Damian Lillard finally requested a trade and 2023 free agency recap
The first two days of NBA free agency were interesting. We saw some big contracts for players with new teams and players re-signing with their current teams.
But no news was bigger than 7-time all-star and top-75 player of all time Damian Lillard finally requesting a trade. This request came after multiple years of wondering will Lillard ever leave Portland. Well after years of debating and wondering what Dame would do, we finally have the answer. He wants to join close friends Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler in Miami to contend for an NBA Championship.
This felt inevitable after his backcourt partner CJ McCollum was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans two seasons ago.
The question here is will the Portland Trailblazers trade Lillard to his preferred destination or will they try to get the best trade package available for their franchise's greatest player?
The Heat by no means have the best trade package available as their offer would look something like Tyler Herro, Nikola Jovic, Kyle Lowry, and two first-round picks. For a player that just came off his best season to date where he averaged 32.3 points and 7.3 assists, that package just feels like not enough. Last off-season we saw Rudy Gobert command four first-round picks and as we know, he isnt on the same level of player as Lillard is.
With that being said, I still believe that he ends up in South Beach playing for the Miami Heat.
Free agency happened and was unlike one we have seen in recent years. There was only one player that signed a max contract. Also, only three players signed contracts for 30-plus million dollars. As Woj from ESPN put it recently on TV, the NBA is becoming like college with a transfer portal. More players are signing their contract extensions and then requesting trades instead of waiting to hit unrestricted free agency to go and sign with a new team.
To put it in perspective, this season the top three free agents to hit the market this year were Fred Vanfleet, Kyrie Irving and Jerami Grant. With all that being said, here are teams that were active this off-season:
Houston Rockets:
The Rockets spent the most money in free agency with a total of over $200 million handed out to three players. Vanfleet led the group, he got the most annual salary for a player this off-season by signing a three-year 130 million deal. That deal averages out to 41 million a year. I like this signing for the Rockets as he is a great teammate and has proven playoff and championship experience.
Their second biggest signing was giving guard Dillion Brooks a four-year 80 million dollar contract. Although Brooks was a second-team all-defensive player this past season he had a tough stretch against the Lakers in the playoff this season. Brooks is still a good veteran for this younger unproven Rockets team.
The last player that the Rockets signed was Jock Lansdale from the Phoenix Suns for a two-year 16 million dollar deal. This was a good signing as Lansdale averaged ——- in the playoffs and proved to be a valuable player for the Suns against the Nuggets.
Overall, I like the Rocket's moves for not wanting to be at the very bottom of the western conference for one more season and are ready to try to contend for a play-in spot now. My only worry is that Houston signed players that will block their recent high draft picks from playing a lot early on.
They just drafted Amen Thompson with the No. 4 pick and I guess the thought is it will take a few years for him to grow to be a starting point guard and can learn under Vanfleet for a few years. But on the other hand, it might stunt his growth if Thomspon will not get the opportunity to play more minutes early on to learn from his mistakes.
Brooks plays the same position as Cam Whitmore who they drafted this year with the 20th pick. Although Whitmore had some medical and other concerns leading to him falling far in the draft, he seems to be NBA-ready if he is healthy.
Los Angeles Lakers:
Rui Hachimura- 3 years for $51 million
Austin Reaves- 4 years for $56 million
Gabe Vincent- 3 years for $33 million
D’Angelo Russell- 2 years for $37 million
Cam Reddish- 2 years for $4.6 million
Taurean Prince- 1 year for $4.5 million
Jaxson Hayes- 2 years for $4.6 million
The most popular answer this off-season I've seen for who did the best in free agency has been the Lakers. They retained their three key free agents in Reaves, Hachimura, and Russell.
I like the Reaves signing the most as he just came off a playoff run averaging 16.9 points, 4.6 assists, and 4.4 rebounds per game while shooting 44 percent on 3s. He also recently turned 25 years old and looks like to can improve even more if given a bigger role in the offense in the regular season. The Lakers lucked out that another team didn’t give Reaves an offer sheet for close to $100 million.
Bringing back Hachimura and Russell for $17 and $18.5 million a year just didn't sit well with me. Hachimura was great shooting the ball in the playoffs where he was 48.7 percent from deep while scoring 12.2 points a game but over 15 million a year for him feels like an overpay to me. The hope is that he takes another step in his first full season with the Lakers as he is only 25 years old.
Russell showed in the playoffs that he can be played off the floor at times when his shot isn't falling and he is a liability at times on defense. It seems as if LA could have gotten another point guard to do the things Russell does for a cheaper price tag.
Although Vincent struggled in the NBA Finals this past season, adding him to this Lakers group was a great decision. He has playoff experience and has shown is a player that isn't afraid of the big moments.
Reddish, Prince, and Hayes are all good signings as they are on cheaper deals and hope that at least one player makes their way into their playoff rotation.
Cleveland Cavs:
Caris LeVert- 2 years for $32 million
Georges Niang- 3 years for 26 million
Max Strus- 4 for 63 million
I thought bringing back LeVert for $16 million a year was a good deal for the Cavs. He is a good fit next to Garland and Mitchell and is a valuable piece for them. I wasn't the biggest fan of the Niang signing. He averaged a little over four points in the playoffs and showed how predictable of a player he is. If the shot isn't falling, he is a liability.
Signing Strus was a great move to add to this younger Cleveland team. Strus has proven playoff experience and brings a lot of toughness.
Phoenix Suns:
Eric Gordon- 2 years for 6.5 million
Keita Bates-Diop- 2 years for 5 million
Drew Eubanks- 2 years for $5 million
Chimezie Metu- 1 year for 2.5 million
Yuta Watanabe- 1 year for 2.3 million
Damion Lee- 2 years for 5.3 million
Josh Okogie- 1 year for 2.3 million
The Suns made the most signings in free agency. They signed seven players with five of them being new players. The biggest one was getting Gordon to come to the desert as he provides the Suns with another veteran who is an elite shooter and has big-game experience.
Bates-Diop was my favorite signing for them besides Gordon. He averaged 9.7 points last season while shooting 39.4 percent on 3s. At 6’8” he is a versatile player that can guard multiple positions on defense.
Eubanks is another forward who can score the ball and showed off his improved jump-shot last season where he was 38.9 percent from deep. He can play power forward or small ball five.
The Suns got one of Durant’s former teammates with Watanabe. He shot an incredible 44.4 percent last season for the Nets but was somehow out of the rotation by the end of the season.
The suns hit a homerun in free agency this year. They had little to spend but made the most of every dollar. Phoenix added guards, and forwards that bring toughness and high level shooting.
Dallas Mavericks:
Kyrie Irving- 3 years for $126 million
Dwight Powell- 3 years for $12 million
Seth Curry- 2 years for $9.2 million
Dante Exum- 1 year for 2.7 million
One of the biggest question marks of this off-season was were was Irving going to end up. Although it came out before free agency began that he was going to be meeting with other teams, he ended get getting what he wanted from Dallas.
Although Kyrie is one of the most talented basketball players in the world, he just doesn't play enough games to be worth over $40 million a year.
Since leaving Boston after the 2018-19 season, he has played 20, 54, 29, and 60 games throughout the past four seasons.
If he can show that he can consistently play at least 60 games a season, then he is worth the money but until he does he isn't worth that price tag.
Dallas brought back former Mav Curry for a great price. He is still a knockdown three-point shooter and can be a good piece for this Dallas team.
Milwaukee Bucks:
Khris Middleton- 3 years for 102 million
Brook Lopez- 2 years for 48 million
Malik Beasley- 1 year for 2.7 million
Robin Lopez- 1 year for 3.1 million
Jae Crowder- 1 year minimum deal
Middleton only played 33 games in the regular season as he was injured but regained his old scoring touch in the playoffs averaging 23.8 points per game. If he can stay healthy this was a no-brainer for the Bucks because he has a great partnership with Giannis Antetokoumpo.
Lopez at 35 years old for 24 million a year is a little pricey but they couldn't afford to give up their defensive anchor that led the league in blocks last season.
Here are some other big deals from free agency:
Domantas Sabonis- 5-year $217 million extension
This was well deserved as Sabonis was a key part of the best Kings season in a very long time.
Draymond Green- signs 4-year deal with the Golden State Warriors
Green will likely wear one jersey for the rest of his career and it is good for the league. With their championship still intact Steve Kerr, Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, and Green gives them a good chance to win another ring.
Bruce Brown signs a 2-year deal with the Indiana Pacers for $45 million (PO second year)
This was the most shocking deal as no one previously expected Brown to get over $20 million a year. He showed how valuable he was to the Nuggets this season while winning a championship. Might not be worth the tag but a great role player.
Tyrese Haliburton signs a 5-year extension with the Pacers for $260 million
He is coming off an all-star season where he averaged over 20 points and 10 assists and is now locked in to be the cornerstone for the Pacers for years to come.
Desmond Bane signs a 5-year $207 million extension with the Memphis Grizzles
Bane has shown over then past two seasons that he is one of the best shooters in the league while being over 40 percent on 3s in each season. I just believe that over 40 million is a lot for a guy that hasn't made an all-star team yet.
Cam Johnson agreed to a 4-year 108 million extension with the Brooklyn Nets
Great signing for the Nets, Johnson continues to grow every season and now Brooklyn has their duo of the future with Mikal Bridges and Johnson.
LaMelo Ball signs a 5-year $260 million contract extension with the Charlotte Hornets
Ball is the face of the Hornets and it was important for them to lock him up for the next few years so he can grow with recent No. 2 pick Brandon Miller.
Herb Jones signs a 4-year deal for $54 million with the New Orleans Pelicans
Jones is a great role player and is a perfect fit next to Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram as he is a very good defensive player and improved shooter.
Donte DiVincenzo signs a 4-year contract with the New York Knicks for 50 million
Now the Knicks have the Villanova championship trio: Jalen Bruson, Josh Hart, and DiVincenzo. These guys all have a bunch of chemistry on the court and will be an incredible fit.
Jerami Grant signs a 5-year contract with the Portland Trailblazers for $160 million
This was a move that the Blazers tried to convince Lillard to stay with but now it seems like it was too late. Although the price tag seems steep, he will be a good veteran for the young players to grow around him.
It may not have been the star studded free agency that we have been used to in the past, but there were still a ton of good signigns and deals.
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