Top 3 Free Agents At Each Position
Sept 7, 2016 13:22:35 GMT
Vancouver, Madrid, and 1 more like this
Post by New York on Sept 7, 2016 13:22:35 GMT
The 7th Ultimate ABCA Off-Season has been a busy one and with things like contraction, the dispersal draft, and a rookie draft that is at minimum solid we haven't heard a ton about ABCA's usual main off-season attraction, Free Agency. In this article we will take some time to look at 15 different Free Agents in this class and to keep things interesting, rather than just doing a straight forward top 10/12/15/20, we will look at the top 3 free agents for each position.
Point Guards
1) Isiah Thomas - $15,000,000 - 25 Years Old
- Isiah Thomas is coming off of a season where he broke out of the pack and not only became the best Point Guard in this upcoming Free Agent class but the best Point Guard in the league. While being about a 20 PPG - 10 APG Point Guard for his first three seasons in the league, he took his play to another level when he put up 26.1 PPG - 12.7 APG - 4.5 RPG - 3.1 SPG last year. There isn't a team that won't be bidding on him whether they have 60 million in cap space or only have the Mid-Level Exception but after his team won nearly 50 games and had a strong showing in the playoffs until he went down I'd be shocked to see him go anywhere but back to the Taipei Fubon Braves. That is unless their GM decides to get creative with his contract but with team's like the 53 win Grizzlies lurking, they'd be smart not to go that route.
2) Jason Kidd - $21,498,750 - 31 Years Old
- If not for his age, Jason Kidd would be above Isiah Thomas on this ranking I have to say. Kidd is one of the few names this off-season that are guaranteed to find a new home this off-season after their last team was contracted. As it stands there doesn't appear to be many team's that can afford his new price tag (105% of his last year's salary) so I wouldn't be surprised to see him end up on a younger team that has a bit of salary to play with even if it's just to trade him for rebuilding assets later on. With his ability to rack up triple doubles at a rate that is far beyond any other player in this league, he's going to be a big time addition for the team lucky enough to land. If you want that to be your team, make sure you head into the FA period with enough to make it happen because he won't be cheap.
3) Tony Parker - 18,000,000 - 28 Years Old
- Basically the middle ground of the top 3 PGs in this Free Agent class, you've got a guy that has flown under the radar these past few seasons in New Orleans, Tony Parker. While he may appear to have been declining these past four seasons (Training Camp can be rough), he's still only 28 with quite a few good years left in him. He's not the rebounder that Kidd is and not the passer or scorer that Isiah Thomas is but he doesn't really have any holes in his game. I'd be pretty surprised if the now CSKA Moscow GM didn't make a strong push to keep him around because it hasn't been easy to find an elite PG in Ultimate so far, so letting one go when you've got them would be a huge mistake.
Shooting Guards
1) Joe Dumars - $21,000,000 - 31 Years Old
- Another name that will be guaranteed to be on a new team in this coming off-season, again thanks to the Mexico City Titans being contracted, is Joe Dumars. He was the #2 guard in the league last season behind Isiah Thomas and is honestly the only superstar level shooting guard available in this free agent class. This again will come down to which teams are lucky enough to have at least $21 million in cap space and as it stands that appears to be teams such as Cleveland, Madrid, Los Angeles, Nets, Boston, Portland, Buenos Aires, Belgrade, and Chicago depending on who they take in the two drafts since there is no real way to factor that in right now. How long he holds up is obviously the question since he's been seeing small dips these past few seasons however he was still putting up around 22 PPG - 7 RPG - 7 APG - 2 SPG as recently as last season so whoever gets him will definitely be getting a big time impact player at least in the short term.
2) Kevin Loughery - $15,000,000 - 29 Years Old
While Dumars may be the only superstar level Shooting Guard in free agency this year, Kevin Loughery broke out last year and proved that he is at least All-Star level at the Shooting Guard spot. After breaking out, I'd guess that Loughery is Beijing Aoshen's main priority to bring back even over Hakeem The Dream. Loughery has a talent that will age extremely well in this league and that's his ability to shoot the ball. On over 7 attempts per game, he hit 45.6% of his 3 pointers. That's insane accuracy and that makes him an insanely valuable piece. Even at 29 years old, I suspect that he will not be short on suitors come Free Agency so it will be interesting to see if loyalty wins out for Beijing.
3) Ronnie Fields - $15,000,000 - 26 Years Old
Ronnie Fields is likely not a name you were expecting to see when you opened a top FA article but much like Kevin Loughery, Fields is a guy that quietly has been pretty valuable to his team as of late. One of the most athletic players in the league, Fields has been on my radar since before he was drafted and a guy that I think has very few (if any) holes in his game. He's not at Loughery's level as a shooter but he's pretty great there in his own right, he can defend, he's efficient, he can pass, and he rebounds respectable for someone his size. Just this year he came off of about 18 PPG | 6.5 APG | 4.4 RPG | 2.0 SPG on over 50% shooting from the SG spot. The Bulls have been discussing moving some pieces around this off-season but I think Fields may be one piece they have interest in keeping long term.
Small Forwards
1) Terry Dischinger - $15,000,000 - 27 Years Old
- Another position and another former Mexico City Titan that is guaranteed to find a new home this off-season due to contraction. Dischinger is an interesting case because for a long time, he was a player that was seen as really good but not great due to not having a great balance of defense and offense. However after a recent defensive upgrade, he has seen his value rise and is now a guaranteed max player. The jury remains out on whether or not he can be "THE GUY" on a team after he averaged 19.8 PPG - 5.8 RPG - 4.1 APG - 1.4 SPG on nearly 49% shooting in his breakout season last year. At only 15 million starting, he's a guy that is likely to get more attention than his former teammates Joe Dumars and Jason Kidd due to there being a lot more teams that have at least a mini-max to spend. He doesn't have the versatility of some other names in this article so if you sign him, it'll be to play Small Forward exclusively but there are definitely a handful of teams that can use a legit scorer at that spot.
2) Mark Aguirre - $15,000,000 - 25 Years Old
- All things equal, I'd argue that Mark Aguirre is a better pickup this off-season than Terry Dischinger. The only reason that I have him ranked lower is due to the fact that he is less available than Dischinger since his former team wasn't contracted (although they were relocated). PER 36 wise Mark Aguirre had equal, if not more impressive numbers than Dischinger with 19.7 PPG | 7.5 RPG | 4.7 APG | 1.0 SPG last season. Add on top of that the fact that he is only 25 years old and you've got an intriguing Small Forward free agent in Mark Aguirre. He doesn't get the attention that his draft mates Larry Johnson, Isiah Thomas, and Larry Nance get but maybe in a new environment where he is more of an offensive focus can change that moving forward. That isn't to say he's likely to leave but with his team only winning 37 games last year, it's not out of the realm of possibility if the right team(s) puts an offer on the table.
3) Antonello Riva - $21,000,000 - 30 Years Old
- I'll be honest, for both the forward spots I wasn't sure who to rank as #3 and even considered doing a top two for both but decided to keep things consistent. With that said, Antonello Riva may be a player in decline at the age of 30 and he may be a player that was plagued with injury last season but that doesn't change the fact that he can help a team win games. Now will he get his full 21 million max? Probably not, especially if the deal is longer than a few years but he will still have plenty of teams that are interested in his services for the next few years. He's one of the league's better 3 point shooters, hitting 40.8% from long range on his career with that percentage being even higher if you exclude his first two seasons in Milan. I don't think he's a guy that the Trail Blazers plan to let walk away but it'll be interesting to see how much they are willing to spend on their star veteran when they are admittedly a team that could do with a bit of building.
Power Forwards
1) Larry Nance - $15,000,000 - 26 Years Old
- This guy sucks, no one should bid on him because he'll be lucky to make their final roster....
No ones buying it? Nevermind then.
Larry Nance is likely to get a lot of attention this off-season from anyone that has money to spend. While he isn't Isiah Thomas, I'd argue that after that he will be the most sought after free agent this off-season. The accolades speak for their self but lets go over them anyway: Nance is a two time Ultimate ABCA Champion, a two time Ultimate ABCA All-STar, a two time Ultimate ABCA 6th Man of The Year, and has made appearances on All-League & All-Defensive teams all while on his rookie contract. For his career he's around a 23 PPG | 9 RPG | 3 APG | 1 SPG | 2 BPG on nearly 60% shooting guy and some would argue that he has another level he can reach if he was given a bigger role. As a Knick he has never been a top 2 option with guys like Greg Oden, Pau Gasol, John Stockton, and Tom Heinsohn as teammates. However he is clearly an important piece to their team as the New York Knicks moved quite a few pieces around this off-season to ensure that they would have the money to bring him back to the only team he has played for but they will definitely have to hope that the money and potentially bigger role (I know this isn't really a factor in game) doesn't pull him elsewhere.
No ones buying it? Nevermind then.
Larry Nance is likely to get a lot of attention this off-season from anyone that has money to spend. While he isn't Isiah Thomas, I'd argue that after that he will be the most sought after free agent this off-season. The accolades speak for their self but lets go over them anyway: Nance is a two time Ultimate ABCA Champion, a two time Ultimate ABCA All-STar, a two time Ultimate ABCA 6th Man of The Year, and has made appearances on All-League & All-Defensive teams all while on his rookie contract. For his career he's around a 23 PPG | 9 RPG | 3 APG | 1 SPG | 2 BPG on nearly 60% shooting guy and some would argue that he has another level he can reach if he was given a bigger role. As a Knick he has never been a top 2 option with guys like Greg Oden, Pau Gasol, John Stockton, and Tom Heinsohn as teammates. However he is clearly an important piece to their team as the New York Knicks moved quite a few pieces around this off-season to ensure that they would have the money to bring him back to the only team he has played for but they will definitely have to hope that the money and potentially bigger role (I know this isn't really a factor in game) doesn't pull him elsewhere.
2) Al Horford - 20,475,000 - 27 Years Old
- Ronnie Fields is definitely not the only Free Agent the Chicago Bulls have to worry about this off-season which explains their attempt to clear some space early on in the summer (especially with like 3 potential FAs next year as well). Horford is probably the most important piece on a team that really broke out last season after being stuck in the lottery for 3 years post Barkley. He's had his up and downs since the creation draft but he's definitely on an up right now with around 19 PPG | 9 RPG | 3 APG | 1 SPG | 2 BPG on a super high FG%. Outside of the scoring, he pretty much gives you a lot of what Larry Nance, who we spoke about above, gives you and that speaks to Al Horford's value. Still basically in his prime, it'll be interesting to see if Horford gets his foul max which could have him making over 26 million in his final year (5 year deal) from the Bulls. He will definitely get max offers from other teams which has him making slightly over 23 million in his final year (4 year deal) so he'll be one to watch for sure.
3) Grant Hill - $21,000,000 - 30 Years Old
- I was torn on whether to include Grant Hill or Wilson Chandler for this third spot, especially with neither being a traditional Power Forward but in the end decided to go with the older but arguably more skilled Hill (but consider #4 Wilson Chandler). Despite getting up in age, Hill is coming off of an around 21 PPG | 8 RPG | 5 APG | 1 SPG season for REAL Madrid. Now I'll say this, I don't believe that long term Grant Hill has a future in REAL Madrid anymore as I think they will be looking to retool soon, but I could be wrong. However I do believe that they will explore the option of signing and trading Hill so don't expect him to be a piece of cake to snag. He'll be another guy to watch for in regards to how much he'll actually get since I don't think he gets a long term deal but someone could pay him 21 million starting on a 1+1 or 2+1 type of deal if they want to try and win some games next year.
Centers
Tyson Chandler - $18,900,000 - 26 Years Old
- So I'll just say that I don't think Tyson Chandler is the "best" Center available but compared to the other Centers I'm going to mention he is 6 years younger so I factored that in. Tyson Chandler has been what you'd describe as consistent since entering Ultimate ABCA because while he's not a monster scorer, or rebounder, or shot blocker, he is good in all those areas and he's super efficient. He's played the role as the robin to Larry Johnson's batman on the Toronto Raptors for the past 4 seasons but if we're being honest, the ideal situation for him would be to find a team where he can be the 3rd or 4th best player on the roster. Now that may be a revamped Raptors now that they've added Michael Jordan and Carmelo Anthony but I could also see him being a guy that goes elsewhere whether it be immediately in Free Agency or as a sign & trade guy if he re-signs with Toronto. Tyson Chandler is definitely a starting center on a championship team and while he'll be a bit expensive for what he does on the surface, I don't think teams will hesitate to pay him.
Hakeem Olajuwon - $24,570,000 - 32 Years Old
Now when you want to talk about the best available center in this free agent class, you don't have to look any further than Hakeem Olajuwon who was probably the 2nd most important player on Beijing Aoshen's franchise best 57 win team from last season. I know I mentioned earlier that Kevin Loughery may take priority for them over Hakeem but that was more because of the age and price (nearly a $10 million difference between their starting salary's). But while I'm not 100% sure how this team's cap is setup, if they have the money to bring back both I definitely expect them to try hard to do so. At 32 Years old, Hakeem was an All-Star and I suspect that if given the opportunity, he'll be one again next season no matter where he lands.
Arvydas Sabonis - $22,018,500 - 32 Years Old
- Sabo is a former champion, former playoff MVP, former All-League guy, former 5 time All-Star, one of the most unique big men in Ultimate ABCA history, and he was traded for scraps last season. Now I'm not going to get into why that's insane because I get the age thing (which we are trying to remedy moving forward) but if you want a big man that can help you win games, Sabonis is still that guy and that's something a future 2nd Rounder, or whoever it turns into, won't likely be able to say ever. He's not the scorer that he was 2 seasons ago, and honestly that 26 - 10 season seems to be an outlier, but he's still insanely efficient and the rest of his game has aged well. While his effectiveness will continue to dip some as the seasons go on, he still has talent and if you are looking to make a playoff run next season, he's not a guy you should overlook on a short term deal.
Either way, great read.
