Here, ladies and gentlemen, is the official Fully Clips 2014 NBA Free Agency Tracker. Throughout all of free agency, we will update the list to inform viewers where players are signing. For those unfamiliar with the moratorium period, this is a period where players and teams can agree on a deal, but can’t make the said deal official until July 10th when the NBA figures out the soft cap and luxury tax line for the 2014-15 season. Below the chart, we will also give little notes and opinion as moratorium drags on.
NOTES ON FREE AGENT SIGNINGS
- Kyrie Irving got what I expected him too. Many will complain (it’s already begun) about the money, but the Cleveland Cavaliers aren’t paying Irving for what he did these last three seasons. They’re paying him based on what they assume he’ll be in three or four years and based on his career trajectory, he’ll be worth it.
- Also, did anyone really believe Irving would turn down this max deal, especially with the opportunity for the deal to convert in a “Derrick Rose” max if he makes the All-Star team or All-NBA?
- Like the Marcin Gortat numbers, but the five years is a bit worrisome. At the start of the 2013-14 season, Gortat will be 30 meaning by the end of his deal he’ll be earning $12 million at age 35. If history has shown us anything, he won’t be worth it by then and that could hamper the Wizards flexibility for the future (an amnesty provision could be used if included in the upcoming CBA negotiations.
- The Avery Bradley deal is a bit conflicting for me. The actual deal I don’t have a problem with though his injury history is a turnoff, but the Celtics could possibly pay a reserve $8 million. There is the off-chance Bradley slides back into the starting shooting guard spot if Rajon Rondo is traded, but that seems unlikely at the moment. We’re not supposed to doubt Danny Ainge, but this causes one to turn a side-eye in his direction.
- Ben Gordon, LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLLOLLOLOLLOLOLLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
- The opinions on this deal have varied across the board, but I’m a huge fan of the Shaun Livingston deal. Maybe it’s a “road to redemption” thing, but I see Livingston as a nice fit on the Warriors bench. I’ve never been a fan of teams acquiring reserves that do exactly what the starters do (Crawford, Blake, Jack). Livingston is the inverse to Curry and if Steve Kerr knows what he’s doing, this could work out.
- Chris Kaman signed a two-year deal for $5 million per. Chris Kaman played 39 games for the Lakers last season, can’t defend to save his life, and is a high usage big man toward the end of his career. And somehow he got a raise for 2014-15. Whether it was intentional or not, the Blazers set the benchmark for the big man market and it’s not pretty for teams looking to squeeze a third or fourth big into a mid-level exception.
- Like the rest of the NBA blogosphere, I have no clue what the Sacramento Kings are doing. In their damned search for a “true point guard”, the Kings may have chosen Darren Collison over Isaiah Thomas. If Thomas isn’t a true enough point guard, what the hell does that make Collison? Playing under point guard hasn’t made Collision morph into some unfound prototype. Like Thomas he’s a score-first point guard… except Thomas does everything better. Jokes on you Sacramento.
- DIRK BACK.
- Depending on which Thabo Sefolosha the Hawks get, this deal could turn out really good or really meh. For specifics, good Thabo is 2012-13 Thabo–48/41/82 shooting splits. Bad Thabo is 2013-14 Thabo–41/31/76 shooting splits and missed games due to injury. They’ve added wing depth though and that may be all that matters to Danny Ferry.
- How high was Patty Mills’ value following the NBA Finals? Even with a bad shoulder, Mills ($4 million) will make more annually than Gary Neal did last season ($3 million).