For part one on this series of upcoming nba free agents, let's look at the players who are on everyone's radar.
In case you were not aware, "restricted" free agents means that the players original team can match any offer from another team for example. Knicks could offer 30 million and a lifetime's supply of Gray's Papaya hot dogs to Marc Gasol and the Grizzlies would have every right to match that (do they have hot dogs in Memphis?).
So let's take a look at the main names you will read and hear about in the next few weeks:
Jeff Green (Celtics) RESTRICTED
Tyson Chandler (Mavericks)
Nene Hilario (Nuggets)
Shannon Brown (Lakers)
Shane Battier (Grizzlies)
Marc Gasol (Grizzlies) RESTRICTED
David West (Hornets)
Grant Hill (Suns)
Jamal Crawford (Hawks)
Glen Davis (Celtics)
Basically, I listed the names that will get the most headlines , either due to the fact they are in a big market (G.Davis) or their resume (G.Hill). However, this list has more fill-in players than marquee players. Sure, names like Hilario and West will get attention with rumors of where they may go, but we can't give as much attention to Marc Gasol. As you can see Pau's brother is a restricted free agent and the Grizzlies are not going to let a 7 ft 26 year old who still hasn't tapped his full potential go! I think they learned from trading Marc's brother for a bag of peanuts. Though you never know.......
Before you start playing GM in your mind with your fave team, read what teams currently owe in salaries this year. and remember the salary cap stops at 58 million.
To make your day easier, here are the teams with the most cap space who may make some noise.
INDIANA PACERS - $36,942,191 for 11 players
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS - $44,919,032 for 10 players
MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES - $48,630,539 for 13 players
NEW JERSEY NETS - $40,921,102 for 9 players *may want to re-sign Kris Humphries (why?)
NEW ORLEANS HORNETS - $45,516,223 for 7 players *need $$ to re-sign David West
SACRAMENTO KINGS - $29,903,967 for 8 players
TORONTO RAPTORS - $47.179,431 for 10 players
WASHINGTON WIZARDS - $40,792,788 for 7 players
Before you throw your Ipad against the wall, remember two things that may help your team if they are over the salary cap (like my knicks) or have very little salary cap space (like the Cavs).
1. the Mid Level Exception or as you may see in a lot of articles, the MLE. Currently the MLE is a starting salary of $5 million with a contract length of four years. However, remember if your team goes over 4 million over the luxury tax (70 million) then the MLE can will be reduced to a starting salary of $3 million and a maximum length of three years.
2. Amnesty Clause- The Amnesty Clause basically lets a team let go of a bad/bloated contract (Arenas/B.Davis/R.Lewis) and it won't count against the salary cap. For ex. Gilbert Arenas is owed just under 20 million for next year, why would anyone pay this? So the Magic can let him go and spread the payments out for 10 years. Now the Magic only owe 2 million a year on their cap and Arenas will still get paid. However, any player let go via Amnesty can be picked up by teams under the salary cap first.
The main reason to keep this in mind is you may have heard of rumors that Baron Davis/Richard Hamilton etc will all be going to the Heat, but this isn't possible if a team with cap space, let's say the Nets, want to pick up Richard Hamilton first. This is fair for the teams in the rebuilding process and means the Heat/Lakers can't keep stacking up players as if this was a season on NBA 2K12.
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