Free Agency Thoughts: 2 Days of Madness and It's Just Getting Started

Say what you want about the NFL being the most popular sport in-season, nothing beats the NBA's combination of draft and free agency. When the clock struck midnight on July 1st a few days early, a proverbial sensation of a bomb going off struck the entire league and social media.  Ahh, social media, what would we do without you?  Within minutes of the official commencement of free agency, basketball insiders, writers and junkies unleashed a swarm of rumors, meetings and trade scenarios that continue to flood the twittersphere 3 days in.  I'm not one to buy into too much speculation but you can't tell me you're not vigorously following every move that Lebron and Carmelo make during these upcoming weeks, regardless of your team or personal opinion on each player.  

The benefit on a "star-driven" league is the emphasis for constant update to quench the thirst for what happens to our favorite players and the fans simply absorb as much as they can.  Social media, specifically Twitter was simply made for an event like the NBA Free Agency period.  Up to the minute reports and rumors flying past your head in seconds as one minute Lebron could be a lock to return to the Heat and 13 minutes later, we could be reading a report of how he'd coexist with Dirk Nowitzki in Dallas.  It's truly fascinating and I simply can't get enough.  I know alot of you feel the same.  Guys like Chris Broussard, Adrian Wojnarowski and David Aldridge gear up all year for this short period of time in July.  In a matter of minutes, teams can emerge as frontrunners for the league's biggest superstar and fall out of running just as quick.  Although a "major" deal has not been made yet, there are several signings and developments that have caught my eye in the first few days.

Kyle Lowry Re-Signs on the "Cheap"

Show me the Money: Lowry takes talents back to Toronto

Arguably the biggest move that has been made so far is last night's re-signing of guard Kyle Lowry by the Toronto Raptors. Immediately following his departure from the playoffs (Nets), Lowry quickly became the most hotly contested free agent point guard available this year. Early reports, even before the draft had linked Lowry to Miami assuming that the Heat would be able to dangle enough cap room, in addition to the return of the Big Three in front of his face in order to run the show for the "Heatles".  Even after the Heat traded up to draft Shabazz "The Bazz" Napier, reports still continued to fly in that Lowry was the top target for Miami.  After meeting with Pat Riley and his former team, the Raptors, Lowry announced that his decision would come in the next few days.  As promised, the guard announced via Instagram that he had officially inked a 4-year deal for 48 million to remain with the young Raptors team that he led to the playoffs last year.

I put cheap in quotation marks due to the discount that Lowry seemingly gave Toronto when seeking a new deal. After watching his postseason performances and a breakout season, it was sure that Lowry could command a max contract due to him being the best guard on the market.  Rather than squeeze out every cent from the front office, Lowry signed a very do-able 48 million dollar deal that has to make the Heat cringe right now. With Lowry's return, the Raptors seem to remain the favorite in the Atlantic Division and can look to rebuild on their overall breakout season that was, ironically, a blocked Lowry layup away from making the second round for the first time in over a decade.

Bradley Re-Ups with Celtics; Rondo's Future Blurry

Kyle Lowry may be the biggest point guard to make a decision in free agency this offseason, he might not be the biggest name switching teams. If Rajon Rondo thought the news about Marcus Smart was promising for Boston's backcourt, then the news about Avery Bradley must have left him befuddled.

Boston's all-star point guard may have actually played his last game in a C's uniform as they dished out nearly 8 million a year to backcourt mate Avery Bradley yesterday.  Rumors had swirled about Rondo's potential trade possibilities for months now so it's nothing that he hasn't heard before.  However, now he knows that there might be a sense of urgency from the Celtics front office to ship the guard somewhere else.  Recently asking for a 100-million dollar extension recently to stay in Beantown, Rondo has continually expressed his desire to remain a Celtic, but with a crowded backcourt being assembled (draft pick of James Young) it may be an opportune time for Boston to swap him for more prized assets.

This isn't a sure thing that Rondo is dealt, but the signing certainly doesn't hurt his chances.  Perhaps they keep Rondo for another year and swap him before he hits free-agency next season.  It wouldn't hurt to groom Marcus Smart under the wing of Rondo before he departs and with Bradley's health concerns, nothing is secure for the Celtics. Look for constant speculation about Rondo in the upcoming weeks, especially the development of Isaiah Thomas' free agency situation, since his departure could create a glaring need for a point guard on an up-and-coming Sacramento team.

As for Bradley, this is an excellent signing for Danny Ainge and the Celtics to anchor their backcourt, with Rondo or not. Averaging nearly 15 points per game last season, Boston knew that they needed to keep Bradley anyway possible, as he's one of the best perimeter defenders in the league. Even with the injury issues, the Celtics had listed Bradley as their main priority this offseason. Strapped for cap space, Boston may have tossed Bradley a little more than they would have liked but now they can move forward to address Rondo's situation.  

The Courting of Carmelo

Teams have begun the quest for Carmelo in the past few days, starting in Chicago. The Bulls rolled out the red carpet for the free-agent power forward as he was greeted with large banners and bus advertisements with Melo in a Bulls uniform surrounded by Larry O'Brien trophies.  It didn't stop there of course, as Joakim Noah met with Carmelo to lobby for another superstar for the Windy City.  Absent from the courting process, Derrick Rose firmly stated he would not recruit Carmelo to come to the Bulls. Instead, he figured a visual demonstration would serve better, as Rose held a personal workout/showcase to show Melo that he was in fact "healthy" once again.  A nice touch from D-Rose and the Bulls since his health could ultimately turn Chicago into an immediate title contender id Melo does happen to land in Chicago.

Personally, I've felt that Chicago has been the right fit for the Bulls for months now and wouldn't be surprised if this is where he winds up.  This is going to be an extremely strenuous for all parties involved, which is why team's are stopping at nothing to "woo" Carmelo (Tried to find a clip of Charlie from Always Sunny saying "wooed" to no avail). Anyways, the Bulls team would compliment The Melo Show the best based on the dominant center in Noah and an elite level point guard.  Neither of which Melo has ever had (besides Iverson's brief stint in Denver).

Next, Melo pulled the Texas two-step and met with Houston and Dallas yesterday and the Rockets wasted no time in using photoshop to help Melo visualize how he'd look in red and yellow.  Not without controversy, Houston used Jeremy Lin's number 7 jersey for the Melo pictures, a subtle slap in the face to Linsanity, who also may be dealt, potentially in a sign & trade back to the Knicks if Melo comes to H-Town.  Regardless, with Melo's face plastered all around the Toyota Center, Houston looks to build a super-team with Dwight Howard and James Harden that would also vault the Rockets to title contender in a matter of a pen stroke by one, Carmelo Anthony.  Houston has casually been shopping Chandler Parsons to potential suitors to clear space for Melo's possible arrival and could make a huge splash if he is actually dealt.

To conclude the Texas tour, Melo arrived in Dallas to sitdown with Mark Cuban for a traditional approach with a casual business meeting to discuss basketball.  Cuban, the savvy businessman didn't need an elaborate Shark Tank pitch to sell Melo, rather using a bare bones conversation about winning and the ability to sign other assets to compliment himself and Dirk.  Dallas has seemed to be court every huge free agent hopeful since Lebron's 2010 campaign and has struck out on all their attempts (Dwight Howard, Lebron, Deron Williams).  If this pitch finally goes the right way for Dallas, it would vault another team to a legitimate contender role in the Western Conference, as if they needed another. According to sources, Chicago's pitch was significantly longer than the other two.  Not saying that means anything at all but just something to mull over.

2014 NBA Free Agency Preview

In the history of the NBA, free agency went from irrelevant to one of the most sacred events in the entire league.  Although the draft has usually held higher preference for GMs, the free agent market has become a yearly festival of trade rumors, subtle hints dropped and teams courting players.  For example, LeBron James’ wife Savannah recently posted an Instagram photo that discussed finally being able to go back home to Akron.  Naturally, this caused a media circus, as several believed that this was the first step for LeBron to return to Cleveland.

Once again, James finds himself as the star attraction in the 2014 free agency class as he chose to opt out of his six year deal with the Heat to test the waters and expand his options.  Most will agree that this is a smart move, giving LeBron the flexibility to go wherever he pleases and also allows other teams to package together deals to make their franchise “fit for a king”.  Cleveland would be an obvious choice and I’m sure that by now that I don’t have to explain why a return to Ohio may be imminent.  The letter that owner Dan Gilbert wrote was pretty unnecessary and simply an excuse to air the sentiments of the entire Cleveland fan base.  I would not be surprised if the letter and the negative reaction from “The Decision” still hangs over the head of LeBron to this day.

If he decides to return to Cleveland, it would once again send shockwaves throughout the league, similar to when he left in 2010.  Many would view this as taking the easy way out to form yet another “super-team” in an attempt for the title.  At this point, you cannot entirely fault LeBron for leaving, since it is basically the strategy to recruit stars to come together in an attempt to win a title; albeit the Spurs.  This is why San Antonio’s 16-year run is even more impressive due to the longevity of their stars, excellent drafting and finding the right role players to round out their roster.  This Spurs dynasty will remain something to marvel at for years to come and should be a lesson to the rest of the league.  However, this is not the front office mentality anymore.  Everything is either “rebuilding” or “win-now” mode, as teams tend to become impatient by throwing around money to produce a winner and most importantly “revenue”. 

This is the reason for these lucrative contracts that are essentially handed out to players that don’t really deserve it.  In fact, is anyone really worth a whopping contract these days? I realize that with inflation and especially the inflation of professional sports salaries have caused this to become a serious problem but now any all-star believes that he should make 20 million a year. I distinctly remember KG signing his then record breaking contract with Minnesota to become the first player to sign for over 100 million dollars and it hasn’t stopped since.  In the past decade, we’ve seen stars in decline cashing in for their previous body of work rather than what they could still contribute (Amare Stoudamire, Gilbert Arenas & Rashard Lewis) and in turn, plaguing the teams that offered max contracts to begin with.

All Hibachi, Zero Sizzle

This brings me back to the original topic of this article, the present state of the free agent market.  The most intruiging thing about this upcoming free agency is the draft, which boasts one of the more talented classes in recent history.  Several teams have been attempting to "sell the farm" for a chance to pick either Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker.  Such praise for a pair of draft prospects haven't been this high since the arrival of well...Lebron and Carmelo, 11 years prior. Fittingly, they are still the two most discussed players in the league currently, as they each opted out of their respective contracts in the past week.  For Carmelo, the writing appeared to be on the wall from early in the season that he was going to opt-out due to the lackluster performance by the Knicks.  When they ultimately didn't make the playoffs, they couldn't even look forward to a draft pick since it had been traded away years ago.

Wisely, Melo and Lebron are looking to explore their options, aligning themselves with the team and city best suited for success.  Two of the most popular players in the league available in the same season are a rarity and franchises have already begun the process of freeing up cap space in order to obtain one of these players.  Right now, Carmelo's most likely move would be to Chicago but this could change in a matter of hours, as the draft looms and teams alter their opinion on what's best for their franchise.  Since free agents cannot be pursued "officially" until July 1st, it should make for a very entertaining draft with teams trading away high-contract players for cap space for Lebron and allocating draft picks to possibly sign and trade for Carmelo.

Feeling the Heat? Could 'Melo make the move to Miami?

Then there's the option of Lebron and Melo teaming up to create a "mega" team either in Miami or potentially Los Angeles and Houston, teams that have successfully or potentially could alleviate enough salary cap to sign these superstars.  However, it's not easy in the slightest and would still require major paycuts from each superstar to make this happen. For example, if Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh also opt-out, it could lead Pat Riley and Miami to re-work their deals to take less money and make it feasible to sign another star player, like Carmelo.  If that would happen, their supporting cast would be a plethora of players at the league minimum to round out their roster. Another rumor that has swirled around has been Kyle Lowry's interest in joining the Heat this offseason.  Lowry elevated his play to another level in the postseason this season against the Nets and will be the most sought after guard in this free agency period.  He is a jack of all trades, with the ability to shoot, drive, pass and rebound while playing with an enormous chip on his shoulder.  After the memorable performance of Mario Chalmers this year, especially the Finals, it is safe to say that Miami is looking at other options at point.

However, the key cog in the Heat's offseason plans is simply the status of Dwyane Wade. He's not worthy of a max contract with his current health and his previous performances but he may opt-in to take 20 million next year and for 2015-16 due to his history with the team.  If he declines, his contract will be greatly reduced by Miami but can pave the way to keep Lebron and add another star player.  Assuming Lebron would like to stay in Miami, he must know for certain that Wade is going to officially opt-out to start the rebuilding process.  Surprisingly, out of the four stars of the 2003 Draft (Melo, Bosh, Lebron, Wade), Wade has made the least amount of money in his NBA career although he was arguably the best player in basketball besides Kobe Bryant in the middle of the decade.  Knowing this, it does not bode well for Miami in the attempt to convince Wade to take even less money than he was set to receive. His lingering health issues have potentially obscured his future plans and Wade may want a "security blanket" if his knees don't hold up for a few more years.

Teams have been preparing for the day that Lebron and Carmelo would become free agents yet again and the final result will soon come to fruition.  An alliance of Carmelo and Lebron could create yet another power shift right back to Miami for the 2014-15 season and with the potential star power in the draft, new teams could rise from the ashes of their previous season's dumpsters fires.  Only a handful of teams may be in the running to land Lebron or Melo but the lottery teams all feel like they have a shot to draft the next breed of NBA elite talent. So buckle your seat belts basketball fans, because the rest of this summer will prove to be a memorable one.