Actually the amount we have is less cause it looks that guy we picked in the draft is getting signed. It is safe to say unless the cap goes up significantly we won't have max money.
I don't think it will be free agency either, but not because of the teams you mentioned. It's mainly because we won't have absolute max salary available anyway due to Ariza and Bev's cap hold. Up until December, Morey is going to be feverishly adding assets to try to flip at the trade deadline. Right now we have two significant assets for a trade: 1) NOP 2015 1st 2) The ability to take on significant salary, allowing a team to unload unfavorable contracts (Kevin Martin, for example). We could improve this by aggregating up all our non-guaranteed contracts into one significant expiring. I fully expect Morey to do this in September, when Gee and the other guy NOP sent to us are eligible to be traded again. I think to close a deal for a major free agent, we also need the following: 3) A young player that shows all-star potential. By all-star potential, I mean they need to look like Jeremy Lamb before we traded him. One thing we don't lack for is young talent: TJones, DMo, Capela, Canaan, Covington, Johnson, and Daniels. If just one of these guys can show not just that they belong, but can improve and have a high ceiling, I think he can be a major asset for us. 4) An established "win now" type player. This is what Asik was before we flipped him for a pick. He needs to fit the needs of the team he's sent to and be on a 1 to 2 year contract. Very similar to Kevin Martin. This is the "total package" of a good offer. Our euros and other picks are throwins....not the real core of the trade. If I'm Minnesota, here's what I want in return for Kevin Love: 1) A good to great pick. The NOP 1st satisfies this. 2) I want to unload Martin AND Budinger with Love. This clears them of all negative assets, and moves them past the Rick Adleman era. Martin is signed through the 2016/2017 season (player option) and Budinger is signed through the 2015/2016 season (also player option). Bad contracts. Perhaps we could move one of them to a 3rd team for a 2nd rounder and cash. 3) A young PF that fits next to Pekovic (who they are married to for the long term - 2017/2018). An athletic rim protector with a jumpshot. Capela has half of that, but he needs to show it on the court. 4) A SG, SF, or PF whose contract expires in a year or two and brings a needed skill to the table. A few names to consider: Thad Young, Taj Gibson, and Ilyasova. Thad and Gibson are going to cost you something. I would prefer to try to resurrect Ilyasova, who would likely only cost our Lin TPE. He's got a non-guaranteed year in 2016/2017 and we could probably unload him with our 2016 1st (after the 2015 draft) like Lin if we really needed the cap space.
Ariza is a positive contract that is easily traded. We have a trade exception, we have a quality lottery draft pick, and cap room.
We don't have that, thanks to the Lin trade. Lost $8.375M in matching, plus a 1st round pick. Our assets are Capela, Jones, and the Pelicans pick. That isn't going to land a 3rd star. It definitely isn't going to land Kevin Love. It wouldn't even land a, terrible fit, Rajon Rondo. And then 2015 FA only will add Dragic and Millsap as options. Neither are clearly better than Parsons and both will cost as much. And we won't even have that money if we have support players like Jones, Beverly, Daniels, and DMo. Our upper limit is probably more like $12M a year to attract someone without completely gutting the team outside of Harden, Howard, Ariza, Beverly, Jones. And I think we all know that if we gut our bench for a FA like Dragic or Millsap, who really aren't much better than Parsons, we won't be winning a championship in 2015-16.
