While there may not be any superstars on the 2015 NBA free agency market, there a lot of pieces that could change a playoff contender to a title contender.
Even just a month or so removed from the 2014 NBA offseason, now seems like the proper time to start looking ahead to the summer of 2015. Don’t get too wrapped up into it as we do have a season currently going on, but just keep in mind that we could actually have a big offseason next summer.
Now that October 31 has passed, no more extensions can be signed and all those players will move into free agency next summer. You won’t see a LeBron James or Kevin Durant at the top of the list, but there is no doubt a long list of very solid players that could shake things up in both conferences.
In the unrestricted column, players like Paul Millsap, Rajon Rondo, Greg Monroe, Marc Gasol, LaMarcus Aldridge, Rudy Gay, Tyson Chandler, and Amir Johnson will all be available, with Paul Pierce, Goran Dragic, J.R. Smith, Luol Deng, David West, Roy Hibbert, Arron Afflalo, Monta Ellis, Al Jefferson, Brook Lopez, and Jeff Green all having player options. If they were to decline, they could all enter unrestricted free agency, as well.
In restricted free agency, however, is where things could really get interested.
Even with players like Klay Thompson, Ricky Rubio, Kemba Walker, John Wall, Alec Burks, Kenneth Faried, and the Morris Twins among others all extending with their respective teams, some fairly big names failed to extend.
Kawhi Leonard, Tristan Thompson, Brandon Knight, Reggie Jackson, Tobias Harris, and Jimmy Butler all failed to come to terms with their teams, which will send them into the scary world of restricted free agency next summer.
It will be hard to top everything that happened this past summer, although we may only have to wait until 2016 to reach those levels of craziness. Next summer, however, will still see some solid players looking for greener pastures.
As you could tell from the list of available players, teams that aren’t quite title contenders but are right there could really benefit from adding one–or two–of these players to the equation to really scare some of the higher seeded teams in each conference.
With Miami losing James to Cleveland and the injuries of Durant and Russell Westbrook for Oklahoma City, the only true title contenders right now are Cleveland, Chicago, and San Antonio. With the season still very young and lots of basketball to be played, it probably won’t stay that way. Even so, there will be plenty of teams with needs to fill next offseason.
The Grizzlies always seem to be in that mix of contenders in the West, but losing Gasol would cripple any chances they have in the future of making a title run, unless they bring him back, of course.
Tony Allen is slotted as the starting small forward, but as we saw against the Hornets, Tayshaun Prince could take those minutes. That game was a special case, however, as Courtney Lee was out with a concussion. Allen played shooting guard in his absence.
With Prince set to be a free agent, maybe Memphis takes this opportunity to grab an effective guard-forward off the market, like Leonard or Butler. Both those players also go right along with the Grizzlies’ defensive-minded play style.
Looking elsewhere, a team like the Los Angeles Clippers could take a look at Leonard or Butler, or even Danny Green (who I didn’t mention above) to fill that starting SF position that has lacked continuity in recent years.
Maybe Houston takes a look at Jackson or Knight to beef up the point guard position if they can’t retain Patrick Beverley. Even if they do keep Beverley, I’d personally much rather have Jackson or Knight starting over him.
Also for the Rockets, as talented as Terrence Jones is at power forward, bringing in a seasoned veteran like West would really help the young core in Houston put up a strong fight against teams like Dallas and San Antonio, who are very experienced.
Out East, there aren’t many playoff teams that I could see making a splash next summer. If the Cavaliers don’t win this year, they could very well look at Gasol or Hibbert to fill that void down low to help compete with Chicago’s frontcourt, though.
Speaking of Hibbert, Indiana would have lots of money to spend if both West and Big Roy left. Maybe Larry Bird takes advantage and finally gets that floor general to help Paul George when he returns. If that’s the case, Knight certainly brings a nice balance of scoring and passing.
To replace Hibbert, Chandler stands out as he is quite the rim protector himself. But I’d rather not talk about player options, because there is a lot of guessing involved there.
Chicago, Toronto, Washington, and Charlotte seem to be happy with where they’re at, and assuming they keep their own players, I don’t see many big signings happening there.
Miami sticks out as a team that may be looking to make a change at point guard, and there are certainly some out there. Rondo and Dragic seem happy with where they are, but I’ve already mentioned Jackson, Knight, and even Beverley above as possible options.
It is still very early in the season to already be looking ahead to next summer, but with extension deadlines just passing, now seemed like a proper time to talk a little bit about who might be available next offseason.
There are unpredictable events–injuries, trades, etc.–that could happen during the season that would completely change everything and make all that I said irrelevant. It’s impossible to predict, but hey, there’s one small–or big– part in all of us that looks forward to the craziness of free agency again.
Let’s just relax for now, and enjoy some good basketball.
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