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NBA free-agent winners and losers so far
The NBA free agency news has been coming fast and furious since July 1 and it figures to stay that way until teams can start making signings official on Wednesday. Here’s a look at some of the winners and losers through Saturday:
Winner, Heat: Ray Allen, the league’s all-time leader in 3-point field goals, is leaving Boston to join the NBA champions. Allen, who rejected a two-year, $12 million offer from the Celtics to take a two-year, $6.3 million deal from the Heat, will be Miami’s 12th player under contract, and the Heat aren’t done. Veteran forward Rashard Lewis will visit Heat headquarters today and has given indications that he would not necessarily be opposed to accepting a $1.3 million minimum contract from Miami. The Heat can add players only to minimum contracts because their $3.1 million exception is going to Allen. (Lynne Sladky / Associated Press)
Winner, Nets: Whether or not they ever add Dwight Howard, they were able to keep All-Star point guard Deron Williams for the move to Brooklyn. (Mel Evans / Associated Press)
Winner, Nets: Whether or not they ever add Dwight Howard, they were able to attract All-Star shooting guard Joe Johnson for the move to Brooklyn. (Rich Addicks / Associated Press)
Winner, Jeremy Lin: Back in December, the Houston Rockets waived a no-name guard making around $700,000 in his second year in the league. Last week, the Rockets helped make him a rich man with a four-year, $28.8 million offer the Knicks are sure to match once they are able to this week. If the calculator is working properly, that’s a pay raise of better than 1,000 percent. (Seth Wenig / Associated Press)
Winner, Elton Brand: Now that the Philadelphia 76ers have waived him, he has a shot at catching on with a title contender. Brand may not become a legitimate 20-10 threat at power forward again like he was in his years with Chicago and the Clippers, but he was as steady and durable as any Sixer the past two seasons. (Jesse D. Garrabrant / NBAE via Getty Images)
Winner, George Hill: The popular former Spurs guard agreed to a five-year deal to stay with his hometown Indiana Pacers. Terms haven’t been disclosed. Without him, the Spurs wouldn’t have obtained Kawhi Leonard in the 2011 draft-day deal, so it’s good to see one of the NBA’s good guys get rewarded. (Michael Conroy / Associated Press)
Loser, Mavericks: After winning the NBA title, they traded Tyson Chandler to the Knicks and started dreaming of the day they would sign Deron Williams and Dwight Howard. Well, Howard decided to stay in Orlando for at least another year before demanding a trade to Brooklyn or elsewhere, and Williams will be a Brooklyn Net after all. Jason Kidd is off to the Knicks. Jason Terry is off to Boston. It looks like Dirk Nowitzki will be playing with Shawn Marion, Roddy Beaubois and three draft picks next season. (Eric Gay / Associated Press)
Loser, Rockets: It will be a surprise if the Knicks don’t match their offer to Jeremy Lin. It looks like they will lose Goran Dragic, whose presence forced them to waive Lin, to the Suns. And Houston will trade Kyle Lowry to the Raptors. That leaves Courtney Fortson and Scott Machado on the roster, so you would assume GM Daryl Morey has his eye on someone else. But they do have first-round draft picks Royce White (from left), Terrence Jones and Jeremy Lamb. (Pat Sullivan / Associated Press)
Loser, Steve Nash: Less than a week after saying he could never see himself putting on a Lakers uniform, Nash asked for and got a trade to the Lakers. Really, it’s the Spurs he could never play for, since they have eliminated him from the playoffs six times. (Ross D. Franklin / Associated Press)
The NBA free agency news has been coming fast and furious since July 1 and it figures to stay that way until teams can start making signings official on Wednesday. Here’s a look at some of the winners and losers through Saturday:
WINNERS
Heat: Ray Allen, the league’s all-time leader in 3-point field goals, is leaving Boston to join the NBA champions. Allen, who rejected a two-year, $12 million offer from the Celtics to take a two-year, $6.3 million deal from the Heat, will be Miami’s 12th player under contract, and the Heat aren’t done.
Veteran forward Rashard Lewis will visit Heat headquarters today and has given indications that he would not necessarily be opposed to accepting a $1.3 million minimum contract from Miami.
The Heat can add players only to minimum contracts because their $3.1 million exception is going to Allen.
Nets: Whether or not they ever add Dwight Howard, they were able to keep All-Star point guard Deron Williams and attract All-Star shooting guard Joe Johnson for the move to Brooklyn.
Jeremy Lin: Back in December, the Houston Rockets waived a no-name guard making around $700,000 in his second year in the league. Last week, the Rockets helped make him a rich man with a four-year, $28.8 million offer the Knicks are sure to match once they are able to this week.
If the calculator is working properly, that’s a pay raise of better than 1,000 percent.
Elton Brand: Now that the Philadelphia 76ers have waived him, he has a shot at catching on with a title contender.
Brand may not become a legitimate 20-10 threat at power forward again like he was in his years with Chicago and the Clippers, but he was as steady and durable as any Sixer the past two seasons.
George Hill: The popular former Spurs guard agreed to a five-year deal to stay with his hometown Indiana Pacers. Terms haven’t been disclosed. Without him, the Spurs wouldn’t have obtained Kawhi Leonard in the 2011 draft-day deal, so it’s good to see one of the NBA’s good guys get rewarded.
LOSERS
Mavericks: After winning the NBA title, they traded Tyson Chandler to the Knicks and started dreaming of the day they would sign Williams and Howard.
Well, Howard decided to stay in Orlando for at least another year before demanding a trade to Brooklyn or elsewhere, and Williams will be a Brooklyn Net after all.
Jason Kidd is off to the Knicks. Jason Terry is off to Boston.
It looks like Dirk Nowitzki will be playing with Shawn Marion, Roddy Beaubois and three draft picks next season.
Rockets: It will be a surprise if the Knicks don’t match their offer to Lin. It looks like they will lose Goran Dragic, whose presence forced them to waive Lin, to the Suns. And Houston will trade Kyle Lowry to the Raptors.
That leaves Courtney Fortson and Scott Machado on the roster, so you would assume GM Daryl Morey has his eye on someone else.
Steve Nash: Less than a week after saying he could never see himself putting on a Lakers uniform, Nash asked for and got a trade to the Lakers.
Really, it’s the Spurs he could never play for, since they have eliminated him from the playoffs six times.
The Associated Press, Houston Chronicle and Miami Herald contributed to this report.
