2009 Free Agents Should Be Scared
It’s all because of YOUWhile everyone is concerned with the Summer of 2010 and the economy, the real people that should be worried are the free agents this summer. Not only will teams be trying to save their money for the following year, but with the possibility of a smaller salary cap, they’re going to be less likely to invest big money and long term.
With that in mind, the following unrestricted free agents should be very worried: Allen Iverson, Ron Artest, Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion, Andre Miller, Lamar Odom, Rasheed Wallace, Mike Bibby, Drew Gooden, Ben Gordon and Stephon Marbury.
As wallets stay closed, I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of these guys sign one-year deals with contenders, making for a very interesting 2009-2010 season, and an even more interesting summer in 2010 when they would join LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Amare Stoudemire, Paul Pierce, Chris Bosh, Ray Allen, Tyson Chandler, Manu Ginobili, Richard Jefferson, Joe Johnson, Tracy McGrady, Yao Ming, Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki and Michael Redd on the open market.
Imagine any two or three of these guys get together and decide they want to turn around a franchise. Or better yet, some of the older guys that are still chasing their first championship ring join a team on the brink for way under market value. All I’m saying, is that the landscape of the NBA in the next two years has the potential to be completely different… and I’m very excited.
What are your thoughts?
Source: ESPN
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February 19th, 2009 at 11:40 am
A$$Cube aka Summer of Sums says:
Somebody is really gonna get for his money by spending his full MLE on one of this summer’s top-flight free agents.
You heard me Cubes! Go for it! Can’t be worse than offering all those benjamins to Diop…
February 19th, 2009 at 11:42 am
Jah says:
You bring up a good point…
February 19th, 2009 at 11:42 am
Anthony says:
Yeah..the economic crisis just might turn out to be a good thing for NBA..Lol.
February 19th, 2009 at 11:44 am
that's whats up says:
J-Kidd backing up Tony Parker and Iverson starting at the two with Ginobili, Mason, Bonner and Duncan sounds pretty good to me
February 19th, 2009 at 11:48 am
got'em says:
i couldn’t agree more, summer of 2010 with the economy the way its going, CRAZY!! Not only does cap room count, but the earning potential associated with being in a big market as far as endorsements etc…REDIC!
I wouldn’t be surprised if NY clears all its cap space and puts together a squad a la 2008 USA Basketball team to make a run…
I’m also not hating the fact that players would be signing shorter term contracts it just makes for great headlines, especially for sites like Dime, speculation galore! Fantasy Implications Everywhere!
February 19th, 2009 at 11:49 am
marcus the great says:
Lebron’s edge-up is crooked lol
February 19th, 2009 at 11:50 am
YOUNGFED..."In Detroit they call me Black Phillip Drummond" says:
I miss the days when players made there teams special (Magic, Jordan, Zeke, etc) now everybody just runs to a contender a gets a ring. This is truly watering down the league.
February 19th, 2009 at 11:52 am
Big Daddy Ben says:
The crisis means a reality check for all NBA Teams, maybe even in long term.
No more dumb-ass contracts for players who dont deserve like Arenas, Brand, Baron and the like…
Air Jordan never made that kind of money on a team, not even close!
I like whats happnin right now.
February 19th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
karizmatic says:
I’ve been saying this for the past couple of years….these guys that think they are going to come in and get 10 mil and all that are fooling themselves. All the aforementioned guys, Gordon, AI, Kidd, etc are looking at maybe 5 mill a year and quite frankly I think it would have happened without the recession. The league was dealing with a situation where a lot of guys got paid huge long term contracts, but now they aren’t worth that type of money, so their value has reset. Therefore those guys better reset their expectations or they might find themselves like Latrell Spreewell “feeding their families.”
It’s good for the league though I really do hope a few of these guys start looking at trying to get that ring and we have some teams that have excellent talent lined up in the next couple of years. Personally I’d like to see Gordon get off his high horse and sign with Cleveland for about 5 mill. I think Mo Williams, LBJ, and Gordon, could make things really interesting in the East.
February 19th, 2009 at 12:03 pm
Brown says:
Umm, Youngfed, besides last year’s Celtics, who do you mean by “everybody?”
February 19th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
Octopus Jonny says:
Dime, we gotta be real for a second. NO CHANCE IN HELL Michael Redd doesn’t exercise his player option for 2010-11. There is no team in the league that’s paying him $18 million as a free agent.
February 19th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
ShadyKidd says:
JKidd will sign with the Lakers – he and Kobe always wanted to play together.
It is going to be real interesting for guys like AI or RonRon. They have troubled past and are playing poorly this season. I can’t imagine why a team would spend much more than the MLE on someone like that. AI could go from making $20mil to $5mil real fast.
February 19th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
Heckler says:
i dunno dime. there are some decent point guards on this list (kidd, bibby, miller..even marbury). for teams looking for PG help, these dudes will still get paid.
and also, it could possibly entice a big name in 2010 to come thru too. i mean, after steve nash and lebron, i think most players in the league would want to play with jason kidd. they’d go where he’d go.
money will still be available this offseason.
Ron Artest will still get paid. Ben Gordon will still get paid.
shooters are hard to come by and lock down defenders are even more rare.
February 19th, 2009 at 12:11 pm
K Dizzle says:
Just so it’s clear, not every player who can opt out will. For example, Michael Redd(15M this season, 17 next, 18M 2010/11) ,Richard Jefferson (13, 14 and 15M this season and the next two seasons)and Paul Pierce(17, 20, 21M) would be fools to opt out
February 19th, 2009 at 12:21 pm
doug says:
blog#8 agree
February 19th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
Ian says:
thats what up
really those 2
hell no man
iverson is not the type of player the spurs like
February 19th, 2009 at 1:06 pm
Marc Stein says:
aron phillips = best writer at dimemag
February 19th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
YOUNGFED says:
@Brown
Phoenix, Lakers, Celtics. Seems like only the Pistons are holding down loyalty
February 19th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
Steve Gomez 10a-2p on Hot 104.7 Modesto, Ca says:
Which one of these guys is gonna say they’re being “disrespected” by not getting offered 20mill first? I say Iverson.
February 19th, 2009 at 3:05 pm
dagwaller says:
This is funny to me. Out of all the players that you listed as being marquee free agents, half of them are going to ask for much more than they’re worth.
Stephon Marbury doesn’t deserve to play in the NBA anymore, and hopefully other GMs will take notice. “Should we sign the guy that wouldn’t accept a buy-out and killed his team? Hmm…”
Shawn Marion is a system guy on the downside of an athletically driven career that has shown that he’s a prima donna. How did that Heat stint work out, Shawn? Did you enjoy reality after having Steve Nash gift you double doubles for years?
Sheed’s career is probably only a year or two away from being done as a starter. He’ll be the Kurt Thomas, PJ Brown, Joe Smith of the next couple years, where he’s borderline starter, but actually a limited player. No one should be in a bidding war for him.
Allen Iverson for years has been overrated as a PLAYER (“love his heart though” – required for any post involving him). I don’t see him commanding more than 10 mil a year, if that, just because he can still score with the best of them. However, he’s 32nd in the league in scoring now. If people call Steve Nash or Shawn Marion system players, they need to consider AI as one, too – he needs to be in a system where he can jack shots to be effective (see Denver/Detroit’s records since the trade).
Ben Gordon has one skill, and that’s to score. He’ll never be as good as AI as an undersized shooting guard (big shoes to fill), and his head is way too big for his own good. Why he thinks he’s worth more than 8 mil a year is beyond me.
Drew Gooden is so average it’s ludicrous to me that he’s even on this list. Career numbers: 12 and 8. This year? 13 and 8.5. That tells me that, in his prime, he’s doing exactly what he’s done for years. He’s not going to get better – why would anyone sign him to a long term deal?
Bibby has been in decline for YEARS and honestly, as much as I like him, was never all that good to begin with. He had a couple of nice years with a good team (the Kings), but he’s an AI – a guy that needs to shoot to be successful, and he hasn’t been good at that for years. He’s an average shooter, a good 3pt. shooter, and a passable free throw shooter. Good numbers for your starting 3, not your starting PG. Not to mention that on a team with Al Horford, Josh Smith, Marvin Williams, and Joe Johnson, he’s only averaging 5.2 assists (although I give him credit for not turning the ball over much AT ALL and for helping turn around the Hawks).
That leaves Ron Artest, Jason Kidd, Andre Miller, and Lamar Odom. Each of these guys brings something to the table that I would pay a little bit extra for – Artest (though an injury prone, crazy jacker) has his D, Kidd is still one of the best all around players in the league, Miller is one of the few true PGs around these days, and Odom is so versatile it’s silly – but overall, this crop of free agents are going to be fairly valued this summer.