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Money Time: Upcoming Free Agents In The Playoffs

May 19th, 2012 at 1:56pm CST by Chuck Myron

With another week of the playoffs in the books, let's check again on how soon-to-be free agents are faring in the postseason. You can catch up on the first and second installments by clicking the links. A number of players on expiring contracts are putting up impressive performances in the second round, but with size always a premium in the NBA, let's focus on three big men who are getting it done:

Winners

Kevin Garnett, Celtics: Garnett turns 36 today, but he's not atop this list because it's his birthday. It's hard to overlook his 3-for-12, nine-point, seven-turnover outing in the Celtics collapse against the Sixers last night, but Garnett's playoff renaissance has been one of the most compelling stories of the past few weeks. His 192 total points in 10 playoff games is more than anyone except Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and teammate Paul Pierce. Garnett's scoring (19.2) and rebounding (11.0) averages are his best in the playoffs since the Celtics' run to the title in 2008. He's protecting the basket, too, averaging 1.8 blocks per game. That's a figure he only exceeded once in the regular season, during his MVP year in 2003/04.

Tim Duncan, Spurs: A few weeks after his 36th birthday, Duncan can't believe how healthy he feels, and that's certainly been reflected in his play. He's led in his team in scoring with 22.0 PPG in two wins over the Clippers, while also averaging 7.5 rebounds, two steals and a block during the series. His 53% shooting for the postseason as a whole is the third-best percentage he's ever had in the playoffs, and his 25.4 PER is the fifth best of anyone on any playoff team this year. It's hard to imagine him leaving the Spurs, but he's probably earned a few extra dollars and another year or two on his next contract with his throwback performance.

Roy Hibbert, Pacers (restricted): He has exploited the Heat's weakness inside to the tune of 14.7 PPG and 13.3 RPG in three games against Miami, with three blocks a night to boot. He's pulled down 14 offensive rebounds in the series so far, and forced Miami coach Erik Spoelstra to start little-used Dexter Pittman in a vain attempt to match up with Hibbert's 7-foot-2, 278-pound size. For the playoffs as a whole, he's averaging 12.4 PPG and 11.8 RPG, and at age 25, he might be the No. 1 center on the free agent market this summer.

Losers

Ray Allen, Celtics: His 1-for-7 performance in Boston's closeout victory over the Hawks in the first round has carried over to the series against the Sixers. Allen is averaging only 9.3 points per game against Philadelphia on 29.4% shooting from behind the arc. That's not much of an improvement over his 27.8% three-point accuracy against the Hawks. Odder still is his 60% postseason free-throw shooting. He says his right ankle feels all right, but you have to wonder.

Matt Barne s, Lakers: His appearance on this list has a lot to do with Metta World Peace's return from suspension, but it never helps a free agent's case to become a forgotten man. He's played just 41 minutes so far against the Thunder, taken just seven shots, pulled down four rebounds and has more turnovers (four) than steals (three). The red flags will be flying especially high if he doesn't get much time tonight, with the Lakers playing a rare playoff back-t0-back.

Reggie Evans, Clippers: Evans, too, has seen his minutes cut drastically in the second round, but in his case there's not a clear reason why. Foul trouble might be to blame for his paltry eight minutes in Game 1, but he picked up just one foul as coach Vinny Del Negro went to him for just 11 minutes in Game 2, and his lack of playing time has contributed to an 82-66 advantage for San Antonio on the boards. Evans has seven rebounds in the series so far after bettering that total in six of the seven games against Memphis.

Spurs Notes: Duncan, Buford, Diaw

May 18th, 2012 at 1:27pm CST by Luke Adams

The Spurs have become the odds-on favorites to win the NBA title, according to Vegas, and for good reason. The last time San Antonio lost a game was on April 11th, more than five weeks ago. As the Spurs look to continue their postseason dominance, here's the latest out of San Antonio:

The "whispered belief in Spurs circles" is that Tim Duncan will likely re-sign with the team on a multiyear contract this offseason, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Duncan has called his health "unbelievable" and said it's been four or five years since he felt this good.
General manager R.C. Buford talks to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports about how the Spurs got swept up in an NBA "arms race" three years ago, and how the organization learned from that mistake.
Boris Diaw has been a crucial addition for this Spurs team, says Buck Harvey of the San Antonio Express-News. Diaw signed with the Spurs in March after being bought out by the Bobcats.

Free Agent Stock Watch: Tim Duncan

May 7th, 2012 at 8:11pm CST by Michael Pina

Few players are more identifiable with one franchise than Tim Duncan is with the San Antonio Spurs. Now in his 15th season, the 36-year-old future Hall of Famer is still playing great basketball, averaging 15.4PPG and 9.0 RPG this season. While remaining an above average offensive option in the post, and one of the game's most intelligent, underrated defenders, Duncan is an unrestricted free agent this summer, bringing the type of experience that makes his value a difficult one to quantify on the open market.

He's making $21.3MM this season, but that number will surely go down. He's far from an elite franchise player, but is still capable of playing a major role in what would be a truly remarkable fifth championship for the Spurs—their first since 2007.

With Danny Green and Gary Neal coming off San Antonio's books, it'll be interesting to see how much money the team looks to invest in the two players who've played well above their salary this season. Boris Diaw will also become a free agent, and a player of his skill—when motivated (as he appears to be alongside Tony Parker)—could be worth another contract.

What makes this situation so intriguing is the player in question. Duncan doesn't even have an agent right now, and claims he hasn't even begun thinking about his future, but it wouldn't be a shock to see a non-tax-paying team throw a full mid-level in his direction, which could net him over $20MM over the next four years. Still, it'd be hard to imagine him leaving the one franchise he's ever known. A player of Duncan's stature doesn't appear to be in it for the money at this point. He's won four championships and is arguably one of the 10 greatest overall players the league has ever seen. There's little to prove, and less to chase. The team he currently plays for is a title contender, and should continue to find success for the next few years.

Duncan has been known to sign "team friendly" deals in the past, taking less than the maximum deal for which he was eligible after extending his contract in 2007. But to see him sign for the veteran's minimum ($1.35MM for next season) might be asking too much. Due to the fact that he remains an important part of the Spurs vaunted system, if I had to guess, the team will make re-signing Duncan a serious priority this summer.

The Spurs cap figure for next season currently stands at approximately $49.2MM. Because they own Duncan's Bird Rights, any maximum contract within the CBA's limitations is possible. But due to his age, something around two years for $20MM could be expected.

Tim Duncan Not Thinking About Free Agency

April 18th, 2012 at 10:58am CST by Luke Adams

Tim Duncan will become an unrestricted free agent this summer, but if you ask him about it, he'll tell you he hasn't spent a single idle moment considering his future, according to Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News.

"That’s something I’ll think about after the season ends," Duncan said. "For now, I’m not worrying about anything except our next game. I don’t even have an agent."

Duncan's former agent, Lon Babby, became the general manager of the Suns, meaning he could no longer represent Duncan or his other clients. But with no end to his career in sight, Duncan figures to hire a new representative before July. Even though he'll turn 36 next week, the longtime Spur has still been very productive this season, averaging 15.3 points and 9.0 rebounds in a career-low 28.2 minutes per game.

When they open negotiations with their star forward, the Spurs will have to be careful how much of a discount they request, says Monroe. Duncan had a 2011/12 cap figure of $21.16MM, and no team, including the Spurs will want to pay him that amount annually going forward. Monroe identifies a pair of recent examples of teams attempting to re-sign stars to new deals, pointing out that the Mavericks and Jason Kidd serve as a better case study than the Rockets and Hakeem Olajuwon.

Southwest Rumors: Lowry, Ayon, Duncan, Cuban

April 5th, 2012 at 12:17pm CST by Luke Adams

Earlier today, the Rockets signed Earl Boykins to a second 10-day contract, and saw Kyle Lowry return to practice in hopes of playing again this season. What else is going on in the Southwest Division? Let's check out a few links….

The Hornets are expected to retain Gustavo Ayon for 2012/13, reports USA Today's J. Michael Falgoust. Ayon will have two more seasons ($1.5MM) left on his three-year deal at season's end, but neither is guaranteed yet. You can find our full list of 2012/13 non-guaranteed contracts here.
Spurs veteran Tim Duncan doesn't have a contract for next year, guaranteed or otherwise, but he's not thinking about his future until after the season, as he tells Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News.
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has a number of ideas about how the NBA draft and eligibility rules should be changed, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. Cuban would like to see players not become draft-eligible until three years after they've graduated high school, and would like to expand the draft from two rounds to four.