The NBA free agency frenzy is upon us, and many marquee players have already made their commitments to new teams or remaining where they were. On this week’s Full Court Sound Off, Justin quizzes Solomon for his thoughts on the Suns locking down Chris Paul, the Lakers adding tons of names, the strange strategy the Bulls seem to be employing and much more.
2021 NBA Free Agency Frenzy
The Suns re-signed Paul to a four-year deal that could earn the point guard up to $120 million. That means Phoenix has signed Paul on until the ripe age of 40.
Is that a good idea? Solomon and Justin discuss the pros and cons of signing a player on that long of a deal into that advanced of an age. On one hand, you leave yourself vulnerable to an anchor contract for an aging or aged-out player, which can seriously harm your ability to compete years down the line. But if keeping Paul nets the Suns an NBA championship in the next two years, then who cares? That would make whatever happened afterward unquestionably worth it.
The Lakers made some serious noise in free agency so far, adding the most new players via the method out of any NBA team. Their seven additions – Carmelo Anthony, Wayne Ellington, Malik Monk, Dwight Howard, Trevor Ariza, Kent Bazemore, and Kendrick Nunn – have been brought in to return the team back to glory, or at least back to championship contention. Combine those new faces with Russell Westbrook, who was recently obtained through a trade, and you’ve got a very different-looking Lakers heading into 2021-22, outside of the returning superstars.
Will all these introductions help the Lakers get back to where they want to be?
The Bulls have made some big splashes in free agency, bringing in Lonzo Ball, Alex Caruso, and DeMar DeRozan, utilizing sign-and-trade deals to their advantage. These are some solid pieces the Bulls are adding, but for the amount of money and resources required to bring them in and taking into consideration the current state of the team, do these moves make sense? Will they make a meaningful difference in Chicago or simply raise the team’s ceiling slightly to one of the last teams into the playoffs before being easily dispatched?
The Heat have also been pretty active in the NBA free agency market. They’ve re-signed a lot of players to keep them in Miami, but they’ve also signed P.J. Tucker, Markieff Morris, and Kyle Lowry to try to bolster their challenging chances in the East. It’s possible that the title experience these players bring will make a difference for the Heat when it comes time to take on the Bucks and Nets for a spot in the NBA Finals, but it remains to be seen if those moves will tip the scales enough.
