A Complete Recap Of Day 2 Of NBA Free Agency
Just when you thought maybe Day 1 of NBA free agency was going to be the craziest time of the summer, may I present to you Day 2. Yesterday was filled with bomb after bomb of surprising decisions, and as you can imagine the entire internet is mad at the Warriors again. Now these happen quickly and they usually come in waves, as we had a total of 10 more free agents come to a decision. Some made sense, some threw us for a loop, and some were downright crazy. With that said, here’s everything that went down
Boogie agrees to a 1/$5.3M deal with the Warriors
Let’s just get this out of the way early because it’s probably the biggest news we got all day. I can admit I was shocked when I saw this news break, but I wasn’t mad. Good on Boogie for finding the best opportunity for him as he works his way back from his achilles. Naturally Twitter got all bent out of shape that the Warriors added this type of talent, but the facts are the A) No other team wanted him and B) We have no idea what he’ll look like once he’s back mid season. Big men and achilles are like oil and water, but if he’s at all close to what he was before the injury then yeah the Warriors are going to continue to be a problem.
I saw a lot about how this ruins the league and blah blah blah and frankly I find that stupid. Oh great so the Warriors went from everyone thinking they were going to win the title to now everyone thinking they are going to win the title. Nobody would have complained if he joined the Rockets or the Celtics or the Lakers to help join a super team. People are upset because it was GS, and that’s stupid in my opinion. This was the best decision for Boogie and he took it. He’ll be gone in a year with hopefully full health and a max offer from someone.
Avery Bradley agrees to a 2/$25M deal with the Clippers
A no brainer really. After the Clippers traded away Austin Rivers they needed some veteran backcourt depth, and seeing as how Doc loves Avery this makes sense. Bradley missed a bunch of time due to surgery to repair his adductor and rectus abdominus muscle (the fuck?) playing only 6 games for the Clippers last year and 40 with DET. At 27 this gives him good money now, and a chance to re-enter the market before his age 30 season when the cap is supposed to spike once again. I’ll always have love for Avery, and frankly I was nervous he was going to end up on the Lakers, and heading into the summer I thought maybe SA, but seeing his ending price it’s a good deal for both parties. The Clippers aren’t tied up long term, and they now have a guy to help mentor their young guards.
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For Avery he gets to say in a situation that’s familiar to him and one that really needs what he brings to the table. Love the deal.
J.J. Redick agrees to a 1/$13M deal with the Sixers
Hey now! Who says the Sixers strike out on every big time free agent! Sure they didn’t get George, LeBron laughed in their face, and the Spurs wouldn’t take their trash. But you know what, I still like this deal for them. You’re a moron if you wouldn’t take Redick that this money, seeing as how he took a $10M paycut from his last deal this is a much needed get for PHI. A lot of their shooting went out the door this summer, and Redick proved to be a perfect player for their system last year. Sure we can joke about how no outside FAs want to come to The Process, but this was a great signing.
It makes you wonder though, nobody was out there offering a multi year deal for a player who is not showing any signs of slowing down? Shooting is at a premium I thought, so seeing this type of deal was a bit of a surprise.
Rajon Rondo agrees to a 1/$9M deal with the Lakers
I’m sorry, I am just going to pretend this did not happen. I do not feel like throwing up again, thank you.
Anthony Tolliver agrees to a 1/$5.7M deal with the Timberwolves
A bit of a surprise here as well for Anthony Tolliver. This is now his second go around with MIN after playing there nearly 8 years ago, and the Clippers actually flew out to meet him, so to see him strangely go to MIN was a twist. He’s coming off a pretty good year in DET where he averaged the most points since 2009, and a large part of that was the development of his outside shot. On the season Tolliver shot 43% and made 2.0 3PM a night, which is something MIN desperately needs. This Timberwolves team does not shoot threes well, so any help they can get, especially when it’s cheap and does not require a lot of years is a no brainer for them.
He should work fine coming off their bench to provide wing help, and also in the event that one of their wings gets hurt, at least there’s a veteran presence there instead of someone like Shabazz Muhammed or something.
Seth Curry agrees to a 2/$5.6M deal with the Blazers
The Blazers had a clear plan this offseason and that was to get more outside shooting. With Stauskas and now Curry, you could say they have achieved that plan. I know these names aren’t sexy big time free agents, but when you’re at the point of your rebuild that the Blazers are, sometimes you just need to fill your roster with low risk players that fill an immediate need. If Seth Curry going to be the difference as to whether or not the Blazers make a deep run? No, but he for sure is going to help if he proves to be 100% healthy.
Curry had 48/42% splits last year and made 2.0 3PM a night, so considering he’ll probably take Napier’s spot, you can certainly do worse in terms of a reserve guard. Any time you can find guys that will help create more space for CJ/Dame to attack the rim, and you do it for a good price, I won’t knock you.
Nerlens Noel agrees to a 2/$3.4M deal with the Thunder
This was the first deal that threw me for a loop when I first saw it. Personally I like the move for both parties, mostly because I think Noel will fit right in defensively and gives Billy Donovan some pretty interesting lineup options. I’m interested to see both him and Adams play next to each other, and if Noel actually commits to this team and isn’t an asshole, it could really work. In my opinion this is really Noel’s last chance, even though he’s so young, because if he can’t show up for OKC, then I’m not sure he ever will. I know he’s had injuries and he’s probably kicking himself for turning down that 4/70M extension, but his loss is the Thunder’s gain.
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If you’re an OKC fan, get ready for a bunch of Westbrook to Noel lobs, which as someone with no rooting interest in this team should be fun to watch.
Julius Randle agrees to a 2/$18M contract with the Pelicans
You knew as soon as the Lakers renounced his rights that it wouldn’t take long for Randle to find a new home, and it was the Pelicans that came away the winner with a very team friendly deal. We on the internet knew this meant Boogie was going somewhere, and to be honest I really like the pairing of AD and Randle. Julius had a bit of a breakout year last year, and I think the Pelicans will really benefit from what he can bring to the table. While he isn’t a spread the floor shooter, he can attack the rim with force, is a decent passer, and a much better defender than people want to give him credit for. Now that the Pelicans have solved their spacing for the most part Randle should have all the room in the world to take advantage of a less talented and athletic four which should be fun to watch.
This deal also doesn’t lock him up long term, and allows him to hit the market at a great time. It’s reported that AD heavily recruited Randle, so any chatter about him being upset about the Boogie replacement is just hot air, at the moment.
Jose Calderon agrees to a 1/$2M deal with the Pistons
Man, nobody wants to stay in CLE I guess. Very sad!
This deal gives DET some guard depth in the event that Reggie Jackson gets hurt again which you can almost bank on, and at a minimum deal it’s hard to find anything to complain about. The Pistons are trying to get back to the playoffs, and maybe the veteran presence of Calderon will help.
Mike Scott agrees to a 1/$1.8M deal with the Clippers
You may not have any idea who this is and that’s OK. Scott is your prototypical stretch four in today’s NBA, and at 30 it’s clear the Wizards wanted to go in a different direction. It wouldn’t shock me if Scott had previously had a big time night against Doc at some point, only because Doc can’t stay away from guys that do once they hit the market. He’ll help the Clippers from deep, and he has shown moments in the playoffs before, so I consider this a quality low risk medium reward signing.
In looking at Day 3, we have guys like Tyreke Evans, Brook Lopez, Marcus Smart, Dante Exum, Kyle O’Quinn, Nemanja Bjelica, Wayne Ellington, Isaiah Thomas, Zach LaVine, etc still on the board, and considering a lot of the market is RFA, we may be waiting a while. Now obviously since I just said that it means we’re going to get more chaos probably, and that’s OK to. As always if you miss anything I’ll fill you in tomorrow, so in the meantime happy Twitter refreshing.