Free agent targets this summer

[Starksfan311]

Marcin Gortat should be our #1 target. He doesn't get much PT behind Dwight Howard but when he plays he produces. He's a better option than a healthy Tyson Chandler would have been. Gortat is a beast on the boards, with consistent minutes he could be a top 10 rebounder in this league. He's not a stud offensively but he's not bad either. Orlando can't afford to keep him, we have to go after him.

[AD]

Mo Almond

6'6'' SG with much potential

Utah is stacked and will let him walk... Probably can get him for cheap.

[Clangus]

Marcin Gortat should be our #1 target. He doesn't get much PT behind Dwight Howard but when he plays he produces. He's a better option than a healthy Tyson Chandler would have been. Gortat is a beast on the boards, with consistent minutes he could be a top 10 rebounder in this league. He's not a stud offensively but he's not bad either. Orlando can't afford to keep him, we have to go after him.

That's my thought exactly. I was suggesting this at a different board Early in the year. He isn't a typical backup who gets a heap of fouls when he comes in. He plays good D and rebounds well - he's really athletic too!

I'd be stoked if we get him!

[DwightSchrute]

I'd love to sign Gortat for the reasons already mentioned by others.

I wonder how much competition there will be for him. I know Detroit will have a ton of cap room, and there's no reason he couldn't be a starter on that team next year. I guess anyone else would just be offering the full MLE. Something slightly above the MLE might be enough to get him, and I think that would be a good deal given the premium on big men. Also, depending on other moves the Thunder make this offseason, we might be in a position to offer him a front-loaded contract to preserve a little more cap flexibility in the future.

[Choda Boy]

A front loaded contract sounds like it could actually be more appealing to both parties. His fill in job against Philly seemed to be pretty good and knowing Presti could sign him would take some pressure off of him in drafting a big. Could be nice.

[RicanThunder]

The bad part is the draft occurs before the free agent signing period begins on July 1st, and you can't have any under the table (tampering) deals with free agents before then. Just look at Minnesota. They still haven't recovered from the under the table Joe Smith deal. They had to give up draft picks (for the next few seasons), pay like a $1 million fine and couldn't sign Joe Smith in the end.

[RicanThunder]

As far as FA, Gortat and Almond are good candidates in a very weak class. Weak draft, weak FA class. Its sad when the biggest names on the FA market may be Boozer, Odom, and Turkgoglu. I also think Korver may be a good acquisition, but I wouldn't put the house for sale for him. He'll probably be commanding somewhere in the 8-9 million range due to his skill.

[DwightSchrute]

As far as FA, Gortat and Almond are good candidates in a very weak class. Weak draft, weak FA class. Its sad when the biggest names on the FA market may be Boozer, Odom, and Turkgoglu. I also think Korver may be a good acquisition, but I wouldn't put the house for sale for him. He'll probably be commanding somewhere in the 8-9 million range due to his skill.
I don't see Korver getting that much. Teams are going to be more conservative about their spending in general (though it only takes one team willing to go overboard for a player to get overpaid), and the teams with significant cap room will either be smart about their spending (OKC and Detroit), not really have a need for Korver (Memphis, with Mayo and Gay locked in as their starting wings), or will not have much cap room once they spend the money to retain their own free agents (Atlanta, for example). Although I think a player like Korver would be a very good fit for a lot of teams, including the Thunder, I'm guessing he's going to be much closer to the $6 million than the $8-9 million range (though I've been wrong on salary projections many times).

It's going to be interesting to see what happens with Utah this summer, as their decisions may really shape the free agent market. Boozer has backed off of his declaration to opt-out and talked about wanting to negotiate an extension with the Jazz. If no one but Korver opts out, the Jazz are going to be barely under the luxury tax, and that's without Millsap, whom they seem to prefer over Boozer. If both Boozer and Korver opt out, and the Jazz let Boozer walk while re-signing Millsap, they'll still be near the luxury tax threshold even before accounting for Korver. It'll also be interesting to see if and how the franchise changes their M.O. with Larry Miller's kids taking over.

[chuck]

The dailythunder today talks about a combo guard, Yotam Halperin, who is 6'5" 200 lbs shooting 51.8% 3pt fg, 78.4% from 2 pt range, 77.8% FT, and we already have the rights for him. The sonics drafted him in the 2nd round of the 06 draft. He is averaging 21 min a game. Sounds like Presti needs to bring him to the Thunder!!
the link is http://www.dailythunder.com/ if needed.

[RicanThunder]

I remember him. There was another Isreali player that was drafted in that draft also. They were supposed to be the first Isreali players to play in the NBA. Bring him over then. I'm pretty sure parts of Isreal are like OKC, but without the gunfire and flying mortar rounds.

[Trueblood]

Also, if Boozer doesn't opt out, look for them to try and trade him to a team that needs a PF and that is far enough under the cap to absorb his salary. Detroit and Memphis would fit the bill. Wallace and McDyess will most likely not be back while Memphis is weak at the 4 unless they get Blake Griffin.

[RicanThunder]

Okay, so I did some research on Hoopshype.com and looked at the most logical free agents that could make an impact on our team. Some criteria:

1) They can't break out cap. Smart signings that won't break our salary cap.

2) Fill a need. Don't sign a player just because you have the cash.

I'll list them by their current team, position, and about how much they made last season:

OKC
SG/SF Desmond Mason - $5.9 mill
PF Malik Rose - $7.6 mill

Orlando
PF/C Marcin Gortat - < 800K

Utah
SG/SF Mo Almond - 1.1 mill
SG/SF Kyle Korver - 5.1 mill

Denver
PF/C - Chris Andersen - < 1 mill
SG - Dahnty Jones - < 1 mill

Dallas
PF/C Brandon Bass - < 1 mill
SG Gerald Green - < 1 mill

Houston
SG Von Wafer - < 800K

Indianapolis
C Rasho Nesterovic - 8.4 mill

LA Lakers
PF Josh Powell - < 1 mill
C DJ Mbenga - < 1 mill

Memphis
SF/PF Darius Miles - < 1 mill
SG Quinton Ross - < 800K

Miami
SG/SF Jamario Moon - < 800K
C Joel Anthony - < 800K

Milwaukee
SF Luc Richard Mbah a Moute - < 800K

New Orleans
SG Devin Brown - < 1 mill

Phoenix
SF Matt Barnes - 1.2 mill

Toronto
SF/PF Pops Mensah Bonsu - < 1 mill


Now, I'm not saying that these are the prime players on the market. But I think, for the right price, they can be an asset to this team. For example, Rasho would be a serviceable back up big man for back up big man on the downside of his career price ($3 - 4 mill a year for about 2-3 years). One surprise player that really peaked my interest was Dahntay Jones of the Denver Nuggets. He's is a pitbull and gets under the skin of guards as a physical defender. I would love to have him on my team. The most I would pay for any of these players would be about 6 mill a year for Korver. Desmond, Malik, and Rasho would have to expect at least a 50% + pay cut. Veteran minimum, if necessary for Malik Rose.

[KD 4 MVP]

At his current salary I wouldn't mind having the birdman for his toughness and hustle.

[Urukgali]

I would really like to see Gortat in our team.Thats mostly because hes from same city as i am and im his big fan but this big man can play!He learned to play basketball in just few years and now hes competing with best players in the league.He doesnt have much playing time because of Howard but he showed hes quality many times.Last game against Philla when he was a starter was Orlando's best game in play offs.With more playing time he could be really good.He's still learning!
The other player from the list is Darius Miles.I dont really know if he can get back to the level he represented before but if he can then id love to see him in OKC.