2014 Free Agent Wish List

[planetmars]

Battier already said he was retiring after this season.

Okay cool.. didn't know that. Well there goes that idea.

[007]

MU needs to patiently wait for 2015. With Fields/Hayes off the books.. with $5M in more cap space.. and JV/Ross still on rookie deals.. that's when you make the big splash. Using up assets to free up cap space in 2014 is going to hurt in the long run when better guys are available who cost more.

Outside of Kyle.. the only other guy I really like is Battier. His IQ and skillset would be perfect for the Raptors. Would only need him for 1 year (possibly 2) anyway since I'm sure he's looking towards retirement. Still not sure how I feel about Carter.

That extra money is going to be big.

[IROR]

Free Agency 2014

July 1 is fast approaching and although the draft is the most pressing issue for the Raps over the next month, it's never too early for us to talk about free agency right? I'd like to hear what everyone is thinking (Raptors and league-wide) about player destinations, good fits and FAs you have your eyes on.

A brief primer for the Raps free agency season:

- The Raptors have $50.4M committed in salaries in 2014. This figure does not include the contract of John Salmons, who is likely gone via a declined team option.

- The Raps could have considerably more space if they somehow move expiring deals on the roster: Chuck Hayes, Landry Fields, Steve Novak.

- The projected Salary cap for the 14-15 season is $63.2M, nearly a $5M increase from this past season.

- Obviously, Resigning Lowry is the top priority for this team. He is said to be asking $10-12M a year for his services. Resigning him would leave the Raps near the Cap and without much flexibility outside of its Mid-Level Exception.

- RFAs Vasquez and Patterson are likely to be retained, and per the CBA the team can go over the Cap to keep these players using Bird Rights. (And leave the Mid-level exception intact)

- the MLE and mini-MLE are complicated in the new CBA but, very generally, it gives teams like the Raptors around $5M to go over the cap with.

- Side note: The Raptors owe Marcus Camby $646K in 2014/15.

------

So the Raps could have up to 20 Million in cap space this offseason, or none at all. So when posting your thoughts on potential FAs, let's try to be realistic and say the Raps aren't going out hunting for another $10M+/long term deal kinda guy other than Lowry.

Pre-draft, here are a few guys that are intriguing options via Free Agency:

- Pau Gasol (on a short term deal, you'd have to consider it)
- Trevor Ariza
- Shawn Marion
- Vince Carter
- Channing Frye (if he opts out)
- Marvin Williams
- Caron Butler
- ED!
- Jordan Hill
- Mike Miller
- AF Aminu
- PJ Tucker
- Thabo Seflosha
- Emeka Okafor
- Elton Brand
- Gus Ayon
- Matt Bonner
- Andres Nocioni

Lots of options out there, especially veteran wings who can defend. What do y'all think?

---

A few resources:

http://www.spotrac.com/nba/toronto-raptors/cap/2014/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBA_salary_cap

http://hoopshype.com/free_agency_2014.htm

[ryanc123]

- Trevor Ariza
- Shawn Marion
- Vince Carter
- Jordan Hill if he doesn't mind coming off the bench and has a reasonable contract

[mcHAPPY]

http://www.raptorsrepublic.com/forum...ree+agent+2014

[Puffer]

http://www.raptorsrepublic.com/forum...ree+agent+2014

Ha Ha Ha!
Killed this thread pretty fast.

[OptimalOptimist]

- Pau Gasol (on a short term deal, you'd have to consider it) - 1 year as a mentor, k
- Trevor Ariza - contract year player, no
- Shawn Marion - lol no
- Vince Carter - nothing longer than 1 year
- Channing Frye (if he opts out) - not what we need, already enough shooting bigs
- Marvin Williams - would like him as a bench player for sure,
- Caron Butler - no
- ED! - NO
- Jordan Hill - NO
- Mike Miller- lol
- AF Aminu - I'd rather get a younger prospect through the draft
- PJ Tucker - as a cheap bench player, sure
- Thabo Seflosha - he's horrible
- Emeka Okafor - Didn'T play a single game last year, OK with vet minimum, that's about it
- Elton Brand - lol
- Gus Ayon - LOL
- Matt Bonner - LoOoL
- Andres Nocioni - ...

[TSF]

By far CHI's best player this playoff, and their only consistent scorer. He would elevate our roster easily, and is a definite upgrade over Amir (and I love Amir btw). Because Taj is on such a good contract one would have to give up something of significance to get him, and that would be Ross in my scenario, and at this point, it's really only Ross's potential that is enticing. You might think I am mad for no apparent reason, but I bet you make that offer to CHI and they say no.

Gibson will start for CHI soon, and you will understand how valuable he really is, especially at around 8mil per.

Gibson wouldn't have been their best player in the playoffs without D Rose hurt, Deng traded, or Noah playing Lebron In The Playoffs type minutes. He's something like their third best player. I do agree Ross+Amir isnt enough, though, only because they already have butler.

[imanshumpert]

Evan Turner could be a good buy-low free agent potentially. Didn't play well in Indiana and I doubt they match an offer made to him since they're probably going to be focussed on re-signing Lance. If not too many teams are interested, he might be available for the MLE on a 2+1 team option type deal. Maybe I'm underestimating his value...

He would bring a lot to the team that we need. Only 25 years old, defends at a high level, can guard the 2 or 3 spot effectively, great passer, ball-handler and rebounder for his position. His 3PT shot isn't great, but it's improved to the low-mid 30s in the past few years which isn't terrible. Only issue for me is he's a pretty inefficient player with his TS% consistently hovering around 50% in his career so far. But that might change in a different role in Toronto.

Just an idea, could be a guy we take a flyer on who knows.

[TSF]

Evan Turner could be a good buy-low free agent potentially. Didn't play well in Indiana and I doubt they match an offer made to him since they're probably going to be focussed on re-signing Lance. If not too many teams are interested, he might be available for the MLE on a 2+1 team option type deal. Maybe I'm underestimating his value...

He would bring a lot to the team that we need. Only 25 years old, defends at a high level, can guard the 2 or 3 spot effectively, great passer, ball-handler and rebounder for his position. His 3PT shot isn't great, but it's improved to the low-mid 30s in the past few years which isn't terrible. Only issue for me is he's a pretty inefficient player with his TS% consistently hovering around 50% in his career so far. But that might change in a different role in Toronto.

Just an idea, could be a guy we take a flyer on who knows.

One the one hand- He's a guy who could be available on the cheap, brings alot we like, fits the system defensively, might greatly up his value if he has a good season (trade bait), and can handle/pass are all good things.
On the other- Not only did he get in a fight with Lance in Indiana (Which, I mean, I get, but that still doesn't say much for his fit chemistry-wise on a team so dependent on it), but a Lowry-Demar-Turner-Amir-JV starting lineup has Turner as the second best three point shooter on it. Yikes.

[Bendit]

One the one hand- He's a guy who could be available on the cheap, brings alot we like, fits the system defensively, might greatly up his value if he has a good season (trade bait), and can handle/pass are all good things.
On the other- Not only did he get in a fight with Lance in Indiana (Which, I mean, I get, but that still doesn't say much for his fit chemistry-wise on a team so dependent on it), but a Lowry-Demar-Turner-Amir-JV starting lineup has Turner as the second best three point shooter on it. Yikes.

Lance started it by blowing in his ear.

It will be interesting if Indiana actually signs Lance as well. What they have is a franchise problem/s....lack of a good PG, Hibbert a fail, crazy Lance, less than overwhelming Turner, West a ufa, George being outperformed in crucial games, Vogel seems to have lost his mojo with the team, team chemistry/lack of vet leadership. Who woulda thunk this earlier in the year when they were cruising?

LS is a talent alright. If the Pacers take a pass on him should the Raptors take a shot at this grenade?

[007]

Stephenson will not tolerate being behind DD, and would you start Lance over DD?

[mcHAPPY]

Lance started it by blowing in his ear.

It will be interesting if Indiana actually signs Lance as well. What they have is a franchise problem/s....lack of a good PG, Hibbert a fail, crazy Lance, less than overwhelming Turner, West a ufa, George being outperformed in crucial games, Vogel seems to have lost his mojo with the team, team chemistry/lack of vet leadership. Who woulda thunk this earlier in the year when they were cruising?

LS is a talent alright. If the Pacers take a pass on him should the Raptors take a shot at this grenade?

No.

They are deep at SG.

The Raptors also have $23M in cap holds for Lowry, PP, GV, and De Colo (and De Colo is a whatever and just $2M).

The Raps don't have cap space outside of an exception unless all those guys are gone.

[007]

I could imagine someone offering Lance a max or near max.

[mcHAPPY]

Twitter was rampant with speculation during and after Game 6 that Stephenson may have cost himself millions of dollars with his antics, but one former NBA GM told SNY.tv that Stephenson will still “get paid.”

“He is going to get paid but I think his options will be limited because of how much maintenance he brings to a franchise,” the executive said.

The executive said he thought Stephenson was “more than a mid-level [player] but not a $10-million player.” He added that he’s “probably a $5-$8 million average player.”

http://zagsblog.com/articles/lances-...ge-of-suitors/


I could live with paying him $5M though!

Well, not me.... but you know.

Always easier when you're spending someone else's money.... ain't that right government.