2012 NBA Free Agency: Day 10 Recap

Jun 06, 2012; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; San Antonio Spurs center Tim Duncan (21) drives on Oklahoma City Thunder power forward Serge Ibaka (9) during the second half in game six of the Western Conference finals of the 2012 NBA playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-US PRESSWIRE

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The 10-day moratorium period ended and the frenzy can officially start. There has already been a flurry of transactions but they couldn’t be official until 12:01 a.m EST today. San Antonio exit the moratorium as the exact carbon copy of their 2011-12 team that won 50 of 66 games.

Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs — three-years, ~$34 million

I have no issues with Timmeh receiving about $11 million per year. He may not be as effective but the Spurs’ defense, as flawed as it is, looks even worse when he’s sidelined. If Spurs fans really want to improve their defense, locking down their anchor was paramount prior to the consummation of other deals.

Duncan can still pepper the defense from the mid-range, which isn’t ideal, saving his body from the rigors of the low post game, and orchestrate defensive units that need to react collectively and not individually. The fact that San Antonio mustered a top 10 defense can be placed on Duncan’s broad, unassuming shoulders.

Now they can begin putting the finish touches on a roster that was, sans a couple of timely shooting outbursts from Oklahoma City, a Finals contender. Signing Timmy was the biggest no-brainer this offseason.

Boris Diaw, San Antonio Spurs — two-years, $9.2 million

BoBo assisted on 16.1% of his possessions as a Spur, a solid rate for a power forward. For a passing specimen like Diaw that number is actually below-average. Along with his defense, that still confounds me to this day, Diaw should produce enough to justify his $9 million contract.

I was anticipating Diaw’s contract to take up the entire midlevel exception ($5 million) and possibly a bit more but it appears the market wasn’t saturated with Diaw suitors. (Or maybe he just likes the food in San Antonio.)

Fun stat: The Spurs outscored their opponents by 14 points per 100 possessions during the playoffs with Diaw on the floor. They also grabbed 78.1% of available defensive rebounds which, for context, would best the Spurs’ number one-ranked defensive rebounding attack over the course of the entire season.

Without Diaw was a much different story. San Antonio was outscored by 9.6 points per 100; their abominable 113.1 defensive rating rating worse than Charlotte by a full three points.

That’s value.

Nando De Colo, San Antonio Spurs — two-years, $2.8 million

If the Spurs use a portion of their bi-annual exemption (worth $1.9 million) on De Colo that ensures that he will have a comfy rotation spot waiting for him. The reason being: the BAE cannot be used in successive years meaning the exception will be off limits next season. The Spurs rarely use the BAE because A) you can’t use it two years in a row and B) because it puts a quasi-hard cap in place, set around $74 million this season. The Spurs see something. That’s good enough for me.

Lou Williams, Atlanta Hawks — terms unknown

Williams scored more points per 48 minutes during the “clutch” (defined loosely by 82games.com as last five minutes with a five-point margin) than LeBron James though it was out of necessity, as Philadelphia couldn’t rely on anyone else to score.

Williams thrives on his shot-creation not necessarily his shot selection. A third of his shots resided in the efficiency death trap between the paint and 3-point line. As long as Atlanta didn’t splurge on a $30 million deal, they can’t go wrong with a player that posted a 20.2 PER last season (seems a bit inflated due to his scoring) and excelled in pick-and-rolls and isolations per MySynergySports. Just don’t expect him to consistently make good decisions.

Golden State traded Dorrell Wright to Philadelphia for a future pick

Golden State probably could’ve received more for an average player (Wright posted a 15.0 PER which is precisely league average) that can shoot the ball pretty well especially from the corner. His $4.1 million expiring contract isn’t detrimental. But, with the addition of Harrison Barnes and his redundant skill set, Wright was clearly expendable. Philadelphia, devoid of much shooting, acquired a decent player for essentially nothing. Not bad.

Rashard Lewis, Miami Heat — two-years, $2.8 million

Everybody loves Miami. Blah.

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Other free agency tidbits

— Source on Dwight Howard trade: “It’s all coming to a head.” Does that mean Dwight will finally be traded today?

— New York will match Houston’s $28.8 million offer sheet for Jeremy Lin today according to the New York Post.

— Chicago will decline their team options, worth an aggregate $7.57 million, to Ronnie Brewer and C.J. Watson according to the Chicago Tribune.

— Brooklyn and Deron Williams officially put the finishing touches on a five-year, $98.75 million (AAV: $19.75 million) contract according to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com