NBA: 15 potential ‘under-the-radar’ free agent moves
The 2016 NBA offseason should see a handful of big names enter the free agent market. While those players deserve attention, they do not represent the entire landscape of free agency. We take a look at some potentially underappreciated moves and signings.
Every NBA offseason has elements of intrigue, and the summer of 2016 is no different. The biggest source of interest looks to be the salary cap. In 2015-16 it stood at a soft cap of $70 million, and a hard cap of $84.74 million; according to USA Today Sports, “The projected salary cap and luxury tax amounts for the 2016-17 NBA season will be $92 million and $111 million, according to a league memo sent to team executives”.
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Whoo boy. This has some major implications:
- Teams will be investing a lot more money into rotational players. The types of guys, who only five years ago would be making $2-3 million per year, may now be pulling 4-year, $30-ish million contracts. There will be a lot of shaky investments with unprecedented numbers, and this bountiful offseason could either make or ruin some teams down the line.
- More players would be considered maximum contract free agents. Possible free agents like Kevin Durant, Andre Drummond and Al Horford will understandably pull a max deal, but so will promising but less proven players like Hassan Whiteside, Harrison Barnes and Bradley Beal. Someone will probably give Harrison Barnes $21 million a year.
- With more money on the table, players are more eager to enter the market. A guy like Durant is likely to sign a 1-year deal with the Thunder in order to bump his max contract in 2017, but otherwise many players have smartly set up their deals to give them freedom this summer.
The top tier players are interesting, but they aren’t the whole story. We take a look at some of the underrated moves and implications that could take place in the 2016 free agent period, and for that we start in New Orleans.
[H/T: USA Today Sports]
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