not when the team keeps him restricted until pretty much all the other teams already have made their moves.
This is a fantasy that fits your narrative. I count six teams that still have cap space and other teams signed people after Sully.
http://www.spotrac.com/nba/cap/Here are guys who signed after Sully:
July 12 updates
2:03 p.m. ET: The Detroit Pistons have signed center Boban Marjanovic to a three-year, $21 million contract. Detroit announced the deal Tuesday after the San Antonio Spurs didn't match Detroit's offer for the restricted free agent.
1:58 p.m. ET: The Brooklyn Nets reached a one-year contract agreement with veteran forward Luis Scola, a source confirmed. Scola, 36, started 76 games for the Toronto Raptors last season, averaging 8.7 points and shooting 40.4 percent from 3-point range.
12:27 p.m. ET: The New York Knicks have agreed to a one-year deal with Sasha Vujacic for the veteran's minimum, league sources confirm to ESPN. Vujacic, a nine-year vet, averaged 4.9 points per game on 38 percent shooting last season, his first with the Knicks.
12:40 a.m. ET: Free agent forward Kris Humphries has agreed to a one-year, $4 million deal to remain with the Atlanta Hawks, league sources tell The Vertical. The 12-year veteran confirmed the deal on Twitter.
July 13 updates
2:40 p.m. ET: The Minnesota Timberwolves agreed to terms with free agent forward Jordan Hill on a two-year, $8 million contract, according to reports. Hill averaged 8.8 points and 6.2 rebounds for the Indiana Pacers last year.
July 14 updates
7:58 p.m. ET: The San Antonio Spurs completed a flurry of moves Thursday by signing backcourt mainstay Manu Ginobili to a one-year deal at an estimated $14 million, according to league sources. The Spurs announced the re-signing of Ginobili on Thursday night after first using their salary-cap space to sign former All-Star center Pau Gasol, Latvian import Davis Bertans, rookie Dejounte Murray, big man Dewayne Dedmon and young guards Ryan Arcidiacono and Bryn Forbes.
6:36 p.m. ET: The Dallas Mavericks have agreed to a two-year deal for the minimum salary with power forward Quincy Acy, according to a league source. The deal does not include any options for the second season. Acy, 25, is a four-year veteran with career averages of 4.5 points and 3.6 rebounds per game in limited roles with the Toronto Raptors, New York Knicks and Sacramento Kings.
6:20 p.m. ET: Free-agent forward Terrence Jones has agreed to sign a one-year contract with the New Orleans Pelicans, according to league sources. The Pelicans, as it stands, can offer only a one-year minimum contract, but sources say New Orleans is working to create sufficient financial wiggle room to get Jones' 2016-17 into the $1.5 million range.
6:13 p.m. ET: Anderson Varejao has agreed to return to the Golden State Warriors, according to league sources. Sources told ESPN.com that the Warriors and Varejao are close to finalizing a one-year deal that will bring the Brazilian back to Oakland after Golden State signed the longtime former Cleveland Cavalier in March.
1:10 p.m. ET: The Brooklyn Nets have agreed with free agent Anthony Bennett on a two-year deal worth the veteran's minimum, sources confirmed. Bennett, the No. 1 overall pick by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2013, averaged 1.5 points and 1.2 rebounds per game with the Toronto Raptors in 2015-16. Brooklyn also reached deals Thursday with free agents Randy Foye and Joe Harris, according to reports.
July 15 updates
5:53 p.m. ET: The Philadelphia 76ers have signed international prospect Dario Saric two years after they acquired his rights on a draft-night deal in 2014. The 22-year-old Saric, a 6-foot-10, 243-pound power forward, was named MVP of the 2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament after averaging 14 points, 10 rebounds and two assists for his native Croatia.
July 18 updates
12:29 p.m. ET: Restricted free agent big man Miles Plumlee is re-signing with the Milwaukee Bucks on a four-year deal worth $52 million, according to his agent. Plumlee averaged 5.1 points and 3.8 rebounds in 61 games with the Bucks last season.
July 19 updates
12:55 a.m. ET: Veteran sharpshooter Mike Miller is nearing agreement on a two-year deal in the $6 million range to return to the Denver Nuggets, league sources tell ESPN's Marc Stein. Miller, 36, played last season in Denver after spending four of the previous five seasons alongside close friend LeBron James in Miami and Cleveland.
July 20 updates
5:23 p.m. ET: The Chicago Bulls have signed three-year veteran guard Isaiah Canaan, the team announced. Terms of the contract were not released. Canaan spent most of the past two seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers and averaged a career-high 11.0 points per game last season while shooting 36 percent from the field and just over 36 percent from long range.
10:26 a.m. ET: The Los Angeles Clippers have signed forward Brandon Bass, who joins them after playing last season for the Los Angeles Lakers, averaging 7.2 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 66 games off the bench
July 21 updates
1:17 p.m. ET: Alonzo Gee will return to the New Orleans Pelicans, his agency, Priority Sports, announced on Thursday. Gee is expected to sign a one-year deal, as first reported by The Vertical. New Orleans has also officially announced the free-agent signings of Solomon Hill, E'Twaun Moore and Langston Galloway.
12:33 p.m. ET: The Indiana Pacers have announced the signing of free-agent guard Aaron Brooks. An eight-year veteran, Brooks averaged 7.1 points and 2.6 assists per game last season in a reserve role for the Chicago Bulls.
July 23 update
11:17 a.m. ET: The Boston Celtics will sign free-agent swingman Gerald Green, and have agreed to a deal with restricted free agent Tyler Zeller sources confirmed to ESPN. The news of Green's signing was first reported by the Sporting News, while Zeller's news was first reported by the Boston Herald.Green is expected to ink a one-year deal with the team that originally selected him with the No. 18 pick in the 2005 draft.
July 25 updates
3:05 p.m. ET: The Miami Heat and free agent guard Dion Waiters have agreed to a two-year contract worth $6 million with a player option in the second year of the deal, as first reported Monday by The Vertical and confirmed by ESPN. Waiters averaged 9.8 points for the Oklahoma City Thunder last season.
1:34 p.m. ET: The Portland Trail Blazers and the NBA's reigning Most Improved Player C.J. McCollum have reached an agreement on a four-year extension worth $106 million, ESPN's Ramona Shelburne confirmed. McCollum averaged career highs of 20.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 80 games last season.
July 26 update
4:30 p.m. ET: Restricted free agent Maurice Harkless has signed a new four-year, $42 million deal to stay with the Portland Trail Blazers, his agent told ESPN.com's Marc Stein. The Blazers' signing of Harkless follows Monday's contract extension with reigning NBA Most Improved Player C.J. McCollum,
4:07 p.m. ET: Amar'e Stoudemire has signed a contract with the New York Knicks and subsequently announced his retirement from the NBA, the team announced. In 14 seasons for the Knicks, Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat, Stoudemire averaged 18.9 points and 7.8 rebounds in 846 career games. Stoudemire, 33, announced that he will play in Israel next season.
July 28 updates
6:06 p.m. ET: Free agent David Lee is joining the San Antonio Spurs, according to agent Mark Bartelstein. The former All-Star is signing a two-year, $3.2 million deal with the Spurs with a player option for Year 2, Bartelstein told ESPN. Lee, 33, split last season between Boston and Dallas after winning a title with Golden State the year before.
4:30 p.m. ET: The Washington Wizards have re-signed reserve guard Marcus Thornton. General manager Ernie Grunfeld callled Thornton "a proven veteran who gives us experience and scoring off the bench and will add depth at the 2-guard position.
Aug. 2 update
2:28 p.m. ET: The Cleveland Cavaliers have agreed to a one-year, $1.5 million (veteran's minimum) deal to re-sign James Jones, sources told ESPN's Brian Windhorst. Jones, who will be entering his 14th season, played in 48 games last year, averaging 3.7 points and shooting 40 percent from the field.
Aug. 17 updates
12:03 p.m. ET: Paul Pierce has decided to return to the NBA for a 19th season, league sources told the Orange County Register. Pierce has debated whether to retire or play a second season with the LA Clippers.
11:43 a.m. ET: The Los Angeles Lakers are finalizing a deal to bring China star Yi Jianlian back to the NBA. Sources told ESPN that the Lakers and Yi have agreed to terms and are in the latter stages of cementing a one-year deal in the $8 million range for the veteran forward to return to the NBA for the first time since the 2011-12 season.
Aug. 23 updates
12:07 a.m. ET: The Milwaukee Bucks have signed free-agent guard Jason Terry, the team announced Monday. Terms were not disclosed. The 17-year NBA veteran spent the past two seasons with Houston. Terry played in 72 games, including seven starts, with the Rockets last season, averaging 5.9 points, 1.4 assists and 1.1 rebounds in 17.5 minutes per game.
Aug. 29 update
8:16 a.m. ET: Free agent Ty Lawson confirmed to ESPN's Josina Anderson that he has agreed to a one-year deal with the Sacramento Kings. The unrestricted free-agent point guard signed with the Indiana Pacers in March after being bought out by the Houston Rockets. He averaged 4.9 points and 4.4 assists in 13 regular-season games for Indiana after the deal.
Sept. 7 update
5:58 p.m. ET: The Philadelphia 76ers have re-signed free-agent forward Elton Brand, bringing back a veteran who played 17 games and averaged 4.1 points with Philadelphia last season. Brand, 37, hasn't averaged more than 20 minutes per game since 2012-13.
http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/16647240/nba-free-agency-2016-latest-news-buzz-rumorsPlease note that all these above individuals were signed after Sullinger. You can see some teams still had cash, some of these guys were paid more than Sully too. Ainge would not have matched an offer because he let him walk for money, so forgive me if I do not buy the other teams were broke. Not one team thought he was worth the risk because of his history. He fell apart last year down the stretch despite a nice start and vanished in the playoffs. He could not even pull it together during a contract year and that is sad and it hurt his free agency and pocketbook.
I think the cumulative effects of not getting into shape, gaining weight during the season, and being oft injured as a result combined with a glaring lack of improvement in his shooting let Ainge conclude that he was expendable.
Topic: did sully betray ainge,brad,teammates and fans (Read 6169 times)