NBA Free Agency Week 3 Recap: The Neophytes
The NBA really knows how to rope us all in. No matter the overgrowth of your fandom, even during the short summer that is the offseason, there is basketball entertainment to be found. This week, we had the glorious return of Nike’s Team USA photo and the NBA Player’s Association’s landmark announcement of their plan to fund health care for its retired players.
Yet, even with no games on the calendar and most business attended to, teams keep giving out money at a record magnitude. We at Upside & Motor are here to fill you in on the comings and goings of the league’s youngest players: the NBA neophytes. These recaps focus specifically on players coming off their rookie contracts, signing their first NBA deals, or players so young that they might as well be in that group. The players included came mainly from the CBSSports Top 100 Free Agents list.
Notable from this week’s deals were the league’s valuation of a former high lottery pick and playoff stud, the Bucks frontcourt overload, and Portland’s peculiar decision to go all in on a core they gathered together only one season ago.
Miles Plumlee – 27 years old – Restricted FA
Returned to Milwaukee Bucks on 4 year, $52 million deal
The frontcourt pendulum gets pushed wayward again for the Bucks. Three years after signing Larry Sanders (!!!!) to a four year, $44 million deal and only one season after locking up Greg Monroe to a big three year contract, the Bucks have chosen to retain the big acquisition from the Brandon Knight trade. With Monroe, Mirza Teletovic, Thon Maker and Jabari Parker all on the roster and expected to fight for playing time, Milwaukee is planning to pay around $56 million to juggle players around a crowded rotation of bigs. Plumlee is a good one, but there appears to be something brewing here, and it’s not just a Milwaukee lager.
Terrence Jones – 24 years old – Unrestricted FA (Rescinded Qualifying Offer from Houston)
Signed with New Orleans Pelicans for 1 year, $1.1 million
As luck goes, this is a pretty nice bout of it for New Orleans. Drawn in by the opportunity to team with his partner in crime from Lexington, Anthony Davis, and the ability to re-prove himself ahead of an even larger cap next season, Jones finds himself on a roster short on true power forwards and capable bigs. He will fight for time across from Alexis Ajinca, Omer Asik and Dante Cunningham and if it seems like he should pole vault his way over that atrocity of a list, that’s because he darn well should.
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Tyler Zeller – 26 years old – Restricted FA
Returned to Boston Celtics for 2 years, $16 million
Zeller is the latest recipient of the Danny Ainge special, taking the baton from his teammates Jonas Jerebko and Amir Johnson, who last season signed “one-and-one” deals with above-market guaranteed money in year one and a non-guaranteed option in the second year. Zeller will have the opportunity to look a lot better next to and behind a star like Al Horford as opposed to his starting gig two seasons ago, and most importantly, the ability to multiply his own value ahead of next summer’s lucrative free agent market.
Maurice Harkless – 23 years old – Restricted FA
Returned to Portland Trailblazers for 4 years, $40 million
If you’re here for me to explain to you how or why Allen Crabbe got $30 million more than his more versatile teammate, I’m sorry to say that while I appreciate your time, I don’t quite have an honest answer for you. However, their career stats paint a different picture than the stretchphoric dreams of Harkless you might have in your head. Crabbe has a positive career net rating, compared to Harkless’ minus-four. Furthermore, Crabbe is a better, more efficient scorer, while Harkless’ rebounding and and free throw numbers are concerning if you imagine him playing a lot of minutes at power forward, which the Blazers will have to hope he does after locking C.J. McCollum in for the next four seasons. There simply aren’t enough wing minutes to go around in Portland anymore, yet the team now has to bet on Harkless and Al-Farouq Aminu, two very similar players, becoming above average small fours to make this grand win young plan work.
Dion Waiters – 24 years old – Unrestricted FA (Rescinded Qualifying Offer from OKC)
Signed with Miami Heat for 2 years, $6 million
☹. After a really nice postseason run (11-3-3, 38 percent from three, and a positive defensive box plus-minus) with Russ and KD in Oklahoma, as a pseudo small forward in long-limbed death machine lineups, the market this summer was just as dry as if our last memory of him was still barking at LeBron for some touches. However, he’ll get to drink some Pat Riley/Heat Mafia Kool-Aid this year as Dwyane Wade’s heir and add some nice depth to a team that recently signed Wayne Ellington. All in all, a nice opportunity for Waiters to continue his transition from punching bag to valuable role player.