Nowitzki, Collison and Sefolosha: Thoughts on Day 3 of NBA free agency
While we continue to await the decisions of LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade, among other free agents, here are a few thoughts on three deals that did go down on the third day of 2014 free agency.
Dirk Nowitzki agrees to three-year, $30 million contract with Mavericks
There was never a doubt that Dirk would remain in Dallas, but the Mavericks should still be thrilled that they were able to retain the future Hall of Famer's services at such a bargain price.
Giving an older star $30 million over a three-year period that will take him through his 39th birthday isn't usually prudent, but Nowitzki isn't your usual star. After showing his age some in a disappointing 2012-13 season that saw him limited to just 53 games, Dirk bounced back in magnificent fashion in 2013-14.
He played in 80 of 82 games in his age-35 season, averaging 21.7 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists in nearly 33 minutes per game for a 49-win Mavs team that squeaked into the playoffs in one of the toughest conferences in NBA history, and then pushed the eventual champion Spurs to seven games in the first round of the postseason.
Furthermore, any concern about age slowing down Nowitzki's prolific shooting abilities was silenced by Dirk posting a near-50-40-90 shooting split. His 49.7-39.8-89.9 split was a truly remarkable offensive accomplishment for a player of his age. As a reference, the only other players to average 20 points or more on a 49-39-89 shooting split over the last 19 seasons are Kevin Durant and Nowitzki himself two other times (2006-07 and 2010-11). Hell, the only other players to post a 20-plus PPG season on a 49-39-89 split in NBA history are Durant, Larry Bird and Dana Barros, and those guys all did it between the ages of 24-31.
Age be damned, Nowitzki is still capable of producing historic offensive seasons, and with boat loads of cap space still at their disposal in future years, the Mavs will have the means to surround him with the right complimentary pieces over the life of his new contract.
Dirk obviously took a major hometown discount to remain in Dallas while giving the team ample room to operate going forward, and his play warranted a much larger payday, but this is a fantastic deal for the Mavs.
Darren Collison agrees to three-year, $16 million contract with Kings
Considering the contracts handed out to guards like Jodie Meeks, C.J. Miles and Ben Gordon, the Kings nabbing Collison for three years at an average annual value of about $5.3 million has to be considered a job well done.
Collison will likely never be the player some hoped for as a rookie in New Orleans, but he's put together a solid five-year NBA career and was good for a contending Clippers team this past season - both off the bench and as a makeshift starter when Chris Paul went down with injury.
He's a defensive liability, but he's a pretty consistent guard who's averaged about 12 points and five assists in over 28 minutes per game in his career, while knocking down over 36 percent of his three-point attempts and starting well over half (254) of his 376 games played for New Orleans, Indiana, Dallas and L.A.
The only question now is whether the Kings intend to use him as a starter or not. Isaiah Thomas is a year-and-a-half younger and coming off of a thrilling breakout season in Sac-Town, but he's a restricted free agent who will no doubt cost the team a pretty penny. If the Kings can perhaps find a sign-and-trade partner for Thomas that allows them to address other areas of need in the short-term without taking on too much salary in the long-term (unless they're landing a star), having Collison as a starter in 2014-15 wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.
At some point, though, the Kings are going to have add pieces that make them better defensively. And if Thomas simply walks as an RFA, the Kings will have downgraded their point guard position without any return.
Thabo Sefolosha agrees to three-year, $12 million contract with Hawks
Handing a 30-year-old who is often a complete non-factor on one end of the court a three-year deal worth $4 million per year isn't ideal, but considering that teams often overpay for offense-only talent, perhaps Atlanta going a little high and long for a defensive specialist isn't so bad.
Sefolosha looked downright awful at times in Oklahoma City down the stretch, but his defensive ability is without question, and he did shoot 42 percent from deep on over 300 attempts from behind the arc over a two-year span from 2011-12 through 2012-13. If he can regain anything close to that shooting form in Atlanta in Mike Budenholzer's more inclusive, wide open offensive system (He shot 31.6% from three in 2013-14 but is a career 34.8% three-point shooter) while maintaining his defensive presence, Sefolosha could actually be a solid '3-and-D' guy for an up and coming Hawks team.
$12 million over three years in that case would be a fine investment for Atlanta.