2021 NBA Free Agency Musical Chairs

[fraggler]

Bulls adding DeMar DeRozan via sign and trade. I assume that it will involve Lauri Markkanen going the other way, but that remains to be seen.

Bulls have had a good (for them) couple of days, addressing their perimeter defense with Ball and Caruso and now adding another scorer on the wing in DeRozan. It's suddenly a somewhat interesting team to watch, which as a Bulls fan is a nice change of pace.

ETA: no, it's involving Thad Young and not Markkanen.

Wow. Not entirely sure how they play everyone, but that's a lot of talent on the perimeter. Pretty slim up front as neither Markkanen nor Vucevic are great deterrents around the rim.

As a Chicagoan, I am excited to have a potentially fun team locally, but it also makes me sad that after a lot of promise just a couple seasons ago, the Pelicans are a dumpster fire now.

[CDu]

Wow. Not entirely sure how they play everyone, but that's a lot of talent on the perimeter. Pretty slim up front as neither Markkanen nor Vucevic are great deterrents around the rim.

As a Chicagoan, I am excited to have a potentially fun team locally, but it also makes me sad that after a lot of promise just a couple seasons ago, the Pelicans are a dumpster fire now.

Yeah, my guess as it stands is that the starting lineup becomes:
PG: Ball
SG: Lavine
SF: DeRozan
PF: Williams
C: Vucevic

With a bench of:
White
Caruso
Dosunmu
Markkanen
Brown Jr.

It appears that Simonovic (a former 2nd rounder) could be joining the team this summer, so that will add to the frontcourt depth. I suspect they'll try to sign and trade Markkanen for some interior defense and/or draft pick capital, but I agree that they very much need to add some interior defense. I'm guessing they aren't done making trades, as White and Markkanen feel like trade candidates to me.

And yes, I have no idea what Griffin is doing in New Orleans now besides hastening the departure of Zion.

[DoubleBlue]

The Sixers sign free-agent Andre Drummond to a one-year contract at the veteran minimum. This, after Dwight Howard returned to the Lakers, so essentially they swapped back-up centers. Embiid and Drummond have a history of on-court animosity and Embiid once tweeted, “I feel like I own a lot of real estate in his head.” Drummond is still only 27 and has averaged 14.5 ppg and 13.7 rpg in his 9-year career.

[JasonEvans]

The Sixers sign free-agent Andre Drummond to a one-year contract at the veteran minimum. This, after Dwight Howard returned to the Lakers, so essentially they swapped back-up centers. Embiid and Drummond have a history of on-court animosity and Embiid once tweeted, “I feel like I own a lot of real estate in his head.” Drummond is still only 27 and has averaged 14.5 ppg and 13.7 rpg in his 9-year career.

Drummond has been productive recently in the NBA... Howard, not so much.

[DoubleBlue]

Drummond has been productive recently in the NBA... Howard, not so much.

Howard is fun to watch... still some eye-popping dunks and tough rebounds... but he can't shoot and he gets technical fouls frequently.

[JasonEvans]

The Atlanta Hawks have reportedly offered John Collins $25 mil/season (5 years for $125). This is an improvement on the offer they made last offseason that was 4-years for $90 million ($22.5 mil per season). There are only 2 teams, the Spurs and OKC, who have significant cap space available at the moment.

The Spurs just traded for Al-Farouq Aminu and Thadeus Young and they are looking to the coming season to see if Luka Samanic can be a real player for them at PF, so I doubt they are in the mood to spend $25+ mil on another PF. OKC is in a long-term rebuild and likes what they are getting from young Darius Bazley at PF. I don't see them blowing out $25+ mil of their cap to bring in a guy who is simply not on the same timeline as the rest of the team... nor do I see Collins wanting to move to a team that is in a 3+ year rebuild.

Bottom line - I don't think it is super likely we see anyone else seriously bidding on Collins. That said, if he is really frustrated at the Hawks offer (which doesn't seem that bad) then Collins could just accept the 1 year tender the Hawks made ($7.7 mil) and become a full free agent next year. That would be "betting on yourself" in a big way but we have seen a few other NBA players take this route. Collins supposedly really wants a max contract from the Hawks, which would be a little north of $30 mil per season... and that just ain't happening, I think.

[brevity]

Word is Lakers are talking with Melo.

Not just words. Los Angeles Lakers, Carmelo Anthony agree to one-year NBA free-agency contract

Anthony becomes the 7th player in the NBA Career Scoring Top Ten to sign with the Lakers.

Jeff Eisenband @JeffEisenband

Want to feel old?

4 lottery picks in the 2021 NBA Draft were born AFTER this LeBron vs. Melo high school game (Josh Giddey, Jonathan Kuminga, Joshua Primo, Moses Moody).

lebronmelo.jpg

6:46 PM · Aug 3, 2021

[SouthernDukie]

Not just words. Los Angeles Lakers, Carmelo Anthony agree to one-year NBA free-agency contract

Anthony becomes the 7th player in the NBA Career Scoring Top Ten to sign with the Lakers.

Just makes me hate them all the more! ABL this season in triplicate!!!

[CrazyNotCrazie]

Just makes me hate them all the more! ABL this season in triplicate!!!

Until they sign Quinn...

[SouthernDukie]

Until they sign Quinn...

Absolutely true. If they sign a Dukie, all is forgiven.

[JasonEvans]

The Atlanta Hawks have reportedly offered John Collins $25 mil/season (5 years for $125). This is an improvement on the offer they made last offseason that was 4-years for $90 million ($22.5 mil per season). There are only 2 teams, the Spurs and OKC, who have significant cap space available at the moment.

Collins has accepted the Hawks 5/$125 offer and will stay with the Eastern Conference finalists. The Hawks have been very quiet in free agency thus far and appear to be perfectly happy running it back with largely the exact same team that took Milwaukee to 6 in the ECF last season. I've got no problem with this approach as getting a healthy Hunter and merely watching the year over year progression of youngsters Collins (24 years old), Trae (23), Huerter (23), Hunter (24), Cam (22), and Okongwu (21) should provide some improvement in the team.

[Kedsy]

Collins has accepted the Hawks 5/$125 offer and will stay with the Eastern Conference finalists. The Hawks have been very quiet in free agency thus far and appear to be perfectly happy running it back with largely the exact same team that took Milwaukee to 6 in the ECF last season. I've got no problem with this approach as getting a healthy Hunter and merely watching the year over year progression of youngsters Collins (24 years old), Trae (23), Huerter (23), Hunter (24), Cam (22), and Okongwu (21) should provide some improvement in the team.

Either that or they got lucky in the playoffs and need to improve their team to compete at a high level. I mean, really, if the Sixers hadn't blown a 26-point lead in game five and Atlanta had lost in the conference semifinals after being the East's #5 seed, would anyone be OK with them "running it back" with the same team?

If the NBA really makes it a priority to cut back on deliberately drawing fouls with non-basketball moves (thus making Trae a bit less effective), Atlanta could be making a huge mistake in standing pat.

[JasonEvans]

Either that or they got lucky in the playoffs and need to improve their team to compete at a high level. I mean, really, if the Sixers hadn't blown a 26-point lead in game five and Atlanta had lost in the conference semifinals after being the East's #5 seed, would anyone be OK with them "running it back" with the same team?

I think most folks would be fine with it. Everyone agreed that this very, very young team seemed to "arrive" a year or two earlier than expected. Coming into the season, folks were really hoping for a playoff birth, likely at the lower end of the playoff pool. When they qualified in the #5 spot that was seen as a great confirmation that this could be a contending team in a couple/few years as they matured. When they beat the Knicks and then were clearly right in it with the Sixers, that was seen as gravy and far more than anyone had hoped. Beating the Sixers and being very competitive with the Bucks (until Trae got hurt) was beyond anyone's wildest dreams (I happen to know one of the owners of the Hawks as well as the team's General Counsel).

I don't for a minute think that there wasn't some good fortune that went into this team advancing as far as it did in the Eastern Conference. I don't think even the most optimistic Hawks fan would take them in a series against the healthy Nets or Bucks right now. But, that does not mean anyone believes radical, cap-altering, roster shakeups need to be made. I am fine seeing what happens with this core as they reach their NBA primes over the next half decade. If there are convenient opportunities to add pieces, that's great, but we are in the quite enviable position of not NEEDING to do anything to have a pretty darn good team. And that assessment would not be changed if Ben Simmons had not gone gun shy and we had bowed out to the #1 seeded Sixers in a highly competitive series.

-Jason "I'd be interested in hearing from other Hawks fans here to see if they feel differently" Evans

[luvdahops]

I think most folks would be fine with it. Everyone agreed that this very, very young team seemed to "arrive" a year or two earlier than expected. Coming into the season, folks were really hoping for a playoff birth, likely at the lower end of the playoff pool. When they qualified in the #5 spot that was seen as a great confirmation that this could be a contending team in a couple/few years as they matured. When they beat the Knicks and then were clearly right in it with the Sixers, that was seen as gravy and far more than anyone had hoped. Beating the Sixers and being very competitive with the Bucks (until Trae got hurt) was beyond anyone's wildest dreams (I happen to know one of the owners of the Hawks as well as the team's General Counsel).

I don't for a minute think that there wasn't some good fortune that went into this team advancing as far as it did in the Eastern Conference. I don't think even the most optimistic Hawks fan would take them in a series against the healthy Nets or Bucks right now. But, that does not mean anyone believes radical, cap-altering, roster shakeups need to be made. I am fine seeing what happens with this core as they reach their NBA primes over the next half decade. If there are convenient opportunities to add pieces, that's great, but we are in the quite enviable position of not NEEDING to do anything to have a pretty darn good team. And that assessment would not be changed if Ben Simmons had not gone gun shy and we had bowed out to the #1 seeded Sixers in a highly competitive series.

-Jason "I'd be interested in hearing from other Hawks fans here to see if they feel differently" Evans

I think that's a fair take, especially since Hunter missed the 76ers and Bucks series. And Cam and Jalen offer even more potential depth at 2 through 4 (and maybe even some small ball 5 in the case of the latter).

[tommy]

Yeah, my guess as it stands is that the starting lineup becomes:
PG: Ball
SG: Lavine
SF: DeRozan
PF: Williams
C: Vucevic

With a bench of:
White
Caruso
Dosunmu
Markkanen
Brown Jr.

It appears that Simonovic (a former 2nd rounder) could be joining the team this summer, so that will add to the frontcourt depth. I suspect they'll try to sign and trade Markkanen for some interior defense and/or draft pick capital, but I agree that they very much need to add some interior defense. I'm guessing they aren't done making trades, as White and Markkanen feel like trade candidates to me.

And yes, I have no idea what Griffin is doing in New Orleans now besides hastening the departure of Zion.

Do you think that team, if constituted as it sits now, while fun to watch, would be anything more than a fringe playoff team? I'm not sure I do. Certainly an improvement on last year, but . ..

[CDu]

Do you think that team, if constituted as it sits now, while fun to watch, would be anything more than a fringe playoff team? I'm not sure I do. Certainly an improvement on last year, but . ..

Oh it's not a legitimate contender by any means. But I think it would be somewhere in the 5-7 seed range in the East. Which is a substantial improvement for the Bulls, who have been totally irrelevant for a while now.

The other big thing is that it signals a huge change in the team's strategy. They haven't been players in free agency in forever, tending to do the bare minimum in terms of moves. But the new front office (technically 1.5 years into the job now) is showing that they want to make moves and be relevant.

The challenge, of course, will be parlaying this into sustained success. They have fewer draft picks from which to work with (having now traded 2 of their next 4 firsts), so they will need to continue to be creative in acquiring talent. But it's nice to no longer be a complete afterthought.

[Daddylawman]

I think most folks would be fine with it. Everyone agreed that this very, very young team seemed to "arrive" a year or two earlier than expected. Coming into the season, folks were really hoping for a playoff birth, likely at the lower end of the playoff pool. When they qualified in the #5 spot that was seen as a great confirmation that this could be a contending team in a couple/few years as they matured. When they beat the Knicks and then were clearly right in it with the Sixers, that was seen as gravy and far more than anyone had hoped. Beating the Sixers and being very competitive with the Bucks (until Trae got hurt) was beyond anyone's wildest dreams (I happen to know one of the owners of the Hawks as well as the team's General Counsel).

I don't for a minute think that there wasn't some good fortune that went into this team advancing as far as it did in the Eastern Conference. I don't think even the most optimistic Hawks fan would take them in a series against the healthy Nets or Bucks right now. But, that does not mean anyone believes radical, cap-altering, roster shakeups need to be made. I am fine seeing what happens with this core as they reach their NBA primes over the next half decade. If there are convenient opportunities to add pieces, that's great, but we are in the quite enviable position of not NEEDING to do anything to have a pretty darn good team. And that assessment would not be changed if Ben Simmons had not gone gun shy and we had bowed out to the #1 seeded Sixers in a highly competitive series.

-Jason "I'd be interested in hearing from other Hawks fans here to see if they feel differently" Evans

As an Atlantan and a Hawks fan I was very happy with last season. I felt that they were better than the Knicks, and the Sixers series was just gravy. But it wasn't as much an upset as some believe, after all they did go 27-11 under Nate McMillan which is a better winning percentage than anyone in the East overall. This team is exciting to watch and I expect them to challenge for a top 3 seed in the East. They go 2 deep as well as anybody. I recognize the enormous potential in Brooklyn, but I will wait and see if their Big 3 stay healthy. Even with their signings I still put his squad ahead of Miami and Chicago, and they went toe to toe with Milwaukee until Trae got hurt.

As for their draft - the grade should be I for incomplete. Both Johnson and Cooper were drafted well below where their talent would have slotted them. It's a wait and see whether Jalen will prove to be a competitor and have the drive to succeed in the NBA. Sharife could be "Trae light" or he could be a bust, but he was a great gamble where he was picked.

[tommy]

Oh it's not a legitimate contender by any means. But I think it would be somewhere in the 5-7 seed range in the East. Which is a substantial improvement for the Bulls, who have been totally irrelevant for a while now.

The other big thing is that it signals a huge change in the team's strategy. They haven't been players in free agency in forever, tending to do the bare minimum in terms of moves. But the new front office (technically 1.5 years into the job now) is showing that they want to make moves and be relevant.

The challenge, of course, will be parlaying this into sustained success. They have fewer draft picks from which to work with (having now traded 2 of their next 4 firsts), so they will need to continue to be creative in acquiring talent. But it's nice to no longer be a complete afterthought.

Agree with you on all that. I do think that, along with a few other teams, it's good for the league when the Bulls are relevant.

[luvdahops]

Oh it's not a legitimate contender by any means. But I think it would be somewhere in the 5-7 seed range in the East. Which is a substantial improvement for the Bulls, who have been totally irrelevant for a while now.

The other big thing is that it signals a huge change in the team's strategy. They haven't been players in free agency in forever, tending to do the bare minimum in terms of moves. But the new front office (technically 1.5 years into the job now) is showing that they want to make moves and be relevant.

The challenge, of course, will be parlaying this into sustained success. They have fewer draft picks from which to work with (having now traded 2 of their next 4 firsts), so they will need to continue to be creative in acquiring talent. But it's nice to no longer be a complete afterthought.

Agree with all of this. I think these Bulls have the potential to be a very good offensive team, certainly fun to watch and perhaps even overpowering on some nights. Defense is another story, of course, though Ball and Williams (and maybe Caruso) provide some hope there. The fan base was definitely tired of waiting for the team to be relevant again, and these moves have all pretty well received so far. Other than the fairly obvious overpaying of DeRozan, though few dispute how well he fits.

[roywhite]

Dancing Danny Green, now 34 years old, has managed to get a 2 year/$20 Million deal from the Sixers.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...eal-agent-says