Free Agents

[Fresh8]

My List of Free Agents

This isn’t a great list.

You know the main guys the Lakers want and so I did some research on who will become Free Agents (thet the Lakers might get…). This isn’t the best list cause I’ve included some big names who’ll want HUGE contracts but I guess it’s a complicated business- anything can happen. As for the money part, I’ve included the salaries for all these players from last season. There are a lot of reasons why the players might not take up “arms” with the Lakers but I’ll try and state them at end. I’m confused though about how much the Lakers can actually spend- oh well, here’s my list!

Gilbert Arenas $ 512, 435
Andre Miller $ 2, 460, 709 (T)
Olowokandi $ 6, 061, 213
Elton Brand $ 4, 895, 656 (T)
Lamar Odom $ 3, 557, 585 (T)
Pippen $ 19, 727, 524
Antonio Daniels $ 3, 375, 000
Keon Clark $ 4, 546, 000 (P)
Elden Campbel $ 8, 050, 000
Karl Malone $ 19, 250, 000
Steve Smith $ 9, 900, 000
Speedy Claxton $ 1, 076, 400
James Posey $ 1, 723, 606 (T)
Juwan Howard $ 20, 152, 000
Alonzo $ 20, 629, 800
Kidd $ 9, 265, 000 (P)
Darrel Armstrong $ 4, 010, 000
Shawn Kemp $ 1, 030, 000
Derrick Coleman $ 9, 380, 000
Stack $ 6, 375, 000
Lue $ 1, 870, 000
Bryon Russel $ 1, 400, 000 (T)
Jason Terry $ 2, 153, 934 (T)
Rip Hamilton $ 2, 681, 783 (T)
Jermaine O’neal $ 6, 900, 000
Reggie Miller $ 12, 046, 473
Glove $13, 079, 593
PJ Brown $ 7, 044, 800 (P)
Jamaal Maglorie $ 1, 121, 280 (T)

That was my list of players. It is in a way ridiculous. Any ways here are what the letters meant.
(T)= Team’s decision on free agency
(P)= Players choice on leaving team or not

Here are my reasons why the players wouldn’t join (based on my list). Firstly, some might not become free agents. Secondly taking big pay-cuts? Not cool unless you’re an old fart, also younger stars might want huge contracts! Thirdly, what if they don’t want to play for the Lakers? Man this is complicated!

Well, I see some guys in this list who I’d like to see join LA but wouldn’t fit in or once again may be too expensive, or both. Some of these guys are Stack, Rip, Brand and Kidd. Stack wouldn’t even be able to play as a third option on offence. The other will want big contracts. Also, Kidd may win the title, if so he won’t budge for Jersey!


Now I have come to the conclusion of my report. I guess that it depends on how much they can spend. If they want Pips, Karl, or Glove they’ll need to take huge pay-cuts. Pippen will be the most like guy to take it but he’s only short-term.

In playing terms, Juwan Howard is a great fit but I’m not sure how much the Lakers will pay for him. Also there is Gilbert Arenas who; if he leaves the Warriors, would be a great fit in the team! He’s young and he’s got game. I’d also like to see Posey on this team and see what he could do.

What about you? Who do you think would be affordable and valuable to the Lakers? Also do you know how much they can spend??

[Matthew]

The Lakers can spend 4.5 million. Not that much in terms of NBA saleries.
I think Antonio Daniels is an option, but is he really an upgrade over fisher?
They will probably be best off getting Juwan Howard and prayer that Kareem Rush develops in the off-season and hope for an injury free season.

[Rens]

I thought Campbell wasn't that happy in LA and took some shots after he'd been traded?

A lot of players you put a team option on, are actually restricted free agents, which boils down to the same, but effectively isn't the same, because with a regular team option, the team picks ot up or not, making the player an unrestricted free agent, but with restricted free agents, the team has the option to match any offer that has been signed by the player.

Would you want Shawn Kemp on the Lakers? I'm not sure about that.. he barely gets PT in the Magic's weak front court. Steve Smith is washed up. Armstrong would be nice, hadn't thought about him too much, but I think there's a good possibility he'd want to stay with the Magic. They'll likely want to keep him as well. But if the Lakers pursue him.. who knows?
Coleman I think the Sixers will want to resign him because of his improved play in the 2nd half of the season. I wonder if they'll play Coleman and Thomas in the same frontcourt, that looks pretty undersized to me, but still a good offensive and rebounding frontcourt.

The Lakers should go after Howard or Zo, and Pippen. Either that or start a youth movement by going after Antonio Daniels like Matthew said, or Speedy Claxton, Shammond Williams, and umm.. what young big FAs are around anyway? It seems like they're all veterans!

[Andrew]

With only their MLE ($4.5mil) to spend, the Lakers options are not as numerous as the lure of LA would have you believe. Believe it or not, it's not guaranteed that the Lakers will win it all next year. That's not hating - it's a simple fact. Nothing in sports is guaranteed, because you never know what will happen.

Los Angeles' problem is the salary cap. Yes, I worked that out by myself, a sure sign of a genius at work. The cap is roughly $40 million, and this season it actually decreased compared to 2001/2002. It's rumoured it might decrease again.

The Lakers' finest, Shaq and Kobe, eat up around $35 million of the payroll. Other vital components - Devean George, Robert Horry, Derek Fisher, Rick Fox - push them over the limit. That's just six of their players. Even if Horry doesn't re-sign or takes a pay cut, and the rest of the bench is gone, LA is still over the cap.

In short, unless they got rid of everyone except Shaq and Kobe (which is pretty much impossible), they'd still be over the cap. In short, all they've got is the MLE and minimum deals.

Juwan Howard is probably the only $10+ million dollar man who will work for the MLE. Scottie Pippen might also work for that, and possibly even the veteran's minimum if he thought he'd get the PT and a legitimate shot at a title - but it's a lot of cash to give up, when more could be made elsewhere.

In a way, it might be good that LA is restricted by the cap. It might prevent them from making the same mistake as Portland has. Through 12 players, is there any other team that can boast more talent and depth than Portland? Possibly the Mavericks, though I think we can give the edge to the Blazers. This year, the Blazers won their first playoff games since adopting the "just too damn deep" strategy. Not a great track record for that rebuilding plan thus far.

Phil Jackson has won with two stars, a blue collar third player and a team of role players, usually with a reserve who could probably start elsewhere. There's no need to abandon that formula - they just need that third player. Juwan Howard could be that player, and so could Scottie Pippen (though Howard would be the better investment long term).

PJ Brown could also be an option, but I feel Howard has a better offensive game, and while Brown is probably a better defender overall, Howard's more than adequate at that end of the floor.

Would Gary Payton or Karl Malone fit? As Jax said, good players find a way to fit. But I still see both as unlikely to sign, since both could demand much more than the MLE or the veteran's minimum, and both could play greater roles elsewhere, or with their current teams. Bottom line, they're still capable of being significant, and they won't come cheap. Nothing's impossible, but the Mailman and the Glove signing with the Lakers is improbable - especially both of them doing so.

Arenas is looking good these days, but the Lakers have Fisher - Arenas would not be necessary. Same with Andre Miller, and while a Fisher for Miller swap wouldn't be too bad, it's just not necessary - especially since Fisher is familiar with the triangle. A top 10 point guard has never been necessary on Phil's teams.

The Lakers don't need to overhaul their roster - an upgrade at power forward, some cheap replacements of role players on the bench, and then it's just a matter of getting the whole team to play focused from day 1 to whenever their season may end - especially Shaq. No more of this "switch" business - they should be playing with desire and focus from the start. Now that would be the mark of a great, and likely dominant, team.

[air gordon]

i'm not sure if we're referring to the same thing in regards to the 'veterans minimum' but i did hear LA used the veterans minimum to resign medvedenko. i could be wrong here

but outside of that.. that was very informative, hater

[Andrew]

i'm not sure if we're referring to the same thing in regards to the 'veterans minimum' but i did hear LA used the veterans minimum to resign medvedenko. i could be wrong here

I'm pretty sure we're talking about the same thing. However, the amount would be higher for Pip, because he has more NBA experience (and is thus eligible for more). Or at least, that's the way it used to be.

but outside of that.. that was very informative, hater

I assure everyone, I'm not a Laker hater...I'm just not a Laker fan. I swear there's a difference.

[Andrew]

I thought I'd try to dig up some noteworthy articles regarding some of the players LA seems to be coveting (or rumour mills are suggesting will end up signing).

End of the trail?

According to that article, Scottie Pippen is either headed for retirement, or will remain in Portland. Chicago might even be an option. The Lakers seem less likely than suggested.

If he elects to play another year or two, Pippen says Portland is the likely spot.
"I don't want to make unnecessary changes at this point in my career," he says. "If I stay in the game as a player, it's better for me to be here in Portland. I am not looking forward to testing the free-agent market."
A few weeks ago, Pippen said his interest in signing with the L.A. Lakers would be piqued if they failed to win another championship this spring. Even though the Lakers have been eliminated, he now says a reunion with his Bulls coach, Phil Jackson, seems unlikely.
"I am not taking them out of the picture entirely," he says, "but I look at it and say it is not a good fit for my career at this point."

Also:

This is a time for decision-making. Pippen may have played his final game. If not, he says odds are high that he will be back in a Blazer uniform next fall.

I found two recent articles on Karl Malone's future, but both were simply columnists speculating on the possibility of Malone in Los Angeles or Sacramento - though one mentioned the Mailman relaxing his view on playing a lesser role (the article that placed him in Sacramento), neither really confirmed his personal preference, nor did either article provide evidence that Malone leaving Utah was a done deal.

There was however, an interesting quote regarding LA's attitude, basically echoing what I've already been a broken record about:

The Lakers did not take this season seriously, figuring that only the playoffs mattered. If they had earned a fourth ring despite their nonchalance, we would have to wonder why, exactly, we bother with the first 82 games. As it stands, we can go on believing the games of November through April do matter.

And:

LA seemed convinced it was a champion merely because it had last year's trophy. Kobe Bryant liked to say the Lakers had "the heart of champions," as if their championship hearts alone would make everything right.

I found some articles of note regarding GP's future. Payton will be looking for a ring notes that Payton hasn't ruled out returning to the Bucks, but hasn't confirmed he will be back, also mentioning some consider it highly unlikely he'll play for the Bucks next season. As well as know with sports, "highly unlikely" is usually just a safe way of saying "won't", while leaving the door open for the alternative.

Another article, Good as gone?, doesn't suggest alternatives to Milwaukee, but does suggest Milwaukee is not a likely alternative.

Juwan Howard seems likely, as David Falk has mentioned he'd be a good fit in Los Angeles. Surprisingly, Falk seems willing to negotiate a significant pay cut for one of his clients. Howard himself stated he won't think about the possibilities until he is officially a free agent.

However, a return to Denver is not out of the question.

On the Alonzo Mourning front, there's no real developments, though Zo has reiterated that his first choice is Miami. Still, he'll still look to "take advantage of the best financial opportunity". I won't bother posting the links to any articles or quoting any great blocks of them, since as I said, there's not much in the way of rumours, and one of the articles I found was just one journalist's opinion on the matter. Though he made some valid points about Zo staying in Miami, it didn't really talk about the alternatives.

Well, there's my research from RealGM.com. Seems Juwan Howard is the only player who might sign with the Lakers at this point - though I guess we all have to stay tuned.

[Stevan]

I would absolutely LOVE to see Scottie Pippen back in Chicago. It would be nice to see him finish off his career at his real home. Then Scottie, Horace, MJ, Pax, BJ, & Bill can run the Bulls and ride off into the sunset together

[Rens]

i'm not sure if we're referring to the same thing in regards to the 'veterans minimum' but i did hear LA used the veterans minimum to resign medvedenko.

Probably, but unlike the Mid Level Exception, the veteran's minimum doesn't have a maximum for how many times it can be used, so it wouldn't matter for signing any player.

[Andrew]

...which in theory means the Lakers could sign basically anyone on that list, provided they were willing to take a significant pay cut. But this is the NBA we're talking about.