The Buyout / Free Agency Thread

[Birdman]

Lakers-Hornets trade voided cause Mark Williams failed his physical

[Roy H.]

Washington keeping Middleton & Smart? Thought they be bought out

They have an additional year on their contract.  It's better to keep them as trade ballast.

[Redz]

Washington keeping Middleton & Smart? Thought they be bought out

Kind of sad to see two hard nosed guys be reduced to cap fodder on a total tank job. 

[Vermont Green]

I don?t think it is just cap ballast. They did the same thing with Chris Paul and got good value when they traded him. They will likely try to play both guys to build some value.  They can always release them later.  No need to do it right away. 

[Roy H.]

I don?t think it is just cap ballast. They did the same thing with Chris Paul and got good value when they traded him. They will likely try to play both guys to build some value.  They can always release them later.  No need to do it right away.

I think Marcus could regain some positive value.  Middleton seems cooked though.

[Vermont Green]

I don?t think it is just cap ballast. They did the same thing with Chris Paul and got good value when they traded him. They will likely try to play both guys to build some value.  They can always release them later.  No need to do it right away.

I think Marcus could regain some positive value.  Middleton seems cooked though.

It may well turn out that way. Still nothing to lose for WAS to play it out both. Worst case they cut them both later. They would have to pay replacements if they cut them now. 

[Vermont Green]

I don?t think it is just cap ballast. They did the same thing with Chris Paul and got good value when they traded him. They will likely try to play both guys to build some value.  They can always release them later.  No need to do it right away.

I think Marcus could regain some positive value.  Middleton seems cooked though.

It may well turn out that way. Still nothing to lose for WAS to play it out both. Worst case they cut them both later. They would have to pay replacements if they cut them now. 

[Who]

Lakers waive Christian Wood.

The Los Angeles Lakers have waived Christian Wood. The Lakers needed to waive Wood to create a roster spot to sign Alex Len.

Wood appeared in 50 games for the Lakers last season. Wood underwent knee surgery in September and hasn't played this season.

[Roy H.]

I'm really surprised that no team has taken a flyer on Markelle Fultz.  I think I'd sign him to a rest of the season contract with an option for next year, just in case we trade Jrue.  I think he'd be a capable backup / third point guard.  No team seems to agree, though.

[Who]

I'm really surprised that no team has taken a flyer on Markelle Fultz.  I think I'd sign him to a rest of the season contract with an option for next year, just in case we trade Jrue.  I think he'd be a capable backup / third point guard.  No team seems to agree, though.

Same here. Good replacement for Springer too.

Fultz is ideal for a 3rd stringer job as a strong defensive combo guard.

[Celtics2021]

I'm really surprised that no team has taken a flyer on Markelle Fultz.  I think I'd sign him to a rest of the season contract with an option for next year, just in case we trade Jrue.  I think he'd be a capable backup / third point guard.  No team seems to agree, though.

I don?t think he is healthy.

[keevsnick]

Washington keeping Middleton & Smart? Thought they be bought out

They have an additional year on their contract.  It's better to keep them as trade ballast.

Ya, guys with another year left very rarely get bought out. A buyout generally saves a team VERY little money and removes any chance of using them as matching salary or recouping value if they bounce back. Plus the Wizards could use some veteran leadership, and its not like keeping those guys will hurt their draft position.

[Phantom255x]

I wonder if Washington's play is something along the lines of, "hey, what if we get Flagg this summer and we can have Smart + Middleton around to mentor him but also potentially field a somewhat competitive team in 2026".

Like others have said, buying them out doesn't really benefit them right now. And hey, if a team gets desperate this offseason maybe they'll be willing to offer more to acquire them via trade (like Rockets and Ime wanting Smart).

If anything maybe it's a bit of a surprise Smart/Middleton didn't demand a buyout but maybe both guys are fine with their situation, rehabbing their reputations a bit.

[otherdave]

Cooper Flagg said something interesting the other day, he said he wants to come back to Duke next year.  Of course 18 year olds can change their mind a lot.  But it is a new paradigm with the NCAA NIL rights pay outs.  I believe Cooper has a 4.7 million contract with New Balance.  I would think it would be not that hard to double that income if he came back for another year.

So his decision is make 10 to 15 million in college next year competing for a national championship or turn pro and play for a pretty bad team.

[Roy H.]

Cooper Flagg said something interesting the other day, he said he wants to come back to Duke next year.  Of course 18 year olds can change their mind a lot.  But it is a new paradigm with the NCAA NIL rights pay outs.  I believe Cooper has a 4.7 million contract with New Balance.  I would think it would be not that hard to double that income if he came back for another year.

So his decision is make 10 to 15 million in college next year competing for a national championship or turn pro and play for a pretty bad team.

At the same time, there's a lot of injury risk, and the real lucrative money comes after his first NBA contract.  It's in his best interest to get that clock started as soon as possible.

The #1 pick earned $12,569,040 this year.  Plus, he'll still most of those endorsements.