Post by Rog on Aug 3, 2019 5:58:54 GMT
One of the most interesting off seasons we'll ever have. With a bunch of interesting offers, thoughts, and what ended up being an eventful first day, here are some of my thoughts.
2044 181 Cavaliers Sign PG Nico Mannion for $207,696,505 over 7 years.
Poor Nico Mannion. I say that both truthfully and ironically given all the context. First of all, he just got 200 million dollars. What a lucky dude, up until our next signing he got the biggest deal in NBN history. We'll also probably see quite a few deals of this nature and magnitude in the future, so while a bit jarring to see something over 200 million, get used to it because this is where we're headed for some of these stars. As for the truthfulness, Mannion was the type of guy that looked to be the replacement for Cousy as the top player in the league only to see Jerry West lap him. Mannion is still incredible, probably the third best point guard in the league, maybe even the third best player in the league. Cavaliers had to get him back to continue their momentum and they did, at a steep price. It was necessary, even if its not the most flashy move.
Grade: B
2044 181 Hawks Sign SF Elgin Baylor for $210,000,000 over 6 years.
So there is two sides to this thing, and I think we'll end up saying this a lot for these deals in the future. On one hand, and arguably more importantly, Elgin Baylor will make 42 million in year 6 of his deal, his age 34 season. That is utterly unsustainable for a team looking to win a title unless you time things absolutely perfectly with rookie deals or get incredibly lucky in FA. I don't know how its going to work out for the Hawks, but his is a massive deal that could harm their team massively in the future. On the other hand, the Hawks have been seriously lacking of a superstar like talent since they moved Belov all those years ago, and Baylor is that. Not only that, he still is only 28 years old and should age decently well. I have my doubts on the roster constructed by the Hawks, but I do believe that gaining a guy of Baylor's stature is necessary. The Hawks did that, and this signing in a vacuum is solid, they just have to follow it up properly.
Grade: A-
2044 181 Hornets Sign C Leroy Edwards for $17,500,000 over one year.
Just going to put my thoughts here rather than a grade. I set out this off season to go back out and win a title but do so without risking financial ruin in the future. Jerry West is about to get paid since I fucked up. So one year deals are in style for the Hornets. Edwards was the guy I wanted the most, also the guy I thought was least likely to get given how well he played last year and the fact that I won a title. Well here he is. I saw this, and I was pumped. I had hoped to get a SF instead of what came before, but I was happy with the Edwards signing.
Grade: N/A
2044 181 Celtics Sign SF Paul Arizin for $45,100,000 over 2 years.
One of the obvious winners of the new system, Arizin comes out of a down year with a 2 year deal worth 45 million dollars at age 34. And honestly, its a fantastic deal for all involved. Arizin gets to have his last couple years, and he is still an excellent player that the Celtics can plug in at SF or PF with Schmidt and say go get buckets. They get flexibility in the future with him only being on a 2 year deal and they get a legit small forward who isn't still elite offensively but absolutely is defensively and can still rebound with the best of them. Arizin is also still extremely efficient shooting the ball, he just isn't taking as many shots. This seems like a win-win deal for both parties, which rarely happens.
Grade: A
2044 181 Jazz Sign SG Kareem Queeley for $17,000,000 over one year.
I'd get used to seeing deals like this from now on. Honestly I think we'll see two types of deals that will inevitably get the most reactions. One is the massive max deals that will make people made for how overpaid the player becomes, and those will be frequent. But the most frequent deals will be overpays on one year deals. Like the Edwards and Barlow deals. Here, the Jazz continue to add to their unique collection of top end youth and really nice vets. Queeley is making a rookie end of deal max after a season in which he averaged 29 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and shot the ball really well. He did that on the best team record wise in the East as well with the Knicks, meaning those numbers weren't inflated in the slightest. The Jazz also only committed to the 33 year old for 1 year. Excellent value for a GM quickly showing he knows what he is doing in a league where half the GMs didn't see how impressive he can be.
Grade: A+
2044 181 Timberwolves Sign SG Luguentz Dort for $58,800,000 over 2 years.
We come to our first overpay. Dort has always been a solid but seriously flawed player in that he never has had better than a B+ outside shot rating in a league where three pointers reign supreme. Random thought, how funny is it that a game made in the early 2000s was ahead of its time in predicting how important the three pointer would become? Anyway, Dort has a career percentage of 38.4% from three and that is an issue. Its also something that isn't getting any better. He is a legend in Minnesota, but the current GM has no ties to him, so I don't understand why he is paying him 28 million this and 30 million next for a guy that is far past his prime usability and on a roster that is not going to even come close to winning a title. This deal makes no sense.
Grade: D+
2044 181 Trailblazers Sign PG Everett Case for $30,000,000 over 3 years.
You get the sense that Everett Case does this because he loves playing basketball because he sure isn't making the type of money that he could and should be making. He is a legit 20 point scorer who can play defense and doesn't turn it over the Blazers got him on a deal that doesn't increase from 10 million. Just a fantastic signing that is the type of move that Bundy has made since he got here. Case is yet another underrated find for Bundy, and the Blazers should once again be really good.
Grade: A+
2044 181 Hornets Sign C Tom Barlow for $20,000,000 over one year.
Another non grade. So when I searched for guys its based on my criteria for the position and Barlow checked both boxes with the top rated rebounding and defense in the class with A+ in each. I don't love his efficiency in scoring but if he stays around I won't need him to score a ton with 70 points coming from my starting backcourt and another 15 from the main backup guard. Realistically only 35-45 points need to come from the front court, which is doable even with a guy who shot under 40%. He can block shots and rebound with the bes tin the league and thats all. Just wish I got one or the other rather than both Edwards and Barlow.
Grade: N/A
2044 181 Raptors Sign C Dino Meneghin for $60,000,000 over 3 years.
Dino Meneghin is one of those guys you see from afar and you want him but the GM probably values him more than you are willing to give up given that he is a big in a league that you don't need star bigs to win. Well he came into free agency and the Raptors swept him up to play next to Wilt in one of the most fun roster constructions in recent memory. They still need a small forward and have 7 players on their roster with less than 3 million to fill it out, but Dino is another one of those guys that you attempt to sign and figure out the logistics later. Even better that he is only paid through his age 31 season and it doesn't increase past 20 million. Great signing for the Raptors, they just need to figure out roster construction moving forward.
Grade: A
2044 181 Jazz Sign SF Fuzzy Vandivier. for $30,000,000 over 3 years.
Another signing that the Jazz can bring in and do any number of things with. He has an A Potential prospect on his roster at small forward, Fuzzy can come in and give him time to develop while allowing the Jazz to be competitive as their young core grows. I'm less of a fan of Vandivier given he can't rebound and hasn't proven he can win a title, and he is paid 10 million through his age 37 year, but its not a bad signing and fits the mold of the team as constructed. Solid signing, not amazing.
Grade: B
2044 181 Pacers Sign SG Bill Sharman for $12,300,000 over 2 years.
There isn't really much to say here, the only reason the Pacers made this deal is because of their affinity for Bill Sharman. Mind you, Sharman can still play a meaningful role on a decent team, the Pacers ain't that and they will potentially flip him for assets, but if not Sharman is only here to spend his last two years of his career shooting as much as he wants and enjoying the paycheck. I can't imagine many were interested in potentially signing him(now or days 2-5), but who knows.
Grade: C
2044 181 Nets Sign C Chuck Share for $10,100,000 over one year.
Of all the deals that the Nets were looking to get accepted, this was probably last on their list considering the number of long term, 11 million deals they submitted. Share still is a solid as hell third big, but will by no means contribute very well as a starting big on a title aspirating team. As mentioned, the person to benefit from the rule changes the most is a guy like Share, who the Nets overpaid by about 5.6 million compared to how previous FAs have gone. Time will tell(both production and future contracts) will tell how normal this type of contract becomes for a big like this. For now, it feels like an overpay and will be graded as such.
Grade: C+
2044 181 Timberwolves Sign C Mel Hutchins for $31,525,000 over 3 years.
If you did deep statistical data on the two most important stats in the league and FBB in general, I'd imagine that three point shot would be up there as we mentioned and looked at earlier in the article. Also, probably top 2 would be rebounding. So tell me why the Wolves signed a 33 year old center who has B- rebounding and didn't even warrant a start last year for 3 years and over 10 million per year? Seriously though, it was like the Wolves thought to themselves, "what is the worst possible way to build a team"? And then just did that. And a lot of that. Just horrible.
Grade: F
2044 181 Trailblazers Sign PG John Beckman for $4,000,000 over 2 years.
Backman hasn't been relevant for a while, and I don't understand the point here, but at only 2 million a year who cares?
Grade: C
2044 181 Mavericks Sign SF Jim Loscutoff for $2,000,000 over one year.
I don't really understand this signing, Loscutoff isn't great and has C+ outside. He does have great defense ad rebounding, but we'll see what happens. As with the last one, there isn't much to say other than, he didn't overpay and that is weird.
Grade: C
2044 181 Cavaliers Sign PG Nico Mannion for $207,696,505 over 7 years.
Poor Nico Mannion. I say that both truthfully and ironically given all the context. First of all, he just got 200 million dollars. What a lucky dude, up until our next signing he got the biggest deal in NBN history. We'll also probably see quite a few deals of this nature and magnitude in the future, so while a bit jarring to see something over 200 million, get used to it because this is where we're headed for some of these stars. As for the truthfulness, Mannion was the type of guy that looked to be the replacement for Cousy as the top player in the league only to see Jerry West lap him. Mannion is still incredible, probably the third best point guard in the league, maybe even the third best player in the league. Cavaliers had to get him back to continue their momentum and they did, at a steep price. It was necessary, even if its not the most flashy move.
Grade: B
2044 181 Hawks Sign SF Elgin Baylor for $210,000,000 over 6 years.
So there is two sides to this thing, and I think we'll end up saying this a lot for these deals in the future. On one hand, and arguably more importantly, Elgin Baylor will make 42 million in year 6 of his deal, his age 34 season. That is utterly unsustainable for a team looking to win a title unless you time things absolutely perfectly with rookie deals or get incredibly lucky in FA. I don't know how its going to work out for the Hawks, but his is a massive deal that could harm their team massively in the future. On the other hand, the Hawks have been seriously lacking of a superstar like talent since they moved Belov all those years ago, and Baylor is that. Not only that, he still is only 28 years old and should age decently well. I have my doubts on the roster constructed by the Hawks, but I do believe that gaining a guy of Baylor's stature is necessary. The Hawks did that, and this signing in a vacuum is solid, they just have to follow it up properly.
Grade: A-
2044 181 Hornets Sign C Leroy Edwards for $17,500,000 over one year.
Just going to put my thoughts here rather than a grade. I set out this off season to go back out and win a title but do so without risking financial ruin in the future. Jerry West is about to get paid since I fucked up. So one year deals are in style for the Hornets. Edwards was the guy I wanted the most, also the guy I thought was least likely to get given how well he played last year and the fact that I won a title. Well here he is. I saw this, and I was pumped. I had hoped to get a SF instead of what came before, but I was happy with the Edwards signing.
Grade: N/A
2044 181 Celtics Sign SF Paul Arizin for $45,100,000 over 2 years.
One of the obvious winners of the new system, Arizin comes out of a down year with a 2 year deal worth 45 million dollars at age 34. And honestly, its a fantastic deal for all involved. Arizin gets to have his last couple years, and he is still an excellent player that the Celtics can plug in at SF or PF with Schmidt and say go get buckets. They get flexibility in the future with him only being on a 2 year deal and they get a legit small forward who isn't still elite offensively but absolutely is defensively and can still rebound with the best of them. Arizin is also still extremely efficient shooting the ball, he just isn't taking as many shots. This seems like a win-win deal for both parties, which rarely happens.
Grade: A
2044 181 Jazz Sign SG Kareem Queeley for $17,000,000 over one year.
I'd get used to seeing deals like this from now on. Honestly I think we'll see two types of deals that will inevitably get the most reactions. One is the massive max deals that will make people made for how overpaid the player becomes, and those will be frequent. But the most frequent deals will be overpays on one year deals. Like the Edwards and Barlow deals. Here, the Jazz continue to add to their unique collection of top end youth and really nice vets. Queeley is making a rookie end of deal max after a season in which he averaged 29 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and shot the ball really well. He did that on the best team record wise in the East as well with the Knicks, meaning those numbers weren't inflated in the slightest. The Jazz also only committed to the 33 year old for 1 year. Excellent value for a GM quickly showing he knows what he is doing in a league where half the GMs didn't see how impressive he can be.
Grade: A+
2044 181 Timberwolves Sign SG Luguentz Dort for $58,800,000 over 2 years.
We come to our first overpay. Dort has always been a solid but seriously flawed player in that he never has had better than a B+ outside shot rating in a league where three pointers reign supreme. Random thought, how funny is it that a game made in the early 2000s was ahead of its time in predicting how important the three pointer would become? Anyway, Dort has a career percentage of 38.4% from three and that is an issue. Its also something that isn't getting any better. He is a legend in Minnesota, but the current GM has no ties to him, so I don't understand why he is paying him 28 million this and 30 million next for a guy that is far past his prime usability and on a roster that is not going to even come close to winning a title. This deal makes no sense.
Grade: D+
2044 181 Trailblazers Sign PG Everett Case for $30,000,000 over 3 years.
You get the sense that Everett Case does this because he loves playing basketball because he sure isn't making the type of money that he could and should be making. He is a legit 20 point scorer who can play defense and doesn't turn it over the Blazers got him on a deal that doesn't increase from 10 million. Just a fantastic signing that is the type of move that Bundy has made since he got here. Case is yet another underrated find for Bundy, and the Blazers should once again be really good.
Grade: A+
2044 181 Hornets Sign C Tom Barlow for $20,000,000 over one year.
Another non grade. So when I searched for guys its based on my criteria for the position and Barlow checked both boxes with the top rated rebounding and defense in the class with A+ in each. I don't love his efficiency in scoring but if he stays around I won't need him to score a ton with 70 points coming from my starting backcourt and another 15 from the main backup guard. Realistically only 35-45 points need to come from the front court, which is doable even with a guy who shot under 40%. He can block shots and rebound with the bes tin the league and thats all. Just wish I got one or the other rather than both Edwards and Barlow.
Grade: N/A
2044 181 Raptors Sign C Dino Meneghin for $60,000,000 over 3 years.
Dino Meneghin is one of those guys you see from afar and you want him but the GM probably values him more than you are willing to give up given that he is a big in a league that you don't need star bigs to win. Well he came into free agency and the Raptors swept him up to play next to Wilt in one of the most fun roster constructions in recent memory. They still need a small forward and have 7 players on their roster with less than 3 million to fill it out, but Dino is another one of those guys that you attempt to sign and figure out the logistics later. Even better that he is only paid through his age 31 season and it doesn't increase past 20 million. Great signing for the Raptors, they just need to figure out roster construction moving forward.
Grade: A
2044 181 Jazz Sign SF Fuzzy Vandivier. for $30,000,000 over 3 years.
Another signing that the Jazz can bring in and do any number of things with. He has an A Potential prospect on his roster at small forward, Fuzzy can come in and give him time to develop while allowing the Jazz to be competitive as their young core grows. I'm less of a fan of Vandivier given he can't rebound and hasn't proven he can win a title, and he is paid 10 million through his age 37 year, but its not a bad signing and fits the mold of the team as constructed. Solid signing, not amazing.
Grade: B
2044 181 Pacers Sign SG Bill Sharman for $12,300,000 over 2 years.
There isn't really much to say here, the only reason the Pacers made this deal is because of their affinity for Bill Sharman. Mind you, Sharman can still play a meaningful role on a decent team, the Pacers ain't that and they will potentially flip him for assets, but if not Sharman is only here to spend his last two years of his career shooting as much as he wants and enjoying the paycheck. I can't imagine many were interested in potentially signing him(now or days 2-5), but who knows.
Grade: C
2044 181 Nets Sign C Chuck Share for $10,100,000 over one year.
Of all the deals that the Nets were looking to get accepted, this was probably last on their list considering the number of long term, 11 million deals they submitted. Share still is a solid as hell third big, but will by no means contribute very well as a starting big on a title aspirating team. As mentioned, the person to benefit from the rule changes the most is a guy like Share, who the Nets overpaid by about 5.6 million compared to how previous FAs have gone. Time will tell(both production and future contracts) will tell how normal this type of contract becomes for a big like this. For now, it feels like an overpay and will be graded as such.
Grade: C+
2044 181 Timberwolves Sign C Mel Hutchins for $31,525,000 over 3 years.
If you did deep statistical data on the two most important stats in the league and FBB in general, I'd imagine that three point shot would be up there as we mentioned and looked at earlier in the article. Also, probably top 2 would be rebounding. So tell me why the Wolves signed a 33 year old center who has B- rebounding and didn't even warrant a start last year for 3 years and over 10 million per year? Seriously though, it was like the Wolves thought to themselves, "what is the worst possible way to build a team"? And then just did that. And a lot of that. Just horrible.
Grade: F
2044 181 Trailblazers Sign PG John Beckman for $4,000,000 over 2 years.
Backman hasn't been relevant for a while, and I don't understand the point here, but at only 2 million a year who cares?
Grade: C
2044 181 Mavericks Sign SF Jim Loscutoff for $2,000,000 over one year.
I don't really understand this signing, Loscutoff isn't great and has C+ outside. He does have great defense ad rebounding, but we'll see what happens. As with the last one, there isn't much to say other than, he didn't overpay and that is weird.
Grade: C
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