2010 NBA Free Agency Preview

Note: These are not opinions of where we think players will/should go, they are just what we have heard.

The biggest free agency period in NBA history is only a little more than a day away. At Midnight Thursday morning EST, or 9 PM in the West, players and teams can start negotiating contracts. Not until a week later on July 8th can players actually sign any contracts. A complete breakdown of what we know about each star is after the break. 


LeBron James- Like any good American we have to start the NBA free agency discussion with LeBron. After more than a year of speculation many think that the Chicago Bulls have the best chance of landing him. They have the best young talent, the cap space, and the robust city to support him. Their only downfall is the management which could be very important to LeBron. We are not quite sure if owner Jerry Reinsdorf is willing to pay the big bucks to build a cast around LeBron for future years. Will he resign Derrick Rose when his contract his up? What about throwing 9-10 million at Joakim Noah in a few years? 


Other than the Bulls, the Knicks, Nets, Heat, Clippers, Mavericks, and of course the Cavs, are all still in the thick of things. The Knicks have the most money and the owners that are most likely to throw money at every player and thing LeBron wants. They do not have the strongest management as we all know, but the city of New York could make up for that. The Nets are moving to Brooklyn soon which could be enticing. They also have a good young core lead by Devin Harris and Brook Lopez. Another plus is that Jay-Z is a partial owner of the team so you know he will be buttering up LeBron to come there. 


The Heats have been considered in it since they have the money and would love to try to team him up with Wade. The Clippers would make LeBron a perfect rival for Kobe and they are willing to almost let LeBron run the organization. The Mavs don't have as much caps space but their eccentric owner Mark Cuban is willing to do what it takes to get LeBron, and that includes a sign in trade with the Cavs that could send players like Caron Butler over. 


Then there's his "home town" Cavaliers. If they show that they are willing to build a real team around LeBron he could still be willing to stay, if the fans let him after this post season disaster. 


Chris Bosh- Bosh is certainly leaving the Raptors and he seems to have 2 main suitors. Last weekend there was a rumor flying around that got the attention of every sports outlet saying that "Bosh and LeBron to the Bulls is almost a done deal." That turned out not to be true, but that is not to say that it won't happen. The Miami Heat are also big favorites to nab Bosh out of the free agents pool. They could keep Wade and team him up with Bosh to try and make a little version of their Shaq/Wade championship team. The Rockets have also shown interest in Bosh. They have to resign Yao and team him up with Bosh if they want their dreams to come true. 


Dwyane Wade- Wade is obviously very partial to his current team. He basically has the keys to Miami and is part mayor down there. They have the money to keep him and sign another big name player to encourage him to stick around. The Bulls and Knicks are the other 2 teams that have shown to be possibilities so far. He will meet with the Knicks later this week. 

Joe Johnson and Amar'e Stoudemire- Right at Midgnight (9 PM Western) the Knicks will be landing in California to meet with Joe Johnson. They are bringing alone coach Mike D'antoni and GM Donnie Walsh to present themselves to Johnson. After that they are flying to Phoenix to talk to Amar'e that morning to talk with him, and then they have to be in Ohio by 1 PM to meet with LeBron. That's quite the busy 13 hours. Joe and Amar'e both played under Mike D'antoni in Phoenix so they have a relationship there. These two also could stay on their current teams as the Hawks have a good young team going and Amar'e has an Early Termination Option with Los Suns.


Carlos Boozer, Dirk Nowitzki and David Lee- Boozer has had interest from many teams including the Bulls, the Knicks and the Heat. There isn't much more known about him. Dirk decided that he is going to test free agency but that does not mean he's leaving Dallas. He loves it there and they love him. He just wants a new long term deal. David Lee is most likely, and unfortunately, leaving the Knicks unless they don't sign anyone else. Some have speculated he may go to the Thunder, and new reports say that if Amar'e leaves the Suns will make an offer to Lee.


Rudy Gay, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce- The Memphis Grizzlies are a young team with potential, but they may not be able to spend the money to keep Gay. He is a rising star who is only going to get much better in the next few years and will demand a high salary. He has stated he has interest in playing for the Knicks, and the Nets and Clippers have both shown interest him him. Just recently the Wolves said they will call Rudy Gay after midnight on Thursday.


Paul will most likely stay with the Celtics as they want him to retire as a potential hall of famer with them. Odds are that Allen could stay a Celtic also as he wants a $70 Million contract that no one will be willing to give him. That being said he could land on the Nets, Clippers or Knicks since they have a ton of money to throw around. 


Josh Childress- Yeah, Josh Childress from the Hawks. He has played the last few seasons in the Euro league for the Greek Olympiakos but things are turning sour. Greece is in a worse economic slump than we are and he is more than likely going to return to the states when his contract allows him (July 15th). The Hawks still have the rights to him so he could return there especially if Joe Johnson leaves.