01-01-2021, 10:40 AM
Hollinger put out a list of 21 FA's in 21 who he thinks will get more than the MLE (including JRich and THJ). Below is the list and the write ups for the two Mavs:
Kawhi
Dipo
Collins
Lonzo
D. Robinson
Lowry
J. Allen
Drummond
Dinwiddie
Oubre
Graham
Markkanen
JRich
Trent
DeRozan
Barton
Fournier
THJ
Conley
Jones Jr.
THT
13. Josh Richardson, 28, SG, Dallas (player option): A defensive stopper with some offensive juice to him, I’d expect Richardson to opt out of his $11.6 million final season and seek a longer deal that pays him in the $15-20 million range annually. While he’s not a primary offensive option, he averaged 13.7 points a game last year and shoots 36.4 percent career from 3, and his defense is good enough to put him on the opponent’s best player every night.
That’s not a max player or anything, but it’s a solid starter. Even in a league that tends to overpay offense and underpay defense, Richardson has clear value and should be a “Plan B” target for every team that misses out on one of the top names above. That includes Dallas, which could easily pivot to re-signing Richardson if its loftier free-agency dreams don’t come to pass.
18. Tim Hardaway Jr., 29, SG, Dallas: Hardaway and Fournier are birds of a feather, as I’ve noted before: Both are 28 and coming off career years, both opted into their deals for 2020-21 and both offer shooting and shot creation at the cost of some defense. Both are also perceived as gettable, although in Hardaway’s case it’s the opposite scenario from Fournier.
Dallas has no luxury-tax issues, at least until Luka Doncic’s near-certain max extension kicks in in 2022, but the Mavs’ cap space dreams depend on Hardaway seeking a new address. It’s possible that nobody to Dallas’ liking is available and the Mavs run it back with Hardaway and Richardson above, but if not, Hardaway will be an attractive target as a shooter with a tolerable price tag. As with Fournier, I’d look for something around three years and $50 million.
Since he references Fournier in the THJ write-up, here's what he said about Fournier:
17. Evan Fournier, 29, SG, Orlando: Fournier gave one indication of his market when he opted in to $17.1 million this season rather than hit free agency. Even coming off a career year in his late 20s, Fournier has a market that is more likely in the $15 million a year range than anything that begins with a 2.
Nonetheless, teams will be monitoring him closely due to his perceived obtainability. Fournier is unrestricted, and the Magic likely pried themselves out of keeping him with extensions for Markelle Fultz and Jonathan Isaac. As a result of those deals, anything in eight figures for Fournier would push Orlando into the luxury tax.
Presuming Orlando doesn’t go 72-0 this year and run it back, that leaves two alternatives. The first is that he walks after the season. The second, more interesting one is an extend-and-trade deal. Fournier is extension-eligible, and any acquiring team would likely want to cement his rights beyond this season. The sweet spot would seem to be something around three years and $50 million.
Kawhi
Dipo
Collins
Lonzo
D. Robinson
Lowry
J. Allen
Drummond
Dinwiddie
Oubre
Graham
Markkanen
JRich
Trent
DeRozan
Barton
Fournier
THJ
Conley
Jones Jr.
THT
13. Josh Richardson, 28, SG, Dallas (player option): A defensive stopper with some offensive juice to him, I’d expect Richardson to opt out of his $11.6 million final season and seek a longer deal that pays him in the $15-20 million range annually. While he’s not a primary offensive option, he averaged 13.7 points a game last year and shoots 36.4 percent career from 3, and his defense is good enough to put him on the opponent’s best player every night.
That’s not a max player or anything, but it’s a solid starter. Even in a league that tends to overpay offense and underpay defense, Richardson has clear value and should be a “Plan B” target for every team that misses out on one of the top names above. That includes Dallas, which could easily pivot to re-signing Richardson if its loftier free-agency dreams don’t come to pass.
18. Tim Hardaway Jr., 29, SG, Dallas: Hardaway and Fournier are birds of a feather, as I’ve noted before: Both are 28 and coming off career years, both opted into their deals for 2020-21 and both offer shooting and shot creation at the cost of some defense. Both are also perceived as gettable, although in Hardaway’s case it’s the opposite scenario from Fournier.
Dallas has no luxury-tax issues, at least until Luka Doncic’s near-certain max extension kicks in in 2022, but the Mavs’ cap space dreams depend on Hardaway seeking a new address. It’s possible that nobody to Dallas’ liking is available and the Mavs run it back with Hardaway and Richardson above, but if not, Hardaway will be an attractive target as a shooter with a tolerable price tag. As with Fournier, I’d look for something around three years and $50 million.
Since he references Fournier in the THJ write-up, here's what he said about Fournier:
17. Evan Fournier, 29, SG, Orlando: Fournier gave one indication of his market when he opted in to $17.1 million this season rather than hit free agency. Even coming off a career year in his late 20s, Fournier has a market that is more likely in the $15 million a year range than anything that begins with a 2.
Nonetheless, teams will be monitoring him closely due to his perceived obtainability. Fournier is unrestricted, and the Magic likely pried themselves out of keeping him with extensions for Markelle Fultz and Jonathan Isaac. As a result of those deals, anything in eight figures for Fournier would push Orlando into the luxury tax.
Presuming Orlando doesn’t go 72-0 this year and run it back, that leaves two alternatives. The first is that he walks after the season. The second, more interesting one is an extend-and-trade deal. Fournier is extension-eligible, and any acquiring team would likely want to cement his rights beyond this season. The sweet spot would seem to be something around three years and $50 million.