Now that the draft has passed and we have addressed some of our needs, whether they are an immediate answer or not remains to be seen, we look to free agency with a good bit of money to spend. Only there are few if any free agents to get excited about. Who do we target? I say go for a guy we almost surely can not get. Yes, I read Dave's sensible post on why we should probably avoid restricted free agents. I'm wondering if the need for that has subsided, if only a bit, after last night. The team most thought to be targeting Batum with lots of cap space to throw his way was Toronto and they took a SF at #8. Could they still go after Batum? Maybe. Who else is likely looking to overpay for Batum? I'm sure there are interested teams, but the scariest option is maybe off the table. That could buy us a little time to have some fun as we mess with other teams.
Let's start by swinging for the fence. For some that might be going for Hibbert. I'd prefer to go after Eric Gordon. He would fit awfully nice next to Lillard. Yes, the Hornets will almost certainly match any offer. Make sure they pay the price to keep him! Maybe you want someone a little more attainable. Let's see how badly Houston wants to keep Courtney Lee. They deserve to be messed with as they wouldn't send Lowry our way. Or maybe test Sacramento's desire to keep Jason Thompson now that they have T-Rob? Payback for an unfortunate coin flip that didn't go our way.
Obviously, you have to weigh losing other players to testing the restricted free agent market and in my opinion you can't let it cost you Batum, but let's agree that the UFA market is not dripping with excitement. I think we can go for something better than what's available in the UFA market and still feel good that we made other teams pay market price to keep their players. We will find some serviceable vets to pair with our rookies and newly signed Euros, even if we don't sign them the first day they are eligible to sign. If we don't land a RFA we likely have money left over for lopsided trades and probably position ourselves to keep our pick next year. I like it better than overspending on the few semi-desirable UFAs that are available on the market.
What RFA do you like to fit with this Blazer team?
What teams really deserve to be messed with? Are there any Utah Jazz RFAs?


There are 18 Comments. Load Now.
Shortcuts to mastering the comment thread. Use wisely.
C - Next Comment
X - Mark as Read
R - Reply
Z - Mark Read & Next
Shift + C - Previous
Shift + A - Mark All Read
Comment Settings
Live comment alert: Hide it!
Comments for this post are closed.