Teams shift focus to July free agency after draft
Associated Press
As draft night approached, some of the heavy hitters — Cleveland, San Antonio, Houston, Boston, the Los Angeles Clippers among them — were jockeying, making calls and looking for deals to try to position themselves to make a run at the Golden State juggernaut.
The Warriors’ greatness has forced the rest of the league to do deep self-examination and be aggressive in upgrading their rosters if they’re even going to have a chance to compete. The Celtics and Cavaliers were looking hard at Pacers star Paul George and Bulls guard Jimmy Butler, the Rockets and Spurs were looking at clearing cap space to make a run at some big-name free agents next week and the Knickswere, well, the Knicks.
Draft night always lays the groundwork for what will happen when the circus (officially known as free agency) begins July 1. And with all of those contenders looking to make a splash, the biggest move was made by ... the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Timberwolves reunited coach Tom Thibodeau with Butler, giving up two promising young players in Zach LaVine and Kris Dunn and the No. 7 overall pick to land one of the best two-way players in the game. The move should jump-start Minnesota’s pursuit of its first playoff spot since 2004 and, the Timberwolves hope, pave the way for success in free agency.
The Timberwolves have long had difficulty attracting free agents to a relatively small market. Landing a top15 player such as Butler to team with Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins sends a sign of how aggressive the team could be.
The Bulls, meanwhile, plunged head-first into a rebuild with the trade, and now it’s up to the Pacers to decide ifthey want to do the same.
To the dismay of Pacers fans, George let it be known last week that he did not plan to re-sign in Indiana when he becomes a free agent next summer. Most of the league assumes that he wants to play for the Los Angeles Lakers, who appear to be in a tug-of-war with the rival Celtics for George’s attention.
One of the big markets affected Thursday night was at point guard, the deepest position in the league. Philadelphia, the Lakers, Sacramento, New York and Dallas drafted point guards in the top 10, which could diminish the options for veterans such as Jrue Holiday, George Hill, Jeff Teague and Patty Mills.
The elite point guards available — Chris Paul and Kyle Lowry — should have no trouble finding significant contracts. With Tony Parker suffering a serious injury in the playoffs, the Spurs reportedly were trying to clear space to make a run at Paul, who has long struggled to win big in the postseason, and heading to San Antonio to join with Kawhi Leonard or Houston to team up with James Harden could prove to be more attractive.
Lowryfigures to remain in Toronto, but after that there will be few teams in the market for a high-priced starting point guard. Denver, Utah, New York and Indiana could wade into those waters. Other big names available include Gordon Hayward, Paul Millsap and Andre Iguodala. And while some of the very biggest names such as Kevin Durant and Steph Curry figure to stay put, it only ramps up the sense of urgency for teams that have big holes to fill.