The NBA’s free agency period is winding down, but there are three players whose future is still up in the air: Brandon Jennings, a restricted free agent with Milwaukee; Nikola Pekovic, the same status as Jennings with Minnesota; and Greg Oden, who hasn’t played in the NBA since fracturing his left patella in December of 2009, and who is now an unrestricted free agent. One Eastern Conference player is wondering where they’re headed, and so are we.
The Indiana Pacers have significantly upgraded their bench this offseason with Luis Scola and Chris Copeland replacing Tyler Hansbrough and Sam Young on the second team while C.J. Watson replaced D.J. Augustin for backup point guard duties.
The changes have made them possibly more talented than Miami in the East. Perhaps because of the significant upgrades they’ve made to their bench, Roy Hibbert, wants to know about the top remaining free agents.
Still wanna know when Brandon Jennings, Greg Oden n Pek are gonna sign.
— Roy Hibbert (@Hoya2aPacer) July 30, 2013
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Lets take a brief look at these three and where they’re likely to play next season as of this writing.
Nikola Pekovic
Pek is a restricted free agent who bizarrely hasn’t attracted an offer from a competing team. According to the Star Tribune, new ‘Wolves GM, Flip Saunders, is supposed to fly to New York early this week to meet with Pekovic’s agent, Jeff Schwartz.
The ‘Wolves have an offer on the table for a four-year $50 million deal, and Schwartz has made a counter-offer. Rather than negotiate by phone, Saunders is coming to meet Pek’s reps in New York. Most observers feel this deal is just a formality with Minnesota consistently reiterating they want their big Balkan back. Perhaps that’s why no one else has tendered an offer for Pek despite him becoming one fo the most efficient scorers in the block last season, and a tough presence underneath. We see a deal happening any day now, with Pekovic returning under a four-year deal that will pay him close to max money.
Brandon Jennings
Poor Brandon Jennings. He feels like he’s a max player, but his team already tried to lure Jeff Teague to Milwaukee with an offer sheet the Hawks eventually matched; they’ve also already signed O.J. Mayo with a three-year $24 million contract to replace Monta Ellis while bringing on Luke Ridnour from the ‘Wolves as a possible starting point guard should Jennings get an offer from another team.
No one can really figure out what the Bucks are doing this off-season, since they have roughly four centers and more front court players than they know what to do with. They also own Jennings’ Bird rights, so they can pay him max money without worrying about salary cap issues. There is a qualifying offer Jennings could elect to take, paying him $4.5 million next season, and it would allow him to become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
If the Bucks don’t offer him a multiyear deal he thinks he deserves (e.g. four years $40 million plus like Jrue Holiday, Stephen Curry or Ty Lawson), then he’ll be forced to sign the QO since no other teams appear interested in forcing the Bucks’ hands with a big offer. The new CBA has forced teams to consider even those offers to restricted free agents from different teams.
Keep reading to find out where Greg Oden might play next season.
Greg Oden
At first, it seemed that Oden would join one of the two Finals teams from last year with Miami and San Antonio as the two most prevalent names being thrown around in conjunction with the former No. 1 pick. But a few other teams have gotten into the mix now, according to David Aldridge of NBA.com: Dallas, New Orleans, Sacramento and Atlanta. Aldridge also mentions that we’re likely to hear Oden’s decision this week—either Wednesday or Thursday.
Sources tell Marc J. Spears of Y! Sports that Oden is most intrigued by Miami and New Orleans, two dissimilar situations. New Orleans made a couple risky moves this summer by acquiring Tyreke Evans and Jrue Holiday in an attempt by GM Dell Demps to get the Pelicans into the playoffs, per owner Tom Benson‘s wishes. Miami, as we know, is looking to win their third consecutive title, but they face a much tougher Eastern Conference with Derrick Rose back for Chicago and Indiana’s bench getting so much better.
Perhaps people are surprised at all the interest—particularly from clubs that are serious about making the playoffs, or in the case of Miami, defending their title for the third straight year—considering Oden’s injury history. As ESPN’s Marc Stein pointed out last week when Oden went through a series of workouts in Vegas for the above teams, he appears very lean and is moving well.
But does Oden want the pressure of trying to help a team that’s expected to win a title? Or does he think that playing in Miami would actually be less pressure, since he wouldn’t be expected to add very much, just whatever he can on the boards for a juggernaut that’s already captured the last two titles? For New Orleans, they’ve got a new young cast of players, and maybe Oden just wants to try and play for a team on the rise, and with a player—Anthony Davis—who might be on the cusp of superstardom.
If Spears is correct and Oden’s decision this week comes down to Miami or New Orleans, we think he’ll choose Miami since they give him the best chance for a title, and he wouldn’t be expected to play very much with Chris Andersen already signed to a one-year deal and Chris Bosh as the starting 5 in Miami’s small-ball lineup. But money could be issue.
Miami only has their taxpayer’s mid-level exception to sign Oden, worth a little over $3 million in the first year (per Hoopsworld salary data), but they amnestied Mike Miller to avoid going into the next tax tier, and adding Oden would mean having to drop another player if they wanted to avoid jumping to the $2.5 per $1 tax rate designated once a team has exceeded the tax rate by $10 million. The Heat are already right on the precipice of going over that $10 million figure, so it would be a tricky addition if they used their taxpayer’s MLE.
New Orleans can offer $2.652 million in cap room and they don’t really have to worry about luxury taxes this season. Money doesn’t figure to be a large part of Oden’s decision since he’s already made over $23 million during his brief career in Portland, but teams care about it, obviously. Conversely, Oden may choose whichever team’s medical staff gives him the most peace of mind as he attempts to make a comeback after more than two years away from the NBA grind, and rickety knees.
All things being equal, we think Miami will find a way to get Oden in uniform to bolster their small front line against the Indiana’s of the world. That’s probably why Hibbert was so eager to hear where these players land.
Where do you think Pek, Jennings and Oden end up?
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