Official NBA Offseason Thread, 2007/2008 season.

[BobboFitos]

Figured I'd get this kicking, so that goldenstate fans have somewhere to post. ('har har') May 22nd is the lotto, im so psyched for that. I also compiled a list of FA - I'm not sure if it's accurate. since my fav team is still in the championship hunt (GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOZAH) i'll do an examination of the warriors needs, too.

[BobboFitos]

It's a somewhat official post in terms of all the FA that will be on the market this year. I left off:
a. Any player I consider a no-impact type, these are the dudes who have signed 10 day contracts throughout this year, 2nd round rookies from this year who are unlikely to make the cut of a team, NBDL players who have been back and forth with assignments, etc. I do realize in all the players I leave out, ONE will probably have an impact, but thats the chance I take.
b. Any player I feel is retiring this year or is unclear (like a Gary Payton)
c. Any player who did not play this year, but is a FA and a good one / high impact (like a Latrell Sprewell)
d. Finally, since I dont really know the European players who WERE signed into long-term international contracts, but are FA this year (for any team to sign and bypass the draft), they have been left off, even though, again, there are 1 or 2 impact players from this bunch.

The luxury tax / salary cap threshold is not set, (it's a fluid number) but I'll mention the teams that will have LOTS of room, (minus potential rookie contracts, an average 1st round rookie will have a 2mil 1st year deal tops) that will be able to offer lots of $$$.

I'll also mention restricted free agents, but they're less important since it's not always easy to just throw money at them.

The list.
Wizards losing... *Project to be about 12 million under the cap
-Andray Blatche
-Michael Ruffin
-Donnel Taylor
Jazz losing...
-Rafael Araujo
Raptors losing...
-Morris Peterson
Sonics losing...
-Mike Wilks
Spurs losing...
-Matt Bonner
-Jacque Vaugn
*Possibly Michael Finley (team option) and Oberto (team option)
Kings losing...
-Corliss Williamson
Tblazers* (Possibly project to be ~15 million under the cap, largely depends on whether Raef retires)
-Jamaal Magloire
-Ime Udoka
Suns, none
76ers, none
Magic* (Should have a ton of cap space, especially if the players dont exercise their cap space)
-Grant Hill
-Darko Millicic
-Bo Outlaw
Possibly Pat Garrity and Keyon Dooling
Knicks, none
Hornets
-Desmond Mason
-Marc Jackson
Nets
-Vince* (Has a player option)
-Mikki Moore
T Wolves, NO ONE LOL, GOOD THING THESE GUYS ARE LOCKED UP.
Bucks* Will have lots of $ to spend.
-Ruben Patterson (Kobe stopper)
-Maurice Williams
-Charlie Bell
Possibly Earl Boykins.
Heat
-James Posey
-Jason Kapono
-Eddie Jones
Grizzlies, will have cap space.
-Chucky Atkins
-Junior Harrington
Lakers
-Chris Mihm
-Shammond Williams
-Luke Walton
-Smush Parker
-Ronny Turiaf
Clippers
-Alvin Williams
Possibly Quinton Ross
Pacers
-Keith McLeod
-Darrell Armstrong
Rockets
-Dikembe Mutombo
-Bonzi Wells???
Warriors
-Matt Barnes
-Josh powell
Possibly Mickael Pietrus
Pistons
-Likely Chauncey Billups (player option)
-Chris Webber
Nuggets
-Steve Blake
Mavs
-Jerry Stackhouse
-Austin Croshere
-Devean George
Cavs
-Anderson Varejo
-Likely Pavlovic
Bulls
-PJ Brown
-Andres Nocioni
Bobcats
-Jeff McInnis
-Gerald Wallace
-Brevin Knight
-Matt Caroll
Possibly Water Herrman
*The Bobcats are so low under the cap it's redic.
Celtics
-Michael Olowokandi
Hawks, solidly under the cap
-Royal Ivey

[BobboFitos]

Team: GSW
Reg Season: 42-40
Playoffs: 4-2 vs DAL, 1-4 vs UTAH.
The Good: Made playoffs for the first time in a long time, ending the longest playoff drought in the NBA. Monta Ellis won most improved player, and had two other candidates. (Andris Biedrins and Matt Barnes). Jason Richardson got his first playoff experience, which was well deserved. Baron Davis showed he is a potential MVP candidate and true team leader. Shockingly upset the #1 seeded team, the Dallas Mavericks, and advanced to the 2nd round.
The Bad: Potentially losing two key contributors in Michael Pietrus and Matt Barnes. Already over the salary cap, without even signing their rookie. 18th Pick in the upcoming draft, where no expected impact player will be present. Patrick O'Bryant, their 2006 rookie, seems like another blown pick.

Current Roster:
Baron Davis (@16.4 Mil) - PG
Jason Richardson (@11.1 Mil) SG/SF
Adonal Foyle (@9 Mil) PF/C
Al Harrington (@8.5 Mil) F/C
Stephen Jackson (@6.6 Mil) SF
Sarunas Jasikevicius (@4 Mil) PG
Andris Biedrins (@ 2.6 Mil) PF/C
Patrick O'Bryant (@ 2.2 Mil) C
Monta Ellis (@ 800K) PG

Total: 9 Players, 61.2 Million.

Qualifying Offers:
Mickael Pietrus - 3.5 Mil - SG/SF
Zarko Cabarkapa - 3 Mil - SF

Projected Starting Lineup:
PG - Baron Davis
SG - Jason Richardson
SF - Stephen Jackson
PF - Al Harrington
C - Andris Biedrins
6th Man: Monta Ellis

Needs: Need to gain some quality depth. If another versatile swingman can be found (or Pietrus resigned) then probably can have Monta take whatever minutes Baron and Jrich dont take up, and that FA soaking up Harrington and SJaxx's mins. They need to draft (sadly) another big man, since they're stacked with small players. Utah certainly exposed this flaw.
Likely outcome: No idea what player will fall to them. I expect them to use their midlevel exception (I think they have it available, it does NOT count against the salary cap) to resign either Pietrus or Barnes. Barnes, being a little bigger and more dependable will probably be the guy, especially as he has meshed well with Nellie. Pietrus seems like the odd man out, same deal w/ Zarko. (He played 0 mins 2006/7, played 8.3 in 2005/6) The 11th and 12th man will likely be their 1st and 2nd round pick.

[MEbenhoe]

Bucks fans will hopefully be welcoming Chauncey Billups to Milwaukee [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[BobboFitos]

[ QUOTE ]
Bucks fans will hopefully be welcoming Chauncey Billups to Milwaukee [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm watching TV, not quite drugged to sleep, may as well do a Milwaukee Bucks preview.
Team: MIL Bucks
Reg Season: 28-54, 3rd worst regular season record.

The Good: Team looked very competitive until injuries wracked everyone. Salary cap is very favorable entering the offseason. Andrew Bogut looked like a legitimate NBA big man, as did Villanueva.
The Bad: Missed the playoffs! May miss out on both Greg Oden and Kevin Durant! Had the 3rd worst record! Lots of holes, including PG, SF, and an entire bench.

Current Roster:
Michael Redd (@14.5 Mil) - SG
Bobby Simmons (@9.3 Mil) - SF
Dan Gadzuric (@5.8 Mil) - C
Andrew Bogut (@5 Mil) - PF/C
Charlie Villanueva (@2.7 Mil) - PF
Lynn Greer (@800K) - PG/SG
Damir Markota (@700K) - SF/PF

Total: 7 Players, 38.8 Million

Player Option: Early Boykins (@3 Million) PG, unlikely to exercise this.
Team Option:
Brian Skinner (@5.9 Million) PF
David Noel (@700k) SF
Neither is likely to be exercised.

Notes:
The Bucks are one of the few teams that can offer a FA a max deal. The possibility is mainly Chauncey Billups, since the only other premium players (Vince Carter, Gerald Wallace) are likely not good fits. (Carter bc essentially same as Redd, Wallace because he's likely to resign with the Bobcats. Clearly the fact they may gain an upper echelon player through the draft, as well, makes their projected lineup much weaker then anticipated.

Projected Starting Lineup:
PG - (Lynn Greer?)
SG - Michael Redd
SF - (Bobby Simmons?)
PF - Charlie Villanueva
C - Andrew Bogut

Needs: Clearly the PG hole and SF hole are pretty drastic. Also, there is no bench to speak of, whatsoever. This is far too premature thought to draw any conclusions, given: 1. They may be able to lure an all star caliber player like Billups over, (a backcourt of Billups/Redd would be unbelievably good) 2. They may be able to draft Kevin Durant, and easily slide him into the #3 hole.

It's silly to make any bold predictions BEFORE the draft, but if they get a top two pick I personally guarantee a playoff appearance, and if they (in tandem) land a player like Vince or Billups, I think they instantly become a top 4 Eastern team. (And predict a 2nd round appearance) This is one of those teams which can launch from awful to terrific, but it's very contingent upon how well they draft and how well they sign. I think it actually would be helpful if Boykins DOES exercise his option, since he's nice off the bench for experience/etc. 3 Million for one year isnt a bad deal for a real nice backup PG, either. I also have seen Bogut (earlirt this year when the Bucks played @GSW) and I was impressed with his post game. This team really could've done damage had it avoided injuries, and now it may have worked out to their advantage if they win the lotto!

[wade17]

kevin garnett to the lakers?

[Ralph Wiggum]

[ QUOTE ]
kevin garnett to the lakers?

[/ QUOTE ]
no chance. I expect Kobe to finish his contract, and w/ 2 more years of 1st round exits, I think he'll leave LA.

[Mr biggums]

Pietrus is not going to play another minute with the Warriors. Barnes should be the number one priority as he really fits this system of basketball. During this playoff run he made millions and millions of dollars. Don't rule out any trades either as Mullin has pulled some miracle trades out of his ass.

[lapoker17]

nice job bobbo.

i haven't paid attention, is this considered a pretty crappy year for free agents? so many guys who suck on that list.
only dudes who stuck out as guys i like at all:
varejao
nocioni
wallace
des mason
pavlovic
chauncey
barnes
kapono (?)

i've seen turiaf only like 3 times for a total of about 15 mins of game time, but he seemed like he had some potential upside.

who else do you guys like?

ps i think varejao would be an awesome fit in gs. pounds the boards, doesn't need the ball, can run the floor.

[capone0]

Additionally, Mikki Moore-He's been good since the starter got hurt. Made him self some money. I don't think he's a Jerome James in disguise, but then again, he plays with Kidd so take it with a grain of salt.

Mo Williams is a pretty solid PG. I think he'll be staying in Milwaukee but since becoming the starter he's been effective.