a three-year deal for the Warriors entire mid-level exception of just over $5 million. I realize that the Dubs are eager to shore up their bench given their lack of depth last season; however, Speights is a 16 minute per game guy who will give about 6 ppg and 5 rpg. How in the world is that worth $5 million to a Warriors squad? If this signing morphs into a sign and trade and the Warriors can save their mid-level for someone else then this would be beneficial.
Update: Warriors also added Jermaine O'Neal and Toney Douglas to the mix on free-agent contracts Tuesday.
The latest update in what is now the chase for the second best center in the league, has Andrew Bynum being offered a two year $24 million deal with the second year being at the club option. While this may seem like a pretty fair deal for a player coming off multiple knee surgeries and an entirely missed season; Bynum has not agreed to this contract as of yet. Bynum is clearly wishing to take a one year deal that would allow him to prove his rehab was successful then allow him to hit the open market in 2014 as an unrestricted free agent again only this time he’d be in a position to command a multi-year contract.
By the looks of things Bynum will continue to shop his services as there are teams out there who could use the big man and who have dollars to spend. The Cavaliers offer will set the table for future offers in terms of dollar amounts, but the terms will have to be more favourable for Bynum. I can’t see a club giving a player option for the second year; however, the Dallas Mavericks might be tempted as they could potentially offer a long-term deal after the season or let Bynum walk and still have plenty of cap space to chase a top-tier free agent.