2014 NBA Free Agency Week 1 Recap

FREE AGENCY OPENS

If you’re like me (and you’re probably not, which is great for you, because I’m a complete weirdo), you sat and watched the clock till it struck 12:01 a.m. ET on Tuesday morning, then you began to obsessively watch Twitter, ESPN and NBA rumor websites, all at the same time, for the latest news on which big name free agents were going where.

But if you’re not like me, and you’re normal and have a life, you may have missed a thing or two in the soap opera that is the NBA Free Agency Summer of 2014.

No worries. We’ve got you covered.

THE BIG NAMES

Let’s start with the obvious. You want to know what’s up with LeBron James. He’s the biggest name on the market this summer, and the best player in the league.

Things started off tame for “King James.” It looked as though he had every intention of hanging out in the islands with his family and fishing while his agent fielded phone calls that were just formalities.

The plan seemed clear: LeBron, “D-Wade” and Bosh all opt out, re-structure, allow Miami to land some other free agents, and then they’d all re-sign and end their careers together: happily ever after.

Except, it got to a point where Wade and Bosh were the only ones saying that. In fact, James wasn’t saying anything at all. Which didn’t seem like that big of a deal…until the reports started surfacing late last night.

“LeBron wants max contract”

“LeBron’s agent secretly meeting with NBA owners”

The “Heat Report” saw a cold front sweep in overnight, and Pat Riley can’t be feeling awesome about what’s going on.

Could be nothing, but LeBron’s agent, Rich Paul, has now met with officials from the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Phoenix Suns, the Houston Rockets and the Dallas Mavericks, and he’s meeting with Lakers management today.

Could be nothing. But I guarantee you that the condensation on “Riles'” forehead right now isn’t his hair gel dripping.

Carmelo Anthony started his rockstar tour as soon as it was legally allowable. So far, he has been courted by the Chicago Bulls, the Houston Rockets, the Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Lakers.

He wrapped things up with a final meeting with his current team, the New York Knicks.

In “Chi Town,” the Bulls pulled out the big guns with massive images all around the stadium of “Melo” in a Bulls jersey with his current number 7.

The front office brass were on hand, as were Joakim Noah and Derrick Rose, who originally said he would not help in recruiting Carmelo, but seemed to have changed his tune.

Not only was Rose present, but he also obliged by performing a full workout in front of Anthony, just to prove he was healthy and ready to play this upcoming season.

Anthony’s next stop was Houston, where his meeting was rumored to have lasted six hours. Kevin McHale, former Rockets (and of course Trailblazers) great Clyde Drexler, General Manager Daryl Morey, and current Rockets Dwight Howard and James Harden were reportedly present for the meet and greet with Carmelo.

Like the Bulls, Houston opted to showcase a giant likeness of Carmelo in a Rockets jersey. However, drama ensued when it was revealed that the Rockets used the number 7 jersey in the graphic, which currently belongs to Jeremy Lin, who is currently under contract.

He wasn’t thrilled.

From Houston, Carmelo shot straight to Dallas, where he met with Mavericks management in an incognito get together at Mavs owner Mark Cuban’s house.

The meeting was also attended by Mavericks big man Dirk Nowitzki, who attempted to help Cuban pitch Melo on coming to the “Big D” to win a championship in a frontcourt that would feature Dirk, Melo and the newly re-acquired Tyson Chandler.

The pitstop in Dallas was rumored to have been short, sweet and to the point.

On Thursday afternoon, Carmelo met with the Lakers in L.A., where he received a warm welcome from front office management, as well as former Lakers great James Worthy. Also present were executives from Time Warner Cable who were presumably helping the Lakers make the pitch for just how financially viable the franchise continues to be.

They even made a movie for him.

Notably missing from the meeting was Lakers star guard Kobe Bryant, who had planned to fly in from his vacation in Greece, however, the meeting time was moved up to earlier in the day, forcing “The Black Mamba” to miss out.

Anthony wrapped up the evening with a meeting between he and the Knicks reprentatives and Phil Jackson, who has been cautiously confident in his public statements about the Knicks’ ability to keep their star forward.

It appears the Lakers have offered “Melo” their max, which would be approximately 97 million dollars over four years. How they could afford to do that and have other players on their roster is beyond me. But, hey — they’re the Lakers, right?

The Knicks are also rumored to be offering Anthony the max amount, which, for them, would be 129 million dollars over five years. The star forward is said to be taking the holiday weekend to mull over his offers and may have a decision by Monday.

The aforementioned Dirk Nowitzki signed a three-year, 30 million dollar contract with the Mavericks that will allow him to become a free agent in the summer of 2016.

The deal comes as no surprise after both Nowitzki and Cuban had publicly gone on record as saying it was a top priority for the German prolific post player.

Pau Gasol is another foreign big man who has been receiving his fair share of attention so far this week. However, unlike Nowitzki, Gasol’s chances of staying with his current team our much less certain.

Thus far, the Spaniard has received interest from San Antonio, Houston, Chicago, Miami and Oklahoma City, in addition to his current team, the Lakers.

Reportedly, most of the teams on that list of suitors are waiting to see what happens with Carmelo and LeBron before they can totally commit.

Recent reports indicate that the Thunder are making a big push for Gasol, but it would require him to take a big pay cut, as it would if he were to sign with the Spurs and probably the Heat.

There are also reports indicating that if Carmelo were to sign with the Lakers, Gasol would almost certainly be willing to stay put.

Regarding the other two in Miami’s “Big Three,” things have been quiet so far. Like James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh have opted out of their contracts and have yet to take any meetings with other teams.

Reports indicate that both Wade and Bosh would be willing to take pay cuts so that LeBron can finally be the highest player on his team, and so that Miami can go out and sign some other free agents to bolster their roster.

However, that all hinges on James re-signing. Any other result would not only send the Heat, but also the rest of the league, into a huge tailspin.

Should Bosh decide not to return, teams like the Lakers and Rockets have expressed their interest in possibly signing the power forward.

SECOND TIER FREE AGENTS

Though not receiving the same adulation as names like LeBron and Carmelo, players like Gordon Hayward, Kyle Lowry, Eric Bledsoe, Luol Deng, Trevor Ariza, Lance Stephenson, Paul Pierce and Chandler Parsons are on the list of players who would be great “backup plans” for teams unable to land some of the bigger fish in the sea.

Hayward, who has played his entire four-year career for the Utah Jazz, is a restricted free agent. Early on, the Jazz stated they would match any offers made to their franchise small forward. However, things have become a little dicey as of late, with the Cleveland Cavaliers coming seemingly out of nowhere and stating their desire to offer Hayward a max contract.

The Cavs have not officially tendered an offer, and there is no word on whether Utah would certainly match an offer of that magnitude. Other teams interested in Hayward are Phoenix, the Lakers and Chicago — though it is likely Hayward will remain in Salt Lake City.

Kyle Lowry made somewhat of a surprising move when he re-signed with the Toronto Raptors for four years at a rumored 48 million dollars.

The deal cannot be officially consummated until July 10th, but both sides have said it is finalized, from a verbal perspective, anyway.

Lowry was being pursued by the Lakers, the Heat and the Rockets before finally making his decision to stay in Toronto.

Lance Stephenson has reportedly reached an impasse with his current club, the Indiana Pacers, who offered the fiery guard a contract worth 44 million dollars over five seasons.

Stephenson rejected the deal, hoping to get more money, but has yet to receive any better offers.

Teams who strike out on LeBron and Carmelo are likely to reach out to Stephenson, so he will likely be waiting or week or two before he signs with anyone.

Brooklyn Nets forward Paul Pierce has received serious interest from the Los Angeles Clippers, who are offering a sign-and-trade deal to the Nets.

The package reportedly includes a combination of Jared Dudley, Matt Barnes and Reggie Bullock. The Nets are said to be holding out for a better deal, which is interesting considering the fact that Pierce is an unrestricted free agent and can go anywhere he wants.

So far this week, there have been no big rumors or reports regarding Phoenix Suns restricted free agent Eric Bledsoe. The Suns have been outspoken about matching any offer made to the point guard, and teams have seemed to be accordingly standoffish.

Look for the Heat, Rockets and Lakers to potentially test the waters make offers on Bledsoe as the next week or so progresses.

Luol Deng has received interest from Cleveland, the Lakers, the Bulls, the Rockets, the Hawks and the Heat, but he has received no formal offers from any team as of yet.

Trevor Ariza has been strongly rumored to be re-signing with his current team, the Washington Wizards, but he has received interest from his former team, the Lakers, as well as Miami.

Chandler Parsons will almost certainly re-sign with the Rockets, though he has also drawn attention from the Lakers, the Bulls, the Heat and the Suns. Interestingly enough, late last night, he tweeted:

305. @deltoroshoes @chanteljeffries @cassidyjrdn http://t.co/8DgVFmYTfz — Chandler Parsons (@ChandlerParsons) July 4, 2014

The link leads to a picture on his Instagram account of him partying in a club with Chantel Jeffries, who is supposed to be dating Justin Bieber.

That’s neither here nor there. This isn’t TMZ.

However, what is important in all that is that “305” is the area code for Miami, where Jeffries is from. Also interesting is the fact that Parsons deleted the Instagram photo (But you can still see it HERE.), but he apparently forgot to delete the tweet (as of 11:14 a.m. ET).

Could it be a coincidence that he was in Miami? Maybe. Maybe not. We’ll let you decide.