What does this year’s free agency look like? It all starts at 12:01 a.m. Sunday. “This isn’t the greatest class,†said TNT’s Charles Barkley. “But there are some players out there who can help some people.â€
There is a 10-day moratorium during which teams can negotiate with free agents, but no signings can take place until July 11, when the new salary cap for the 2007-08 season is set. An expected cap of 56.8 million would put the Memphis Grizzlies, 11.4 million and the Orlando Magic, 10.8 million as the top teams with the most room.
There are three exceptions that allow teams to go over the cap.
-A team can re-sign its own free agents for any amount up to the maximum player limit, if the player was with the team for the three prior seasons or if he changed teams by trade.
-Each team has a mid-level exception, based on the average player salary, expected to be about 5.5 million.
-Each team also has what is called a million dollar exception, set at 1.83 million for next season.
Anderson Varejao and Sasha Pavlovic from the Cavaliers are both restricted free agents that will garner some attention and force the Cavs to make a decision on whether to match their offer. A look at some of this season’s other top free agents:
Billups – A free agent point guard that is expected to resign with the Pistons.
Lewis – Seattle’s 6-10 scorer with three point range. He has career averages of 16.6 points and 5.8 rebounds.
Wallace – One of the league’s top all-around players at 6-7, he led the Bobcats last season in scoring (18.1) and steals (2.0).
Bibby – Sacramento’s clutch shooter who is comfortable playing with the ball or off it.