Wow, I knew next summer was going to be wild, but I didn't realize how crazy until I started really digging into it. So many great players will be hitting the market, not just LeBron, Wade, and Bosh like we hear mentioned the most. But there is also guys like Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Joe Johnson, Nash, Amare, Manu, Richard Jefferson(ETO), Boozer, Okur, Mike Miller, John Salmons, Josh Howard(Team option), Dirk (ETO), TJ Ford, Marcus Camby, Michael Redd (ETO), Tyson Chandler(ETO), Peja (ETO), Al Harrington, Larry Hughes. Now the ETOs are pretty unlikely to be exercised by the guys who have them, because none of them have out performed their contract. Yes, Dirk is great but he isn't going to get more on the open market than the 21.5 million on his option. Having big names free agents is pointless if no one has money to sign them, which is usually the case and players end up re-signing with their original team. But not next summer, several teams have cap and lots of it. It is going to be fun to watch. LeBron, Wade, and Pierce will all re-sign with their teams I am farely certain. Wade and Pierce might even get a deal done before the summer. LeBron has a chance of leaving, but I don't see it happening really, it's 2009(by then 2010 haha) it's not like Cleveland is isolated from the rest of the world, everyone already knows who LeBron is, I don't feel a move to a bigger market would grow his fan base/product endorsements/sales as much as people make it sound. Aside from the 3 I mentioned and the guys with ETOs, I could see several of those guys moving around, with the biggest name obviously being Bosh, but where each will go is anyone's guess. Any predictions?
Yes, that is why it is called the summer of LeBron; LeBron being an adjective for "super awesome happy lucky". The fact that LeBron is also a FA is purely coincidence.
What? Was that a failed attempt at a smart-ass remark? I was very much aware of "The Summer of LeBron", and I was aware of the depth of players that will be available, what I wasn't aware of was the crazy amounts of cap space several teams will have. Anyways, it will be interesting to see, because some teams are going to swing and miss on the really big names and overpay for some mediocre guys, I'm just glad we know the Rockets (Morey in particular) aren't one of them.
This was meant to be a prediction thread, I just wanted to give an overview before where I said 'Any predictions?' at the bottom.
I think a lot of teams will come out empty-handed that have been planning for it. Lebron, Wade, Dirk, Manu and Pierce will re-sign, killing the FA class. Bosh, Boozer, Amare, Joe Johnson, Ray Allen, and maybe Nash are the only other guys worth getting excited over, and with the exception of Bosh all of them won't live up to the fat contracts they receive nor will they perform at that value. The rest of those guys are just role players, and will probably end up getting overpaid as well. It's a good class but with the way everyone is gearing up for it a lot of teams are going to blow money on players that probably shouldn't get that much.
The FA pool is usually halved at the top 3 tiers by the time Valentines Day comes around. They all sign extensions.
