NBA Free Agency: A Hardwood Paroxysm round table

2. Thus far, which Free Agency deal do you dislike–for a player or a team?

Daniel (@minutemandan): Spencer Hawes signing with the Clippers. This is what happens when you draft another skinny wing while only having two big men under contract. Doc Rivers can be applauded for his coaching ability, but having a lineup full of wing players hasn’t gone well in the past.

David (@_Verts): The Blazers giving Chris Kaman $9.8 million over two years. Other deals that can be deemed useless hand-outs at least have some sort of justification to them. Ben Gordon to Orlando? They were under the cap floor, needed shooting and a veteran in the locker room. Darren Collison to Sacramento? Sure he’s overpaid and may play a role he isn’t suited for, but it’s not like he’s a terrible NBA player. Kaman? I can’t find the rationale here. He played in 39 games last season and is now 32 years old. He’d dominate the basketball despite no longer having the physical attributes to play well. The most notable thing he did all year was become a meme. Why is this signing.

Jordan (@JordanSWhite): The Pistons needed shooting. This is indisputable. But paying Jodie Meeks, a one-dimensional player $19 million over three years is an extravagance.

Derek (@DerekJamesNBA): The Darren Collison deal. It doesn’t seem the Kings are sold on Isaiah Thomas even though he’s a better player. And it’d be fine if they wanted more size, but Collison is undersized by NBA standards as well. All the Kings did was ensure it’d be more difficult to bring back Thomas for an inferior player.

Sean (@highkin): Darren Collison to the Kings. Why can’t somebody love Isaiah Thomas? What did he ever do to you?

Scott (@crabdribbles): Jodie Meeks will be making more money than Kyle Korver over the next three seasons, which doesn’t seem right. I’m all for adding good shooters, but they better be able to do more than just that if they’re making nearly $7 million a year. Meeks doesn’t.

Jared (@jadubin5): I’m with Sean. Collison to the Kings. They’re trying to sell this as a move to get a pass-first point guard instead of Isaiah Thomas, but that’s nonsense. Plus, they gave him the full mid-level exception, which is just too much for a guy who has never shown himself to be more than a competent backup.

Evans: (@evansclinchy): Carmelo Anthony‘s, whatever it ends up being. Melo has the chance to take a lot of money from the Knicks or Lakers, and I’ll defend to the death his right to do so. But it’s still kinda a drag, you know? If he went to Chicago or Houston, he’d have a legitimate chance to be playing in late May and early June, which he’s hardly ever done. I absolutely agree that Melo should have the freedom to pick the Knicks without being ridiculed, but I also reserve the right to be kinda bummed, as a fan who doesn’t want to see the prime years of an electrifying player go to waste.