Free agency starts / reported signings (merged)

[Who]

Trade idea: RJ Barrett and a pick for Siakam

RJ Barrett is Canadian, right? I am not sure. A coming home move for him. Their long term SG next to S Barnes at SF.

NY uses Siakam at SF next to Randle at PF. Brunson at PG. That is an interesting mix.

[Who]

Trade idea: Ben Simmons and 2 firsts for Siakam

G: Dinwiddie, D Smith Jr
G: Mikal Bridges, L Walker IV
F: Cam Johnson, R O'Neale
F: P Siakam, D Finney Smith
C: Nic Claxton, (D Sharpe)

[Who]

I wonder if Chicago would make a run at Siakam. Would Toronto be interested in a reunion with DeRozan? Probably not. Zach LaVine is their only other big contract. I presume Lonzo Ball is untradeable with his injury issues.

There has been talk of Chicago considering moving LaVine. Would they move LaVine for Siakam? Siakam may walk at the end of the season. Then again, Chicago gets cap flexability if he walks so not all bad. Similar to Toronto trading DeRozan for Kawhi all those years ago.

I like Siakam (PF) next to Vucevic (C). Big forward position has been a problem for Chicago throughout Vuce's reign there.


Golden State should make a push for Siakam. I would offer either Klay, Kuminga and Moody for Siakam.

G: Steph, CP3
G: Wiggins
F: Siakam
F: Draymond
C: Looney


Lakers don't have the contracts to offer at this point but I imagine they'd offer up D'Angelo Russell and Hachimura for Siakam later in the season. Maybe need to include a pick.

G: G Vincent
G: A Reaves
F: LeBron
F: Siakam
C: A Davis


Dallas could make an offer based around Timmy Hardaway Jr and future picks. Siakam would be an interesting partner with Luka at forward. Maybe need to include McGee as well for cap reasons.

G: Kyrie, Seth Curry, Exum
G: Josh Green, J Hardy
F: Luka, OM Prosper
F: Siakam, G Williams, M Kleber
C: R Holmes, D Lively


The trade market for Siakam looks much stronger / deeper than for Lillard. A lot more teams who may pursue him. Fewer teams want a 33yr small guard who will earn $50-60mil a season into his mid 30s.

The issue with Siakam is that although are plenty of teams interested ... it is hard to find teams who will be willing to give up much for him given his contract situation. Picks or solid prospects looks the best bet. Maybe a star on a dodgy contract but that is big MAYBE.

[celticsclay]

I wonder if Chicago would make a run at Siakam. Would Toronto be interested in a reunion with DeRozan? Probably not. Zach LaVine is their only other big contract. I presume Lonzo Ball is untradeable with his injury issues.

There has been talk of Chicago considering moving LaVine. Would they move LaVine for Siakam? Siakam may walk at the end of the season. Then again, Chicago gets cap flexability if he walks so not all bad. Similar to Toronto trading DeRozan for Kawhi all those years ago.

I like Siakam (PF) next to Vucevic (C). Big forward position has been a problem for Chicago throughout Vuce's reign there.


Golden State should make a push for Siakam. I would offer either Klay, Kuminga and Moody for Siakam.

G: Steph, CP3
G: Wiggins
F: Siakam
F: Draymond
C: Looney


Lakers don't have the contracts to offer at this point but I imagine they'd offer up D'Angelo Russell and Hachimura for Siakam later in the season. Maybe need to include a pick.

G: G Vincent
G: A Reaves
F: LeBron
F: Siakam
C: A Davis


Dallas could make an offer based around Timmy Hardaway Jr and future picks. Siakam would be an interesting partner with Luka at forward. Maybe need to include McGee as well for cap reasons.

G: Kyrie, Seth Curry, Exum
G: Josh Green, J Hardy
F: Luka, OM Prosper
F: Siakam, G Williams, M Kleber
C: R Holmes, D Lively


The trade market for Siakam looks much stronger / deeper than for Lillard. A lot more teams who may pursue him. Fewer teams want a 33yr small guard who will earn $50-60mil a season into his mid 30s.

The issue with Siakam is that although are plenty of teams interested ... it is hard to find teams who will be willing to give up much for him given his contract situation. Picks or solid prospects looks the best bet. Maybe a star on a dodgy contract but that is big MAYBE.

The Dallas and warriors trades could happen, don’t think the other two are really in play. If Toronto is starting a rebuild around siakam they don’t want players like russell, lavine and hachimura who are either too old to line up with a rebuild or just not that great (Rui). If kuminga and moody look good they could be appealing, not sure the purpose of siakam with wiggins. Going to lakers to be a third or maybe even 4th option would be weird for siakam and not a great fit next to reaves and Lebron

[Who]

"I was speaking to a bunch of folks about [Harden] Sunday evening," said Dave McMenamin on the Dan Patrick Show. "The signals right now is that he will be back with the Philadelphia 76ers."

Harden had a softer than expected free agency market with the Houston Rockets pivoting to Fred VanVleet. The Sixers have evaluated trade options for Harden, but there doesn't appear to be a return package for him they would seriously entertain.

"As of right now, with certainly no momentum appearing on a deal to the Los Angeles Clippers. And Philadelphia obviously still needing what he does without finding a replacement for him. It looks like there's a pathway for him to come back to the Sixers next year."

Yeah, this is looking the most likely end scenario at this point. Just no value in the trade market for Harden. Best to keep him and let him leave as a FA next summer. They have other big contracts coming off the books then as well creating large cap space to retool around Embiid and keep contending.


This is also similar to what I see for Damian Lillard (weak trade market, no high quality offers only mediocre ones) however the team situation is different.

POR are not a title contender like Philly. They are not even a playoff team or even a real playoff hopeful. They are a lottery team. So keeping Lillard is a win-now move like keeping Harden is but it has little justification for the benefit of the team. POR are better off trading him for a weak package and rebuilding properly. Using whatever future picks / prospects they can get for Lillard. Bottoming out. Creating opportunity for Scoot to takeover at PG and be the new franchise player. Get a higher lotto pick next summer. The team will turn around their rebuild quicker this way.

[DefenseWinsChamps]

Trade idea: Ben Simmons and 2 firsts for Siakam

G: Dinwiddie, D Smith Jr
G: Mikal Bridges, L Walker IV
F: Cam Johnson, R O'Neale
F: P Siakam, D Finney Smith
C: Nic Claxton, (D Sharpe)

Throwing a lot of spaghetti at the wall? I feel like you got struck with inspiration and had to get it all out.

Not all bad. I like the Pacers best for Siakim.

[celticsclay]

"I was speaking to a bunch of folks about [Harden] Sunday evening," said Dave McMenamin on the Dan Patrick Show. "The signals right now is that he will be back with the Philadelphia 76ers."

Harden had a softer than expected free agency market with the Houston Rockets pivoting to Fred VanVleet. The Sixers have evaluated trade options for Harden, but there doesn't appear to be a return package for him they would seriously entertain.

"As of right now, with certainly no momentum appearing on a deal to the Los Angeles Clippers. And Philadelphia obviously still needing what he does without finding a replacement for him. It looks like there's a pathway for him to come back to the Sixers next year."

Yeah, this is looking the most likely end scenario at this point. Just no value in the trade market for Harden. Best to keep him and let him leave as a FA next summer. They have other big contracts coming off the books then as well creating large cap space to retool around Embiid and keep contending.


This is also similar to what I see for Damian Lillard (weak trade market, no high quality offers only mediocre ones) however the team situation is different.

POR are not a title contender like Philly. They are not even a playoff team or even a real playoff hopeful. They are a lottery team. So keeping Lillard is a win-now move like keeping Harden is but it has little justification for the benefit of the team. POR are better off trading him for a weak package and rebuilding properly. Using whatever future picks / prospects they can get for Lillard. Bottoming out. Creating opportunity for Scoot to takeover at PG and be the new franchise player. Get a higher lotto pick next summer. The team will turn around their rebuild quicker this way.

Have people somehow forgotten how harden performed for his last two teams when he didn’t want to be there? He showed up extremely overweight on the rockets and said his teammates were not good enough in a press conference forcing their hand. For the nets he just stopped regularly being in contact with the coach and front office and went off to Atlantic City or Vegas after requesting the trade. Now he will magically be a good soldier for a team he believes broke their agreement? Really crazy idea to me, especially when you consider he has less at risk than ever. In the past when he did all this stuff he was still trying to land a 4 or 5 year max contract down the line. Now reentering free agency at 34 or 35 he isn’t gonna get much more than a two year 45 million dollar deal even if he plays great

[Who]

"I was speaking to a bunch of folks about [Harden] Sunday evening," said Dave McMenamin on the Dan Patrick Show. "The signals right now is that he will be back with the Philadelphia 76ers."

Harden had a softer than expected free agency market with the Houston Rockets pivoting to Fred VanVleet. The Sixers have evaluated trade options for Harden, but there doesn't appear to be a return package for him they would seriously entertain.

"As of right now, with certainly no momentum appearing on a deal to the Los Angeles Clippers. And Philadelphia obviously still needing what he does without finding a replacement for him. It looks like there's a pathway for him to come back to the Sixers next year."

Yeah, this is looking the most likely end scenario at this point. Just no value in the trade market for Harden. Best to keep him and let him leave as a FA next summer. They have other big contracts coming off the books then as well creating large cap space to retool around Embiid and keep contending.


This is also similar to what I see for Damian Lillard (weak trade market, no high quality offers only mediocre ones) however the team situation is different.

POR are not a title contender like Philly. They are not even a playoff team or even a real playoff hopeful. They are a lottery team. So keeping Lillard is a win-now move like keeping Harden is but it has little justification for the benefit of the team. POR are better off trading him for a weak package and rebuilding properly. Using whatever future picks / prospects they can get for Lillard. Bottoming out. Creating opportunity for Scoot to takeover at PG and be the new franchise player. Get a higher lotto pick next summer. The team will turn around their rebuild quicker this way.

Have people somehow forgotten how harden performed for his last two teams when he didn’t want to be there? He showed up extremely overweight on the rockets and said his teammates were not good enough in a press conference forcing their hand. For the nets he just stopped regularly being in contact with the coach and front office and went off to Atlantic City or Vegas after requesting the trade. Now he will magically be a good soldier for a team he believes broke their agreement? Really crazy idea to me, especially when you consider he has less at risk than ever. In the past when he did all this stuff he was still trying to land a 4 or 5 year max contract down the line. Now reentering free agency at 34 or 35 he isn’t gonna get much more than a two year 45 million dollar deal even if he plays great

I saw somewhere that Philly offered Harden a choice of a 1yr $40mil deal or a 2yr $80mil deal. Whichever he preferred.

That is what set him off. The lack of a long term deal. Just an interesting point of comparison with what Harden is likely looking at next summer which likely will be no better than what Philly are offering right now.

[obnoxiousmime]

"I was speaking to a bunch of folks about [Harden] Sunday evening," said Dave McMenamin on the Dan Patrick Show. "The signals right now is that he will be back with the Philadelphia 76ers."

Harden had a softer than expected free agency market with the Houston Rockets pivoting to Fred VanVleet. The Sixers have evaluated trade options for Harden, but there doesn't appear to be a return package for him they would seriously entertain.

"As of right now, with certainly no momentum appearing on a deal to the Los Angeles Clippers. And Philadelphia obviously still needing what he does without finding a replacement for him. It looks like there's a pathway for him to come back to the Sixers next year."

Yeah, this is looking the most likely end scenario at this point. Just no value in the trade market for Harden. Best to keep him and let him leave as a FA next summer. They have other big contracts coming off the books then as well creating large cap space to retool around Embiid and keep contending.


This is also similar to what I see for Damian Lillard (weak trade market, no high quality offers only mediocre ones) however the team situation is different.

POR are not a title contender like Philly. They are not even a playoff team or even a real playoff hopeful. They are a lottery team. So keeping Lillard is a win-now move like keeping Harden is but it has little justification for the benefit of the team. POR are better off trading him for a weak package and rebuilding properly. Using whatever future picks / prospects they can get for Lillard. Bottoming out. Creating opportunity for Scoot to takeover at PG and be the new franchise player. Get a higher lotto pick next summer. The team will turn around their rebuild quicker this way.

Have people somehow forgotten how harden performed for his last two teams when he didn’t want to be there? He showed up extremely overweight on the rockets and said his teammates were not good enough in a press conference forcing their hand. For the nets he just stopped regularly being in contact with the coach and front office and went off to Atlantic City or Vegas after requesting the trade. Now he will magically be a good soldier for a team he believes broke their agreement? Really crazy idea to me, especially when you consider he has less at risk than ever. In the past when he did all this stuff he was still trying to land a 4 or 5 year max contract down the line. Now reentering free agency at 34 or 35 he isn’t gonna get much more than a two year 45 million dollar deal even if he plays great

I saw somewhere that Philly offered Harden a choice of a 1yr $40mil deal or a 2yr $80mil deal. Whichever he preferred.

That is what set him off. The lack of a long term deal. Just an interesting point of comparison with what Harden is likely looking at next summer which likely will be no better than what Philly are offering right now.

He clearly was expecting to be taken care of (i.e. more years on the deal) when he took a haircut to allow the Sixers to sign PJ Tucker last year. I'm not a big Harden fan but in this case it does seem like Morey is reneging on promises made. As much as I dislike the practice of automatically giving aging stars contracts that extend way past their prime years, it IS common practice and Harden has a right to expect it. Otherwise, why did the Sixers trade for him in the first place? You can't trade for a guy like Harden, ask him to take less with a wink-wink agreement, then suddenly play hardball on negotiations and not expect blowback.

Anyway, I'm sure Harden will eventually go back because he doesn't have a lot of options. However, you now have an unhappy star on your team. This is what the Rockets signed up for and they have nobody to blame but themselves.

[celticsclay]

"I was speaking to a bunch of folks about [Harden] Sunday evening," said Dave McMenamin on the Dan Patrick Show. "The signals right now is that he will be back with the Philadelphia 76ers."

Harden had a softer than expected free agency market with the Houston Rockets pivoting to Fred VanVleet. The Sixers have evaluated trade options for Harden, but there doesn't appear to be a return package for him they would seriously entertain.

"As of right now, with certainly no momentum appearing on a deal to the Los Angeles Clippers. And Philadelphia obviously still needing what he does without finding a replacement for him. It looks like there's a pathway for him to come back to the Sixers next year."

Yeah, this is looking the most likely end scenario at this point. Just no value in the trade market for Harden. Best to keep him and let him leave as a FA next summer. They have other big contracts coming off the books then as well creating large cap space to retool around Embiid and keep contending.


This is also similar to what I see for Damian Lillard (weak trade market, no high quality offers only mediocre ones) however the team situation is different.

POR are not a title contender like Philly. They are not even a playoff team or even a real playoff hopeful. They are a lottery team. So keeping Lillard is a win-now move like keeping Harden is but it has little justification for the benefit of the team. POR are better off trading him for a weak package and rebuilding properly. Using whatever future picks / prospects they can get for Lillard. Bottoming out. Creating opportunity for Scoot to takeover at PG and be the new franchise player. Get a higher lotto pick next summer. The team will turn around their rebuild quicker this way.

Have people somehow forgotten how harden performed for his last two teams when he didn’t want to be there? He showed up extremely overweight on the rockets and said his teammates were not good enough in a press conference forcing their hand. For the nets he just stopped regularly being in contact with the coach and front office and went off to Atlantic City or Vegas after requesting the trade. Now he will magically be a good soldier for a team he believes broke their agreement? Really crazy idea to me, especially when you consider he has less at risk than ever. In the past when he did all this stuff he was still trying to land a 4 or 5 year max contract down the line. Now reentering free agency at 34 or 35 he isn’t gonna get much more than a two year 45 million dollar deal even if he plays great

I saw somewhere that Philly offered Harden a choice of a 1yr $40mil deal or a 2yr $80mil deal. Whichever he preferred.

That is what set him off. The lack of a long term deal. Just an interesting point of comparison with what Harden is likely looking at next summer which likely will be no better than what Philly are offering right now.

He clearly was expecting to be taken care of (i.e. more years on the deal) when he took a haircut to allow the Sixers to sign PJ Tucker last year. I'm not a big Harden fan but in this case it does seem like Morey is reneging on promises made. As much as I dislike the practice of automatically giving aging stars contracts that extend way past their prime years, it IS common practice and Harden has a right to expect it. Otherwise, why did the Sixers trade for him in the first place? You can't trade for a guy like Harden, ask him to take less with a wink-wink agreement, then suddenly play hardball on negotiations and not expect blowback.

Anyway, I'm sure Harden will eventually go back because he doesn't have a lot of options. However, you now have an unhappy star on your team. This is what the Rockets signed up for and they have nobody to blame but themselves.

Yeah this seems like what happened and acting like harden will just show up in shape and be professional seems pretty weird to me based on everything in his career

[cman88]

Harden likely opted in because he wanted to go to the clippers but they didnt have enough money in free agency to sign him.

If the sixers renege on trading him because they dont like the packages and keep him this could be a disaster. Harden is not the type of guy to be professional and perform in this scenario

[tazzmaniac]

Harden likely opted in because he wanted to go to the clippers but they didnt have enough money in free agency to sign him.

If the sixers renege on trading him because they dont like the packages and keep him this could be a disaster. Harden is not the type of guy to be professional and perform in this scenario

Harden could have opted out to force the Sixers to do a sign-and-trade.  Harden likely opted in because he found out there wasn't much of a market for him.  The Clippers don't even appear that interested in acquiring him.  Harden could certainly act unprofessional if he doesn't get traded but that would likely reduce the already limited market for him when he hits free agency next offseason. 

[boscel33]

Harden likely opted in because he wanted to go to the clippers but they didnt have enough money in free agency to sign him.

If the sixers renege on trading him because they dont like the packages and keep him this could be a disaster. Harden is not the type of guy to be professional and perform in this scenario

Harden could have opted out to force the Sixers to do a sign-and-trade.  Harden likely opted in because he found out there wasn't much of a market for him.  The Clippers don't even appear that interested in acquiring him.  Harden could certainly act unprofessional if he doesn't get traded but that would likely reduce the already limited market for him when he hits free agency next offseason.

I read yesterday; the Clippers are now back engaged in Brogdon.  That may tick some Smart fans off, but I'm still OK with the Smart deal.  If we send Brogdon to LAC, I wonder what the return is and would it require a third team.

[jambr380]

"I was speaking to a bunch of folks about [Harden] Sunday evening," said Dave McMenamin on the Dan Patrick Show. "The signals right now is that he will be back with the Philadelphia 76ers."

Harden had a softer than expected free agency market with the Houston Rockets pivoting to Fred VanVleet. The Sixers have evaluated trade options for Harden, but there doesn't appear to be a return package for him they would seriously entertain.

"As of right now, with certainly no momentum appearing on a deal to the Los Angeles Clippers. And Philadelphia obviously still needing what he does without finding a replacement for him. It looks like there's a pathway for him to come back to the Sixers next year."

Yeah, this is looking the most likely end scenario at this point. Just no value in the trade market for Harden. Best to keep him and let him leave as a FA next summer. They have other big contracts coming off the books then as well creating large cap space to retool around Embiid and keep contending.


This is also similar to what I see for Damian Lillard (weak trade market, no high quality offers only mediocre ones) however the team situation is different.

POR are not a title contender like Philly. They are not even a playoff team or even a real playoff hopeful. They are a lottery team. So keeping Lillard is a win-now move like keeping Harden is but it has little justification for the benefit of the team. POR are better off trading him for a weak package and rebuilding properly. Using whatever future picks / prospects they can get for Lillard. Bottoming out. Creating opportunity for Scoot to takeover at PG and be the new franchise player. Get a higher lotto pick next summer. The team will turn around their rebuild quicker this way.

Have people somehow forgotten how harden performed for his last two teams when he didn’t want to be there? He showed up extremely overweight on the rockets and said his teammates were not good enough in a press conference forcing their hand. For the nets he just stopped regularly being in contact with the coach and front office and went off to Atlantic City or Vegas after requesting the trade. Now he will magically be a good soldier for a team he believes broke their agreement? Really crazy idea to me, especially when you consider he has less at risk than ever. In the past when he did all this stuff he was still trying to land a 4 or 5 year max contract down the line. Now reentering free agency at 34 or 35 he isn’t gonna get much more than a two year 45 million dollar deal even if he plays great

I saw somewhere that Philly offered Harden a choice of a 1yr $40mil deal or a 2yr $80mil deal. Whichever he preferred.

That is what set him off. The lack of a long term deal. Just an interesting point of comparison with what Harden is likely looking at next summer which likely will be no better than what Philly are offering right now.

Couldn't they just offer him a 2 year extension now? That way, both sides get to save face. Harden essentially ends up with a 3yr deal and Philly isn't absolutely screwed with either a super unhappy Harden or bad return.

Not saying it's ideal for either side, but I do lean towards favoring Harden in this situation. The Sixers pretending like they are gonna do him a solid and then not following through is a scumbag move. And how is a 1yr/$40M offer really any different than him just picking up his option (it's a few million, but in the grand scheme of things...)?

[Vermont Green]

Harden likely opted in because he wanted to go to the clippers but they didnt have enough money in free agency to sign him.

If the sixers renege on trading him because they dont like the packages and keep him this could be a disaster. Harden is not the type of guy to be professional and perform in this scenario

Harden could have opted out to force the Sixers to do a sign-and-trade.  Harden likely opted in because he found out there wasn't much of a market for him.  The Clippers don't even appear that interested in acquiring him.  Harden could certainly act unprofessional if he doesn't get traded but that would likely reduce the already limited market for him when he hits free agency next offseason.

Harden is just never happy, kind of like some Celtics fans.  Get a big contract, not happy because the team around him is bad.  Get traded to a contending team with drama queens, not happy about all the drama.  Get traded again, take a discount to help the team bring in players, still don't win a title, still not happy.

I can understand his frustration.  He is running out of real estate to win a title.  I think Philly is as good a place for him as anywhere, unless he expects to pull a Durant to GSW and end up on Denver or something like that.