Tuesday Insider

[Weez]

Restricted free agents have it rough

By Chad Ford

ESPN Insider

With Vlade Divac heading to the Lakers, Erick Dampier close to picking his new home and Rasheed Wallace still on the verge of re-signing with the Pistons, the top free agents left on the market are all restricted free agents.

Only a handful of restricted free agents -- Quentin Richardson, Carlos Boozer, Mehmet Okur and Morris Peterson -- have received offer sheets from other teams. In every case, there was strong evidence to suggest the player's current team wouldn't, or couldn't, match the offer.

Why can't players like Stromile Swift, Darius Miles and Jamal Crawford get real offers? Surely they're worth more than role players like Brian Cardinal, Adonal Foyle, Rafer Alston and Derek Fisher, who've all pulled down huge deals.

Swift, Miles and Crawford were the No. 2, No. 3 and No. 8 picks in the 2000 NBA Draft, respectively. All three showed enormous promise last season. Swift, who is 24, is one of the most athletic big men in the game. He averaged 9.4 ppg, 4.9 rpg and 1.5 bpg playing out of position at center last season. Miles, who is just 22, blossomed in Portland, averaging 12.6 ppg and 4.5 rpg with the Blazers. Crawford, who just turned 24, is a rare "big" point guard who averaged 17.3 ppg and 5.1 apg for the Bulls last season.

The answer is that restricted free agency is just that -- restricting. Teams don't want to make offer sheets, have their cap space locked up for 15 days only to learn that the team owning the restricted free agent's rights is going to match.

That leaves a restricted free agent three options. One, work out a sign-and-trade (ask Crawford how easy that is). Two, work out a contract with your own club. Or, three, beg someone else to drop down an offer sheet. Teams consider option three a last resort.

There are plenty of teams interested in Crawford, Swift and Miles, but so far no one has officially extended an offer sheet. Teams are reluctant to pull the trigger, knowing they'll either have to give up a valuable asset in a trade or overpay the player in an effort to dissuade his current team from matching.

Neither is an attractive proposal, which is why many restricted free agents either re-sign with their own teams or take the one-year tender and wait for unrestricted free agency the next summer.

How will the summer play out for the NBA's top restricted free agents? Insider takes a look.

Stromile Swift, PF/C, Grizzlies

SwiftThe skinny: Swift expected to be a hot commodity this summer, but the Grizzlies made it known they planned to match any offer, and the market cooled pretty quickly.

The Hawks and Bobcats could use him and have enough cash left to make the Grizzlies sweat. The Hawks spent some time talking with Erick Dampier on Monday, but walked away from the meeting with the feeling that they weren't going to land him. Expect them to turn their attention to signing Swift now. He's the best free-agent big man on the board and he'll come cheaper than Damp.

To get Swift, the Hawks would probably have to give him a starting salary of around $7 million per season (they have a little under $11 million left under the cap). Over six years that translates into six years, $52.5 million, slightly more than Mehmet Okur pulled in. Is he worth that? As a starting power forward or center in the East? Maybe. When Swift played 28 or more minutes a game last season he averaged 16.3 ppg, 9.2 rpg and 1.8 bpg. Put him on the floor in the East for 35 minutes a night and his numbers could easily be around there or slightly higher.

The Bobcats would also be a fit. They've been stockpiling bigs, but they don't have anyone of Swift's caliber. A front line of Swift and Emeka Okafor would be among the most athletic in the league.

With that said, none of this precludes the Grizzlies from matching. They claim they want Swift back, and if they lose out on Dampier, they may have no choice but to pay him that cash. Without him, their front line takes a major hit. With the way other teams in the West are improving, they may not be able to afford to let him go.

If Swift can't get an offer sheet, and if the Grizzlies continue to low ball him, he can take their one-year, $5.99 million tender offer and become an unrestricted free agent next summer. The fear is that, by then, there will be a new collective bargaining agreement -- one that might limit the compensation and number of years Swift can sign to.

Jamal Crawford, G, Bulls

CrawfordThe skinny: Crawford is in the toughest situation. At least the Grizzlies and Blazers want Swift and Miles back. That's not necessarily true with Crawford. However, the Bulls know they have an asset and don't want to lose it. They're telling everyone that they'll match Crawford's offer sheet if it's in the mid-level range and, if nothing else, trade him later in a deal that makes better sense for them.

So far, Crawford's only come up with one team willing to offer him more -- the Knicks. Unfortunately for Crawford, the Knicks are way over the cap, meaning that the only way to get that done is in a sign-and-trade. The fact that the Knicks are willing to overpay may actually have slowed down the process. He's no longer interested in taking the mid-level when he could earn between $50 to $70 million with the Knicks.

The two sides are still talking sign-and-trade, but if the Knicks lock up Dampier, will they still have enough juice to get something done with the Bulls? The Knicks will have to give up one of their coveted expiring contracts (Othella Harrington) to work out something for Damp. Unfortunately, the Bulls were eyeing Harrington in their trade discussions making a deal with the Knicks unlikely.

To get a deal to work under cap rules the trade would have to look something like this: Crawford, Jerome Williams and Eddie Robinson to the Knicks for Shandon Anderson, Dikembe Mutombo, Cezary Trybanski, Frank Williams and Michael Sweetney. Isiah Thomas will likely bristle at including two valuable young players like Williams and Sweetney in the deal. The deal could also be just Penny Hardaway and Trybanski for Crawford, Williams and Robinson. However, the Bulls wouldn't realize any real cap savings until after the 2005-06 season.

If Crawford can't work out something with the Knicks, what are his options? He can either sign an offer sheet for the Knicks' mid-level and pray the Bulls don't match or he can try to convince one of the three teams that still has cap room left -- the Hawks, Clippers and Bobcats -- to make him an offer the Bulls won't match.

Ironically, Crawford would be a good fit on all three teams. All three need point guards and size in the backcourt. The Bobcats have just one point guard on the roster, Jason Hart, and roughly $17 million worth of cap room. The Clippers, even if they match Richardson's offer sheet from the Suns, are looking at more than $8 million of room. Shaun Livingston is the future there, but Crawford would be a great fit. Perhaps the Bulls could work out a sign-and-trade for Marko Jaric that would make the transaction even smoother.

The Hawks make even more sense. Jason Terry is really an undersized two guard masquerading in a point guard body. If you put a big point on the floor like Crawford, he doesn't become quite as big of a liability. If the Hawks offered the Bulls the expiring contract of Chris Crawford and last year's No. 1 pick Boris Diaw (who the Bulls like) in return for Crawford, they could lock him up and still have enough cash left over to make a strong run at Swift.

Darius Miles, F, Blazers

MilesThe skinny: Miles was a breakout performer for the Blazers over the last two months of the season, after getting off to a terrible start for the Cavs. Miles appeared to find his groove in Portland, running up and down the floor, playing defense and being the spark plug that team had lacked for the past several years.

Miles was a big part of the team's late playoff push, and toward the end of the season, head coach Maurice Cheeks preferred playing Miles over Shareef Abdur-Rahim. For years, people believed that Miles would be the best player in the Class of 2000. Why can't he get his money now?

Portland wants to re-sign him, but its initial offer sheet to Miles was on the low side, causing Miles to look elsewhere. The Nuggets showed some interest, but went a different direction. The Hawks, Clippers and Bobcats all have the cash, but none of those teams are a good fit. The Hawks just drafted a couple of athletic small forwards, Josh Childress and Josh Smith, less than a month ago. The Bobcats need guards at this point. The Clippers have always liked Miles, but where would he play assuming they match Quentin Richardson?

That leaves Miles in a precarious position. The Blazers want him back, meaning it's unlikely they'll entertain sign-and-trades at this point. Miles is going to struggle to come up with an offer sheet for anything more than the mid-level, which is probably below market value given what other free agents have earned this summer.

That leaves him with one option. He can accept the Blazers one-year tender offer of $5.4 million and become an unrestricted free agent next season. Miles, who is just 22, could try again when he's 23.

However, Miles has the same fear that Swift does. With a new collective bargaining agreement in place, the free-agent market may not look as rosy next season. It's in the best interest of both Miles and the team to work something out, but right now, they're at an impasse.

Around the League

Is Damp heading to N.Y.? The Knicks' pursuit of Erick Dampier has been well documented. However, reports out of New York on Monday that the deal is "done" may have been premature. Not only did Damp meet with the Hawks on Monday afternoon, but Warriors GM Chris Mullin was quick to shoot down the reports.

Asked at Derek Fisher's press conference whether he was only dealing with the Knicks at this point, Mullin told reporters "No. We're talking to several other teams. When something becomes clear, we're going to regroup and move from there."

As we've been saying for weeks, it's unlikely Dampier would choose the Hawks or that the Hawks would offer him a huge contract. They are rebuilding and don't have a great shot of winning any time soon. After playing on an awful team his whole career, why not just stay with the Warriors if winning wasn't the most important thing?

The Knicks are offering Dampier a starting salary of $9 million per in a sign-and-trade that would send Nazr Mohammed and Othella Harrington (who is in the last year of his contract) to Golden State. That works out to a six-year, $71 million deal for Dampier assuming he gets the max 12.5 percent raises. According to several reports in the New York area, Dampier's agent, Dan Fegan, is trying to get the Knicks to pick up a seventh year. Assuming the same raises, that would make his number in year seven $16.38 million -- when he's 37 years old. Eighty-seven million for Dampier? You've got to love Isiah.

There's a pretty major hitch in the seven-year scenario, however. If Dampier, who's 30 right now, gets a seventh year, the "over 36" rule is evoked. The rule basically says that, for cap purposes, the year or years of a long-term contract that extend beyond a player's 36th birthday are considered unlikely.

In other words, it's unlikely the player will be playing at age 37. To discourage teams from giving players what essentially amount to "golden parachutes," the over-36 rule states, in this particular case, that Dampier's seventh-year salary ($16.38 million) must be averaged over the course of the first six years for cap purposes. That means that as far as sign-and-trades and the cap goes, you've got to add $2.73 million to each of the first six years of Damp's contract. That puts his first-year starting salary at a whopping $11.73 million. It also means that the trade of Mohammed and Harrington for Dampier wouldn't work without the Knicks putting another salary into the deal.

Why are the Warriors even playing along? Look no further than Fegan. Fegan also represents Jason Richardson and Troy Murphy. Both players become restricted free agents next summer if they don't work out extensions this fall. If Mullin wants them back at a reasonable price, it probably behooves him to work out a nice package for Dampier.

If the Knicks really are offering that salary and if the Warriors are really willing to accept (sources say yes on both fronts), why hasn't a deal happened? One league source claims that Dampier is nervous about playing for the Knicks and the big-time pressure he'd be under in New York. He preferred to play in a smaller market like Memphis, which is closer to his home in Mississippi. So far the Grizzlies have been unwilling to meet Damp and the Warriors' asking price. Could this story of Damp's imminent signing with the Knicks have been leaked as a final warning shot to other teams to get off the fence and make their best offer?

Warriors go fishing: Speaking of our good friends over at the Warriors, Derek Fisher told reporters that he was promised "starter-like" minutes on the Warriors next season. I'm sure Speedy Claxton and Nick Van Exel were thrilled to hear that.

"I don't think any organization makes a financial commitment the way they have to me over a six-year period if they don't plan to play you a lot," Fisher said at the press conference.

GMs believe that the Warriors won't have three "starting" point guards on their roster next season and will keep trying to move Van Exel. Contrary to what's being reported everywhere in the print media, Van Exel is essentially in the last year of his contract. He does have a $12.713 million option next year, but the contract is completely unguaranteed. He gave up the guarantee at the request of Mark Cuban when Van Exel was traded to the Mavs several years ago.

Claxton is also essentially in the last season of his contract as well. He, too, has a team option for the third year of his contract. Both players will have some value around the league, especially if the Warriors are willing to accept back some salary in return.

The numbers don't lie: More contracts are rolling into the league office. Here's the latest on the actual numbers of some free agents.

Steve Nash's deal comes to six years for $65.6 million. His first-year salary is $8.75 million with 10 percent raises every year. The sixth year is only partially guaranteed. Nash's guaranteed money is just a smidgen over six years, $60 million.

Vlade Divac will sign for two years, $10.3 million today with the Lakers.

Rafer Alston's contract with the Raptors came to six years, $26.25 million with some unlikely performance bonuses that could add more to contract. His first-year salary is $3.5 million. The sixth year isn't fully guaranteed, bringing the guaranteed total to five years, $21 million, which is what Insider originally reported.

Bruce Bowen's four-year, $14.25 million contract is only partially guaranteed ($2 million) in the last year (2007-09) of the deal.

Marquis Daniels got only a five-year guaranteed contract. The sixth year, worth $7.4 million, is a team option.

Chad Ford covers the NBA for ESPN Insider.

[capstone21]

I know it is fantasy but the trade proposed would just be awsome for us.

Diaw/CC (expiring contract) for Crawford

and still enough money to go after Swift

JT/Harrington/Ivey

Crawford/Chrildress/Hansen

Harrington/Smith

Swift/Hendu

Prys/Collier

That is a very young playoff bound team. Plus next season Hendu's contract comes off the books and we can go after a center.

[Packfill]

I'm not sure Crawford makes sense. He really isn't a true point guard either and he does not shoot particularly well or play defense. he has plenty of potential but I rather take my chances with Childress at the two and Terry at the point.

[jezmund]

Yeah, we don't need Crawford. If it came down to taking Crawford or Miles, I'd rather have Miles at 4-5M than Crawford at 7-8M. At least Miles has size and length. Crawford shoots a horrible percentage and at least Miles could help us with defense and rebounding. But I don't really think either is a choice.

[Blunt91]

From the little I have watched Crawford he doesn't make good decisions on the court as a pointguard. He is still more of a 2guard than a pointguard. The real question is can Jamal Crawford run the offense better than Boris Diaw?

[capstone21]

We don't need a pure pg. We need a big guard that can SHARE pg duties with JT. Both can take turns running the offence.

Crawford fits that role perfectly. He is young and still learning hte game.

Last year at the end of the season he really took over and played extremely well. I expect him to continue that play. Playing with a young atheletic team like the Hawks would be a good fit for him.

[Weez]

Crawford wants to be the figurehead, the team face. you have to keep that in mind...he does want, similar to Ticky Davis, to prove his worth. on a young, rebuilding team...he'd most certainly want that duty. to take him, you're betting against Harrington and more, " team play."

that's why I say no.

[BOShforRoy]

Vlade's deal is surprising. Why would the lakers pay 10.3 million for two years for a player who is not capable of playing more than 20 minutes and his health is very doubtful. I like the Rafer Alston deal 21 million for 5 years. BK should've atleast looked at him since he is a pure pg and very good in pushing the ball upcourt and can shoot a little. He could've helped the young guys by giving the ball at the right spots for J-Chill and j smith to score.

[kingsdynasty]

LA needs a center so bad, that they were willing to dish out enough money to lure vlade from sac. there really isnt much out there, and vlade is good enough to hold his own for about 1/2 the game. w.o a decent sized big man, LA would get destroyed by the bigger teams. i think vlade is a good short term fill in for the cener spot.

[Traceman]

Does BK think Diaw is going to be appreciably better than Crawford in a few years? If that is the case, he shouldn't make the deal even if we do currently have a glut at SF. Diaw is versatile enough to spend time at 4 positions as he proved last year. However, if he thinks that Diaw will be nothing more than a solid role player in the future, he should try to get CHI interested in such a deal.

I like Crawford a lot and I think that a Diaw/CC for Crawford deal makes a LOT of sense for both teams. I would NOT do the deal though if it meant we had to pay Crawford more than $6M a season to start.

[KB21]

Diaw has his shooting struggles, but at least he plays team oriented ball.

Jamal Crawford is a poor shooter who continues to jack shots up while playing zero defense along the way. The guy was 14th in the league in field goals attempted and 3rd in the league in three point field goals attempted. The only two players who shot more three pointers than Crawford are Baron Davis and Peja Stojackovic.

This is the type of player who will get a big contract and sit on his rump. Stay away from Crawford!!