Post by Delap on Nov 18, 2016 22:18:29 GMT -6
Today we are looking back at the Free Agency period of the 3037 season, the 2nd year of the Dump Dynasty. It was still the worst of times. We’re going to take a look at the class in groups based on the follow contract types: MAX (anything over 12m annually), Mid-Range (above 4.5m annually up to 12m annually), MLE, and LLEs. We’ll look at the notable deals, good and bad, from each type.
MAX:
Fat Lever – PG – Phoenix Suns - $120,312,500 over 7 years
Incredibly consistent at a very high level, Fatty Fatty Fat Fat has looked great for Phoenix. He isn’t the flashiest PG in the league, but he will rarely throw in a clunker. Due to his age, the last 3 years may not be the prettiest on the ledger, but there is no sign of a fall-off. Could Fat be the best player on a championship team? Probably not… but could he be the 2nd best? Absolutely.
Julius Randle – PF/C – New Jersey Nets - $131,250,000 over 6 years
Traded after a single season to Portlandia for Nik Vucevic and 2 1sts (neither of which will likely be worth much). He’s put together solid campaign after solid campaign for his entire career. He’s become the defensive backbone of the best team in the West for the last 3 years, allowing Agent Zero and Elgin Baylor to focus entirely on the offensive end. Only issue is that he will be the 2nd highest paid player in the league (I think) his last two seasons. Is he worth that much money if Majic isn’t able to overcome his royal Dumpiness? Probably not.
James Worthy – SF – Atlanta Hawks - $93,750,000 over 6 years
Wild ride for Big Game James. Signed by Atlanta and immediately traded for 2 1sts to Milwaukee, Worthy toiled away in the Kohl’s Center for 2 years, not living up to his contract. Only after arriving in Philadelphia did he begin to reach his potential, scoring well and proving himself. However, he flew too close to the sun for Fason’s liking (and his tanking plans) and he was bought-out/waived. Yours truly swooped during the 3040 free agency period and got him for about half the cost of his previous deal, which led to the Sonics most successful season since being taken over from Yawn (or even for a few years before that.)… not that that is saying much.
Sleepy Floyd – PG – Toronto Raptors - $120,312,500 over 7 years
Signed after completing his rookie deal, Sleepy stayed on in Toronto on a pretty big deal. Probably not the equal of Fat, he has still been part of a great team north of the border. As has been the theme of every class since 3036, he has been yet another player to fall just short against the Celtics. The playoff battles with Stevie Franchise have to have knocked him emotionally… but he’s held up OK. He’s missed too many games in the last 4 years, but other than that, he’s worth the price paid. As the Raptors’ star fades, he may become a bit of an anchor on their cap at the end of his deal.
Dario Saric – SF – Philadelphia 76ers - $133,000,000 over 7 years
My vote for the best signing of the MAX players. Dario played two great years for Fason before being traded in the 76ers tank-preparation. After arriving in Cleveland for the 3039 season, Saric has been stellar, garnering awards and plaudits from all around the league. He peaked in 3040, earning a 2nd Team All-NBA nod. Not often do you see a 34 year old have the best season of his career, but we are witnessing all sorts of weird things in 2016. The next year will be quite telling, if there is no drop-off for Saric, the Cavs will remain our best hope to #neverDump.
Joel Embiid – C – Houston Rockets - $57,750,000 over 3 years
During a short “MAX” deal, Embiid showed out and was a dominant center along with Patrick Ewing. If at any point during the deal you put money on Embiid blocking 3.3 shots a game, you’d come up a winner, along with rebounding averages over 14.0 each year. He scored efficiently and stayed in his lane. He has since signed another short “MAX” deal, and will be (I think) the highest paid player in the league in 3041 and 3042.
George Mikan – C – Chicago Bulls – $79,203,128 over 6 years
The worst of the MAX deals… Mikan is probably an average center in the league, if that. He blocks shots very well, but his rebounding is moribund. Fortunately for Lip, his deal expires soonish and Chicago can move on from the Bruns era.
Mid-Level Deals:
Johnny Cox – SF – Milwaukee Bucks - $23,000,000 over 5 years
Worst deal of the year. Johnny still hasn’t done anything worth a minimum deal in 4 seasons, let alone 4.6m per. Not strong on offense, even worse on defense.
Dominique Wilkins – SF – New Jersey Nets - $59,500,000 over 7 years
Long-term deal for decent money and he has showed up bigtime. Elite defender, great scorer, and a 2-time Slam Dunk Champion (which is what we are all playing for). Overall the best deal of the 3037 season. Good job Nets.
Wang Zhi-Zhi – C – Toronto Raptors - $4,900,000 over one year
One year too early. He was rejuvenated by the training staff in Phoenix in 3038. In 3037? Pretty crap output. Not a fan.
Rowdy Eavenson – PG – San Antonio Spurs - $5,000,000 over one year
After 10 years of pretty amazing play came to a crashing halt in 3037. There was no reason to see it coming, but he fell hard. Ended up being a bad buy for the year.
Tanner Cousy – SG – Philadelphia 76ers - $5,000,000 over one year
Solid backup year for a 59 win team. Cousy turned in a solid performance, hitting good percentages from everywhere on the court. Very good signing.
Ousmane Cisse – C – Houston Rockets – $6,000,000 over one year
Arvydas Sabonis - C – Houston Rockets – $9,000,000 over one year
William Avery – PG – Houston Rockets – $9,000,000 over one year
Clark Kellogg – SF – Houston Rockets – $22,500,000 over 3 years
Lumping these all together, because somehow Ward2Dunn ended up trading all of them before the season ended. He ended up with Allan Houston, Tristan Thompson, and Benji Wilson (and ended up losing a few draft picks to do so, as well). Not really sure if this was an overall move in the right direction, just find it worth noting that Ward is not loyal to free agents and they probably shouldn’t trust him in the future.
Wyatt Summit – SF – Miami Fire Sale – $25,000,000 over 5 years
Still on the block, perpetually on the block. Not a really good player at all. Wasn’t worth the contract then, even worse now. Close to the worst deal of the year.
MLE:
Adrien Payne – PF – New Jersey Nets
Mediocre season, only appeared in 49 games. A once great player who fell off substantially. MLE definitely an overpay.
Walt Williams – SF – Seattle SuperSonics
Walt actually put together an excellent season for the Sonics off the bench, playing the 3 and the 4. Averaged 2 blocks a game in 22 minutes while shooting 47% from 3. In terms of helping a winning team, this wasn’t the most impactful, but I’m gonna go ahead and say he was the best individual player on an MLE this season.
LaSalle Thompson – C – Boston Celtics
The biggest impact of any MLE from the 3037 off-season. Dude averaged 4.1 blocks/game while scoring and rebounding enough to be a net positive for the championship team. Dump may have won titles with the arrival of Jimmy/Larry, but his MLE/LLE spending was on-point.
Jusuf Nurkic – C – Portland Trailblazers
All defense, no offense, and very effective. Great buy, fair price. Great frontcourt-mate with the more offensive minded Vucevic.
Broderick Williamson – C – Kansas City Kings
Signed to be the 3rd big in a rotation, Broderick played some solid defense, but just putrid offense. Halfway decent signing, but probably could’ve been had for an LLE.
Ruben Boumtjie-Boumtjie – C – Minnesota Timberwolves
Traded immediately to the Knickerbockers and benched. Boumtjie-squared didn’t play a minute in the 3037 season. In defense of the Wolves, they got Peaked in High School Isaiah Canaan… but oh wait, he played all season and kinda sucked. Pretty blah all around.
LLE:
Lee Mayberry – PG – Boston Celtics
Mr. Mayberry is a consistent 10MPG player for Dump, scoring at a pretty nice clip given his court time. He keeps signing single year deals and Dump keeps gladly handing him money. Good deal for a good player.
Ronald Savage – SF – Houston Rockets
A quiet end for a heralded All-Star. He would only appear in 9 games and go out like a mouse after living his life like the best lion ever.
MAX:
Fat Lever – PG – Phoenix Suns - $120,312,500 over 7 years
Incredibly consistent at a very high level, Fatty Fatty Fat Fat has looked great for Phoenix. He isn’t the flashiest PG in the league, but he will rarely throw in a clunker. Due to his age, the last 3 years may not be the prettiest on the ledger, but there is no sign of a fall-off. Could Fat be the best player on a championship team? Probably not… but could he be the 2nd best? Absolutely.
Julius Randle – PF/C – New Jersey Nets - $131,250,000 over 6 years
Traded after a single season to Portlandia for Nik Vucevic and 2 1sts (neither of which will likely be worth much). He’s put together solid campaign after solid campaign for his entire career. He’s become the defensive backbone of the best team in the West for the last 3 years, allowing Agent Zero and Elgin Baylor to focus entirely on the offensive end. Only issue is that he will be the 2nd highest paid player in the league (I think) his last two seasons. Is he worth that much money if Majic isn’t able to overcome his royal Dumpiness? Probably not.
James Worthy – SF – Atlanta Hawks - $93,750,000 over 6 years
Wild ride for Big Game James. Signed by Atlanta and immediately traded for 2 1sts to Milwaukee, Worthy toiled away in the Kohl’s Center for 2 years, not living up to his contract. Only after arriving in Philadelphia did he begin to reach his potential, scoring well and proving himself. However, he flew too close to the sun for Fason’s liking (and his tanking plans) and he was bought-out/waived. Yours truly swooped during the 3040 free agency period and got him for about half the cost of his previous deal, which led to the Sonics most successful season since being taken over from Yawn (or even for a few years before that.)… not that that is saying much.
Sleepy Floyd – PG – Toronto Raptors - $120,312,500 over 7 years
Signed after completing his rookie deal, Sleepy stayed on in Toronto on a pretty big deal. Probably not the equal of Fat, he has still been part of a great team north of the border. As has been the theme of every class since 3036, he has been yet another player to fall just short against the Celtics. The playoff battles with Stevie Franchise have to have knocked him emotionally… but he’s held up OK. He’s missed too many games in the last 4 years, but other than that, he’s worth the price paid. As the Raptors’ star fades, he may become a bit of an anchor on their cap at the end of his deal.
Dario Saric – SF – Philadelphia 76ers - $133,000,000 over 7 years
My vote for the best signing of the MAX players. Dario played two great years for Fason before being traded in the 76ers tank-preparation. After arriving in Cleveland for the 3039 season, Saric has been stellar, garnering awards and plaudits from all around the league. He peaked in 3040, earning a 2nd Team All-NBA nod. Not often do you see a 34 year old have the best season of his career, but we are witnessing all sorts of weird things in 2016. The next year will be quite telling, if there is no drop-off for Saric, the Cavs will remain our best hope to #neverDump.
Joel Embiid – C – Houston Rockets - $57,750,000 over 3 years
During a short “MAX” deal, Embiid showed out and was a dominant center along with Patrick Ewing. If at any point during the deal you put money on Embiid blocking 3.3 shots a game, you’d come up a winner, along with rebounding averages over 14.0 each year. He scored efficiently and stayed in his lane. He has since signed another short “MAX” deal, and will be (I think) the highest paid player in the league in 3041 and 3042.
George Mikan – C – Chicago Bulls – $79,203,128 over 6 years
The worst of the MAX deals… Mikan is probably an average center in the league, if that. He blocks shots very well, but his rebounding is moribund. Fortunately for Lip, his deal expires soonish and Chicago can move on from the Bruns era.
Mid-Level Deals:
Johnny Cox – SF – Milwaukee Bucks - $23,000,000 over 5 years
Worst deal of the year. Johnny still hasn’t done anything worth a minimum deal in 4 seasons, let alone 4.6m per. Not strong on offense, even worse on defense.
Dominique Wilkins – SF – New Jersey Nets - $59,500,000 over 7 years
Long-term deal for decent money and he has showed up bigtime. Elite defender, great scorer, and a 2-time Slam Dunk Champion (which is what we are all playing for). Overall the best deal of the 3037 season. Good job Nets.
Wang Zhi-Zhi – C – Toronto Raptors - $4,900,000 over one year
One year too early. He was rejuvenated by the training staff in Phoenix in 3038. In 3037? Pretty crap output. Not a fan.
Rowdy Eavenson – PG – San Antonio Spurs - $5,000,000 over one year
After 10 years of pretty amazing play came to a crashing halt in 3037. There was no reason to see it coming, but he fell hard. Ended up being a bad buy for the year.
Tanner Cousy – SG – Philadelphia 76ers - $5,000,000 over one year
Solid backup year for a 59 win team. Cousy turned in a solid performance, hitting good percentages from everywhere on the court. Very good signing.
Ousmane Cisse – C – Houston Rockets – $6,000,000 over one year
Arvydas Sabonis - C – Houston Rockets – $9,000,000 over one year
William Avery – PG – Houston Rockets – $9,000,000 over one year
Clark Kellogg – SF – Houston Rockets – $22,500,000 over 3 years
Lumping these all together, because somehow Ward2Dunn ended up trading all of them before the season ended. He ended up with Allan Houston, Tristan Thompson, and Benji Wilson (and ended up losing a few draft picks to do so, as well). Not really sure if this was an overall move in the right direction, just find it worth noting that Ward is not loyal to free agents and they probably shouldn’t trust him in the future.
Wyatt Summit – SF – Miami Fire Sale – $25,000,000 over 5 years
Still on the block, perpetually on the block. Not a really good player at all. Wasn’t worth the contract then, even worse now. Close to the worst deal of the year.
MLE:
Adrien Payne – PF – New Jersey Nets
Mediocre season, only appeared in 49 games. A once great player who fell off substantially. MLE definitely an overpay.
Walt Williams – SF – Seattle SuperSonics
Walt actually put together an excellent season for the Sonics off the bench, playing the 3 and the 4. Averaged 2 blocks a game in 22 minutes while shooting 47% from 3. In terms of helping a winning team, this wasn’t the most impactful, but I’m gonna go ahead and say he was the best individual player on an MLE this season.
LaSalle Thompson – C – Boston Celtics
The biggest impact of any MLE from the 3037 off-season. Dude averaged 4.1 blocks/game while scoring and rebounding enough to be a net positive for the championship team. Dump may have won titles with the arrival of Jimmy/Larry, but his MLE/LLE spending was on-point.
Jusuf Nurkic – C – Portland Trailblazers
All defense, no offense, and very effective. Great buy, fair price. Great frontcourt-mate with the more offensive minded Vucevic.
Broderick Williamson – C – Kansas City Kings
Signed to be the 3rd big in a rotation, Broderick played some solid defense, but just putrid offense. Halfway decent signing, but probably could’ve been had for an LLE.
Ruben Boumtjie-Boumtjie – C – Minnesota Timberwolves
Traded immediately to the Knickerbockers and benched. Boumtjie-squared didn’t play a minute in the 3037 season. In defense of the Wolves, they got Peaked in High School Isaiah Canaan… but oh wait, he played all season and kinda sucked. Pretty blah all around.
LLE:
Lee Mayberry – PG – Boston Celtics
Mr. Mayberry is a consistent 10MPG player for Dump, scoring at a pretty nice clip given his court time. He keeps signing single year deals and Dump keeps gladly handing him money. Good deal for a good player.
Ronald Savage – SF – Houston Rockets
A quiet end for a heralded All-Star. He would only appear in 9 games and go out like a mouse after living his life like the best lion ever.
