Where do the remaining free agents end up?

[jay]

Nerlens Noel, JaMychal Green, Mason Plumlee, Nikola Mirotic, Alex Len, Shabazz Muhammad.


According to @KeithSmithNBA on twitter, 11 teams (really 8 because ORL, SAC, & MIA don't have much) either have space or can create space. Dallas, Chicago, and Denver have space but they are tied to restricted free agents listed above.

Atlanta, Indiana, Brooklyn, Philly seem to have enough space to steal one of these guys.

I could see Green in Atlanta and Muhammad in Indiana.  The others probably stay put.

What do you guys think?

[spikelovetheCelts]

I was hoping ATL would go after Noel but I guess they surely are all in on the Porter sweepstakes.

[saltlover]

A lot of the teams with cap space don't have much.  Atlanta only has $6.1 million in space, Brooklyn only has $6.6 million.  Neither is enough to entice any of those players to sign a long-term deal.  Indiana is at $7.7 million.

The only teams with enough space to actually present an offer worth signing to any of these players are Chicago, Dallas, Philly, and Phoenix.  And Dallas might have to choose between Noel and another player on the list.

[tazzmaniac]

The Sixers are going to use their remaining cap space to do a front loaded extension for Covington.  That can't happen until October I think. 

Noel will end up back in Dallas and Green will return to Memphis.  Tony Allen is another unsigned free agent but he should return to Memphis after Green gets re-signed.  Welcome to the new reality.  Many mid-tier players will have to settle for significantly less than they expect. 

[RJ87]

I think Noel ends up back in Dallas - unless they've actually fooled themselves into thinking they can get Demarcus Cousins next offseason and do Noel like they did Tyson Chandler.

I'm not sure about the rest, I think Shabazz is the most intriguing case. He's a guy who can get you some buckets off the bench, but he's really not a guy who can space the floor. I think a team like Utah would be good for him (they'll need offense) but he'd have to take a minimum deal.

Not really sure about the rest. I don't think the Bulls necessarily want to bring back Nikola, but they suck at asset management.

[saltlover]

The Sixers are going to use their remaining cap space to do a front loaded extension for Covington.  That can't happen until October I think. 

Noel will end up back in Dallas and Green will return to Memphis.  Tony Allen is another unsigned free agent but he should return to Memphis after Green gets re-signed.  Welcome to the new reality.  Many mid-tier players will have to settle for significantly less than they expect.

Convington isn't eligible for an extension (which would be a renegotiation and extension in his case) until November 15th.  They have the opportunity to do some very creative things with his contract, as they could give him a large raise this year in the renegotiation, and then decrease his salary by 40% next year, as well as 8% each additional year.

[Surferdad]

...
Welcome to the new reality.  Many mid-tier players will have to settle for significantly less than they expect.

There was just so much money out there, that it was hard to pass up the chance to be a FA.  Same thing goes for the guys trying to make a comeback into the NBA.  The money that's available makes it worth a shot.  Unfortunately, those remaining are just not good enough for the big bucks; teams are not going to spend just for the sake of using cap space.  I think's it's interesting that Kelly Olynyk got a decent-sized contract, but Noel is still out there.

[tazzmaniac]

...
Welcome to the new reality.  Many mid-tier players will have to settle for significantly less than they expect.

There was just so much money out there, that it was hard to pass up the chance to be a FA.  Same thing goes for the guys trying to make a comeback into the NBA.  The money that's available makes it worth a shot.  Unfortunately, those remaining are just not good enough for the big bucks; teams are not going to spend just for the sake of using cap space.  I think's it's interesting that Kelly Olynyk got a decent-sized contract, but Noel is still out there.

Noel thinks he's a 20M+ per year guy.  Based on the Mozgov, Mahinmi, Biyombo, etc, contracts, he should be but that isn't the reality anymore.  Olynyk got a lot less than the Ryan Anderson contract. 

[BitterJim]

...
Welcome to the new reality.  Many mid-tier players will have to settle for significantly less than they expect.

There was just so much money out there, that it was hard to pass up the chance to be a FA.  Same thing goes for the guys trying to make a comeback into the NBA.  The money that's available makes it worth a shot.  Unfortunately, those remaining are just not good enough for the big bucks; teams are not going to spend just for the sake of using cap space.  I think's it's interesting that Kelly Olynyk got a decent-sized contract, but Noel is still out there.

Noel is an RFA, Kelly was unrestricted  (after Hayward agreed to sign with us). Restricted free agents generally get less money, and the virtual certainty that Dallas will match any offer makes teams even more wary.

It's really apples and oranges between the two

[saltlover]

...
Welcome to the new reality.  Many mid-tier players will have to settle for significantly less than they expect.

There was just so much money out there, that it was hard to pass up the chance to be a FA.  Same thing goes for the guys trying to make a comeback into the NBA.  The money that's available makes it worth a shot.  Unfortunately, those remaining are just not good enough for the big bucks; teams are not going to spend just for the sake of using cap space.  I think's it's interesting that Kelly Olynyk got a decent-sized contract, but Noel is still out there.

Noel is an RFA, Kelly was unrestricted  (after Hayward agreed to sign with us). Restricted free agents generally get less money, and the virtual certainty that Dallas will match any offer makes teams even more wary.

It's really apples and oranges between the two

Yeah.  But on the other hand we have seen players come to an agreement for a large contract with the team holding their RFA rights as training camp nears.  Pekovic and Tristan Thompson are two off the top of my head, but I'm sure there are others.  Right now there's no reason for either side to negotiate.  Dallas knows Noel has no other choice for this season, while Noel's best negotiating tactics are to hold out during Dirk's swan song, or sign his tender and leave next summer no matter what.  I don't expect most of these situations to resolve until training camp nears, or even until after it starts.

[TheSundanceKid]

...
Welcome to the new reality.  Many mid-tier players will have to settle for significantly less than they expect.

There was just so much money out there, that it was hard to pass up the chance to be a FA.  Same thing goes for the guys trying to make a comeback into the NBA.  The money that's available makes it worth a shot.  Unfortunately, those remaining are just not good enough for the big bucks; teams are not going to spend just for the sake of using cap space.  I think's it's interesting that Kelly Olynyk got a decent-sized contract, but Noel is still out there.

I think it's a sign that Kelly Olynyk is a better player than Noel. Personally I don't think it's even close, Kelly is a much better player than Noel. The only reason Noel isn't universally seen as a room exception player is his age and the fact he was once a touted lottery pick, it takes time for people to let go of that.

[LilRip]

None of them are minimum guys but I wouldn't mind seeing some on our team. Extremely unlikely it happens though.

[Big333223]

...
Welcome to the new reality.  Many mid-tier players will have to settle for significantly less than they expect.

There was just so much money out there, that it was hard to pass up the chance to be a FA.  Same thing goes for the guys trying to make a comeback into the NBA.  The money that's available makes it worth a shot.  Unfortunately, those remaining are just not good enough for the big bucks; teams are not going to spend just for the sake of using cap space.  I think's it's interesting that Kelly Olynyk got a decent-sized contract, but Noel is still out there.

I think it's a sign that Kelly Olynyk is a better player than Noel. Personally I don't think it's even close, Kelly is a much better player than Noel. The only reason Noel isn't universally seen as a room exception player is his age and the fact he was once a touted lottery pick, it takes time for people to let go of that.

That's not really true. In Noel's first 2 seasons, he averaged 10 and 8 with 1.8 steals and 1.7 blocks per game. He's a terrific athlete who still has DPOY potential with his athleticism and versatility.

The last 2 seasons haven't been as good for Nerlens and maybe its because he's just not going to be a starter level NBA player but it can also be explained away pretty easily by injuries, fit, and the whole Philadelphia circumstance.

[saltlover]

...
Welcome to the new reality.  Many mid-tier players will have to settle for significantly less than they expect.

There was just so much money out there, that it was hard to pass up the chance to be a FA.  Same thing goes for the guys trying to make a comeback into the NBA.  The money that's available makes it worth a shot.  Unfortunately, those remaining are just not good enough for the big bucks; teams are not going to spend just for the sake of using cap space.  I think's it's interesting that Kelly Olynyk got a decent-sized contract, but Noel is still out there.

I think it's a sign that Kelly Olynyk is a better player than Noel. Personally I don't think it's even close, Kelly is a much better player than Noel. The only reason Noel isn't universally seen as a room exception player is his age and the fact he was once a touted lottery pick, it takes time for people to let go of that.

That's not really true. In Noel's first 2 seasons, he averaged 10 and 8 with 1.8 steals and 1.7 blocks per game. He's a terrific athlete who still has DPOY potential with his athleticism and versatility.

The last 2 seasons haven't been as good for Nerlens and maybe its because he's just not going to be a starter level NBA player but it can also be explained away pretty easily by injuries, fit, and the whole Philadelphia circumstance.

Your argument is a little confusing as Noel has only played 3 seasons, unless you are including his first year when he sat out the entire year one of his first two seasons.

[Big333223]

...
Welcome to the new reality.  Many mid-tier players will have to settle for significantly less than they expect.

There was just so much money out there, that it was hard to pass up the chance to be a FA.  Same thing goes for the guys trying to make a comeback into the NBA.  The money that's available makes it worth a shot.  Unfortunately, those remaining are just not good enough for the big bucks; teams are not going to spend just for the sake of using cap space.  I think's it's interesting that Kelly Olynyk got a decent-sized contract, but Noel is still out there.

I think it's a sign that Kelly Olynyk is a better player than Noel. Personally I don't think it's even close, Kelly is a much better player than Noel. The only reason Noel isn't universally seen as a room exception player is his age and the fact he was once a touted lottery pick, it takes time for people to let go of that.

That's not really true. In Noel's first 2 seasons, he averaged 10 and 8 with 1.8 steals and 1.7 blocks per game. He's a terrific athlete who still has DPOY potential with his athleticism and versatility.

The last 2 seasons haven't been as good for Nerlens and maybe its because he's just not going to be a starter level NBA player but it can also be explained away pretty easily by injuries, fit, and the whole Philadelphia circumstance.

Your argument is a little confusing as Noel has only played 3 seasons, unless you are including his first year when he sat out the entire year one of his first two seasons.

You're right. My bad. I meant his first two seasons were strong and his last season was bad (for the reasons I listed).

I got confused with him sitting out that first year.