Free Agency is beginning to wind down, but not before a few more high profile players need to sign on with their 2014-2015 team.
LeBron James is going back to Cleveland
Carmelo Anthony is staying in New York
Chris Bosh is staying in Miami
Dirk Nowitzki is staying in Dallas
Luol Deng is going to Miami
Pau Gasol is going to Chicago
Trevor Ariza is going to Houston
Paul Pierce is going to Washington
Kyle Lowry is staying in Toronto
Chandler Parsons is going to Dallas
Marcin Gortat is staying in Washington
Isaiah Thomas was traded to Phoenix
Gordon Hayward is staying in Utah
Shaun Livingston is going to Golden State
Vince Carter is going to Memphis
Mike Miller is going to Cleveland
In my estimation there are still five top free agents available
G Eric Bledsoe RFA (Suns) is still available
F Greg Monroe RFA (Pistons) is still available
G Lance Stephenson UFA (Pacers) is still available
F Carlos Boozer UFA (Bulls) was just amnestied
G Ray Allen UFA (Heat) is still available
Bledsoe, Monroe and Stephenson make up the three players still available that can be franchise changing in the regular season. These three guys can come in and have a high impact; pushing your team over the top and either into the playoffs or into a higher seed. Ray Allen and Carlos Boozer on the other hand, are high impact players in the post season. They should be highly sought after by any playoff team.
G Eric Bledsoe
Teams interested: Phoenix, Los Angeles, Minnesota, Milwaukee,
My pick for best fit: Phoenix
Jeff Hornacek already proved that a lineup with Bledsoe and Dragic is not only effective but deadly. With the addition of Isaiah Thomas they have the best depth of ball handlers in the league, and can be sporting combinations of the three guards the entire game. The loss of Frye may seem large, but the Morris Twins and PJ Tucker can come together to fill the void at the small forward/power forward position. The needed development of Alex Len and Miles Plumlee at the center position remains their largest weakness. The production from this exciting backcourt should be enough to put them into the playoffs.
F Greg Monroe
Teams interested: Detroit, Orlando,
My pick for best fit: Orlando
I've written about this before, but Greg Monroe to Orlando could be very cool to see. If he can be a serviceable long term center in this league, Orlando could turn him into a franchise corner stone. Those other three corners? Elfrid Payton rookie point guard, Victor Oladipo second year shooting guard, Aaron Gordon rookie power forward. Aside from those three youngsters: Mo Harkless, Tobias Harris and Channing Frye solidify the forward positions, and Vucevic gives them a tremendous backup center, or valuable trade asset moving forward.
G Lance Stephenson
Teams interested: Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Indiana,
My pick for best fit: Atlanta
They're building a sort of quasi Spurs type of style in Atlanta. They're loading up on shooters four positions deep, and I believe adding Lance would be a huge addition to their squad. Teague is a great franchise point guard that performed outstandingly against the Pacers in the playoffs. Milsap was just named to the All-Star team and averaged 18 and 8. They should have Horford back who also averaged 18 and 8. Adding Lance to the mix would give them a second player that can attack the rim off the dribble to open up shooting lanes for the Hawks. His addition to the starting lineup would allow them to bring sharp shooter Kyle Korver off the bench. Also Lance's ability to spread his statistics (he led the league last season in triple doubles) should allow him to flourish on a team with more scoring threats than Indiana.
F Carlos Boozer
Teams interested: Charlotte, Houston, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Phoenix
My pick for best fit: Houston
Houston decided not to match Chandler Parson's 3 year 46 million dollar offer sheet from Dallas and instead signed Trevor Ariza to fill his spot. They're going to be moving forward with Harden and Beverly in the backcourt, but don't really have an answer at the power forward position. Carlos Boozer could be that answer. Plugging Boozer into their starting lineup allows them to bring Troy Daniels and Terrence Jones off the bench. Both of which have skill sets that will give the Rockets added flexibility in the second unit. With Boozer, Houston should contend for one of the best starting fives in the league.
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