Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Free Agency Fit and Fever 4

The LeBron James death grip on Sports Center has come to an end, and the likes of Eric Bledsoe, Greg Monroe, and Ray Allen are not enough to warrant more speculation and coverage.

Free Agents Signed:
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
Lance Stephenson is going to Charlotte
Carlos Boozer is going to Los Angeles (Lakers)

Free Agents still available:

G Eric Bledsoe RFA (Suns) is still available
F Greg Monroe RFA (Pistons) is still available
G Ray Allen UFA (Heat) is still available


Bledsoe and Monroe make up two guys still available that can be franchise corner stone players. These are the guys that you can begin to build a playoff team around. I think that both of these guys can and will be in the playoffs this season. 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, Philadelphia  
Phoenix- Can unite Dragic, Thomas, and Bledsoe for the best ball handling trio in the league. With only losing Frye but adding Thomas this team will be in the playoffs with Eric.

Los Angeles- I'm not sure if they have the money, but Kobe only has a max of two years left. They need a young stud to sell to the fans. A half decade in the lottery would allow for a Clipper takeover. Bledsoe could be that guy and continue the Lakers' dominance.

Minnesota could land Bledsoe in a Kevin Love trade but: Chicago, Cleveland, and Golden State are closer to landing him.

They have the money. Nerlens Noel is their rookie this year, MCW was their rookie last year, Embiid will be on his way next year, and Dario Saric is probably coming the next. Adding Bledsoe won't make them a playoff team so the front office will still be able to draft in the lottery next season. With all of these players coming in they might make the move now to set up for success in two years.

F Greg Monroe 
Teams interested: Detroit, Orlando, Portland

Building around Drummond and Monroe in the front court would make a strong foundation of a playoff team, but that would require moving Josh Smith. The three of these players can't play together, but keeping Monroe and Drummond is the better option.

Orlando would be an interesting spot for Monroe. Their future backcourt is set, and adding this big man to team up with Vucevic and Frye would be a smart play.

Portland would only be in the mix with some interesting Lopez/Kaman trade talks. I'm not sure if Aldridge and Monroe can play together, but I'd like to see them try.


G Ray Allen 
Teams interested: Atlanta, Miami, Washington, Memphis

Atlanta is always looking to add perimeter shooting, but will only add Allen if they get a scoring wing that can help turn this team into an above .500 squad.

Miami would bring him back in a heartbeat for the right price but probably doesn't have enough money to make it work.

Washington is a prime landing spot. Having Allen play 12-15 minutes off the bench and knocking down corner threes in the playoffs for this team could be huge. They already added Pierce, and I don't know if there is still bad blood between the two, but if not a reunion in Washington could be interesting. A two year deal would still leave way for Kevin Durant in 2016.

Memphis needs help on the perimeter. They've already added Vince Carter, but Prince and T Allen aren't enough in shooting or scoring. Ray Allen and Vince Carter would be great additions to change the pace of the game. Conley, Randolph, and Gasol are good pieces to build around. Carter and R-Allen could be those added pieces. 

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