1993 Free Agency Day 1 Grades (Progress Reports)

[WigNosy]

Note that for the most part, these grades aren't final; rather, they're like Mid-Term progress reports to give you a feel of how I think your team is doing in Free Agency (as if you care about my opinions). Depending on what trades and free agent signings you make, these grades could go up or down by the time Free Agency is over, so don't get too happy about a good grade and don't get too down about a bad one.

ATLANTIC DIVISION

CELTICS
Brought back Hot Rod Williams, so they now have a very nice seven-man rotation. Still have enough money to bring in one more really nice piece, and haven't committed much in the future. Very impressed with the Celtics' look heading into the "Superstar Free Agency" year next season when they have to figure out how to work with Drexler and Richmond. GRADE: A-

HEAT
Re-signed Rex Champan, which I like, but concerned the contract is a bit too rich. Not horrible, but not exactly value, either. Team full of guards really needs frontcourt players besides Mutombo - will they be able to flip one of their guards? Also have to hope the Glove will re-sign but they really need to start winning sooner rather than later. GRADE: B-

KNICKS
No signings, but not a lot of cap to work with, either... and their core is already locked up. GRADE: Incomplete

NETS
Reggie Lewis was expensive, but probably worth the contract. Scott Williams was overpaid badly, both in per-year and in length of deal. The team is desperately in need of a point guard and in a financial bind for the next three seasons already. They'd better hope this lineup can win or they're going to have a heck of a time blowing it up. GRADE: D

MAGIC
Lost Horace Grant, lost Detlef Schrempf, traded away Magic Johnson prior to free agency... this is rapidly shaping up to be a very bad year in Orlando. There's still time for them to pull some good signings or trades out of their hat, and on the positive side, they may be huge players in the year of the superstar free agent next season... but really, Day 1 was a complete disaster. Sorry, coltsguy. GRADE: F

76ERS
No signings yesterday but their core is still intact and they have plenty of money to spend. GRADE: Incomplete

WIZARDS
Much like the 76ers, the Wizards suffered no significant free agent defections (they didn't really have any significant free agents) but made no signings and still have some cash to spend. GRADE: Incomplete

CENTRAL DIVISION

BUCKS
Bring back Robert Parish for another season and praying he doesn't keel over in Training Camp. They didn't have much cap space due to extending their core last season but with almost all of their bigs at 30 or over, they're making sacrifices to the Training Camp Gods. GRADE: B

BULLS
The sign-and-trade of Seikaly to the Mavs means the Bulls traded away one proven low-post commodity for two guys they hope might some day be low-post commodities. However, moving Seikaly's salary means they have another shot at spending Free Agency money... the problem is, there are no quality backup bigs left to spend it on, so that hole in the center of their team is going to remain. GRADE: D

CAVALIERS
The signing of Muggsy Bogues means the Cavs now have someone to get the ball to their high-flying forwards. The 'Nique contract is way too long and, given his injury history, may be way too large. Not sure anyone will want a 38-year-old 'Nique and his glass knees for $6 million in the final year of that contract. GRADE: D

HAWKS
The buzz following Day 1 of Free Agency was that the Hawks got a great deal with Reggie Williams' modest contract. What people weren't talking about was that Pervis Ellison decided to take his talents to South Canada, which represents a blow for the Hawks' interior game. They traded for decent backups in Wennington and Benoit, and have some of the friendlier contracts in the league with Elie, Smits, and Williams, but they need to get some more talent on Day 2 or they'll continue to be stuck in mediocrity. GRADE: C-

PISTONS
Stay under the cap (and luxury tax) with the Adams re-signing, and keep their Central-division-winning squad intact for another year. Big concern for them will be whether or not they can extend Reggie Miller on the cheap this year; if they can't, it will be "lose him or pay luxury tax" next season. Will be fun watching the Pistons getting creative with contracts to try to keep their roster together as Miller, then Smith, then Laettner hit Free Agency in successive years. GRADE: A-

PACERS
Eric Leckner was their big (only) signing. On a team whose talent can be summed up as "Augmon or old guys", they needed more. GRADE: D-

HORNETS
Signed nobody. Have a pretty full roster and cap room to spare - but need someone to star next to Gugliotta before all their rookie deals start expiring and the cap crunch causes them to bleed talent. GRADE: Incomplete

RAPTORS
Swiped Pervis Ellison from division-rival Hawks and brought back Charles Oakley in a brazen attempt to corner the market on "good but not star" big men. Will be interesting to see what they can coax from other teams in trade for one or two of their bigs over the next two seasons before they have to start re-upping their cost-controlled rookies. Also watch how big a hit Magic takes in Training Camp - he's absorbed massive hits to his ratings the last two years. If Magic doesn't take too big a hit, expect the Raptors to resemble the 1990 and 1991 Hawks trying to grind out wins on the way to challenging for a division crown and maybe a league title. GRADE: A

MIDWORST DIVISION

MAVS
After a single season of losing, the makeover in Dallas is taking shape and the results are phenomenal. They grabbed Horace Grant in free agency and traded a bag of beans for Rony Seikaly, and an even smaller bag of beans for the rights to Bryon Russell, instantly providing them with a nasty frontcourt to go with their mostly-drafted, cost-controlled backcourt (Blaylock is a defensive gem on a reasonable contract). They're young enough to expect mostly positive things from training camp and are maybe a backup big away from a very formidable rotation. If this team doesn't challenge for the Midworst division crown this season, something is very wrong. Early leader for GM of the year. GRADE: A+

NUGGETS
I really like the Derrick McKey contract - it's a modest deal that pays him right about what he's worth - a versatile player who can back up 3 or 4 spots should be making about 1.5 million per year. Problem is, they'll have to play him like a starter because other than rookie Allan Houston, there's not much talent here yet. They still have a ton of cap space to play with, and where their grade goes from here depends on what they spend it on. So well done on the McKey signing, but the grade could go way up or down depending on what they do the rest of the way. GRADE: B-

ROCKETS
Loved the signing of Brian Shaw, giving them at least three seasons of Shaw-Shaq Redemption... less enthused with the Detlef Schrempf signing. Detlef is a great fit, but not at the salary he got; would have been better served making about $3.5 million this season and not on a 4-year deal. In the short term, good for the Rockets, but in 1996 they'll be desperate to unload Schrempf's $7 million salary. GRADE: B

GRIZZLIES
Lost Mark Jackson and Will Perdue, with no signings of their own to show for it. Bad day in VanMemphis for Grizzlies fans. The only good news is at least they didn't hand out a bad contract. GRADE: F

TIMBERWOLVES
A team that needed to accumulate talent around Webber, the Chucky Brown signing is fine - cheap and for just one year - but the Timberwolves' final grade will depend on what else they spend their money on going forward. GRADE: D

SPURS
You could argue they overpaid a touch for Danny Manning, but he fills up the whole stat sheet, so I can't kill them for the signing. Still have money to fill around the edges of last year's core, too. GRADE: B-

JAZZ
Signing Will Perdue is kind of a lateral move compared to last year's big man Sam Bowie... while Perdue is younger, the Jazz inked him to a 4-year deal starting at over $3 million. Too much, if you ask me. I liked the Sherman Douglas signing a bit better, he's not quite an all-star point guard, and he's not quite getting paid like one, but bringing him in ensures the Jazz a solid backcourt... as long as they can convince Jordan to re-sign. With Rodney Rogers still a couple of seasons away, the Jazz really need to hope they can find a serviceable forward before Free Agency ends, but the deals with Perdue, Douglas, and Dana Barros' ongoing contract will make adding much more talent tough to do starting next year without hitting the luxury tax. GRADE: C+

PACIFIC DIVISION

BLAZERS
Overkilled on point guards, signing 4 on the first day; I don't know if Jackson and Smith are really max players, either, so there's that. Need to get some more size on the team; rookie Shawn Bradley is not going to be able to police the inside on his own. Without much cap space left, will have to hope for help via trade, and that won't come until 60 days into the season. GRADE: D+

KINGS
Solid signings of quality veteran guards Vern Fleming and Jerry Reynolds for a team that needed to reinforce its talent base but age is becoming a concern for the roster. The good news is they didn't commit to long-term money so if this attempt to take another title shot with the Malone/Richardson combo goes sour, they're not in a bad place going forward. That said, I don't think they added enough to be a top-tier team. GRADE: B-

LAKERS
Benoit Benjamin was almost certainly overpaid but they sent him to Seattle immediately so he's not their problem any more. That move leaves them a bit thin and undersized up-front, however. They'll have to hope Jayson Williams makes some major strides in Training Camp or Center/Power Forward may be a defensive liability for them all year. They still have cap space enough to be dangerous following the sign-and-trade but the prospects for a quality big man are all but gone. Like the long-term move, hate the short-term prospects for the defending champs; that big man hole could cost them a repeat. GRADE: C+

SONICS
Liked the Charles Smith signing - he provides instant offensive punch and it was incredibly underhanded to trade him to the Hawks for a draft pick knowing he was determined to hit free agency then sign him back at the end of the season. I'm less impressed with the Sign-and-Trade to get Benoit Benjamin. The guess here is that by the time that 1996 pick they traded away to get him comes due, Benjamin will no longer be earning his contract - and they'll still be on the hook for another two seasons of huge money. GRADE: C+ (extra credit for deviousness)

WARRIORS
Obviously felt they needed to bring back Harper to pair with the Goodyear Kemp but not sure Harper'll be worth over $8 million when he's 34 years old. Loss of Bogues hurts enormously - they'll be scrambling for a point guard (along with several other teams) and may have to overpay. What they do with the one max slot they have left under the cap will be the difference between a good and bad offseason. GRADE: C-

CLIPPERS
Lost Steve Kerr, but already added Nick Van Exel in the draft, so that loss is not a big deal. No signings yet, though. GRADE: Incomplete

SUNS
No signings, but didn't lose any key pieces to other teams either. GRADE: Incomplete.

[IamQuailman]

Nice work man! Love it!

Virgins, Gold, Calves, and first borns are en route to our Training Facility.

[NOLa.]

Great writeup Wig. I guess I get the "-" because of not signing a multi-year young guy but as far as Day 1 goes I'm pretty happy, missed on one target I wanted badly but hoping to rebound from that.

Also, love the ShawShaq Redemtion

[TrayWithAnA]

Good write up!

Spoiler Alert: The only way that Miller and Smith don't get a super-max is if they come to the table before the end of their contract year with less than the max. Laettner would be the only question mark.

[rpf]

good write up Wigs..i still hate the cat picture

[Deleted]

Wig hates everything the Lakers do 

[Nick Malone 77]

I loved the write up Wig but yeah I definitely agree with that assesment of my squad. I was trying to sign some key targets but there are still a few left. I also feel like maybe it was a blessing in disguise due to not handing out a super large multiple deals would have killed my cap for the forseeable future but there's still hope that I can get something out of my squad this year.

[rpf]

Mar 10, 2014 14:10:29 GMT -6 ballsohard said:

Wig hates everything the Lakers do 

[Conroy]

Nice Wig, really enjoyed reading it. Shaw was my #1 target just couldn't come up with enough cash, I do like that I'll have some flexibility next year though.

[JNR]

I struck out on my big max targets. I hope I don't do it again. COME TO MINNESOTA, WE HAVE MORE THAN JUST ICE FISHING.

[78]

One thing I like about the IJBL free agency is where you seen all the offers a player gets. I agree that Schrempf's contract is not good long-term while good short-term since I think he's a really good player right now, but I definitely wouldn't have given him the max.

[Inner_GI]

After today's sim I'm hoping to be a solid B.

[J2]

Great write-up. I threw out one contract in Round 2 that I instantly regretted, but hopefully I land some of my lower-ranked targets. I hope you mofos don't overpay my targets.