Post by ucfinfan86 on Jul 16, 2019 1:51:00 GMT
With all of the talk this season about the upcoming cap changes, salaries and cap space I thought it would be a good idea to take a look at the potential upcoming free agency class. There’s going to be A LOT of space, but will there be enough free agents for everyone?
Point Guard
1. Nico Mannion, 27
2. Dick McGuire, 34
5. Al Attles, 24
Attles is tough to rank. He’s the youngest on the list and still has B potential. He’s putting up decent points on a Rockets team that lacks scorers, but the percentages are terrible. 41% FG and 29% 3pt is not going to cut it. He does have one big strength in his A+ defense and it translates to the stats with 2.4 steals and .9 blocks. The 1.2 TO is also a positive. He likely projects as a 6th man instead of a starter and the players in the honorable mention may be better players, but due to the age and potential I’m giving him the nod at #5. Projecting a contract of 5yr/$50mil, similar to what Nicolin received.
Honorable Mention:
-Ernest Houghton, 34
-John Isaacs, 31
-Lenny Wilkens, 23
-Gene Vance, 36
Shooting Guard
1. Kareem Queeley, 32
Queeley is having probably the best season of his career and leading the Knicks to the best record in the league. He’s always been a great scorer, but he’s finally lowered his TOs to a reasonable amount and rebounding at a career clip. With his TOs down, he really doesn’t have any weaknesses and is good to great across the board. Even though he’s 32, he still has B potential and should have no issues getting a hefty contract. As a 14 year vet, can he secure his max money at $28mil a year? I’m going to say yes, if it’s on a shorter deal. I’ll propose something like 4yr/$120mil.
- Killian Hayes, 29
- Jewell Young, 31
- Darius Miller-Whitehead, 22
Point Guard
1. Nico Mannion, 27
Nico is the star free agent of this class and will undoubtedly receive a max offer from everyone with max cap space this offseason. As an 8 year veteran, he should receive a max contract starting at $24mil a season. He took another step since joining the Cavs last season, wrestling away the MVP trophy from Cousy for the first time since 2034. He’s having a bit of a down season shooting percentage wise, but otherwise remains elite in every area. There shouldn’t be many concerns about giving him a max contract that will take him through 33 or 34 years old and in fact may look like a steal compared to the max contracts for 10+yr veterans.
McGuire is still playing at a high level, especially for a 34yo. His best days are behind him, but he is still an above average PG. At one point in his career he was pushing on that top 5 PG tier, but now is probably closer to that 12-15 range. Aside from his shooting percentage, his stats remain pretty close to what he’s been doing the past few seasons. Being 35 years old when he signs the next contract, I can’t imagine he will get more than a 1 or 2 year deal. In year’s past he may have been able to be stolen away on the MLE since teams with cap space aren’t targeting 35yo. I’ll project a 2yr/$20mil contract.
3. Everett Case, 32
Case has been a league average to slightly above average PG pretty much his whole career. I can see the argument for him being above McGuire on this list since he will be 3 years younger, but the lack of steals and volume scorer make me rank him behind McGuire. He does have his strengths though and I really like he doesn’t turn the ball over and is a pretty good 3pt shooter as well as rebounder. The league currently has a shortage of good PG and I can see him getting a pretty nice deal for someone who just needs a steady presence for the next few seasons. I’m going to say 3yr/$45mil contract. 4. Cumberland Posey, 31
Posey hasn’t been given much playing time the previous 4 seasons, but was a pleasant surprise on the MLE. He’s a below average PG, but you can definitely do worse as a placeholder. He’s gets a lot of assists, steals, and is pretty efficient scorer. He has some major flaws though in that the turnovers are a bit much, I really like to keep my PGs under 2.5/gm, doesn’t rebound well and isn’t much of a volume scorer. Ideally he’s a top backup who can spot start when needed. I’ll be interested to see what a previous MLE type player will now generate on the open market, but my guess is going to be 2yr/$15mil.
Attles is tough to rank. He’s the youngest on the list and still has B potential. He’s putting up decent points on a Rockets team that lacks scorers, but the percentages are terrible. 41% FG and 29% 3pt is not going to cut it. He does have one big strength in his A+ defense and it translates to the stats with 2.4 steals and .9 blocks. The 1.2 TO is also a positive. He likely projects as a 6th man instead of a starter and the players in the honorable mention may be better players, but due to the age and potential I’m giving him the nod at #5. Projecting a contract of 5yr/$50mil, similar to what Nicolin received.
Honorable Mention:
-Ernest Houghton, 34
-John Isaacs, 31
-Lenny Wilkens, 23
-Gene Vance, 36
Overall outside of Nico this poing guard class is a pretty weak group. If you need a starter, you can sign a stop gap like McGuire/Case and hope they don't die in TC, otherwise you are mostly looking at backup types. Someone will take a chance on Wilkens/Attles due to their age, but there just isn't very much talent available in the 25-30 age range this year.
1. Kareem Queeley, 32
Queeley is having probably the best season of his career and leading the Knicks to the best record in the league. He’s always been a great scorer, but he’s finally lowered his TOs to a reasonable amount and rebounding at a career clip. With his TOs down, he really doesn’t have any weaknesses and is good to great across the board. Even though he’s 32, he still has B potential and should have no issues getting a hefty contract. As a 14 year vet, can he secure his max money at $28mil a year? I’m going to say yes, if it’s on a shorter deal. I’ll propose something like 4yr/$120mil.
2. Nikos Galis, 29
Galis is a very good SG and a notch or 2 below the best in the league. He’s probably somewhere in that 7-10 range. He’s a below average rebounder and only an average 3pt shooter, but he generates a lot of steals, is a good overall scorer and a good facilitator for the position. He’ll be entering FA at a good age, but will be an 11 year veteran. Is he someone you are willing to take up 35% of your salary cap? I think he’s someone who’s a 2nd or 3rd piece instead of a lead option, so not sure you can do it unless you have the absolute right roster construction. I’ll say 5yr/$100mil deal. 3. Lugentz Dort, 33
Dort is a very unique player in the NBN and I really like guys who are different. He’s the best rebounding SG in the league with a career average of 8/gm. He’s also a very good overall defender at 1.1 steals and 1.4 blocks. His downside though is the lack of 3pt shooting which is really tough when most teams play an outside focus offense. He does provide a nice perk having mentor ability. Entering FA at age 34 with D potential will limit his suitors though. He’ll probably make too much money to fit into this role, but he’d be an amazing super sub. Contract wise I’m guessing 2yr/$35mil. 4. Frank Ramsey, 30
Ramsey is having a down season pretty much across the board but is only going to be 31 next season. Its a shame he never won a Sixth Man of the Year award to unlock his draft note. He's not a great scorer, but he normally does everything else very well. Great rebounder for the position and normally very efficient scorer. He looked alot better when he was close to 2 steals a game. It's a crowded veteran SG market but I think he should be able to secure a nice deal as a 6th man who can backup 1-3. I'm guessing 4yr/$50mil
4. Bill Sharman, 33
Sharman is someone that I’m really surprised is still contributing at a high level. I feel like he fell off a few seasons ago, but when you look at his stat page that isn’t the case. At 33yr with D potential, you have to imagine it’ll happen soon, but he’s still putting up 20+ with low TOs, great shooting and good rebounding. The B- defense is a huge worry, but he atleast gets steals still. If that defense drops even a little bit more, he could be too big of a liability to start. I’m guessing 2yr/$20mil. 5. Todd Blanchfield, 29
The last spot was hard to choose from, but I’ll go with Blanchfield. I really like his defense and now that he can start at SG, his rebounding his a big advantage as well. He’s not someone who is going to score very much, but he does everything else well. I think he’s in the perfect situation in Portland to utilize his skill set and hopefully he ends up in the same role next season. 4yrs/$30mil. Honorable Mention:
- Manuel Raga, 28- Killian Hayes, 29
- Jewell Young, 31
- Darius Miller-Whitehead, 22
This is a decent position group. Queeley/Galis are 2 of the top 10 SGs in the league. Dort/Sharman are aged, but can still help out some contenders. Blanchfield/Hayes offer some versatility and Miller-Whitehead has the ratings/age/potential that someone will probably over pay him.
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