Phoenix Suns | Graham Chapple

I love the off-season. The draft is always fun but free agency is another beast entirely, as fans, writers and even league executives await a tweet that reveals a free agent’s destination, a change in fortunes, a change in scenery, a change in direction…it all happens in free agency if it hasn’t happened in the draft.

And this year’s free agents class is chock-full of great players. Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, Blake Griffin, Gordon Hayward Kyle Lowry and Paul Millsap to name a few. Sure, not all free agents will necessarily leave their teams but free agency is a wild beast. You just don’t know…

There’s so much talent available this summer, far exceeding last year’s free agency class. From potential franchise changers to role players…it’s all here this summer.

Quite a number of teams are already regretting how much money they spent last season. Teams like Houston already looking to move on from Ryan Anderson, Atlanta possibly from Kent Bazemore… I think you’re going to find that the teams who didn’t spend all of their cap space for the sake of spending (Boston, Denver, Phoenix etc.) are going to be the teams with a huge say in free agency this season.

Because teams might look to move on from the mistakes of years past, I think you could see a lot more trades that relieve salary so that they can become involved in free agency this season, which may cost teams valuable assets. Look at the Lakers, they had to sacrifice D’Angelo Russell just to dump that horrible Timofey Mozgov contract. The Nets are ultimately going to reap the benefits of the Lakers’ mistake, even if they’re left with Mozgov for a few years.

That’s just one story, are there similar ones waiting to be written when July 1st hits?

We’ve already seen superstars under contract on the move via trade. Chris Paul and Jimmy Butler so far but surely there’s more to follow, and you’d imagine Paul George will eventually join this club. What if OKC can’t convince newly crowned MVP Russell Westbrook to sign another extension? That’s an interesting thought.

Chicago are in an interesting spot. They’re clearly heading for a rebuild but their veterans (Rajon Rondo and Dwyane Wade) will surely seek a way out of Chicago and I think you’ll see them wiggle free. Who knows where they’ll end up.

Boston haven’t looked great recently. With the Timberwolves package that the Bulls ultimately settled for, the Celtics could’ve easily have gotten involved and acquired Jimmy Butler. That’s just a fact. They’ve seemingly been reluctant to overpay but it’s cost them the opportunity at acquiring one star. How will free agency play out?

Restricted free agency should be interesting as always. The Brooklyn Nets are always in play in this market, just waiting to catch playoff teams unawares with big offer sheets that they may not be willing to match. Players like Tim Hardaway Jr., KCP, Andre Roberson and Otto Porter could be pried away with big money offer sheets.

Miami are my team to keep an eye on. Watch out for them, think they’ll be big players in free agency, especially if there’s a resolution to be found with Chris Bosh that will free up a lot of cap space. They’re my favourites to land Gordon Hayward.

Let’s do some predictions. Those are always fun.

Who stays?

Curry and Durant stay, that’s for sure. I think Serge Ibaka stays in Toronto along with Kyle Lowry as will Jrue Holiday in New Orleans — they simply have to keep him.

Who’s leaving? Lots of players.

Griffin, Millsap, Hayward (NOT to Boston…), I think some team will pry Andre Iguodala away from Golden State with an offer he can’t refuse, JJ Redick will leave as will Danilo Gallinari.

It’s going to be a wild summer filled with bad contracts no doubt but, hey, you never know.

Draft Day 2017 Thoughts

Posted on June 22, 2017 by Graham Chapple

Feature image Source: Christian Petersen/Getty Images North America)

Probably my favourite NBA day of the year is here: Draft Day.

It’s just an exciting time for nearly everyone involved (except the Brooklyn Nets this time around). Young players seeing their dreams come true and for floundering franchises the chance to start over. It’s a celebration and culmination of years of hard work.

With the draft comes immense excitement: who’s going to be selected where and what trades (TRADES!!!) might arise. Last year, we had a very exciting trade which sent Serge Ibaka to Orlando and Victor Oladipo, Ersan Ilyasova and the pick that became Domantas Sabonis. In the build up to this draft we’ve already seen D’Angelo Russell (the 2nd overall pick in 2015) traded to Brooklyn and Dwight Howard traded to Charlotte, with other teams rumoured to be trying to trade in/out of the top 5. It’s been exciting.

Markelle Fultz seems to be an absolute lock for the first overall pick for the Sixers, who I think did the right thing in trading up to number 1 — it’s time to get their point guard. Lonzo Ball is also a lock at number 2 with the Lakers, who all but confirmed their intentions when they traded away Russell. I’m disappointed. My ONE hope for this draft was that Ball wouldn’t fall to the Lakers, that’s not happening now…

The Celtics control this draft from the third spot. There has been talk of them perhaps leaning towards Jayson Tatum over Josh Jackson, perhaps they see Tatum similar to a Paul Pierce-type of player? I’d be surprised to see them draft Tatum over Jackson.

De’Aaron Fox is also an interesting player, but surely he falls past Phoenix at 4? They have so many point guards/guards, they either pass on Fox or make a significant trade involving either Brandon Knight or Eric Bledsoe.

After Fultz, Ball, Jackson, Fox and Tatum, the draft really opens up. Lauri Markkenen, Malik Monk, Dennis Smith Jr., Jonathan Isaac and Zach Collins… It’s going to be fascinating to see where they all end up.

My hope is for an unpredictable and entertaining draft with some juicy trades. That’s all I’m looking for tonight.